The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 547 The Value of Express Orders
Using the excuse of needing to discuss the matter of noodles with Zhou Hu, Qin Huai took over Ouyang's task of delivering dinner to the two of them after work on the 6th day and went to the hospital.

That evening, Zhou Hu and Zhao Cheng'an had potato dumplings and potato buns for dinner.

Zhao Cheng'an's face turned green when he saw the two pastries. Although Qin Huai had been making very ordinary home-style pastries lately, they were all quite good. Zhao Cheng'an spent his days in the hospital with nothing to do but eat pastries, chat, and consult fortune tellers. He did want to bother people online, but there weren't many people he could bother.

Luo Jun is very free, but Zhao Cheng'an doesn't dare to bother him. Tan Weian loves to gossip and slack off, but he also has to work and doesn't dare to openly use his phone during work hours.

On the first day, Zhao Cheng'an chatted with Xia Murui until 3 a.m., which earned him a warning from Zhang Guanghang. On the second and third days, he switched to chatting with Xia Murui during the day, but Xia Murui kept him so engrossed in conversation that he didn't even have time to cook. Fenyuan only served five tables of guests those two days. Zhang Guanghang, unable to bear it any longer, called Zhao Cheng'an directly, saying he had already booked a flight from Beiping to Shanshi and planned to visit Zhao Cheng'an in the hospital sometime.

After assessing the height difference between the two, Zhao Cheng'an realized he definitely couldn't beat Zhang Guanghang, so he gave up harassing Xia Murui and could only stay in the ward every day watching TV dramas with Zhou Hu.

Zhao Cheng'an doesn't like watching TV dramas.

He's a restless person; he's quite willing to watch TV dramas while slacking off at work. But he'd much rather go out and have fun, even if it's just a picnic in the park or seeing lions and tigers at the zoo.

In these boring days, Zhao Cheng'an's only hope was the meals Ouyang brought him, wondering what delicious food he could eat that day.

In conclusion, when Zhao Cheng'an saw the potato dumplings and potato buns in the lunchbox, he felt utterly hopeless. Although the potato dumplings were his recipe, he stubbornly insisted to Qin Huai that the potato dumplings were delicious, the recipe was perfect, and that rank shouldn't be used to restrict desserts; potato dumplings also had their own unique charm.

But if Zhao Cheng'an had to choose, he would definitely pick soy sauce noodles, three-ingredient buns, five-ingredient buns, four-happiness glutinous rice balls, fresh meat wontons, and soup dumplings...

Potato dumplings? That's from my first life, I'm not familiar with them.

Qin Huai, who was delivering the food, completely ignored Zhao Cheng'an's sad expression and sat down by Zhou Hu's bedside to discuss the matter of the noodles.

While eating dumplings, Zhou Hu listened to the price quotes from Qin Huai. He took a bite of a dumpling and was surprised to find that it was filled with potatoes. He exclaimed, "Hey, it's actually a potato dumpling."

Qin Huai nodded: "The new product we're developing recently isn't very successful. If you don't like it, give all the potato dumplings to Zhao Cheng'an. The potato buns are a little tastier, but potato filling is more suitable for buns."

Zhao Cheng'an: ?

Zhou Hu shook his head to indicate that he didn't need it and continued eating his dumplings, while nodding repeatedly to show that he accepted Qin Huai's offer.

The two finalized the noodle and fruit gift box agreement in just five or six minutes. Qin Huai did not guarantee the quantity or quality control, but only the lowest price. Like the noodle and fruit gift box he sold to Chen Yingjun before, the noodle and fruit gift box that Qin Huai sold to Zhou Hu would also contain four kinds of noodle and fruit: apple noodle and fruit, orange noodle and fruit, kiwi noodle and fruit, and banana noodle and fruit.

With the apple-shaped pasta filling as a safety net, even if the other three pasta fillings fail, Zhou Hu won't lose money buying the gift box.

Zhou Hu has connections to customize gift boxes, while Qin Huai only needs to inform Zhou Hu of the number of gift boxes to be delivered to his regular customers via Flash Delivery.

Since the daily supply volume in Qinhuai cannot be determined, payments are settled daily in cash.

It's clear that Zhou Hu has wanted to give back to his loyal customers for a long time. Basically, Zhou Hu nodded and said no problem with whatever Qin Huai said, as long as the price was cheap enough, Zhou Hu had no objections.

Towards the end of the conversation, Qin Huai mentioned Xu Tuqiang.

"I let Grandpa Xu eat in the kitchen today. I made up an excuse to have him taste the potato dumplings for me. Grandpa Xu should be quite happy."

Wang Gensheng was not very happy.

Xu Tuqiang's entry into the kitchen brought Wang Gensheng a great sense of crisis. It wasn't that he felt he had a competitor, but rather that the extremely responsible Mr. Wang began to wonder if it was because his professional skills were too poor that Qin Huai had to call another taster into the kitchen to eat.

Wang Gensheng felt guilty for not living up to the special meals Qin Huai had provided him with these past few days. Today, he severely reprimanded himself, realizing that he shouldn't have indulged in crab shell pastries, soy sauce noodles, locust flower steamed buns, fresh meat wontons, and crab roe soup dumplings.

Admittedly, those snacks were much tastier than potato dumplings.

But making potato dumplings was his responsibility.

According to Shi Dadan, Wang Gensheng started muttering to himself while eating today, saying things like, "Wang Gensheng, Wang Gensheng, how could you do this to Master Qin?" and "Wang Gensheng, from today onwards you can only eat potato dumplings. You absolutely cannot eat anything else, not even locust flower steamed buns, no matter how delicious they are."

Xu Tuqiang quietly asked Shi Dadan if Wang Gensheng's Alzheimer's disease had relapsed and if the previous failure to diagnose him was actually a misdiagnosis.

Qin Huai thought this was fine too.

Although Zhou Hu's order was urgent, Wang Gensheng's task wasn't, but the progress on the potato dumplings was... practically nonexistent.

Previously, they were stuck on the progress, and the potato dumpling team had no idea where they were. Qin Huai didn't know the direction, nor could he confirm the recipe, and Wang Gensheng couldn't say anything either. Not only was Grandpa Wang's food review not very good, but his memory was also not very good.

Qin Huai felt that Wang Gensheng wasn't unable to describe the taste of the potato dumplings he ate when he was young; he genuinely didn't remember them very well, otherwise he wouldn't be unable to describe them at all.

Qin Huai could only deduce from Wang Gensheng's lack of memory that the potato dumplings Xu Nuo made were probably not of high quality. Because if they were truly delicious, Wang Gensheng wouldn't have forgotten them entirely.

The task was stuck on Wang Gensheng's memory, and Qin Huai himself didn't like making potato dumplings, which is why the task remained at a standstill.

Now, bringing in Xu Tuqiang to give Wang Gensheng a bit more intensity, urging Grandpa Wang to search for his lost memories, is a good idea, Qin Huai thinks.

For the sake of the mission, we have no choice but to let Grandpa Wang suffer a bit.

Therefore, Qin Huai originally only intended for Xu Tuqiang to have a taste of the experience, sit in the kitchen and eat for a day, and then return to table number 9. Now Qin Huai thinks Xu Tuqiang can eat in the kitchen for a few more days.

It doesn't matter anyway.

Before leaving get off work today, Qin Huai directly invited Xu Tuqiang to sit in the kitchen again tomorrow for a meal. Xu Tuqiang was so happy that he said he would definitely write the food review tonight even if he didn't sleep, and his creative enthusiasm was high.

“Mr. Xu Tuqiang also sent me a WeChat message, saying that I was right. One good luck charm is enough. Buying more may not only fail to bring good luck, but may also backfire.” Zhou Hu always addresses his customers with their full name and title. “I really want to thank you, Master Qin, for this matter. I tried to persuade Mr. Xu Tuqiang so many times before, but nothing I said worked.”

"These clients are often like this: if you advise them too little, they might not listen; if you advise them too much, they might have the opposite effect and go to other so-called fortune tellers."

"By the way, Master Qin, there's something I'd like to ask you about."

Qin Huai gestured for Zhou Hu to speak, and Zhou Hu slowly asked, "Is Mr. Luo Jun nearing his end?"

Qin Huai: ?
Nine-tailed fox, what's wrong with you?

So you're the bravest of all these spirits! You dared to curse Bifang even before you woke up. "Wh...what do you mean?" Qin Huai was a little confused, wondering where Zhou Hu got his conclusion from—was it from his hospital experience?

Zhou Hu carefully considered his words and said cautiously, "I think Mr. Luo's temper and mood have been quite good these past few days. Mr. Luo was not satisfied with any of the plans we had proposed before, whether it was the arrangement of the mourning hall, the construction of the venue in the village, or the opera troupes I had gathered from various places."

"Not only are we dissatisfied, but our dissatisfaction is quite obvious."

"Sister Hong also told me that Mr. Luo has a very bad temper and is not very polite in his speech. I have indeed experienced this recently. It is understandable. Mr. Luo is so old and doesn't have much time left. He must want to give himself a perfect funeral. Although we in this industry rarely deal directly with the clients, we have encountered a few who have very high requirements and are quite demanding."

"Mr. Luo is particularly demanding."

"I'd like to inquire about Mr. Luo's illness. Has the hospital issued a diagnosis yet?"

Qin Huai: "...We can't really say either. What exactly happened?"

Zhou Hu took a deep breath and said directly, "Mr. Luo has been in a particularly good mood these past few days."

"I've been hospitalized these past few days and can't leave. The funeral hall setup was done by a few employees from our company. Relatively speaking, their business skills aren't as good as mine, and the plan they came up with wasn't as good as the previous version, in my opinion. But Mr. Luo wasn't too harsh. He even spoke in a much more tactful tone and brought out the previously rejected plan, saying that we could just revise it and see how it went."

"Mr. Luo was not satisfied with the village stage setup. In principle, the opera troupe should be selected first, and then the stage setup should be arranged. But I have limited resources. Mr. Luo was not satisfied with any of the opera troupes I found. The only option left is to find a very famous troupe, or even a provincial opera troupe."

"Since the opera troupe can't be finalized, the stage setup needs to be prepared in advance. Mr. Luo was originally very dissatisfied with this, but his attitude has changed in the last two days. He even told me that there's no need to bother looking in other provinces. If all else fails, there was an opera troupe that could perform the Butterfly Lovers song that was passable."

"Under normal circumstances, we rarely encounter customers whose attitudes change so drastically, unless..."

Qin Huai understood.

Zhou Hu rattled off such a long string of words, mainly to express a core idea: a person's words are good when they are about to die.

Considering Zhou Hu's profession, Qin Huai figured Zhou Hu was probably worried that Luo Jun wouldn't live much longer and would soon pass away. For such a large order, finalized in advance, to drag it out until the client's funeral without a complete plan would be a serious dereliction of duty.

Zhou Hu felt that he had a good relationship with Qin Huai recently, and wanted to subtly inquire about Luo Jun's exact number of days left to live, so that he could expedite the funeral preparations.

“Mr. Luo is just plain eccentric,” Qin Huai said. “If he expresses satisfaction, Zhou, you’d better follow up immediately, because he might not be satisfied in a couple of days.”

Zhou Hu nodded solemnly, indicating that he had remembered.

However, Qin Huai felt that Luo Jun was unlikely to be dissatisfied.

Zhou Hu's professional skills are undeniable, and he is now a confirmed spirit. Luo Jun is very tolerant of his own kind, especially those who are not yet awakened.

Not to mention that Zhou Hu was an intermediary in the rush order.

Luo Jun became more tolerant during this period entirely because Qin Huai discovered that Zhou Hu was actually in a very bad mental state when he placed the urgent order. Luo Jun was afraid that if he went all out and started nitpicking, he might accidentally make Zhou Hu withdraw into himself and become like the mayfly next door who was reincarnated before him.

Well, in a sense, Bi Fang's words were indeed kind as he lay dying.

Zhao Cheng'an, who was munching on a potato bun on the next bed, interjected, "Has Luo Jun's funeral arrangements been finalized yet? If not, I think we could add a carousel next to the stage for him; he really likes carousels."

Qin Huai: "Just eat your potato buns."

They'll add a carousel too, but be careful, Luo Jun might tie you to a horse and make you spin around.

Qin Huai smiled at Zhou Hu and said, "Planner Zhou, remember to come to Yunzhong Cafeteria for a meal when you have time after you are discharged from the hospital. If you want, you can also have a meal at Mr. Luo's house."

"When there are many people, we can finalize the funeral details together."

"Mr. Luo might be so happy that he'll pay you the remaining 25% on the spot."

Zhou Hu, of course, did not agree on the spot. Going to the client's house for dinner was far too presumptuous for Zhou Hu at this stage.

However, Qin Huai never fights unprepared battles. As soon as he left the hospital, he sent a message in the group chat to prepare for the next tea party that Zhou Hu might attend.

Luo Jun had no objection to this. As long as he was not allowed to go out, had tangerine peel tea to drink every day, and a few snacks that he thought tasted good enough to be eaten as a meal, and the TV dramas were not too bad, he could get by.

Luo Jun has been quite peaceful and loving lately.

That evening, everyone finalized the tea party in the group chat, urging Zhao Cheng'an, who was still in the hospital, to take the opportunity to persuade Zhou Hu to say a few more words, and ideally, to persuade him to go straight to Luo Jun's house for the tea party as soon as he was discharged.

Time is running out for Zhao Cheng'an.

In theory, Zhao Cheng'an should have returned to Zhiweiju as soon as he was discharged from the hospital.

Master Zhou reasoned that since Zhao Cheng'an had just been discharged from the hospital, it was not advisable for him to take a long-distance flight immediately. He suggested that delaying his attendance at the final tea party by a day or two, but Master Zhou would definitely not agree to it if it went on for too long.

Unless Zhao Cheng'an can have a major epiphany in the hospital and return to Zhiweiju with a stunning performance, letting all the staff and diners know that the brilliant Zhao Cheng'an of yesteryear has returned.

Zhao Cheng'an has had this dream for a long time, and he often wakes up laughing.

On the second day, Qin Huai went to work as usual.

At 6 a.m., Xu Tuqiang arrived at the Yunzhong Canteen right on time. Under the envious and jealous gazes of the elderly, he happily strode into the kitchen with his head held high.

Xu Tuqiang took a small bottle.

"Master Qin," Xu Tuqiang shook the small bottle, "this is some pickled vegetable my daughter gave me yesterday. She said it was pickled at home by her colleague, and I brought it over today for everyone to try. Master Qin, come and make some for breakfast later, and have a taste of the pickled vegetables!"

Qin Huai glanced at the small bottle in Xu Tuqiang's hand. It looked like a small bottle for storing pickled olives sold in supermarkets. Using such a bottle to store pickled vegetables showed that it was indeed homemade.

"Sure," Qin Huai said with a smile. "Then I'll make some soy sauce noodles later, which will go perfectly with the pickled vegetables."

(End of this chapter)