The kindergarten teacher comforted him, "Mr. Tongtong's parent, children always resist on their first day of kindergarten. It's a normal reaction. They'll adapt in about a week. Please don't be reluctant. Your child can only receive proper education in kindergarten and keep up in primary school. Otherwise, a moment of leniency will harm your child!"
Liu Yifeng found her words to be very reasonable. He forced himself to suppress his reluctance and watched as Tongtong, still crying, was led into the kindergarten by the teacher. The parents were only allowed to watch from outside and could not enter.
"Tongtong, don't cry, Daddy will come to pick you up early," Liu Yifeng shouted loudly towards the kindergarten. His eyes welled up a little. This was the longest Tongtong had been away from him since he came to live with him, and he felt quite reluctant to part. Now, he finally understood the feelings of parents sending their children to kindergarten for the first time. When he saw news reports of parents secretly wiping away tears after sending their children to kindergarten, he had thought it was being overly sentimental. He figured it was just kindergarten, not a permanent separation, and if it were him, he'd be happy about the peace and quiet. But now, he only felt reluctance. He was afraid Tongtong would cry continuously inside, or even refuse to eat lunch.
Such scenes were continuing. Many parents sending their children to kindergarten watched their children go in with lingering reluctance. Even more dramatically, a young couple hugged each other and wept. However, Liu Yifeng did not mock them, as he felt just as bad. But for Tongtong's future, he had to be resolute. Not letting Tongtong go to kindergarten out of momentary softness would be harming him, not loving him.
After adjusting his mindset, Liu Yifeng called the principal. "Principal Zhao, I've delivered the vegetables. Can your staff come out to move them?"
Because it was the first day of school, Principal Zhao was extremely busy and had forgotten about this matter. She hurriedly said, "Mr. Liu, I apologize. I forgot to tell you yesterday. Could you please drive your car to the back door? The front entrance is quite a distance from the kitchen."
"No problem. I'll drive to the back door now. Should I go around the road to the back?" Liu Yifeng wasn't angry, as he had nothing else to do.
"Yes, yes, yes. I'll be waiting at the back door now."
Shortly after, Liu Yifeng drove around to the back door, which was much quieter than the front. He got out of the car and directly opened the trunk. He hadn't packed the vegetables in bags, fearing they might spoil if left in a confined space for too long. Instead, he had packed them in clean baskets, totaling three large ones. The vegetables in the baskets looked remarkably fresh, not wilted at all.
"Principal Zhao, are you satisfied with these vegetables?" Liu Yifeng placed the vegetables on the ground.
Zhao Qing glanced at the vegetables and nodded with great satisfaction. "These vegetables are excellent. Thank you for your trouble." She then instructed two staff members from the kitchen to move the vegetables inside. The kitchen was very close to the back door, just a turn around the corner.
"Principal Zhao, I have a scale in my car. Don't you want to weigh them?" Liu Yifeng always kept a digital scale in his car.
Zhao Qing smiled and shook her head. "No need. Can I not trust you? This is the payment for the vegetables, totaling three thousand. Please count it." The price she offered was the same as that at the Longteng Hotel: twelve yuan per jin for all vegetables.
Liu Yifeng took the money without counting and put it directly into his pocket. "Since Principal Zhao trusts me so much, I trust Principal Zhao just as much." He then suddenly had a question. "Principal Zhao, you spend three thousand on vegetables alone for the children, not including other items. This means the kindergarten's monthly food expenses, excluding weekends, must be at least one hundred thousand, right? Are you able to make a profit?" He had heard that many kindergartens, in order to make money, only fed the children vegetables, and those vegetables were bought from the market in the afternoon when they were less fresh and therefore cheaper. Zhao Qing, however, was willing to spend so much on food for the children's well-being, which he greatly admired.
Zhao Qing smiled and explained, "Our kindergarten has a total of two hundred and sixty children. The tuition fee for each child per year is nearly ten thousand yuan. For two hundred and sixty children, that's twenty-six million yuan. Parents spend so much money at our kindergarten not only because of our excellent educational qualifications but also to ensure their children eat well. If I were to cut corners on food, which parent would be willing to send their child to our kindergarten in the future?"
Liu Yifeng was surprised to learn that the kindergarten's annual income was over twenty-six million yuan, more than many companies earned. It was no wonder Zhao Qing always bought fruits for the children from Baiguo Garden, let alone paying twelve yuan per jin for vegetables. However, this made him even more reassured about letting Tongtong attend this kindergarten. "Principal, you are right. I was shortsighted."
"Mr. Liu is too modest. You can rest assured leaving Tongtong with our kindergarten. I have other matters to attend to, so I won't chat with you further. We can have a good talk another time," Zhao Qing said, glancing at her watch.
"Okay, I won't bother you further, Principal Zhao. Just send me a message tomorrow for how many vegetables you need, and I'll deliver them," Liu Yifeng replied.
After leaving the kindergarten, Liu Yifeng was about to head back when he received a call from Liu Kai Chen. "Yifeng, did Tongtong start kindergarten today?" Liu Kai Chen asked on the phone.
Liu Yifeng nodded. "Yes, I just took him to kindergarten and am heading back now. Is there something you need?"
"Of course, I want to treat you to lunch. Since you're in the city, don't go back. Let's have a few drinks, brother. You can sleep at my apartment this afternoon, and then we'll pick up Tongtong." Liu Kai Chen had already planned his entire day for him, leaving Liu Yifeng no excuse to refuse. He reluctantly agreed. "Lunch is fine, but it's not even nine o'clock yet. Where am I supposed to stay until twelve?"
"Come to my company. I can give you a tour of my workplace," Liu Kai Chen immediately suggested. Liu Yifeng wasn't particularly interested in Kai Chen's workplace. However, seeing Kai Chen's eagerness to show him around, he didn't want to disappoint him. "Alright then, send me your company's address. I'll drive over now."
Liu Kai Chen then sent him his company's address via WeChat. His company was located in an office building in Honggutan District, occupying an entire floor. Liu Yifeng followed the address to Kai Chen's workplace. As he stepped out of the elevator and was about to enter, the receptionist stopped him. "Sir, do you have an appointment?" Everyone working at their company wore suits, and the women wore white shirts, black casual blazers, and black pencil skirts, exuding professionalism. Liu Yifeng, dressed very casually and without a company ID badge, clearly wasn't an insider. Liu Yifeng walked over to explain, "The General Manager asked me to come!"
"General Manager? But I wasn't informed by the General Manager's secretary that he had scheduled a client meeting today. How about this, please wait in the lounge. Our General Manager should be arriving at the company soon." Since there was no record of the General Manager's visitor on the appointment log, the receptionist dared not let Liu Yifeng in easily. Liu Yifeng was surprised by the strict management of the company, unlike the small company he used to work for, where anyone could come and go, and the security guards were merely decorative. As for the receptionists, they would often watch dramas, touch up their makeup, and gossip with colleagues from their desks, living a leisurely life. It was so lax that one time, a man, heartbroken after being dumped by a female colleague, harbored resentment and intended to retaliate with a fruit knife. The female colleague, caught off guard, was stabbed to death. He resigned the next day, so Liu Yifeng didn't know the current security situation or if the receptionist had been fired.