Chapter 26: A Visit to the Kindergarten

Monday arrived, and the new week began, with the adults heading back to work.

At 7:30 in the morning, Meng Yufei promptly took Xia Qinqin out the door to go to work. First, they went to the cafeteria for breakfast, and today’s special was the local rice noodles.

Meng Yufei ordered a large bowl of rice noodles, topped with bean sprouts, pickled cabbage, bamboo shoots, shredded lean meat, and fried peanuts—very rich in ingredients—and it was drizzled with a special sauce. The bowl was filled to the brim, and it looked appetizing.

After stirring the noodles with chopsticks, each strand of noodle was coated in the sweet and savory sauce, making it incredibly flavorful.

The noodles were slippery, which made it difficult for the little one to eat. So, Meng Yufei fed her daughter first, picking up a bite of noodles and placing it in Xia Qinqin’s mouth. Xia Qinqin, the little foodie, squinted her eyes in satisfaction and said, “This is so yummy~”

Meng Yufei smiled and said, “If it’s delicious, eat more.”

After finishing breakfast, they left the cafeteria and went upstairs.

Meng Yufei took out the keys and unlocked the door to the Finance Department’s office, placing her handbag on a chair. She told Xia Qinqin to sit next to her and picked up the broom behind the door to start sweeping.

At that moment, Section Chief Chen from the Human Resources Department knocked on the office door. He said, “Director Meng, the department head would like you to come to his office.”

After Meng Yufei resolved the issue at Captain Qin’s house last week, it was basically confirmed that she would be working in the Finance Department. Section Chief Chen had promptly changed her title, addressing her as “Director” because it was the safest title until her official position was determined.

Meng Yufei nodded, “Alright, I’ll come right away.”

She put down the broom and instructed Xia Qinqin to stay in the office and behave, then followed Section Chief Chen to the Deputy Director’s office.

Xia Qinqin was already familiar with the office. When her mother said she would be out for a while, she didn’t ask to follow. Instead, she obediently nodded, promising to stay put.

Once Meng Yufei left the office, Xia Qinqin quickly ran to grab the broom from behind the door. She held the handle tightly with both hands and began sweeping back and forth across the floor with all her might.

Mom’s busy, so I’ll help sweep the floor!

Meng Yufei followed Section Chief Chen to the Deputy Director’s office. The door was open. Section Chief Chen knocked, and when Deputy Director Fu heard the noise, he looked up, smiled, and pointed to the two chairs in front of his desk. “You’re here, come on in and sit down.”

Once they were seated, Deputy Director Fu got straight to the point. “The reason I called you here today is to discuss personnel transfers.”

Section Chief Chen seemed to already be aware of the matter and wasn’t surprised. Meng Yufei felt a hint of confusion flash across her eyes but didn’t ask any questions, choosing instead to sit quietly and listen.

Deputy Director Fu continued, “Xiao Meng, you handled last week’s matter very well. As expected of a graduate from a prestigious university, your ability didn’t disappoint.”

Meng Yufei smiled and said, “Director, you flatter me.”

Deputy Director Fu laughed, “I’m just speaking the truth. I’ve already reported your work to the supervisor, and he’s very pleased. He hopes that you can continue working in the Finance Department.”

This was the official confirmation that Meng Yufei would remain in the Finance Department.

Meng Yufei hurriedly said, “Thank you for the supervisor’s trust. I will work hard and not let him down.”

Deputy Director Fu nodded, “Since you’ve decided to stay in the Finance Department, we’ll make sure to fully support your work. Given that you’re the only one in the department right now, I thought it would be best to assign someone to assist you.”

He paused briefly and then continued, “Our Logistics Office has always been understaffed, so after thinking it over, we’ve decided to transfer someone from the Human Resources Department to help you.”

At this point, he looked toward Section Chief Chen and said, “I’ve already discussed this with Section Chief Chen, and she understands and is very cooperative. She has agreed to send someone over. You two can decide who will be transferred.”

Meng Yufei smiled and said, “Thank you for the leadership’s concern about my work. Since Section Chief Chen is so supportive of my work, I really can’t make any more requests. Anyone who comes from Section Chief Chen is sure to have unquestionable work abilities, so I’ll leave the decision to Section Chief Chen.”

She couldn’t really be impolite and choose someone for herself after the leadership said such polite words.

Hearing her reply, Deputy Director Fu smiled and nodded, then said, “Section Chief Chen, who do you think would be suitable to send over?”

Section Chief Chen replied, “Well, although we currently have four people in our department, the workload is still quite heavy. Section Chief Ma is experienced and most familiar with the work of our HR department, so we can’t do without him here. The two young ones that can be transferred over are Xiao Wu and Xiao Zhang.”

Deputy Director Fu nodded and said, “Young people learn quickly.”

Section Chief Chen continued, “Director Meng, between these two young ones, who would you prefer to send over?”

Meng Yufei replied, “I don’t know much about either of them, so I’ll leave the decision to you, Section Chief Chen.”

After thinking for a moment, Section Chief Chen said, “Since you’re new to the Finance Department, you’re not too familiar with our Logistics Office yet. How about we send Xiao Zhang over? She has more work experience, and Xiao Zhang is a key member of my team. She’s sharp and has great work ability.”

In the end, Section Chief Chen decided to keep the more capable Xiao Wu, who was better at handling things.

Meng Yufei smiled and said, “Thank you, Section Chief Chen. Xiao Zhang was the one who handled my transfer process, and she’s indeed a very capable young lady.”

Deputy Director Fu nodded in satisfaction, “Alright, let’s go with her. She should come over today so she can get familiar with the work quickly, and we can also get the family coupons distributed.”

Section Chief Chen and Meng Yufei both agreed, “Okay.”

After leaving the director’s office, Section Chief Chen said, “Director Meng, you can head back to the office now. I’ll send Xiao Zhang over shortly.”

“Alright, thank you.”

When Meng Yufei returned to the office, Xia Qinqin was waiting with the broom, proudly saying, “Mom, look, I swept the floor!”

Seeing her little one holding a broom almost as tall as herself, Meng Yufei’s heart softened. She squatted down and kissed her daughter’s cheek, praising, “Great job! Qinqin can sweep the floor now. You’re such a little grown-up.”

Xia Qinqin smiled and asked, “Mom, can you reward me with a piece of candy?” She wiggled her index finger in front of her.

Meng Yufei gently tapped her forehead and smiled, “Okay, I’ll reward you with two pieces. Go ahead and get them from my bag.”

“Yay! Thank you, Mom!” Xia Qinqin kissed Meng Yufei on the cheek and happily ran to grab the candy from the bag.

Meng Yufei filled a basin with water, dampened a cloth, and wiped down the three desks.

Soon, Xiao Zhang entered with a pile of things in her arms.

“Senior Meng, I’m here to join you.”

Meng Yufei smiled, “Welcome, welcome. You can choose whichever desk you want to sit at.”

Xiao Zhang casually placed her things on the first desk she came to, smiling, “I’ll take this one, Senior Meng. From now on, I’ll stick with you.”

Meng Yufei said, “Xiao Zhang, I’m sorry to have you leave your original department and come here to help me.”

Xiao Zhang waved her hand, “It’s the same wherever I work, and it’s much more fun to work with you, Senior Meng.”

The two of them worked together to organize Xiao Zhang’s things. Meng Yufei’s task for the day was to organize the coupons that needed to be distributed to various families, and it was just in time for Xiao Zhang to help. Since Xiao Zhang had previously worked in the HR department, she was familiar with the personnel relations in the family housing area.

Xiao Zhang nodded repeatedly after hearing Meng Yufei’s work arrangement, saying, “This should’ve been done a long time ago. You see, in the city, every household has a grain book. Every time they go to buy grain, they just need to show the grain book. Unlike our family housing area, where the Finance Department didn’t want to bother with it before and refused to make the grain books.”

Meng Yufei didn’t understand, “Making a grain book for each family only takes some effort at first, but wouldn’t it save time every month after that?”

Xiao Zhang sighed, “At first, there were only a few families with military dependents. The Finance Department thought it was enough to just distribute the supplies directly without making grain books. But as the number of families with military dependents grew, they kept procrastinating, delaying it from one day to the next. As the number of families increased, they just became lazier about handling it.”

Meng Yufei said, “…Forget about their past mistakes. Let’s focus on getting it organized in the next few days.”

Xiao Zhang nodded, “Right, okay.”

There were a total of 103 households and 408 people in the family housing area. Organizing everything was no small task, but fortunately, both of them were efficient workers, so their work efficiency was very high.

Originally, Meng Yufei estimated it would take at least four to five days to finish it alone, but now with Xiao Zhang’s help, they could probably get it done in two or three days.

Sitting to the side, Xia Qinqin saw her mother and Aunt Xiao Zhang deeply focused on their work. Bored, she picked up a paintbrush and began doodling aimlessly on a piece of paper, though she wasn’t in the mood for drawing today.

Feeling extremely bored, she started playing with candy wrappers. The candy had already been eaten, and now she was using colored pens to doodle on the large white rabbit image on the candy wrapper.

Meng Yufei looked up and saw Xia Qinqin sitting there, bored, playing with the candy wrappers. After thinking for a moment, she asked Xiao Zhang, “Xiao Zhang, where do the children from the family housing area go to kindergarten?”

Xiao Zhang replied, “There isn’t a kindergarten in our family housing area. The children all go to the kindergarten in the town. Senior Meng, are you planning to send Qinqin to school?”

Meng Yufei nodded, “Yes, since I’ll be working, there’s no one at home to take care of Qinqin. It’s not ideal to bring her to work every day, and it would be boring for her to stay here alone. Sending her to kindergarten is the best option. At least she can play with other children her age. Xiao Zhang, do you know where the kindergarten in town is?”

Xiao Zhang said, “It’s near the town government. Do you know where the town government is?”

Meng Yufei replied, “Yes, I went to the post office there a few days ago. Hmm… it’s a bit far.”

Xiao Zhang said, “If you walk, it’s a bit far. But if you have a bicycle, it would take about ten minutes. Unfortunately, the roads on the island aren’t suitable for cycling—there are too many bumpy dirt roads and stone paths. Riding a bike is more tiring than walking.”

Meng Yufei thought for a moment and said, “Xiao Zhang, I’ll come a little later this afternoon. I’ll take Qinqin to the kindergarten to check it out.”

Xiao Zhang nodded, “Okay, Senior Meng, you can go ahead. I’ll handle things here.”

At lunch when they were home, Meng Yufei told Xia Junshan about going to the kindergarten in the afternoon. Xia Junshan said, “How about I take the afternoon off and go with you?”

Meng Yufei replied, “No need, I just want to check things out first. If you want to take her to school, you can go with her when she officially starts school.”

When Xia Qinqin heard that she was going to kindergarten, she stopped eating, swallowed the rice in her mouth, and looked up to ask, “Mom, am I going to kindergarten?”

Meng Yufei nodded, “Yes, all little kids go to kindergarten.”

Xia Qinqin asked in confusion, “But my kindergarten isn’t here. Are we going back?”

Meng Yufei explained, “There’s a kindergarten here too. How about we go to kindergarten here?”

Xia Qinqin thought for a moment and asked, “Does this kindergarten have Zhuangzhuang? Does it have Teacher Linlin?”

Zhuangzhuang would give her delicious chocolate, and Teacher Linlin would sing songs for her.

Meng Yufei shook her head and said, “This kindergarten will have new kids and new teachers.”

Xia Qinqin looked a little disappointed and said, “Then can I not go? I want to go to work with Mom.”

Meng Yufei said, “No, little children have to go to school, and only adults go to work. There are many other children at the kindergarten, and you can make new friends there.”

Xia Qinqin whispered, “Okay.”

After taking a nap, Meng Yufei styled Xia Qinqin’s hair into a neat high ponytail and added a few small braids for decoration.

They put on their straw hats and set off for the kindergarten.

Walking along the road in front of the family housing area toward the town government, they asked a passerby for directions. The kindergarten was right in front of the town government, to the right.

It was just the right time for the afternoon session at the kindergarten. The sign “Nanya Island Kindergarten” hung at the entrance, and beyond it was a large courtyard. In the back, there were three rooms that served as classrooms, while the two rooms on the left were for the teachers’ offices.

The kindergarten wasn’t large, but there were quite a few students. A number of children arrived in groups of three or five, some were dropped off by their parents, and they ran and played in the yard, chattering and making noise.

Meng Yufei went to the teachers’ office to inquire about the basic details of the kindergarten and the enrollment process.

“Our morning session is from 8:00 to 11:30, and the afternoon session is from 2:30 to 5:00. We don’t provide lunch, and there are three classes: large, medium, and small,” the teacher explained.

“The enrollment process isn’t complicated, just bring proof of identity. For local residents on the island, it’s five yuan a year, and for families from the housing area, it’s ten yuan a year.”

The kindergarten was funded by the town government, so naturally, they offered discounts to local residents.

Meng Yufei asked, “How many students are currently in the kindergarten?”

“There are over 130 students. The largest class has more than 50, the middle class has around 40, and the smallest class has about 30. How old is your child?”

Meng Yufei replied, “She’s four years old.”

“Ah, then she can join the middle class.”

After leaving the kindergarten, Meng Yufei felt a bit troubled. The number of students in each class was too high. She had noticed outside that there was only one teacher per class, and they couldn’t possibly manage all the children. The noise from the crying children never stopped across the classes.

Moreover, the kindergarten was quite far from the family housing area. Since they didn’t provide lunch, she would have to make the round trip four times a day, which added up to nearly an hour and a half of walking. This was quite a lot for a little child.

On the way back, Xia Qinqin asked, “Mom, do I have to go to school here?”

Meng Yufei asked her, “Do you like it here?”

Xia Qinqin shook her head and said, “I don’t like it. There are no toys here, and the other kids keep crying. I don’t like it.”

Meng Yufei said, “Then we don’t need to rush into going to school here. Let’s wait until Mom finishes her work first.”

Xia Qinqin asked, “Do I need to keep going to work with Mom?”

Meng Yufei nodded, “Yes, that’s right.”

Xia Qinqin smiled, holding her mother’s hand as she skipped happily, saying, “I like going to work with Mom.”

After returning from the kindergarten, they went directly to the logistics office. Xiao Zhang asked, “Sister Meng, how was it? I’m sure the conditions of our island’s kindergarten can’t compare to those in Haishi.”

Meng Yufei shared her thoughts with her, and Xiao Zhang nodded in agreement, saying, “It’s not that big a deal if the kids don’t go to kindergarten for a day or two. I’ve heard about that kindergarten. The kids just go there to play every day, and the teachers don’t really teach anything. Many children from families in our housing area haven’t gone there either.”

Meng Yufei then remembered that Fangfang, from Mrs. Zhang’s house next door, hadn’t gone to kindergarten either.

She curiously asked, “Why doesn’t our family housing area have a kindergarten? I see there are about thirty or forty children of kindergarten age, which is enough to start one.”

Xiao Zhang replied, “Someone mentioned it before. It seems they said there was no space. Last year, Director Wang from the Women’s Committee came to the finance department to apply for funds to build a kindergarten, but the finance department said there was no money and couldn’t allocate that much. After that, the matter was dropped.”

Meng Yufei silently took note of this and thought she would look through the documents later to check for any relevant regulations.

In the afternoon, to keep Xia Qinqin from getting bored, Meng Yufei brought a book of “Children’s Library” for her to look at. It had many illustrations, and even though Xia Qinqin couldn’t read much yet, she was thoroughly engaged.

By the end of the day, Meng Yufei and Xiao Zhang had already organized the coupons for fifty households. Meng Yufei looked at her watch and said, “Let’s get off work. At this speed, we should finish the rest by tomorrow.”

Xiao Zhang stretched and said, “Thanks to you, Sister Meng, for preparing the form ahead of time. With the contents to reference, the work went very quickly.”

Meng Yufei closed the account book and said, “Let’s go eat. We’re working above the cafeteria, and just smelling the food makes me hungrier than usual.”

Xiao Zhang got up and packed her things, laughing, “Tell me about it! Every day when I smell the food from the cafeteria, I start guessing what they’re cooking.”

Meng Yufei picked up her bag, put Xia Qinqin’s book in it, and smiled, “So what do you think they’re making today?”

“Hmm, I think they’re making shrimp. Based on the head chef’s habit, it’s probably scallion shrimp.”

As they spoke, they closed the window, took Xia Qinqin, and left the office. They locked the door and went downstairs to the cafeteria.

Just as Xiao Zhang had guessed, the cafeteria was indeed serving scallion shrimp. Meng Yufei knew the shrimp didn’t require a coupon, so without thinking, she ordered a portion for 35 cents.

She also ordered a serving of vegetarian dish, looking over the options and choosing dry-fried green beans for 7 cents. The soup was seaweed egg drop soup, which cost 5 cents.

For the staple food, today they had steamed buns. Meng Yufei ordered five large ones, each one bigger than her fist. One bun cost 3 cents, so five of them came to 15 cents, using 3 liang of grain coupons.

Carrying the lunchbox and holding Xia Qinqin’s hand, Meng Yufei walked home. Mrs. Zhang from next door was just outside washing something. The walls between their yards were both low bamboo fences, and although there was some distance, they could still see each other’s yards clearly when they looked up.

Mrs. Zhang called out, “Sis, you’re back from work! Wait a minute, I have something for you.” She turned and went back into the house, coming out with a plate.

“These are the chive pockets I made this afternoon. The filling is from the first batch of chives from my yard. They’re very fresh and tender. Try them, and let me know how they taste.”

The relationship between their two families was quite good, so Meng Yufei didn’t stand on ceremony. She took the plate and said, “Thank you, Sister. The noodles you make must be delicious.”

Mrs. Zhang waved her hand and said, “No need to thank me. We had your crab sauce yesterday. You know, that crab sauce of yours was really good. My husband, Old Ma, ate three bowls of noodles with it last night. It filled him up so much that he ran around the seaside a few times.”

Meng Yufei laughed, “My husband also loves it. Next time I go crabbing, I’ll bring some back to make more crab sauce. When the time comes, I’ll ask you to come and help me.”

Mrs. Zhang said, “Okay, just call me when the time comes.”

Meng Yufei went back to the house, placed the chive pockets on their own plate, and returned the plate to Mrs. Zhang.

After seeing Mrs. Zhang off, Meng Yufei took Xia Qinqin to wash their hands, then set the food on the table.

Xia Qinqin looked at the chive pockets and asked curiously, “Mom, these dumplings are so big.”

Meng Yufei smiled and said, “These are chive pockets.”

Xia Qinqin tilted her head and asked, “What’s a chive pocket? This doesn’t look like a pocket.”

Meng Yufei thought for a moment and said, “Hmm, you’re right. These are like big dumplings, but they’re not boiled. They’re cooked in a pan.”

Xia Qinqin didn’t know what “^[1]“炕” (kàng) refers to a traditional heated platform or a raised bed in some regions of China, especially in northern areas. It’s typically made of brick or stone and is heated by warm … Continue readingkang” was, but she understood that it wasn’t boiled, so she said, “So, chive pockets are just dumplings that aren’t boiled?”

Meng Yufei nodded and said, “Uh, kind of.”

When Xia Junshan came back and saw the chive pockets and steamed buns on the table, he laughed and said, “What’s the occasion today? Two kinds of staple foods?”

Meng Yufei replied seriously, “Since there are two ‘appetites’ for noodles in the house, I made two types of noodles for you.”

Xia Junshan scratched his head and laughed, “Then you should have made some rice too, we still have room for rice, right?”

Meng Yufei smiled and said, “The chive pockets were given by Sister-in-law Zhang next door, and the steamed buns were from the cafeteria. Let’s have the chive pockets tonight, and we’ll have the buns tomorrow.”

Xia Junshan nodded and said, “Alright. Tomorrow morning, I’ll make breakfast for you. We still have eggs at home. I’ll slice the buns, dip them in egg, and fry them in oil. They’ll be really delicious.”

Meng Yufei said, “I didn’t know you were so good at this.”

Xia Junshan puffed out his chest and said, “Of course! I still have plenty of tricks up my sleeve. I’ll show you some more later.”

Xia Qinqin curiously circled around Xia Junshan, then looked up seriously and asked, “Dad, where are the other tricks you’re hiding?”

Xia Junshan: “…”

At the dinner table, Xia Junshan peeled the shrimp for Xia Qinqin. The sauce for the scallion shrimp was heavy, so as soon as he touched the shrimp, his hands were covered in sauce.

Meng Yufei said, “You eat first, I’ll peel the shrimp for her.”

Xia Junshan said, “No, my hands are already covered in sauce. I’ll just finish peeling them, you don’t need to do it.”

Xia Junshan peeled the shrimp quickly and put all the shrimp into Xia Qinqin’s and Meng Yufei’s bowls. Meng Yufei also put a few shrimp into his bowl. Xia Qinqin, seeing this, picked up some shrimp and put them into her dad’s bowl.

After peeling the shrimp, Xia Junshan went to wash his hands. Meng Yufei handed him a chive pocket and said, “Quick, try this chive pocket. The chives inside were grown in Sister-in-law Zhang’s yard, they’re very fresh.”

Xia Junshan took a bite, nodded repeatedly, and said, “I have to say, Sister-in-law Zhang really knows how to make noodles.”

Meng Yufei took another chive pocket, broke it in half, gave one half to Xia Qinqin, and ate the other half herself.

Xia Qinqin looked at the filling inside, pointed at the yellow filling, and asked, “Mom, what’s this?”

Meng Yufei glanced at it and said, “It’s egg. Try it and see if you like it.”

Xia Qinqin lowered her head, took a bite, was about to speak, but then remembered what her mom had told her. She swallowed the food in her mouth before saying, “It’s delicious. It tastes just like the dumplings Grandma makes.”

Well, Xia Qinqin had now decided that chive pockets were just big dumplings.