The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 406 Home Field Battle
With Zheng Da's strong support, Qin Huai successfully completed the handover of his work at Huang Ji and boarded the high-speed train to Hangzhou on May 19.

When Boss Su was booking the train tickets, he was very thoughtful. He specially bought tickets for Qin Huai and Tan Weian to sit in the same row, with Gu Li and Su Qian sitting behind them. The other Zhiweiju apprentices were not even in the same carriage as these people.

The high-speed train from Suzhou to Hangzhou takes only one hour. If Qin Huai wanted, he could even get off the plane, quickly pack up, and head straight to the kitchen of Zhiweiju to work like a slave and experience the advanced culture of Zhiweiju.

However, Boss Su also said that Zhiweiju's rolls are only for apprentices, not for master chefs. Qin Huai is already a master chef, so it's not his turn to roll. He just needs to put his hands behind his back and stare at others rolling.

On the high-speed train, Qin Huai silently took out five Huang Ji takeout boxes from his backpack. Each box was full of pastries, which were still warm thanks to the gradually rising temperature.

There are no fancy, complicated, or expensive pastries that clash with the packaging. These five boxes contain only simple, unpretentious breakfast pastries that Qin Huai loves.

It was Zheng Da who gave it to Qin Huai before Qin Huai got on the train.

Since this wasn't Qin Huai's first time visiting or leaving Huang Ji, he specifically told Huang Shengli before leaving that he didn't need a ride. He wasn't leaving alone; with so many people at Zhiweiju, each with a large suitcase, it would take several taxis to get around, so there was really no need for any farewell ceremony.

Huang Shengli said he understands; young people these days are like that, they don't like sentimental farewells. Although Mr. Huang is no longer young, he has a youthful mindset and would never put young people in a difficult position, nor would he arrange any surprises like waiting for them at the station.

And that's exactly what happened; Huang Shengli didn't do that, but Zheng Da did.

Boss Su booked Qin Huai a high-speed train departing at 9:16 a.m. Qin Huai himself has very serious travel anxiety and usually has to arrive at the high-speed rail station about an hour in advance to wait. He would rather arrive early than be late, so as not to miss the train.

Therefore, Qin Huai arrived at the high-speed rail station at 8 a.m.

Then he saw Zheng Da, who had been waiting for a long time, at the entrance of the high-speed rail station.

When Qin Huai saw Zheng Da, Zheng Da was wearing a plaid shirt that looked very loose and gave the impression that it was a cheap item he had bought for 39 yuan at a street stall. In reality, it was a new ugly shirt from Balenciaga.

Add to that the Versace jeans that clashed terribly with the shirt and seemed a bit too small, and the YSL shoes that looked completely out of place on the runway. The result was that Zheng Da's standard, ostentatious outfit, instead of exuding wealth, made him look like a middle-aged man who didn't recognize any brands and had bought cheap, knock-off goods at a street stall.

The main reason people get this feeling is that Zheng Da was wearing this outfit, but he was carrying a white transparent plastic bag in his hand. Inside the plastic bag were five takeout boxes that were obviously breakfast items such as xiaolongbao, shumai, and baozi.

In addition, Zheng Da looked extremely tired and sad, giving the impression of a miserable middle-aged man who was selling breakfast at the train station but hadn't sold any and was worried about his livelihood.

Zheng Da didn't say much when he saw Qin Huai. He just sadly handed the takeout box to Qin Huai, gave him a few simple words of advice, and told Qin Huai to study hard at Zhiweiju.

If you are bullied, don't hold back and just curse. Apart from Master Zhou, the other chefs at Zhiweiju are not worth your attention. Even if you can't win the argument, it doesn't matter. Zheng Da will personally go and argue for Qin Huai.

Finally, Zheng Da reminded Qin Huai to eat breakfast. The snacks in these five takeout boxes were specially made for Qin Huai by Zheng Da this morning, and they were all Qin Huai's favorite breakfasts.

Paper-wrapped shumai, soup dumplings, three-ingredient steamed buns, three-delicacy steamed dumplings, and shrimp dumplings.

It can be said to be very thoughtful.

The only slight flaw is that it overlooks Qin Huai's appetite; Qin Huai isn't Shi Dadan, and it's impossible for him to eat so much solid food for breakfast.

As for Shi Dadan, he is still very interested in going to Hangzhou to eat snacks for a while, but not now.

Shi Dadan was a little reluctant to part with the delicious food of Suzhou; he hadn't had his fill at Huang Ji. Although Hangzhou had top-notch white-cooked dishes like Zhiweiju, it lacked renowned high-end red-cooked dishes like Huang Ji, making it slightly inferior in this area.

In addition, Shi Dadan's short-term rental in Suzhou has not yet expired. In Shi Dadan's words, he should save money where he can and spend money where he can. Even though the money he spends on food for a few days is enough to pay the rent, he can't waste the rent. It's not too late to go to Hangzhou when his rental expires.

At this point, some people might wonder, does Shi Dadan have no intention of returning to Guangdong Province at all?
Yes.

In Shi Dadan's words, he didn't need to worry too much about the business in Guangdong Province. On the surface, he was in the seafood business, but in reality, the real profits came from aquaculture. Aquaculture was a piece of cake for him, and his presence or absence made no difference.

In addition, his two unfortunate children were not doing well in school. As their grades declined, his wife's blood pressure also rose. Furthermore, Shi Dadan and his wife believed that their children's book allergy was likely inherited from him. So, although Shi Dadan came to Shanshi to socialize with Qin Huai and his group of monster friends, he was actually running away.

He tentatively planned to run away until the children's summer vacation started before returning home. As for the excuse for his escape, Shi Dadan had come up with a good one. The seafood business was unstable, so he planned to go to other cities to investigate whether there were better opportunities. As for what exactly he would investigate and whether he would even find anything…

Those are all unknowns.

In Shi Dadan's words, if he doesn't run away soon, his wife will get tired of beating the kids and then he'll be next.

The couple's relationship can be described as very harmonious and friendly.

With Shi Dadan absent, Qin Huai, Tan Weian, Gu Li, and Su Qian had to take care of breakfast.

Since Zheng Da was having a surprise this time, Qin Huai had no idea beforehand, so everyone came to the train station after having breakfast.

Qin Huai placed the takeout boxes on the small table and opened them one by one.

A very beautiful breakfast.

Each soup dumpling is small and exquisite, with a perfect shape and every pleat is pinched perfectly. The skin is thin and translucent. Even before taking a bite with chopsticks, you can imagine the sensation of the soup dumpling bursting with juice in your mouth.

Needless to say, the paper-wrapped shumai skin is truly as good as its name suggests; the skin is indeed as thin as paper. Zheng Da's paper-wrapped shumai filling is glutinous rice mixed with diced meat and bamboo shoots, savory and incredibly fresh. Every grain of glutinous rice is stained with the meat juice, making it sticky and gooey—absolutely the finest of the fine.

These two snacks are currently the most popular breakfast items in Qinhuai.

Without any hesitation, Qin Huai gathered the two boxes of pastries in front of him, pointed to the remaining four boxes, and asked Tan Weian, "Which of these four boxes do you want to eat?"

Tan Weian thought for a moment: "Shrimp dumplings."

The apprentices at Zhiweiju knew that Qin Huai loved shrimp dumplings, but unfortunately, none of them were particularly skilled at making them. Even when Zhiweiju later sent an unnamed apprentice who was good at making shrimp dumplings, the dumplings he made were only so-so.

He's definitely no match for Zheng Da.

Qin Huai handed the remaining two boxes to Su Qian and Gu Li in front of him, and also gave them two pairs of disposable chopsticks.

Zheng Da didn't know what he was thinking, but he only provided five pairs of chopsticks with the five takeout boxes. Those chopsticks were obviously disposable chopsticks from Huang Ji Shun.

Qin Huai picked up a paper-wrapped shumai and took a bite.

Hmm, satisfied.

Although this paper-wrapped shumai is made of glutinous rice, it tastes more like a pork shumai, while also retaining the sticky texture of glutinous rice shumai. The meat juices have completely soaked into the glutinous rice, so you can taste the meat flavor in every bite. The bamboo shoot pieces mixed in are the perfect finishing touch. The outermost shumai skin not only serves to wrap and hold its shape, but its slightly firm texture is also a perfect match for the juicy, sticky glutinous rice filling that clumps together like paste when picked up with chopsticks.

This box contained a full six paper-wrapped shumai, packed tightly together. Qin Huai ate two but couldn't eat anymore, so she had to switch to soup dumplings to fill the gaps.

Just as Qin Huai had envisioned, the soup dumplings had thin skin and were juicy, yet the skin was not easily punctured, so they wouldn't break as soon as you picked them up, leaving you with a regretful spill of juice.

One bite, still slightly warm, with a hint of sweetness but still predominantly salty, the juice bursts in your mouth, giving you an incredibly satisfying feeling.

Qin Huai ate two more soup dumplings to fill the gaps, but couldn't eat anymore. He put down his chopsticks and watched Tan Weian eat.

Tan Weian's fighting ability was even slightly worse than Qin Huai's; he could only eat three shrimp dumplings before he was too full to eat any more and could only sigh at the dim sum.

"Qin Huai, what's up with Chef Zheng today? Why did he suddenly make so many pastries this morning and specially bring them to the train station for you? I've never seen Chef Zheng make this kind of breakfast before. I've always heard Zheng Siyuan say that Chef Zheng doesn't bother making such simple pastries," Tan Weian exclaimed.

“Master Zheng doesn’t usually make these kinds of pastries, but today…” Qin Huai paused, “maybe he wanted to send me off.”

"Seeing him off?" Tan Weian asked, puzzled. "It's only an hour by bullet train from Suzhou to Hangzhou. I remember that Master Zheng also has a factory in Hangzhou, and he often goes there. What's there to see him off?"

"It has a different meaning," was all Qin Huai could say.

Qin Huai actually understood Zheng Da's thoughts to some extent.

Last time Qin Huai left Huang Ji to go home, this time he's leaving to learn a trade. Although Qin Huai never formally became Zheng Da's apprentice, it's obvious to everyone how much Zheng Da wanted to take him on as a disciple; both personally and personally, Qin Huai is Zheng Da's junior.

Now, Zheng Da's favorite junior is going to learn martial arts from the place he hates the most, and the person he'll most likely learn from is Master Zhou, whom he also dislikes the most. Even though Zheng Da is extremely unhappy, he has to admit that Master Zhou is far superior to him in terms of finger techniques.

Zheng Da was conflicted. He felt Qin Huai should go to Zhiweiju, but at the same time, he wanted to show Qin Huai his skills and flex his muscles. Torn by this internal struggle, Zheng Da chose to make something he would normally disdain, but which Qin Huai loved to eat and which would also make Qin Huai realize that his beloved Chef Zheng was truly skilled.

Qin Huai was thinking about how to send a message to Zheng Da.

Of course, gratitude is due; Zheng Da specially made breakfast for him, and that gesture alone is enough for Qin Huai to write a short essay thanking Chef Zheng. However, how to write that essay, and from what angle, is a matter of considerable debate.

Just as Qin Huai was editing his short essay, he suddenly remembered a piece of gossip he had wanted to ask for a long time. Qin Huai glanced at Tan Weian beside him and found that even though he was already full from eating shrimp dumplings, he still couldn't resist the temptation and was struggling to eat paper-wrapped shumai.

"Tan Weian, I have something I want to ask you." Qin Huai said with a serious expression.

Tan Weian looked at Qin Huai.

"I heard that Master Zhou has a particular fondness for sarcastic and eccentric people, is that true?"

Tan Weian almost choked to death on the cardboard-wrapped shumai.

"Cough cough cough cough..."

After coughing several times and gulping down half a bottle of water, Tan Wei'an asked with a look of horror, "Who said that? Did Master Zheng say it? Or did someone else say it?"

Qin Huai said very honestly, "Su Qian said it."

"Cough cough cough cough." Tan Wei'an almost choked on the water again, wishing he could jump in front of Su Qian and question him: Aren't you supposed to be Master Zhou's undisputed disciple? Does Master Zhou know that you're speaking the truth about him like this outside?

As if he could read minds, Su Qian calmly turned his head, stood up halfway, still holding the takeout box containing the three-ingredient buns, and said, "It was me who said it. Master Zhou does indeed have a penchant for being a hermaphrodite."

Tan Weian: ...

"I was telling Master Qin that sometimes Master Zhou's 'yin-yang' behavior might not be because he has a problem with him, but because Master Zhou is used to it. Of course, most of the time when Master Zhou is 'yin-yang' with Master Zheng, he really wants to 'yin-yang' him."

Qin Huai looked at Tan Weian: "Is that so?"

With a face full of doubt, Tan Weian said hesitantly, "It seems... I guess so."

“Master Zhou does have this kind of hobby and habit in his daily life.”

“I’m always on time for work, and sometimes I’m late because I don’t really care about getting my pay docked. Basically, whenever Master Zhou sees that I’m late, he’ll casually say, ‘Wow, even living across the street causes traffic jams. It seems the traffic around Zhiweiju is really bad.’”

Qin Huai looked at Tan Weian with suspicion: "Did you use traffic jams as an excuse for being late before?"

Tan Weian: "...Just once, I really couldn't come up with a reason that time, so I just said it offhand."

Qin Huai nodded, indicating that he had learned a little more about Master Zhou. Master Zhou not only liked sarcastic and eccentric people, but also had a pretty good memory.

"I have one more question," Qin Huai continued.

"I heard that Chef Liu and Chef Hua don't get along because their children went on blind dates and had a falling out, so the two chefs also fell out and are arguing in the kitchen every day. Is that true?"

Upon hearing Qin Huai mention this, Tan Weian immediately perked up, slapped his thigh, and raised his voice: "Of course it's true!"

"It wasn't just a fight in the kitchen. You wouldn't believe it, but when Mr. Liu's daughter and Mr. Hua's son broke up, they ran into each other on the road once. Guess what happened? They both tried to cut each other off, not letting the other pass. Then, Mr. Liu's daughter got angry and tried to cut in from the side. As a result, Mr. Hua's son's car didn't brake and he stepped on the gas, crashing into the green belt and knocking down two small municipal trees. They had to pay a lot of money in compensation!"

"I bought steamed buns at that intersection and even took a video. Wait for me to find it and I'll send it to you when I find it."

Su Qian was shocked: "Is that so?"

Tan Weian said smugly, "Of course, it's the real deal, I'm an eyewitness. Su Qian, do you remember that at first, Chef Liu and Chef Hua didn't have any quarrels over their children's issues? It was after that incident that they started arguing in the kitchen, it was like two kings never seeing each other."

"I still remember the outcome of that car accident. Mr. Liu's daughter was fully responsible for overtaking. She not only had to pay for the municipal green belt and small trees, but also for Mr. Hua's son's car repair costs. I made a special inquiry about it."

Looking at Tan Weian's beaming face, Qin Huai suddenly felt even more excited about the trip to Zhiweiju.

It turns out that Tan Weian was just a casual observer before because he didn't have an inherent advantage playing away from home. Now he's back in Tan Weian's home turf.

It's going to be very exciting.

(End of this chapter)