Chapter 623
: The Effects of Combining Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine
Chapter 623: The Effects of Combining Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine
Zhao Cheng'an didn't believe Qin Huai hadn't figured it out. Although he had vomited all the way today, he believed that his sense of taste was fine. So, late at night, he insisted on dragging Qin Huai into the kitchen and making him make the fermented rice buns again in front of him.
Chen Huihong and the others had already gone back to rest, but when they heard that Qin Huai had another epiphany, they all rushed to the kitchen to watch, and in no time the kitchen was full of people.
Although Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin didn't understand why their grandson's friend was out in their kitchen so late at night, they understood after realizing that he was their grandson's friend. They told him to go to bed early and then went back to their room.
The sudden influx of onlookers made Qin Huai feel somewhat uncomfortable.
When Qin Huai first touched the dough, his hands even trembled a little. He felt that kneading the dough tonight was a bit like an end-of-year assessment. Although theoretically no one could assess Master Qin's end-of-year performance, Master Qin was still inexplicably nervous.
Zhao Cheng'an stood beside Qin Huai, his eyes fixed intently on Qin Huai's hand movements.
Qin Huai kneaded the dough slowly.
Zhao Cheng'an's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Qin Huai continued kneading the dough slowly.
Zhao Cheng'an lowered his head further and further, as if he wanted to press his entire head against the wall.
Qin Huai, unable to bear it any longer, asked, "Have I figured it out?"
"Don't talk, I'm savoring it, continue," Zhao Cheng'an said without looking up, his voice full of seriousness and earnestness.
Qin Huai: ?
What medicine did Zhao Cheng'an take wrong? Did he buy motion sickness medicine at the town pharmacy this afternoon?
Surely the town's pharmacy wouldn't be so unethical as to sell counterfeit medicine? But counterfeit medicine usually consists of starch mixed with vitamins, not enough to cause these symptoms. Do you mayflies do this regularly? No wonder you were reincarnated so quickly.
Qin Huai could only continue kneading the dough, somewhat speechless. As he kneaded, his mind began to go blank and his thoughts started to wander.
Qin Huai has many plans for this year's Spring Festival. He set many goals he wanted to achieve during the holiday before the New Year.
For example, you could increase Zhou Hu's favorability, unlock one or two side quests, and improve your basic stats to see if you have a chance to raise the filling preparation skill to Master level or higher during the Chinese New Year.
Of course, it's a bit difficult to reach the Master level in filling preparation, since it takes 100 million experience points to level up to Master. Currently, Qin Huai's filling preparation and dough preparation are both at the Master level. Although he has practiced dough preparation a lot, the progress is slow, and he leveled up too late, currently only having 11 proficiency points.
The filling preparation skill level is 40.
Qin Huai's most promising skill to upgrade is actually lying. This morning, Qin Huai checked and found that his lying proficiency level was already 98. If he tells a few more lies during the Chinese New Year, the skill upgrade will be just around the corner.
Qin Huai could only say that the game system had a deep misunderstanding of him. He was not a liar at all. He treated everyone equally and was honest with them. He often told everyone that he had a system and wanted to do quests, but apart from the spirits, no one believed him.
Let's bring our thoughts back to our goals for the New Year.
For Qin Huai, leveling up his skills during the Spring Festival is a basic task, not a priority. Making pastries to increase his skill level is mainly a way to give back to the villagers. "Wealth without returning home is like wearing fine clothes in the dark," goes the saying. Master Qin has been working away from home for a year, and his skill panel is so impressive; how could he not properly showcase his skills to the villagers after all his hard work last year?
Qin Huai's real goal was to improve Zhou Hu's favorability.
There were only three empty rooms in the house, which were given to Zhou Hu, An Youyou, and Factory Director Xu respectively, which shows that Zhou Hu's task was of high priority.
Qin Huai glanced at Zhou Hu, who was sitting in the far corner of the kitchen. He didn't really want to come and watch at night, but since everyone else was there, he felt it wouldn't be good if he didn't come. He didn't want to be left out, so he had to come. At that moment, Zhou Hu was sitting on a small stool, head down, body hunched over, curled up in a ball playing on his phone.
Qin Huai hasn't been trying to improve Zhou Hu's favorability these past two days.
On the day he returned to his hometown, Zhou Hu focused on his work and looked through the layout of the house inside and out. He persuaded Old Master Qin to declutter and get rid of all the junk and clutter that Old Master Qin had treasured for so many years, which had no collection value, no commemorative value, and no other value.
They even found a bag of salt from the last century under Mr. Qin's bed. Decluttering is a very complex matter that requires repeated consultation, especially for an elderly person like Mr. Qin who can keep things from the last century.
Some things are meaningless to keep for a year or two and can be thrown away as trash, but they become very meaningful after 20 or 30 years. For example, the clothes and hats that Qin Congwen wore when he was a child. When Grandpa Qin took these things out of the cupboard at home, Qin Congwen was so moved that he almost cried.
As a responsible feng shui master, Zhou Hu had taken on the important task of helping Mr. Qin declutter, and he was determined to see it through to the end. This meant not blindly throwing things away, but selectively keeping meaningful, valuable, and memorable old items, while discarding meaningless clutter and junk that were simply hoarding and taking up space at home.
Zhou Hu even felt that his main task this time was to teach Old Master Qin how to declutter and set aside things, and to establish the right methods and concepts for him.
This was a very difficult task, which resulted in Qin Huai only seeing Zhou Hu a few times during meals after Zhou Hu moved into the Qin family home.
Forget about trying to build rapport, Qin Huai barely even spoke to Zhou Hu. During the meal, Zhou Hu spent his time telling Old Master Qin what things to keep and what things to throw away, explaining the feng shui consequences of having too much clutter in the house.
So, whose favor has Qin Huai been trying to gain these past two days?
Qin Huai thought he might be trying to win over Director Xu.
That afternoon, the chat with Factory Director Xu in the kitchen allowed him to open up and tell Qin Huai many things from the past that he had been unwilling to mention while he was in the nursing home.
If Director Xu could be found carrying the mission, Qin Huai should have already seen three segments of memories by now.
These past two days, Chen Huihong and the others have been wandering around the village. Chen Gong even went to a neighboring village for an afternoon. Even An Youyou went to town for a stroll. Only Director Xu stayed at the Qin family's house every day and basically didn't go out.
They didn't even play chess.
Whenever Qin Huai was in the kitchen, Factory Director Xu would definitely be there too, sitting on a small stool in the corner chatting with him. Factory Director Xu was very eloquent and had a wealth of life experience. As Xu Nuo's biological father, he knew many things that Shi Dadan and Wang Gensheng didn't know. As An Youyou's capable younger brother, he also knew many things that An Youyou hadn't told Qin Huai.
When they actually started chatting, Director Xu and Qin Huai had a lot to talk about.
As Qin Huai kneaded the dough, he inwardly berated himself.
Qin Huai, oh Qin Huai, you really forget your business as soon as you hear gossip! Chatting with Director Xu is certainly interesting, but how could you forget that your mission for this year's Lunar New Year is to chat with Zhou Hu and increase your favorability with him?
Have you talked to Zhou Hu? Have you improved your rapport with him? At your age, how can you forget about important matters because you're so engrossed in gossip?
Thinking this, Qin Huai glanced at Zhou Hu again.
Zhou Hu was still looking down at his phone.
Qin Huai vaguely remembered that before Zhou Hu came to Qin Family Village, he wanted Qin Huai to transfer 15 yuan to him so he could have his fortune told again. Qin Huai had not transferred the money because he wanted to keep Zhou Hu hanging and see if he could find out about the side quest.
Since arriving in Qinjiacun, Zhou Hu has never mentioned the 15 yuan again.
Master Zhou has become engrossed in his new business and has completely forgotten about his previous client.
Qin Huai glanced at the dough and thought it was about right. He gave it one last knead.
Zhao Cheng'an quickly came closer to observe, and just as he opened his mouth to speak, Qin Huai walked straight towards Zhou Hu.
"Planner Zhou, do you still have time to tell my fortune?" Qin Huai asked.
"Huh? Now?" Zhou Hu looked up in a daze. His phone screen was filled with short videos of TV series commentary. It was clear that Master Zhou was usually very busy with his work and didn't have time to watch TV series, so he could only watch the commentary.
"Yes, right now! I really want to consult you!" Qin Huai nodded solemnly.
Zhou Hu glanced at the people around him and realized it wasn't appropriate for him to promote feudal superstition in front of so many people. Although he was very confident in his professional skills, he still deeply despised the industry.
"Little... Little Master Qin, what do you want to have your fortune told? Didn't you just say a couple of days ago that you felt there was nothing worth having your fortune told? After all, I have indeed told you about many things, and they weren't very accurate." Zhou Hu's voice grew softer and softer as he spoke. It was one thing to tell Qin Huai in private in the small room, but it was quite another to admit in front of so many people that his fortune telling was inaccurate.
"I'm not quite sure what to use to calculate it? I'll just state my needs directly, and you can handle it, Zhou."
Qin Huai knew that at this point, roundabout tactics were useless; he had to go straight for the ball. 90% of his success came from taking direct approaches.
“Okay, Master Qin, tell me which aspect you want to have calculated.” Zhou Hu nodded.
"I want to know if I can accomplish what I want to do now," Qin Huai said.
Zhou Hu: ?
Seeing that Zhou Hu didn't understand, Qin Huai explained again: "Let me put it another way. I really want to do something right now, but it requires a certain amount of luck and opportunity. I want to know if I can encounter such an opportunity during the New Year and make my wish come true."
Zhou Hu actually understood, but he felt that Qin Huai's current statement was dangerous.
Having worked as a part-time fortune teller for so many years, Zhou Hu has encountered all sorts of clients, asking about everything imaginable. He hears all sorts of juicy gossip he'd never normally hear: whether he'll successfully become the wife's mistress, whether he'll dump the wife and not have to divide the assets, whether he'll successfully report his boss and get him arrested, whether he'll snag a rich woman, whether he'll marry into a wealthy family, whether he'll win the lottery, whether his stocks will skyrocket tomorrow…
Often, customers who seek fortune telling treat the fortune teller like a wishing turtle in a wishing well. Zhou Hu often felt that his customers weren't there to have their fortunes told, but to make wishes.
He was still making the same wish: to buy a talisman for 50 yuan and win a million-yuan lottery prize the next day.
Some of these guests will directly express their desires, while others will beat around the bush.
Those roundabout desires are usually immoral or even illegal.
Zhou Hu was all too familiar with Qin Huai's roundabout approach, which seemed to make things clear but actually didn't say anything specific.
The last customer who said that was calculating whether his fraudulent scheme would succeed; he's now in jail and sentenced to one year and seven months.
Zhou Hu's gaze towards Qin Huai changed instantly.
Zhou Hu took a deep breath, his voice becoming serious: "Master Qin, could you be more specific about what you want to be told, down to the details?"
"There's probably no way to be more specific."
Zhou Hu took another deep breath. At this moment, he thought of many things, including Luo Jun's legacy.
"Master Qin... The most profound lesson I've learned from my father over the years is that money that doesn't belong to you, even if you temporarily obtain it through improper means, will eventually have to be returned, and you'll have to pay the price."
Qin Huai understood: "It's not illegal, but it involves some rather complicated things that I don't want to go into detail about."
Zhou Hu nodded, indicating that he would temporarily believe Qin Huai's words. After thinking for a moment, he said, "If you want to have your fortune told... Master Qin, please wait a moment. I'll go back to my room to get something for you."
After saying that, Zhou Hu left.
Chen Huihong had somehow squeezed to the front of the crowd. As soon as Zhou Hu left the kitchen, she eagerly asked, "Qin Huai, what did you mean just now? I didn't really understand. Will you get what you want? What do you want? To have Old Wang give you two more houses?"
Wang Gensheng: ...?
Wang Gensheng, who was suddenly called out, was a little confused, and then fell into thought, seemingly really thinking about whether he could give Qin Huai two more houses.
"Of course not, Sister Hong, what are you talking about? It wasn't easy for Grandpa Wang to get several houses after the demolition. I'm not that short of money." Qin Huai quickly said, "I actually wanted Zhou Hu to calculate whether I could get a side quest from him, but I can't tell Zhou Hu directly, so I can only say it like this."
"Can a fortune teller accurately predict my fortune?" An Youyou asked curiously. "When I was in Shanghai, I saw many fortune tellers on the street. They all said they could predict other people's fortunes but not their own."
“Zhou Hu is never right about my predictions. Maybe if he comes up with another outrageous result this time, it might provoke him a little and lead to a side quest,” Qin Huai said.
An Youyou suddenly realized, then turned to ask Director Xu if he had ever had his fortune told over the years. Chen Huihong also joined the discussion, and Chen Gong and Wang Gensheng also said a few words.
Zhao Cheng'an was still on the cutting board, staring at the dough that Qin Huai had just kneaded.
He watched very intently. If Qin Huai hadn't been absolutely certain that the dough he kneaded was no different from before, he wouldn't have grasped the concept, nor made any rapid progress, and his basic stats wouldn't have suddenly increased significantly. He himself would have doubted whether he had broken through.
Faced with Zhao Cheng'an's unusual behavior, Qin Huai could only attribute it to motion sickness and vomiting.
Sigh, mayflies really aren't very physically fit.
After riding so many roller coasters last time, Tan Weian's motion sickness improved significantly. Zhao Cheng'an, on the other hand, vomited so badly from a roller coaster ride that he was hospitalized with gastroenteritis. He used to rarely get motion sickness, but now he does.
Other spirits and monsters would have improved physical condition after waking up, but Zhao Cheng'an did the exact opposite.
Qin Huai and the others waited in the kitchen for more than three minutes until Zhou Hu returned with a tarot deck and a small blanket that could be laid on the table.
Everyone stared at the tarot cards in Zhou Hu's hand with bewildered expressions.
This tarot deck is very new; it looks like it was recently purchased and doesn't show many signs of use.
Zhou Hu said somewhat embarrassedly, "I was bored at home for a while, so I studied tarot and found that I have quite a talent for it."
“Master Qin, what you want to know is too vague, and you need a specific answer. I’ve been using Chinese divination to tell you things lately, but the results haven’t been accurate, so I’d like to try Western divination.”
"Come on, say nine numbers, and start drawing cards!"
Qin Huai: ...
(End of this chapter)