'Looks like Chen Mengyan was really thorough. These three all meet my requirements.'
Su Chen was lounging on a chair in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the Huangpu River in the early morning.
After finishing the profiles, he casually placed his phone on the table.
"Bro~ Why isn't there any food in the house? Even the fridge is completely empty!" Su Qingya's head peeked out from the kitchen, her lips pouting so much you could hang a hook on them.
Su Chen was momentarily speechless. It seemed there really wasn't any food in the house.
"Er… go buy whatever you want to eat at the community supermarket. If you can't carry it, have them deliver it."
A hint of delight appeared on Su Qingya's face. She trotted over to Su Chen's side and held out her fair, slender right hand. "Money!"
"Just go. Buy whatever you want… Just put it on my tab!"
The community supermarket was exclusively for residents. You could make purchases just by giving your apartment number, and someone would handle the billing later.
In reality, Su Chen could have arranged it all with a single phone call. Having Su Qingya go herself… was just to give her a bit of a shopping experience.
"Hehe~ So generous!" Su Qingya went back to her room, changed her clothes, and hurried out the door.
Just as she stepped out, she saw Chen Mengyan walking out of the elevator with three middle-aged women.
"Miss Su, where are you off to?" Chen Mengyan asked curiously, seeing Su Qingya in such a rush.
"There's no food at home, so I'm going to the community supermarket for a major haul!" Without waiting for Chen Mengyan to respond, she stepped into the elevator.
Watching the elevator doors close, Chen Mengyan glanced down at the large bag of groceries she was carrying and cursed herself internally for not having noticed this earlier.
'If I'd noticed earlier that Su Chen's house was out of food and arranged for a delivery, I would have scored some major points with him.'
'Especially when Su Chen told me to prepare ingredients last night, I should have understood.'
'Too bad… it's a little too late now.'
"Steward Chen, should we go in?"
The nanny's question snapped the lost-in-thought Chen Mengyan back to her senses.
She composed herself and led the three women into the apartment.
"Young Master Su!" Chen Mengyan called out respectfully.
"Mr. Su~" the three nannies said, looking nervously at Su Chen, who was lounging on the sofa.
Su Chen nodded and turned his gaze to the three nannies.
They were all middle-aged women, around forty or so, looking to be about the same age as Su Chen's mother, Chen Shufen.
"Since Chen Mengyan carefully selected you, I'm sure your character is trustworthy. Now, let's see about your cooking skills. Just make a simple dish for me to try."
"Yes, Mr. Su."
Before they arrived, Chen Mengyan had already told them about the cooking test, so they were mentally prepared.
As for the ingredients, they were in the bag Chen Mengyan had brought.
Two of the nannies chose their ingredients and quickly walked into the kitchen. Only one, a nanny with a somewhat haggard-looking face, remained standing where she was.
This made Chen Mengyan, standing to the side, extremely anxious. If something went wrong, what would Su Chen think of her?
"Aunt Tang, what's going on? Hurry up and pick your ingredients," Chen Mengyan whispered as she walked over to her side.
Aunt Tang didn't answer. Instead, she looked at Su Chen and asked respectfully, "Mr. Su, may I ask where you're from?"
Hearing this, the corners of Su Chen's mouth lifted slightly. "I'm from Wudu!"
"Understood, Mr. Su!" Aunt Tang gave Su Chen a bow, then turned and walked toward the ingredients.
Seeing Aunt Tang's actions, a flash of surprise crossed Su Chen's eyes, and a decision began to form in his mind.
Aunt Tang had seemingly only asked Su Chen a single question, but it revealed a great deal.
Asking where Su Chen was from was to determine his taste preferences. After all, Shanghai cuisine tends to be on the sweeter side. A competent nanny must first understand her employer's tastes.
Making food that the master of the house enjoys is what a qualified nanny should do.
Secondly, when Chen Mengyan spoke to her, she didn't answer but looked at Su Chen instead. This was to show that she wasn't Chen Mengyan's subordinate, and at the same time, it was a display of loyalty to Su Chen.
She would only listen to Su Chen's words and would not reveal household matters to anyone.
It made Su Chen sigh with emotion. To survive in Shanghai, you needed to be more than just diligent and capable; you also needed a brain.
Getting a head start is everything!
"Young Master Su, I'm sorry. I didn't know Tang Xiaomei would do that…" Chen Mengyan said, biting her lip.
"It's fine." Su Chen waved his hand calmly.
Su Chen's kitchen was large enough to accommodate all three nannies.
Listening to the SIZZLING and CRACKLING sounds coming from the kitchen from time to time, Su Chen felt that, in this moment… the house finally had a touch of life.
The three nannies were all quite fast, but the expressions on the other two's faces were not very good.
When they saw the plate of Yuxiang Shredded Pork that Tang Xiaomei was holding, they knew they had made a fatal mistake: they hadn't found out their employer's taste preferences.
They had both assumed Su Chen was a native of Shanghai and had prepared dishes that were on the sweeter side.
Besides the Yuxiang Shredded Pork, the other two dishes were Braised Pork Belly and Pork Rib Rice Cakes!
Su Chen looked at the three dishes before him. To be honest… they all looked quite good just based on presentation.
Although Su Chen was just a dabbler when it came to cooking, his mother was a master chef, and he'd picked up a thing or two about food just by being around her.
Just as he picked up his chopsticks to take a taste, he heard the sound of the front door opening.
"Take everything into the kitchen. I'll put it away myself later."
Su Qingya walked in, followed by three or four men in white shirts, each carrying two large bags.
"Bro~ Are you doing a taste test?" Su Qingya walked over curiously.
"You're back just in time. Come have a taste and give your opinion."
Hearing this, Su Qingya spun around and headed for the kitchen, returning a moment later with two small bowls and chopsticks.
She handed a bowl to Su Chen and started eating.
"Ooh, so this is Shanghai's famous Pork Rib Rice Cakes, huh? It's pretty good."
"This Braised Pork Belly isn't bad either, just a bit on the sweet side."
"Mmm~ and this Yuxiang Shredded Pork is authentic Wudu style. The flavor is great, too. Delicious!"
Seeing Su Qingya enjoying herself so much, Su Chen also picked up his chopsticks and started eating.
In terms of flavor alone, the three women's cooking skills were not that different.
After a moment of silence, Su Chen turned to Chen Mengyan and said, "Let's have Tang Xiaomei stay."
Chen Mengyan nodded, then walked over to the three women and announced the result. Besides Tang Xiaomei, the other two nodded, a bit dejected, and turned to leave.
"Mr. Su, when can I start working?" Tang Xiaomei asked excitedly, all traces of her previous haggard look gone.
"You can start right now. There's a pile of things in the kitchen waiting to be put away. By the way, Mengyan, ask Qingya how much she spent just now. I'll transfer the money to you in a bit."
Tang Xiaomei tactfully headed toward the kitchen.
Hearing Su Chen's question, Chen Mengyan quickly took out her phone, made a call, and hung up shortly after.
"Young Master Su, Miss Su spent a total of 21,800!"
"What? How was it so expensive? I only bought some groceries, snacks, and fruit!" Hearing she'd spent over twenty thousand, Su Qingya instantly leaped up from the sofa.
Su Chen glanced at Su Qingya, then at the ten or so bags in the kitchen, and took out his phone to transfer the money to Chen Mengyan.