The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 463 is somewhat reminiscent of an old friend.
In Fenyuan, the other two tables of guests besides Qin Huai's had already finished eating.

But they just wouldn't leave, they insisted on staying, they just sat there and wouldn't budge.

They were no longer interested in seeing what other dishes would be served in the two young men's set meal. After the super deluxe casserole shark fin was served, even the most clueless person realized that this was the last dish, and the next one would be the peach blossom soup that Qin Huai had ordered.

There can't be anything else!
I really bit it down with my teeth!

Even if these two young men can eat a lot, and even if this two-person set meal is essentially a buffet, they should be full after eating this casserole of shark fin.

Are you full, bro?
It would be impolite not to eat your fill.

In fact, Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an were not just full, they were so full that the food was almost choking them.

The two of them are now using military tactics when they eat. The chairs are not for sitting, but for looking at. They stand up to eat because that way the food goes down their stomachs more easily. They have already exceeded their limits and broken their record for the largest amount of food eaten in a single meal.

At this moment, Qin Huai finally understood why Shi Dadan could always eat so calmly in front of the lavish meals with plenty of food. After all, no matter how many schemes and tricks there were, they were all trivial tricks in the face of absolute strength.

Being able to eat is the key; having a large appetite is the most important thing.

"Burp." Qin Huai burped.

"Kiss..." Zhao Cheng'an's hiccup was only halfway through when he forced it back down.

The two of them were clearly too full to eat anymore.

The peach blossoms haven't bloomed yet.

The casserole of shark fin in front of me was still half full, a very even half, half containing shark fin at the bottom, various side dishes, hot pot vegetables, and meatballs.

If you pack it up and take it home, and tell others that it's a whole casserole of shark fin, people will believe you.

The five onlookers were now looking at Qin Huai and his companion with the expression that seemed to say: "I don't think you two have such big appetites. Wasting such good food at Fenyuan, you'll be blacklisted by Chef Xia soon, hahaha."

Of course, if you are willing to ask us for help, we would not mind helping you eat some, after all, being helpful is a fine quality of Fenyuan diners.

It's 6:47 now. The group that arrived at 7 o'clock will be here in a few minutes. You need to ask for help quickly, because once they arrive, there will be many more people trying to freeload.

Xia Murui, who was in the kitchen, could see through the monitor that the two of them couldn't eat anymore. Xia Murui didn't make any peach blossom soup at all, and was busy preparing dishes for the next batch of guests. She would occasionally look up at the monitor, looking very relaxed, as if the words "I'm in a great mood today" were etched on her face.

Zhang Guanghang also noticed this. While watching the surveillance footage, he observed Xia Murui's expression with some confusion, clearly not understanding why his master seemed to be possessed today.

Even watching the surveillance footage, I could see her loving demeanor.

"Master," Zhang Guanghang asked softly, "Peach Blossom... are we still going to do it?"

"What are you doing?" Xia Murui sneered. The sneer was subconscious and not very malicious. In fact, it even showed a bit of doting on her junior. "The two outside can't eat anymore, why are you making more? Peach Blossom Rice can't be taken away. That dish has to be cooked and eaten fresh. If you put it in a takeout box and stuff it in, what's the difference between it and the rice crust with sauce that you can buy anywhere on the roadside?"

Zhang Guanghang: ?

So Master, you think the shark fin soup can be packed up and taken home, and you've already assumed they'll have to take it home if they can't finish it, right?

Master, the original rule of Fenyuan was that each person could only order one dish to prevent waste. Later, the rule of one dish per person was changed, but the rule of preventing waste is still the same, right?

Do you have takeout boxes at Fenyuan?
Zhang Guanghang was filled with questions, but he didn't ask, because he knew that his master must have other plans.

Xia Murui watched the surveillance footage for a few more minutes and concluded that the two people outside had indeed eaten to their limit and couldn't eat anymore. If they ate any more, they would be lying in bed tonight, gazing at the sky like salted fish trying to digest their food, and trying to control their burping so that the food wouldn't spray out of their mouths.

"Xiao Hang, go out and tell them that we don't have enough ingredients for Peach Blossom Feast, and we don't have any other extra ingredients today, so we can't serve the last dish."

"This is Fenyuan's problem. To make up for it, ask them if they have time to come for another meal tomorrow. We'll make up for it with peach blossoms tomorrow. If you can't finish the shark fin soup, you can take the soup pot back with you. Remember to bring the soup pot back when you come for dinner tomorrow."

Zhang Guanghang: ...

Master, if you've been kidnapped, blink twice. What exactly have these two people got on you?

"Yes, Master," Zhang Guanghang said obediently, walking out expressionlessly and coldly relaying Xia Murui's words with the art of language.

When Zhang Guanghang turned away coldly back into the kitchen, all the guests were stunned. The five onlookers looked at Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an with a newfound sense of unease: Could these two really not be Master Xia's long-lost grandsons?

Considering Master Xia's age, it's possible he's a great-grandson.

If we think about it from this perspective...

The five men began to scrutinize Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an's faces closely. And you know what? These two really did look...

It doesn't resemble it at all.
.
Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an, feeling dizzy, took a taxi back to the hotel with the unfinished casserole of shark fin soup. When they got in the car, the ride-hailing driver looked back at the casserole with a puzzled expression, clearly not understanding why someone would take a taxi to a hotel with a casserole, especially since the casserole smelled strangely good.

want to eat.

After a large meal, Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an slumped in the back seat of the ride-hailing car, feeling dizzy and lightheaded, making it difficult for them to think clearly.

"Qin Huai, do you think what just happened might have been a hallucination of us not having enough to eat, being kicked out by Master Xia, and starving to death at the entrance of Fen Garden? I vaguely remember Zhang... something Zhang told me that Master Xia told us to come to Fen Garden for dinner again tomorrow night." As he spoke, Zhao Cheng'an pinched himself, grimacing, still not believing it, and tried to pinch Qin Huai, but Qin Huai slapped his hand away.

"Just pinch yourself to stop this." After swatting Zhao Cheng'an's hand away, Qin Huai became a little more sober, sat up straight, and began to review everything that had happened that night.

It was strange, illogical, and unlike Xia Murui's personality, but Qin Huai felt that everything seemed to make sense.

Qin Huai stared at Zhao Cheng'an, staring intently.

Zhao Cheng'an in this life is completely different from Chen Sheng in the first life. He is not mentally challenged, and he does not have the kind of beauty in his speech that disregards the lives of others like Chen Sheng. He is also not the bandit king of Beiping.

But to say they're completely different isn't entirely true. Zhao Cheng'an actually has many subtle mannerisms quite similar to Chen Sheng's. Although this Zhao Cheng'an has completely forgotten his previous memories, he is still himself. He's just that he's forgotten he's a spirit and thinks he's human, but in essence, he's still a human.

Considering Xia Murui's age, Xia Murui seems to be the kind of person who believes in supernatural forces and reincarnation.

Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin still firmly believe that Qin Luo and He Cheng were brought by Qin Huai. They believe that Qin Huai is the Goddess of Mercy who brings children to their Qin family, not a miracle worker who specializes in curing infertility.

Qin Huai then reconsidered, thinking that while it was possible, it wasn't very likely. He had a preconceived notion that Zhao Cheng'an and Chen Sheng were very similar because he knew Zhao Cheng'an was Chen Sheng, but if you looked at them separately without that factor, it would be difficult to tell the difference, especially for an ordinary person like Xia Murui.

There must be other reasons.

But what exactly is the reason?

Qin Huai began to brainstorm, and Zhao Cheng'an looked at Qin Huai, who had suddenly fallen into deep thought, with a head full of question marks.

Hey bro, don't make that face, it scares me. Every time you make that face, I feel like you're about to do something drastic. Didn't we just have a delicious, satisfying meal? Stop messing around.
.
Meanwhile, Fenyuan finally resumed normal operations, and Zhang Guanghang began to think about what to eat after get off work. Originally, he was just thinking of ordering some takeout, but for some reason, beef and pork sesame cakes kept lingering in his mind, making him really want to eat them.

Along with the two kinds of sesame cakes, Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an were also reluctant to leave.

After holding back for half an hour, Zhang Guanghang finally couldn't help but ask, "Master, are those two guests... anything special?" Xia Murui didn't try to hide anything and said frankly, "They look a lot like old friends I knew when I was young."

Zhang Guanghang: ?

Zhang Guanghang wasn't stupid; after thinking for a moment, he realized what was going on and asked, "Is it because of the yam cake made by Master Qin Huai?"

Xia Murui sighed deeply, a sigh filled with nostalgia, melancholy, and a sense of loss at having lost all her friends and family, leaving her the only one left to live for decades. She said softly, "Chen Sheng is my junior brother's name."

"That name was the one I gave him back then."

"Yam cake is my master's specialty. My junior apprentice and I each learned a different skill: one learned the cooking techniques, and the other learned the pastry techniques. However, my junior apprentice is not quite proficient in the skills, so his craftsmanship is not as good as Qin Huai's."

"The yam cake today tastes and looks exactly the same as the one my master made back then. Ling Guangzhao said that Qin Huai found this recipe in an old book. It must have been when my junior brother was practicing calligraphy with Ping An and didn't know what to write, so he wrote down the recipe. His name had to be engraved on the yam cake, which also fits his personality. His brain is just... not quite normal."

As Xia Murui spoke, she even laughed.

"It's fate that Qin Huai was able to get the recipe written by my junior brother and learn my master's skills. The little Zhao next to him... I was just wondering if I'm getting old, but the way he eats, I actually think he looks a bit like my junior brother."

Zhang Guanghang didn't speak because he saw the tears in Xia Murui's eyes.

This was the first time he had ever seen his master like this. His master was always strong, irritable, awkward, and loved him very much. Occasionally, he was like a little old man, but most of the time he gave people a bad feeling. He rarely mentioned the past, and even when he did, he would only say it lightly, as if he were telling some stories that did not belong to him.

This was the first time Zhang Guanghang had ever seen someone like this—some people I didn't want to mention, but who always lived in my heart.

“When my junior brother and I spent our first New Year at our master’s house, our master had not yet accepted me as his apprentice. We were just apprentices at Taifeng Restaurant. That year, Taifeng Restaurant was doing well, and Boss Lu was in a good mood. Each master chef could take a banquet home, and each apprentice could take a dish home.”

"Everyone was overjoyed, except for my junior brother, who was so carefree and shameless that he asked Boss Lu if he could take the remaining steamed buns back with him. That night, when we were having New Year's Eve dinner, I was afraid of being disliked for eating too much, so I didn't dare to eat much. My junior brother, who was fearless, was the most important thing to eat. Towards the end of the meal, he was so full that he almost collapsed on the ground and fell asleep, just like those two guys today."

"Especially that Xiao Zhao, his way of burping and not wanting to burp is just like my junior brother's."

“That night, after dinner, when we returned to the woodshed, my junior brother took out five white steamed buns from his pocket, stuffed them into my hands, and told me that he could tell I wasn’t full at all. He said that if I didn’t eat until I was full during the New Year, I wouldn’t have another chance to eat until I was full.”

"That night I lay on the haystack in the woodshed and ate all five white steamed buns until I was so full my eyes were bulging."

"Later, when we were fleeing, even when we were starving, so hungry that we dug up grass roots, gnawed on wood, ate dirt, and drank the wind, so hungry that our stomachs were cramping and we were seeing stars, and we felt like we were going to collapse on the road and live like this for the rest of our lives, just thinking about that night made us feel less hungry."

“Back then, I brought so much gold and silver jewelry back to Beiping, thinking that I could finally reunite with my junior brother, master, and Ping An. The first thing I thought I would do upon returning to Beiping was to treat them to a big meal.”

Xia Murui's lips trembled a few times, and she did not continue speaking.

“Xiao Hang, maybe it’s because Master is getting old. When I was watching the surveillance footage just now, I kept thinking, if people really have an afterlife, will my junior brother, Master, and Ping An come to see me after they are reincarnated? Will they blame me for leaving Beiping and not returning for so many years, and for living alone in this world for so many years?”

“I even wonder if they will be surprised that my cooking skills have surpassed those of my master back then. But knowing my junior brother’s temper, he would probably make a big fuss and then proudly tell my master that he was right not to become my master’s apprentice back then, and that it would be better to become my apprentice now.”

Zhang Guanghang: ...It's such a complicated relationship. I don't quite understand it, but I also seem to understand it a little bit.

Xia Murui smiled, moved on from the past, and continued cooking.

Zhang Guanghang sorted out the logic and found it unclear, but one thing was very clear to him—

His master wanted Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an to have another good meal at Fen Garden.

Zhang Guanghang said, "Master, I just added Qin Huai on WeChat. Should I send them a message to ask what dishes they want to eat tomorrow so they can order in advance?"

Xia Murui nodded slightly.

Meanwhile, Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an successfully carried the casserole back to the hotel, handed it to the front desk, and instructed them to keep it in the refrigerator for their breakfast the next morning.

The receptionist didn't understand, but she did as instructed.

The two returned to their room and lay down like corpses.

Zhao Cheng'an, still feeling dizzy from the charcoal, suddenly blurted out, "Qin Huai, don't you feel a little disappointed with today's meal?"

"We didn't get to eat any staple food."

Qin Huai: ...? Dude, are you alright? Did you really get yourself into trouble by talking about pancakes?

The next second, a game notification sounded in Qin Huai's mind.

"Ding! Congratulations on discovering a new side quest, [Zhao Cheng'an's Desire]. Please check it in the game panel."

Qin Huai: ?
Qin Huai directly opened the game panel to view the side quests.

[Zhao Cheng'an's Desire]: As the direct disciple of the top pastry chef, Zhao Cheng'an had never enjoyed such a sumptuous feast as he had today. However, after savoring the meal, Zhao Cheng'an felt a slight sense of incompleteness. Today's meal included cold dishes, hot dishes, and fruit, but lacked soup and a staple food. The soup wasn't important; the absence of a staple food was causing Zhao Cheng'an, a pastry chef, considerable distress. Please grant Zhao Cheng'an's wish and allow him to enjoy another feast with a staple food worthy of such a lavish meal.

Task Reward: [A Dream of Zhao Cheng'an]

Qin Huai: ...

Dude, why don't you just fly to the sky?
Not satisfied with today's meal, insisting on eating staple food, do you really love staple food that much?
You haven't forgotten your original intention. In your first life, you loved eating staple food so much that you only wanted to cook it. In this life, you're having a feast in Fen Garden, but you're still thinking about staple food.

As expected of you.

Next time you and Dang Kang sit at the same table, you two can have a main dish match.

Qin Huai was speechless when Zhang Guanghang sent a message.

Zhang Guanghang: Hello, I am Zhang Guanghang. I would like to ask if you two have any dishes you would like to eat tomorrow?
Zhang Guanghang: Any dish is fine, whether it's on Fenyuan's menu or not.

Zhang Guanghang: You can order whatever you like.

Zhang Guanghang: You can eat whatever you want.

Zhang Guanghang: Any number of them is fine.

Upon seeing the message, Qin Huai: ...

Zhang Guanghang's WeChat account was hacked? Was the hacker Zhao Cheng'an?

Qin Huai: May I ask if we can have a staple food? We'd like to have a staple food here. If Chef Xia isn't available to make it, I can make it myself.

Zhang Guanghang, holding his phone and waiting for a reply: ...

What's wrong with these two? Or are all pastry chefs like this, really that fond of staple foods?
Even if you cook it yourself, you still have to eat it.

(End of this chapter)