Chapter 217: The residents of Yunzhong Residential Area feel the sky has fallen (Thanks to Xiao Ningdai)

Qin Huai didn't know what he was about to face, but the residents of Yunzhong Residential Area felt the sky had fallen.

For the residents of Yunzhong Residential Area, this year's New Year's Day was another dull New Year's Day.

The Yunzhong Canteen was operating as usual, Qin Congwen's *baozi* were still cheap and not delicious, and Chen An's *baozi* were slightly more expensive but also average. Both Pei Xing and Li Hua's pastries had their merits, but that was about it.

The residents of Yunzhong Residential Area indicated that it wasn't that they were picky, nor did they have opinions about Master Both Pei Xing and Master Li Hua. They admitted that the pastries made by these two masters were indeed okay, and the cakes and flaky pastries were the best in the nearby area; ordinary pastry shops didn't have this craftsmanship.

But.

They couldn't compare to Master Xiao Qin!

The few days Master Xiao Qin was back were like a dream. The taste of the *San Ding Bao* could occasionally be savored in midnight dreams, but it could only be eaten in dreams.

Many days since Master Xiao Qin was not here, miss him.

On the morning of January 2nd, the Yunzhong Canteen was a bit colder than usual.

Many office workers in the nearby office buildings were not working today, and even Qin Congwen and Li Hua deliberately made fewer *baozi*.

Xu Tuqiang, Old Man Qian, and their group were as steadfast as ever in the Yunzhong Canteen, eating ordinary meat *baozi* while thinking of *San Ding Bao*, seeing objects and thinking of people, touching scenes and stirring emotions. If it weren't for the limited literary talent of the old men and women, they would have written a basket of poems, just waiting for Qin Huai to come back and present the poems to him, to see their words weeping blood.

"Sigh." Xu Tuqiang let out a deep sigh.

"Sigh." Old Man Qian also let out a deep sigh.

"Sigh." The old men who had never possessed names sighed in unison.

In the days when Qin Huai was not in the canteen, everyone's breakfast became much richer. Steamed stuffed buns, steamed buns, fried dough sticks, steamed dumplings, wontons, rice noodles, and steamed dumplings were all eaten by someone. As a professional breakfast master, Chen An knew many types of breakfast.

Xu Tuqiang looked at the dazzling array of breakfasts on the table, but felt he couldn't take a bite.

"How long is Master Xiao Qin going to stay in Suzhou?" Xu Tuqiang issued the question he didn't know how many times during this period. "No matter how good Suzhou is, and no matter how effective the learning exchange is, he can't stay there forever and not come back!"

"Exactly!" Old Man Qian rarely stood on the same front as Xu Tuqiang. "What's so good about Suzhou? This Wang Laogen is also not a good thing. Master Xiao Qin is not here, so he doesn't come to Yunzhong Canteen much. It's a pity he ate so many *Xie Ke Huang* before."

"Don't you know?" An old man spoke up. "Wang Laogen and his wife went to Suzhou. They left last night, saying it was to gather with old colleagues and old friends in Suzhou, and by the way, to eat something at the restaurant where Master Xiao Qin is learning and exchanging."

"What was the name of that restaurant? Huang Ji Restaurant."

"What?!" Xu Tuqiang was furious. "Wang Laogen actually ran away!"

Old Man Qian didn't speak, lost in thought.

Several old women at another table began to whisper. Grandma Ding even took out her mobile phone directly, specially put on her reading glasses, squinted her eyes, and clicked on the phone, her expression focused.

The atmosphere suddenly became silent.

Just when Xu Tuqiang felt that everyone was a bit strange and was about to ask what was wrong with everyone, Both Pei Xing suddenly ran in holding a stack of magazines, rushing straight to the kitchen, shouting while running: "*Zhi Wei*! *Zhi Wei*! Everyone, look at this issue of *Zhi Wei*!"

There were fewer *baozi* to wrap today, and Zhao Rong had nothing to do, so she was wiping the shelves in the kitchen. Hearing the movement outside, she poked her head out and asked: "Xiao Pei, what's the matter? Why are you so flustered? What are you holding in your hand?"

"*Zhi Wei*! *Zhi Wei*! Boss... no, Master Qin, Master Qin is in *Zhi Wei*! It's the cover, the cover of the New Year's big issue!" Both Pei Xing's face was flushed with excitement, and he laughed excitedly, "Haha, my boss is on the cover of *Zhi Wei*! Hahahahahaha!"

Zhao Rong:...

Is Xiao Pei's mental state a bit abnormal today?

Both Pei Xing excitedly wanted to give everyone a magazine and then hug the boss's family. Just as he was excitedly wanting to break the rules and rush into the kitchen without changing his clothes, he looked up and found that everyone was very indifferent.

Zhao Rong's face was full of 'young man, are you okay'.

Qin Congwen was wrapping *baozi* while stretching his neck to look outside, looking like he was watching the fun.

Chen An and An Youyou whispered to each other. Both Pei Xing, relying on his not-so-excellent lip-reading, vaguely identified several keywords such as 'what *Zhi Wei*', 'don't know', 'is it a breakup', and 'revenge consumption'.

Both Pei Xing:...

No, you guys...

This is *Zhi Wei*!

*Zhi*! *Wei*!

New Year's big issue, cover!

Both Pei Xing held a thick stack of *Zhi Wei*. He bought these when he passed by two newsstands on the way here. He was afraid that everyone wouldn't be able to buy the magazine, so he specially swept the goods from the two newsstands.

Both Pei Xing opened his mouth and asked somewhat powerlessly: "Don't you know *Zhi Wei*?"

Seeing that Both Pei Xing seemed to have returned to normal, Zhao Rong dared to answer: "Xiao Pei, you have been talking about *Zhi Wei*, *Zhi Wei* since just now. What is that? What cover and so on, is it a book?"

"Magazine, *Zhi Wei* is the most famous and authoritative food review magazine in our industry! Boss, Master Qin, Qin Huai is in *Zhi Wei*! The first issue of the New Year, cover, special... basically equivalent to an exclusive interview!"

Now Zhao Rong understood, and her face was full of joy: "Our Huaihuai was interviewed by a magazine! That's great. Oh, Huaihuai is really something, he didn't tell us about such a good thing. Where can I buy this magazine? Can I buy it at the newsstand outside? Or do I have to order it online?"

"Old Qin! Old Qin! Stop wrapping steamed stuffed buns, you're still wrapping steamed stuffed buns for such a big thing, our son is in a magazine! It seems there is an article about him or something, hurry up and call Dad, Mom, my brother, and Xiuli, tell them to go buy the magazine and boost sales for Huaihuai."

Both Pei Xing:...

Both Pei Xing really wanted to tell Zhao Rong that *Zhi Wei* didn't need to boost sales, and this wasn't an ordinary magazine; it was of great significance to chefs. He wished he could open a special lecture now to popularize science for everyone in the shop for three days and three nights, letting them know how awesome it was that Qin Huai's pastries could be on the cover of the New Year's big issue of *Zhi Wei*. But the next second, Both Pei Xing had more important things to say.

"Wow, Xiao Pei, you bought so many, you are really thoughtful. This magazine isn't cheap, right? How much did it cost? Auntie Zhao will reimburse you!"

The popular science that Both Pei Xing had on his lips instantly turned into: "Bought thirty-five copies, thank you Auntie Zhao."

*Zhi Wei* is really expensive. When Both Pei Xing passed by the newsstand, he found that *Zhi Wei* was on sale, so he bought one casually. Unexpectedly, when he opened it, it was a report on Qin Huai. When he looked carefully at the cover and found it was *Guo'er*, he was so excited that he bought all the *Zhi Wei* from the two newsstands he would pass by from home to Yunzhong Canteen.

Now that he thinks about it, it was indeed impulsive consumption.

Just when Both Pei Xing wanted to continue popularizing science, Li Hua also ran in excitedly holding a stack of *Zhi Wei*, shouting while running: "*Zhi Wei*! *Zhi Wei*! Boss... no, Master Qin's pastries are on the cover of *Zhi Wei*!"

The popular science that Both Pei Xing had on his lips turned into: "Master... Old Master Qin, you don't need to go out to buy it, the *Zhi Wei* nearby should have been bought out by us."

Qin Congwen:?

When did he become Old Master Qin? Didn't everyone call him Master Qin?

On the other side, Suzhou.

Wang Gensheng and his wife Chen Juan found a breakfast shop near the hotel to finish breakfast, and slowly wandered back to the hotel.

"Gensheng, are you sure you don't want to send a WeChat to Master Xiao Qin? I look at Old Qian's Moments, Huang Ji's business seems to be very good now, and you have to queue to buy Master Xiao Qin's *baozi*." Chen Juan said somewhat uneasily. "Didn't Director Ding entrust us to bring two jars of *Huaihua* honey to Master Qin?"

Wang Gensheng said: "When is Huang Ji not queuing? Huang Ji was queuing when it was a state-run hotel back then. Have you forgotten? We almost pedaled off the pedals of our bicycles back then just to grab two *mantou*. Don't worry, I've asked Old Qian. If we take a taxi at this time, we can just avoid the traffic jam. Queue for more than an hour, and we can eat *San Ding Bao* around 12 o'clock."

"As for the *Huaihua* honey, I'll send him a WeChat to give him the things after Master Xiao Qin gets off work tonight. We'll just eat two *baozi*, there's no need to trouble Master Xiao Qin to open a small stove for us. Human feelings are not used like this."

Chen Juan felt it made sense, so she didn't say anything more.

The two walked a few more steps, and Wang Gensheng's mobile phone suddenly rang. Looking at it, it was a call from Qian Zhongheng.

"Hello, Old Qian."

"What? Let me ride a bicycle to Huang Ji quickly now, the road around Huang Ji is already blocked into a mess?"

"Isn't it only nine-thirty now? Didn't you tell me that the area around Huang Ji only starts to get blocked after ten-thirty?"

"Before was before, today is today."

"What?! The queue at the entrance of Huang Ji is already more than 200 meters long!"

"*Zhi Wei*? What is that?"

"Will it be more blocked in the future? Will the queue be longer?"

"When it first appeared in *Zhi Wei* back then, people started queuing at 6 in the morning???"

"Okay, I know. Thank you, Old Qian, I will pedal a bicycle with Chen Juan to go there now!"

Wang Gensheng hung up the phone and said in a tone that was urgent and serious: "Juan, the situation has changed. Hurry back to the hotel to get the *Huaihua* honey, let's go queue first. If we still can't queue up by 12 o'clock, we will send a message to Master Xiao Qin."

Chen Juan: "Ah?"

At the entrance of Huang Ji, the number of people queuing was still increasing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The neighbors living nearby all realized the severity of the situation.

When Huang Ji first appeared in *Zhi Wei* back then, everyone lived nearby, and they all remembered the grand occasion of the queuing, and the miserable past of not being able to eat for several months was also vivid in their minds.

Everyone knew that today was their last chance.

There wasn't enough time for other provinces, and foreigners couldn't rush over in a short while. *Zhi Wei* was on sale in the morning, and it was already the limit for nearby cities to rush over by noon today. Today, the main competitors for grabbing pastries at Huang Ji were still customers from the surrounding areas of Suzhou.

It won't be certain in the future.

In the future, let alone eating *baozi*, it would be good to be able to smell the *baozi*.

Buy, must buy!

Buy with the whole family!

Qian Zhongheng hung up the phone, looked at the growing queue, thought about how he had eaten a pastry feast because of Wang Gensheng some time ago, gritted his teeth, and made up his mind.

"Xiujuan, Old Wang probably doesn't ride a bicycle much these years, so he won't be here that fast. Looking at this posture, he probably won't be able to buy it when he arrives. If he can't buy it, we'll share half with him then." When Qian Zhongheng was speaking, his heart was bleeding.

This might be the last *San Ding Bao* and *Jiu Niang Mantou* he would eat in the past month.

And he had to share half with Wang Gensheng. He would have a life-and-death friendship with the surnamed Wang in the future.

"Dad, share half? Is one-third not okay?" Qian Zhongheng's son was shocked.

"Just half, if it weren't for your Uncle Wang, you wouldn't even be able to eat fruit-shaped pastries! Half!"

The son thought about the fruit-shaped pastries and could only nod with tears.

Also

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 218 =====