The Gourmet Customizer

Chapter 104: Chapter 77: I, Li Mingtao: Body in Cao Camp, Heart in Han

When he got home yesterday, Zhang Yali said their son’s Mechanical Kindergarten was moving!

The children at the kindergarten would either have to switch schools or follow it to the new campus.

"Hiss!" Zhou Kai set down the last egg he was about to peel. "I did hear something about that. It seems they’re moving to the Development Zone, but I don’t know the specifics."

He paused for a moment, then added, "That Mechanical Kindergarten is the best in the city. I was planning to enroll my kid there this year, but that’s out of the question now. I’d have to travel so far every day just to drop him off and pick him up."

Isn’t that the truth!

This was exactly what was worrying Li Mingtao.

His parents had always helped with dropping off and picking up his son, but now that it was so far away, he couldn’t rest easy letting them continue to handle it.

Besides, no one knew what the new campus was really like, and the parents’ group chat was already in an uproar.

"Oh, right! That guy from our department, Xiaowang! Doesn’t his family have connections in the Education Bureau? You should ask him."

"You mean that Xiaowang from the other day?" Li Mingtao had a vague recollection.

’No wonder,’ he thought. He had been puzzled about why a young man of twenty-five or twenty-six, a literature major at that, would come to work as an office clerk in a private company like this.

’What can you even do with a salary of two or three thousand a month?’

’So he comes from a well-connected family.’

Li Mingtao mused that when his son was older, he’d inevitably need to use some connections for his schooling. ’This Xiaowang is someone worth building a relationship with,’ he thought. ’I should look out for him when I have the chance.’

"Director Li? Director Zhou?"

Speak of the devil.

Wang Rui pushed open the door and poked his head in. "Director Zhou, there’s a document here that needs your signature."

Zhou Kai casually took the document and signed it with a flick of his wrist.

Meanwhile, Wang Rui’s eyes darted slyly towards the table.

’Well, I’ll be,’ he thought. ’Liu Xia wasn’t lying!’

’Director Li and Director Zhou are in the middle of breakfast. There are eggshells everywhere, and two eggs are left—probably one for each of them.’

Just as he was wracking his brain for a reasonable, natural, and casual way to get one of those eggs, Li Mingtao spoke.

"Xiaowang, have you had breakfast yet?"

Wang Rui started, "I... uh, no, I haven’t. I got in late today and didn’t have time."

"Oh, here, have an egg."

This took Wang Rui by surprise. ’Director Li is this generous?’ he wondered.

Zhou Kai, however, was dumbfounded. ’If you’re going to give him one, fine, but why are you giving him *my* egg? I wanted to eat that!’ he thought.

"So, Xiaowang."

"Yes?" Wang Rui answered, peeling the egg he was now incredibly curious about.

"I heard that the Mechanical Kindergarten is moving. Do you know what’s going on with that?"

Wang Rui took a bite of the egg, and the air filled with a rich, tea-like aroma. ’It really is delicious!’

Hearing Director Li’s question, he replied casually, "I only heard about it, too. The city wants to develop the Development Zone, so they figured they’d move the schools over here first."

"I see."

"Director Li, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head out!"

"Go on."

After Wang Rui left, Li Mingtao began to ponder as he peeled his egg.

The city had originally put great effort into creating this Development Zone to expand its territory, since it was a new construction.

The roads here were actually quite wide and the buildings tall. Compared to the old city district, it was certainly a lot more modern. But because Jingzhou was in the Northwest and had no high-tech industries to speak of, this High-Tech Development Zone was a bit desolate.

"That’s a ruthless move! Once the school moves, all the parents have to follow. Right now it’s the kindergarten, but later, when they move the elementary, middle, and high schools over, the property here is going to be in high demand." Zhou Kai had realized this as well.

In truth, this was all bound to happen sooner or later. It was impossible to build a new district and not develop it; the only question was how. Since they couldn’t attract high-tech companies to move in, they had to think of other methods.

Li Mingtao nodded. "Right. This way, those unfinished buildings will actually become desirable school district properties."

"Director Li, if your son starts going to school over here, what are you going to do about his meals?"

"Hiss!" Li Mingtao swallowed his mouthful of egg.

That was the very thing troubling him!

Previously, when his parents handled the school run, they would just take his son home for a home-cooked lunch.

The Mechanical Kindergarten was a public institution, so it didn’t provide any cafeteria service. But its reputation was impeccable, so much so that even wealthy families were scrambling to enroll their children there.

Li Mingtao had only secured a spot for his son back then by taking advantage of his home’s convenient location. He was reluctant to send his son to any other kindergarten.

"I’ll have to think about it. I only have a day or two to decide."

But come to think of it, Li Mingtao did have an idea.

’Since my old boss is doing this "Delicious Customization" thing now,’ he thought, ’what if I put in a custom request? For example: one kid’s lunch, healthy and delicious, budget of ten yuan.’

’Boss Su wouldn’t refuse to make it, would he?’

But on second thought, if he really did that, it would be a complete falling out with Delicious.

Absolutely not an option.

’I wouldn’t care for my own sake, but after a falling out, what if that guy Bai Xiaobo did something to my son’s food?’

As he thought of this, an idea suddenly struck Li Mingtao.

He opened the [Mechanical Kindergarten Parent Committee] group chat, thought for a moment, organized his words, and sent a message.

[Li Zihan’s Dad]: Fellow parents, the school’s move is something we can no longer change. Since we can’t change it, we have to make a decision!

I recently contacted a cafeteria in the Development Zone that can prepare dedicated lunches for our children. The cost will be around 30 yuan, and it includes a place for them to nap. The after-school meal programs in the city cost eight or nine hundred a month! If anyone is interested, please contact me.