Chapter 171: Was food coloring added?
The news spread far and wide, and several parents who had planned to enroll their children this week called to inquire, their voices filled with doubt; three parents whose children had already enrolled went directly to the kindergarten and surrounded Principal Pan, demanding an explanation.
The kindergarten was in complete chaos.
Su Yingxue quickly took out the food testing reports she usually kept and showed them to the parents page by page, patiently explaining: "Dear parents, our animal meals have never contained any additives. The colors are all the natural colors of the ingredients. Carrots are red, spinach is green, and pumpkin is yellow. These are all natural pigments that are not harmful to children's health at all. This is clearly stated in the testing report. You can take a closer look."
Even with test reports, some parents were still skeptical, frowning and saying, "That's true, but we didn't see it done with our own eyes, so we're still not at ease."
Principal Pan was extremely anxious. Looking at the increasingly deserted scene at the kindergarten entrance, her eyes reddened. She held Su Yingxue's hand and sighed, "It must be Principal Li's doing. She just can't stand to see our kindergarten doing well. What should we do? If this keeps spreading, we'll lose all our students."
Su Yingxue was silent for a moment, her fingertips clenched slightly, and her eyes gradually became firm: "If you're upright, you have nothing to fear. The more she makes things difficult for us, the more we need to do things well and not let her laugh at us. Tonight I'll think of a few new animal meal dishes to make for the children first thing tomorrow morning. At the same time, I'll send a notice in the parents' group, inviting all parents to come to the kindergarten for a taste test, so they can see our ingredients and watch us make them. That way, they can feel at ease."
Looking at Su Yingxue's determined eyes, Principal Pan felt a little more at ease and nodded: "Okay, we'll do it your way. I'll send a notification to the parents' group right now."
Neither of them expected that Director Li's methods were far more ruthless than they had imagined.
That night, under a dim moonlight, several shadowy figures quietly slipped into Tongxin Kindergarten. Donning masks, they avoided the security cameras at the entrance and climbed through the kitchen window. One of them pulled out a bottle of blackened, spoiled sauce from his pocket, unscrewed the cap, and sprayed it haphazardly onto the fresh greens and carrots in the basket. The sauce left dark stains on the vegetables and emitted a faint sour smell. Another person picked up a condiment jar from the counter and smashed it on the ground with a loud crash. Soy sauce, vinegar, and salt spilled all over the floor, and shards of glass were scattered everywhere. The once clean and tidy kitchen was instantly transformed into a mess.
After doing all this, the two quietly slipped out, leaving behind a mess in the kitchen.
They wait until the next morning to create the illusion that the ingredients have spoiled and the kitchen is unsanitary.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Su Yingxue arrived at the kindergarten as usual. The moment she pushed open the kitchen door, her expression changed instantly. Broken glass shards were scattered on the floor, soy sauce and vinegar were mixed together, leaving dark stains on the floor, the fresh vegetables in the basket were stained with blackened sauce, and a sour, rotten smell wafted in through the cracks in the door, extremely pungent. The condiment jars were smashed to pieces, and the seasonings inside were spilled all over the floor, mixed with the kitchen waste, looking particularly disgusting.
Her heart tightened, and she instantly realized—someone had deliberately come to the kitchen to cause trouble, and their intentions were clearly hostile.
"What...what happened?" Just then, Director Pan arrived. As soon as she entered the kitchen, she was shocked by the scene before her and exclaimed in surprise. Her face turned pale instantly, and she staggered back two steps. "How could this have happened? Everything was fine when I left last night!"
Su Yingxue took a deep breath, suppressing the surging anger in her heart. She clenched her fist and said in a calm tone, "Principal Pan, please don't panic. Someone must have come to cause trouble on purpose and try to ruin our kindergarten's reputation. Let me clean up first and see if there's any way to salvage the situation. If not, I'll contact the food supplier immediately and have them send over fresh ingredients."
As she spoke, she picked up a broom to clean up the broken pieces on the floor, but after sweeping for only a couple of times, she heard parents' voices coming from the doorway. Several parents who had gotten up early to drop off their children had already arrived. One of the mothers, wearing a pink coat, smelled the sour, rotten smell coming from the kitchen, frowned, and walked over, asking in confusion, "Teacher Su, what's that smell? Why does it smell so bad? Has the food gone bad?"
Su Yingxue and Principal Pan exchanged a glance, their hearts sinking. Just as they were about to explain, Principal Li appeared leisurely in the kitchen doorway, arms crossed, a smug smile on her face and her eyes full of mockery. She said sarcastically, "Oh, Teacher Su, Principal Pan, is this the fresh food your Tongxin Kindergarten prepared for the children? It doesn't look very clean. The vegetables are covered in dirt and have a strange smell. What if the children get stomach aches or food poisoning from eating this? Can you take responsibility for that?"
Upon hearing this, the parents immediately gathered around, peering into the kitchen. They immediately noticed the broken glass on the floor, the spilled condiments, and the vegetables smeared with dark sauce. Their expressions changed instantly, and they began to discuss the matter amongst themselves.
"My God, this is so unhygienic!" A father frowned, pulling his child back two steps, afraid that the child would get dirty.
“No wonder some people said there was something wrong with the ingredients here a couple of days ago. It turns out it was all true. I thought it was just a rumor.” Another mother’s face was pale, and her voice was full of lingering fear.
"No, I have to take my child away. We can't let him eat here. He'll suffer if he gets an upset stomach!" Some parents had already taken out their phones to call their families to discuss transferring their children to another kindergarten.
Director Pan was so anxious that her face turned red and her lips trembled. She wanted to explain that "someone was deliberately causing trouble," but looking at the mess in front of her, she couldn't say the words and was so anxious that tears were about to fall.
Looking at Principal Li's smug face, Su Yingxue felt both angry and anxious, her fingertips trembling slightly. But she knew she couldn't panic now. If she lost her composure, the parents would be even more worried, and Tongxin Kindergarten would truly be finished.
She took a deep breath and slowly walked to the parents, her voice calm yet firm: "Parents, please calm down. It's not what you see. These vegetables were fresh last night, and the seasoning jars were all in good condition. Someone deliberately sneaked into the kitchen at night to cause trouble and ruin our kindergarten's reputation."
"I'll call the food supplier right now and have them deliver fresh vegetables and meat immediately. Everyone can watch; I'll be making this whole process publicly today, from washing the ingredients to cooking—every step will be clearly visible to everyone, guaranteeing cleanliness and hygiene. If there's even the slightest problem, I, Su Yingxue, am willing to take full responsibility and will not shirk any responsibility."
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