The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 530 Fox
Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an squatted near the security booth at the entrance of the residential area, briefly acting out a spy drama. They eavesdropped on Xu Tuqiang and Zhou Hu's conversation for five or six minutes and discovered that Xu Tuqiang knew that Zhou Hu worked at the funeral home. Fortune telling, feng shui consultation, and selling talismans seemed to be just Zhou Hu's side jobs.

Zhou Hu doesn't seem like a professional fraudster; Xu Tuqiang seems more like someone who's willingly offered himself up to be scammed.

Is this the legendary case of too many people being scammed and not enough scammers?

Considering that eavesdropping probably wouldn't yield any exciting gossip, and given the strong winds late at night and the food getting cold, whether it constitutes elder abuse to make the exhausted and hungry old Bi Fang eat cold food after a long day of work is another matter. Once Bi Fang successfully completes his tribulation, the first people to criticize him might not be Chen Huihong, but Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an.

It's all about spewing fire together, a matter of one burst of flames.

Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an delivered the food to Luo Jun's house, casually mentioning Zhou Hu's side business as if it were just something new, before taking their own food home.

As expected, Qin Huai overslept again the next day.

This time, Qin Huai really did get up a bit late. The elderly men and women who usually go for breakfast at 6 a.m. waited for a full half hour before he finally arrived. During that half hour, many of them were quite anxious, wondering if something had happened to their beloved Qin Huai, or if he had run off to Tu Lu again.

Hey, why use the word "again"?
Sigh, let's not talk about it anymore, it'll just bring back a flood of bitter tears.

Suspecting that Qin Huai might have absconded again, Xu Tuqiang was on the verge of tears. He sat restlessly at table number 9, glancing outside every now and then, muttering, "No way, this luck-changing talisman only lasted one day and then it stopped working?"

"No wonder Master Zhou refused to sell me another luck-changing talisman. Am I, Xu Tuqiang, destined to be unlucky in this area?"

Grandpa Qian, sitting opposite Xu Tuqiang: ...

Grandpa Qian thought that Master Zhou refused to sell Xu Tuqiang the luck-changing talisman because even the swindlers couldn't bear to cheat this fool anymore. Grandpa Qian had seen many scams, but this was the first time he had seen someone like Xu Tuqiang, who was so eager to be scammed that even the swindlers were unwilling to cheat him.

"You went to the funeral home to see that Master Zhou again?" Grandpa Qian asked. "The property management of our community has recently been posting cases of people being scammed in the neighborhood and the amounts involved in the fraud in the elevators. I hope I won't see a case about Xu from Yunzhong Community in a few months."

“You don’t understand. Master Zhou’s skills are passed down through generations. His grandfather and father were both very famous feng shui masters. My family’s ancestral graves were chosen by Master Zhou’s grandfather. If his father hadn’t been arrested for tomb raiding a few years ago, Master Zhou wouldn’t have taken over the business so early. If you ask me, he’s still a bit young and his skills are lacking. If it were his father who drew the talisman for good luck, I probably would have had a change of fortune in May.” Xu Tuqiang defended Zhou Hu.

Grandpa Qian: ...Okay, his family has a long history of fraud, and your family has a long history of being scammed. That's a good match.

Grandpa Qian remained silent and waited for Qin Huai.

At 6:35, Qin Huai arrived late.

Qin Huai knew he was seriously late today, so he ran into the cafeteria. When he saw Xu Tuqiang at table number 9, he stopped and said, "Uncle Xu, we have glutinous rice cakes today. I'll make the first one. You can eat in 20 minutes."

After saying that, Qin Huai disappeared into the locker room like a gust of wind, leaving Xu Tuqiang at table number 9 overjoyed. He excitedly boasted to Grandpa Qian, "See? What did I tell you? Didn't Master Zhou's lucky charm work?"

"It's a pity that Master Zhou didn't bring his compass last night. He only came to my house for a quick look and didn't do a complete feng shui assessment. He also had something to do today. When Master Zhou has time, I will definitely ask him to come to my house to take a proper feng shui look!"

Grandpa Qian: ...
.
After changing his clothes, Qin Huai went into the kitchen to make breakfast as usual. For Qin Huai, accompanying Luo Jun to the funeral home yesterday was just a small episode in his life, something he should do as Luo Jun's heir.

Qin Huai has no right to interfere in Luo Jun's funeral; everything must be done according to Luo Jun's wishes. Qin Huai also added Zhou Hu on WeChat yesterday; Qin Huai will be responsible for paying the remaining 50% of the payment, and the two parties must establish contact.

For Qin Huai, contacting Zhou Hu was a matter for the future. His current task was to increase his proficiency, quickly reach the master level in dough making, and complete the main quest to unlock An Youyou's memories as soon as possible.

After finishing a piece of glutinous rice cake, Qin Huai switched to workaholic mode and started making snacks like crazy to benefit both new and old customers in Yunzhong Community.

If you were to ask who among these diners was the most excited, it would undoubtedly be Xu Tuqiang, who was so moved by the glutinous rice cake that he almost choked to death.

Five days passed peacefully like this.

Over the past two days, Qin Huai has been diligently improving his proficiency in hairstyling, and his proficiency has increased remarkably, only nine points away from breaking through to the master level.

Under Qin Huai's influence, Zhao Cheng'an also tried his best to slack off as much as possible. In Zhao Cheng'an's words, Qin Huai's dough-making skills were almost at a master level, and if he continued to slack off and didn't change his bad habits from his first life, he would really be beaten to death by his master when he got back.

Master Zhou's phrase "hanging people up to beat them" is never an exaggeration, but a verb. Of course, Master Zhou never actually hung people up to beat them; it's too much trouble. He could just whip them directly, why bother hanging them up?

According to Zhao Cheng'an, although Master Zhou never actually hung him up to beat him, a rumor had circulated at Zhiweiju for many years that he was so naughty and lazy as a child that Master Zhou would get so angry that he would hang him up and beat him every night. Zhao Cheng'an had never known who spread this rumor before, but now he knew.

However, it is a cause for celebration in a sense that Zhao Cheng'an has stopped slacking off. Qin Huai is considering whether to observe him for a couple more days and, once he is sure that Zhao Cheng'an is really determined to work hard, let him eat some glutinous rice cakes every day to help him improve his cooking skills.

As for the amusement park annual pass, Ouyang lived up to expectations and got it from his parents. Although he didn't understand why Ouyang's parents liked getting all sorts of passes, considering that Ouyang would eventually take them all, and if Ouyang got one, Qin Huai would get one too, Qin Huai didn't ask any questions.

On the day An Youyou received the annual pass, she was so excited that she volunteered to work an extra hour, and for a moment the entire Cloud Cafeteria was filled with the atmosphere of a workaholic.
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On an ordinary afternoon in Qinhuai, after finishing work and preparing to go home, lie on the sofa, play on his phone for a while, eat something, and then go to sleep, Gong Liang suggested in the group chat whether he wanted to have a tea party at Luo Jun's house.

This was the first time Gong Liang had taken the initiative to request a tea party.

Except for Qu Jing, who couldn't make it due to her night shift, everyone else readily agreed, including Luo Jun.

Luo Jun has been quite busy these past few days. Zhou Hu is very efficient, arranging for different opera troupes to audition at Luo Jun's house every day. Luo Jun has very high requirements for the opera troupes; their singing skills and stage presence are both indispensable. Zhou Hu arranged for four opera troupes to audition, but Luo Jun was not satisfied with any of them.

Back when Luo Jun was obsessed with watching plays in Shanghai, he only watched the top-notch opera troupes. Even the opera troupe that Liu Tao belonged to, which was supposedly from the countryside and became famous because Luo Jun took a liking to Liu Tao, had already gained some fame in Shanghai before Luo Jun became aware of them.

The fact that a rural opera troupe could make a name for itself in Shanghai back then is enough to prove that its skills were not bad.

The opera troupes that Zhou Hu had, which were actually performing in the countryside, wouldn't be enough for Luo Jun.

However, although Luo Jun was a picky client, he was also a very generous and quick-paying one. With Luo Jun's money and the type of opera being irrelevant as long as the performance was good, Zhou Hu immediately asked people to find opera troupes in other places, fearing that if he was too slow, Luo Jun would not be able to hold on and would die first.

After meeting Luo Jun, Zhou Hu subtly inquired about Luo Jun's life, personality, hobbies, and age from Chen Huihong. Fearing she might say too much and make a mistake, Chen Huihong directly told Zhou Hu that Luo Jun seemed to be in good health, but was already 92 and most likely wouldn't live past this year; he might be lucky enough to survive the New Year.

Zhou Hu immediately realized the seriousness of the matter and the urgency of time. Fearing that his efficiency might prevent the customer from securing the big order before he could see the complete solution, he became extremely attentive and went all out.

In a sense, Zhou Hu and Luo Jun have been quite workaholics these past few days; they've probably been in workaholic mode for the past few days.

Before heading to Luo Jun's house for the tea party, Qin Huai checked his game stats and confirmed that he was only 9 points away from mastering the dough-making skill. As he walked towards Luo Jun's house, Qin Huai mentally calculated when he could use up those 9 points and how many A+ grade desserts he could make once he reached master level.

Therefore, Qin Huai's current goal is to upgrade the dough-making skill to the Master level, but Qin Huai always feels that upgrading the dough-making skill to the Master level does not mean that the main quest can be completed.

Qin Huai's recipe book has some simple desserts, but even simple desserts can't be leveled up by a single skill unless that skill level is really high. The only A+ grade dessert Qin Huai has made so far is Guo'er, which he made in collaboration with Huang Shengli. He is well aware of how difficult A+ grade desserts are.

Of course, it's also possible that he's the chosen one, and with the upgrade of the dough, all the pastries will quickly soar to A+ grade.

That's how "power fantasy" stories are written. Don't worry about whether it makes sense or not; the protagonist's life in a power fantasy doesn't need to be logical.

As for whether Qin Huai is a protagonist in a wish-fulfillment novel...

Qin Huai refused to answer the question, since he felt his story was quite enjoyable, much more so than Zhao Cheng'an's and Tan Weian's.

When Qin Huai arrived at Luo Jun's house, everyone else had already arrived, including Zhao Cheng'an.

Because he's switched to workaholic mode, Qin Huai doesn't leave work on time every day, and he usually has to make extra snacks, but that's just Qin Huai's workaholic mode. Zhao Cheng'an's workaholic mode is not leaving early; for him, not slacking off is the greatest respect he can show to his work.

When Qin Huai entered, Luo Jun was sitting in a beanbag chair looking at the funeral hall setup.

As a wealthy and powerful client, Luo Jun didn't want to see the design drawings; he just wanted to see the actual scene. Zhou Hu was busy designing the funeral hall every day, and the expenses for flowers just these few days were enough for an ordinary person to hold a funeral. However, Luo Jun was still not satisfied, feeling that he hadn't chosen his favorite combination, and told Zhou Hu to keep trying and changing.

If Zhou Hu and the florist were colluding to take kickbacks, he should have already made a fortune by now.

"Mr. Gong, what brings you here today that you suddenly decided to have a tea party?" Qin Huai asked as soon as he entered.

Gong Liang was sitting at the dining table drinking tea with Chen Gong when he heard Qin Huai ask this question. He smiled slightly and said, "Of course, it's because I have something to discuss with everyone."

"You also want to design a funeral?" Qin Huai boldly guessed.

Gong Liang smiled and shook his head, poured Qin Huai a cup of tea, and gestured for Qin Huai to sit down. As Qin Huai sat down, he glanced into the kitchen and saw Zhao Cheng'an and Chen Huihong eating durian there.

The two of them squatted in the kitchen eating durian, with the kitchen door tightly closed to prevent the smell of durian from wafting into the living room—a very thoughtful gesture.

"Sister Hong and Zhao Cheng'an..."

“If I speak louder, they should be able to hear me,” Gong Liang said. “These past few days, besides having tea with Accountant Wang in the kitchen, I’ve also chatted quite a bit with Xu Tuqiang at table number 9.”

"Ah, you chatted with Grandpa Xu?" Qin Huai was a little surprised. He had been engrossed in making pastries these past few days and hadn't paid any attention to what others were doing.

Gong Liang nodded again: "When Xiao Qin said you found Zhou Hu's side business at the entrance of the community, I kept an eye on it and asked Xu Tuqiang about it indirectly these past few days."

"I think Zhou Hu must be a spirit or monster."

"What?! Xiao Zhou is actually a spirit? How did you find out? How come I didn't notice! I've had Xiao Zhou on WeChat for over half a month, and we chat on WeChat every day." Chen Huihong's shocked voice came from the kitchen. At this moment, Chen Huihong didn't care about being scolded by Luo Jun for opening the kitchen door, and she pulled open the kitchen door. "Are you sure you're not mistaken, Gong Liang? Although the chances of encountering spirits around us are quite high, it shouldn't be this high."

"Chen Huihong, are you sick? Why did you open the kitchen door? You're so loud, do you think we can't hear you talking in there?" Luo Jun said angrily.

Chen Huihong silently closed the kitchen door and muttered, "We used to be able to eat durian in the living room, why can't we eat it now? If we can't eat it, why did we buy so much? It's a waste if we don't eat it."

"You think I won't hear you just because you close the door and speak softly?"

Gong Liang interrupted their daily argument with a smile: "Mr. Luo, don't be angry. The smell will dissipate after a few minutes of ventilation by opening the window."

"Actually, the first time I met Zhou Hu, I felt that he might be a spirit. I could even guess a little about his race. He looked a lot like a friend I knew before I took my tribulation. We should be of the same race."

"What race?" Qin Huai asked.

"According to the Classic of Mountains and Seas, it should be a nine-tailed fox. However, the foxes in our area do not have nine tails, but only one, which symbolizes auspiciousness. Although it is not as auspicious as the Dang Kang or Wen Yao fish, it can still be considered an auspicious beast."

"A nine-tailed fox is an auspicious beast?" Qin Huai felt that something was wrong. "In TV dramas, aren't nine-tailed foxes usually fox demons? Like Daji, they don't sound like positive characters."

Luo Jun snorted coldly: "Stop watching those brainless TV dramas. Didn't you hear what Gong Liang said? It only has one tail, so it can't be considered a nine-tailed fox. It's just an ordinary fox."

"Those beasts love to hang out with foxes the most. One is good at deceiving and the other is good at acting. The fox is also quite strong, and if all else fails, they can even steal from you. If you live next door to them, you can be tricked by them until you're completely broke."

Shi DaDa:......

What could Shi Dadan do? He could only give a simple, honest smile.

Gong Liang also clarified on the spot: "Mr. Luo, you are exaggerating. We just like to do some small business together."

"So, Mr. Gong, what makes you think Zhou Hu is a fox?"

"Because I heard from my friend about their clan's way of transcending tribulations."

“Each race has its own method for undergoing tribulation. Although foxes are quite powerful, they are far inferior to ferocious beasts like Mr. Luo. Although they are auspicious, they are not as naturally gifted as Dang Kang or Wenyao. They are good at speaking and can play the victim, but they are not as good as us E's beasts in terms of words. At the same time, because they are smart, they cannot undergo tribulation in a muddled and confused manner.”

“There are many such spirits in our area. For them, mastering a skill is the best way to overcome tribulations.”

"The fox's skills are feng shui, divination, and fortune telling."

"The principle is the same as the three-legged toad begging for food and occupying the mountain as king. Having a skill makes it easier to survive. No matter what era, as long as you have good skills and eloquence, a fortune teller can always make a living."

Qin Huai: ...

Are the foxes over there... so innocent yet rife with deception?

Following this logic, Zhou Hu fits the bill quite well.

(End of this chapter)