Chapter 32: I’m Not Afraid at All

To celebrate Xiao Hui’s safe return, the canteen prepared dumplings and chicken drumsticks for lunch.

As for the dumplings, Yuan Yuan planned to make them with the kids and Master Zhao.

The children at the orphanage were used to helping out with chores, and they were especially excited about big group activities like dumpling-making.

It was a chance to play and spend time together, while also enjoying the anticipation of waiting for the dumplings to cook.

Most importantly, they all really, really loved eating dumplings.

In the past, the orphanage had been so poor that meals were often made from the cheapest ingredients—different ways to cook cabbage, ways to cook white radish, endless variations of pumpkin dishes.

Only during holidays could they barely manage to have a meal with dumplings.

So for the children at the orphanage, dumplings held a special meaning.

And today, Master Zhao had even prepared a variety of fillings.

There were fresh shrimp, celery and pork, vegetarian three-delights, Spanish mackerel, lotus root and pork, fennel and pork, lamb and carrot, chicken and shiitake mushroom.

He deliberately didn’t prepare the usual cabbage or radish with pork fillings.

From observation, he’d realized that although the kids weren’t picky eaters, they had probably been hungry for too long in the past. Now, they all had a strong preference for meat.

They’d eaten too much cabbage and radish before. It wasn’t that they disliked them, just that they didn’t really enjoy them.

Since today was a day worth celebrating, he naturally wanted to prepare something everyone would love.

All the ingredients had been freshly delivered that morning by order of Director Lu.

“Master Zhao, I’m planning to start a livestream. You’ll be on camera—is that okay?” Yuan Yuan walked over and asked.

“Sure, but… I’ve never done a livestream before. I don’t even know what to say,” Master Zhao replied, a little nervous.

“No worries, Master Zhao. Just keep doing what you’re doing. You don’t have to worry about anything.”

“I already announced earlier that today’s stream will be on the orphanage’s official account.”

“We’ll just set up a tripod over there, and everyone can go about their work as usual.”

“That’s good.” Master Zhao relaxed at once.

Soon, the tripod was in place.

The livestream setup was ready.

The stream went live.

Yuan Yuan first got the kids to wipe down the tables and wash their hands.

During the process, she also took the opportunity to teach them a few nursery rhymes or catchy life tips.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Master Zhao began preparing the various fillings.

He handled the fresh, high-quality green prawns with practiced ease.

Holding the prawn’s head in one hand and a toothpick in the other, he counted down to the third segment from where the head met the body. With a quick poke and a pull, he cleanly extracted a long black vein.

He moved on to the next one with the same smooth motion.

“Whoa, Grandpa Zhao, what are you doing?” Su Tao squatted beside him, watching intently.

“I’m removing the prawn veins. That black line is the prawn’s digestive tract. It can contain dirt and food residue, which can breed bacteria, parasites, and fungi.”

“So before we eat prawns, we have to take that black vein out,” Master Zhao explained patiently.

“Bacteria? I know about that! Teacher Yuan told us that if we don’t wash our hands before eating, we can get bacteria in our stomachs.”

“And if that happens, we’ll get stomachaches and fall sick.”

“If we get sick, we can’t eat yummy food, only plain porridge.”

“And if it gets really bad, we won’t even be allowed to drink water. That’s the worst!” Su Tao’s cute voice carried a tone of serious concern.

She had just been chatting with Xiao Hui earlier.

Xiao Hui said that after his surgery, he wasn’t allowed to eat anything. It was awful.

Unlike the others who got to stay at the orphanage and eat all the delicious food Grandpa Zhao made every day.

She swore she would behave and never get sick.

“Hehe, that’s right. You should all listen to Teacher Yuan.”

“Mm-hmm! I’m super obedient!”

Just as Su Tao finished speaking, they heard Teacher Yuan calling from nearby.

“Taozi, why are you in the kitchen by yourself?”

“Um, Teacher Yuan, I already finished my chores. I wanted to help Grandpa Zhao, so I came over,” Su Tao stuck out her tongue and explained.

“Alright then, you can help here. Just remember, whatever you do, do it with care.”

“Got it, don’t worry, Teacher Yuan! I promise I won’t mess around!” Taozi shouted confidently.

【Hahaha, this little girl is just too adorable!】

【I know her! She’s a little foodie who loves all the delicious things Master Zhao makes.】

【Everyone’s focused on the cute little girl. Am I the only one staring at the giant prawns in the chef’s hands?】

【Whoa, where did they buy those prawns? They look huge and super fresh!】

【I’m amazed by how fast and smooth Chef Zhao is at deveining those prawns!】

【Exactly! I tried doing it at home once and almost threw up. It’s so hard!】

【Someone please teach me that deveining technique!】

【……】

The livestream already had over five thousand viewers.

Everyone was excitedly spamming the chat, enjoying the lively scene.

“Hehe, Grandpa Zhao, teach me how to devein prawns! I want to help!”

“Teacher Yuan gave me permission to help!” Taozi said with extra confidence.

“Taozi, try holding a prawn first. Let’s see if you’re scared.”

“I’m not scared at all. Watch me.”

Taozi grabbed a prawn in each hand, but they were so big she couldn’t hold even one properly.

“Alright, since you’re not scared, I’ll teach you now.”

Since Taozi was a child, Master Zhao took out a pair of kitchen scissors.

He carefully snipped off the hard shell at the prawn’s head, worried it might poke her hand.

Then he handed her a toothpick and began demonstrating slowly.

After his step-by-step breakdown, he successfully pulled out a black prawn vein.

Taozi, though a bit clumsy, also managed to extract one successfully.

“Grandpa Zhao, look! I did it!”

“Great job, Taozi!”

“Eh, it was okay.”

“Grandpa Zhao, Taozi, I want to help too!”

“Me too!”

Soon, a few more kids came over and squatted down to help.

Master Zhao welcomed them all.

He snipped off the prawn heads with lightning speed, then demonstrated the process again slowly for everyone.

Some kids weren’t as quick to learn as Taozi. They failed the first time but stubbornly tried again.

At that point, Taozi began giving instructions.

“Hey, Brother Gangzi, you’re poking the wrong spot. It’s right here!”

“Oh, okay, I’ll try again.”

The boy called Brother Gangzi finally succeeded on his fourth try, pulling out a full prawn vein without breaking it.

But somehow, maybe due to a slip or too much force, the black vein he worked so hard to extract flew straight into the face of the kid across from him.

“Hahaha, Brother Gangzi, you just flung the prawn vein onto Sister Chao’s face!”

“Sister Chao, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to!”

“Oh? So if it wasn’t on purpose, does that mean it was?” Sister Chao bared her teeth at him.

“Yeah yeah, I can vouch for that. Brother Gangzi definitely did it on purpose,” Taozi egged things on.

“No I didn’t! Taozi, stop making stuff up!”

“Sister Chao, here, let me wipe it off for you.”

“……”

Though they were joking around, their hands never stopped moving.

In fact, they were getting faster and more skilled.

Soon, all the prawn veins were done.

Master Zhao washed the deveined prawns again and put them in the freezer.

“Grandpa Zhao, why are you freezing the prawns? Aren’t we making dumplings?” Taozi asked curiously.

“If you freeze them for five to ten minutes, the shells come off super easily. You can peel one in a second.”

“Of course, that’s just my personal habit.”

“Some people prefer to cut the back open with scissors first, then peel and devein.”

“Ohhh, so what do we do next?”

“Next, we chop the pork and season the filling. This is the key to whether the dumplings turn out delicious or not~”