Chapter 373: Discharged

With Qin Huai driving at breakneck speed, the three of them arrived at the entrance of the ward in the corner of the 13th floor of Building 7 at 3:03 PM.

As for why the location was described so precisely yet the room number couldn't be named, it was because Luo Jun simply didn't remember which room Tan Weian was staying in; he only remembered it was in the corner.

When Luo Jun burst through the door, Tan Weian was still receiving an IV drip.

Seeing Luo Jun arrive, Tan Weian pointed to the chair on the side and then to the IV bottle, which still had a little left. Just as he was about to say he could handle the discharge procedures once the bottle was empty, Qin Huai walked in, carrying the baozi, followed closely by Zheng Siyuan.

Qin Huai didn't say a word; he simply shoved the baozi into Tan Weian's hands.

"Guess what this is?" Qin Huai asked.

"Isn't this... the Double Crab Bao you guys made?!" Tan Weian wasn't a fool; he realized it before he even finished his first sentence. Looking at the large bag of baozi in front of him, a thousand emotions surged into his heart.

Tan Weian was first surprised, then envious, and finally happy. His emotional expression was exactly as Qin Huai had predicted, without the slightest deviation. The only difference was a lingering trace of disappointment at the end.

"You guys actually made it. I haven't even been discharged yet, how did you manage to make it?" Tan Weian muttered, feeling somewhat dejected.

Tan Weian had always been in a state of stable, comfortable stagnation, only reigniting some fighting spirit a while ago due to Pei Shenghua's epiphany. Now, just as that spirit had been ignited, he had to accept the fact that he was a culinary novice. Although it was indeed a fact, and he had always been aware of it.

But knowing a fact and having it placed right in front of you were two different things.

In Tan Weian's heart, even if he couldn't contribute anything to the Double Crab Bao research team other than the recipe, he felt he should have at least been able to contribute something.

"That goes without saying. You sounded like you were entrusting an orphan on the phone that day. We naturally had to fulfill your wish and make the Double Crab Bao before you were discharged. It's thanks to you being 'diligent' enough to stay in the hospital for two extra days; otherwise, we might not have actually pulled it off." Luo Jun, completely oblivious to his good friend's disappointment, opened his mouth and chattered away, explaining their mental journey in researching the Double Crab Bao over the past few days.

"You have no idea what time we clocked out these past few days. We started at 7 AM and finished at 7 PM every day. After getting home, I still had to review what went wrong with the fillings we stir-fried that day. Yesterday morning, when I woke up, I was a bit dazed, thinking I'd returned to ten years ago and had to practice basic skills morning and night. Otherwise, why would I be getting up at 6 AM every day for no reason?"

"Zheng Siyuan, this quiet one, wouldn't tell me how he spent the last two days, but I bet he went back and practiced in secret, because Qin Huai went back and practiced in secret too. He even complained that his kitchen wasn't big enough and went to practice in that Mr. Luo's kitchen. This morning, that Mr. Luo even came to the canteen with Master Shi Dadan."

"Wow, his temper is really bad. His expression was more serious than my high school dean's. I felt like if he opened his mouth, he could scold me to death."

Seeing Luo Jun rambling further and further, with more and more nonsense, Qin Huai hurriedly stopped him: "Alright, stop talking. If you keep going, the baozi will get cold."

"Tan Weian, you eat the baozi first. You are the most qualified person among us to critique the Crab Roe Bao. It doesn't count if we think it's qualified; it only truly counts if you think it's qualified."

Hearing Qin Huai say this, the disappointment in Tan Weian's heart instantly vanished. That's right, although his culinary skills were a bit lacking, he was a bit lazy, and he had little value in the team, so what? He was the team's officially designated taste-tester. His hospitalization was a work-related injury, and he was eating because of it—a work-related injury!

Tan Weian was back in the game.

It was more convenient for him to have an IV in his left hand and grab a baozi with his right. Tan Weian put down his phone, untied the bag with one hand, and grabbed a Double Crab Bao.

The Double Crab Bao was still warm.

Even though these 28 Double Crab Bao had been delivered with the highest treatment in the passenger seat, after all this time, it was no longer at its peak texture and flavor.

But it didn't matter. As a professional baozi eater (at least for this period), Tan Weian knew whether the dough skin was good the moment he grabbed it.

Tactile sensation and taste are connected.

Tan Weian felt it; this baozi skin must have been made by Qin Huai.

Well, he didn't need to feel for that.

Tan Weian took a bite.

!!!

The professional dedication of a taste-tester made Tan Weian blurt out, even with the baozi filling still in his mouth and not yet swallowed. "It's done! This baozi is absolutely done! Double Crab Bao, this must be the Double Crab Bao. This flavor, this combination, this integration—you guys actually really made it!"

"When I go home for the New Year this year to burn paper for my grandfather, I'm going to tell him this good news!"

"Why not tell your great-grandfather?" Luo Jun asked.

"I'll tell them both." Tan Weian replied fluently.

"Eat slowly, these baozi are all yours. We made a batch specifically for you." Qin Huai said with a smile. "Since the Double Crab Bao is made, you are also a great contributor. If you can't finish these, share them. Don't overeat today; you just got discharged and don't want to end up back in the hospital. We're going to Suzhou in a few days."

Tan Weian's heart and eyes were now entirely on the Double Crab Bao. He didn't listen to a word Qin Huai said, just nodded perfunctorily and wolfed down the baozi.

Tan Weian didn't eat as deliciously as Shi Dadan, but it was enough to stimulate one's appetite. The young man in the next bed watched with great envy and took the initiative to ask: "Brother Tan, can you give me a baozi? The doctor told me to eat a light diet these past two days, and my mom makes me drink white porridge every day, not even letting me eat pickled mustard. What kind of baozi is this? Why do I smell crab roe?"

"It's just crab roe filling baozi." Tan Weian said vaguely, and very generously handed two baozi to the young man in the next bed.

The young man took the baozi and couldn't wait to take a big bite, then was amazed, exclaiming: "Oh my god, this is too delicious!"

"Is it because I've been drinking white porridge for a few days? Why do I feel like this baozi is so good it's like something was added to it?"

Although the young man said this, he didn't stop eating the Double Crab Bao. In the blink of an eye, one baozi was gone, and he immediately started on the second one, proving to Qin Huai and the others with his eating speed how he ended up in this ward.

When the young man took the second bite of the baozi, his mother came in with washed fruit. Seeing her son actually eating a baozi, his mother was shocked. Just as she was about to scold him, Tan Weian casually handed her a baozi.

Then the mother and son ate the baozi together.

Seeing that two baozi weren't enough for the young man, Tan Weian wanted to give him two more, but was stopped by his mother, who indicated that two baozi were enough for her son's current condition, and she, as his mother, would bear the rest for him.

A mother is strong; this was what she, as a mother, should do.

Young man: (-_-)

When Tan Weian packed his things to be discharged, every patient and family member in the ward was burping with the scent of Double Crab Bao.

On the way back, Tan Weian replaced the Double Crab Bao in the passenger seat.

Tan Weian was still a bit dazed: "The Double Crab Bao was actually made just like that, and it was actually made before I was discharged."

Qin Huai said with a smile: "Still sighing? You haven't really washed your clothes in the few days you've been hospitalized, right? Remember to wash and pack your clothes when you get back. It's about a week's worth of clothes. We're going to Suzhou in a couple of days."

"Going to Suzhou?" Tan Weian didn't understand.

"The cause and effect are a bit complicated. Anyway, we're going to Huang Ji to make Double Crab Bao."

"You're also part of our Double Crab Bao research team. You have to be there when we research, and naturally, you can't be missing when we make the finished product."

"It just so happens that Huang Ji doesn't have a pastry chef at all. You can fill in when you go to Suzhou and expand the variety of dim sum."

Tan Weian:???

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 374 =====