The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 446 Looking for someone
Because of Zhao Cheng'an's leave, Qin Huai was able to level up his proficiency even faster on the second day.

How should I put it? When there's no one to chat with, efficiency is high.

Although Zhao Cheng'an had been in a state of near-death madness for the past few days, he would still utter a few words from time to time. The day when Zhao Cheng'an focuses solely on making pastries and doesn't say a word, that would be when he truly goes mad.

Qin Huai happily spent the whole day grinding for proficiency.

On the third day, Zhao Cheng'an returned from his vacation. Perhaps because he was in a particularly good mood after his vacation, Zhao Cheng'an broke his record for the earliest start time, arriving at work at 6:17 a.m.

"Qin Huai, did you miss me yesterday since you didn't see me all day? Did you find making pastries particularly boring, with no one around to chat with? Let me tell you, I actually tried to help you, asking if Tan Weian could be transferred over for a day, but my master disagreed and even scolded me. Tan Weian also disagreed, saying he was afraid my master would kill him if he transferred over." Zhao Cheng'an had an expression that said: See, buddy, I'm still thinking of you, aren't I?

Qin Huai was making pine nut shumai and said casually, "No, not at all."

"You weren't here yesterday, so my skill level improved really fast. When are you going to take your next vacation?"

Zhao Cheng'an: ?

Bro, you've misplaced your trust.

Qin Huai's enjoyable progress in leveling up continued until June 27th. It wasn't that leveling up on June 27th was unpleasant, nor was it that Zhiweiju had a problem and Qin Huai had nowhere to level up, nor was it that Zheng Siyuan alone at Yunzhong Canteen could no longer meet the elderly people's demand for snacks, and that the elderly people were preparing to come to Hangzhou as a group to buy houses.

It was Shi Dadan's two children who had finished their final exams.

Yes, although many people have forgotten, Kang also had a family and a happy life, with two children who, like him, were allergic to reading.

As a good father who passed on his aversion to reading to his children, Dang Kang could run away under the pretext of going out to investigate business during his children's studies. However, now that his children's studies have ended, Dang Kang has to return to Guangdong Province.

When the two kids' grades come out, his wife will scold him too.

Shi Dadan booked a flight back on June 28th, without planning to bring any luggage. He hadn't brought much luggage when he came either, buying most of his things on the spot, and naturally didn't intend to bring anything back. Bringing too much stuff would make it seem like he'd been living a very comfortable life during his inspection trip, which wouldn't be good for family harmony.

Since Shi Dadan was leaving on the 28th, Qin Huai took a day off on the 27th to make snacks for him.

Make the raw embryos and have Shi Dadan take them back to Guangdong Province to freeze, and also send some to Cao Guixiang. Qin Huai has been engrossed in leveling up his proficiency recently and hasn't video chatted with Cao Guixiang, only occasionally exchanging messages on WeChat.

Cao Guixiang strongly supports Qin Huai's self-developed culinary path, even more so than Chef Zhou.

Perhaps it was because Cao Guixiang herself was a prodigy in the field of criminal cases that top geniuses always appreciate each other and can understand one another.

When Cao Guixiang first heard Qin Huai's bold statement that he wanted to become the textbook of textbooks, her first reaction was to laugh out loud. Then she told Qin Huai that her first small goal when she was learning to cook was to surpass her senior brother, then surpass her master, and finally trample her master underfoot.

It should be noted that at that time, Cao Guixiang's master was also the number one person in the Red Case.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Cao Guixiang didn't even live to see the day she surpassed her senior. Due to some special circumstances, she was sent to the countryside as an educated youth and never returned to Beiping. Looking back on her youthful ambitions, Cao Guixiang could only smile and tell Qin Huai that she was now fortunate enough to be born in a good era and that one day she would definitely become a textbook example.

Qin Huai took a rare break and made some pastries at home. Only Shi Dadan was there, leaning against the kitchen wall, eating an apple and watching Qin Huai make pastries. The atmosphere was very relaxed, so relaxed that Qin Huai felt like he was back in the Cloud Canteen.

With the atmosphere already set, Qin Huai simply took out the wooden phone stand Zhang Chu had made for him from his suitcase and placed it on the kitchen counter, video chatting with Cao Guixiang from a distance.

Cao Guixiang was watching TV at home, while Zhang Chu sat next to her, eating sunflower seeds.

"Master, are Zhang Zhiyun and Qingqing on holiday yet?" Qin Huai knew well the principle of talking to elders and starting with the children, so he immediately asked the two children who were studying.

"No, they don't have their final exams until July 6th. They have two days of exams and won't be on holiday until the 8th. There are still 10 days until the holiday, and Yunyun has already started ordering food. He wants braised prawns, tea tree mushroom and old duck soup, and even abalone with oyster sauce. Anyone who didn't know better would think he's confident he'll get first place in the grade and come back to show me." Cao Guixiang said with a smile, her tone full of pride in her grandson's good grades.

"Qingqing is similar; she wants to eat braised shark fin and braised pork belly. I suspect these two kids have conspired to order different dishes every time."

When faced with topics related to children's learning, Shi Dadan dared not say a word.

Even if Shi Dadan didn't say anything, Cao Guixiang would naturally bring it up. Shi Dadan was leaning against the kitchen door, and the phone's angle was just right so he could be seen. Cao Guixiang stared at the screen and asked with a smile, "Old Shi, it's been two or three months since you left, hasn't it?"

"First it was Shanshi, then Suzhou, and now it's Hangzhou. Why aren't you back yet? I see you've gained a lot of weight. Last week, when my husband went grocery shopping, he ran into your wife at the market. She told him she didn't know what project you were investigating that had been going on for so long and suspected you'd been scammed."

Shi Dadan could only smile sheepishly and honestly reply, "I'll go back tomorrow. My two kids attend a private school and have an early holiday. They finished their exams today."

"My flight is tomorrow morning, and the results should be out by the time I land. Guixiang, I have a favor to ask you. If I haven't messaged you by 5 p.m. tomorrow, could you please give me a call and tell me you've prepared a delicious meal and invite me to your house for dinner?"

Cao Guixiang: "...Is it really necessary?"

Shi Dadan sighed deeply, revealing an expression you wouldn't understand: "Your Yunyun and Qingqing have always been first or second in exams since they were little, while my two little rascals have always been either last or second to last in exams since they were little."

"You know my level of education; I only know a few characters, and I get a headache just looking at them. When we hired a tutor for the kids, I couldn't understand a word even sitting next to him. My wife has been in charge of the kids' education since they were little, so it's normal that she has a bad temper."

"There's one downside: I tend to take my anger out on others."

Qin Huai almost burst out laughing. How come he hadn't noticed Shi Dadan's humor before?

"Old Shi, are you going to Xiao Qin's place again this time you're back?" Cao Guixiang asked. "I know you like to eat staple foods, and you definitely love the snacks Xiao Qin makes, but you really should eat less of them. You're getting on in years, be careful not to eat too much and develop high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar."

Shi Dadan continued to smile: "No way."

That's really not true. Shi Dadan has now successfully transcended his tribulation and, in a sense, is a being beyond human comprehension, with excellent physical condition.

As for how good it can be, just look at Bi Fang, who is 92 years old and still able to cause trouble at a hospital. "I'll see how things go when I go back this time. I haven't been out fishing at sea for a long time, so I need to catch some good fish. Before the Lunar New Year, I promised my two little ones that I would take them abroad for the summer vacation. This time when I go back... I guess I won't be able to come to Xiao Qin's place for dinner again until the end of August."

"I was really looking forward to going with Xiao Qin to Beiping for some kind of exchange meeting in mid-July, but I realized I couldn't go after calculating the time yesterday."

When Shi Dadan mentioned Beiping, Cao Guixiang was slightly taken aback: "There are exchange meetings in Beiping?"

Hearing the wistful tone in Cao Guixiang's voice, Qin Huai glanced at his phone and asked, "Master Cao, I'll be staying in Beiping for an extra day besides attending the exchange meeting. I remember you told me that your two senior apprentices have gone abroad, but would you like me to ask at Yongheju if they have their contact information?"

Cao Guixiang shook her head: "It's been so many years, forget it."

Zhang Chu leaned forward and added, "Gui Xiang's two senior brothers went abroad too early. Back then, they used to send letters. At first, they still had addresses, but later, for some unknown reason, the letters they sent didn't get a reply, and they lost contact."

"Actually, more than ten years ago, I asked a friend to inquire at Yongheju and found out that when Guixiang's two senior apprentices went abroad, they took almost all their apprentices with them. The apprentices who stayed in China had already retired. The chefs and owners of Yongheju didn't know who Guixiang and I were. We were just ordinary people and didn't have that much influence, so naturally they weren't willing to help. In addition, communication wasn't as advanced as it is now back then, so we just let it go after getting rejected once."

“Yes,” Cao Guixiang nodded. “Now so many years have passed, and sometimes when I search for information about my senior brother online, I can’t find much. He’s old and retired a long time ago, and he hasn’t been back to China all these years.”

“It’s possible that Yongheju can’t contact my senior brother either, so Xiao Qin, you don’t need to bother. When was I sent to the countryside as an educated youth? That’s almost half a century ago. Some things can’t be forced.”

“Like Lao Shi, I remember when the restaurant closed down, he said he wanted to go out and try his luck, and also look for people. He traveled all over the country and the world, but in the end he couldn’t find anyone. One year, he got drunk while having New Year’s Eve dinner at my house, and he hugged my husband, Lao Zhang, and cried his heart out. At that time, he hadn’t started dating his wife yet, and Lao Zhang was so scared that he thought he had been cheated out of money by some girl. He spent the whole night comforting him until his lips were dry.”

Zhang Chu nodded frantically: "Yeah, I thought something big had happened, but it turns out I just couldn't find a business I wanted to do."

"After that crying incident, he stopped going out much and started a breeding farm to do his current business."

Shi Dadan: "...Hey, Xiao Qin, what kind of snack are you making now? Steamed buns?"

Shi Dadan abruptly changed the subject, causing Cao Guixiang and Zhang Chu to burst into laughter.

"Yes." Qin Huai answered seriously, "Old Shi, don't you love white flour steamed buns the most? I'll make you more."

"Um... could you make a little more Four Happiness Tangyuan? My wife loves sweets, and if I could carry 100 jin of Four Happiness Tangyuan back, I might get scolded less."

Qin Huai: "...Okay, I'll call Tan Weian now and have him send me some ingredients. But the Four Happiness Dumplings can't be frozen for too long, 100 jin..."

"We need to eat quickly."
.
Twenty minutes later, Tan Weian led four apprentices to deliver the ingredients Qin Huai had ordered. As soon as he entered, he shouted, "Qin Huai, aren't you on vacation today? Why do you need so many ingredients? Are you cooking at home? I'm starting to suspect that you're planning to start your own business and open a community canteen in the neighborhood to compete with our Zhiweiju."

Tan Weian looked at the raw embryos Qin Huai had prepared and yelled, "Damn it, why are you working even more than when you're not at work!"

"Old Shi is going back tomorrow, so of course I have to make him some extra snacks to take back and enjoy slowly," Qin Huai said without looking up.

Tan Wei'an immediately felt jealous: "When I went back last time, why didn't you think of making me more snacks to take back with me?"

Qin Huai: ?
Dude, have you forgotten what your profession is?
Qin Huai checked the ingredients Tan Weian had brought over to make sure nothing was missing, and then mentally calculated the amount of desserts she would need to make that day.

"Did you meet your KPI for today?" Qin Huai asked.

Tan Weian replied blankly, "What KPI? I don't have any KPIs."

Qin Huai was overjoyed: "Great! I'm short-handed right now. Wait a moment, I'll call Boss Su now and see if I can borrow you to help me make some pastries?"

Tan Weian: ? ?
Qin Huai called Boss Su to explain the situation. Boss Su was very tolerant and said it was no problem. Anyway, Tan Weian was just slacking off at Zhiweiju, so he might as well work more at Qin Huai's house. He casually asked if one Tan Weian was enough.

Then Zhao Cheng'an was also assigned by Boss Su to work as a pastry maker in Qinhuai.

Zhao Cheng'an: ? ? ?

Tan Weian and Zhao Cheng'an worked at Qin Huai's house until 8 p.m. They made so many pastries that Qin Huai's two refrigerators couldn't hold them all. They called several groups of apprentices to transport them to the freezer at Zhiweiju to freeze.

When they got off work, Zhao Cheng'an and Tan Weian were both a little dizzy. They felt that Qin Huai was right not to take a vacation recently. This guy should never take a vacation. His vacation is too terrible!

"If it weren't for Qin Huai, would Lao Shi be able to carry all these pastries back with him? Even first-class passengers only have 30 or 40 kilograms of baggage!" Zhao Cheng'an asked the burning question.

Shi Dadan honestly said, "I won't ship it. I've rented a refrigerated truck, and it will deliver the goods directly to my house first thing tomorrow morning."

Zhao Cheng'an: ...

Is this a way of bringing gifts that even a human being could think of?
Zhao Cheng'an and Tan Weian returned home from get off work. Qin Huai cleaned the kitchen, and Shi Dadan leaned against the kitchen door watching while Qin Huai was cleaning.

"Old Shi," Qin Huai suddenly asked, "When I called today, Master and the others said that when you were young, you were searching for people all over the country and all over the world. Who were you looking for?"

Shi Dadan was taken aback when Qin Huai asked him this question. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "I'm looking for Xu Nuo."

“When I met Xu Nuo, he was already in the middle of his life. I was afraid that he would completely forget that he was a spirit in his next reincarnation, and that the probability of him successfully transcending his tribulation was too low, so I have been looking for him.”

"But the Earth is so big, it's really hard to find people."

"I'm so stupid, I can't even recognize the spirits of the Middle Ages."

(End of this chapter)