Chapter 3: Warm-Pot Rice (Thanks to Gou Taitai for drawing the cover!)

"What's hard?" Qin Luo came back with a bag of original-flavor potato chips and the iced black tea Ouyang wanted, handing the tea to Ouyang. "Brother, where are we going to eat later?"

"Your Brother Ouyang says that you can't find a cleaner for less than 5k a month these days, so it's really hard." Qin Huai gave a random answer. "We're eating stir-fry at a restaurant next to the nearby mall; I saw the pictures and the decoration looks pretty good."

Qin Luo's eyes immediately lit up: "5k! Being a cleaner pays 5k! Brother, hire me as a cleaner after your cafeteria opens. I don't start school until September; I'll only charge you 4k."

"If that doesn't work, 3.5k is fine too!"

Qin Luo started rolling up her sleeves the moment she opened her mouth.

Ouyang:... Is this kid obsessed with money?

"Is your family having such a hard time?" Ouyang asked Qin Huai in a low voice.

Hard enough that his own daughter, who just finished middle school, has to come out to work as a cleaner to subsidize the family?

Qin Huai: "... Not really, it's mainly because Did Luo Luo owes me a lot of money."

The look Ouyang gave Qin Huai immediately turned into, "You beast, you even scam your sister's money; are you even human?"

"To urge Did Luo Luo to study, my parents set a rule: she can only specify desserts if she gets a certain rank in exams; otherwise, she can only eat the buns sold at home."

"But Did Luo Luo is a glutton. If she can't eat them, she cries, makes a scene, and hangs herself, insisting on using her pocket money and red envelope money to buy them. As a result, her academic performance in junior high school hasn't been very ideal for three years. Buying and buying, as of now, she already owes me..." Qin Huai opened his phone and looked at his memo, "18,612 yuan."

Ouyang:?

"Does your family eat a Manchu-Han Imperial Feast every day?"

"Not really, just some simple snacks, like crab shell yellow, five-diced buns, four-joy dumplings, pea cakes, donkey rolls, white jade frost cakes, victory cakes, hibiscus cakes, eight-treasure cakes, lotus root starch balls, Buddha's hand pastries, golden silk shumai, sugar-fired buns, kidney bean rolls, and the like. I set the prices very reasonably; it's mainly because the portions are large, and she ended up owing me this much money after eating."

Ouyang:???

Isn't your family a breakfast shop?

Your breakfast shop in a county in Guangdong sells these?

When eating lunch, Ouyang's mind was full of crab shell yellow, five-diced buns, four-joy dumplings, pea cakes, donkey rolls, and white jade frost cakes, and he didn't even pay attention to what everyone was saying at the table.

What, you want to ask if Ouyang doesn't like the rest of the snacks? He can only say there were too many, and he couldn't remember them.

"Little Ou, what do you think of Assistant Xiao Qin's idea?"

Ouyang, whose mind was full of crab shell yellow, was awakened by Chen Huihong's words and asked "Ah?" in hindsight: "What idea?"

"Assistant Xiao Qin feels that with such a large area for the Yunzhong Cafeteria, it's a waste to only do a community cafeteria across two floors. It would be better to sell snacks on the first floor and have dining on the second floor, which would not only increase the variety but also have its own characteristics. I think it's quite good. There are quite a few restaurants in this area, but there really aren't many snack shops, and certainly none with such a large dining area. Assistant Xiao Qin says you've tasted his craft, so you have more say," Chen Huihong said.

Ouyang answered without even thinking: "Qin Huai's craft in making pastries is definitely beyond reproach. Sister Hong, if you go to our school now to ask around, there might still be seniors who remember Master Huai's meat buns."

Chen Huihong became interested: "You guys even sold snacks at school?"

"It wasn't selling; it was one year when our school followed the trend and held a cooking competition, which seemed to be hosted by the contractor of the Sixth Cafeteria. The top 10 could all get extra credit, and 2nd to 4th place had prize money. The 1st place not only got prize money but also a one-year unlimited dining card for the Sixth Cafeteria," Qin Huai said.

"And then you got first place?" Chen Huihong asked curiously, even Chen Huihui, who had just recovered from a fever and was still a bit pale and had no appetite or energy, tilted her head to look at Qin Huai.

"No, I got second. It might be because the pastries I made were easier to portion out, while the stir-fry dishes other students made were only that big. Many students had eaten the pastries I made, so everyone had a deeper impression of me."

Ouyang waved his hand and took over the conversation: "What 'easier to portion out'? That first place was the nephew of the Sixth Cafeteria contractor; it was a rigged win. You could tell by one bite that his boiled fish was made with a boiled fish seasoning packet; the taste was exactly the same as what my mom makes. I've eaten it for 20 years, and I could tell it was that brand the moment I tasted it. How could it compare to the buns Qin Huai made? The meat buns you made had thin skin and large fillings, the meat juice seeped into the bun without dripping oil, and the skin was chewy. It beat the overnight meat buns of the Sixth Cafeteria by 800 streets, okay?" As he spoke, Ouyang's saliva almost came out, his face full of nostalgia: "It's a pity, Qin Huai only made them that once. Later, during our club activities, we let Qin Huai cook, and the dishes he stir-fried... sigh, let's not talk about it."

Qin Huai:?

Hearing Ouyang say this, Qin Luo nodded in agreement: "My brother's stir-fry really isn't good; it's not even as good as the 10-yuan stir-fry next to our house. My mom said this is called 'God opens a door for you and closes a window'."

Qin Huai:??

Hearing the two say this, Chen Huihong laughed: "Then Assistant Xiao Qin's idea is indeed worth a try. Hearing you two say this, I want to taste it too."

Before he could throw out three question marks, Chen Huihong's words made Qin Huai's expression shift slightly.

In his side quest bar, the quest 【Chen Huihong's Affirmation】 was still lying there.

Although the title 【Chen Huihong's Affirmation】 might not necessarily be useful, Qin Huai still felt the reward of Popularity/Traffic +100 was quite good.

Ouyang was actually right before; the cafeteria itself didn't cost money, but labor, water, electricity, and other costs were also a significant expense. The competition in the catering industry nearby was so fierce that the community cafeteria might not necessarily make money.

At times like this, traffic during the opening is very important.

Twenty years ago, when Qin Congwen's Qin's Breakfast Shop opened, everyone knew to give away soy milk with the purchase of buns and set off dozens of strings of firecrackers to increase popularity and traffic.

Qin Huai was just worrying about how to get close to Chen Huihong to lead into the Parent-Child Culinary Day, and Chen Huihong's words were like sending a pillow when he was sleepy.

"Sister Hong, if you're interested, you can taste it tonight. My stir-fry might really not be good, but my pastries are not bad. It just so happens that we need to warm the pot for moving in. If everyone doesn't mind, come to my house tonight to eat some snacks as a main meal; it'll be a warm-pot housewarming for me," Qin Huai said with a smile.

"Is there anything you want to eat?" As he spoke, Qin Huai also glanced at Chen Huihui and repeated the question with a smile.

Chen Huihui was relatively timid. Seeing Qin Huai staring at her, she shrank her neck and subconsciously looked at her mother, Chen Huihong.

"Brother, I want to eat four-joy dumplings!" Qin Luo couldn't wait to order.

"Brother... ah no, Qin Huai, I want to eat meat buns!" Ouyang also blurted out.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ouyang regretted it. Why order meat buns? At a time like this, he should definitely order crab shell yellow, five-diced buns, four-joy dumplings, pea cakes, donkey rolls, and white jade frost cakes.

Regardless of the taste, order everything he hadn't eaten yet first.

Seeing that both had finished ordering, Chen Huihong thought for a while and said: "Bean paste buns; Huihui loves sweets."

Chen Huihui nodded.

"Fine, then those three. I'll also wrap some small wontons. Everyone come to my house at 6:30 tonight for the warm-pot meal," Qin Huai decided, and the matter was settled.

The cover is super good-looking! (Super loud!!!)

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 4 =====