Chapter Fifteen: A Major Crisis Unfolds

After delivering the meals, Jiang Suisui returned to the cafeteria. As soon as she stepped through the door, about ten employees surrounded her. She blinked, having anticipated this but still feigning innocence. “May I ask what’s going on?” she inquired.

The leader wore a serious expression. “Don’t you know something big has happened?”

Jiang Suisui tilted her head slightly. “Hmm? What big thing? Does it involve me?”

Before she finished speaking, Wu Chenchen approached, belching. “Sister Zhong, you can just tell Jiang Suisui directly. No need to be so serious. You just want her to make lion’s head meatballs for you, right?”

Jiang Suisui thought to herself that her plan to attract attention by making an extra portion of lion’s head meatballs for Wu Chenchen—hoping to inform everyone about her upcoming street stall—had indeed worked. These days, even the finest wine fears obscurity; it needs some publicity to thrive.

She smiled softly. “So it’s about that. If you want to try them, I can make some for you tonight. It’s no trouble.”

“Oh dear, that would be such a favor, Little Jiang,” said Sister Zhong from the HR department, beaming like she’d just won the lottery. “How much will you charge for the labor? We’ll pay you; we’re not expecting free work.”

Although the Morning Star Kindergarten provides three meals a day for all employees, the skill levels and culinary specialties of each chef vary. When employees find the meal prepared by the assigned cook unappealing, they often approach another chef to make a dish they prefer, paying a small fee for the extra work.

This arrangement was commonplace at Morning Star Kindergarten. Jiang Suisui, though new, was aware of this.

But more than the processing fee, what she wanted most was clientele. So she replied, “No fee this time. Consider it a tasting to help me out. Tomorrow I’m setting up a stall at Red Maple Park. If you like the food, please help spread the word.”

Tomorrow was the weekend, and everyone would have the day off.

Sister Zhong was the first to agree. “Sure, no problem. My whole family loves good food. If it tastes good, I promise to help promote it!”

Other employees also nodded, with some curious about what Jiang Suisui planned to sell.

She had already decided. “Since I’m just starting out, I’ll sell fried crispy pork, tea eggs, and sour plum juice.”

Besides the fried pork needing to be freshly fried, the tea eggs and plum juice could be prepared in advance and packaged when customers ordered. The pork could be marinated beforehand to preserve freshness with little effort.

When Jiang Suisui mentioned the fried crispy pork, one employee suddenly asked loudly, “Is that the same crispy pork that sparked that huge fight between six kids? I remember the only girl knocked down three boys—she was amazing.”

Jiang Suisui hadn’t expected such stories to circulate among the staff. But it made sense—wherever there are people, there’s gossip. After all, she had built her own chain of restaurants and founded a well-known catering company in the country.

Her success was not just due to her cooking skills but also her savvy marketing.

The employee’s story provided a perfect hook.

She candidly admitted, “Yes, that’s true. I never imagined that feeding my younger siblings extra meals would cause such a commotion.”

The employee licked her lips. “Funny you mention it—my niece is in the same class as your siblings. She’s crazy about your crispy pork and those pumpkin cakes. She keeps asking when you’ll be cooking again because she wants to eat it all.”

Just then, Liu Song returned to the cafeteria hall.

Everyone tactfully fell silent and found excuses to leave.

Jiang Suisui ignored Liu Song, heading straight to the kitchen to retrieve a small stew pot still warming on the stove, then fetching a dish and a bowl of rice to eat contentedly.

Seeing her dismiss him so plainly, Liu Song grew more uneasy, recalling what he had overheard earlier.

He glanced at Wu Chenchen, who seemed oblivious—she yawned and left the hall, probably heading back to her dorm for a nap.

This only annoyed Liu Song further. Silently cursing, he muttered, “A bunch of unappreciative fools. It’s just some lousy lion’s head meatballs. I can make them too—what’s the big deal?”

He slammed the door loudly on his way back to the kitchen.

Jiang Suisui paid no mind and, after finishing her meal, went to her dorm to rest.

Meanwhile, she placed an order for more ingredients from StarNet Supermarket.

When evening came and work was done, Jiang Suisui handed six portions of crispy pork to Zhou Yan, then took Jiang Xingran and Jiang Yueyi home.

Her StarNet order had arrived. Though some items fit in her space-compressing backpack, there were still packages she had to carry herself.

Before she could start, Jiang Yueyi lifted an enormous box. “Hey, sister, I’ll help you carry it!”

The box was bigger than Jiang Yueyi herself, yet she lifted it effortlessly and bounced happily up the stairs.

Jiang Suisui gained a deeper appreciation for Yueyi’s strength.

Jiang Xingran wasn’t idle either—he huffed and puffed carrying a smaller box, following Yueyi upstairs.

Seeing the two little ones so considerate, Jiang Suisui felt even more determined to earn more money.

To support herself and her younger siblings.

After unloading all the deliveries, Jiang Suisui wiped the sweat from her brow. “Xingxing, Yueyue, you two take turns showering. I’m going to cook now.”

With only one bathroom at home, bathing had to be done in turns.

Since she was cooking anyway, she let her siblings bathe first.

She carried a bag of ingredients and unpacked an electric rice cooker from the deliveries.

Since she planned to sell food at the stall tomorrow, she had to prepare today.

After cleaning the rice cooker, she washed and boiled eggs, then cooled them in cold water and gently cracked the shells with a spoon.

Jiang Yueyi went to shower first; Jiang Xingran ran to the kitchen, washed his small hands thoroughly, and helped crack the eggs with intense concentration—as if sculpting a masterpiece.

With his help, Jiang Suisui started preparing the spices—cinnamon bark, star anise, bay leaves, dried chili peppers—placing them into a spice bag.

She poured dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, and water into the rice cooker, added the spice bag, then the eggs and several pieces of cooked pork belly.

Finally, she sprinkled in some tea leaves, waiting for the mixture to boil before switching to the keep-warm setting.

The tea eggs and braised pork she was making tonight would serve as dinner—both to test the flavor and to enrich the marinade.

Next, she used system rewards—healthy carrots, focused broccoli, and wholesome apples—to prepare shredded pork stir-fried with carrots, cold broccoli salad, and caramelized apples.

After Jiang Yueyi finished showering and dried her hair, she came to help.

“Sis, sis, the carrots—whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—turn into shreds!”

“Look, sis—broccoli, brush, brush, brush—multiplying!”

“And apples, apples, knock, knock, knock—they multiply too!”

Jiang Yueyi gleefully played with the food processor, delighting in the kitchen chores.

Amid her sweet calls of “Sister, sister,” Jiang Suisui finally finished cooking.