Chapter 180: Daily Life

That evening, the four members of the Qin family found a mid-to-high-end restaurant near the mall for dinner; its reputation was average, its prices were not cheap, yet its flavor fell far short of Huang Ji's.

After finishing the meal, Qin Huai felt this restaurant would likely not stay in business for long.

Whether due to perfunctory effort or the chefs' lack of basic skills, stir-fried dishes suffered from poorly controlled heat; lacking culinary skill, they compensated with thickening sauce; lacking seasoning, they compensated with pepper powder; if all else failed, they compensated with an abundance of ingredients.

Cooking emphasizes ingredient pairing; a dish's flavor can be rich but not greasy, fresh but not bland, combined but not haphazardly mixed. Beef and mutton are excellent ingredients in their own right, both possessing rich flavors and distinct characteristics; they work well as standalone dishes, but tossing them together into a so-called creative dish with a fancy name is nothing short of wasting heaven-sent treasures and squandering ingredients.

After this one meal, Qin Huai realized he had indeed broadened his horizons.

Previously, when dining out, if a dish's flavor did not match its price and the value for money was low, Qin Huai would simply feel the restaurant was ripping people off, overpriced, serving mediocre food that tasted bad, unable to articulate exactly why.

Now, Qin Huai could not only speak up but also pinpoint where the problems lay and how to fix them; one could only say that Huang Huang Huang Shengli's foundational teaching had truly been useful, greatly enriching Qin Huai's basic knowledge.

Although the evening's dishes were mediocre in taste, the dining atmosphere was excellent; at a family gathering, as long as the food was not unpleasant, no one's mood would be spoiled, especially since today's main eater had already filled his stomach before even sitting down in the restaurant.

Qin Luo ate eight shumai, two guo'er, gnawed on quite a few flaky pastries, and finally pestered Qin Huai to brew a pot of Chen Pi tea, which she then gulped down in several large bowls.

Her appetite was so vast that even Qin Huai couldn't help but sigh that a younger sister in her teenage years truly deserved a new appraisal after being apart for just a few days.

High school marked the peak of a person's appetite.

Of course, Seeing Seeing Ouyang was no slouch either.

Although he had eaten only one guo'er and four shumai, he packed up one guo'er, eight shumai, and two cups of Chen Pi tea, claiming he needed to return to his parents' home for dinner.

Seeing Seeing Ouyang stated that eating less himself was fine, as he could save these snacks from between his teeth to bring back to his father and mother, his filial piety so profound it could move heaven and earth and be witnessed by the sun and moon.

Qin Huai even asked him whether his parents hadn't given him money recently, prompting him to go back and swindle some.

Qu Jing was on the day shift today but had a meeting in the afternoon and would not return until late evening; Qin Huai sent her a message informing her that he had saved some snacks and Chen Pi tea for her, telling her to pick them up at Yunzhong Canteen after getting off work.

Qu Jing replied hastily with only a single "Okay," suggesting the meeting was quite important and that she could not frequently check her phone while it was in session.

As for Luo Jun and Chen Chen Huihong.

Qin Huai would specially deliver food to the two of them tonight.

Yes, tonight Qin Huai and Chen Chen Huihong would once again gather at Luo Jun's home to enjoy some of his high-end fruits, hold a tea party, and discuss Gong Liang's situation on the spot, while Qin Huai took the opportunity to view a memory right there.

To this day, Qin Huai still did not understand why what he extracted from Gong Liang was a memory rather than a dream, given that Gong Liang was clearly not in his first life.

This game system lacked even a user manual; the introduction to the worldview and background had been provided by Chen Chen Huihong only after she awakened.

What a trashy game; it was definitely a semi-finished product!

After dinner, the four members of the Qin family strolled leisurely toward Yunzhong Canteen as if taking a walk.

Qin Congwen and Zhao Rong needed to return to tally inventory with Huang Xi, Qin Huai needed to retrieve the snacks, and Qin Luo's schoolbag was still at the canteen, so she had to fetch it before going home to do her homework.

Qin Luo still had at least three exam papers left to complete; now that her happy unlimited-snack experience card had expired, it was time to return to reality and go home to diligently do her homework.

The family of four walked along the roadside; both Qin Congwen and Qin Huai walked slowly, bringing up the rear. For some reason, Zhao Rong also deliberately slowed her pace, staying only slightly ahead of Qin Huai and Qin Congwen, while only Qin Luo bounced along, weaving an S-shaped path as she led the way at the front.

Qin Huai knew that with this arrangement, Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen definitely had something they wanted to say to him.

Sure enough, before they had even walked halfway, Zhao Rong stopped and waited for Qin Huai and Qin Congwen behind her to catch up, saying, "Huai Huai, your father and I rented out our family's breakfast shop storefront over half a month ago."

Qin Huai nodded; he knew what Zhao Rong meant by saying this.

Given Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen's simple values, leaving a house or storefront vacant was wasteful, and not renting it out meant losing money.

During the previous summer vacation, the Qin family's breakfast shop storefront had remained unrented because both Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen felt they would still return to Qiu County to continue selling breakfast.

After Qin Luo officially started attending Shuanghai High School, that storefront still had not been rented out, and Qin Huai had not asked about it.

Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen had operated a breakfast shop in Qiu County for over twenty years; for them, Qiu County was their true home, and no matter how good the location or business was here at Yunzhong Canteen, it was merely working away from home; once Qin Luo finished high school, they intended to return and continue running their breakfast shop.

"Your mother and I have also contacted agents regarding the house back home," Qin Congwen added, "asking your aunt to show potential tenants around; some tenants have shown interest, so it will likely be rented out next month."

"We parents have held you back all these years," Qin Congwen sighed. "If, when you were in high school, we had listened to your maternal uncle and used connections to send you to Zhiwei Ju to learn the craft, you wouldn't have had to return home after graduating university to sell breakfast for a few years, waking early and sleeping late, enduring such hardship."

Qin Huai guessed that during the month or so he had not been at Yunzhong Canteen, Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen had asked Li Hua and Pei Xing many questions about Zhiwei Ju and pastry chefs.

"Dad, what hardship is there in selling breakfast?" Qin Huai said with a smile. "Pei Xing and the others probably didn't tell you the truth; learning the craft at Zhiwei Ju is far more arduous."

"Ah?" Qin Congwen was completely bewildered.

"As far as I know, Zhiwei Ju opens at 8 a. m. to sell pastries, and pastry chefs generally must arrive by 6 a. m., with diligent apprentices arriving at 5 a. m. being nothing unusual."

"Zhiwei Ju's business hours are from 8 a. m. to 8 p. m.; the master chefs work in shifts, some selling in the morning and others in the afternoon, but the helpers and apprentices all scramble to work."

"Even the personal disciples of the grand masters sometimes arrive an hour early and leave an hour late, working over fourteen hours a day; not to mention being open 365 days a year without rest, their annual time off is extremely limited."

"In a certain sense, grand restaurants are far more exhausting than our family's breakfast shop."

"Mom and Dad, you don't know; during this period at Huang Ji, I've truly seen the world. By noon and evening business hours, the temperature in that kitchen probably reaches 40 degrees, filled with noise everywhere so that one must shout to be heard. Huang Ji's chefs work from 8 a. m. to 8 p. m., and right next to Huang Ji is a traditional Chinese medicine bone-setting clinic; every chef holds a supreme VIP card to go there for massage and relaxation immediately after getting off work."

"If you and Mom had truly sent me to Zhiwei Ju to learn the craft back then, I might not have been able to endure such hardship."

Qin Huai skillfully employed the art of language and expression, leaving Qin Congwen and Zhao Rong utterly stunned.

"Are the chefs in these grand restaurants really that overworked? Huai Huai, haven't you exhausted yourself this past month?" Zhao Rong exclaimed in shock.

"I'm fine; I'm only there for learning and exchange, so while they work a full day, I only work half a day," Qin Huai replied.

Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen wanted to say more, but Qin Huai directly changed the subject: "Mom, Dad, since you've already rented out the house in Qiu County, you'll be staying here in Shan City at least until Did Luo Luo graduates from high school."

"We've been living in Hong Jie's house all this time without paying rent, and it weighs on our conscience. Lately, I've been thinking it would be better to take out a loan to buy this apartment from Hong Jie, put it under Did Luo Luo's name, transfer her household registration here, which would make everything much more convenient in the future."

Without giving Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen a chance to speak, Qin Huai continued, "The location of the apartments in Yunzhong Community is excellent; it's in a school district right by the subway entrance, and in the future, when Did Luo Luo gets married and has children, they can attend the same elementary school Chen Chen Huihui is in now."

Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen opened their mouths, still bewilderedly trying to organize their thoughts, when Qin Huai suddenly quickened his pace to catch up with Qin Luo, who was already far ahead and nearly out of sight.

"Did Luo Luo, hurry to the canteen and pick out the flaky pastries and snacks you want to eat; I'll take the rest to Hong Jie later."

"Oh, okay," Qin Luo replied, immediately quickening her pace into a full-speed sprint.

Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen watched the backs of the two from behind, looking at each other in bewilderment.

After a long while, Qin Congwen finally spoke in confusion, "Are housing prices in our community really that expensive? Isn't taking out a loan to buy a house a bit too aggressive? Can the two of us ever pay off a mortgage in our lifetimes?"

"Should we still bring up what we wanted to discuss?" Zhao Rong asked.

Qin Congwen shook his head, "Let's find another opportunity to bring it up next time."

"The most urgent matter now is to make Huai Huai abandon this idea of buying a house with a loan."

Qin Congwen and Zhao Rong had originally intended to discuss the allocation of their small savings with Qin Huai; according to their original plan for their two children, the wealthiest life their family could hope for was to buy a storefront in the city center and let Qin Huai open a pastry shop.

Selling breakfast was too arduous, and Qin Huai did not like waking up early; Qin Congwen and Zhao Rong knew very well that selling breakfast in Qiu County meant earning only hard-earned money their whole lives, and having earned such hard money themselves, they could not bear for their children to suffer the same hardship.

Therefore, over many years, the couple had saved a substantial sum as a fund for buying a storefront, planning to purchase a pastry shop for Qin Huai in the urban area in the future.

Both had calculated it out: the storefront would go to Qin Huai, and the house to Qin Luo, with roughly equal value.

But now, Qin Huai had inherited a legacy, and the whole family had moved to Shan City, disrupting the couple's original plans for the latter half of their lives, leaving them suddenly unsure how to spend the money they had saved.

During this period, Qin Congwen and Zhao Rong had been discussing this matter continuously, finally deciding to give the money to Qin Huai in advance, letting him spend it as he saw fit, whether for renovating a shop or purchasing equipment.

Qin Huai was still in his startup phase, and Qin Congwen and Zhao Rong felt he must be quite short on funds.

But now...

Qin Congwen felt the most urgent task was to advise the young man, from the perspective of someone experienced, against impulsive spending.

Qin Huai and Qin Luo had already jogged to Yunzhong Canteen; Qin Luo rushed into the kitchen to start selecting snacks, while Qin Huai packed up the guo'er and crab roe shumai intended for Luo Jun and Chen Chen Huihong.

"Brother, what did Mom and Dad deliberately stay behind to tell you? Were they going to give you money? I heard them secretly discussing something about a storefront and a house a while ago; are you dating and getting married?" Qin Luo asked.

Qin Huai couldn't help rolling his eyes, "I've only been in Gusu for a little over a month; even if I were truly dating, wouldn't going from dating to marriage in one month be a bit too fast?"

"But I heard there's a very wealthy big boss in Gusu who loves your pastries so much he wants to marry his daughter to you and give you a huge sum of money to become a wealthy family's live-in son-in-law."

Qin Huai:...

No, where on earth did such rumors come from!

"Mom and Dad didn't say anything; I interrupted them. They've probably relapsed into their old habit, wanting to keep the water level even between us."

Qin Luo's eyes sparkled, "Mom and Dad are also planning to sign you up for tutoring classes!"

Qin Huai:?

"Hurry and pick your snacks; take fewer flaky pastries, as Uncle Chen loves them," Qin Luo said, shaking her head helplessly. "Mom and Dad probably feel that with so many new staff hired at the canteen recently and new equipment purchased, expenses have risen and income might not cover costs, so they want to withdraw a sum from their small savings to subsidize me."

"I just mentioned buying you an apartment in the community to block that line of conversation."

Qin Luo:!!!

"But I was just saying that; don't take it seriously, I definitely can't afford the housing prices in our community right now," Qin Huai said.

Qin Luo:...

"Has Dean Qin posted anything on his Moments recently?" Qin Huai asked.

"Yes, it seems the welfare institute received a donation; a kind benefactor sponsored tuition fees for all special education schools. Dean Qin posted at least fifty Moments boasting about it; haven't you seen them, Brother?"

Qin Huai indicated he certainly hadn't seen them; this kind benefactor was the one he had recommended, and Dean Qin must have blocked him from seeing such boastful Moments.

"Dean Qin has always dreamed of a self-made graduate or a lottery-winning outstanding alumnus returning to the welfare institute to slap a 50,000-yuan check in her face; such boastful Moments would contradict her persona."

Qin Luo chimed in, "But I recall Dean Qin's dream was someone slapping a 5-million-yuan check in her face."

"That was many years ago; the price has long since dropped to 50,000."

Qin Luo finished selecting her snacks, packed them, and conveniently packed the leftovers as well.

"Brother, how should I bluff Mom and Dad when I get back?"

"Just say that I told you about buying you a house, but you refused adamantly, would rather die than agree, and I finally relented and promised not to buy it."

Qin Luo: "But I really want one."

Qin Huai: "Your brother really can't afford it either; even winning 5 million in the lottery wouldn't be enough."

Qin Luo: "Then can you win 20 million?"

Qin Huai: "Do you really think your brother has a system?"

Qin Luo sighed sorrowfully, "Brother, can't you actually have a system? I really wish I could be the sister in a male-protagonist-with-a-system novel; then I could live in comfort and luxury for life without needing to strive."

Qin Huai:... What a coincidence, your brother really does have one, but even with a system, there aren't 20 million.

At least not right now.

So Qin Huai irritably flicked Qin Luo on the forehead, telling her to stop such unrealistic fantasies: "Stop delaying; hurry back and do your homework."

With her scheme exposed, Qin Luo shouldered her schoolbag, carried the snacks, and went home to do her homework.

Qin Huai even brought dim sum to Luo Jun's home.

Zhang Zhang Shumei opened the door; she was already prepared, and the moment Qin Huai arrived, Zhang Zhang Shumei grabbed a large bag and automatically went out for a stroll to buy fruit, even though the fruit at home was already more than they could finish.

It didn't matter if they couldn't finish it; Chen Chen Huihong would naturally swipe it.

Chen Chen Huihong had already started eating.

Qin Huai glanced at the dining table.

There was a fruit platter, bottled Chen Pi Tea brought back, a snack platter, a nut platter, and even three bowls of blueberry yogurt.

The food for today's tea party was incredibly abundant.

Qin Huai voluntarily went to the kitchen to steam the dim sum, while Chen Chen Huihong stood at the kitchen doorway holding a bowl of yogurt, saying impatiently:

"Xiao Qin, hurry up and tell us, what's the situation with that spirit monster you met in Gusu who was nearly successful in their Tribulation?"

"In all my years, I have never encountered a spirit monster from one of the middle reincarnations!"

"And one who could succeed in the Tribulation on their own! If Chen Chen Huihui weren't still in school and I wasn't tied down here, I would have gone to Gusu to see for myself!"

Chen Chen Huihong's excitement and curiosity were nearly overflowing from her voice.

Qin Huai glanced outward and discovered that Luo Jun had silently sat down at the dining table; the TV drama was even paused, clearly indicating he also wanted to listen.

You spirit monsters are truly very gossipy.

Come to think of it, whether it was a plant spirit monster like Chen Chen Huihong or a powerful You You Bifang like Luo Jun, they could only recognize the first and the last reincarnation; for someone like Gong Liang, who was in a middle stage, the two of them might truly have never seen one before.

In a certain sense, Gong Liang was also a limited-edition card, a rare card.

Qin Huai cleared his throat and officially began the tea party.

Having a bit of writer's block; writing a transitional chapter.

(End of Chapter)