"Papa, you're hugging too tight, Qingqing can hardly breathe~"
"Papa, Weiwei can't breathe either~"
Qingqing and Weiwei, the two little darlings, softly meowed like cute little kittens, making Huang Jun immediately realize that his hug was too forceful.
He quickly loosened his grip and gently patted their little arms, looking at them apologetically, "Sorry, kiddos, Papa was too careless."
"Did I hurt you?" he asked with concern.
"Nope~"
Qingqing and Weiwei shook their heads in unison, flashing their tiny milk teeth as they smiled at him, "Papa, don't be upset, we don't hurt."
Faced with their angelic smiles, Huang Jun couldn't help but tweak their little button noses playfully, "Alright, Papa got it!"
"Hee hee~"
"Now you two go play with your toys. Papa needs to check some job listings."
"Papa, I want to stay with you and check together."
Weiwei snuggled her cheek against his chin, speaking in a sweet voice, then she looked up and asked, "Papa, isn't that okay?"
Huang Jun laughed, "You don't know how to use the computer and can't read, how can you help Papa check? Go play with your sister."
"No way..."
Weiwei pouted and whined, "I want to check with Papa. I just want to be with you!"
Qingqing coaxed, "Be good, little sis, and listen. Don't cling to Papa!"
Even though she and Weiwei were at the same age stage, the mere five-minute difference in their birth times made her willingly take on the role of the big sister, not only taking meticulous care of her little sister but also guiding and educating her.
A little grown-up indeed!
But Weiwei was in a dilemma.
She wanted to be involved and be the first to know the results.
"Sis, let's stay with Papa and wait for the results together, okay?"
No choice then...
Even though Qingqing was quite speechless, her thoughts aligned with Weiwei's.
She had no choice but to look at their father with pleading eyes.
Huang Jun laughed, "Alright, you can both stay with Papa."
"Yay~"
Weiwei was overjoyed, stood on tiptoe, puckered her rosy little lips, and gave a "mua" on Huang Jun's right cheek.
Seeing this, Qingqing also stood on tiptoe, puckered her pink little lips, leaned to his left cheek, and gave a gentle "peck."
"Hehehe..."
Having been sneak-attacked twice, Huang Jun was bubbling with joy, chuckling aloud.
He gently lifted them up, placing one on each of his broad thighs, holding them close with his warm and strong arms, and opened the job listing site, focusing on the search.
Unfortunately.
After looking for quite a while, he couldn't find any relevant job information.
"Papa, did you find anything?"
Qingqing sensitively noticed.
Huang Jun nodded, "Nope!"
She lightly patted his shoulder, comforting him, "Papa, it's okay. If we can't find it online, we can ask at the kindergarten this afternoon~"
Huang Jun chuckled, "Oh my, that's exactly what Papa was thinking. Qingqing, you truly are Papa's little mind-reader!"
"I'm not a little bug, I'm Papa's precious daughter~"
Qingqing shyly snuggled into his arms, showing only one lively eye.
Weiwei, competing for affection, dove into his embrace, "I'm also Papa's precious daughter!"
"Yes, you are both Papa's precious daughters."
Huang Jun gently patted their little heads, "Are you girls hungry? What do you want for lunch?"
The two little ones leaned against him affectionately, "Whatever Papa wants to eat, we'll eat too."
"There's still some ribs in the fridge. How about we have rib noodles for lunch?"
"Okay!"
"Then go play for a bit, and I'll call you when it's ready."
Qingqing and Weiwei nodded obediently, slid off his thighs, held hands, and trotted to the play area. They each picked their favorite toy, then ran to the kitchen door, sitting on a small stool, playing while occasionally glancing at Huang Jun busy in the kitchen.
Huang Jun took rib pieces from the fridge and put them in a basin with water, adding a spoonful of baking soda.
This was the key to making the ribs tender and flavorful.
It was a little trick he hadn't known before, but since gaining the basic culinary knowledge, he mastered it naturally.
Got to admit, this system is quite impressive.
He roughly explored the system's culinary section.
There were basic, intermediate, and advanced levels.
To upgrade, one needed experience points.
Experience points came from practice.
"Got it, it's just about cooking more to gain experience..."
Understanding this, he exited the system interface, added some scallion sections and ginger slices into a pot, put in the ribs, and boiled with water.
Once boiling, he skimmed off the froth with a ladle.
After simmering for two more minutes, he strained the ribs, set the broth aside in a large bowl for later use.
In a wok, he added a bit of oil, sautéed some sugar over low heat to caramelize it.
When it turned reddish brown and started bubbling, he added the drained ribs, stirring rapidly until each piece sizzled and was coated with caramel.
In that moment...
The aroma filled the room, making the two little ones by the kitchen door sniff the air repeatedly, exclaiming, "Smells so good."
In fact, cooking is all about the right heat and seasoning combinations. It was his first time following the system's instructions, and since he didn't have all the ingredients ready, he thought that once he got more proficient, he'd be able to bring out the ribs' aroma even more.
Aunt Jiang, the landlady downstairs, was also making lunch.