Chapter 61: Arid Land and Lean Years (7)

Looking at Chen Huihui, who was excitedly sharing with Chen Huihong how delicious the steamed bun in her hand was, Qin Huai was stunned.

Admittedly, it was very happy to complete this side quest that had been stuck for who knows how long, but.

This completion was too inexplicable!

Huihui, isn't your dream steamed bun buckwheat steamed buns?!

Shouldn't buckwheat steamed buns be steamed buns made of buckwheat flour and wheat flour, then adding some other things, and fermented with yeast?

This steamed bun of yours is...

Alright, I admit it is indeed buckwheat flour mixed with wheat flour, but...

Putting aside the facts...

This steamed bun theoretically just...

It's Sophora flower steamed buns!

Sophora flower steamed buns!

Huihui, why didn't you say earlier that the steamed bun you wanted to eat wasn't ordinary buckwheat steamed buns, but steamed buns made with honey fermentation and containing buckwheat flour!

Qin Huai felt like crying.

Ever since Qin Luo could clearly express what she wanted to eat, he hadn't been tortured by such abstract food requirements for many years.

Qin Huai glanced at Chen Huihui.

Alright, Huihui was only in the third grade of elementary school and didn't even know what honey fermentation was, so it wasn't her fault.

If you want to blame someone, blame this damn game system for being too abstract.

If Qin Huai's expectations were correct, the last time Chen Huihui ate Sophora flower steamed buns was in her previous life.

Human memory wasn't brought over through reincarnation, but the taste was.

Qin Huai could only say that this game system was indeed abstract enough to be unexpected.

With the qualitative breakthrough of Sophora flower steamed buns, Zheng Siyuan booked a flight to return to Gusu tonight. The sad Zheng Da knew that after this failure, there was no hope of taking an apprentice in the short term, so he simply booked a flight with Zheng Siyuan and left. Before leaving, he repeatedly urged Qin Huai to ask him anytime if there were any problems.

Next time, next time he would definitely be able to solve the problem immediately!

After the two left, Qin Huai stayed in the shop to steam the last batch of Sophora flower steamed buns, handed the task of selling steamed buns to the waiter, made an excuse that he was too sleepy to eat dinner, bought a kimchi-flavored rice ball at the convenience store opposite, and went home.

At home, the two pots of cactus Ouyang sent last time were still quietly placed in the entrance. Thanks to Qin Huai not watering them much, the two pots of cactus were growing vigorously.

Qin Huai took a bottle of cola from the refrigerator, slumped on the sofa, and clicked on the game panel to check the newly obtained rewards.

【Chen Huihui's Affirmation】: The affirmation of Chen Huihui, the language class representative of Class 8, Grade 3 of the First Experimental Elementary School. Obtaining this title has a high probability of obtaining Chen Huihui's favor and help, and a small probability of obtaining her sincere blessings, wishing you to complete some small wishes, such as when the buckwheat steamed buns in your canteen are unsalable, calling on classmates to come over to hold a buckwheat steamed bun tasting meeting.

Didn't expect it, Huihui was actually a language class representative; the child's grades were okay!

In Qin Huai's view, 【Chen Huihui's Affirmation】 and 【Chen Huihong's Affirmation】 looked about the same at first glance; both could better brush up favorability.

The only difference was that 【Chen Huihong's Affirmation】 could let Chen Huihong open her heart and chat about some gossip and little secrets. But Huihui, this child, was more pragmatic and directly took the initiative to call on classmates to hold a steamed bun tasting meeting.

This game's titles could be hung with many at the same time. Qin Huai didn't hesitate to hang 【Chen Huihui's Affirmation】 as well. The mother and daughter's affirmations were displayed side by side. If he could add Chen Huihong's younger brother's affirmation, it would definitely be even better.

Eh, what was the name of that younger brother who was cheated of 200,000 yuan again?

For a long time, the legend of Chen Huihong's younger brother being cheated of 200,000 yuan because of believing in past and present lives had been circulating in the Yunzhong Canteen, but no one cared what his name was.

Qin Huai briefly pitied Chen Huihong's younger brother for a second in his heart, slid the game panel, and found 【A Dream Segment of Chen Huihong】.

According to the display in the illustrated book, this was Chen Huihong's last dream segment.

The ending of this mother and daughter in the previous life was all in this dream.

Qin Huai clicked 【A Dream Segment of Chen Huihong】 and selected Yes.

【Dream loading...】

Cold—this was Qin Huai's first impression of the surroundings.

Silver-clad, heavy snow filling the sky, the ground covered with a foot of accumulated snow, showing that this was destined to be a cold winter.

Qin Huai looked around and found that he seemed to be in a small courtyard in an alley. The courtyard was not big, and a small wooden shelf with a missing leg was placed diagonally in the corner. Two bamboo sieves were placed on the shelf, covered with snow.

The courtyard was the same, with thick snow covering everything, and the white expanse looked quite good. The door was an old wooden door, and the windows were paper-pasted with a few holes, showing that the people living here were not very wealthy.

Just as Qin Huai wanted to walk through the wall to see what was going on inside, the door opened.

Hui Niang carried a small basket woven from rattan, covered with cloth so that the contents couldn't be seen. Perhaps because it was too cold and the cotton-padded jacket she was wearing was thin, Hui Niang's face and ears were frozen red, her hands were barely retracted into her sleeves, and she was curled up, spraying white air with every breath.

"Sister, I'm back!" Hui Niang said loudly, carefully closing the door.

The room door opened, and Chen Huihong, wearing a short-sleeved short jacket but clothes that looked much cleaner than Hui Niang's, walked out while cracking melon seeds. Hui Niang walked in quickly and closed the door, and Qin Huai also went in with her.

The room was not big, with two rooms; the outside was the living room and the inside was the bedroom. The furniture only had a small square table and three chairs, and there was a small bed and a cabinet in the bedroom.

The small square table was full of snacks like nuts—melon seeds, peanuts, walnuts, and dried fruits mixed together. Next to the nut pile were melon seed shells, so rich that it didn't look like snacks that could appear in this room.

Hui Niang put the small basket on the ground and uncovered the cloth to reveal the contents—all sweet potatoes.

"Sister, the price of corn flour has risen again. I didn't bring enough money, so I could only buy sweet potatoes," Hui Niang said a bit embarrassedly. "Now that the girls' school is on vacation, they don't need us miscellaneous workers. If I had known, I would have found a job as a maid. I could have gotten some rewards during the New Year to buy some offal at the two-meat shop at the entrance of the alley."

Chen Huihong cracked melon seeds calmly and said: "It's easy to be beaten to death as a maid."

In Hui Niang's shocked gaze, Chen Huihong continued: "I sat at the entrance of the Qin Family Pastry Shop last time and heard the waiter inside saying that the Gong Mansion or some family dragged out a few more and buried them. Also said that a new young actor in a certain opera troupe sang something that made a certain master unhappy and had his tongue pulled out alive."

"Whether it's being a maid or singing opera, they are high-risk professions." Chen Huihong summarized.

Although Hui Niang didn't understand much, she felt it made sense and nodded repeatedly.

"Eat?" Chen Huihong stuffed a handful of melon seeds to Hui Niang, who waved her hands repeatedly to refuse.

"What do you want to eat today?" Chen Huihong got up and asked.

Hui Niang thought seriously: "I want to eat black flour steamed buns."

Chen Huihong couldn't help but click her tongue; obviously, she didn't understand what kind of taste Hui Niang had to love black flour steamed buns, but she still nodded and pushed the door, preparing to go out.

Hui Niang hurriedly went to the inner room to get clothes for Chen Huihong.

"Sister, cotton-padded clothes!"

"Oh right, almost forgot to wear them." Chen Huihong took the clothes and put them on directly at the door.

Her clothes looked much better than Hui Niang's—clean, the fabric was obviously thicker, and it didn't look gray, nor did it look yellow or black.

The most important thing was that her cotton-padded clothes were very thick.

"Did you stuff too much straw last night?" Chen Huihong patted her chest, making a dull sound. "Did you pick out all the cotton?"

"Picked it all out and stuffed it into the quilt," Hui Niang said. "The quilt is very warm now."

Chen Huihong nodded and went out.

Chen Huihong lived in the outer city.

Perhaps because of the cold weather and heavy snow, there were very few people on the road, and the accumulated snow on the road was basically not cleaned by anyone. Occasionally, a few people who came out to sweep the snow only swept their own doors.

Chen Huihong, in her new cotton-padded clothes, walking on the road, was definitely the most beautiful person on the road. Wherever she went, passersby would whisper a few words. "The crazy young lady is out again."

"Look at what you're saying, which day does she not go out."

"Look at the clothes on her, that fabric, that thickness, one piece is worth more than all the clothes and quilts of my family combined. A young lady is a young lady; even if she is driven out and rents a small courtyard in the outer city, she is dressed better than us."

"She has a maid to serve her even after being driven out to rent a small courtyard. Can you compare with her?"

"Isn't her maid a miscellaneous worker at the girls' school?"

"That's because she's lazy and doesn't want to serve her, wanting to earn an extra share of money outside. I just ran into her maid on the road just now, buying a basket of sweet potatoes. It's estimated that the crazy young lady doesn't want to eat sweet potatoes, so she ran out to find something to eat."

"I heard she is very famous in the inner city now. Wherever she sits at the door of a restaurant, the waiter in the restaurant will politely welcome her in, serving hot dishes, pastries, snacks, and tea. If she eats which dish, all the guests in that restaurant that day will order a portion at their tables. When she leaves, the waiter will not only respectfully send her out but also pack what she didn't finish and stuff it to her. Is it true?"

"How would I know? I haven't been to the inner city much."

"So good, I also want to be a crazy young lady."

"Just you? You don't even look at yourself in the mirror. With your virtue, if you sit at the door of someone's restaurant, the waiter will come out with a stick and beat you away. People think you're dirty just sitting there."

"Hey, how do you talk?"

"I just love to tell the truth, so what?"

The onlookers discussed and almost started fighting.

Chen Huihong continued to walk to the inner city as if no one was there.

There was a distance from the outer city to the inner city. The road was not easy to walk on a snowy day. A rickshaw puller who didn't know Chen Huihong greeted her, wanting to ask if this young lady wanted to take a rickshaw, but was stopped by a peer beside him.

He popularized the crazy young lady's brain to him, not supporting her learning to pay to take a rickshaw, a high-difficulty behavior.

The closer to the inner city, the cleaner and more lively the road became.

If the outer city was a silver world covered by heavy snow, then the accumulated snow on the road in the inner city was basically cleaned up. There were even vendors selling things along the road, and the things sold were numerous and miscellaneous.

A vendor selling candied haws saw Chen Huihong and even pulled his throat to ask: "Crazy young lady, do you want a string of candied haws?"

Hearing him say this, Chen Huihong paused, looked at his candied haws a few times, sized them up, and walked away without saying a word.

People on the side immediately called out to the vendor selling candied haws: "The crazy young lady is rushing to Taifeng Building for lunch; how could she look at your candied haws."

The vendor selling candied haws was still unconvinced and argued: "The crazy young lady looked at the candied haws three times; maybe she will like them tomorrow."

Then he pulled his throat and shouted: "The candied haws that the crazy young lady looked at three times, delicious and not expensive!"

Hearing the vendor selling candied haws shouting like this, someone really came up to buy a string to taste.

This series of silky operations left Qin Huai dumbfounded.

Good guy, Chen Huihong is simply a human billboard.

Soon, Qin Huai discovered that Chen Huihong, this human billboard, was really useful.

Because these rich masters and young masters in the inner city were really idle.

They actually followed Chen Huihong to see which restaurant she was going to sit at.

Before long, there was a string of small tails behind Chen Huihong, and their shapes were all different.

Those with braids, those without braids, those wearing gowns, those wearing jackets, and even a rich young lady wearing a sweater, obviously in Western attire, also wanted to follow, but was pulled hard by the maid beside her.

Chen Huihong was not affected by the small tails behind her at all and went shopping for restaurants on her own.

Stopping at the door of this restaurant, the waiter inside was immediately ecstatic and welcomed her with a smile. Just as he was about to help Chen Huihong, Chen Huihong turned her head and left mercilessly.

Only the waiter was left at the door and was scolded by the shopkeeper.

Stopping at the door of that restaurant, the shopkeeper hurriedly asked the waiter to clean the most conspicuous table at the door, set up tea, and went out to welcome her personally, but Chen Huihong left again.

Leaving the shopkeeper standing at the door gnashing his teeth.

Don't say, this way of shopping for restaurants is indeed very dramatic. Not only did Qin Huai watch with relish, but the onlookers also felt very satisfied.

There were also busybodies opening a market to bet on whether Chen Huihong would continue to enter Taifeng Building today or go to other restaurants.

Finally, Chen Huihong shopped at the door of Taifeng Building, which appeared most frequently in the mouths of the onlookers.

Qin Huai looked up at the signboard of this restaurant. The signboard was very old, but the restaurant was very new, which had the same effect as the Qin Family Pastry Shop.

The waiter of Taifeng Building had already welcomed her out with a smiling face.

"Crazy young lady, are you going to eat something at our Taifeng Building today? Master Jiang specially left good dishes for you today—Phoenix Egg, Emerald Cabbage, Fragrant Crispy Duck, White Jade Square Cake. Our shop also has a new Jiangnan pastry chef; would you like to taste it?" The waiter's tongue was very sharp, and a large string of words was spoken very clearly, with full energy, and the sound spread far away.

Chen Huihong hesitated a bit.

The onlookers were excited.

"Taifeng Building, I knew it was Taifeng Building, haha, I won!"

"This Taifeng Building has been eaten for 7 consecutive days; impossible, the crazy young lady must have been tired of it long ago. Today it must be Yonghe Residence!"

"I think the new dishes of Eight Treasure House are not bad!"

"I think Yongfu Building is also okay."

"Yongfu Building and Eight Treasure House have both been shopped, and the crazy young lady didn't even stop."

Chen Huihong thought for a while, turned around and was about to leave, and the onlookers were even more sensational.

"Crazy young lady, there are fermented rice steamed buns today!" The shopkeeper hurriedly welcomed her out, holding a small dish in his hand, and there was a fermented rice steamed bun in the dish. "Just out of the pot, still hot, smell it."

Chen Huihong paused her steps.

The onlookers were so nervous that they didn't dare to breathe.

Chen Huihong hesitated for a while, turned around again, and walked into Taifeng Building.

The onlookers burst into exclamations.

"It's really Taifeng Building, I bet right, hahahahahaha!"

"This Taifeng Building is really amazing; how long has it been open, and it is so favored by the crazy young lady."

"Isn't it? Guess who I saw entering Taifeng Building to get dishes yesterday? The butler of the old prince's house!"

"Whoa."

In the sound of the crowd, the waiter's voice was particularly prominent.

"To celebrate the crazy young lady's patronage of Taifeng Building for 8 consecutive days, my shopkeeper Lu said, anyone who enters the shop to dine today will be given four dishes of pastries and a pot of tea!"

As always, a two-in-one.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 62 =====