Chapter 618
Zhang Village
Chapter 618 Returning to the Village
"15 yuan for a fortune telling... now?" Qin Huai glanced at the time on his phone and saw that it was 9:37 p.m.
It wasn't late, so there wasn't the creepy feeling of midnight. However, the rooms in the orphanage were relatively simple, and because they hadn't been lived in for a long time, they weren't well-ventilated and had a faint musty smell of dampness. This suited the rudimentary set of a poor but horror film crew.
Combined with its prime location in a deserted suburb and the unique characteristics of an orphanage...
If this were a horror movie, Qin Huai and Zhou Hu would definitely be the first two supporting characters to court death.
Zhou Hu was a little excited, his eyes even shining: "Master Qin, are you willing to calculate it now?"
Qin Huai: ...
In a horror movie plot, Zhou Hu would definitely die before him.
"Isn't it a bit too dark now? The orphanage usually can't turn on the lights at this hour. Although there's no strict rule about it, everyone tacitly agrees not to turn on the lights." Qin Huai subtly informed Zhou Hu that this wasn't a good option, and then forcefully changed the subject, "Planner Zhou, your calculations for me weren't very accurate. Is it because I'm an orphan and don't know my exact birth date and time? In my case, the calculations are just inaccurate."
Hearing Qin Huai say this, Zhou Hu immediately perked up. If it weren't for the circumstances, he would have liked to sit cross-legged and get close to Qin Huai, explaining to him face-to-face the profoundness of this profession.
Zhou Hu could only whisper in the darkness, explaining to Qin Huai that even with limited resources, there were various methods for divination in their line of work: face reading, palmistry, using the I Ching to flip coins, tossing tortoise shells, reciting numbers, drawing lots based on intuition… His family's inherited skills were never limited to just one area; in the early years when the industry was tough, he had to learn all sorts of methods. As a representative of those who surpassed their masters, he was proficient in everything, a jack-of-all-trades. It was only because he had no interest in this particular path that he ended up in jail long ago.
Zhou Hu couldn't stop talking, and Qin Huai didn't even have a chance to interrupt.
In the end, Qin Huai even fell asleep while listening.
There's no way around it, it's quite soothing to sleep, even though I can't understand it at all. Listening to this stuff is like listening to advanced math in college; when people hear things they don't understand at all, they automatically convert those sounds into white noise.
Qin Huai couldn't understand anything except that Zhou Hu was really good at this, even though he didn't love it.
When Qin Huai woke up on the second morning, Zhou Hu was still fast asleep. Qin Huai went to the kitchen early to prepare breakfast and found that Grandpa Qin had already woken up and even washed the vegetables.
Dean Qin also got up very early and came to the kitchen in high spirits to help Qin Huai with chores (washing vegetables), and also asked Qin Huai about his plans to return to his hometown this year.
Qin Huai frankly stated that he plans to return to his village this year to make a big splash and give the villagers a small taste of the local pastry chefs.
As for whether making desserts during the Lunar New Year period will lead to exhaustion and even death...
That's not important; the important thing is to go back and make a big splash.
Dean Qin shook his head as he listened, clearly not understanding Qin Huai's behavior and hobby of working himself to the bone every day of the year, and then working even harder to make pastries when he went home for the New Year.
Normal people work hard all year round so that they can go home to celebrate the Spring Festival and rest for a few days.
Qin Huai works hard all year round, just to be busier and work twice as hard when he gets home. He's so tired, and it's not even for money; he even has to put money out of his own pocket.
Dean Qin didn't understand, but she respected it. After all, she was the director of the welfare home. Over the years, the graduates who left the home had all had their own quirks, but Dean Qin could accept it as long as the graduates didn't end up working there.
Qin Huai spent two days busy at the welfare home, making enough steamed buns for the children to eat throughout the Spring Festival. Amid the children's cries of "Happy New Year, Brother Bao Bao!", "Brother Bao Bao, when will you come to see us again?", and "Brother Bao Bao, will you come again during the Spring Festival?", he boarded his family's dilapidated van and headed to the countryside.
Seamless rural outreach.
Since the van was full of New Year's goods, and Chen Huihong and the others had no intention of experiencing Qin Huai's dilapidated van, Qin Congwen directly contacted the villagers to see who was available and arranged for several vehicles to pick up Chen Huihong and the others from Qiu County and bring them to Qin Family Village.
Upon entering the village, Qin Huai immediately sensed the difference in atmosphere this year.
Not only did the neighbors gather together in the courtyard of Old Master Qin's house, but they also seemed to be arguing slightly. If it weren't for the old Party Secretary trying to mediate, it would have almost turned into a fight. Even the usually fair and just old Party Secretary seemed to have joined the fray.
"What do you mean by that, Qin? We agreed that you'd have two rooms and I'd have two. Today you're saying you have so many empty rooms that you can accommodate three. What do you mean? You have so many empty rooms, but I don't?"
“My surname is Qin, and yours isn’t? Who in our village doesn’t have the surname Qin? By seniority, I’m still your third uncle. Show some respect. I’m just telling the truth. My house was built in the last few years. Your house has been built for so many years. Huaihuai’s friend came all the way here to experience our village’s New Year culture, and you let him stay in your dilapidated house? How can you be so shameless?”
"What do you mean my house is dilapidated? What's the use of a newly built house? Your house was built with shoddy workmanship, while my house has a solid foundation!"
"Pah! Your house is the one that was built with shoddy materials! Your whole family's houses were built with shoddy materials!"
"Alright, alright, stop arguing. We've already agreed on everything, what's there to argue about?" the old Party Secretary tried to mediate.
“Old Party Secretary, if you ask me, the guests shouldn’t have been invited to your house. Your house is the furthest away, so it’s inconvenient for them to come over for a meal.”
Upon hearing this, the old Party Secretary, who had been acting as a peacemaker, immediately switched to battle mode: "Qin Sande, what do you mean? What do you mean by saying my house is the farthest? I think Hu Zi is right, your house is not suitable for entertaining guests, and it was leaking at the beginning of this year."
"My water pipe burst!"
As Qin Congwen's dilapidated van slowly drove up, the crowd stopped arguing and those who disliked each other shut up.
Qin Congwen got out of the car with a big smile, feeling like he was returning home in glory after many years away. He excitedly said to his grandpa and grandma, "Dad, Mom, we're back!"
Grandpa Qin smiled and nodded.
The rear door slowly opened, and Qin Luo's complaining voice came from inside the car: "Dad, didn't you check the car door? It's even harder to open today than it was the other day!"
After saying that, Qin Luo jumped off the car and hopped over to Grandma Qin: "Grandma, Happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year, Grandpa!"
Grandma Qin smiled from ear to ear: "Oh, our Luoluo is such a good child. She's already giving New Year's greetings before the New Year is even over. I heard from your mother that your grades are good this year. I knew that Luoluo hadn't been studying hard before, but now that she's grown up, she knows how to work hard."
Qin Luo didn't know what to say, so he could only smile awkwardly.
Qin Huai got off the bus carrying large and small bags and asked, "Grandma, did you put the things I told you about a while ago, the things that were specially sent from Shanshi, into the refrigerator?"
Before returning to Guangdong Province, Qin Huai instructed Huang tide to make sure to send back all the frozen ingredients he had prepared in advance, right on time. As the saying goes, "an army marches on its stomach," and the same applies to making large quantities of pastries; preparing the ingredients in advance can save a lot of unnecessary trouble.
With so many skilled helpers at the Cloud Canteen, Qin Huai could easily produce large quantities of various pastries with their assistance. Qin Family Village was different. It was already difficult enough to find a few enthusiastic villagers with decent meat-chopping skills to help, let alone others with other skills.
Qin Huai had to complete most of the steps in making pastries in the village independently; without preparing the ingredients in advance, it was difficult to achieve the desired effect. Even steaming them into a fairyland wouldn't do him justice.
"Huaihuai." Seeing Qin Huai come down, Grandma Qin hurriedly went to greet him, holding her little notebook that she usually used to write lyrics. The notebook was full of crooked and messy characters. "This is the list. See if there are enough people. If not, there are many substitutes."
If Qin Huai tricked Zhou Hu into coming to Qin Family Village for the New Year in order to win his favor, and then more and more people came, eventually leading to this situation where they made this plate of dumplings for vinegar, then Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin were the ones who provided the flour, rolling pin, meat filling, vinegar dish, dumpling plate, and helped cook the dumplings.
Qin Huai wants to go back to his village this year and make a big splash, honing his skills to the fullest. He needs someone to help him coordinate and assist him.
Without someone to help direct and arrange things, even washing dishes could turn into a fight.
Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin were the ones who helped coordinate and arrange everything.
Qin Huai had already discussed his plans for the Spring Festival with his parents before the new year, asking them to help find and arrange for villagers willing to lend him a refrigerator, dishes, a place to wash dishes, tables and chairs, and help in the kitchen. Who would wash the dishes, who would chop the vegetables, who would cut the meat, who would help with the fire… these are all matters of expertise. Even those who haven't lived in the village for decades and know each household's situation intimately wouldn't be able to arrange these things properly.
In recent years, Grandma Qin has often lamented how times have changed and how old she is. If she had this ability when she was young, she would have been elected as the village's women's director long ago.
Grandma Qin whispered to Qin Huai, "This is the number of people we've arranged for now. If we don't have enough people later, Huai Huai, just let me know. Everyone has their own role, and this is the only list we can announce for now. Adding more people at the last minute is urgent, and announcing it in advance might cause some complaints."
Qin Huai silently gave Grandma Qin a thumbs up in his heart, thinking that she truly deserved to be the person who was able to run for Women's Director back then and narrowly lost by three votes; she could even think of this.
“Okay, Grandma,” Qin Huai said softly.
"Come on, Huaihuai, Grandma will take you to see the kitchen. Your grandpa had nothing better to do this year, so he renovated the kitchen for you. See if you like it." Grandma Qin said loudly on purpose, pulling Qin Huai towards the kitchen. Qin Huai knew that Grandma Qin was just making an excuse for him to hide, so he quickly followed.
Upon entering the kitchen, Qin Huai immediately realized that there had been no renovation at all; they had simply bought two more refrigerators.
"Grandma, why are there so many people at home today?" Qin Huai asked curiously.
Qin Huai could guess why the neighbors and the old Party Secretary were arguing at his house—it was nothing more than a question of whose house Chen Huihong and the others would stay in. Old Master Qin's house only had three empty rooms, which Qin Huai had already arranged for Zhou Hu, Factory Director Xu, and An Youyou.
Zhou Hu will definitely be staying at home, which will make it easier to get closer to him and build goodwill. Qin Huai isn't too comfortable with Factory Director Xu living elsewhere because he's getting old. An Youyou is Factory Director Xu's boss and the person he knows best, so the two of them have common topics to talk about.
Qin Huai also asked everyone for their opinions on where the rest of the family would stay, and everyone said they were fine with staying anywhere. The families in the village were all in similar circumstances; none were particularly wealthy or poor. Most families consisted of elderly people living in the village, while the young people would only return home for a few days throughout the year. None of the houses were particularly luxuriously decorated.
According to Qin Huai, it would definitely be best to live nearby.
Given Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin's habits, they would definitely have to pay rent to borrow an empty room, but the Qin family always paid rent by offering snacks as payment. People might scoff at paying real money, but they would be eager to use snacks as payment. If washing dishes, starting a fire, chopping vegetables, and mincing meat require some skill, then borrowing a room definitely requires zero skill. It's normal for there to be some minor disputes among them.
Qin Huai believed that with the abilities of Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin, they would definitely be able to handle it well.
But judging from the state of things in the yard today...
Qin Huai really wanted to ask Grandma Qin how much she charged for each room and how many kilograms of pastries per day. Was it a little higher than the market price, disrupting the market economy and affecting the harmonious relationship between merchants?
"It's all because of those four flavors of glutinous rice balls you made last year, Huaihuai," Grandma Qin said helplessly.
"Huh?" Qin Huai really wanted to point at himself, turn himself into a meme, and ask Grandma Qin: Me? Is this my fault?
"Last year's Four Happiness Tangyuan... what was it?" Qin Huai thought carefully for a moment. He admitted that the Four Happiness Tangyuan he made last year was a bit better than in previous years. The main reason was that the quality of last year's Four Happiness Tangyuan had improved a lot compared to previous years. Grade A Four Happiness Tangyuan would be a very competitive product in any village.
Last year, in order to improve his proficiency, he did produce a lot of food, almost like a continuous banquet.
However, Qin Huai did not think that everyone's reaction was too exaggerated. The guests at Yunzhong Canteen usually behaved the same way, and the villagers' reaction was still within Qin Huai's acceptable and understandable range.
This isn't the first time Qinhuai has made these kinds of snacks in the village for the Lunar New Year; everyone should be used to it after all these years.
Grandma Qin sighed, "The glutinous rice balls you made were so delicious."
Qin Huai: ?
"You know what kind of personality the old Party Secretary has, right?"
Qin Huai nodded to indicate that he understood, and that Qin Huai was fair, just, and highly respected.
“You sent a message to your grandfather before, asking the two of us to help you find a suitable room to stay in the village. The old Party Secretary’s house is so far away, so it’s impossible to stay at his house in principle. But the old Party Secretary secretly went to your grandfather and asked if you could spare two rooms from his house. He said he could charge two pounds less for each room.”
Qin Huai: !
Old Party Secretary, you actually did this kind of thing behind my back!
“If it were anyone else in the village who asked your grandfather, he definitely wouldn’t have agreed, but it was the old Party Secretary who spoke up… The old Party Secretary has hardly ever made any requests like this in his life, so how could the two of us refuse? That’s why we gave him two rooms.”
"Actually, you can't blame him. Huaihuai, you don't know how many people felt empty after the New Year last year. They were listless and couldn't eat anything at mealtimes. All they could think about was the glutinous rice balls you made."
"When you're eating it, you just think it tastes good and don't think much of it. But if you suddenly can't eat it anymore, it's really unbearable."
“You regularly send those glutinous rice balls, steamed buns, and dumplings back home, and your grandfather always secretly goes to town to pick them up, afraid of being seen by others.”
“So many people in the village have been counting down the days until the New Year. Didn’t you say you might make more pastries this year and asked your grandfather and me to order from the vegetable vendors in town in advance and find some good people in the village to help us?”
“There’s no need to ask anyone. Your grandfather went to town to place an order, and the whole village knew about it the next day. Our doorstep was practically worn out by people coming and going. They even fought over who could wash the dishes.”
"When I was young, I never worked as a dishwasher in the city. Even after washing dishes properly for a few years, I couldn't get a job washing dishes."
“When your grandfather went to order meat, the pork vendor in town was so eager to pay you that he asked your grandfather if he could save 80 jin of glutinous rice balls for him during the Chinese New Year, since he has a large family.”
At this point, Grandma Qin looked worried: "Huaihuai, you said you wanted to make more pastries during the Spring Festival this year so that the villagers could taste your cooking."
"They also said they welcome villagers from the surrounding area to visit during the Spring Festival and try your cooking."
"Grandma knows your intentions are good."
"But given the current situation... how about we just do what we always do and only accept New Year's greetings from relatives and people from the same village?"
"Otherwise, at this rate, even if you don't sleep for 24 hours a day, you still won't make enough snacks to eat."
(End of this chapter)