Chapter 610
Surprise
Chapter 610 Surprise
Qin Huai happily ate at Cao Guixiang's house for two days. During that time, he took some time to make a lot of the dough for steamed buns and mantou that Shi Dadan liked, so that Shi Dadan could have breakfast every morning before the New Year and be full. Only then did he leave the city for Qiu County.
Incidentally, Qin Huai only made the S-grade longevity noodles once.
Although the family had the means, making soup was a very complicated and energy-consuming task. Every year during the Spring Festival was the most tiring time for Cao Guixiang, because the Zhang family would have a constant stream of lavish meals throughout the holiday. Qin Huai didn't want Cao Guixiang to be too tired before the New Year. He thought that once you've tasted S-grade longevity noodles, you only need to know what they taste like; there was no need to eat them every day.
On the eve of the Lunar New Year, Qin Huai returned to Qiu County.
Qin Congwen, Zhao Rong, and Qin Luo arrived half a day earlier than Qin Huai. It is said that Qin Luo performed exceptionally well before returning, completing 90% of her winter vacation homework, which shows the great charm of the Spring Festival.
When Qin Huai arrived home, Qin Luo was holding a mop, busily mopping the floor like a diligent little bee.
Qin Luo is a professional at cleaning.
Qin Congwen and Zhao Rong weren't idle either; they went out to buy things. Qin Huai was going to the orphanage tomorrow to make pastries, but the orphanage wouldn't normally stock so many ingredients. Since Qin Huai hadn't informed Director Qin in advance and wanted to surprise her, the task of purchasing the ingredients naturally fell to Qin Huai himself.
The Qin family had run a breakfast shop in Qiu County for over twenty years. They knew exactly which shop had the freshest vegetables, which had the best quality meat at the lowest price, which owner never shortchanged customers, and which owner was prone to cheating. Even though their breakfast shop had been closed for nearly two years and a new one had been rented out, their old business connections remained. As long as Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen personally handled the arrangements, they could still secure the best ingredients in the market.
"Brother, you're back!" Qin Luo cheered when she saw Qin Huai return. She threw down the broom and rushed over to take the insulated lunchbox from Qin Huai's hand. "Wow, brother, you're so great! I knew you would bring me food. I even skipped lunch and dinner!"
"Have Mom and Dad eaten?" Qin Huai asked.
"I ate. I ate the 11-yuan all-you-can-eat stir-fry downstairs. It used to be 10 yuan. I heard from Uncle Liu that it went up to 11 yuan last July. Today when I went downstairs to buy a mop, Aunt Fang from the small supermarket asked me when I was going to come back to open the breakfast shop. Aunt Fang said that the owner who rented our shop is almost as good at making steamed buns as Dad, and his meat buns are 50 cents more expensive than the ones we used to sell." Qin Luo said as he opened the insulated lunchbox, letting out a surprised exclamation.
The food that Qin Huai specially packed and brought from the city to Qiu County was naturally prepared by Cao Guixiang.
Qin Congwen and his two companions arrived in the city by plane at 11 a.m. today. They did not stop and went straight back to Qiu County by car. They were so tired from the journey that they certainly didn't have time to cook.
The Qin family's house had been uninhabited for a year. Although Qin Huai's aunt, Qin Xiuli, would come over every few months to do a quick cleaning, that's just how houses are. When someone lives there, they age very slowly, but when no one lives there, they age very quickly, and even the appliances break down very fast.
In Grandpa Qin's words, this is what happens when a house is devoid of life.
Cao Guixiang had previously suggested that Qin Huai bring Qin Luo to her house for dinner when he had time, but she hadn't found the opportunity yet. So this time, she simply cooked extra dishes at noon and asked Qin Huai to pack them up and take them back to Qiu County.
The lunchbox contained two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, all home-style fare: braised pork belly, braised chicken wings, stir-fried beef with celery, and blanched bok choy. At this moment, the blanched bok choy was the most visually appealing; even cooled, it looked vibrant green and crisp, and the layer of solidified oil on its surface made the green appear even brighter.
The other three dishes didn't look very appealing because the oil had solidified, and they didn't smell delicious either. However, Qin Luo had the most basic ability to appreciate good food, so she could tell that these three dishes must be very tasty.
Qin Luo quickly took the lunchbox into the kitchen and turned the steamer over to steam the vegetables.
"The self-service stir-fries have all gone up by a dollar, and it's normal for meat buns to go up by 5 cents; it must be because the price of meat has gone up," Qin Huai said. "Did Mom and Dad go to the market to buy groceries?"
"Yes, as soon as I got home, Mom sent me the form you sent her and asked me to go downstairs to the print shop to print it out."
This is Zhao Rong's habit; she likes to print out a shopping list before buying anything and then buy things based on that list.
"You went there in a minivan?"
"Yes, Dad was still lamenting when he left, saying it was a good thing he didn't sell the van, otherwise he wouldn't know what to bring back when buying goods." Qin Luo nodded.
It's now basically confirmed that the Qin family will not live and develop in Qiu County, but will settle in Shan City. Qin Congwen and Zhao Rong are actually a little reluctant. They have lived in Qiu County their whole lives, and the furthest they had planned was to buy a shop in the city so that Qin Huai could open a pastry shop there. Now they're moving to another province, only coming back for the New Year, which is equivalent to severing all their interpersonal relationships and social connections from the first half of their lives.
But Qin Congwen and Zhao Rong had no regrets. In their eyes, their children's development was more important than anything else. Qin Luo needed parental supervision to attend school in Shanshi, and Qin Huai's Yunzhong Canteen also needed family members to help manage its daily operations. Fifty was the prime age for hard work. If it weren't for the fact that his skills were far inferior to the other chefs at Yunzhong Canteen, Qin Congwen wouldn't have wanted to give up his important job as a breakfast chef. He himself wanted to stay on the front lines and contribute until he was 60.
After deciding to settle in Shanshi, Qin Congwen rented out his breakfast shop. He originally wanted to sell his family's dilapidated minivan, but it was too broken down and wouldn't fetch much money as a secondhand vehicle. Since the Qin family needed a spacious vehicle to transport their New Year's goods back to the countryside every year, he kept the minivan.
"Brother, you said Aunt Chen and the others are coming to spend the New Year with us this year. When are they coming?" Qin Luo asked, keeping an eye on the steamer.
“They will arrive on the 29th of the lunar year, but Zhao Cheng’an will arrive a little later; he won’t arrive until the 30th of the lunar year,” Qin Huai said.
Although Qin Huai wanted to stay in Qiu County a couple more days this year to make more snacks for the children at the welfare home, time was indeed very tight, as returning home for the Spring Festival was the priority. Qin Huai could only stay in Qiu County until the afternoon of the 28th of the lunar year before heading back to the countryside. This year, he planned to make a big splash in Qin Family Village, showing the villagers in the surrounding area how much progress he had made over the past year, and he needed to make thorough preparations in advance.
Qin Huai had already secretly spoken with Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin. Qin Huai placed an order online in advance for 150 bowls, two large freezers, and a new refrigerator. Grandpa Qin had also discussed with the neighbors that they would rent their kitchen during the Spring Festival, but whether or not they would borrow the refrigerator was still undecided.
Anyway, the neighbors are already prepared.
According to Grandma Qin, who declined to be named, she personally witnessed her neighbor to the east purchasing a large-capacity double-door refrigerator before the Lunar New Year.
The Qin family's neighbors never fight unprepared battles.
"Mom and Dad probably aren't going to the orphanage tomorrow, right?" Qin Huai asked.
"Mom said she didn't have time. She and Dad were going to the supermarket to buy things, and they also needed to put up couplets at home. Grandma said the red envelopes in town weren't very nice, so she asked Mom to pick out some pretty and festive ones in the city and buy more. They'll definitely be making a lot of red envelopes this year, and... well, there's a lot of work to do. Before Mom left, she told me to clean the house so we wouldn't have to wait for her and Dad to come back. Dad will take us to the welfare home tomorrow morning. If you need to pick us up in the evening, call Dad in advance."
Qin Huai nodded to indicate that he understood. There was always a lot to do before the New Year. Last year, they were able to return late because Grandpa Qin, Grandma Qin, and Qin Xiuli had already helped with many things. This year, they were returning early so as not to trouble their family. "I'll help you clean up later. Go to bed early tonight. Get up early tomorrow, preferably at 4 a.m., so we can get to the orphanage before 5 a.m. and the children can have their first breakfast around 7 a.m.," Qin Huai explained the itinerary to Qin Luo.
Qin Luo said there was no problem. For the average high school student, getting up at 4 a.m. during holidays is like torture. But for a high school student like Qin Luo, whose family has run a breakfast shop since he was a child, getting up at 4 a.m. during holidays is as normal as eating and drinking.
You get to eat well early in the morning, don't have to do much work, and can even play on your phone. Why not?
After the food was heated up, Qin Huai watched Qin Luo happily eat, praising Cao Guixiang's cooking skills as she ate. Qin Huai casually inquired about Qin Luo's homework progress, and after confirming that Qin Luo could enjoy herself to the fullest during the Spring Festival, the siblings began cleaning together.
To be fair, when it comes to cleaning skills, Qin Huai is not as good as Qin Luo.
After cleaning, Qin Huai told Qin Luo not to use her phone at night because she really had to get up early the next day, and then went back to her room to rest.
Before going to bed, Qin Huai saw a WeChat message from Shi Dadan.
Shi Dadan plans to go out to sea tomorrow to catch some seafood. He asked Qin Huai what he liked to eat, and he would catch more of Qin Huai's favorite dishes to send to Qin Huai before the New Year, which would also be a good addition to the Qin family's New Year's Eve dinner.
This brings us to Qin Huai's area of expertise. After all, Qin Huai only knows how to make pastries, not main dishes; the Qin family's New Year's Eve dinner is always a feast of pastries. After thinking it over, Qin Huai told Shi Dadan that he would just pick any easy-to-cook fish, whatever was available, he wouldn't be picky.
At 4 a.m. on the second day, Qin Congwen drove his van to the market to pick up the ingredients he had ordered the day before, and then took the siblings to the welfare home.
Qin Luo kept yawning the whole way, clearly ignoring Qin Huai's instructions from the previous night and secretly staying up late playing on his phone.
"Brother, do you think Director Qin might not be awake yet if we go so early? It's still dark. Is Grandpa Qin at the gatehouse at this hour? Will no one open the door for us when we get there? Is Director Qin's phone ringing or on do-not-disturb? What if we can't get through to her?" Qin Luo yawned as he turned into a walking encyclopedia of questions, worried that he would be squatting at the entrance of the orphanage with a bunch of fresh ingredients in the not-so-cold winter, anxiously waiting for the orphanage to open.
Qin Huai glanced at Qin Luo speechlessly: "Haven't you been to the orphanage for too long? Have you forgotten that Grandpa Qin is old and can't sleep? He gets up at 4 a.m. every day. Director Qin has told Grandpa Qin several times to be quiet when he gets up so as not to wake up the children in the next room."
Qin Luo yawned, indicating that she was too sleepy to remember the matter.
While driving, Qin Congwen said with a smile, "Luo Luo, don't be lazy later, help your brother out more. Dean Qin's cooking skills are not good, his meat-chopping skills are not as good as yours."
Chopping meat, especially for dumpling filling, sometimes requires great strength to achieve results. Although Qin Luo lacked the skill, she had the strength.
Qin Luo proudly straightened his back.
At 4:57 PM, while it was still dark, the Qin family's old, dilapidated van came to a steady stop in front of the orphanage. The orphanage was as run-down as before. Director Qin was a typical pragmatist; even with ample funds, he wouldn't consider spending a fortune to renovate the orphanage. It was meaningless to him; he'd rather use that spare money to increase the daily meal allowance for each person by three yuan.
Besides, the welfare home isn't exactly flush with cash. After all, the children there are all disabled, and the tuition for special schools is a significant expense. There are ways to spend money, whether you're rich or poor. Director Qin might spend a fortune taking the children to the hospital for surgeries costing hundreds of thousands, but she wouldn't spend a fortune buying two buckets of paint to repaint the welfare home's gate.
Grandpa Qin was already playing on his phone at the gatehouse.
They were so engrossed in playing that they didn't even notice a van parked in front of the welfare home.
Qin Huai jumped out of the car and skillfully knocked on the door, trying to get Grandpa Qin's attention.
Grandpa Qin, wearing his reading glasses, looked up slightly. Because it was dark and the lights at the entrance of the welfare home were dim, he couldn't see Qin Huai clearly, but he saw the van and got up happily.
"Is that Huaihuai?!"
"Uncle Qin, if you keep playing on your phone like this at work, you won't even notice if a thief breaks in and steals something. Be careful your mom sees you and deducts your bonus," Qin Huai teased with a smile.
"I don't get any bonuses. I only get 2000 yuan a month. They can deduct money from my pay if they want, I'll just go to the kitchen and fetch a can of oil." Grandpa Qin, though unconvinced, chuckled as he opened the door for Qin Huai, "Has Luo Luo arrived yet?"
"Here you are. You stayed up late playing on your phone last night and are now dozing off in the car. Are there any clean, empty rooms at the orphanage where you can sleep? I'll have Luo Luo go over and catch up on her sleep later."
"Yes, I just finished cleaning yesterday. Oh my, Huaihuai, you bought so many ingredients! If I had known you would buy them, your Qin mother wouldn't have needed to buy so much flour and meat yesterday. She'd definitely be worried about the money later. That's just how she is. She's been frugal her whole life, and now that she suddenly has money, she doesn't know how to spend it. Last year during Chinese New Year, I asked her to send me two extra cans of oil to take home, but she absolutely refused. In the end, she only sent me one can of oil and even stole 20 jin of cabbage from my house," Grandpa Qin said with a chuckle.
"Aunt Qin bought a lot of flour and meat. How did she know I would be coming today? I didn't tell her in advance!" Qin Huai was taken aback.
“Your friends said that many of your friends came to the welfare home yesterday. No wonder you are the most outstanding child in our welfare home. Not only did you raise so many donations, but you also had so many friends bring supplies and volunteer at the welfare home before the New Year.”
"Luckily, our orphanage has many empty rooms, otherwise there wouldn't be enough room for everyone."
"Come on, Huaihuai, have a banana."
Qin Huai took the banana with a somewhat blank expression and asked in a puzzled tone, "My friend came to the welfare home to volunteer and also donated supplies?"
"Those friends...could they include men, women, young and old?"
It couldn't be that Qin Huai wanted to give Dean Qin a surprise, and Chen Huihong and the others also wanted to give Qin Huai a surprise.
(End of this chapter)