Chapter 381: Side quest completed

Qin Huai didn't guess wrong; Shi Dadan and Wang Laogen were already on their way when he sent the message. Qin Huai told the two that they could come over for dinner around 6 o'clock, and the two were very punctual, stepping into Huang Ji at 5:59 PM.

Qin Huai had already arranged the private room, 111.

As soon as Shi Dadan arrived at Huang Ji, he sent a message to Qin Huai saying they had arrived and were going to the private room now. At that time, Qin Huai had just walked out of the changing room, and Gong Liang was also waiting for him at the entrance of the changing room. When Qin Huai and Gong Liang walked to the stairs, they happened to see the backs of Shi Dadan and Wang Laogen, one high-spirited and the other slightly staggering.

It could be seen that Huang Ji's terrible accounts had brought indelible damage to the 40-year veteran accountant.

I hope Wang Laogen didn't eat too much while settling the accounts today and had enough appetite to eat a big meal in the evening.

Qin Huai introduced to Gong Liang: "The two in front are Mr. Shi and Accountant Wang. Mr. Shi doesn't react as quickly when speaking and doing things. You should be careful when you speak later."

Don't trick our Dang Kang into a fool.

Although Shi Dadan is definitely much smarter than in his first life, he is likely still not enough in front of Gong Liang.

Gong Liang heard Qin Huai's subtext immediately and raised a smile: "Rest assured, what kind of person am I? Don't you know, Master Xiao Qin? As a shareholder of Huang Ji, I will definitely let

Gong Liang managed to reframe mooching a meal as being hosted by a shareholder in just two sentences, which showed his true ability.

"Just looking at his back, I felt a connection with Mr. Shi; he looks very kind and even a bit familiar. I remember you saying earlier, Master Xiao Qin, that Mr. Shi lives downstairs, right? I'll bring him some fruit when I go back later. The fruit shops around here are all a bit of a rip-off; you can't get the best quality."

While they were talking, Qin Huai and Gong Liang arrived at the door of private room 111 and pushed it open to enter.

Wang Gensheng was complaining to Shi Dadan about how messy the accounts he audited today were: "I've never seen such terrible accounts—a bit here, a bit there, no major errors but constant minor ones. How did accountants get like this nowadays? With this level of skill, they wouldn't have even passed probation at our factory back then. If it weren't for the fact that the spreadsheets were done okay, my brain might have been able to take it, but my eyes certainly couldn't."

Wang Gensheng's complaining stopped when he noticed Qin Huai and Gong Liang had entered. Wang Gensheng had met Gong Liang before; back when Qin Huai was practicing the Four Happiness Tangyuan, they often ran into each other at Qin Huai's place while holding bowls of Four Happiness Tangyuan.

Wang Gensheng himself admired Gong Liang very much because Gong Liang's food reviews were always the best written, even better than Xu Tuqiang's.

"Gong... Mr. Gong." Wang Gensheng still remembered Gong Liang's surname.

Gong Liang hurriedly greeted him warmly: "Accountant Wang, I've long admired your name. When we were eating tangyuan together before, I didn't know you were Accountant Wang. I used to work at the Silk Weaving Factory and was the head of the sales department—Little Gong. I don't know if you've heard of me. I've long admired your name; your accounting skills are unmatched among the state-run factories in Gusu!"

Wang Gensheng was caught off guard by Gong Liang's flattery and couldn't react for a moment. After thinking for a long time, he realized: "Section Chief Gong, I have heard of your reputation—the trade fair records."

It could be considered an epic meeting between two celebrities from the big factories.

Shi Dadan, a semi-celebrity who was in the same factory as Wang Gensheng in his previous life, watched the two of them with a smile, holding a half-eaten apple in his hand: "That's quite a coincidence; you two can be considered old colleagues meeting again."

Gong Liang followed up on Shi Dadan's words: "Yes, that's why when I heard that Assistant Xiao Qin was inviting Accountant Wang and Mr. Shi to dinner today, I came uninvited. Let me introduce myself: Gong Liang, a shareholder of Huang Ji, and I also do a little business in silk. If you two have any questions or opinions about today's dishes, feel free to bring them up, and I will report them immediately."

"I wonder what you two would like to drink? Alcohol or..."

"Just some hot drinks will do," Wang Gensheng said hurriedly.

Gong Liang called the waiter to order two pots of hot drinks.

When Qin Huai introduced the spirit situation he had discovered to Shi Dadan earlier, he had introduced Gong Liang, so Shi Dadan actually knew that Gong Liang was a Deceit Beast. And when Qin Huai sent a message to Shi Dadan, he also said that Gong Liang would come to eat together tonight, so Shi Dadan was tipped off in advance and didn't find Gong Liang's arrival strange.

As for why Wang Gensheng didn't find it strange either...

It can only be said that the gold content of a gold-medal salesman is too high. Not to mention that Wang Gensheng didn't find it strange, even Qin Huai himself felt that if someone had to leave this private room, he would be the most appropriate person.

He looked rather redundant in this private room.

Qin Huai also knew that the main event today was not about him, and certainly not about Gong Liang.

It was about Shi Dadan.

Qin Huai gave Shi Dadan a look that said, "Please begin your performance." Shi Dadan had been ready for a long time; he took a bite of his apple, sat up straight, tried hard to think, pretended he had just remembered, and asked Wang Gensheng as naturally as possible:

"Brother Wang, I remember you mentioned this afternoon that this restaurant used to be a state-run hotel."

"Right!" As soon as he heard Shi Dadan ask this, Wang Gensheng immediately perked up.

What does Wang Gensheng like most?

Of course, it's reminiscing about the past.

However, because Old Man Wang's memory hasn't been good in recent years, the past he reminisces about is always the same few segments, and the audience has basically never changed. Everyone is so tired of hearing him reminisce that they can recite it by heart and aren't very willing to listen.

Before, when Wang Gensheng was just an ordinary old man, the other old men and women would endure it as much as they could, treating it as background noise, suspecting he had dementia. But ever since Wang Gensheng became a connection of the Cloud Canteen and could easily get special meals, the old men and women couldn't take it anymore.

You're already getting special meals, and you still want to blabber and harass us? This is truly intolerable.

Wang Gensheng hadn't had a good time reminiscing for a long time.

Now that Wang Gensheng had met a new friend like Shi Dadan, who was willing to listen to him reminisce, was very interested in his past, and had witnessed his forty years of accounting skills firsthand this afternoon, how could Wang Gensheng not be happy?

How could he resist reminiscing a few more times?

Wang Gensheng immediately began to reminisce: "Back when I was an accountant at the cotton mill, I remember I had just graduated from university and was assigned to the cotton mill here in Gusu. My internship wasn't over, and my monthly salary was only that much. Being young and greedy, I would basically spend my salary after two good meals. When I had no money, I would deliberately take a detour, and it was good enough just to smell the food passing by the state-run hotel. At that time..."

Once Wang Gensheng started reminiscing, he couldn't stop. Gong Liang was left bewildered, clearly not understanding why the plot was developing in this direction.

Shi Dadan listened with great interest and interrupted at the right time: "Was the state-run hotel back then the same as the current Huang Ji Restaurant?"

This question stumped Wang Gensheng. Wang Gensheng stopped reminiscing and began to carefully examine the private room, not very sure: "It seems, not quite..."

"The current Huang Ji was expanded on the basis of the previous state-run hotel," Gong Liang hurriedly helped explain. "The first floor was expanded, and the second floor was also expanded. The previous state-run hotel's second floor was very small, with only two private rooms and a warehouse."

"Right, this private room 111 was renovated after the two previous private rooms were connected. Only this room is, the other rooms were newly added after the expansion. At first, I suggested to Old Huang—that is, Master Huang Shengli—whether we should tear down the state-run hotel and rebuild it; after all, the cost of rebuilding is actually lower than expanding."

"But Old Huang didn't want to. He felt that if he wanted to open a new restaurant, it could be anywhere, and there was no need to take over the old state-run hotel. Since he had taken it over, he should expand on the original site to leave some memories for the neighbors, at least to let everyone know that Huang Ji was originally a state-run hotel, so that people wouldn't forget it."

This part was originally Qin Huai's lines, but Gong Liang's mouth was faster and stole all of Qin Huai's lines.

Qin Huai specifically asked Huang Anyao to save private room 111 for him because private room 111 was the only original room. Although you couldn't tell anything just by looking at the renovation, and Wang Gensheng likely hadn't eaten in a private room before (he didn't have the money or the status), this original site bonus always has an effect at critical moments.

Hearing Gong Liang say this, Wang Gensheng was immediately very moved and sighed: "Master... Master Huang is truly thoughtful."

Seeing that this trick worked, Shi Dadan pressed his advantage: "I remember you told me, Old Wang, that the steamed buns and baozi at the state-run hotel were delicious. I love steamed buns and baozi the most. It's a pity I didn't have the good fortune you had back then and missed out."

Hearing Shi Dadan say this, Wang Gensheng started reminiscing again: "Yes, Master Jing's craftsmanship was truly impeccable. Back when I just passed probation, the first thing I did after getting my salary was to go to the state-run hotel and queue up to buy..."

"That..."

"It really was..."

After Wang Gensheng finished reminiscing, Shi Dadan asked again: "That sounds really good, but I just heard you say, Old Wang, that you always queued up to buy snacks to take home. Have you ever sat inside the state-run hotel to eat?"

When asking this question, Shi Dadan was actually being very deliberate, and even Gong Liang felt that Shi Dadan's question was really a bit strange. It's not strange to like listening to others reminisce, but to keep asking, with the focus always on the state-run hotel, and even asking if he had ever sat in the hotel to eat...

It's hard not to find it strange. However, Qin Huai was prepared for this; he had already warned Gong Liang in advance, telling him that Shi Dadan might not be very smart, and because he wasn't smart, any question he asked was reasonable.

Gong Liang didn't think much of it, just sighed in his heart that Qin Huai's friend didn't seem very normal, and he would have to find some abnormal topics later.

As for Wang Gensheng, he was completely immersed in the joy of reminiscing, and he would answer whatever Shi Dadan asked.

"I've eaten stir-fried dishes a few times, but I only had dishes stir-fried by Master Jing once, and that was thanks to my friend's favor."

"The state-run hotel back then wasn't as big as it is now. The lobby only had seven or eight tables, and seats were very tight. I didn't even know there were two private rooms on the second floor; I always thought there was only one private room on the first floor."

"Back in the day..."

"That really was..."

"At that time..."

Wang Gensheng blabbered on reminiscing again. The content was about the same as his normal reminiscing, but because Shi Dadan kept asking about the state-run hotel, he mentioned the state-run hotel a bit more and also focused on the snacks.

He just didn't mention the Double Crab Diced Baozi.

That's normal too.

Under normal circumstances, if you let Wang Gensheng reminisce, he definitely wouldn't think of the Double Crab Diced Baozi. The first thing he would think of would definitely be the fermented rice steamed bun, because the fermented rice steamed bun was relatively cheaper, and he had eaten it the most before.

At times like this, Shi Dadan's push is needed.

"Hey, is the Double Crab Diced Baozi that Assistant Xiao Qin recently researched and made the same snack that was sold at the state-run hotel before?"

Qin Huai knew that the topic had reached the main point, so he quickly sent a message to Huang Anyao, asking him to arrange for the waiters to serve the food.

Facing Shi Dadan's abrupt question, Wang Gensheng was truly stunned. He was stunned for a long time, then nodded belatedly: "Yes."

He only answered with one word.

Shi Dadan continued to sigh: "If that's the case, then it's quite a coincidence today. You said you didn't know there were private rooms on the second floor of the state-run hotel and had never eaten in a private room, but the seats we are sitting in today happen to be the ones renovated after the two private rooms on the second floor of the state-run hotel were connected."

"Assistant Xiao Qin is here to make Double Crab Buns, so there must be Double Crab Buns to eat today, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes," Qin Huai said hurriedly.

"Old Wang, would you say this makes up for your regret of never having sat in a private room at the state-run hotel and never having eaten a big meal in the hotel?" Shi Dadan asked.

Gong Liang was completely confused. The questions in his heart were almost written on his face, filled with: In all the conversations I heard just now, was it mentioned that Accountant Wang felt regret because he hadn't sat in the state-run hotel to eat Double Crab Buns?

Wang Gensheng was stunned at first, then as if he had remembered something, the expression on his face instantly became a mix of many emotions, a complex blend of feelings.

Qin Huai heard Wang Gensheng mutter: "Yes, it is a bit of a regret."

Qin Huai knew that this side quest was secure.

Although Shi Dadan's assist was very abrupt, it didn't matter; an effective assist is a good assist.

The food hadn't even been served yet, and Qin Huai felt that Wang Gensheng's task was almost completed.

Just as Wang Gensheng wanted to say something, a knock sounded outside the private room, and the waiter asked gently: "Hello, may I serve the food now?"

"Come in," Qin Huai said loudly.

The waiters filed in.

The dishes were basically all prepared.

Braised Lion's Head, Braised Fish Head, Braised Whole Pig's Head, Wensi Tofu, Corn with Pine Nuts, Stir-fried Green Vegetables, Three-Set Duck, Eight-Treasure Chicken, Boiled Dried Tofu Shreds, Soft-Shelled Turtle, Braised Pork with Preserved Vegetables, Fermented Rice Diced Diced Baozi, Fresh Meat Mooncake, and Double Crab Diced Baozi.

Shi Dadan's eyes went straight. For a moment, he didn't know which dish to smell first. He only felt that every dish was very fragrant, and these dishes blended together so fragrantly that he wanted to start eating right now.

But he controlled himself.

After all, he had seen the world; he had been Cao Guixiang's boss for many years.

From the moment the waiters started serving, Qin Huai's eyes had been fixed on Wang Gensheng, observing which dish his eyes were staring at.

From beginning to end, Wang Gensheng only looked at one dish.

The Double Crab Diced Baozi.

It's secure.

Qin Huai said silently in his heart.

It's as secure as it can be.

"Old Man Wang, you've worked hard auditing the accounts today. You take the first bite," Qin Huai said with a smile.

Wang Gensheng's eyes were still on the Double Crab Diced Baozi. He nodded absentmindedly, picked up the Double Crab Diced Baozi, and bit into a large mouthful impatiently, as if the Double Crab Diced Baozi was the only dish on the table worth eating, crushing all the other hot and delicious delicacies on the table.

Gong Liang:?

Is Accountant Wang trying to flatter Master Xiao Qin, or does he really have a unique taste? At a time like this, a normal person's first reaction is to pick up a baozi.

The next second, Gong Liang understood.

There are four people at our table in total. With so many dishes, we definitely can't finish them all. There's no need to rush to eat any specific dish; flattering Master Xiao Qin is actually the best choice.

As expected of a 40-year veteran accountant, he is truly calculating.

Thinking this, Gong Liang's chopsticks landed fast, accurately, and ruthlessly on the Braised Whole Pig's Head.

Seeing that his assist work was finished, Shi Dadan immediately switched to "devouring mode," waving at the waiter to bring a bowl of rice first.

Gong Liang:?

Now Gong Liang really didn't understand.

Qin Huai didn't notice Gong Liang at all; his attention was entirely on Wang Gensheng.

He watched Wang Gensheng swallow the first bite, then slowly take the second bite, changing from wolfing it down to chewing slowly.

At the same time, the game notification sound also rang in Qin Huai's mind.

"Ding, congratulations on completing the side quest 【Wang Gensheng's Desire】, and receiving the quest reward: 【Wang Gensheng's Affirmation】, 【A segment of Wang Gensheng's memory.】"

(End of chapter)