Chapter 170: Guan Daye

"He, this is three hundred."

"Done, just these two days, wait for my word."

"Good."

When Zhang Ping'an returned home in the afternoon, Lou Xiaoe had not yet left; it was not until evening when it grew dark that the Zhang Ping'an family saw her out of the courtyard.

As the family of four returned, they ran into He Daqing, who was coming out of Yan Bugui's house.

"Ping'an, I have a few words to say to you."

For the past half year, He Daqing had almost always taken Cai Quanwu out to cater banquets on his days off, and he had previously told his wife that there was another relative in Zhang Ping'an's household, surnamed Lou.

Once this surname came up, He Daqing had roughly guessed who it was, and upon seeing her just now, wasn't it exactly Lou Xiaoe?

"Done, Xiao Ling, you take the children back first."

After handing a cigarette to He Daqing, the two walked forward a bit and stopped in front of the Daozuofang, where He Daqing deliberated for a moment and said:

"Ping'an, we common folk should have less contact with the Lou family."

He Daqing vaguely remembered the conversations of those Capitalists he had inadvertently overheard when Lou Bancheng had him come over to cook; saying such things out in the open would probably be enough to get one shot.

He had gone over to return a favor and had no deep friendship, but now, anyone with eyes could see that Zhang Ping'an's private relationship with them was quite good.

"Done, Brother He, I have a sense of it. Xiao Ling's grandfather had some friendship with the Lou family, and Xiao Ling and Xiao'e played well together when they were young. They hadn't really been in touch after growing up, but we met by chance that day, and so they started playing together again."

"Mm, as long as you have a sense of it, Ping'an. This cigarette is good, it's got a kick." He Daqing nodded and said no more; some things are best left at a hint.

"Here, I rarely smoke anyway."

Zhang Ping'an handed the remaining half-box of China cigarettes directly to He Daqing; no other reason, he was just generous.

"Hehe, that's fine, I won't be polite then. I'll keep it to show off when I go to my fellow apprentices' places for the New Year."

This China cigarette was not only hard to buy, but the key was that it required cigarette coupons, and you really couldn't buy it without knowing someone.

Three days later, Cai Quanwu handled the entry procedures for his distant nephew Yan Jiecheng; those who know, know, and no one would expose it.

Thus, Yan Jiecheng also began his kitchen career; only after the lunch service was finished did the kitchen staff begin to eat.

"Ahem, Jiecheng, eat slowly."

"Sorry, Uncle He, the food you make is too delicious."

"You child, you only speak the plain truth. Eat, after you finish cleaning up this afternoon, learn more about chopping from Haiyang and the others."

"You got it."

Yan Jiecheng was very satisfied at this moment; Yan Bugui's sudden austerity over the past two years had left him, who was in the middle of a growth spurt, somewhat malnourished.

Coming into the kitchen this time was like a mouse falling into a rice jar; although he still needed to hand over coupons to get food, the hidden benefits for kitchen staff were quite flexible, otherwise, so many people wouldn't want to get into the kitchen.

Moreover, the fact that a Chef could be called one of the Eight Great Members probably had something to do with this factor.

Cai Quanwu also officially appeared on the Small Tavern's employee list, with the same salary as at the Rolling Mill, and the expanded Small Tavern was now bustling with customers.

Today, the Small Tavern welcomed a special guest, and the moment Cai Quanwu saw him, he couldn't help but call out "Dad."

"Dad?" After finishing his work in the kitchen, Cai Quanwu came out with a dish and gasped when he saw Guan Daye.

"Young man, why are you randomly recognizing relatives?" Guan Daye's face darkened, but when he looked up and saw Cai Quanwu's face, he was also stunned; this young man looked exactly like he did when he was young.

"..."

"You are...?"

"Guan Daye, I'm sorry, he is Cai Quanwu, my husband."

Xu Huizhen did not know what Guan Daye looked like when he was young, and besides, the current Guan Daye had swollen eyelids, gray hair, and a slight facial paralysis, without a trace of Cai Quanwu's likeness.

"Young man, your surname is Cai?" Guan Daye stroked his chin for a long time but couldn't recall any relatives of his surnamed Cai.

"Sorry, Daye, my original surname is He, I took my mother's surname."

"He? What is He Zhenhua to you?"

"He is my father," Cai Quanwu said hurriedly.

"That's no wonder then; by that reckoning, I am your cousin-uncle."

Guan Daye himself hadn't expected that he, who usually lived in seclusion, would recognize a relative while out for a drink.

"Cousin-uncle."

"Mm, sit down and talk. Where are your father and mother? How is their health now?"

"My father, he... he passed away many years ago."

"Sigh, let it be."

"Cousin-uncle, I have an older brother who lives over in Nanluoguxiang; he looks very much like you."

"..."

"My cousin indeed had a son; I saw him when he was a child, but I haven't seen him in decades now."

"Yes, we only recognized each other recently; this craft of mine was all taught by him."

"Mm, no wonder I felt a sense of familiarity when I ate it. You two brothers should come over to my place when you have time and tell me about your father."

"Good."

Cai Quanwu obviously knew that now was not the time for reminiscing, and Guan Daye was also out drinking because he was feeling depressed; his son and daughter-in-law had been clamoring to go abroad since they got married and were asking him for money.

Because he had never agreed, the two of them actually refused to have children and had been at a stalemate with him for many years; in the end, Guan Daye had no choice but to agree that as long as they left a child behind, he would provide the money to sponsor their trip abroad.

The older generation valued the continuation of the family line, and at his father's concession, the good son Guan Cunxiao was overjoyed and was working hard at home with his wife to conceive a child, striving to give birth as soon as possible so they could go abroad.

Guan Daye had been feeling disheartened, and coming out to drink his sorrows away and recognizing a relative had actually made him feel much better.

At noon, Cai Quanwu couldn't help but go to the Rolling Mill to tell He Daqing about this; in this era, being able to recognize relatives was a joyous event of the highest order.

"Really? You said he even saw me? Why don't I have any impression of that?"

"How could that be fake? Cousin-uncle looks exactly like Dad."

"Done, on our day off, we'll go see him together."

"Good."

In the blink of an eye, it was the day off; He Daqing, Cai Quanwu, and Shazhu, who had shamelessly insisted on tagging along, also wanted to see "Grandpa."

"Knock, knock, knock."

"This..."

Upon seeing Guan Daye, He Daqing no longer had any doubts; he looked exactly like the father in his memories, and Guan Daye felt the same, as if he were seeing his cousin from the past.

Shazhu looked at the three faces that seemed to progress in age, unable to speak for a moment; his heart felt sour, and he felt as if he were the outsider.

"Cousin-uncle?"

"Mm, come on in."

"Alright."

The four of them sat down as host and guests, but He Daqing still couldn't help but ask:

"Cousin-uncle, Quanwu said you mentioned seeing me when I was little, but why don't I have any impression of it?"

"You were only one or two years old then, what kind of impression could you have? I even flicked your little bird back then."

"..."

"Pfft, cough, cough." Shazhu, who was drinking water, sprayed it out directly and nearly choked to death.

"Cough, why haven't I seen cousin and cousin-in-law?" He Daqing glared at Shazhu.

"Don't mention them. I see you brought quite a few ingredients; it just so happens I haven't tasted your father's cooking in a long time, let's see how much you've learned."

"Deal, I won't let you down." Seeing that Guan Daye didn't want to talk about his children, He Daqing tactfully steered away from the topic.

"Great-uncle, I've learned Sichuan Cuisine, I'll show you a thing or two as well."

"Hehe, alright."

The four grown men chatted about old times right in the kitchen, with He Daqing and Guan Daye doing most of the talking, while the other two listened.

"Sigh, it's all fate."

After reminiscing about the past, the four of them talked about their current situations, but Guan Daye didn't mention his own son, and the three of them were tactful enough not to ask.

At eleven-thirty, the table was filled with Lu Cuisine and Sichuan Cuisine.

"Mm~ Daqing, your skill is already no weaker than your father's; Quanwu, you still need to practice more, though doing it at the Small Tavern is not bad."

"Great-uncle, what about me?"

"Yours looks pretty good too, but I rarely eat spicy food; today I'll make an exception for you."