Chapter 47 Lu Xiyao was Crying! Lu Qin Arrived Immediately!
Lu Qin headed to the pork stall, the same one he used to buy from.
“Mr. Guo, I’m buying pork. I need pork butt—how many pounds do you have?”
Mr. Guo recognized his regular customer, especially one who bought in large quantities, and greeted him with a smile.
“Ah, it’s young Mr. Lu! You’ve come at the right time. I just brought fresh pork from the slaughterhouse, and the pork butt hasn’t even been touched yet!”
Lu Qin took a look, nodded, and said, “Trim off the tip, and I’ll take however many pounds there are.”
“Alright, just a moment. I’ll weigh it.”
It turned out to be 28 pounds of pork butt, tender and fine-textured—a great cut of meat. Mr. Guo offered him the lowest price, 16.5 yuan per pound. Lu Qin scanned to pay, totaling 462 yuan. Next, he needed to buy ingredients for making Chicken Tofu.
According to the traditional Chicken Tofu recipe, it requires a whole free-range, grain-fed hen, from which only half a pound of breast meat is kept, and 20 egg whites. Following this traditional process, a batch of Chicken Tofu for three or four people costs over 200 yuan.
However, with a variety of available ingredients now, chicken breast could be purchased separately, and there was no longer a strict need for free-range, farm-raised chickens.
As for the flavor, Lu Qin’s skill in making Chicken Tofu was top-notch, so he could make up for any ingredient flaws with his technique. As for nutrition, these days, people generally had suboptimal health and didn’t need to focus too much on nutrition, which could lead to overnutrition anyway.
Fresh, high-quality chicken breast was 15 yuan per pound. After a bit of haggling, Lu Qin purchased 20 pounds at 14.6 yuan per pound. Chicken frames were 5.4 yuan per pound, and Lu Qin bought three pounds. The chicken frames weren’t for eating but for making chicken broth. Rounding off, Lu Qin scanned and paid 308 yuan.
After wandering for another 20 minutes, Lu Qin bought 50 pounds of eggs, rice wine, garlic sprouts, and other ingredients. He loaded everything onto his three-wheeled food cart and was ready to head home.
At that moment, his phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, he was surprised—it was Teacher Li from kindergarten.
Quickly, he picked up the call.
The entrance of the market was quite noisy, so he couldn’t hear very clearly. However, he was sure he could hear Lu Xiyao’s crying in the background.
Lu Qin’s heart skipped a beat.
He said, “Teacher Li, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Then, he sped off on his three-wheeler.
Starlight Kindergarten was about three kilometers from the market. Lu Qin was very anxious, he ran two red lights on his way and rushed to the school. It was lunchtime for the kids when he arrived.
Standing at the retractable gate, Lu Qin immediately called Teacher Li. His mind was racing with worry, wondering if his little one had fallen, hit something, or had an upset stomach—so many possibilities ran through his mind.
When Teacher Li saw the worried expression on Lu Qin’s face, she smiled wryly and shook her head.
“Yao Yao’s dad, Yao Yao is fine. She just accidentally spilled her lunch, and she cried.”
Lu Yao’s dad was so anxious about his daughter that he rushed over without checking the actual situation. But Teacher Li couldn’t help but feel impressed by his deep concern for his daughter. He truly was a good father.
No wonder Yao Yao always seemed happy and carefree every day, radiating joy. Under Teacher Li’s guidance, Lu Qin entered the kindergarten dining hall.
Once inside, a group of kids crowded around a square table in the middle. On the floor, a Doraemon lunchbox had spilled. Stir-fried rice noodles, twice-cooked pork, tomato and egg stir-fry, and green bean soup were scattered everywhere. The rich aroma still lingered in the air. Several kids were eyeing the food on the floor, even itching to pick some up and eat it.
Lu Qin looked over to see his little one surrounded in the middle of the group, her chubby cheeks still streaked with tears. A boy next to her kept his head down, repeatedly apologizing.
“Lu Xiyao, I didn’t mean to spill your lunch! You can have mine. It has beef and fried eggs.”
“But your lunch isn’t as tasty as what her dad makes, Chen Haojie! How could you? Those noodles looked so good!”
“There was twice-cooked pork too! Did you do it on purpose, Chen Haojie?”
“Yao Yao’s portion of noodles fell too—boo hoo, now we don’t get to eat any!”
Lu Xiyao didn’t blame the little boy, but losing her lunch had left her feeling down and clearly unhappy. The other kids, however, kept scolding him. Zhong Shuyi, who had wanted everyone to taste the fried rice noodles and green bean soup made by her family’s chef, had tried some earlier but didn’t want a second bite. Compared to Yao Yao’s dad’s cooking, it didn’t even come close.
Why does the same dish taste so different? She wondered as she closed her lunchbox and joined the others in chastising Chen Haojie. If Yao Yao’s lunch hadn’t spilled, maybe she could have shared a bite or two with her friend.
Now there was nothing left for anyone!
Lu Qin called out to his little girl.
Still upset, she suddenly heard a voice she knew all too well. She looked up quickly and saw Lu Qin.
First, she was thrilled. Then, a hint of sadness returned as she ran into his arms. Lu Qin lifted her up, gently patting her back and pulled out a tissue to wipe her nose. Now that he knew it was only a spilled lunchbox, he breathed a sigh of relief, feeling he’d overreacted a bit.
“You’re not three anymore, do you still need to cry over a spilled lunch?”
He playfully tapped her nose.
The moment Lu Qin appeared, her frustration vanished, replaced by happiness. She clung to his neck, not wanting to be put down.
Having Daddy was the best!
The other kids looked at Lu Qin with admiration. A few who were close to Yao Yao politely said, “Hello, Uncle.”
Did Yao Yao’s dad come to bring her lunch? they wondered, with envy in their eyes.
“Everyone, your food’s on the table. If it gets cold, your tummy might hurt. Go eat your lunch,” Teacher Li said, ushering the group back to their seats.
Chen Haojie, blushing, was also hungry but felt bad about spilling Yao Yao’s lunch. He hadn’t dared eat his own meal and had wanted to give it to her. Zhong Shuyi hadn’t touched her own rice noodles, either—they were too dry and greasy. Her family’s chef simply didn’t match up to Yao Yao’s dad.
She looked at Lu Qin with big, sad eyes.
Teacher Li smiled wryly and explained, “Yao Yao’s dad, her lunch fell because of Chen Haojie, and she won’t eat the kindergarten food, so she started crying. I didn’t know what else to do, so I called you…”
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Yao Yao pouted and said, “I only want to eat what Daddy makes.”
Lu Qin ruffled Chen Haojie’s hair and said with a smile, “Go eat your lunch, okay?”
The boy looked up at Lu Qin’s kind smile, and his heart felt calmer. Nodding, Chen Haojie went back to his seat.
“Shuyi, you’re not eating?”
Lu Qin recognized Shuyi as Yao Yao’s close friend, often mentioned by his daughter. Shuyi looked at him hopefully and pleaded.
“Uncle, my rice noodles aren’t any good. I want to eat yours!”