The Gourmet Customizer

"I’ll leave the little ones with you, then! I won’t be coming to drop them off tomorrow."

He Shuting shook the teacher’s hand warmly. "You should eat, too! Please stay for lunch before you go."

The teacher shook her head. "Oh, I couldn’t. We have meals provided for teachers. If I don’t go back, the head chef will scold us this afternoon!"

He Shuting nodded in understanding. "Take care, Teacher!"

Public schools like this one couldn’t provide lunch or rest areas for the students, but the teachers had their own cafeteria.

After all, there weren’t that many teachers, so the chefs usually cooked based on a headcount. If two people suddenly didn’t show up for a meal, there would be too much food left over, which was something a chef simply couldn’t stand!

He Shuting and Zhang Li led the children into the building, one in front and one behind. As she reached the entrance, He Shuting glanced back at the girl who had gotten out of the car earlier.

’She looks so familiar... I just can’t remember who she is.’

But it had to be said, despite their young age, the children were remarkably well-behaved. Following He Shuting’s lead, they all lined up and walked into the building, taking the stairs to the second floor.

"You don’t think my little brother will cry, do you?"

"Probably not. I just saw him laughing and chatting with the girl at his table."

Zhang Qing shot a look at the man beside her. "What are you talking about? My brother is still little. Hey, why don’t we grab a bite upstairs, too? To thank you for driving me here today, how about I treat you to some stir-fried chicken?"

The man smiled. "I’d be happy to accept! My brain has been hurting from studying these past few days. If you treat me to lunch, I can treat you to a movie this afternoon."

Zhang Kai had been at home studying for the civil service exam when he received a call from Zhang Qing, a younger student from his school, just before noon.

Because his family had just bought him a car, Zhang Qing had asked him to drive her to the Development Zone to check on things. Her little brother was starting his first day of school, and her family was worried, so she, the older sister studying at home, was the natural choice to go take a look.

Having just gotten a new car, a Passat no less, Zhang Kai was still excited about it himself. Add to that an invitation from a pretty girl, and Zhang Kai had no reason to refuse.

After all, who would refuse... an offer that came knocking?

’Anyway, once I pass the civil service exam, I’ll have my pick of girls. But I haven’t passed yet... so I might as well quench my thirst now.’

The two of them went up to the second floor together, following the group of children.

"Everyone sit down, please! Teacher is going to start serving lunch now!" He Shuting called out, maintaining order.

Bai Xiaobo pushed a food cart with Zhang Li walking alongside. At each table they passed, Zhang Li would place four different dishes onto the trays.

Then she would add a bowl of hot soup.

The soup had been prepared in advance and had been cooling for a long time, so it was at a temperature that was warm enough to drink but wouldn’t cause a burn if spilled.

With over a hundred people, just serving the food took more than ten minutes.

"Looks like we’ll need another cart to serve the food. This is way too slow," Bai Xiaobo said, wiping sweat from his brow as he straightened his aching back.

Having to bend over to place the food every time was actually pretty tiring.

"Is it possible that in the future, we could portion out the meals in the cafeteria beforehand? Then when the kids arrive, we can just hand them out."

Bai Xiaobo turned to look at Zhang Li in shock.

’How did someone with your intelligence come up with such a good idea?’

But as he turned his head, the shock on Xiaobai’s face deepened.

That was... the girl standing at the doorway, that was...

"Hey, hey, hey! What’s wrong with you? Am I that good-looking?" Seeing Bai Xiaobo staring at her without moving, Zhang Li was truly speechless.

’Even if I am, you can’t just keep staring like that, can you?’

"N-Nothing," Bai Xiaobo stammered, turning around in a fluster and pushing the food cart back to the kitchen.

This left Zhang Li feeling even more exasperated. ’What is with this guy!’

Meanwhile, He Shuting was running back and forth, looking after the children as they ate. She used to think that all she had to do was hand out the food and wait for them to finish.

But that wasn’t the case at all!!!

"Teacher He! I have to go to the bathroom!"

"Teacher He, can I have my soup first?"

"Teacher He, I finiwished, I want more!"

"Teacher He, Teacher He, Zhang Dali is bullying me, WAHHHH..."

’Oh my god...’ He Shuting felt her head spin as she tried to manage a hundred children. ’Is being a preschool teacher always this exhausting?’

’If you have to go to the bathroom, just go! Why are you reporting it to me? Did you think I wouldn’t let you?’

’And that Zhang Dali!’

He Shuting marched angrily up to a chubby little boy. "Why were you bullying your classmate?"

The chubby boy blinked. "I wanted to eat Wanzi!"

The little girl sitting next to him rubbed her eyes. "Wahhh, Teacher He, he ate all my Wanzi, wahhh..."

He Shuting clenched her fists.

’Damn it! He’s already stealing other people’s food at this age!’

"There, there, don’t cry." Not knowing the children’s names yet, He Shuting crouched down to comfort the little girl. "Teacher will get you some more Wanzi. Don’t cry, okay?"

"Teacher He, I want more Wanzi too!" Zhang Dali raised his hand, showing no remorse for his actions whatsoever.

When they first served lunch, each child had been given five Wanzi.

But Su Chen had also given instructions that they must make sure the children were full. If anyone didn’t have enough to eat, they had to be given more.

Otherwise, the little brats wouldn’t know any better and would just go home and tell their parents they didn’t get enough to eat... and that would be a disaster.

He Shuting looked up, intending to call Bai Xiaobo over with the cart, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Zhang Li, Zhang Li! Quick, bring the food cart over here. This table needs more food."

"Coming!"

The lunch was pure chaos.

It wasn’t until almost one o’clock that He Shuting, rubbing her shoulders, finally got the little monsters settled down for their nap.

"Shuting, it’s our turn to eat now," Zhang Li said, holding her own little rice bowl, which had a SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon printed on it.

"I’m a little tired. You guys go ahead and eat. I’m just going to rest for a bit."

"Okay, then!" Zhang Li glanced behind her, then turned back and leaned in. "I secretly saved a bowl of Wanzi for you in the kitchen. A whole full bowl! Rest for a bit, then go eat it soon!"

He Shuting smiled. ’Zhang Li is so cute,’ she thought. ’What do I do about this urge to squish her cheeks?’

"Okay, you go on and eat. I’ll be fine after a little rest."

Zhang Li hummed in agreement and skipped over to the adult area to eat. A few Xinghui employees were eating over there, so it was a good chance to chat.

He Shuting leaned back in her chair, taking deep breaths, and unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

She was completely unaware...

"Ooh? Hehe! Teacher He is asleep!"

In the rest area, a chubby figure flashed past He Shuting.

Muttering something under his breath.

"Sweet Wanzi, sweet Wanzi..."