The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 542 [Dang Kang's Breakfast]

Ouyang didn't actually understand the conversation. While Shi Dadan and the others were anxiously chatting, and Qin Huai came down and whispered among himself, Ouyang was completely bewildered, thinking, "I can understand every single word you're saying, but I can't understand them when they're put together. Is this still China? Could I have traveled through time?"

That's often how people are: if an odd person is among a group of normal people, that odd person just seems odd. But if a normal person is among a group of odd people, that normal person is the odd one.

Ouyang wondered if his head was buzzing and his mind was a mess after getting off the roller coaster, which was why he couldn't understand what everyone was saying. He never doubted that everyone actually had a problem.

Qin Huai immediately noticed Ouyang's confusion.

Of course, it's also clear that Zhou Hu's situation isn't very good.

The person holding the trash can, occasionally providing background noise, seems to be the one who most needs our attention.

The fox's physical condition isn't very good; it's only been on three roller coasters before it's like this.

Qin Huai took the bag of snacks from Ouyang and gave him a glorious but arduous task—to take Zhou Hu to the hospital.

Ouyang himself wasn't particularly interested in amusement parks, so he readily agreed. If he liked amusement parks, given his parents' ability to sell all sorts of annual passes, he would spend at least 350 days a year there.

Once Ouyang, the only outsider, left, everyone surrounded Qin Huai again. This time, Zhao Cheng'an squeezed in, the most excited and the loudest. If circumstances allowed, he would have rushed up to Qin Huai, hugged him, shook his shoulders wildly, and questioned him loudly.

"Qin Huai, you just said you've figured it out. How did you figure it out? What did you figure out? Didn't you just level up in the dough-making game? How did you figure it out so quickly?" Unbeknownst to him, Zhao Cheng'an had already become like Tan Weian.

Qin Huai briefly recounted the amazing sensations he had experienced on the roller coaster, as well as his recent obsession with locust flower steamed buns and his emotional journey. There was no doubt or confusion, only pure openness and contentment.

Throughout the narration, Qin Huai felt that expressing how much she loved locust flower steamed buns, how great and fascinating this snack was, was a wonderful experience.

Everyone was stunned. No one spoke; they all looked at each other blankly. They exchanged glances, signaling to each other, "You're usually so talkative, why don't you say something now?"

This look was mainly given by Luo Jun to Chen Huihong.

Chen Huihong pretended to be blind and couldn't see it.

Amidst the silence, only Zhao Cheng'an remained lost in his own world, chattering on and on: "How could I understand? I've been with Qin Huai every day lately, and I haven't noticed anything wrong with him. What's so special about locust flower steamed buns? They're just tastier steamed buns, aren't they?"

"Isn't this just... a steamed bun?"

"Why did Qin Huai understand so quickly, while I didn't understand at all? Haven't I already woken up? I was the one who watched Chef Jiang and Chef Chen cook! I have the most textbook knowledge in my head! I'm quite talented too! I'm a genius!"

"Why? Why is this?!"

"Why can Qin Huai comprehend this but I can't? Is it because he has a system? I'm still just a mayfly!"

"So noisy!" Luo Junren and Zhao Chengan had tolerated it for two minutes, but seeing that he kept muttering and showed no sign of stopping, Luo Junren could no longer bear it and shouted angrily, "Do you even know you're a mayfly? Anyone who didn't know better would think you were a chirping bird in a tree, all you do all day long is make a racket."

Little Bird Qu Jing: ?
Zhao Cheng'an felt wronged, but he was genuinely afraid of Bi Fang, so he chose to keep quiet and dared not speak.

"And you too." Luo Jun turned his fire on Qin Huai, unleashing his full power. "So what if you've got enlightenment? Who do you think you are, making such a big fuss? Just because you have a game system doesn't mean you're all that. People who don't know better will think you're a male protagonist from a fantasy novel, about to undergo tribulation and ascend to immortality, and a bunch of people have come to watch you. Long mouths are for speaking, not for you to be silent and shut up, then utter a sentence to show off."

"I was perfectly fine by the carousel, and Chen Huihong thought something had happened to you, so she pushed my wheelchair over here. Does that mean you've ridden 10 roller coasters in a row? You think you're the only one who can ride roller coasters?"

"You've been talking for so long without getting to the point. Kang said you took Zhou Hu to a dessert shop. What, did you trigger a side quest?"

If Luo Jun hadn't reminded him, Qin Huai would have almost forgotten about it.

When Qin Huai triggered Zhou Hu's side quest, he didn't immediately mention it in the group chat. Instead, he led Zhou Hu to the roller coaster, and once they got on, they couldn't stop. Side quests, main quests, recipe storylines—all of that vanished from his mind. He was filled with a wonderful feeling of enlightenment.

To prevent Luo Jun from getting too angry, Qin Huai quickly recounted the version of the story he had just heard from Zhou Hu, and started a tea party right there on the bench next to the roller coaster.

For some reason, Qin Huai felt that people didn't seem to care much about Zhou Hu's story, and everyone seemed a little distracted while listening.

After Qin Huai finished speaking, Luo Jun glanced around at everyone and made the final decision: "Alright, it's not a big deal, let's continue playing."

Everyone agreed, except Zhao Cheng'an, who was still wondering why Qin Huaiwu had progressed so quickly while he was still stuck in the same place.

Chen Huihong pushed Luo Jun back to the carousel. There were two carousels in the amusement park, one with a pumpkin carriage and one without. The one with the pumpkin carriage was relatively more popular, and the line was full of parents with children. The combination of Chen Huihong pushing an elderly person in a wheelchair was very eye-catching, and many children recognized Luo Jun and Chen Huihong.

Some of the more energetic children saw Luo Jun and Chen Huihong return and ran over to Luo Jun, saying, "Grandpa, can we ride in a pumpkin carriage together later? I want to ride in a pumpkin carriage."

Qin Huai saw with his own eyes that Luo Jun's face turned green.

When Qin Huai was riding the roller coaster, everyone actually went off separately. While Qin Huai was chatting with Zhou Hu at the dessert shop, the group of spirits rode the carousel together for a while, and then split up into pairs.

Qu Jing and Chen Huihong accompanied Luo Jun to continue queuing for the carousel, Gong Liang and Chen Gong went to the pirate ship, Zhao Cheng'an wandered around, and Shi Dadan had no interest in the amusement park rides and was only interested in finding a sausage stand.

Later, everyone gathered together again because of Qin Huai. At Chen Huihong's suggestion, everyone decided to accompany Luo Jun to ride the carousel again, as a way of taking care of the elderly.

Luo Jun responded to this by saying:

Chen Huihong, are you sick?!
Qin Huai and Shi Dadan stood at the back of the line.

There were several tourists between the two and the crowd in front of them. The reason for this was that Shi Dadan was so engrossed in eating the grilled sausages at the amusement park that he went out and bought two more. Qin Huai separated from the rest of the queue to wait for Shi Dadan.

No problem. If Qin Huai and Shi Dadan don't get on the same carousel as everyone else, Qin Huai can stand on the side and take videos for everyone up close.

Then they used the video to blackmail Luo Jun, forcing him to pay Zhou Hu a 25% deposit. (Just kidding.)

"Qin Huai, the sausages at this stall are the best. The meat is of good quality. Eat them while they're hot." Shi Dadan happily handed the sausages to Qin Huai.

Qin Huai took the grilled sausage, took a bite, and thought it was alright, better than the grilled sausages from the convenience store across the street.

The convenience store owner's cooking skills are indeed a bit lacking. He doesn't crack the tea eggs, doesn't poke the sausages, and the boiled corn isn't sweet. It's a waste to keep food in a convenience store.

"Old Shi," Qin Huai asked, chewing on a grilled sausage, his words slightly muffled, "Does Fox have a bad reputation over there?"

"No," Shi Dadan said. "Qin Huai, do you think foxes represent cunning and treacherousness? Nine-tailed foxes are usually not good characters in TV dramas, so you think foxes are not suitable?"

"Foxes are considered auspicious beasts in our area." "Their reputation... is alright. If we're really talking about bad reputations, there are many creatures with much worse reputations than foxes, like the E's beast, Bifang, Qiongqi... Actually, there's nothing really good or bad about them. People usually only have personal grudges and don't escalate them to the level of race."

"Why do you ask so suddenly?"

Qin Huai thought for a moment and said, "Because I feel like none of you really care about Zhou Hu."

"When I mentioned Zhou Hu's side quest earlier, you all seemed a bit distracted. I thought it was because Fox doesn't have a good reputation among you, and you don't really like him, so you weren't interested in Zhou Hu's story."

"But I'm not entirely sure, because when Zhou Hu was mentioned at the last tea party at Mr. Luo's house, it didn't seem like anyone had any obvious aversion to him."

"I just feel like something's off."

Shi Dadan took a bite of the grilled sausage, chewed and swallowed, seemingly choking a bit. After a dozen seconds, he said, "It's not that I'm not interested, it's just that Qin Huai, you were a bit scary just now."

"We all thought you had depression and wanted to commit suicide."

Qin Huai: ?
"Do I look like I have depression?" Qin Huai was stunned.

"It's hard to say." Shi Dadan was quite honest. "Some people look perfectly fine, but they die the next second. Like mayflies, they are normal before they die in each life, but suddenly they can't think straight and die."

Qin Huai: ...

Qin Huai smiled helplessly. He knew that riding 10 roller coasters in a row seemed a bit abnormal, but he thought that given the tolerance of the spirits, they wouldn't make a fuss about such a thing.

However, considering that everyone was actually concerned about him, Qin Huai felt a warm feeling in his heart.

"Old Shi, I feel like the pastries I make after I get back today will taste even better than before," Qin Huai said, his voice brimming with excitement. "I've been making locust flower steamed buns and potato dumplings these past few days, and haven't made any of your favorite pastries. What would you like to eat for breakfast tomorrow?"

Shi Dadan thought for a moment, then smiled憨厚ly: "Anything is fine. Qin Huai, you make such delicious pastries, I'll eat anything."

No sooner had Shi Dadan finished speaking than the game notification sound rang in Qin Huai's mind again.

"Ding! Congratulations, player, you have discovered a new side quest, [Don Kang's Breakfast]. Please check it in the game panel."

Qin Huai was taken aback, not expecting such an unexpected surprise.

Shi Dadan is a spirit that has already awakened. Qin Huai has found several side quests on Shi Dadan. There are still two side quests on Shi Dadan that have not been completed. Qin Huai never thought that there could be more side quests on Shi Dadan.

It's a real gem!

Considering that they were currently in a queue, Qin Huai restrained himself slightly, raising his hand subtly and opening the game panel less blatantly.

[Dang Kang's Breakfast]: The day's plan starts in the morning, and for Dang Kang, breakfast is the key to starting his day's meals. Players are invited to prepare breakfast for Dang Kang for 1000 consecutive days to help him achieve the "1000 Days of Delicious Breakfasts" achievement.

Mission Reward: [A Memory of Shi Dadan]

Qin Huai: ...?
The side quest is so simple and straightforward, yet so inexplicably strange.

Shi Dadan also has this dream: a thousand days of delicious breakfasts. It sounds delicious!

Qin Huai felt a little like scratching his head.

This task seems simple, but it is actually quite difficult. To make breakfast for Shi Dadan for 1000 consecutive days, Shi Dadan needs to stay by Qin Huai's side for 1000 consecutive days.

That's unrealistic.

First of all, Qin Huai goes home for the Spring Festival, and Shi Dadan also goes home for the Spring Festival.

Although they are from the same city, they are from different counties and townships. Qin Huai can't possibly invite Shi Dadan's whole family to Qin Family Village for the Spring Festival for three consecutive years.

Secondly, although Shi Dadan has been away from home lately, spending his time eating and drinking along the Qinhuai River, he is actually a rather family-oriented person. Unlike Chen Gong, who is unmarried, has a distant relationship with his parents, and is solely devoted to his boss.

Shi Dadan has a wife and children. He is away from home when his children are in school, but he goes home to be with his wife and children when they are on vacation.

It's impossible for Qin Huai to run away from Shanshi to Guangdong Province every winter and summer vacation, and rent a shop near Shi Dadan's neighborhood to sell breakfast.

"What's wrong?" Shi Dadan noticed Qin Huai's hesitation and boldly guessed, "Did you just find my...side quest?"

Qin Huai could only read the mission details to Shi Dadan, who remained silent after listening.

Qin Huai exclaimed, "Old Shi, I never expected you to love my breakfast so much that you could actually find this 'Thousand Days of Breakfast' side quest."

Focusing on quality is no longer enough for Shi Dadan; now he needs to focus on quantity.

Shi Dadan was a little embarrassed and lowered his head slightly: "Xiao Qin, the breakfast you make is really delicious. I would like to eat it every day."

“It’s actually easy to arrange for the Spring Festival. Your Qin Family Village isn’t too far from our village, only a two-hour drive. I can drive there for breakfast every day, since breakfast is the first meal of the day anyway.”

“It’s just that the summer and winter vacations are a bit of a hassle…” Shi Dadan thought for a moment, “There should be a good shop near the entrance of my neighborhood. I’ll go and look for one for you, Xiao Qin.”

"If my son and daughter could have breakfast made by you, Xiao Qin, every morning, they probably wouldn't want to go out during the holidays."

Qin Huai: ...I never expected that someone as handsome as you, Kang, would be so good at poaching other people's partners.

In just a few words, it became clear that diners in Yunzhong Community would rarely see Chef Qin during winter and summer vacations.

However, Qin Huai was indeed somewhat tempted.

The three-year mission cycle is already long. If Shi Dadan can solve the problem of the Spring Festival, then during the winter and summer vacations... Qin Huai wouldn't mind temporarily opening a breakfast shop for a few months at the entrance of Shi Dadan's residential area.

Consider it an effort to benefit the people of my hometown.

(End of this chapter)