Chapter 633
Extra: Shi Dadan's Secret and New Year's Eve Dinner
Chapter 633 Extra: Shi Dadan's Secret and the New Year's Eve Dinner (Part 1)
My name is Shi Dadan, and my surname is Kang.
Most of the time I'm honest and simple, allergic to words, I like to eat staple foods as well as good dishes, I'm kind to people and have good interpersonal relationships. My best friend is my good brother Xu Nuo, no, now it should be Qin Huai. No matter what he's called, he's my best brother, my best brother in two lifetimes.
But I have a secret I haven't told my best brother. I couldn't tell him before, but now I can. However, I don't know how to tell him. I'm afraid he'll be angry with me, I'm afraid he'll think I lied to him, and I'm afraid that after I tell this secret, I won't be his best brother anymore.
But I knew I had to tell him, because I didn't want to lie to my friend.
.
The Qin family's New Year's Eve dinner was a truly delightful and satisfying meal.
Recalling memories from several lifetimes and integrating the culinary skills of those lifetimes, Qin Huai, whose basic skills finally caught up with her philosophy, can be called the Pro Max version of Qin Huai.
Qin Huai has truly understood this time.
If he had previously experienced some confusion regarding his culinary skills—for example, not knowing where his intuition came from, not understanding why he could learn some things quickly while others required a long and arduous learning process like the average person, and why his culinary ideas and philosophies always seemed to surpass his actual technical abilities—he understood many techniques but couldn't execute them.
Now, Qin Huai understands everything.
A profound realization.
As everyone clinked glasses and uttered heartfelt wishes for a Happy New Year, Qin Huai glanced at the food on the table and thought that this New Year would surely be very joyful.
[S-grade fermented rice steamed buns]
[Four Happiness Tangyuan - Grade S]
[Locust Flower Steamed Buns - Grade S-]
[Crab Roe and Pork Bun - Grade S]
[Mung Bean Cake - Grade S]
[Yam Cake Grade S]
[Rice Cake Grade S]
[Potato Dumplings - Grade A]
[Glutinous Rice Cake - Grade S]
[Chicken Noodle Soup - Grade S-]
[Red Ribbon Cake - Rank S]
[Lotus Root Starch Dumplings - Grade S]
[Dumpling Family Reunion - S-Grade]
……
All of them are S-grade. Except for the potato dumplings, which are so bad that even if you max out the base stats, it's hard to get them to S-grade, the rest of the desserts are at least S-grade.
Even if Xu Cheng came, he'd be so full from this meal that he'd be slumped in his chair, rubbing his belly and sighing at the food, lamenting why his appetite couldn't match Shi Dadan's seal-like appetite. Then, unable to sleep because he was so full, he'd be bursting with inspiration that night, writing furiously and diligently, producing a 3-word food review. He'd first post a preview on WeChat Moments, then contact the Zhiwei editorial department to work overtime on a New Year's special issue, and finally linger in Qinjiacun, insisting on eating until the Lantern Festival before leaving.
Unfortunately, Xu Cheng didn't come.
Compared to Xu Cheng, the others don't really know much about food.
As an excellent food critic, Xu Cheng possesses an extremely discerning palate, a level of expertise typically found only in top chefs. While the average person can only categorize a dish as unpalatable, average, delicious, or so delicious as to leave one speechless (this evaluation system is from Qin Luo), Xu Cheng can further subdivide these four levels into at least 16 distinct categories.
If he so chooses, he can be fair, objective, with a slight subjective bias, and use precise language. He likes to use parallel sentences to describe how delicious a dish is, whether the chef's skill has improved, what makes the dish good and bad, what room for improvement it might have, and what kind of customers would really like the dish.
This is a skill unique to food critics.
The Qin family members don't have that ability. Even though Qin Congwen, Zhao Rong, and Qin Luo can eat Qin Huai's pastries every day, and Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin often receive raw embryos from their beloved grandson, their meals are always far superior to those of ordinary people. But they can't actually tell the difference between good and bad, and especially can't tell the specific reasons why something is good.
I tasted it today.
To be honest, Zhao Rong actually had a plan to lose weight.
During her two years in Shanshi, Zhao Rong gained more than 20 kilograms.
Zhao Rong felt that the reasons for her weight gain were complicated. One reason was that her son's culinary skills had improved remarkably in the past two years, and he could make new and delicious pastries almost every few months. As Qin Huai's non-biological mother, she naturally felt obligated to support her son's endeavors. In addition, the pastries were indeed exceptionally delicious, and Zhao Rong couldn't control herself from eating too many pastries in the past two years.
They eat a lot but move very little.
Back when the Qin family ran a breakfast shop, Zhao Rong worked tirelessly from dawn till dusk, buying groceries, washing vegetables, washing dishes, keeping track of money, disciplining her daughter, and managing all the household affairs. She was so busy that she never gained weight no matter how much she ate. At that time, Zhao Rong could confidently say that she earned her money through hard work every day.
Things are different now. She doesn't do any work at all now, only occasionally checking the accounts of the Cloud Cafeteria. She doesn't get up early anymore and has started staying up late. Sometimes Zhao Rong secretly stays up late playing on her phone until one or two in the morning without daring to let Qin Luo find out.
She didn't need to worry about Qin Luo's studies.
Qin Luo is currently attending an international school, and Zhao Rong finds her studies completely incomprehensible. However, the teachers are very considerate and responsible, always explaining Qin Luo's progress to Zhao Rong in language she can understand. Zhao Rong has also witnessed her daughter's academic progress and changes in thinking over the past two years, which makes her very gratified. She feels that her daughter, who used to only think about food all the time, has finally grown up.
Zhao Rong, who has nothing to worry about, has happily gained weight.
When Zhao Rong tried to wear a coat she bought three years ago this winter and found that she couldn't fit into it, she realized it was time to lose weight.
After much agonizing thought, she decided to start dieting right after the New Year's Eve dinner. A new year, a new beginning, a fresh start.
As for the New Year's Eve dinner, you shouldn't eat too much. You need to lay a good foundation for weight loss, so just have a small bite.
This was Zhao Rong's original plan.
Unfortunately, plans can't keep up with changes.
In fact, Zhao Rong was a little dumbfounded from the moment she saw the unusually lavish New Year's Eve dinner.
The Qin family's New Year's Eve dinner is usually lavish, but not to this extent. Qin Huai was already doing his best to make more than a dozen desserts on New Year's Eve. This year, with more people celebrating the New Year, Zhao Rong felt that even if Qin Huai made a lot of desserts, it would only be reflected in the quantity of individual items, not the total number of desserts.
Zhao Rong never expected that Qin Huai today would be the Pro Max version of Qin Huai.
Qinhuai made a total of 36 kinds of pastries!
With so many pastries, it's impossible for every single one to have a level-up buff. After recalling many memories, Qin Huai decided on pastries that she was good at making and that were suitable for the Lunar New Year.
The meal consisted of 36 kinds of dim sum, 8 hot dishes, 2 soups, and 6 cold dishes, totaling 52 dishes. One table wasn't enough, and two tables weren't enough either. Qin Huai ultimately decided to place each dim sum in a small dish, displaying them on the table for everyone to see. People could take what they wanted from the table, and if it ran out, they could get more from the next table or the kitchen. This allowed everyone to enjoy their New Year's Eve dinner in advance. It could be said that the family was treated to a continuous feast on New Year's Eve.
After a brief moment of shock, Zhao Rong chose to eat chicken noodle soup first.
She originally planned to take a bite of each snack from her daughter's mouth, just enough to fill her up, but now she realized that even a bite of each snack would probably make her stuffed, so she had to change her strategy and start by having each of them eat a bowl of chicken noodle soup.
Zhao Rong loves chicken noodle soup. At her age, she enjoys eating hot, soupy main dishes.
After taking a bite of chicken noodle soup, Zhao Rong was shocked.
For some inexplicable reason, she thought of what Xiao Zhao, who had always seemed a bit eccentric, with scattered thoughts and a mental state similar to her son's, had said: "His son has had another epiphany."
Huaihuai has figured it out again!
These five words, accompanied by an exclamation mark, popped up above Zhao Rong's head like an NPC dialogue pop-up.
The phrase "eat less to lose weight" instantly disappeared from Zhao Rong's dictionary; her body was more honest than her brain.
Without any hesitation, Zhao Rong lowered her head and gulped down the food. By the time she realized what had happened, she had devoured the entire bowl of chicken noodle soup, almost licking the bowl clean.
Zhao Rong looked up and saw that her daughter had started to devour the four-happiness glutinous rice balls.
"Luo Luo, share a bite with Mom. Mom wants red bean paste filling."
Qin Luo instantly understood his mother's thoughts—her appetite was too poor, and she couldn't eat every snack; she could only have a little of each.
Qin Luo generously shared half of a red bean paste-filled glutinous rice ball with his elderly mother, while exchanging food experiences with her: "Mom, that poria cocos sandwich was delicious! The pork pancake was also delicious! That plate of dumplings was good, the Yuanmeng pancake was much better than the ones I made before, and the glutinous rice cake, yam cake, mung bean cake, and pea flour cake were all good."
"Every dessert my brother made today was so delicious!"
"The cold dishes, hot dishes, and soup on the table are taking up too much space. Let's remove those dishes!"
Zhao Rong: ?
In the time it takes me to eat a bowl of chicken noodle soup, you've already eaten so many snacks?
For the next 40 minutes, Zhao Rong couldn't remember what she did. She only vaguely remembered that she was like a starving ghost who hadn't eaten or drunk anything for three days and had stumbled into a feast. She wanted to eat everything she saw and thought everything she ate was incredibly delicious. She had never eaten such delicious food before and wanted to eat more as if she would never be able to eat it again after finishing this meal. She kept gulping down the food.
By the time Zhao Rong came to her senses, she was already sprawled in her chair like a stuffed seal, looking at the sky with a mixture of satisfaction and regret. She saw the bright moon on the horizon, the stars barely visible due to the clouds, and her husband sitting beside her in the same pose as her—a man who seemed to have a big appetite but was actually not that great. The lingering taste of the various delicious dishes still filled her mouth, leaving Zhao Rong only able to sigh longingly at the sight of the pastries.
Almost everyone is in this state: willing but unable.
The first to finish the fight was Factory Director Xu, followed by Grandma Qin and Grandpa Qin.
As the elderly get older, their appetite is not as good as before, and they can't overeat like young people. Even if they eat like a seal, they will only eat until they are just full.
Grandma Qin expressed deep regret, saying that when she was young and working in the fields, she could eat four large bowls of white rice in one meal. "It's true that I'm old and can't keep up my appetite anymore," she lamented, "I'm full after eating just this little bit."
Mr. Qin said that he could eat six bowls when he was young.
Even Director Xu, who had just experienced the ecstasy of life this morning and was going to have a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner prepared by his beloved son, felt no ecstasy at this moment, only regret that he was too old to eat anymore.
At the New Year's Eve dinner table, only one person was still fighting in the end.
Stone is bold!
Shi Dadan's son and daughter looked at their father with admiration; this was probably the day they admired their father the most in their lives.
Even Chen Huihong couldn't help but whisper to An Youyou that Dang Kang still had a natural advantage when it came to eating, especially staple foods. Even though everyone was an awakened spirit, no one could outeat Dang Kang, unless Taotie came.
Shi Dadan ate with great pleasure.
Today was the happiest day of his life. When he was happy, he wanted to eat more, and when he ate more, he accidentally ate a little too much.
Shi Dadan has won today's MVP!
After the meal, the MVP volunteered to do the dishes, and only the MVP could do the dishes—everyone else was too full to move.
At 11 p.m., before driving his wife and children back to the village, Shi Dadan knocked on Qin Huai's door.
Qin Huai had just woken up and remembered everything, but that didn't mean he had organized all his memories. When An Youyou told Qin Huai about the past, she just talked about whatever came to mind, because she hadn't organized them properly. Organizing his memories would take several days.
Not to mention that Qin Huai didn't have much time to organize his memories today. After he roughly sorted things out and finished telling everyone, he started busying himself with preparing the New Year's Eve dinner.
After finishing the New Year's Eve dinner and returning to his room, Qin Huai would finally sort out his memories.
As soon as Qin Huai opened the door, he saw Shi Dadan, who looked uneasy and seemed to have come to apologize.
"Old Shi, what's going on? Don't tell me you broke all our bowls while washing them. We won't have enough bowls for the banquet tomorrow, will we?" Qin Huai laughed.
"No, no, I washed the dishes very clean. Not a single one was broken or even chipped," Shi Dadan quickly explained.
"I know, I was just kidding. Old Shi, you don't need to be so nervous. Come in and sit down." Qin Huai stepped aside, gesturing for Shi Dadan to come in.
"No, my wife and the others are waiting for me to drive back." Shi Dadan shook his head, took a deep breath, and said, "Qin Huai, could you tell me about what I told you this morning but didn't? Could you wait a few days until I've thought it through, organized it, and written it down in a letter?"
Qin Huai: ?
Is this matter so complicated that it made Shi Dadan, who is always allergic to words, take the initiative to write a letter?
"That's...okay." Qin Huai nodded, and couldn't help but add, "Old Shi, now that I'm awake, even if I was confused before and didn't realize many things, I should be able to understand them after I go through and organize what I remember in my mind these next few days."
"Even if you're hiding something from me, I believe it's because you can't tell me. You would never deliberately hide anything from me. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. If you don't want to talk about it, then don't. And don't make it hard for yourself to write this letter."
“I…I knew you for so many years in my past life, and I’ve never seen you write anything other than your signature.”
“At that time, I felt a little guilty, thinking that I had given you a name that was too difficult to write. The character ‘Mo’ was too difficult to write. I should have named you Xu Yi.”
Hearing Qin Huai say that, Shi Dadan was instantly much happier: "Don't worry, Qin Huai, I will definitely write the letter for you!"
After saying that, Shi Dadan happily turned and left.
"Don't forget to come for breakfast tomorrow morning. Remember to bring Sister Xiaohong and the children too. Don't just come by yourself in your excitement."
"Don't come too early. I think I'll be going to bed quite late tonight, and I won't be able to get up too early," Qin Huai advised.
"I know!"
(End of this chapter)