Chapter 614
Chapter 614
Chapter 614
A few minutes later, everyone in the kitchen was enjoying their hot soy sauce noodles. After finishing his noodles, Grandpa Qin went to help Director Qin, leaving only Qin Huai in the kitchen; none of the other staff members from the welfare home showed up.
Qin Huai knew that this must have been a special instruction from Director Qin. In the two years that Qin Huai had been away in Shanshi opening the Yunzhong Canteen, the welfare home had hired many new staff members, and many of the older employees had retired, including the cook who had just arrived last year.
These newcomers didn't know Qin Huai, and there were plenty of helpers in the kitchen, so Dean Qin simply assigned them to do other things.
It was only today, when Grandpa Qin mentioned that they all felt they had been withdrawn as children, that Qin Huai realized that all the people he had worked with at the orphanage over the years were long-time staff who had watched him grow up. He hadn't noticed anything amiss before because there were so many older staff, but now that only Director Qin and Grandpa Qin remained, Qin Huai truly understood—
Dean Qin doesn't think he's shy, does he?
Qin Huai thought he had always been a sunny and cheerful young man, but he never expected that his persona in the orphanage would be that of a quiet, socially awkward, introverted, and shy person.
Qin Huai spent the entire morning and half the morning making pastries in the kitchen.
During this time, Chen Huihong and the others left one after another, and then returned one after another. Only An Youyou, upholding the dedication of a top employee who never stops working, stayed in the kitchen with Qin Huai until the very last minute.
Dean Qin was also busy all morning.
The investigation into Chen Huihong's accounts was not yet complete. Dean Qin had to deal with the auditing specialists while simultaneously trying to persuade them to donate as well. While protecting philanthropists like Wang Gensheng who had already contributed, he focused on protecting Factory Director Xu, who hadn't yet donated.
At the same time, I also have to handle some trivial matters at the welfare home, send messages of concern to the philanthropists on my WeChat list, and ask if they have received the New Year's gifts specially prepared by the children.
Occasionally, we also need to contact hospitals and special schools.
If Qin Huai and An Youyou being busy making desserts in the kitchen is an 8 out of 10, then Dean Qin is probably a 12 out of 10.
Dean Qin was too busy to help Qin Huai in the kitchen. Normally, if Dean Qin had free time, Qin Huai would definitely go to the kitchen to help. Even if she couldn't be of much help, she wanted to show Qin Huai through her actions that his mother cared about him.
This is Dean Qin's way of maintaining balance.
It's just that Dean Qin hasn't researched how to shoot short videos to build her account in recent years; otherwise, she could have easily made daily vlogs, and the series could be called "The Daily Life of a High-Energy Children's Welfare Home Dean."
At 10:22 a.m., Qin Luo woke up. Dean Qin had finished his work, and all the preparations for making steamed buns in Qin Huai's area were complete except for wrapping them.
Over the years, Qin Huai has earned the reputation of "Brother Bao Bao" at the orphanage not just because baozi (steamed buns) are easy to feed. Among similar breakfast options, steamed buns, shumai, dumplings, and baozi are about the same, but Qin Huai became "Brother Bao Bao" instead of "Brother Dumpling" or "Brother Steamed Bun" because Director Qin specifically instructed him to make more baozi.
Steamed buns are perfect for the children at the orphanage to make together; they can make them however they want, as long as they're edible. As for why not dumplings…
Dumplings need to be boiled, but many children don't know how to wrap them, so they end up with a big mess when boiled, making them even more difficult to feed.
After careful consideration, steamed buns became the best choice. If everyone could share the workload, Qin Huai would have less to do, and Director Qin didn't want him to be stuck in the kitchen from morning till night every time he came to the orphanage. She also wanted Qin Huai to have some free time, to chat with him, reminisce about the past, and relive the happiness he experienced at the orphanage.
Qin Huai used to really like this part about reminiscing about the past.
As a master at entertaining children, Director Qin was a skilled storyteller. Although the orphanage had moved away from the city center, he was still fully aware of the latest gossip in Qiu County. While reminiscing about the past, Director Qin inevitably brought up some current events.
As everyone knows, Qin Huai loves to listen to gossip.
But today, Qin Huai didn't really enjoy this process of reminiscing about the past. Qin Huai was worried that today's reminiscing would just be a recollection of the past, and that he, as the protagonist in this recollection, wouldn't even know what had happened in the past.
If Dean Qin really said something extraordinary or earth-shattering, given Chen Huihong's personality, she would definitely remember it for 10 years and then tell Luo Jun about it vividly and embellished after Luo Jun was reincarnated and found.
While making the pastries, Qin Huai kept thinking about how to keep Dean Qin busy so he wouldn't have time to reminisce about the past.
Qin Huai hadn't figured out this problem even after Qin Luo woke up.
Unaware of the danger, Qin Luo sat in the kitchen, gulping down her soy sauce noodles. Her bowl was specially made, with three eggs inside: two boiled and one poached. The bowl was a large one, the kind the orphanage usually used for soup. Qin Luo practically buried her head in the bowl while eating, indicating she had slept well.
If a child doesn't sleep well, they also won't have a good appetite.
Dean Qin sat next to Qin Luo, smiling as he ate a specially made small bowl of soy sauce noodles. He said, "Luo Luo's appetite has increased again. Well, she's in high school now, which is the age when she can eat a lot."
"Aunt Qin, I'm nothing compared to Old Shi. You haven't seen him. He eats at least twice as much as I do!" While engrossed in her meal, Qin Luo didn't forget to praise Shi Dadan's appetite, her words full of admiration and mutual respect for the strong.
"Who is Lao Shi? Luo Luo's classmate?" Dean Qin asked.
“He’s my friend, in his forties, runs a seafood business, and lives in the city. He was supposed to come today, but he has to go out to sea and he’s busy,” Qin Huai said.
Dean Qin nodded, indicating that he had noted it down and that the person was a very promising future philanthropist.
Chen Huihong and the others weren't in the kitchen; they were wandering around outside. The orphanage's remote location had its advantages; all the surrounding land could be cultivated, and Director Qin could plant as much as he wanted.
However, they didn't plant too many, mainly because they didn't have enough manpower. Director Qin and Grandpa Qin are both past the age of farming, so they only planted a few acres of vegetable garden. The other staff members of the welfare home led Chen Huihong and the others to visit the vegetable garden, and they estimated that they could bring back some fresh vegetables later.
"Huaihuai, Happy New Year." Dean Qin took out a red envelope from his pocket and, to Qin Huai's astonishment and Qin Luo's envy, stuffed it directly into Qin Huai's pocket.
"Aunt Qin, it's not New Year's yet." Qin Huai didn't expect to receive red envelopes so early this year; it's only the Little New Year.
“You’re going back to your hometown for the New Year, and then you’ll be going to Shanshi after the New Year. You won’t have time to come to the welfare home again. If you don’t give me the red envelope now, when will you?” Director Qin said with a smile, and then stuffed a small red envelope into Qin Luo’s hand.
In a physical sense, Qin Luo's red envelope was one size smaller than Qin Huai's.
Qin Luo was an enthusiastic fan of opening red envelopes. The moment she received the red envelope, she tore it open and took out a brand new 20 yuan note, exclaiming, "Wow, 20 yuan! Qin's mom, you're rich today!"
A few years ago, Dean Qin would put two yuan in each of his red envelopes. He would put two yuan in those he was on good terms with, and one yuan in those he wasn't.
Seeing that Qin Luo's red envelope contained 20 yuan, Qin Huai couldn't resist opening his own red envelope and was immediately shocked.
Two red bills!
Two whole pages!
Qin Huai blurted out, "Aunt Qin, did you win the lottery?!"
Dean Qin: ...
"Winning the lottery? Does buying lottery tickets cost nothing? With that money, you could buy two pounds of rice," Director Qin said irritably. "Huaihuai, you've brought in so many donations to our welfare home from last year to this year. Your mother isn't stingy. These two red envelopes are from my own savings, a personal gift to you." As she spoke, Director Qin proudly gestured with her hands, "This year, all the staff at our welfare home got a raise—120 yuan per person per month!"
Qin Huai: "...Why don't you take some of the donations I got for you, Qin's mother? It's all money donated by me and my friends anyway."
Dean Qin glared at Qin Huai, feigning anger: "Am I that kind of person?"
“When I was little, the orphanage would occasionally give out fruit, which was only apples and bananas. I always thought it was because these two fruits were cheap and easy to preserve, and that buying them even if they weren't fresh and were on sale wouldn't make me sick. Later I found out that apples were bought because they were cheap, and bananas were simply because you liked to eat them.”
"And carrots. When I was a child, we ate carrots every day in the orphanage. You said it was good for our eyes. I always thought you were worried about our eyesight, but later I found out that you just loved eating carrots."
"Onions and celery are rarely seen in the welfare home, not because they are expensive, but because you don't like them."
"The reason we eat steamed buns during Chinese New Year is also because..."
Dean Qin interrupted Qin Huai directly: "That's enough. I didn't tell your friends about your embarrassing childhood stories, but you're bringing up your mother, Qin."
Qin Huai felt relieved when he heard that Dean Qin hadn't started talking about him yet.
"So what did you talk about with my friend yesterday?" Qin Huai asked.
"Of course it's about soliciting donations," Dean Qin said matter-of-factly. "Your friends, judging from their clothes and demeanor, are obviously well-off. Apart from that young woman and man who might not be financially well-off, the others are clearly high-quality, philanthropic individuals."
"Normally I can't even get an audience with someone even if I beg and plead, but so many came yesterday, so of course we have to talk about business first!"
Qin Huai: ...
Qin Luo nodded admiringly: "Aunt Qin, you're amazing! Aunt Chen and the others are really rich!"
Qin Huai: ...Luo Luo, you should say less. We have one conman in our family, that's enough.
"However," Dean Qin changed the subject, looking at Qin Huai, "I was really happy yesterday."
"Of course you're happy. You've raised more donations in a day than you could in a year in previous years," Qin Huai muttered softly.
"It's not because of that. Is the welfare home short of money right now?" Director Qin waved his hand. "Of course, the more donations the better, but it's not like I'm the first person to shamelessly ask others for donations. How many kind-hearted people are willing to listen to me for a few words, take out some documents, medical records, and payment lists, and donate tens of thousands or thousands of yuan without even bringing the child to them and letting them look at them carefully and chat with them?"
"They pay on the spot, without any consideration whatsoever."
"Huaihuai, your friends are so generous in donating money, it's all because of you."
"Although the friends you make are not quite the same as what I imagined, I am really happy for you that you have made so many friends."
Qin Huai didn't know what to say.
He was very eloquent, able to tell lies effortlessly, and occasionally even quite persuasive. However, over the years, he had actually spoken very little in front of Dean Qin; Dean Qin mostly did the talking and he listened. Just like when Dean Qin told him stories as a child, Qin Huai had grown accustomed to it over the years.
"Qin..."
"Oh dear, it's already 10:47, and no one else has come yet. I doubt anyone will come this morning either." Dean Qin got up and skillfully started washing the dishes. His cheerful voice and tone immediately gave Qin Huai a bad feeling.
Sure enough, the next second Dean Qin said while washing the dishes, "They should be back from the vegetable garden by now, so they can come to my office to look at the paintings."
“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. Ever since you started high school, Huaihuai, I’ve been looking forward to the day you bring your best friends to the orphanage. I’d take them to the office to see the paintings you made when you were little and tell them what you’ve painted. It’s a pity that you haven’t brought any friends over the years. You’ve only brought Luoluo. Luoluo is tired of seeing those paintings, and there are some stories I don’t know how to tell her.”
“If you don’t come today, I’ll call you this afternoon to ask when you’re coming to the orphanage.”
Qin Huai: !
NO! ! !
"Aunt Qin, I really don't think any of the drawings I made when I was little were ever collected or appreciated..."
Chen Huihong's loud voice interrupted Qin Huai's words.
"Director Qin, the vegetables your orphanage grows are so varied, even more so than what my mom grows in the countryside! This cabbage, this bok choy, and this white radish, it's really nice. Just now, Xiao Xu led us to dig up some vegetables and pulled up two radishes. I'll leave the vegetables here." As she spoke, Chen Huihong put the white radish by the door, and An Youyou followed Chen Huihong in, carrying a cabbage in her arms.
"You said yesterday you'd take us to see the paintings. Shall we go now, or this afternoon?"
"Of course we should go now. The afternoon activity is making steamed buns. Mr. Chen, making steamed buns is a specialty of our welfare home. We only have it during the Spring Festival every year. Huaihuai and Luoluo know this."
"Huaihuai, don't just sit there. Come to my office and look at the paintings together. I still have the building blocks you used to play with when you were little in my office."
“I thought it was lost a long time ago, but I found it in the warehouse last year. The wood was a bit rotten, so I deliberately put it in the sun to dry for several months. There is even your name carved on the block box with a knife.”
Qin Huai: ...
Aunt Qin, tell me, how much do I need to donate to cancel this event?
You say the numbers, I write the checks.
Chen Huihong had already rushed out excitedly: "Xiao Zhou, help Director Xu out!"
Qin Huaisheng followed behind Dean Qin with a sense of despair and whispered, "Aunt Qin, could we not introduce her?"
"No way," Dean Qin said with a smile. "Huaihuai, do you know how long I've been waiting for this day?"
"I'm sure there are many things you don't remember, but I definitely do. Today, I'm not only introducing this to your friends, but also to you!"
(End of this chapter)