The Boss worked late that day and happened to notice some bright red chili peppers on the office desk, looking particularly tempting.
Unable to resist, he picked a few to take home.
At home, he made scrambled eggs with chili peppers as a topping for noodles.
This dish was simple, filling, and didn't require much cooking time.
It had always been the Boss's favorite meal at the dinner table.
Today, with the new chili peppers, his first bite was fiery hot.
There was a burning sensation in his mouth.
But as the pain quickly dissipated, it transformed into a tingling, numbing feeling.
It was incredibly stimulating, making him crave more.
Usually, he could eat two bowls of noodles in an evening.
But because of this spicy topping that made him feel so good, he couldn't help but eat three bowls, successfully stuffing himself.
When he told the Boss's Wife about it, she was shocked: "You picked and ate the chili peppers belonging to our company's employees?"
The Boss was instantly embarrassed; he thought they were bought as decorative plants.
He didn't realize they were company property, let alone personal belongings.
But these chili peppers were exactly to his liking.
The peppers sold in markets before were spicy but lacked flavor.
However, these peppers were spicy, fragrant, crisp, and numbing - simply delicious.
Even a simple dish of scrambled eggs became so aromatic; imagine how good it would be with meat.
He could barely sleep that night, craving more.
So the next day, he quickly called Little Cat to his office.
His intention was to buy these two pots of chili peppers.
Little Cat, having worked there for a while, couldn't possibly accept money from the Boss.
She said she'd give them to him as a gift.
The Boss felt awkward and insisted on giving her 200 yuan.
But she refused. The Boss didn't want to push too hard with a female employee, fearing gossip from other staff.
So he asked the Boss's Wife to send her a gift instead.
The Boss's Wife said, "What's there to give? This girl works hard and diligently. Why don't we give her a raise?"
Little Cat still had 8 pots of chili peppers at home.
So she didn't think much of these two pots.
But soon she received a private message from the Boss's Wife.
It said they would increase her monthly salary by 500 yuan.
She never expected two pots of chili peppers could lead to such a connection.
She suddenly felt grateful to Starry Sky Kindergarten. Apart from the finance department, no one knew about the raise.
Little Cat brought two more pots of chili peppers from home to the office.
The company's feng shui must have been excellent because the peppers grew faster there than at home.
Since the new peppers arrived at the office, they grew abundantly and turned bright red. Several brazen colleagues frequently visited her desk.
They'd ask for a pepper or two to try, and all wanted to buy more, finding them a thousand times better than store-bought ones.
They were indeed fragrant and spicy, but she wouldn't sell them.
The Boss wanted to buy these two pots as well.
Mainly because he was now addicted to eating them. The previous two pots weren't enough.
Since the Boss had already given her a raise, she felt obliged to give him these two pots as well - it was all part of maintaining good relationships.
After hearing that Little Cat had given the peppers to the Boss, other colleagues felt a bit resentful. They all asked her where she bought them.
Little Cat told them about Starry Sky Kindergarten selling vegetable seedlings.
By the time everyone excitedly went there, Starry Sky Kindergarten had already sold out of vegetables.
The others could only feel disappointed, unable to do anything about it.
Who could have imagined a kindergarten branching out like this?
So after following their short video account, they quickly left comments.
They wanted to buy more vegetables.
Little Cat wasn't willing to bring the remaining 6 pots of chili peppers to the company.
Mainly because she also loved eating spicy food.
If she ate them this year, she could save the seeds for next year.
Then she wouldn't need to buy chili peppers anymore.
She called her mother, saying she didn't need to send her express deliveries anymore. She had found the best-tasting chili peppers.
No wonder people said Starry Sky Kindergarten's vegetables were delicious; they really knew what they were doing.
Even she couldn't resist wanting to taste the Starry Sky chef's cooking.
Now it was only available at pop-up stores. But when tickets for the pop-up stores went on sale, there were 250,000 people online.
It was even more than before; people who couldn't get tickets before had an even slimmer chance now.
...
On Liu Chef's side, he had successfully sold vegetables a few times.
He had whetted the appetites of everyone who had bought seedlings.
Now people didn't want to grow them anymore; the process from planting to harvesting was just too long.
They only wanted to buy ready-to-eat produce.
Some time had passed, and the vegetables in Starry Sky's garden had grown. Everyone wanted to try their luck.
Some who lived nearby would wait for Liu Chef at the kindergarten gate. Others would leave messages online.
They had all become loyal fans of Starry Sky.
Everyone knew that leaving comments in the comment section was pretty useless.
The main thing was to find Shen Wei and Liu Chef.
Shen Wei wasn't easy to catch.
But Liu Chef came to the vegetable garden early every day, so waiting for him was sure to succeed.
"Can you sell us some vegetables?"
"Your vegetables are really delicious."
"I haven't eaten such good vegetables in years. I have a relative in the countryside who sends us vegetables every year. I used to think they were quite good, but they can't compare to yours."
Liu Chef knew they were flattering him.
But hearing everyone's praise still made him grin from ear to ear: "Really? I'm still not sure if we can sell them!"
He could only use such words to fend off everyone.
People said a few more words and then dispersed.
Liu Chef returned to the small kitchen of Starry Sky Kindergarten, feeling relieved.
He was about to sort out today's vegetables when he turned around and saw Chef Chen with a cold expression.
Liu Chef was startled, "What's wrong?"
Chef Chen said, "I hear you want to sell vegetables again?" His tone was icy.
Selling seedlings before was one thing.
Because they couldn't plant that many in their plot.
Selling seedlings could also save some costs and recoup some losses.
But the money earned was a drop in the bucket.
Chef Chen even regretted it a bit, wishing he hadn't let him sell.
If he had known, he should have rented a plot in the countryside to grow these seedlings himself.
Now that the seedlings were sold, more and more people were eyeing their vegetables.
Even old customers were calling him, showing how influential this had become.
To make matters worse, Liu Chef was soft-hearted.
He found it hard to refuse anyone who asked to buy vegetables.
Chef Chen guarded these vegetables jealously.
Now it wasn't just for Starry Sky Kindergarten, but also for the pop-up stores.
"You know how much produce we use every day. Do you know how much we'd have to buy if we didn't have this vegetable garden?"
Liu Chef could do this math clearly.
Liu Chef whispered in a voice as soft as a mosquito's: "I just think we can sell the dishes that we have the most of!"
The main reason was that he had previously invested 2 million yuan in the vegetable garden.
He felt guilty about it.
He wanted to find another way to recoup some of the money.
Moreover, with people buying and praising the dishes, he was somewhat tempted.
Chef Chen said, "I've already made arrangements for these. You're not allowed to sell them. If you keep making decisions on your own like this, I might just quit."
Liu Chef was shocked to hear this: "Please don't, brother! I was wrong!"
His apology came out smoothly.
Chef Chen's cooking skills were even better than his.
Now Chef Chen was shouldering the main responsibility. If he were to leave, how could Liu Chef ever enjoy the leisurely life of hugging his grandchildren and tending to his garden?
He would definitely be stuck in the kitchen all the time. Now that his senior was taking on the main workload, he couldn't let him go.
Seeing how quickly Liu Chef apologized, Chef Chen wasn't sure if he truly understood his mistake.
He felt both annoyed and amused, so he ignored him.
Liu Chef knew he had angered his senior colleague.
Fearing that his apology might not be enough to make amends,
He called his grandchildren over and whispered something to them.
A moment later, two little ones appeared at Chef Chen's feet, each hugging one of his legs.
"Grandpa Chen, my grandpa knows he was wrong. Please don't be angry with him!" came the children's sweet, childish voices.
Chef Chen was known for his stern expression.
But somehow, the kindergarten children didn't seem to fear him at all. Whenever they saw him, they would cheerfully call out, "Grandpa Chen, Grandpa Chen!"
Although Chef Chen usually maintained a serious demeanor, he actually enjoyed being around these little ones.
He just wasn't as expressive with his emotions as Liu Chef.
Now, with two little ones hugging his legs, his heart softened immediately.
He shot Liu Chef a fierce glare afterward, knowing that the old fox had targeted his weak spot.
What he had said earlier was just out of anger. Starry Sky Kindergarten had truly captured his heart, so how could he bear to leave?
Seeing Chef Chen pick up the two children, one in each arm, Liu Chef finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was true that there was no adult who couldn't be won over by children!
Liu Chef was grateful he had a grandson and granddaughter.
Having passed this hurdle, he breathed a sigh of relief and then went to ask the kitchen staff, "Where's Shen Wei?"
"Boss is in the office with Doctor Lu!"
Liu Chef was now the deputy director of the kindergarten, responsible for many things.
He felt a bit embarrassed, realizing he had been dedicating most of his energy to the vegetable garden.
He had lost track of what was happening at the kindergarten and felt guilty for neglecting his main duties. So, he made a special trip to the meeting room.
He found that besides himself, Teacher Tang, Doctor Lu, education experts, Shen Wei, and Gu Qingyan were all there.
It was quite a full house. Seeing Liu Chef arrive, Doctor Lu said, "We were just about to call you, and here you are."
Liu Chef felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Yes, I'm a bit late. What have you been discussing?"
Doctor Lu's eyes were sparkling with excitement: "Good news, incredible news. We just had visitors from the government."
"They said that in the East Lake Economic Development Zone, they've bought a large piece of land. If we open a kindergarten there, they can provide us with 50,000 square meters of land. It's enough for us to build a luxurious kindergarten, and they're only charging 400 yuan per square meter."
This was an incredible honor.
Even elite private kindergartens had never heard of such preferential treatment.
It was mainly because everyone had witnessed how popular Starry Sky Kindergarten had become.
The government was developing a new district.
They wanted to attract some well-known supermarkets, businesses, and kindergartens to help develop their new area, which would also allow them to sell properties at higher prices.
It was a genuine offer with real benefits.
"This is great news!"
Now, every day, many people were leaving comments asking when they would start admissions.
Many children were already taking preparatory courses.
They were just waiting for the kindergarten to start admissions and interviews.
Apparently, there were now courses specifically designed to train children in interview skills and public speaking for kindergarten admissions.
These were spin-off projects that had emerged after Starry Sky Kindergarten became so popular.
The staff at Starry Sky Kindergarten hadn't realized just how famous they had become.
But in reality, they were extremely popular.
Liu Chef looked at Shen Wei and asked, "They must have some requirements too, right?"
It couldn't be that they were getting all the benefits without any conditions.
There must be other aspects to consider.
Shen Wei admired Liu Chef's perceptiveness. He really did hit the nail on the head. Indeed, older people had seen more of the world.
Shen Wei nodded and said, "They require us to complete construction within a year, and we must reserve 200 spots for them."
"So, are you going to accept?" Liu Chef asked.
Everyone looked at Shen Wei.
Without realizing it, Shen Wei had become the backbone of Starry Sky Kindergarten.
Not a single person viewed her as a young person anymore.
She was the pillar of the kindergarten.
Shen Wei was still hesitating, unsure if this opportunity was as good as it seemed.
At that moment, the electronic voice in Shen Wei's head spoke again: "New task issued. Please proceed with opening the second branch of the kindergarten."
Seeing the expectant looks on everyone's faces, Shen Wei said, "Let's do it."
Everyone's faces lit up with excitement and enthusiasm.
These people were all veterans of the kindergarten.
Their emotional connection ran deeper than anyone else's.
Especially Liu Chef, who had been the only one there before all this began.
Now they had developed into a key project that the government was eager to attract.
That sense of pride welled up naturally within them.
