Chapter 65 He gave it to me! Oh, okay, it's for kindergarten kids...

"After a bunch of tests, the doctor didn't interact with the child at all. Is this really reliable?"

Grandma Lin grumbled, "We've already done all those tests at the hospital, but they didn't find anything wrong. It's just a waste of money and a hassle for the child."

"The previous scan at the hospital was an MRI, but this time it was a PET-MRI. They're different; the MRI is much clearer."

Lin's father held Lin Wuyang in one arm and took the test images from the documents Lin's grandmother was holding with the other, showing them to her. "Look, this is the Broca area, the language production area, and this is the Wernicke area, the language comprehension area. These two areas are relatively dark, which indicates poor development. This is why Wuyang has problems with language output and comprehension."

“These instruments and technologies can better identify problems related to autism neuroscience. Only by identifying the problems can we address them in a targeted manner. Dr. Zhang's treatment plan today was quite detailed. Let's give it a try first,” Mr. Lin continued.

Grandma Lin retorted, "You trust these technical tests so much? Last time the genetic test said you two inherited the genes for intellectual disability, why don't you admit it?"

Mr. Lin was both amused and exasperated. “We’re both PhDs from top-tier universities. We can’t say we’re super smart, but we’re not mentally challenged either, are we?”

"When it comes to your own mental issues, you stop believing in technology?" Grandma Lin retorted, "My grandson's mental state is perfectly fine."

That's what she said, but Grandma Lin immediately asked, "Since Wuyang has to come for treatment every day starting tomorrow, will she still be able to go to kindergarten?"

“Why don’t we let him take a break from school? He has to undergo so many treatments every day, which is quite tiring. The purpose of going to kindergarten was to improve his ability to communicate with others, but the teacher said that he sits silently from morning till night every day, so there’s no point in him going to kindergarten,” said Mr. Lin.

"Of course he did! He even knows how to steal food from others." Grandma Lin was referring to the time when Lin Wuyang almost bit Wen Xingmou.

"Is this something to be proud of? You've seen the consequences."

“I didn’t say it was a good thing, I just wanted to prove that he has a spontaneous response,” Grandma Lin said. “Forget it, if he doesn’t want to go, he doesn’t want to go. Let’s focus on treatment for a while and see how it goes.”

The group walked to a black Bentley. Grandma Lin opened the car door, and Dad Lin settled Lin Wuyang in the child seat, fastened his seatbelt, and patted his head. "Let's go home."

The car doors closed, and the vehicle slowly drove out of the parking lot.

On the weekend, the streets were bustling with traffic. Lin Wuyang tilted his head and stared intently at the cars rushing by.

"Sweetie, do you want some water? Let's have some water before looking at the car, okay?" Grandma Lin was worried that his neck would be uncomfortable if he kept it crooked for too long, so she tried to attract his attention. But Lin Wuyang just stared at the car window and refused to leave. Grandma Lin nudged him a few times, and he puffed out his cheeks and threw a tantrum, even hitting the water cup.

"Alright, then you can keep watching," Grandma Lin conceded.

The vehicle drove onto a side road where there were no other cars. Lin Wuyang patted the car window in dissatisfaction.

Mr. Lin lowered the car window a little, saying, "There are no cars here, let's get some fresh air."

Although it was late autumn, the wind was not chilly and felt quite comfortable.

Lin Wuyang felt the soft autumn breeze blowing against his face and finally calmed down.

But a short while later, Lin Wuyang started banging on the car window again, clearly dissatisfied.

"Don't lower the car window any further, it's very dangerous," said Mr. Lin.

Lin Wuyang ignored the reasoning and patted even harder.

"Oh dear, this stubborn brat," Grandma Lin said with heartache. "Give him a little more pressure, so he doesn't hurt his hand."

Mr. Lin said, "His arms are so short, it's already a result of stretching his arms out to the window. He doesn't have much strength to reach the window, so it won't hurt."

"Just drive it when I tell you to!" Grandma Lin said sternly.

Mr. Lin licked his lips and silently rolled the car window down a little further.

"There are no cars on the road, so what's wrong with driving a little more? You know he has short arms, and even with such short arms, he can't reach them out."

Mr. Lin: "..."

The car window was half open. Mr. Lin was worried about the wind, so he drove very slowly, but the wind was still blowing gently into the car.

"Why does it smell like food?" Grandma Lin sniffed. "Whose cooking smells so good?"

Lin Wuyang twisted his body and leaned towards the car window.

"My darling, you can smell the aroma too, can't you?" Grandma Lin was thrilled by Lin Wuyang's every reaction. "Are you hungry? We'll be home soon, let's go home and have dinner."

As the vehicle moved forward, the fragrance in the air grew stronger, and even Mr. Lin, who was sitting in the front seat, could smell it.

"You have to admit, it smells really good."

"When I was a child, everyone would be cooking dinner when I came home from school every day. It was this kind of aroma," Mr. Lin recalled. Because both his parents were teachers, Mr. Lin grew up living in the teachers' dormitory building. The dormitory building was full of teachers, and their get off work hours were fixed, so their cooking time was also fixed.

Grandma Lin couldn't help but lean closer to the car window to look out. There were old walls along the roadside, and weeds all around the walls, unlike a residential area.

As the car continued forward, a large gate came into view in the distance.

As Grandma Lin gets older, she may not be able to see things up close very clearly, but she can see things in the distance more and more clearly. There is a stainless steel plaque hanging on the right side of the gate.

"Starry Sky Children's Welfare Home?" Grandma Lin read out the words on the sign one by one, and couldn't help but sigh after she finished reading, "It must be the smell of food being cooked in the welfare home's kitchen, it smells so good."

As the vehicle drove on, the welfare home was gradually left behind.

As the orphanage receded into the distance, the fragrance gradually disappeared.

Before Lin's father could even express his regret, Lin Wuyang had already started frantically banging on the car window and even screaming.

"What's wrong?"

...

Five minutes later.

"Gah..."

The black Bentley came to a steady stop in front of the welfare home.

Mr. Lin turned halfway from the driver's seat to look at Lin Wuyang. "Well, so you've been eyeing other people's food all along!"

Several children playing on their balance bikes in the front yard heard the sound of brakes outside and immediately ran curiously to the front gate to see what was happening.

An Shisi: "Let me see what kind of car it is? It's a Bentley!"

Fang Wangxi also chimed in, "Wow, I have this car at home too."

An Shisi: "I have one too."

Wen Xingmou: "I want to see too."

When Mr. Lin opened the car door, he saw a child behind each gap in the iron gate.

"Hello," Mr. Lin greeted them warmly.

"Hello!" the children responded enthusiastically.

Mr. Lin got out of the car, opened the back door, and lifted Lin Wuyang out of the car seat. "Let's just smell around outside. Do you want to say hello to these children?"

“There’s someone outside who looks just like Lin Wuyang,” Wen Xingmou blinked.

Lou Lan spotted several children leaning against the iron gate. Worried that their clothes would get rusty and impossible to wash off, she threatened them, "Don't lean against the gate, be careful there might be bad people outside."

Bad guy Lin's father: "..."

Hearing Lou Lan's voice, Wen Xingmou turned around and shouted, "Aunt Lou, there seems to be a Lin Wuyang here!"

Lou's mother came from behind and said, "Lin Wuyang is not here. Lin Wuyang is only at the kindergarten."

Before she could finish speaking, Lou Lan actually saw Lin Wuyang. "Lin Wuyang?"

Lin Wuyang's father squatted behind Lin Wuyang, blocking most of his view. Lou Lan couldn't see him through the iron gate and thought Lin Wuyang was alone outside. She immediately knocked on the door, ready to ask Lin Wuyang why he was alone, when she saw Lin's father peeking out from behind Lin Wuyang.

Lou Lan: "..."

It's embarrassing to squat at someone's door and smell them cooking for no reason, and then be discovered and watched. Lin's father awkwardly said to Lou Lan, "Hello, I'm Lin Wuyang's father."

Grandma Lin felt ashamed to smell other people cooking at their doorstep, so she asked Lin Wuyang to take her downstairs. Unexpectedly, they saw an acquaintance.

Grandma Lin quickly got out of the car and greeted Lou Lan.

"Do you want to come to my house? There are lots of people at my house, it's going to be a lot of fun," Wen Xingmou said.

At Wen Xingmou's invitation, Lin Wuyang took Grandma Lin and Father Lin to the welfare home.

Upon entering the orphanage, the entire courtyard was filled with the aroma of food. Lin's father felt that not only Lin Wuyang, but he himself was also unable to resist the temptation.

Mr. Lin has to entertain clients almost every day, and it's impossible to please everyone. When he invites clients to dinner, he usually chooses dishes with a lighter flavor so that everyone can eat and maintain a refined dining atmosphere. He hasn't smelled such delicious food in a long time.

His son remained unmoved, but he couldn't stop drooling!

Unmoved by the Eight Winds was because Lin Wuyang hadn't yet reacted to the new environment. As soon as Lin Wuyang confirmed that the smell was coming from the direction of the kitchen, she strode straight towards the kitchen, and her father couldn't stop her.

"Let him go. Our kids are always running around in the kitchen," Lou Lan said with a smile.

"Do you want to see my older brother and sister Niannian cook something delicious? I'll take you." Wen Xingmou took Lin Wuyang's hand. "This is my home, I'm the little master, I can take you wherever you want to go."

Wen Xingmou led Lin Wuyang into the kitchen, skipping and hopping along the way.

Xu San Nian turned around and saw a clean and adorable little boy. The little boy's big, dark eyes were staring at her intently, and she was instantly charmed. "Oh my, where did this handsome little boy come from?"

“Sister Niannian, Lin Wuyang is my kindergarten classmate,” Wen Xingmou said in a childish voice. “He came to my house and wanted to play in the kitchen.”

"Wow, you like the kitchen too?" Xu Sannian leaned down to look at the two children. "Do you want some steamed corn cake?"

Today's diners are mostly children. Anfusheng has prepared many dishes and snacks suitable for children. When the restaurant opens, they will also offer children's meals. Otherwise, parents who are afraid of cooking will have to cook for their children even if they order takeout, which would be meaningless. Children's opinions are also very important.

"I want it!" No matter what it is, Wen Xingmou will never refuse anything that is food.

Xu Sannian took out two steamed corn cakes from the steamer.

"Here you go." Xu Sannian gave one to Wen Xingmou first.

"Thank you, Sister Niannian," Wen Xingmou said sweetly, biting off a cat paw and savoring the sweet taste. "It's delicious!"

When making steamed cakes, An Fusheng grabbed a cup of Wen Xinglan milk powder and added it to the corn flour, making it very milky.

Xu Sannian held up another steamed cake and looked at Lin Wuyang, "Call me 'sister'."

“Sister, Lin Wuyang doesn’t like to talk,” Wen Xingmou said.

"Alright then." Xu Sannian handed him the steamed cake.

Lin Wuyang paused for a moment, but instead of reaching out to take it, he turned and left without a word.

"Huh?" Xu Sannian was stunned and looked at Wen Xingmou. "Is he angry?"

"I don't know either." Wen Xingmou ate the steamed cake without any distraction.

Xu Sannian chased after the child who had run away in anger, only to see Lin Wuyang pulling his grandmother out of the kitchen. Lin Wuyang's father, also puzzled, followed after them.

Xu Sannian: "..."

"Sigh, then I'll eat it myself." Xu Sannian said dejectedly as she ate the whole steamed cake in one bite. It was sweet and soft. "Delicious!"

However, before she could even swallow the pastry in her mouth, Lin Wuyang returned.

Then Xu Sannian watched as Lin Wuyang walked up to her, raised her little head to look at her, and handed her a blue rag doll.

"For me?" Xu San Nian was flattered. Hadn't she just made him angry?

He actually gave her a gift upon meeting her? Good heavens, such a polite child, she would indulge him no matter what his behavior was, reasonable or unreasonable!

Xu Sannian happily accepted the doll, "Thank you, it's so beautiful."

Lin Wuyang stared intently at Xu Sannian.

Xu Sannian was confused. "What's wrong?"

“You didn’t make an exchange,” Wen Xingmou reminded her with her experience.

Xu Sannian: "What are we exchanging?"

Wen Xingmou tilted her head back and said, "We'll trade pretty dolls for delicious food."

"Oh!" Xu Sannian's eyes widened. "So you weren't giving me a gift, and you weren't trading the doll for something with me?"

Well, a child who doesn't take other people's things for free is also very polite.

Xu Sannian ran to the kitchen and got another steamed bun for Lin Wuyang, saying, "Here you go!"

Lin Wuyang accepted the steamed cake without surprise or delight, slowly took a bite, and her eyes curved into crescent moons.

"How can you be so cute!" Xu Sannian cupped Lin Wuyang's soft face and rubbed it. "Tell your sister what kind of burlap sack you like, and your sister will secretly go to your house tonight to bring it back for you."

Mr. Lin: "..."

Grandma Lin: "..."

As soon as Mr. Xu went downstairs, he heard his daughter say that she wanted to steal a child. She also gave him a suggestion: "It would be best to put some delicious food in a sack and randomly lure a child into it."

Xu Sannian thought it was very feasible and couldn't help but stare at Lin Wuyang and imagine, "Hehe!"

“But shouldn’t you be in the kitchen cooking right now?” Mr. Xu interrupted her imagination.

"Oh dear, all the dishes are ready." Xu Sannian went into the kitchen, where An Fusheng was packing the last dish.

"I knew it!" Xu Sannian shouted upstairs, "Dinner's ready!"

Bang, bang, bang! One after another, adults and children appeared from the stairwell.

A group of people quickly cleared the table and went to the kitchen to serve the dishes.

There were a lot of people today, and the dining tables weren't big enough, so we found a low table for the children and set up a separate table for them.

"I want to sit at the kids' table!" Xu Sannian quickly grabbed a seat.

Today's dishes are plentiful, including pickled fish, stir-fried pork with green peppers, braised pork, braised pork ribs, stir-fried chicken with soybeans, stir-fried pork liver with pickled chili peppers, salted duck egg with prawns, stir-fried shredded potatoes, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, seaweed and egg drop soup, green bean, corn and shrimp, green vegetables, dumplings with various fillings, and the steamed corn cake that Lin Wuyang and Wen Xingmou just ate.

The children were excited about having their own table for the first time, and they were all very happy.

Lou Lan found a bunch of bibs and put them on the children one by one, saying, "Come on, put them on. If food falls into your bibs, you can pick it up and continue eating."

Every dish on the table exuded an enticing aroma. While the adults were waiting for everyone to arrive, the children immediately started cooking as soon as they sat down at the table.

Wen Xingrui put on the last apron, but Lou Lan held him down so he couldn't touch the food, and his eyes were fixed on the dishes on the table.

"Okay, okay, you're drooling."

Lou Lan put a large piece of braised pork bone into Wen Xingrui's bowl. Wen Xingrui threw down the spoon in his hand, his eyes lit up, and he grabbed the bone and started gnawing on it.

With the children settled, the adults could finally get to work.

"Mmm, this braised pork is so delicious!"

"The chrysanthemum in the sauerkraut fish is so fresh! The sauerkraut is so crisp! The sourness is just right, so refreshing!"

Wow, this pork liver is stir-fried so tenderly! How did you do that?

"Every dish is delicious, and the dishes taste even better when there are no children at the table."

...

On the other side:

"Sister Niannian, please give me a big shrimp. I like shrimp with yellow pollen."

"Okay."

"Brother, kitty."

"Little sister, is this the yellow cat paw? Here, take it."

"This big bone is so delicious, I can have another one."

...

It was supposed to be a tasting event, but the diners acted like they hadn't eaten in three days, only focusing on eating. Occasionally they would exclaim how delicious it was, but then they would continue to eat heartily, as if they were afraid that if they ate too slowly, there wouldn't be any left.

It wasn't until everyone was so full they couldn't eat anymore that someone finally remembered their duty to critique the food.

Mr. Lin: "It's delicious. You have to eat this once and come back for it again and again."

Others: "Yes, yes, yes!"

Mr. Lin: "I want to be the first to place an order when the store opens."

Others: "Me too! Me too!"

Grandma Lin: "The food smells so good when I cook it, and it tastes even better. Every dish has a different flavor and is especially delicious. No wonder my Wuyang didn't want to go home when he didn't get any food from Wen Xingmou at kindergarten. Today, he insisted on coming over even though we were passing by in the car. I'm so lucky to have such a grandson at my age."

Others: "Our family is too, our family is too."

...

After the diners finished their meager yet highly positive reviews, the instincts of businessmen began to surface.

Mrs. Xu: "Since your restaurant is doing online sales, there's a delivery time involved. Won't that affect the taste?"

An Fusheng: "We have considered this aspect. The solutions we have come up with so far are to reasonably arrange the meal preparation time and send the food out as soon as it is prepared. Another solution is to improve the packaging, pack different dishes separately to avoid cross-contamination of flavors, and then put them in insulated bags to extend the food temperature as much as possible. However, we can only minimize the impact; it is basically impossible to completely eliminate the impact."

"Hmm," Mrs. Xu agreed. "So, who are your target customers, and what are the pricing strategies for your dishes?"

"We have set meals and à la carte options. Set meals are 25 to 30 yuan each, while à la carte options include rice (3 yuan per serving) and dishes (ranging from 10 to over 100 yuan, depending on the ingredients). For example, stir-fried shredded potatoes are priced at 12 yuan per serving, and pickled fish is priced according to the weight of the fish, around 30 yuan per jin (500g)."

Mrs. Xu said, "I think you can set the price a little higher."

"Why?" An Fusheng asked sincerely. They only served home-style dishes, and he had compared prices with many similar restaurants. Their prices were neither too high nor too low, which was quite reasonable. "If other restaurants offer the same dishes at a lower price, wouldn't customers all choose those other restaurants? How would we be able to sell our food?"

“Your core competitiveness is that your food tastes better than others, and good food will always find buyers,” said Mrs. Xu.

"Moreover, your current situation is not suitable for the low-profit, high-volume approach. Have you ever thought about it? Right now, it's just you and Xu Sannian. You count as one person, and Xu Sannian counts as another. You one and a half people have to cook, pack, take orders, handle unexpected situations with customers, and even do things like grocery shopping, sanitation, and accounting. How much energy do you have? If customers really come in droves, how many orders can you handle?" Xu's mother asked rhetorically.

Xu San Nian wanted to argue why her mother only calculated half of her life, but since it was rare for her mother to guide her master, she decided to forgive her.

Seeing An Fusheng thinking seriously, Mrs. Xu continued, "Your cooking is quite good, no worse than many famous chefs. You have great potential. At first, the price might be high, so you might have fewer customers. But if the taste is good, you don't have to worry about not having repeat customers. You two are both beginners now, so the time it takes to build up your customer base is perfect for you to learn and adapt."

"Okay, I understand. We'll discuss the plan again tonight." An Fusheng looked at Xu's mother with admiration. She was so amazing!

“Raising the unit price can also filter out a group of consumers who are looking for cheap deals and causing trouble. Don’t think that this situation is rare. When you actually start a business, you will find that it is everywhere. Avoiding trouble can save a lot of time costs, and time costs are also money costs,” said Mrs. Xu.

"Yes, yes, yes!" the others echoed in agreement.

Mr. Lin said, "Raising the unit price has another advantage: sufficient profit margin. With sufficient profit margin, we can invest more in packaging. Good packaging plays a more significant role in maintaining the taste of the dishes. At the same time, it can make diners feel that the food is made with the 'care' and importance of the restaurant the moment they receive it. The preconceived notion of ideology will encourage people to taste the food more carefully and enjoyably. Sometimes selling things is also about selling a sentiment."

...

The seniors offered their insights one after another, and An Fusheng continuously enlightened us.

Even after everyone had left, An Fusheng still felt dizzy.

...

When Lin Wuyang returned, he walked up to Xu Sannian and looked up at her with his big, dark eyes.

"What's wrong? You can't bear to part with me?" Xu Sannian was very excited, already planning how to raise the child. "Then don't leave, I'll take care of you."

“Sister Niannian, you need to return the little rabbit to Lin Wuyang,” Wen Xingmou said.

"Why?" Xu Sannian asked, his face full of questions. "He gave it to me?"

Wen Xingmou: "Because Lin Wuyang needs to get something better to eat next time."

Xu Sannian: "..."

Lin Wuyang took the doll and left without looking back.

Xu Sannian: Good, good, good. Kindergarten kids are actually bullying college students.

-----------------------

Author's Note: Hehe, I've gotten to the second day of writing already!