Chapter 168 We have to be the first one to arrive at kindergarten every day, right? 6:...
The next afternoon, An Fusheng received five large boxes of food samples sent by Jiang Manzhi's village. They contained fruits, vegetables, dried goods, and even some wild vegetables.
An Fusheng opened the styrofoam box used for transporting food. Fresh fruits and vegetables were neatly categorized and placed inside. They all looked very fresh and of good quality, and the variety far exceeded the list An Fusheng had provided.
Presumably in order to include more types of ingredients, the quantity of each ingredient is not large, roughly enough for one dish.
An Fusheng took out the ingredients one by one, saying, "There's not much, let's make this dish for ourselves and see if it tastes good."
Aunt Zhang said, "This vegetable is absolutely delicious. Look at this bunch of bok choy. The stems are thick, the leaves are tender, and the color is light green. You can tell it grew in fields nourished by farmyard manure. Don't be fooled by the bright green leaves of the vegetables sold in the market now. They are grown with chemical fertilizers. They look good, but they don't taste like anything. They can't compare to those grown with farmyard manure."
After Aunt Zhang said that, everyone was really looking forward to it.
An Fusheng expressed his strong agreement. Having eaten farm-grown vegetables for over a decade, he felt that the food here was lacking something when he first came here, and even if he cooked with more care, he couldn't make up for that deficiency.
It's really hard for city dwellers to eat vegetables grown with farmyard manure. Even An Fusheng, who grows his own vegetables in the backyard of the welfare home, can only use chemical fertilizers. There's simply no farmyard manure in the city.
In the evening, An Fusheng used the ingredients he had received that afternoon to cook more than a dozen dishes. After seeing off all the guests, everyone gathered around a large round table in the restaurant to eat, and they exclaimed in amazement at the food.
Wow! It's so delicious! This bok choy was only stir-fried with a little oil and seasoned only with salt, yet it's so tasty!
"Forget about bok choy, even bitter melon tastes better now! How come it's so soft and tender? Although it's a bit bitter, it's not the harsh, bitter kind. It's so delicious stir-fried with river shrimp!"
"These aren't ordinary river shrimp; they're shrimp from a stream. The water is clean, so the shrimp raised there naturally taste delicious."
"Stir-fried bitter melon with dried shrimp is absolutely amazing. I will never say that bitter melon is the worst-tasting vegetable in the world again."
"The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic has the concepts of 'five flavors corresponding to the five internal organs' and 'nourishing and storing in accordance with the four seasons,' which includes eating sweet in spring, bitter in summer, sour in autumn, and salty in winter. Now is the right time to eat bitter foods, and eating more bitter melon is good for your health."
"Doesn't anyone else think that stir-fried celery with beef smells delicious? My goodness, this celery smells even better than cilantro!"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
...
Everyone already thought An Fusheng's cooking was delicious, but this meal was even more delicious than usual.
Jiang Manzhi came to discuss business before she started work, and no one except Wen Yue knew about it. Everyone found out when they opened the express delivery in the afternoon. After dinner, everyone strongly urged An Fusheng to go grocery shopping with Jiang Manzhi.
After dinner, we tidied up and then everyone went home.
When An Fusheng returned to the orphanage from the restaurant, Lou Mama was watching TV with the children in the living room on the second floor. When she saw An Fusheng return, she said, "You're off work?"
An Fusheng: "Mm."
"Didn't you buy enough vegetables today?" Lou Lan asked. The vegetables in the afternoon tasted fresher and better than those at noon, so they were obviously not from the same batch. In addition, An Fusheng got off work earlier than usual today, so Lou Lan guessed that he had closed early because he hadn't bought enough vegetables.
An Fusheng, unaware of Lou Lan's thoughts, asked in confusion, "No, why do you ask that?"
Lou Lan: "Weren't the vegetables this afternoon freshly bought? They taste different. Where did you buy them? They taste better than the ones I bought before."
An Fusheng suddenly realized: "Oh, it was a sample sent by a supplier. We made it for ourselves because it wasn't a large quantity."
Lou Lan: "Really? That's great."
An Fusheng remembered that he hadn't paid for the samples yet, so he opened his phone and sent a message to Jiang Manzhi asking how much it cost. Jiang Manzhi then made a video call.
An Fusheng answered the phone: "Director Jiang."
"Boss An, you're off work? I saw you sign for the package this afternoon and wanted to ask if you were satisfied with our dishes, but I was afraid you were busy so I didn't bother you." Jiang Manzhi seemed to be outdoors, with a dark background and the sound of whistling wind, so her voice was a bit loud. "Our samples are free."
The little ones playing in the living room heard the phone call and quickly gathered around, each one perching on An Fusheng's lap and peeking out with great curiosity to listen.
An Fusheng didn't stop them and continued chatting with Jiang Manzhi: "How can that be? You all worked so hard to grow these vegetables, and you sent so many. How can I just take them for free?"
After warmly greeting the few little kids who had suddenly appeared, Jiang Manzhi said cheerfully, "It's not just you; all the samples we send to our customers are satisfactory. That's our rule. So, have you seen those dishes? Are you satisfied with them?"
An Fusheng: "Everything is great. We also made some food, and it was all delicious."
"Haha, of course! I already told you our vegetables are great. The land where we grow them not only has excellent soil and climate, but we also use organic fertilizer, so the vegetables we grow are absolutely delicious."
Jiang Manzhi switched the camera on her phone, revealing a vegetable garden. She showed the garden to An Fusheng, proudly proclaiming, "This is our vegetable garden, isn't it great?"
It was pitch black, and An Fusheng couldn't see the vegetables in the garden, but he saw people picking vegetables with flashlights. "Are you still picking vegetables so late?"
Jiang Manzhi: "Yes, vegetables picked at night don't keep as long as they're wet with dew, and they need to be shipped out first thing tomorrow morning, so there's no time to pick them in the morning."
An Fusheng: "Are you busy? I'd like to talk to you about the supply contract."
Jiang Manzhi quickly replied, "No rush, no rush, we'll talk right away."
So the two of them, one in the living room and the other with his head down, finalized the purchase contract.
...
After signing the supply contract, fresh ingredients were delivered on time every day. The problem of ingredient procurement was solved, and the dishes made with good ingredients tasted better, so the restaurant's business got better and better.
...
Summer vacation has passed in the blink of an eye, and the children have ushered in a new school year.
Recently, An Fusheng has been sleeping in for a few days without having to buy groceries, and he's gotten used to it. But today, he was woken up just as dawn broke.
An Fusheng sat up from the covers, looking bewildered. He glanced weakly at An Shisi, Wen Xingmou, and Wen Xinglan, who were kneeling on his bed, gesturing wildly and chattering excitedly, and asked, "What are you doing?"
Wen Xingmou said in a high-pitched voice, "Big brother, have you forgotten? I'm working the middle shift today!"
An Shisi's tone was even higher: "I'm in kindergarten!"
"I know, you already said that last night." An Fusheng said and then lay down again, pressing down Wen Xinglan, who was confused but whose eyes were shining with excitement, and said, "Sleep a little longer."
Like a robot whose program had been triggered, Wen Xinglan was pushed down into the quilt and immediately found a comfortable position under An Fusheng's armpit and closed her eyes.
An Shisi retorted, "Big brother, you said you'd take us to kindergarten in a tricycle when it got light."
An Fusheng: "It's not time yet, stop arguing."
An Shisi and Wen Xingmou remained silent.
But then, suddenly:
"Oh no, brother! 9:18! It's 9:18! We're late!" An Shisi exclaimed.
An Fusheng was startled. Before he could even regain his senses, he had already sprung up reflexively.
I just fell asleep, how come it's already past nine o'clock? Why didn't Aunt Lou come to wake me up?
As soon as An Fusheng jumped up, Wen Xinglan also scrambled to her feet, her eyes sparkling, clearly indicating that she hadn't been asleep.
An Shisi clutched An Fusheng's phone, his face filled with panic.
An Fusheng forced himself to turn on the phone, then took it from An Shisi's hand: "..."
The phone showed a big 6:18, just nine minutes after he lay down!
Upon hearing that she was late, Wen Xingmou felt as if the sky had fallen, and burst into tears, crying, "Ahhh!!! Don't be late! Don't be late!"
An Fusheng: "..."
“I’m not late.” An Fusheng turned his phone around to show Wen Xingmou: “6:18, not 9:18.”
An Shisi stared at his phone, stunned. "Huh? Why is it different?"
An Fusheng: "You just held your phone upside down and mistook a 6 for a 9."
An Shisi scratched his cheek, seemingly understanding but not quite, and said, "Oh."
An Fusheng: "Ignorance is truly terrifying!"
...
Because they got up early and spent the whole morning getting dressed, washing up, and having breakfast, An Fusheng, An Shisi, and Wen Xingmou were the first to arrive at the kindergarten. The teachers, having rested for the summer vacation, were in high spirits and greeted them with great enthusiasm. An Shisi and Wen Xingmou were as proud as roosters who had won a battle.
An Fusheng handed them to the teacher and was about to leave when he heard An Shisi say, "Little sister, we're so amazing! We're the first ones to arrive at kindergarten every day!"
Wen Xingmou: "Yes, we can only wake up our eldest brother at 6:18!"
An Shisi: "Yes!"
An Fusheng: "..."
...
After dropping off his child, An Fusheng leisurely drove his tricycle home, thinking to himself: "Finally, school has started, and the house is finally quiet."
Today, Wen Xingrui is going to the clinic for treatment. An Fusheng said, "Aunt Lou, you take Xingrui to the clinic for treatment later, and I'll take Xiao Ba with me."
Lou Lan was packing her things to take with her when she left home. "It must be inconvenient for you to go to work, right? I'll take him with me."
An Fusheng: "It's better for me to take him to a restaurant than for you to drag two people around by yourself. There are too many people at the hospital, and you can't manage them all by yourself."
Lou Lan thought about it and agreed that it made sense. After several months of treatment, Xingrui's hands and feet had become much more agile, and he could walk a few steps at home. However, he still needed to be carried outside. It was quite strenuous to carry a child weighing 34 pounds. It was indeed difficult to take care of another child in crowded places.
After Lou Lan and Wen Xingrui left, An Fusheng took Wen Xinglan to work.
Wen Xinglan rode his scooter, which towed a trailer behind it. Inside the trailer were two cats, an orange tabby and a calico. The orange tabby looked excited, while the calico had a cool and aloof expression.
"Wow, Xiao Ba! What brings you here?" Zhao Lin was very excited to see Wen Xinglan.
An Fusheng: "Aunt Lou took Xingrui to the doctor. No one in the family took him, so he came here to play. I'm going to the kitchen in a bit. Can you watch him for me? He won't run around."
Zhaolin: "No problem."
"Wow, it's only been a month, and Little Orange and Little Flower have grown so much! They've become big kittens." Zhaolin squatted down and petted the two cats a few times, then stood up and said, "Come on, let your brother show you around."
Zhaolin took one person and two cats to the pet boarding house.
The newly hired Aunt Li is not talkative, but she is diligent and meticulous in her work. Since she arrived, the pet boarding house has been cleaned and disinfected every day. The pet boarding house was disinfected last night and no other pets have visited this morning. It is perfectly fine for children to play inside.
Wen Xinglan, carrying a small backpack and two cats, immediately brightened up as soon as she entered the pet boarding house. The two cats also widened their eyes in shock.
Zhaolin opened the low door of the pet playground: "Come in and have some fun."
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