Gourmet: Twins' Father and Chef of the Kindergarten-Chapter 96 - 93: Head Chef of the 9-Star Cloudtop Hotel
"Hey, hey, hey... what are you doing at our Dorami Kindergarten?"
Uncle Li saw Qian Guoxiang walking toward him and couldn’t help but open the window, asking in a somewhat eager tone.
He felt it was better to clarify some things, even though the elderly man before him looked a bit younger and seemed quite kind.
However.
The human heart is unpredictable!
One shouldn’t trust a person easily based on appearances!
What if the person is a trafficker in disguise? That would be terrible.
After all, the entire kindergarten’s safety rested on him alone.
Therefore.
Any potential danger must be nipped in the bud.
At this moment, the security guard Uncle Li was thinking with great determination in his heart.
As long as he’s at the kindergarten, no one should even think of hurting the children.
If Qian Guoxiang knew what Uncle Li was thinking, he would surely question him, "Hey, are you paranoid or something?"
Hearing the question, Qian Guoxiang smiled and nodded at Uncle Li, saying gently, "Hello, I’m here to find someone; this is Dorami Kindergarten, right?! That’s great, I was worried I’d come to the wrong place..."
Seeing that the man was here to find someone and was polite, Uncle Li relaxed a bit, thinking that Qian Guoxiang might be one of the children’s grandfather or a father of a teacher.
He asked kindly, "Who are you looking for?"
Qian Guoxiang replied with a smile, "I’m looking for your Director Liang. Is she in the kindergarten now?"
Oh, he had misunderstood!
Well.
Why is he looking for Director Liang?
Upon hearing this, cautious Uncle Li didn’t answer directly and instead asked, "Do you have an appointment with our Director Liang?"
"No, I don’t."
Qian Guoxiang slightly waved the fan in his hand and explained, "I was introduced by your Chef Wei; he told me to come find your Director Liang."
Upon hearing the name "Chef Wei," Uncle Li remembered the former chef who had left.
Since Chef Wei introduced him, they had to show some respect, no matter what!
Both personally and professionally, they had to give some face to the other party.
So, he conceded, "Well, hold on a moment. I’ll call our Director Liang to see if she has time to meet you now."
After saying this, Uncle Li walked over to the desk, picked up the phone, and dialed Director Liang’s number.
Qian Guoxiang vaguely heard a voice from inside the building:
"Director Liang, this is the security guard Old Li. There’s an elderly gentleman at the gate looking for you. He said he was introduced by Chef Wei. Do you..."
After a brief silence, Uncle Li’s voice was heard again:
"Oh, okay, I understand..."
"..."
After a while, hearing Director Liang’s instructions, Uncle Li hung up the phone, walked back to the window, and told Qian Guoxiang, "Director Liang agreed to see you. You can head inside, go straight to the office building in the back, and find her on the third floor in the Director’s office."
With that, he picked up the remote, pressed a button, and opened the gate.
"Oh, thank you!"
Qian Guoxiang nodded gratefully at Uncle Li and walked through the kindergarten gate.
Seeing him in, Uncle Li pressed the remote button again to close the gate.
Once seated again, with nothing else to do, he began to ponder.
Speaking of which, what is it exactly that Chef Wei introduced this old gentleman for?
Wait!
Could it be...
Recalling when Chef Wei left and Director Liang asked him to find a reliable chef to take over, Uncle Li belatedly realized that this old man might be the chef introduced by Chef Wei?
Oh dear!
If so... This isn’t good...
Could he really be coming to compete with Chef Huang for the job?
If that’s the case...
Then wouldn’t he, Old Li, be the culprit of the century...
After all, he was the one who let him in.
"Oh, why didn’t I think of that layer earlier? Old Li, you’re getting more muddle-headed with age..." Uncle Li regretted not asking more questions earlier.
If he had clarified, he could have told the man that the kindergarten had already hired a chef and sent him away.
Ah!
The person was already inside; he just hoped Director Liang wouldn’t hire the person out of respect for Chef Wei.
But then again, knowing how shrewd Director Liang was, didn’t she sense something at the time?
In fact, when Liang Yinqiu received the call from Uncle Li and learned that someone introduced by Chef Wei was looking for her, she had already guessed as much.
The reason she didn’t ask Uncle Li to refuse directly and instead let the person in was because she considered the introduction by Chef Wei and the special visit to see her. It would have seemed too inhumane to just send him away through Uncle Li.
Both personally and professionally, she should at least properly receive the person and offer a cup of tea before they leave.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
Upon hearing the knock on the door, Liang Yinqiu guessed it must be the person and responded with a smile, "Come in."
As she spoke, she got up to greet him.
Qian Guoxiang opened the door, saw the approaching Liang Yinqiu, and asked with a smile, "Hello, I was introduced by Chef Wei. Are you Director Liang?"
When Liang Yinqiu saw the slightly weathered face of Qian Guoxiang, she didn’t show any surprise.
After all, Uncle Li had clearly told her over the phone that it was an elderly gentleman.
She had imagined a man in his seventies or eighties and was thinking that Old Wei was becoming less reliable, neither giving feedback nor sending her an elderly man.
Now seeing him, he seemed to be only just over 60, much younger than she expected.
However, regardless, the kindergarten already had a chef, so she couldn’t hire anyone else.
"Yes, I’m Director Liang. How should I address you?"
Liang Yinqiu smiled and made a gesture inviting him to sit on the nearby sofa: "Please, take a seat."
She then brought a cup of tea for him.
Qian Guoxiang nodded and sat on the sofa, explaining, "My name is Qian Guoxiang; Director Liang, you can just call me Old Qian. I’m here because Chef Wei mentioned that you asked him to find a chef, so I came to apply for the chef position. This is my resume. I was the head chef at the Nine-Star Cloud Peak Hotel and just recently retired..."
As he spoke, he handed over the resume he had prepared.
Liang Yinqiu was a bit surprised!
She hadn’t expected that this Mr. Qian had such a notable background, being the head chef of a famous five-star hotel in the city.
However, she did not immediately look at his resume but instead apologized, "Mr. Qian, I’m sorry, but it seems you’ve made an unnecessary trip today. We’ve already hired a chef at our kindergarten."
She didn’t forget to explain at the end, "I did ask Chef Wei before to help find a chef to take over his work, but since he didn’t respond for a long time, and happened to have another chef come and inquire about the job, I gave him a cooking test. His skills were excellent, and I hired him directly. So, I’m very sorry for making you come in vain this time."
"Is that so? I guess I arrived too late..." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
Though a bit disappointed, Qian Guoxiang understood.
After all, it’s been several days since the school started, and it’s normal that they’ve already hired a chef.
In fact, when he first retired, his son wanted him to enjoy life peacefully at home, so he didn’t think about going back to work.
But he had been busy his whole life.
He couldn’t stay idle!
He always wanted to find something to do, to contribute a bit more.
A few days ago, he happened to run into Old Wei, who casually mentioned Director Liang’s request for him to find a chef for Dorami Kindergarten.
Although Old Wei mentioned it casually, he kept it in his mind.
He went home and discussed it with his son, expressing his desire to apply for the chef position at the kindergarten. However, his son felt he was too old and should enjoy life at home instead of fussing about, denying his idea.
Fortunately, after a few days of effort, he finally convinced his son.
But because of this, he arrived late and someone else beat him to it!
With things as they were, he could only helplessly take back his resume, stand up, and say with a smile, "Since the kindergarten has already found a suitable chef, I won’t disturb you further; I’ll be leaving now."
"How about a cup of tea before you go?" Liang Yinqiu said apologetically.
"Well... okay."
Qian Guoxiang politely picked up the teacup from the table, drank it, and gently put it back down, "Thank you, Director Liang, for your hospitality. I’ll take my leave now."
With that, he walked out of the Director’s office.
Down the stairs.
Walking past the kitchen, Qian Guoxiang thought about how Liang Yinqiu didn’t waver in retaining the kindergarten’s chef despite his five-star head chef background.
This intrigued him greatly about the kindergarten chef, and he couldn’t resist heading towards the kitchen...
