Chapter 620
Preparations Before the New Year
Chapter 620 Preparations Before the New Year
Looking at your own embarrassing past is considered socially reprehensible if you only look at your own, but it's considered showing interest in someone else's memorable moments from their youth if you only look at their embarrassing past.
Looking at the younger sister's embarrassing past adds a layer of familial warmth to this concern.
Qin Huai sat down and began to show great interest in his younger sister.
Compared to her own childhood notebooks, calligraphy practice books, and composition books, Qin Luo's childhood drawing books were definitely more interesting.
Luo Luo has been a very opinionated child since she was little. In kindergarten, she insisted that her brother was different from everyone else and got into countless arguments with her classmates. Even after getting a good beating at home, she still wouldn't change her mind. Naturally, a child with such strong opinions will express the same determination in her drawings.
It's all food.
While others drew pictures of going on picnics with their parents, she drew pictures of eating steamed buns with her parents. While others drew dogs as man's best friend, she drew pictures of eating steamed buns with her dog. While others drew rabbits eating grass, she drew herself eating rabbit-shaped buns.
Qin Huai flipped through the entire picture book and began to reflect on whether he hadn't shown enough care for his younger sister when he was a child. How come he hadn't noticed how much Luo Luo loved steamed buns back then? After thinking for several minutes, Qin Huai finally realized that perhaps the child's drawing skills were limited, and all she could draw were steamed buns.
Qin Luo might also want to draw braised lion's head meatballs, sweet and sour carp, Dongpo pork, Dongpo elbow, braised shark fin, and two-colored prawns, but wouldn't the child be able to do that? Besides, the child has never eaten braised shark fin or two-colored prawns to this day.
It's kind of pitiful to think about.
"Dad, do you still have Luo Luo's sketchbook? If not, a calligraphy practice book will do, or even a math workbook will do." Qin Huai couldn't stop looking at it.
"Yes, I'll find it for you." Qin Congwen continued rummaging through the drawers with great interest, and handed the junior high school composition book that he had just found to Director Xu. "Director Xu, this is Huaihuai's composition book."
Factory Director Xu accepted it with a smile.
Qin Huai: ...I don't think that's necessary...
"Director Xu, my composition book isn't anything special. I've always been bad at writing compositions since I was little; it's all just filler to reach the word count. Let's look at Luo Luo's. Luo Luo's compositions have always been interesting. Her filler is even more rubbish than mine, and she didn't even pass her middle school entrance exam in Chinese."
Factory Director Xu, wearing reading glasses, looked down and smiled as he flipped through Qin Huai's composition book. He didn't respond to Qin Huai's words, but instead said in a nostalgic tone, "I used to love reading my son's compositions."
"Huh? Your son writes essays very well?" Qin Huai wasn't quite sure which son Director Xu was referring to.
According to the information Qin Huai heard, Xu Nuo's grades must have been good when he was in school, but his brother's grades were even better.
“I haven’t read many books, let alone write stories. I had a headache writing reports at work, and I didn’t have much literary appreciation ability. At that time, I thought it was good that my two sons could write so many words in their essays,” Director Xu said. “I can’t understand profound things, I can only read essays.”
"I've always enjoyed reading essays."
Since Director Xu had already put it this way, Qin Huai certainly couldn't tell him that he didn't think the essay was interesting and that he shouldn't bother reading it. Qin Huai could only encourage Qin Congwen with his eyes to hurry up and find it. Qin Congwen had just found Qin Luo's homework and hadn't even had time to dust it off when Qin Huai took it and handed it to Director Xu.
Factory Director Xu cooperated by putting down Qin Huai's composition book and starting to read Qin Luo's essay.
Qin Huai continued looking at Qin Luo's sketchbook.
Later, even Qin Congwen, who had originally been tidying up, sat on a small stool and started watching. The three of them sat in a row, with Qin Huai in the middle. Everyone was completely engrossed in the show, and Qin Huai would even take out his phone to take pictures at the most exciting parts.
Qin Huai didn't know how long he had been looking at it, but he could see the progress Qin Luo had made in his painting skills. In the sketchbook he was looking at now, shumai, steamed buns, and savory pancakes were already starting to appear.
"Brother, your handmade lemon tea is ready! Have you found Director Xu yet? Will he drink it... Ahhhhh, brother, what are you holding in your hand?!" Qin Luo's piercing scream interrupted everyone's fascination.
"Your sketchbooks," Qin Huai said calmly, "from kindergarten to second grade, Dad just pulled them all out."
Qin Luo:!!!∑(°Д°ノ)ノ
"dad!!!"
I hate you!!!
Five minutes later, Qin Congwen was chopping meat vigorously in the kitchen, a fawning smile on his face: "Luo Luo, don't be angry, Dad will make you your favorite meat buns tonight, okay!"
"Dad, the steamed buns you made aren't very good."
"Then Dad will make you some hand-whipped lemon tea."
"Dad, your homemade lemon tea isn't as good as mine." "Then how about Dad cuts you a fruit platter?"
"Dad, you can't cut the fruit platter as well as I can."
Qin Congwen's smile faded: "Luo Luo, if you keep pushing your luck like this, go to your room and do your test."
Qin Luo's face immediately showed the same smile that Qin Congwen had just given her: "Dad, I was just joking. Your handmade lemon tea tastes better than mine, and the fruit platter you cut is prettier than mine. Drink up, drink up! I want a big portion of the fruit platter."
Witnessing all of this, Qin Huai, who had been silently kneading the dough the whole time: ...
Qin Huai smiled sheepishly at Factory Director Xu and explained, "That's just how my sister is."
"My dad is like that too."
Factory Director Xu smiled without saying a word, nodded, and looked down at his phone.
It's almost the Lunar New Year, so Qin Huai naturally can't put in the same effort as during the holiday season to make pastries. Today, Qin Huai plans to just make a little something for the family, and also deliver some to the neighbors and the village secretary's family, while also paying the rent.
As for the types of snacks... Qin Huai plans to make steamed buns.
The reason why Bao Bao Gege is called Bao Bao Gege is because Bao Bao Gege may not be the best at making steamed buns, but he is most used to making steamed buns.
As for the types of steamed buns...
Qin Huai planned to do something he rarely did, but it would give him a buff.
Pork and crab roe buns.
Shi Dadan and Zhao Cheng'an haven't arrived yet. Zhao Cheng'an will arrive in the city by plane tomorrow at noon, then take the high-speed train to Qiu County, and then take a minibus to the village. He'll be lucky if he makes it in time for dinner tomorrow night.
Shi Dadan had originally planned to take his family to the countryside today and then bring them to Qin Huai's house for dinner tonight. However, plans don't always go as expected—he caught too many good catches on his last sea trip, which were snapped up by the city's restaurants. He also traded some other good items for them, and his cameo as the protagonist of a beachcombing novel caused some delays.
Adding to the problem was her child's poor grades and reluctance to do homework during the holidays. Enraged, Shi Dadan's wife went to the fish farm and yelled at the fish in the pond. Still not satisfied, she went home and yelled at the fish, and finally yelled at her husband as well.
Because of this series of minor incidents, Shi Dadan was unable to return to his hometown as planned and will have to go to the countryside tomorrow to deliver fish to Qinhuai and also to freeload a meal.
Without Shi Dadan as the main breadwinner, Qin Huai could relax and be more casual when making pastries, doing whatever she wanted, since no one would go hungry anyway.
Chen Huihong and the others went to wander around the village. Zhou Hu was still helping Old Master Qin look at the feng shui. Director Xu didn't want to play chess today, so he simply carried a small stool to the kitchen to watch Qin Huai make pastries.
"Xiao Qin, this is... crab roe sauce?" Factory Director Xu recognized the crab roe sauce in the bottle at a glance when Qin Huai unscrewed it.
"Yes, this is something I made a few months ago when crabs were in season, using fresh crab roe. I originally planned to save it to make double crab buns, and before the Lunar New Year I specially sent a few bottles home for my grandfather to mix with rice. Just now my grandmother told me that my grandfather thought this sauce was bland and not salty enough when mixed with rice. Now we don't have any ingredients at home to make double crab buns, so I'm planning to make crab roe and pork buns."
"Director Xu, have you ever had crab roe and pork buns? It's made with crab roe sauce and pork..."
“I’ve eaten it before.” Factory Director Xu nodded, interrupting Qin Huai. “He promised to make it often before.”
“We produce crabs in our area, and every year when crabs are in season, he often makes desserts with crab roe filling.”
Qin Huai then realized that Shi Dadan was only Xu Nuo's close friend, but Factory Director Xu was Xu Nuo's biological father. When it came to eating Xu Nuo's snacks, the biological father definitely ate more.
"This is the same recipe I promised."
Considering that his father was still chopping meat nearby, Qin Huai couldn't be too blatant, otherwise Qin Congwen would definitely suspect that his paranoia was more serious and urge him to seek medical treatment as soon as possible.
Qin Huai believed that Director Xu would understand.
He was one of only two pure humans who knew the truth about the spirits and the game system; the other was Xia Murui.
Factory Director Xu understood as expected, and nodded with a smile: "Then I'll have to eat an extra one tonight."
(End of this chapter)