Chapter 3: Cameras in the Kitchen

Chapter 3

In early April, the weather forecast said the temperature would be thirty degrees. What kind of concept is thirty degrees? It is the concept that made Lu Chenchen unable to bear it anymore and change into a short-sleeved T-shirt. She felt too hot, especially in the kitchen.

Speaking of the kitchen, the kitchen, Lu Chenchen only wanted to give the Mao family a big "convinced" character.

She came to the Mao's on the day of the Qingming Festival, and four or five days had passed. Lu Chenchen had also caught some routines about the Mao's diet and schedule. Breakfast was basically bread plus boiled eggs plus milk. After eating, Mrs. Mao sent Big Mao to school and didn't come back with Big Mao until the afternoon when school was over. Lunch was mostly Lu Chenchen and mother-in-law eating at home. Mother-in-law didn't have high requirements, as long as there was meat, vegetables, soup, of course, the amount could not be too much. Dinner was when the family gathered most. Lu Chenchen originally planned to make it a little more abundant, but Mrs. Mao said that if they eat too much for dinner, it’s not easy to digest. She told Lu Chenchen to steam instead of fry, boil instead of cook, as long as she could cook.

It made sense, but Lu Chenchen felt that this kind of eating was only suitable for adults. For children, there should be big fish and big meat, rich and delicious. Seeing the children's appetite opened up and eating more, they could absorb more and grow up healthy and strong. She had underestimated that the oldest child was only seven or eight years old when in fact he was already ten years old.

But she was just a nanny, and a nanny without the right to buy groceries, only the right to pick up groceries.

Yes, most of the vegetables in the Mao family were bought by Mrs. Mao herself on vegetable purchasing platforms such as Box Horse and Meituan the day before. The next day, Lu Chenchen went to the corresponding self-pick-up point to pick them up. As for meat, poultry and eggs, Mrs. Mao said she would go to Walmart or Box Horse to buy enough for a week every Saturday or Sunday.

Lu Chenchen did like to go to the farmer's market. Not only could she pick and choose there, but she could also get some scallions and garlic cloves. But she was also very happy to be spared the hardship of running around to buy groceries, especially now that the weather was getting hotter and hotter. She naturally preferred to stay at home and do whatever the employer gave her, which was relaxing and effort saving.

But seeing the children's lackluster appearance at each meal, she still felt a little frustrated.

If this continued, the children's appetite could not be aroused. Would Mrs. Mao doubt her cooking skills?

Lu Chenchen used this reason to persuade herself and took the initiative to suggest two more dishes for dinner to Mrs. Mao: baked tofu in foil and hand-shredded chicken.

Seeing Mrs. Mao hesitate for that moment, Lu Chenchen regretted it again and scolded herself for being meddlesome. Forget about the tofu in foil, but hand-shredded chicken had to be blanched twice, first to remove the foam, then cooked through, and then soaked in cooled boiled water, and then shredded by hand with gloves on, one shred at a time. The fried peanuts also had to be freshly fried. Only those who had done it knew how tedious the whole process was. How silly was she to come up with such an unrewarding and laborious idea?

Not to mention whether she could get the employer's consent at all.

But since she had already made the suggestion, she naturally had to try to get it approved.

"Tofu is a very good calcium supplement, and chicken is also great, high in protein and low in fat, suitable for young and old." She touted tofu and chicken to Mrs. Mao like a salesperson.

It was probably the phrase "low in fat" that swayed Mrs. Mao. She finally nodded in agreement.

So at dinner, in addition to the "lush green" and "not too salty or light" dishes required by Mrs. Mao, there were two more heavy reddish dishes from the arena.

Mrs. Mao clearly didn't belong to the latter. She was measured and moderate, alternating carrot and stick. Lu Chenchen also readily accepted it.

They both laughed very maturely.

It was just that Lu Chenchen was still a little simple-minded. She thought she could gain approval and trust through cooking skills and thoughtfulness. How could she know that not even 24 hours had passed. The next day at noon, Mrs. Mao, who was supposed to come back with Big Mao after picking him up from school in the afternoon, came back early. She even brought a worker.

The two went straight to the kitchen. Soon, Lu Chenchen heard the worker's surprised, raised voice: "Didn't you install a camera here?"

Mrs. Mao had said before that most areas of the home were monitored. The one in the kitchen was on the ceiling at the entrance, and the angle could basically cover the entire kitchen.

Mrs. Mao's voice was gentle and low, Lu Chenchen couldn't hear very clearly.

The worker's voice was louder, "...a little troublesome, there are no power outlets here, wiring over..."

The two murmured.

Mother-in-law went to the kitchen to watch for a while, then walked out without saying anything to Lu Chenchen, and went upstairs back to her room.

Does this have anything to do with me? Did I cause some trouble? Lu Chenchen asked herself, also a little baffled.

Finally, they finished and Mrs. Mao left with the worker.

Lu Chenchen walked into the kitchen...

If only there was a mirror in front of her, Lu Chenchen would be able to appreciate that her face was a mess of colors like an overturned palette.

The previous camera had not moved, still coldly overlooking the entire kitchen from the ceiling by the entrance. Diagonally across from it, another camera had been installed, completely and thoroughly making up for that little flaw where sometimes Lu Chenchen's back was to it and it could not capture her hand movements.

The entire kitchen was now recorded from all angles with no blind spots.

The new installation actually had no power source, although the technician had pulled the power over with invisible wiring, there were still some traces that impacted the aesthetics. In other words, Mrs. Mao was willing to damage the overall look, just to ensure the kitchen was within her line of sight from front to back, left to right, above and below!

Lu Chenchen was speechless. She instinctively felt that this Mrs. Mao was not as easy to deal with on the surface as she appeared.