The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 494 What a coincidence!

At 12:37 pm, Zhao Cheng'an, who had been making snacks until he was like a walking corpse, sat on the second floor by the window with a pale face, weakly shoveling rice into his mouth, even his chewing movements were so slow.

In stark contrast to him was Ouyang, who sat opposite him, eating heartily as if he wanted to bury his head in his plate.

"Qin Huai, why is the braised pork with preserved vegetables in your cafeteria so salty?" Zhao Cheng'an said with a long face. After a hard morning's work, he felt like the sky had fallen when he was served such a meal.

"I told you that braised pork with preserved mustard greens is too salty and you shouldn't eat it, but you wouldn't listen." Qin Huai ate calmly. "The lunch and dinner in our canteen are just the standard of a normal community canteen, ordinary home-style dishes. Otherwise, why do you think Luo Jun and Sister Hong never eat regular meals in the canteen, only snacks?"

Zhao Cheng'an wasn't originally that sad, but after hearing Qin Huai say that, he felt surrounded by sadness.

Originally, the spirits in the "We Are a Loving Family" group all ate their own meals every day.

Chen Huihong can't cook, so she either takes Huihui to her younger brother's house for a meal or they eat out.

Luo Jun stayed at home and rarely went out. Zhang Shumei was responsible for her three meals a day. Incidentally, Zhang Shumei, as a top-notch nanny, was actually quite good at cooking.

Qu Jing mostly eats at the hospital cafeteria, and occasionally cooks rice cake soup at home.

Shi Dadan was quite fond of eating at the Cloud Canteen. When he was in Shanshi, he spent most of his day there, though he mainly ate snacks. If he had a choice, Shi Dadan wouldn't like the boxed lunches at the Cloud Canteen.

This was the usual practice, but now Chen Gong is here. Chen Gong mentioned wanting to try the local specialties of Shanshi, so Chen Huihong went to her brother's house and got a bunch of restaurant membership cards, saying she would cover Chen Gong's meals for the next week, and that everyone who was free should come so they could order more food.

Even Luo Jun, who hadn't left the house in a long time, was pushed out in his wheelchair by Chen Huihong. Judging from the photos Chen Huihong posted in the group chat, it was clear that they were eating well.

Zhao Cheng'an glanced at the photos in the group chat, then at his own plate, and could only silently take a sip of Xiao Ou's handmade lemon tea to make himself feel a little better and prevent tears from falling.

Why? Why are they all spirits and monsters? Why is this their first time in Shanshi? Chen Gong came here to eat, drink, and relax, while Chen Gong came here to work himself to the bone in order to work in a place even further away.

The thought of the terrifyingly high number of customers and the extremely long morning rush hour at the Cloud Cafeteria this morning made Zhao Cheng'an want to cry even more.

Qin Huai, you liar! Yunzhong Canteen's business is not even slightly better than Zhiweiju's!
The customers at your Cloud Cafeteria are all big eaters, everyone buys so much. How did Zheng Siyuan get through the past few months?

Thinking of this, Zhao Cheng'an's gaze towards Zheng Siyuan, who sat opposite him, held a hint of awe. He had always heard of Zheng Siyuan, but had never met him, and felt a little resentful. He wondered why everyone said Zheng Siyuan's talent and skill were superior to his, when he, Zhao Cheng'an, was the undisputed number one genius of Zhiweiju's pastry-making department.

Now...

I'm convinced. Utterly convinced.

Zhao Cheng'an said that Zheng Siyuan is better than him. With his work ability and hard work, I have nothing to say, he's awesome!
Zheng Siyuan also noticed Zhao Cheng'an's gaze. Knowing his personality, he naturally wouldn't ask, nor would he bother. After working together for a morning, Zheng Siyuan had already seen through Zhao Cheng'an's true nature—

He's a lazybones like Tan Weian, a rare breed at Zhiweiju.

It's really tough on Master Zhou. He's such a good teacher, yet he still has to bear the reputation of turning a genius disciple into a mediocre one.

Qin Huai observed Zhao Cheng'an and Zheng Siyuan's actions and expressions. In the past, he would have definitely done some in-depth analysis and reading comprehension, but now he didn't have the energy for it.

too tired.

The sheer volume of visitors this morning has exhausted Qinhuai District.

Although Zhao Cheng'an and Zheng Siyuan helped out, and Ouyang stayed in the cafeteria to help out until after 10 o'clock, more than 95% of the customers came for Qin Huai. Qin Huai knew that he had been away for too long this time, and with the idea of ​​doing as much as possible to give back to the customers, he worked hard all morning.

Qin Huai had originally planned to make some noodles in the afternoon to calm himself down, but now he didn't even want to make noodles. He just wanted to lie at home and listen to some gossip to calm himself down.

"Zheng Siyuan, are you making snacks again this afternoon?" Qin Huai asked.

Hearing Qin Huai's words, Zheng Siyuan and Zhao Cheng'an immediately looked up at him. Zheng Siyuan's eyes were questioning, while Zhao Cheng'an's eyes were shining, his left eye clearly saying "pretending" and his right eye clearly saying "fake," with two words and an exclamation mark etched on his forehead—

Great!
Of course, the diligent and dedicated Chef Qin couldn't say that he had been living a leisurely life at Zhiweiju for too long and couldn't adapt to the high-intensity work at Yunzhong Canteen, so he needed to rest. He said with a serious face, "Mr. Luo hasn't been in a good mood lately. Sister Hong asked me to go to Mr. Luo's house more often to talk and chat with him. I went to Mr. Luo's house yesterday afternoon and chatted with him for an afternoon, and it was quite effective. Sister Hong asked me to go again this afternoon."

Zhao Cheng'an instantly realized that they were going to Luo Jun's house for fruit, tea, and gossip!
“Yes, yes, I went yesterday afternoon too. Qin Huai said Mr. Luo likes flaky pastries, but we didn’t have time to make them yesterday afternoon because we didn’t have the facilities. I’ll go over this afternoon to make them for Mr. Luo.” Zhao Cheng’an quickly chimed in.

Qin Huai's reason was plausible, and Zheng Siyuan didn't doubt it. After all, everyone knew that Qin Huai and Luo Jun had a good relationship, and Luo Jun had consistently topped the list of those who received special treats from Qin Huai. He was the only one who could get the freshest and hottest treats without having to send a maid from the cafeteria to get them.

Luo Jun's car is not parked in his own parking space, but directly in Qin Huai's parking space.

“Mr. Luo has been in a bad mood lately.” Ouyang lowered his voice, looking like he was about to start gossiping. “Last month, he ordered 302 takeout orders and left more than 350 negative reviews.”

Zhao Cheng'an was shocked: "What?! 302 takeout orders in a month? Mr. Luo can eat that much!"

Qin Huai: ...What's your point, mayfly?

Luo Jun was considered a celebrity in Yunzhong Residential Community. Before, the residents were always on edge whenever he went out; now, they were on edge whenever he cursed at someone. Even though Zheng Siyuan had little contact with Luo Jun, he knew of this legendary old man.

"How could 302 food delivery orders generate more than 350 negative reviews?" Zheng Siyuan asked curiously.

"It is said that some food delivery merchants were dissatisfied and felt that Mr. Luo was deliberately causing trouble. Of course, everyone knows that he was deliberately causing trouble, but some new merchants were stubborn and thought that Mr. Luo was a competitor. When they replied, their tone was unfriendly, which angered Mr. Luo. Mr. Luo then posted a lot of follow-up reviews on a secondary account."

"The most upvoted comment, which now has over 3000 likes, is a negative review of a newly opened convenience store nearby. The tea eggs weren't cracked or cooked properly, and after peeling them, they were just like boiled eggs. Apparently, the thing that office workers near that convenience store like to do most after get off work is to go to the store to see if the tea eggs have been cracked."

Qin Huai: ...Luo Jun still loves ordering tea eggs from convenience stores. Zhao Cheng paused for a moment, then slowly said, "It's really something to criticize if they don't knock the tea eggs. The tea eggs at the steamed bun shop downstairs from my house are always knocked too. Mr. Luo, could you order from them and then give me a bad review?"

Three people:?
Are you using Luo Jun as a deterrent weapon?
"How often did Mr. Luo give negative reviews before?" Zheng Siyuan asked curiously.

Ouyang thought for a moment: "Although he often gives bad reviews, the most he ever gave was only a little over 100 in a month. In the early years, some merchants even teamed up to report Mr. Luo's account, and some even went to our neighborhood committee to ask us to mediate and resolve the issue of Mr. Luo's penchant for giving bad reviews, but in the end, nothing came of it."

"After all, although Mr. Luo is always unreasonable, his negative reviews are really good. The residents and office workers in this area like to read Mr. Luo's negative reviews. When ordering takeout, the first thing they do is check the reviews to see if there are any highly rated negative reviews by Mr. Luo. I used to like to read them when I was slacking off at work."

“However, the 350+ messages last month was a record-breaking number. I haven’t left my previous work group yet. I saw that everyone in the group was discussing whether Mr. Luo had encountered something that made him so irritable. Someone even asked Sister Hong in the group whether the neighborhood committee should organize another visit to comfort him. Sister Hong said no, she could go by herself.”

"Sister Hong is such a good person, she really takes responsibility when something happens."

Qin Huai: ...

Is it possible that Luo Jun's bad temper lately is because Chen Huihong has been visiting him too often?

Ouyang then went on and on about all the gossip that had happened in the neighborhood during the months Qin Huai had been away. He said things like the Wang family's dog had taken a liking to the Li family's dog, but the Li family's dog didn't like the Wang family's dog. Every time the two families met while walking their dogs, the Wang family's dog would fawn over them and get rejected. As a result, the two owners became enemies and argued incessantly.

After returning from Suzhou, Grandpa Wang reminisced about the past. He started by not just boasting that he had never made a single false or wrong account in his decades as an accountant, but finally began to talk about his specific achievements. For example, he caught Section Chief XX embezzling funds on the spot when he checked the accounts, he caught Section Chief XX passing off inferior goods as superior goods on the spot when he checked the accounts, and he caught Leader XX engaging in illegal buying and selling on the spot when he checked the accounts.

The content was very interesting, but unfortunately, Grandpa Wang's speaking skills were not very good, so no one liked to listen. As a result, Grandpa Wang could only go home and reminisce with his family about the past, which his wife found annoying. Now, Grandpa Wang's wife goes out for a walk to find some peace and quiet whenever she has nothing to do.

The four of them chatted on the second floor until after 1 a.m. Zheng Siyuan felt she had rested enough, so she went back to the kitchen to make some snacks.

Ouyang wanted to continue chatting, but he was now a businessman, and his Little Ou's Handmade Lemon Tea shop was still booming. He had already skipped work for several hours that morning to get drinks for his good friend, and there were many office workers in nearby buildings waiting for his drinks to keep them going. Ouyang knew the weight of his responsibilities and that now was not the time to slack off, so he went back to the shop to get his drinks.

Seeing how much the two of them loved their work, Qin Huai felt a little ashamed, but this feeling vanished instantly after glancing at Zhao Cheng'an.

"Zheng Siyuan actually loves making pastries so much!" Zhao Cheng'an exclaimed. "He loves making pastries so much, and he's actually Master Zheng's son."

Qin Huai: ...That's a good exclamation. Don't make that exclamation next time, especially not in front of Zheng Da.

Zhao Cheng'an took another sip of lemon tea: "Qin Huai, you're right, Ouyang's handmade lemon tea really tastes better than the ones in other shops. Do you have some secret recipe for handmade lemon tea?"

"Nothing special, just immense strength," Qin Huai said. "Do you think Ouyang is like a monster?"

“It doesn’t seem like it,” Zhao Cheng’an said. “He only ate a little bit of snacks and drank a little bit of beverage and he got fat. It doesn’t seem like it at all.”

"Think about Dang Kang. He ate like that every day and only gained more than ten pounds."

Zhao Cheng'an glanced at his phone and cheered, "Sister Hong and the others are back! Sister Hong even packed up my leftovers! Yay! Qin Huai, let's go over there quickly, let me see what they packed for me... Boiled sliced ​​pork, stir-fried shredded pork with soy sauce, braised pork meatballs, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, cream of mushroom soup... What restaurant did they eat at? Why are the dishes so strange, they have all kinds of dishes."

Qin Huai slowly stood up: "It's not surprising that Sister Hong chose this restaurant, so it's not surprising that she brought back a jianbing guozi for you."

Seven minutes later, Qin Huai sat in Luo Jun's house, looking at his smiling, witty, and eloquent old acquaintance with only four words in his mind:
As expected of you.

Gong Liang sat on the sofa, as if he were a regular at Luo Jun's tea parties. With a new friend who was still asleep at home, Luo Jun forced a smile and remained expressionless, nestled on the sofa watching TV.

Chen Huihong and Chen Gong sat on the sofa chatting with Gong Liang, showing great interest in the topics he was discussing. Zhao Cheng'an and Shi Dadan sat at the dining table, happily eating. Shi Dadan had already eaten a meal but could still eat a little more.

Qin Huai guessed that they must have run into Gong Liang while they were eating. Shi Dadan, out of caution, had focused most of his attention on Gong Liang and hadn't been paying much attention to his meal, so he rushed back to grab a bite to eat.

According to Gong Liang, his wife had gone shopping with their daughter, and he, having nothing to do, chose a well-known restaurant nearby for dinner. Unexpectedly, he bumped into Luo Jun and his group. Although he didn't know Chen Gong and Luo Jun, he knew Chen Huihong and Shi Dadan. Chen Huihong had a membership card for discounts, and at her invitation, Gong Liang shamelessly shared a table and ate a meal.

After getting the meal, Gong Liang felt embarrassed, so he asked for Luo Jun's address and brought some things from home to visit Luo Jun.

As for how much of this coincidence was truly coincidental, only Gong Liang knows.

Qin Huai was originally thinking about how to get Gong Liang to Luo Jun's house for a tea party, but now he doesn't need to think about it anymore, Gong Liang has delivered himself to his door.

With Gong Liang settled, things will be easier with Wang Gensheng and An Youyou.

An Youyou is easy to fool. Qin Huai can just make an excuse that he needs someone to help him make some pastries at Luo Jun's house and call An Youyou over to help.

As for Wang Gensheng's side...

If you just tell him there's a special private kitchen here for a new product tasting event, Grandpa Wang will definitely say "Oh dear, how can I accept this?" while his body language clearly tells him to come over and have some snacks.

As Qin Huai pondered this, he became somewhat distracted.

Gong Liang's voice pulled Qin Huai back to reality.

"Master Qin, I never expected to run into so many acquaintances just from having a meal. They're all your friends. Assistant Chen, Lao Shi, and I aren't even from around here. What a coincidence!" Gong Liang said with a smile.

Qin Huai nodded: "Yes, what a coincidence."

(End of this chapter)