Gourmet: Twins' Father and Chef of the Kindergarten

He picked up the spoon, scooping out the glutinous rice balls along with some broth, and gently placed them into the bowl prepared earlier.

While busy working, he still remembered to advise, "When you scoop the glutinous rice balls, make sure to take some water with them to keep their smooth and plump appearance. Avoid using slotted spoons or similar kitchen tools, otherwise, the rice balls will lose the protection of water and easily become soggy or even crack."

Once the rice balls settled in the bowl, he turned around and picked up the jar of sweet-scented osmanthus syrup. With a small spoon, he ladled it, evenly sprinkling it atop each jade-like white glutinous rice ball.

The golden osmanthus flowers amidst the rice balls were like tiny stars, exceedingly enticing.

There’s no denying, the quality of the sweet osmanthus syrup Liu Suyu purchased was indeed superior.

As soon as it was added, a refreshing and elegant osmanthus fragrance rose gently from the bowl, neither overwhelming nor disappearing, lingering perfectly in the air, lasting naturally.

This was undoubtedly the authentic scent of osmanthus, incomparable to any artificial additive.

Ye Guilan eyed the rice balls in the bowl, smiling as she said, "Oh my, these rice balls look festive, round and chubby, just like little chubby kids, so cute! Chef Huang, your skills are truly exceptional, not only is the scent delightful, but looking at them also makes one feel comfortable."

Aunt Lin also joined in, nodding and saying, "Exactly, exactly, Chef Huang, these rice balls of yours are cooked just right, neither too soft nor too hard, and carry such a fragrance of osmanthus, truly mouth-watering. Your skills are far superior to those so-called master chefs out there!"

Aunt Li sincerely praised, "Manager Liu was worried earlier about whether buying this sweet osmanthus syrup was appropriate, now it seems, paired with your rice balls, it’s simply perfect, the aroma, the presentation, it’s absolutely fabulous!"

"All right, all right, enough praise, let’s start eating!" Huang Jun said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately fell silent, eagerly adopting a "closest to the water, gets the moon first" approach.

One by one, they impatiently picked up their spoons, scooping a rice ball, blowing on it to cool a little, then took a bite...

The soft and glutinous outer layer wrapped the sweet filling, accompanied by a touch of elegant osmanthus fragrance; it was truly a taste of heaven.

Everyone in the kitchen was absorbed in the food, but Huang Jun noticed his two daughters sitting in the kitchen dining area waiting, so he grabbed two bowls of rice balls and walked out of the kitchen, asking, "Qingqing, Weiwei, when did you arrive?"

"Daddy, my sister and I came a while ago, but seeing you weren’t here, I figured you must be busy in the workroom, so my sister and I waited here for you." Qingqing looked up at him, explaining sweetly.

Weiwei nodded along, adding, "Daddy, I have to tell you, while we were playing on the playground, Tiantian and her mom came too, and Tiantian’s mom even gave us red envelopes, but we didn’t accept!"

"What good children, then Daddy will reward you with rice balls."

Huang Jun placed the two steaming bowls of rice balls in front of them, kindly reminding, "The rice balls just came out of the pot, they’re still a bit hot, remember to blow on them before eating."

Weiwei, with the demeanor of a little adult, seriously said, "Daddy, my sister and I are not little kids anymore, we know how to be careful."

Huang Jun was amused by Weiwei’s manner, laughing and responding, "Alright, alright, take your time eating, Daddy will go call the teachers over to enjoy the rice balls together."

With that, he headed to the doorway, calling towards the direction of the teaching building and office building, "Everyone come and eat rice balls..."

Unbeknownst to anyone, Weiwei had quietly come to Huang Jun’s side, cheeks puffed, mumbling as she followed along, "Teachers, eat rice balls now~"

Xie Jianing’s ears were exceptionally sharp; upon hearing the words "eat rice balls," she immediately paused the bed-making and briskly headed towards the classroom door.

Her hurried look might’ve made those unaware think there was an emergency at the daycare.

"Miss Xie, are you available? Could you help bring a bowl of rice balls over?"

Yang Yuxi was stuck temporarily and stressed, but keenly saw Xie Jianing about to leave, urgently raised her voice to call out.

"Don’t forget me, Miss Xie, please bring me a bowl too!"

Wang Wenxia noticing, quickly chimed in.

"Oh, no problem, I’ll bring them to you shortly."

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Xie Jianing didn’t even turn her head, only hastily responded, her pace quickening further.

She jogged all the way to the kitchen.

Upon entering the door...

She was profoundly attracted by the sight of the white and jade-like, round and adorable rice balls in Weiwei’s small bowl.

"Wow, these rice balls look so tempting!"

Unable to help but exclaim, "Eating rice balls for Lantern Festival, paired with sweet osmanthus syrup, the taste must be incredible! Just the fragrance alone is intoxicating, and looking at them makes one drool..."

Though feeling tempted, she restrained herself from snatching them, turning swiftly to the serving window to ask Aunt Li and the others for rice balls.

Not that she really didn’t want to snatch them, she feared Weiwei might cry because of it, which could upset Huang Jun, the doting dad, causing him to stop making delicious food for her.

That would truly be a loss outweighing the gain.

Upon reaching the serving window, Xie Jianing heard Aunt Lin eating while showering praise, "Oh my, Chef Huang’s skills are truly superb, almost worthy of opening a restaurant."

"Indeed, adding the sweet osmanthus syrup was just right, enhancing the taste without feeling overly sweet; it’s... what’s that phrase again?" Aunt Li originally wanted to use an idiom to show off her knowledge, but being limited in learning, she suddenly couldn’t think of the right term.