bioinnovel Chapter 55 Pinky Promise
Chapter 55 Pinky Promise
4:20 PM.
Outside Qiming Bilingual Kindergarten, parents had already formed a long queue to pick up their children.
Lin Chen and Wang Hai parked the tricycle in the marked area on the side of the road.
The two stood in front of the isolation zone at the school gate, waiting for the school bell to ring.
"Ring ring—"
At 4:30, the crisp school bell rang on time.
The kindergarten's iron gate slowly opened to both sides.
The teachers in charge of each class led the children, who were lined up, out in an orderly manner.
Lin Chen's gaze swept across the crowd and immediately spotted the group of Class 3.
Today, Tangtang wasn't holding Teacher Liu's hand. Instead, she was holding hands with a little girl who had two pretty braids. The two little girls were huddled together, chattering away, their faces full of happy smiles.
"Daddy!"
Tangtang walked to the isolation zone, saw Lin Chen, and immediately raised her little hand to wave.
She didn't run over immediately, but instead took the little girl's hand and walked together to Lin Chen.
"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Liu."
Lin Chen looked at the teacher in charge and greeted her politely.
"Mr. Lin is here."
Teacher Liu stopped with a smile. "Tangtang was very well-behaved today too."
Lin Chen nodded, squatted down, and looked at his daughter and the little girl next to her.
"Daddy, this is Xiaomeng!"
Tangtang proudly introduced her good friend to Lin Chen, then turned to Xiaomeng, "Xiaomeng, this is my daddy!"
Xiao Meng looked up at Lin Chen, her voice a little timid but very polite: "Hello, Uncle."
"Hello, Xiaomeng."
Lin Chen smiled gently.
Tangtang tugged at Xiaomeng's hand, her big eyes full of anticipation.
"Xiaomeng, Teacher Liu said tomorrow is bento sharing day."
Tangtang's voice was clear and crisp, "Tomorrow I'm going to bring you the food my dad made!"
My dad's cooking is the best in the world!
Upon hearing Tangtang's words, Xiaomeng's eyes immediately lit up.
"Really? That's great!"
Xiao Meng clapped her hands happily, "Tangtang, then I'll ask my mom to make me a pretty sandwich to share with you tomorrow!"
Let's eat together!
"Okay! It's a deal!"
Tangtang stretched out her chubby little finger.
"It's a deal!"
Xiao Meng also extended her little finger, and the two little girls made a pinky promise earnestly.
Ms. Liu, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but laugh as she watched the two little girls interacting.
"Tangtang and Xiaomeng are really good friends."
Teacher Liu patted the two children on the head, "I'm looking forward to seeing the delicious bento boxes you bring tomorrow too."
Mr. Lin, see you tomorrow.
"See you tomorrow."
Lin Chen nodded slightly and led Tangtang out of the crowd.
Xiaomeng left with her mother, but before leaving, she turned back and waved to Tangtang, saying, "See you tomorrow, Tangtang!"
"See you tomorrow, Xiaomeng!"
Tangtang waved happily in response.
Back to the tricycle.
"Oh my, our Tangtang has a best friend now."
Wang Hai straddled the driver's seat of the tricycle, cheerfully teasing Tangtang, "Bring lunch tomorrow, Uncle Fatty promises you'll look amazing in front of your friends!"
"Thank you, Uncle Fatty!"
"Tangtang said happily."
Lin Chen bent down, put his hands under Tangtang's armpits, and lifted her onto the passenger seat of the tricycle.
He then climbed into the seat, settled himself on the outside of Tangtang, and reached out to protect his daughter.
"Hold on tight."
Lin Chen said.
"Alright!"
Wang Hai gripped the handlebars with both hands, turned on the ignition, and the tricycle smoothly drove into the street.
A dozen minutes later, the three returned to the urban village.
Pushing open the door to the rented room, the rich aroma of broth that had been simmering all morning filled the air.
Without pausing, Lin Chen and Wang Hai quickly began carrying ingredients downstairs.
Two stainless steel insulated buckets filled with rice, twelve trays of eggs, and two boxes of chopped scallions were all loaded into the back of the tricycle.
Finally, there was that heavy soup bucket.
Lin Chen carefully checked the sealing ring on the lid, and together with Wang Hai, steadily lifted it into the depths of the truck bed, securing it firmly with a thick rope.
Everything is in order.
At 5 p.m. sharp, the tricycle, carrying 150 portions of ingredients and a whole bucket of clear soup, drove out of the urban village and headed towards the Yintai Building.
5:20 PM.
Edge of Yintai Building Plaza.
The tricycle had just turned the corner and hadn't even reached its usual spot when Wang Hai, sitting in the driver's seat, suddenly and gently squeezed the brakes.
"Holy crap..."
Wang Hai gripped the handlebars with both hands, looked ahead, and couldn't help but gasp.
Lin Chen sat in the passenger seat next to him and followed Wang Hai's gaze.
A long queue had already formed in front of the stall's usual spot.
At this time of day, although some people come down to queue up early, there are usually only about twenty people.
But today, the line was winding and twisting, and at a glance, there were at least forty or fifty people in line.
Many people were even wearing their work badges, clearly having sneaked down early to reserve their spots.
"Brother Chen, look at this team!"
Wang Hai swallowed hard, turned to look at Lin Chen, and said with barely concealed surprise, "The queue is twice as long as usual today!"
"This is so crowded, the queues are about the same length as when we had purchase restrictions!"
Lin Chen looked at the long dragon, his expression still calm, but there was a hint of understanding in his eyes.
"It's the word-of-mouth effect from yesterday's free soup that's made a difference."
Lin Chen spoke up.
A serving of fried rice costing 99 yuan might make some people hesitate because they think it's too expensive.
However, if paired with a bowl of high-quality free broth, this excellent value-for-money experience spreads incredibly quickly among white-collar workers.
Word spread quickly, and the number of people queuing up today surged, which was entirely within Lin Chen's expectations.
"Drive the car over there, get ready to work."
Lin Chen gave the order in a calm tone.
"Okay!"
Wang Hai perked up, turned the ignition back on, and parked the tricycle at the front of the line.
When the boss arrived, the white-collar workers at the front of the line became somewhat agitated.
"The boss is here! He's finally here! I've been waiting in line for ten minutes!"
"Boss, is there any free soup today?"
My colleague told me yesterday that the soup was absolutely amazing, so I dragged the whole department to line up today!
"Yeah, boss, is there enough soup for the day?"
A cacophony of questions arose from the crowd.
Lin Chen pulled out the car keys and stepped off the seat.
He didn't say anything, but simply took the faded apron and tied it around his waist.
Wang Hai deftly lowered the side panel behind the truck bed and moved down the folding table, setting it up.
Then, he and Lin Chen worked together to lift the stainless steel soup pot with the sealing ring down and place it steadily in the most conspicuous position on the folding table.
"Don't worry, everyone!"
Wang Hai straightened up, untied the sealing buckle on the soup bucket lid with both hands, and shouted loudly, "Same as yesterday, 150 servings of fried rice, and clear soup is free with rice purchase!"
A serving of rice and a bowl of soup!
As the bucket lid was lifted, a pure, fresh aroma of old hen and pork bones wafted out, making the people at the front of the line swallow hard.
"Tangtang, sit still."
Lin Chen moved the small stool down and placed it on the side of the table.
"Okay, Daddy!"
Tangtang sat down obediently, holding the pack of disposable spoons in her arms, and took out a spoon with both of her little hands, ready to distribute them at any time.
Wang Hai took out a stack of transparent soup bowls and takeout boxes and placed them beside him, then asked the customer at the front of the line, "How many servings do you want?"
"Three servings! To go!"
Lin Chen stood in front of the stove and pressed the gas stove knob with his left hand.
"Click".
A ghostly blue flame shot up instantly.
Heat the pan, then add cold oil.
Lin Chen cracked the egg with one hand, poured the egg liquid into the pot, and then added rice.
Spades flew. In the evening square, accompanied by the clanging of iron pots, the stalls officially began to be set up.