Chapter 374: Heading to Suzhou

That evening, Zheng Siyuan called Huang Shengli to inform him that Qin Huai wanted to go to Huang Ji to sell Double Crab Bao for two days. Huang Shengli naturally welcomed this, patting his chest and stating that his waist had recovered very well, and as long as it wasn't overly high-intensity work, he could definitely work for another five years without any problems.

The last time Qin Huai came to Huang Ji, Huang Shengli's waist was still in the recovery period, and he couldn't exert his full strength. This time, when Qin Huai came, Huang Shengli had to cook a few good tables of dishes for Qin Huai, letting Qin Huai taste Master Huang's true skills.

When Zheng Da heard that Qin Huai had actually researched the Double Crab Bao, he was so scared that he ended his vacation on the spot, booked a return ticket, flew back overnight, and transferred to a high-speed train to return to Suzhou.

"Siyuan, are you sure what you made is the Double Crab Bao? And it's a Double Crab Bao that didn't use fresh crab roe?"

"This is impossible, this is unreasonable! With the difficulty of the Double Crab Bao, let alone the three of you, even if you added 30 of you together, it would be impossible to make it. Even your dad, I, often fail when making the Double Crab Bao."

"I practiced the Double Crab Bao in Sanya in secret for a month, and my performance is still unstable. Otherwise, I would have flown back to guide Assistant Xiao Qin long ago. You three just took the recipe and pondered it blindly; how could you have figured it out so quickly? Is what you made really the Double Crab Bao?"

Zheng Da, who was so scared by the news that he booked a ticket overnight, asked this during the phone call.

In Zheng Siyuan's voice, there was nothing but speechlessness: "So, Dad, you stayed in Sanya for such a long time and didn't come back; you weren't on vacation at all. You were afraid that if you practiced the Double Crab Bao in secret in Suzhou, Master Zheng would find out and tell me, so you ran to Sanya to practice the Double Crab Bao specifically."

"No wonder Mom WeChat-ed me saying that being on vacation with you outside was boring. It turns out you were on vacation in the kitchen every day."

Things having reached this point, Zheng Da wasn't afraid of his secret efforts being exposed; in fact, he didn't care at all.

"Isn't this because I wanted to give you and Assistant Xiao Qin a surprise? Besides, Sanya is so good, the sea cucumbers by the seaside are fresh. This is not important; the point is, did you really make it? Are you sure what you made is the Double Crab Bao, not a Single Crab Bao, Crab Roe Bao, or Sea Cucumber Bao?"

Zheng Siyuan could tell that his dad had also gone crazy.

Considering that many people had gone crazy recently, Zheng Siyuan accepted this matter well and said very calmly: "It should be. We changed it slightly according to the original recipe, but the taste is indeed not bad. It is the concept of the Double Crab Bao."

Zheng Da fell into silence on the other end.

"Dad, stop struggling, give up." Zheng Siyuan said, "It is impossible for you to take Qin Huai as an apprentice, and Qin Huai will most likely not take you as a master. Moreover, Qin Huai seems to already have a master."

"Who?!"

"It's that one from Guangdong Province. I've occasionally heard Qin Huai having video calls with her recently, and he calls the other party Master. Her culinary skills are indeed very good, and she is also a very good person. She was even willing to let Qin Huai teach her secret thickening method to Luo Jun. Just on this point, you've lost."

"You don't have any secret methods."

Zheng Da:... Unfilial son, unfilial son!

Zheng Da hung up the phone in anger, and then posted three Moments late at night while feeling emo.

Of course, Qin Huai would definitely not know about this little episode, and Zheng Siyuan wouldn't be bored enough to tell Qin Huai that his dad hadn't been on vacation in Sanya during this time, but had been working hard in secret, only to find that he hadn't kept up with everyone's pace, making his efforts seem in vain.

As Zheng Da's own son, Zheng Siyuan still had to protect this bit of face for his father.

Qin Huai was busy preparing the things that needed to be handled before going to Suzhou. Qin Huai expected to stay in Suzhou for about 10 days on this trip.

In addition to completing Wang Laogen's side quest by making the Double Crab Bao, Qin Huai also wanted to get closer to Gong Liang on this trip to Suzhou. After all, Gong Liang basically didn't go out when he was in Suzhou, and when he did, it was basically to eat at the Sihe Academy in Beiping. If he wanted to build favor, only Qin Huai could go to Suzhou.

Staying for 10 days, Qin Huai had a lot of things to prepare.

First, he needed to prepare a recipe for Qin Luo.

He couldn't let Qin Luo eat too well. This girl belonged to the type who would dare to open a dye shop if given a little color, easily getting carried away. Previously, using food to motivate her to study hard had been quite effective, but on the basis of having already achieved some results, Qin Luo was very prone to slacking off on the spot. Plus, the Fuli Academy canteen now had too many temptations.

Su Gan's skills were not bad, Guli's Golden Silk Shaobing was also quite good, and the dim sum that the other Zhi Wei Ju apprentices knew how to make were even more varied and numerous. If he didn't restrict Qin Luo and let her eat to her heart's content, this girl would soon let herself go, causing her grades to hit a new low.

Besides Qin Luo, Ouyang's meals also had to be solved.

In the production of the Double Crab Bao, Ouyang could be considered to have given his all. When they couldn't find a clue at the beginning, Ouyang didn't even eat his normal three meals a day just to taste-test, waiting to eat the baozi. His professional dedication was moving.

As Ouyang's good brother, Qin Huai couldn't do the thing where he threw his good brother aside as soon as the Double Crab Bao was made, letting him eat whatever, while he himself patted his butt and went to Suzhou.

And Ouyang himself was currently in a career growth phase. The business of Xiao Ou's Hand-Pounded Lemon Tea shop was booming, and it was impossible for him to skip work for 10 days to accompany Qin Huai to Suzhou just to eat something good.

Therefore, to thank his good brother for his selfless help in taste-testing, Qin Huai decided to take advantage of these few days of preparation to make more raw dough for Double Crab Bao, Joy Tangtuan, and Huaihua Mantou for Ouyang, letting his brother eat sparingly and striving to make them last until he returned.

Of course, these were actually all small matters. The big matter Qin Huai really had to handle was how to trick Wang Laogen into going to Suzhou.

Previously, Qin Huai had spoken very simply, saying he could just tell Wang Laogen that Master Xiao Qin needed him, but in actual operation, he still needed to make up some reasons.

Qin Huai thought for a day and came up with an excellent reason.

He told Wang Laogen that his accounts at Huang Ji were not cleared.

In fact, they were indeed not cleared. Qin Huai had been exchanging at Huang Ji for several months and had made countless dim sum.

At the beginning, when Qin Huai went to exchange, no salary was set for him, only a share of the dim sum. After all, at the beginning, Qin Huai was actually there to learn, just under the name of exchange.

At that time, no one expected Huang Ji to make money relying on Qin Huai. Later, no one expected Huang Ji's business to be so prosperous. Because the business was so good so suddenly, the share of the dim sum was not negotiated at the beginning. Of course, both sides were indeed not very concerned about this.

Qin Huai was not short of money, and Huang Ji was not a restaurant that would withhold employee wages. Not to mention that the things Qin Huai learned at Huang Ji during those months could not be measured by money. Coupled with the fact that the young proprietor's personal ability was very limited, the accounts between Qin Huai and Huang Ji had never been completely cleared.

Huang Anyao directly gave a sum of money far exceeding the share Qin Huai should have received and deposited it into Qin Huai's public account.

When Qin Huai saw that payment, he was stunned, and even somewhat understood why Huang Ji, as a high-end restaurant whose business was not too bad, would quickly encounter various problems after the head chef's health problems caused the business to decline, and even had some financial difficulties.

It could only be said that the young proprietor had made an indelible contribution.

Over the years, the young proprietor must have been cheated many times. Qin Huai also told Wang Laogen the truth directly, saying that he felt that this sharing was not good. Huang Ji had already helped him a lot, and he could not take so much money from Huang Ji for nothing. Public is public, private is private, and how much money it should be is how much it should be.

As for exactly how much money it was, the Fuli Academy canteen did not have a very professional accountant, so Master Xiao Qin could only seek help from Wang Laogen, the accountant who had not made any fake or wrong accounts for 40 years, was well-known, and trustworthy.

In return, Master Xiao Qin would treat Accountant Wang to a good meal at Huang Ji.

Accountant Wang, who had been upright all his life, could not refuse when he heard Qin Huai say this. He immediately patted his chest and indicated that this matter was on him. Even though you, Old Man Wang, have been retired for many years, the basic skills of accounting have not been left behind.

Rest assured, I, Old Man Wang, will definitely go to Suzhou! At that time, I will definitely help Master Xiao Qin calculate the accounts clearly. I will not let Huang Ji pay an extra cent. How much it should be is how much it is, and all the extra money will be returned.

Wang Laogen was tricked by Qin Huai into going to Suzhou together, and even brought three pairs of reading glasses, for fear of not seeing clearly when calculating the accounts.

Just like that, Qin Huai prepared at the Fuli Academy canteen for three days, and also sold special Double Crab Bao for three days, letting the new and old customers of the Fuli Academy canteen experience the extraordinary treatment of eating Double Crab Bao to their heart's content, and then he bailed.

When Xu Tuqiang and the others saw the news released by the Fuli Academy canteen that Master Xiao Qin had to go to Suzhou for exchange for 10 days due to work needs, there was no sadness, no grief, and not even surprise in their hearts, only full calmness and "as expected."

They found it hard to describe this feeling; perhaps it was just habit.

There was a feeling that he couldn't be kept anyway, and the outside world was always exceptionally attractive. Whether it was Suzhou or Guangdong Province, Master Xiao Qin was destined not to be someone who would stay in the Fuli Academy canteen for a long time.

It didn't matter; he would come back sooner or later anyway. Just wait, Suzhou and Guangdong Province couldn't keep Master Xiao Qin either; the Fuli Academy canteen was his home forever.

Hilarious, "exchange for 10 days"—they didn't believe it at all. It would be good if he could come back within 13 days.

Three days later, Qin Huai's group of 6 people was ready to go and boarded the plane to Shanghai.

As for why it was 6 people, it was because Shi Dadan took the initiative to volunteer that he also wanted to go. As a successful person with financial freedom, Shi Dadan was truly a bit too idle.

His business philosophy was very simple: raise some seafood himself and sell it. Or go fishing at sea and sell it, and the money would come.

He was not afraid of business competition, not afraid of natural and man-made disasters; the only thing he needed to consider was what to raise and whether to go fishing at sea.

Shi Dadan hadn't eaten enough Double Crab Bao at the Fuli Academy canteen, and Qin Huai was going to Suzhou. As the idlest of the idle, he naturally had to follow Qin Huai to Suzhou to continue eating.

And he also quite wanted to go to Huang Ji for a meal. In Shi Dadan's words, he hadn't returned to Suzhou since he was reincarnated, but Suzhou actually had many of his acquaintances. Whether it was Huang Shengli or Zheng Da, Shi Dadan had seen them in his first life, and he had even heard of and met Gong Liang a few times.

After so many years, Shi Dadan also missed Master Jing Lixiang's skills—in his first life, he often ate Master Jing Lixiang's special meals with Xu Nuo.

Now that he had let go, and had a chance to revisit the old place, he naturally wanted to join in the fun. Qin Huai also felt that it was good for Shi Dadan to be willing to go to Suzhou. Being willing to go meant that the previous grudges and inner demons were no longer there. After Shi Dadan successfully passed the tribulation in this life and remained in the human world, the possibility of not failing the tribulation again was higher. This trip was a good thing for him.

Thus, the original 5-person team became a 6-person team. Shi Dadan very generously bought plane tickets and high-speed train tickets for everyone, and he sat with Qin Huai.

Before the plane took off, Shi Dadan sighed: "Thinking of being able to see Shengli and the others, and maybe even being able to say a few words to them, I feel a little excited."

Qin Huai was a bit curious: "Were you very familiar with Master Huang and the others before?"

"Not familiar." Shi Dadan shook his head, "You've seen my memories, so you should know that I was stupid in my first life. Because I often couldn't understand the subtext of others and couldn't react, I basically didn't communicate with others, and was only relatively familiar with the people in the motorcade."

"Even with Wang Laogen, I only knew that Xu Nuo had a relatively good relationship with him, but I didn't have any contact with him. I might have met him in the canteen, but I didn't have any impression."

"Xu Nuo didn't tell me he was a spirit either, probably because he was afraid that I would ruin things if I knew. After all, I was indeed not very smart at that time."

"For Huang Shengli and Zheng Da, they might not be very familiar with me, but from my perspective, they are already people I had relatively more contact with."

"After Xu Nuo bought the recipe for the Double Crab Bao, his parents strictly controlled his money. When it was strictly controlled, he had to climb through the window to sneak out to get food from the state-run restaurant. I was afraid he would break his leg, so for a period of time, I went to help him get it. Because this matter had to be low-key, we had to meet secretly. It was inconvenient for Master Jing Lixiang to show up, so basically, it was Huang Shengli or Zheng Da who handed the lunch box to me. I feel I was quite familiar with them."

Qin Huai understood—a friendship built on meeting secretly.

"Then you haven't seen Master Huang and Master Zheng for so many years. Can you still recognize them when you see them for the first time?" Qin Huai asked.

"Of course I can. I searched for their photos online. Don't say, the changes are quite big. At that time, Huang Shengli was very introverted, and like me, didn't like to talk to people much. I didn't expect that he would actually take so many apprentices."

"Zheng Da is the complete opposite of Huang Shengli; he talks a lot. When we met, he often couldn't help but ask me about Xu Nuo's recent situation. At that time, there were rumors every few days that Factory Manager Xu had broken Xu Nuo's leg. Xu Nuo had to have his leg broken more than a dozen times a month. Zheng Da often asked me if Xu Nuo's leg was really broken, which was why he couldn't go out."

"I thought he would take many apprentices, but I didn't expect that he didn't take a single one, and didn't even work as a chef, running off to do business instead."

It could be heard that Shi Dadan had indeed inquired about the recent situation of Zheng Da and Huang Shengli.

Hearing Shi Dadan say this, Qin Huai had a feeling of listening to someone else talk about the embarrassing things of acquaintances from many years ago, which was very fresh.

"Master Zheng said he arranged a car to pick us up at the high-speed railway station. When you see Master Zheng, don't let anything slip. Theoretically, you don't know him now." Qin Huai reminded.

"That's for sure. I'm not in my first life anymore; I definitely won't make such a mistake." Shi Dadan nodded and took out a large bag of baozi from the small bag he brought on the plane. It was the last batch of Double Crab Bao that Qin Huai made yesterday.

The baozi were stifled in the plastic bag, the surface was full of water vapor, and they were already a bit cold.

Shi Dadan happily started eating the baozi.

"Want one? It's just a bit cold." Shi Dadan invited Qin Huai.

"No, no." Qin Huai waved his hands repeatedly, "You really like eating baozi."

"As long as it's a staple food, I love eating it." Shi Dadan said vaguely, "I also love eating what you make, Xiao Qin. It's delicious."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 375 =====