novelraw Chapter 367 - 340: All the Osmanthus in the Garden Were Plucked Bald
Chapter 367 - 340: All the Osmanthus in the Garden Were Plucked Bald
The sunlight gently penetrated the sparse clouds, scattering mottled golden hues among the osmanthus trees in Dorami Kindergarten, making specks of golden light shimmer between the lush green leaves.
"Kids, the osmanthus is fragrant, we’re going to pick osmanthus and make some delicious treats~"
After morning exercises, the time originally meant for the children’s free play became special today because of a word from Huang Jun—they were about to have a fun-filled osmanthus picking activity.
At that moment.
The teachers of each class picked up their tools and, leading their groups of children like joyous teams, headed for the nearby osmanthus trees.
"Let’s pick osmanthus~ make delicious treats~"
Along the way, the children, like birds set free, filled the air with laughter and cheerful songs, even the air seemed to hum with an ineffable joyful melody.
Xie Jianing was also infected by this joyful atmosphere and spontaneously adapted a nursery rhyme: "The sun is shining bright, the flowers smile at me, the little bird says good morning, why are you carrying a little basket, I’m going to pick osmanthus, the director has agreed, pick freely and pick boldly, later we’ll make delicious food with Chef Huang..."
It must be said, her singing was light-hearted and infectious.
She instantly captured the children’s attention, and they couldn’t help but hum along: "The sun is shining bright, the flowers smile at me, the little bird says good morning, why are you carrying a little basket, I’m going to pick osmanthus..."
Well~
Completely led astray...
Regarding this.
Yang Yuxi felt quite helpless.
She shot Xie Jianing a meaningful glance that said, "Don’t fear a god-like opponent, but a pig-like teammate," rolling her eyes dramatically.
You should know, children’s mimicry skills are very strong, once they learn this adapted version of the song, it may be hard to correct them in the future~
Xie Jianing, instantly understanding, stopped her antics and quickly started singing the original nursery rhyme, attempting to guide the children’s thoughts back on track.
Unfortunately...
It was too late...
Whenever the children sang the latter half, they would unavoidably sing the adapted lyrics: "Why are you carrying a little basket, I’m going to pick osmanthus..."
Xie Jianing: "..."
Adapting felt great temporarily, but correcting it is a nightmare...
Yang Yuxi: "..."
Well~
She could only correct it slowly in the future.
She redirected the children’s attention: "Alright, kids, stop singing now, look over there, aren’t there a lot of beautiful osmanthus trees? Shall we find the biggest, most blossom-filled osmanthus tree to pick flowers from?"
"Yeah!"
The children immediately stopped humming and nodded obediently.
Yang Yuxi led them to a lush osmanthus tree and took the opportunity to start a "Little Osmanthus Class," imparting knowledge about osmanthus to the children.
But!
They were focused on quickly picking osmanthus, enticed by the fragrance from the osmanthus trees, their minds already fantasizing about the joy of picking, playing with, and eating osmanthus treats.
Ah, their minds were not on listening to the lesson at all...
Yang Yuxi saw this but didn’t directly point it out.
After all, for these lively and active children, mere knowledge explanation was indeed a bit dull and couldn’t attract them.
Thus...
She changed her teaching method.
"Alright, I know everyone wants to start picking osmanthus quickly." She smiled and said, "But before we begin, let’s learn some little secrets about osmanthus, so the osmanthus you pick will be even more meaningful."
She paused slightly, turned to the children, her eyes sparkling with anticipation: "So, kids, can anyone tell the teacher what delicious foods can be made with osmanthus?"
Hearing the words "delicious," the children’s interest was immediately piqued.
Their little minds quickly turned, thinking about the foods related to osmanthus.
"I know! I know!" Yuanyuan eagerly raised her hand to answer: "Osmanthus cake, my grandma bought it for me before, it’s sprinkled with sesame and sugar, tastes so fragrant and sweet!"
"Osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root!" Qingqing and Weiwei also raised their hands.
"And osmanthus sugar!"
"Osmanthus honey is also super delicious!"
"..."
For a moment, the children eagerly shared their knowledge of osmanthus treats, the area under the osmanthus tree filled with laughter.
Ah!
Truly a bunch of little foodies...
They get excited when it comes to eating!
Yang Yuxi looked at the children’s enthusiastic faces, feeling both amused and gratified.
After all, she had successfully captured the children’s attention.
She praised with a smile: "You kids are amazing, knowing so much about osmanthus treats. Osmanthus cake is indeed a standout among osmanthus treats; osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root, with the sweet and sticky rice perfectly combining with the fragrance of osmanthus, offers a taste of autumn in every bite. There’s also osmanthus sugar and osmanthus honey, equally delicious. And don’t forget osmanthus tea, drying osmanthus and brewing it brings a fragrant aroma and health benefits..."
"Gulp~"
The children couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.
Seeing their greedy looks, Yang Yuxi smiled and continued: "But osmanthus isn’t just a delicious treat, it also carries a rich cultural meaning. In ancient times, osmanthus was seen as a symbol of good fortune, wealth, and honor. People often used the saying ’plucking osmanthus in the moon palace’ to describe achieving excellent results in the imperial exam, just like picking osmanthus in the moon palace. So, picking osmanthus isn’t just about tasting its deliciousness, it’s also about appreciating the charm and allure of traditional culture..."
After speaking.
She guided the children to observe the shape, color, and scent of osmanthus, and allowed them to gently touch the osmanthus, feeling its unique texture.
"Okay, kids, it’s osmanthus picking time! You can pick the flowers at the bottom, and I’ll pick the upper parts. But remember to pick gently, without harming the osmanthus tree, and place the picked flowers into this little basket, clear?"
"Got it!"
The children answered in unison, then scattered to find suitable spots and began carefully picking the drooping osmanthus flowers.
They gently held the flower stems, cautiously twisting them off, as if afraid of hurting the surrounding branches and leaves.
"Miss Yang, look, this osmanthus flower is so pretty!"
Weiwei pointed to a cluster of osmanthus at the tip of a branch.
"Yes, it’s like little golden stars, dotted among the green leaves." Yang Yuxi responded with a smile, encouraging the children to carefully observe every detail of the osmanthus flower.
Upon hearing this, Weiwei’s eyes lit up as if discovering a new world, "Yes, they really look like little golden stars!"
As time went on...
The osmanthus flowers in the children’s hands piled up like a mountain, they couldn’t hold them all!
Quite a few children proudly raised their hands full of osmanthus flowers to show Yang Yuxi and Xie Jianing, "Teacher, teacher, look, I picked so many osmanthus flowers!"
Their little faces were filled with expressions of "Praise me, please."
This little thought certainly didn’t escape Yang Yuxi’s sharp eyes.
"Wonderful! You all did very well." She praised them with a smile and kindly reminded, "Quickly put the osmanthus flowers into the basket, be careful not to drop them."
"Okay!"
The children nodded obediently, cradling the flowers as they walked to the basket and gently placed them in.
"Well done!" Yang Yuxi praised again,
As the children continued to revel in the joy of picking osmanthus flowers...
Liu Suyu and several kindergarten leaders happened to pass by this area of blooming osmanthus and were attracted by the children’s mighty picking activity, stopping involuntarily.
Liu Suyu, dressed elegantly in high heels, walked over curiously, asking, "Miss Yang, Miss Xie, what are you picking osmanthus flowers for? Are you going to make osmanthus sachets?"
"In addition to making sachets, there’s another use~" Yang Yuxi responded with a smile.
A hint of curiosity flashed in Liu Suyu’s beautiful eyes, "Oh? What other uses are there?"
Yang Yuxi blinked, "For Chef Huang to use in cooking..."
"Yes, Chef Huang wants to make dishes with osmanthus but doesn’t have time to pick the flowers, so we’re helping by picking some." Xie Jianing added.
Huh?
Chef Huang wants to make osmanthus dishes?
Why weren’t they notified?
Are they the last ones to know?
Now.
Liu Suyu and the others felt a tiny bit of loss, feeling like they might have missed something, but soon felt relieved...
Forget it, forget it!
After all, they won’t miss out when it’s time to eat.
Thinking this way, it seemed they hadn’t really lost anything...
At this moment, Liu Suyu remembered Huang Jun had just called her, asking her to order more lotus roots; connecting this to osmanthus flowers, she suddenly realized, "Is Chef Huang planning to make osmanthus sticky rice stuffed lotus root?"
"Manager Liu, congratulations, you’re right!" Xie Jianing clapped her hands with a smile.
Indeed!
Thinking about the osmanthus sticky rice stuffed lotus root made by Huang Jun, the taste must be beyond wonderful, making people drool.
She wanted to eat it immediately~
Looking at the teachers leading these little ’child laborers,’ she thought, by the time they finished picking the osmanthus flowers, the flowers might have withered...
To finish sooner and eat sooner, they volunteered, "Let us help pick too!"
"Sure, welcome, welcome." The teachers gladly accepted this suggestion.
After all, more hands make light work.
Besides, free labor is not to be wasted...
With Liu Suyu and others joining, the picking work progressed much faster.
Soon...
The kindergarten’s osmanthus flowers were completely swept away, filling the basket with golden osmanthus, as if laden with the harvest of autumn.
Xie Jianing and the other teachers looked at the abundant harvest, their mouths inadvertently curling into satisfied smiles.
But the joy lasted only a second...
They suddenly remembered Liang Yinqiu’s reminder, "Remember to leave some osmanthus flowers on the trees, don’t pick them all; we need to maintain the aesthetic of the garden..."
But the problem is...
Now the osmanthus trees throughout the garden could be said to be picked bare...
No one can say there’s not a single osmanthus flower left, there are some scattered on the ground, blown off by the wind or fallen during picking.
The next second...
Xie Jianing and the other teachers saw Liu Suyu and other kindergarten leaders, with the children, squat down to pick up the osmanthus flowers from the ground.
Goodness!
They really didn’t miss a single osmanthus flower!
I wonder.
If Director Liang sees that all the osmanthus flowers in the garden are picked bare, would she come after these teachers with a hundred-meter-long sword to hold them accountable?
After all, they had patted their chests, promising not to pick them all and leave some osmanthus flowers for the garden...