Chapter 166 Cold Noodles with Chicken and Mustard Greens [Second Update]...

The children quickly discovered the delightful surprise brought by the soup dumplings.

After finishing the kiln-roasted chicken, everyone headed straight for the soup dumplings.

Even a three- or four-year-old toddler had one in her bowl. Dean Bai carefully blew on it to cool it down before giving her a small piece of the bun.

The child was so happy eating that he jumped around once and came back, then grabbed Dean Bai's hand and stretched out his mouth to eat more.

The two baskets of soup dumplings were quickly devoured.

Zhang Yue held her stomach; she had eaten a lot today. Not only did she eat a lot of kiln-roasted chicken, but she also ate three different kinds of buns: a round yellow bun, which Xiao Hulu insisted was the moon and that she should eat it; a green dinosaur bun; and a little rabbit bun.

Eating vegetables with steamed buns, the fried shrimp balls are crispy and fragrant, the sweet and sour pork is delicious, the shrimp balls are powdery, and the shrimp meat is crisp, bouncy, and tender...

There were more than a dozen children, but in the end, Director Bai was afraid that they would get sick from overeating, so he forcibly put the food away and said they would eat it at night before stopping.

Most of the children ate until they were stuffed, and even Zhang Yue was too full to move.

"Dean, where did you find this restaurant? It's so delicious!"

Dean Bai chuckled and said, "It's the one you told me about before, called Wen's. I happen to have some connections, so I invited them over."

Zhang Yue: ……

Dean Bai stretched out his hand and waved it in front of Zhang Yue.

Zhang Yue covered her face and whimpered, "I ate too fast just now."

Ahhhh, if she had known it was Wen Ji, she would have eaten it more carefully! Waaaaah, who knew that just because she said one thing, the dean would actually invite Wen Ji?

As a recent graduate and working professional, Zhang Yue had only ever eaten street food with her colleagues. She had never tried any of Wenji's other renowned dishes.

Firstly, she was too busy and lived too far away; secondly, she always worked overtime, and by the time she got off work, Wenji's food was already sold out!

I never expected that I would be able to eat Wen Ji's private kitchen dishes today!

When pressed further about the relationship between Dean Bai and Wen Ji, Dean Bai refused to answer. Zhang Yue glanced outside and then at the table, finally making a difficult decision.

"I want to eat again tonight."

She wants to stay here and have another dinner!

Dean Bai walked out of the activity room and went to the kitchen to settle Wen's father's wages.

Mr. Wen insisted on declining, saying, "Our business only started to pick up last year, we should have come to see it sooner."

Dean Bai: "What are you saying? If you don't take the money, it would make it seem like I asked you for help on purpose. Take it, the hospital isn't that poor right now."

To say that we weren't well-off back then would be an understatement. In the early years, there were many migrant workers in the city, and many children were born but not raised, simply left at the doorstep. Those were truly difficult times; even Dean Bai's own clothes often had patches on them.

But now social welfare is becoming more and more comprehensive. In addition to government funding, kind people often send supplies, so the facility is becoming more and more well-off.

Take Zhang Yue as an example. As long as she is still studying, she can live in the welfare home indefinitely. If she has nowhere to go immediately after graduation, her stay can be extended. After finding a job, she can also apply for public rental housing and talent apartments. Even if she hasn't finished her studies, there are corresponding skills courses available.

Dean Bai insisted on giving the money to Wen's father. After the two declined, Wen's father finally had no choice but to accept half as payment for the vegetables.

Dean Bai stopped when he realized he couldn't stuff it any further.

Wen Fan and Du Min were having dinner after finishing their work when Dean Bai felt a little guilty.

"You guys are too honest. Why didn't you save some vegetables for yourselves and just ate noodles..."

Dean Bai's voice gradually lowered as he saw the noodles in Wen Fan's bowl more clearly.

The weather is already hot, and there's no air conditioning in the kitchen. After Wen Fan finished cooking, she felt a burning sensation in her chest, and she couldn't eat any of the fried or stir-fried dishes.

I might as well make some cold noodles.

The chewy noodles were stretched at the shop before being brought over, originally intended to be eaten after the main dishes, since it was some of the children's birthdays, and shouldn't birthdays include some longevity noodles? Unfortunately, everyone ended up being stuffed, and only two small bowls of the so-called longevity noodles were made, placed in a large enamel basin with a little clear broth as the base, and served. Each person ate two bites and that was it.

After cooking the remaining noodles, Wen Fan added some chicken breast, cucumber shreds, carrot shreds, some freshly harvested perilla, and some fried peanuts.

Locals love to eat perilla, and Wen Fan doesn't mind the strong flavor of this ingredient. At noon, she not only made perilla and shredded chicken cold noodles, but also brewed a big pot of perilla tea, which is very refreshing and cooling.

Then there's the perilla and shredded chicken noodles. The perilla is fragrant, the chicken is shredded into thin strands, and a little bit of chili oil sauce is mixed in. The cold noodles are cooked and then soaked in cold water, making them chewy and smooth. It comes in a large conical bowl with pale yellow cold noodles, green cucumber, yellow carrot shreds, a little bit of bright green perilla, and a pool of chili oil soaking the noodles and toppings.

When Dean Bai walked over, Wen Fan and Du Min were mixing noodles.

As the sauce and noodles were stirred with chopsticks, they made a slurping sound as they were stirred. Du Min's bowl had some peanut butter and sesame paste in it, which made the noodles even thicker.

The sticky sound made it impossible for Dean Bai to say "make do" at all.

After stirring it well, Du Min took a big gulp.

The cool noodles melt in your mouth, the crisp vegetable shreds and chewy chicken shreds become exceptionally tamed by the chili oil, and the spicy and fragrant sauce doubles the value of this bowl of noodles. At this moment, adding a touch of perilla leaves makes the refreshing perilla leaves a perfect match for the cold noodles.

With a bit of sauce on her lips, Du Min felt her mind, which had been muddled by oil and salt for half a day in the kitchen, instantly clear up.

Take a bite of cold noodles, then a sip of herbal tea.

The summer heat brought by the bright sun has also disappeared.

Wen Fan took a couple of bites, then greeted Dean Bai and asked if she wanted some.

Dean Bai felt like she was going crazy. She had already eaten until her stomach was full, but now her taste buds were out of control, and she still wanted to eat.

"...No."

After struggling to finish saying he wouldn't eat, Dean Bai gave Wen's father a wink, indicating that he had something to say.

After thinking for a moment, Wen's father followed him out.

Du Min was eating cold noodles with gusto when she looked up and saw that she and Wen Fan were the only ones in the room.

"Master, where did the boss go?"

Wen Fan turned around: "I don't know... do you still want noodles?"

Du Min's attention was diverted, and she quickly handed over the bowl: "Eat, eat, eat."

She is now learning cooking from Wen Fan. Although Wen Fan has left her to teach knife skills to her father, Du Min has no complaints. In a short time, she has mastered knife skills. Today, she cut the cucumber and carrot shreds for this bowl of noodles. She felt that it was the best she had cut recently.

Sure enough, after finishing the noodles, Wen Fan had her start learning how to carve radish flowers.

"Radish flowers?"

What do radish flowers look like?

Wen Fan casually picked up a white radish from the pile of vegetables, held a knife in one hand and twirled the radish in the other. With a slight movement of his wrist, he quickly sliced ​​out a string of almost transparent radish slices. He sliced ​​a radish into slices that were not broken in the middle and were evenly sliced ​​as if they were machine-made!

Wen Fan rolled up the sliced ​​radish, and the finished shape was a radish flower.

Du Min: ...

Just moments ago, Du Min was feeling quite pleased with her knife skills, but now only two words were on her mind.

So difficult!

As a result, Wen Fan gave her a sharp look, and Du Min immediately stood up straight.

"I studied!"

Wen Fan put away the knife: "Take your time learning. It would be good if you could get this good in a year."

Then she can teach other things.

After arranging his apprentice's follow-up tasks, Wen's father returned, but his expression was not good, as if he had something on his mind.

Wen Fan asked a couple of questions but didn't get any answers, so he simply stopped asking. He figured he'd have to tell his mother when he got home anyway.

After packing his things and loading them into the car, Wen Fan took a stroll around the orphanage before leaving.

Wen's father said that he had sent her to live here for a year before, but Wen Fan only had a vague impression of it when she walked around. However, there was an old slide in the yard, which left a few marks when she touched it.

As Wen Fan got into the car, he suddenly spoke with emotion before leaving, saying to his father, "Dad, how about we send you something during holidays and festivals from now on?"

Father Wen nodded: "Of course."

...

Back at the shop, it was not yet five o'clock in the afternoon. Wen's father found a lame excuse to send his daughter away, and then told his wife with a worried look what Dean Bai had said to him.

"They say last month, someone came to the orphanage to inquire about our Xiao Fan. The man was about our age, and he came up to us saying he was looking for his niece. You know, orphanages don't just give out information directly; they always verify it. When that man heard he had to verify it, he didn't seem to be in a hurry. He just said he wasn't looking anymore and left."

"Dean Bai was worried. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt, so he talked to us about it, just to keep an eye on things. If this person doesn't contact us anymore, that's fine. But if they do, Xiao Fan will be a senior in high school soon. He told us to be careful and not let anyone go directly to the school, as it could affect the child's mindset."

Dean Bai meant well, but Wen's father instantly became anxious. He never expected that after so much time, his daughter's background would still be stirred up again.

What if, what if...

Mr. Wen was in a state of panic, but Mrs. Wen calmed down after her initial anxiety.

“There’s no use thinking about it now. Dean Bai is right. Why did that family come looking for us now that the child is older? There’s something wrong with them no matter how you look at it. Since there’s something wrong, let’s keep an eye on the people around the child. We’d rather they contact us first than contact Xiao Fan directly.”

Wen's mother said, "Even if they want Xiao Fan back, they have to get past us first. They have to explain to me why they abandoned the child and didn't look for her back then!"

Such a young child, in poor health, just left on the street like that, they wouldn't even send her to an orphanage! If there weren't some difficult circumstances, Wen's mother would be heartbroken just thinking about it.

Wen's father was also aroused by what she said: "You're right! Anyway, there's always more money to be made. At worst, we can just hire more people in the store. You can keep an eye on Xiao Fan for the next year or so."

The couple had already discussed their feelings, but Wen Fan was completely unaware of it.

She had a pleasant holiday, but when school started, she found that Fang Weiyue was actually attending classes!

However, after just over a month, Fang Weiyue was quite different. Her long hair was cut short, and her skin was a bit darker, but she looked much more energetic and not as weak and frail as before.

Wen Fan glanced at her but didn't take it to heart. Instead, he quickly opened his book.

The National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) is over.

She, Wen Xiaofan, is now a soon-to-be senior in high school!