In the kitchen.

Huang Jun leisurely walked out of the break room.

Suddenly.

He was drawn by a certain sound, causing him to pause, slightly tilt his head, and listen intently.

Close on its heels, he clearly caught the faint sound of crying coming from the direction of the school building.

Though the crying was subtle, it pierced through the clamor of the kitchen and reached deep into his heart.

He couldn’t help but wrinkle his brow, murmuring softly to himself, "Hmm? I seem to hear the sound of children crying, what’s going on?"

Indeed.

He was a bit concerned about his two precious daughters, worried that their mood might be affected by this.

Nearby, Aunt Li was busily washing one adorable small pumpkin after another. Hearing Huang Jun’s concern, she smiled nonchalantly, "Kids, they cry every now and then; it’s normal, no need to worry too much."

Even though the children had been in kindergarten for almost two months, and most had adapted to the rhythm of kindergarten life, crying became rare, though small emotional fluctuations were still occasional.

Aunt Lin, taking over the cleaned pumpkins from Aunt Li, began peeling them skillfully and chimed in, "Yeah, Chef Huang, kids crying occasionally is quite normal; teachers can just comfort them, and listen, now outside it’s all laughter from the children."

As Aunt Lin’s words fell, Huang Jun couldn’t help but listen again...

Sure enough.

The children’s laughter had replaced the earlier cries, and waves of clear laughter floated into the kitchen like a spring breeze, extremely pleasant to the ears.

With that.

He felt a sense of relief, smiled, and went to wash his hands, preparing to start the "afternoon snack" cooking mode later on.

Today’s snack was silver ear fungus pumpkin dumplings, a dessert that was not only a delicious treat but also a healthy choice.

With October’s arrival, the weather became dry, coupled with the coming flu season, which required more attention to the children’s health.

To boost the children’s immunity, Huang Jun opted for this "lung-nourishing remedy."

Silver ear fungus, a well-known benefit, is an excellent product for clearing lungs and moistening dryness.

The "tremella polysaccharide" it contains has excellent water retention capability, especially beneficial for children’s hydration and dietary fiber supplementation in the dry autumn and winter seasons.

The cooking methods for silver ear fungus are diverse; whether boiled or stewed, it can be made into a soft, thick, and stretchy delicacy.

However, for the children, plain silver ear fungus might not be sufficient to entice their taste buds.

Therefore.

Huang Jun always had to put in some thought, vary some tricks, add some other ingredients to enhance the children’s appetite.

Take the silver ear pumpkin dumplings, for instance, the making process was not complicated.

Just by adding some sticky little dumplings to the traditional silver ear soup, it’s enough for the children to love it, eager to devour bowlfuls of it...

"Chef Huang, the silver ear has been soaked almost perfectly, does this look okay to you?"

Qian Guoxiang, seeing Huang Jun enter the operation room, reported on the progress of the preparations with a smiling face.

"Alright, let me take a look..."

Huang Jun nodded, approached the container of soaked silver ear fungus, and gently picked out a plump silver ear flower from the clear water, examining it closely.

After soaking, the silver ear became translucent and soft, presenting an alluring texture.

"Hmm, not bad!"

Huang Jun nodded in satisfaction and instructed Qian Guoxiang seriously, "Assistant Chef Qian, next, please cut off all the yellow roots from these silver ears and tear them into pieces this size."

While speaking, Huang Jun picked up a pair of scissors, expertly twisted at the root of the silver ear gently, cutting off the yellow part accurately, then lightly tore the silver ear in his hands. The pieces, thin as cicada wings and soft and transparent, appeared before Qian Guoxiang so he could better understand the requirement.

This way, the silver ear’s texture is ensured, and it releases more gelatin during cooking, making the dessert even thicker and smoother!

"Okay, Chef Huang, I understand!"

Qian Guoxiang nodded and began handling the silver ear, cutting off the roots, and tearing them into small pieces, trying to meet the standard demonstrated by Huang Jun with every piece.

"Chef Huang, the little pumpkins have already been prepared by Aunt Li and me for you."

Aunt Lin and Aunt Li walked over side by side, carrying a basin full of small pumpkins, placing them steadily on the wide operation table.

"Alright, thank you for your hard work, now please help Assistant Chef Qian with preparing other ingredients, I’ll handle it from here."

Huang Jun nodded and smiled at them, then picked up a remarkably sharp and mighty knife.

With a skillful twist of his wrist, the blade glided lightly across the small pumpkins, producing crisp and pleasing "crack" sounds.

"Chop chop chop~"

In the midst of the crisp sounds, Huang Jun’s hand movements became even more adept, the blade dancing quickly on the pumpkin, one evenly thin pumpkin slice after another floated lightly into the large stainless steel basin nearby, neat and orderly.

Once all the small pumpkins were chopped, Huang Jun cheerfully instructed Aunt Li, "Aunt Li, Aunt Lin, please wash these again."

"Yes, Chef Huang!"

Aunt Li and Aunt Lin responded with nods, and they also brought over the silver ear prepared by Qian Guoxiang, "Chef Huang, your silver ear is ready."

"Great..."

Huang Jun added an appropriate amount of clear water to the boiling pot, poured in the silver ear pieces and rock sugar, and simmered over low heat to extract the gelatin.

At this moment, Aunt Li and Aunt Lin also cleaned the pumpkin pieces again. Huang Jun then put all these pumpkin pieces into the steamer, closed the lid, and set it to steam for 15 minutes.

As the steam rose...

The sweetness of the pumpkin gradually spread, becoming more and more intense.

Once the time was up...

Huang Jun gently lifted the steamer lid, and instantly, a sweet pumpkin aroma hit him like gentle waves.

He took the thoroughly steamed, soft Beibei pumpkin pieces and poured them into a clean and shiny stainless steel bowl.

These pumpkin pieces had become unbelievably soft in the steam, as if they could melt with a gentle touch.

Huang Jun placed them aside to cool until lukewarm.

During the cooling process, the steam absorbed by the pumpkin slices during steaming gradually appeared. To maintain the delicate texture of the pumpkin puree, he poured out the excess water before mashing the pumpkin into puree.

Then, Huang Jun picked up a spoon and with a gentle press of the back of the spoon, the pumpkin pieces smoothly transformed into a soft puree, displaying an enticing orange-yellow color, delicate and without any graininess.

Next, he slowly sprinkled lotus root powder into the pumpkin puree, stirring as he went, to ensure that every bit of pumpkin puree evenly absorbed the lotus root powder, forming a new texture that retained the sweet flavor of the pumpkin while adding the fineness of lotus root powder.

Since the pumpkin puree itself already contained sufficient moisture, he did not initially add any extra water.

Of course.

If the pumpkin dough feels a bit dry, a little water can be added; if it feels too wet, just sprinkle some more lotus root powder!

At this point.

Huang Jun did not need this adjustment.

With his system-provided experience, he could accurately judge whether the moisture content of the pumpkin puree was just right simply by observation and feel.

A moment later...

When the pumpkin puree and lotus root powder were fully combined, a soft yet elastic pumpkin dough appeared, perfectly formed.

Gently pinching off a small piece from the soft pumpkin dough, he rolled it lightly in his palm, and soon, a smooth and lovely little ball appeared in his hand, like an orange-yellow pearl exuding an enticing sheen.

Aunt Li saw that Huang Jun had kneaded the pumpkin dough well and started making the little pumpkin balls, and couldn’t help but ask, "Chef Huang, don’t you need to add sugar?"

Huang Jun continued his actions without pause, smiling as he answered, "The pumpkin itself is quite sweet, and when we cook it later with white fungus, we will add rock sugar for flavor, so there’s no need to add extra sugar now."

Both books and nutritionists advise that children should not consume too much sugar.

Therefore.

When preparing food for children, he always paid special attention to controlling the addition of sugar.

Since the Beibei pumpkin already has a natural sweetness, he felt it unnecessary to add extra sugar in the process of making the balls.

He continued to explain, "This way, we not only preserve the natural flavor of the food but also prevent the kids from consuming too much sugar, making it healthier."

Aunt Li couldn’t help but nod in agreement, a approving smile appearing on her face, "Yes, eating too much sugar is bad for kids. Chef Huang, you’re very considerate to do it this way, it’s indeed very healthy."

Huang Jun smiled slightly, his hands moving lightly over the pumpkin-lotus dough, repeatedly and precisely performing the task of making the balls.

As time passed...

The once soft pumpkin-lotus dough gradually transformed under his skillful hands into round, plump little balls.

The made little balls were now ready to be cooked directly.

If too many were made and needed preservation, Huang Jun had his trick: wrap the uncooked little balls in a thin layer of starch, then seal them well and store them in the freezer. This way, their freshness and flavor could be locked in, always ready to surprise the kids.

However, such a situation was not common in the kindergarten, as the prepared ingredients were always in high demand!

When cooking these little balls, be sure to wait until the water boils before putting them in the pot.

This not only ensures that the little balls cook evenly but also maintains their shape and texture.

When you see the pumpkin balls start floating to the surface one by one, like golden flowers in bloom, you can scoop them out and quickly cool them down.

This step helps to make the outer skin of the little balls more firm, and the texture more enjoyable.

Seeing the white fungus in the pot boiling to just the right consistency, resembling translucent gel, he poured in all the previously cooked and cooled little balls, letting them slowly rise and fall in the thick white fungus soup, like small fish frolicking in a golden pond.

He added a handful of red goji berries to the pot.

The goji berries not only made the dish look more enticing but also enriched its nutritional value.

Continue boiling for 2 more minutes, allowing the little balls to fully absorb the essence of the white fungus soup and the fragrance of the goji berries...

...

Government Kindergarten.

Director’s office.

The clock on the wall ticked, marking the passage of time.

Deng Manli lifted her head from the busy pile of documents, glanced at the time, realizing it was nearing her planned departure.

So...

She began tidying her desk, filing each document one by one, noting important matters in her memo so the next day’s work could continue smoothly.

She stood up, picked up her mobile phone and handbag, took one last look around the office to ensure everything was arranged, then gently closed the door, heading toward the parking lot.

Along the way.

Teachers in the kindergarten saw her and couldn’t help but shoot puzzled glances her way, with ripples of curiosity rising in their hearts.

In their impression, Director Deng always stayed until the end, the only light still on in the office as night fell.

Yet today, she unexpectedly finished her work early...

Why was this?

Surely, there must be some urgent matter needing her attention!

But affairs of the leadership were beyond their domain to question or understand.

So...

As Deng Manli walked by, they simply smiled and greeted her, "Hello, Director Deng..."

"Hey, hello..." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Deng Manli nodded slightly, got into her car, gently started the engine, and the vehicle slowly exited the kindergarten gates, heading in the direction of Dorami Kindergarten...