The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 576 The deadline is approaching
Wang Jun's words reminded Qin Huai that he did indeed have many pastries that required high skill levels in cooking, which the Yunzhong Canteen couldn't usually make.

The most typical example is longevity noodles.

With Qin Huai's current skill level, he could easily make a bowl of noodles that doesn't require a high-quality broth, achieving a B+ or even A grade. However, longevity noodles have extremely high requirements for the broth. The highest-grade longevity noodles Qin Huai had ever made were those made with Cao Guixiang's clear broth, which unexpectedly resulted in an A+ grade.

The delicious taste of that bowl of noodles still lingers in Qin Huai's memory.

Feeling the sincere blessings from those who love you, wishing you health, longevity, and a peaceful life is a wonderful blessing.

If Wang Jun can consistently provide high-quality broth, Qin Huai believes that longevity noodles will soon become a popular snack at the Cloud Canteen.

Who can resist a bowl of hot chicken noodle soup on a beautiful morning?
Zheng Siyuan couldn't refuse.

"Brother Jun!" Qin Huai asked, his eyes shining, "How's your soup-making skill?"

Wang Jun: ...Did he just mention making broth? Why did he suddenly ask about such an advanced skill? I'm just an ordinary chopping and slicing apprentice in Huang's kitchen.

"Hmm...it's just so-so." Wang Jun's voice became much softer.

"I believe in you, Jun-ge. From now on, your daily task is to make at least two pots of chicken broth. The broth should be clear. Starting tomorrow, our Yunzhong canteen will be selling chicken noodle soup in the morning." Qin Huai encouraged him. "Jun-ge, your cooking skills are so great. From now on, the canteen's chicken noodle soup will depend on you."

Wang Jun: ...

After indulging in two days of cooking, Wang Jun realized that being a chef is not so easy.

Having successfully secured benefits for the family members at the Cloud Canteen, Qin Huai returned to his cooking station to continue preparing desserts after checking on Wang Jun. When Qin Huai returned from his two-week absence, the Cloud Canteen remained largely unchanged.

The guests had long been accustomed to Qin Huai's elusive work style, and had even gotten used to the feeling that it was normal for Master Qin to be away on business trips, and that being stationed there was a pleasant surprise, a feeling of being manipulated.

During those 15 days, Zhou Hu diligently prepared for Luo Jun's funeral, successfully securing a 30% deposit and becoming instantly wealthy. After his sudden wealth, Zhou Hu didn't forget his original intentions; the first thing he did was place an order with Qin Huai for 100 sets of noodle gift boxes.

If all goes well, Zhou Hu's side quest will be completed once Qin Huai finishes making these 100 sets of noodle and fruit gift boxes.

If something unexpected happens...

Let's wait until it's released before making a decision.

Producing 100 sets of noodle gift boxes is a considerable challenge for Qin Huai. Currently, among all the basic skills related to noodle dishes in Qin Huai, finger technique is the weakest, and it's not a skill that can be quickly improved in a short period of time.

This skill, like knife skills, requires practice, a lot of practice, and a lot of time.

Furthermore, Qin Huai felt that finger techniques were a bit more difficult than knife skills because finger techniques really tested a chef's personal aesthetic sense. Even though aesthetics are diverse, Qin Huai believed that there would definitely be people who genuinely felt that the shapes of the noodles were unique and very artistic, but the aesthetics of the noodles were unified.

The goal of making dough figurines is to make them so lifelike that they can be mistaken for real.

Qin Huai couldn't do it.

He was only truly self-taught in making apple-flavored noodles; his other noodle-flavored noodles, like those made with oranges and bananas, were somewhat unworthy of the name and the fruit itself. Although Qin Huai had already issued a disclaimer when persuading Zhou Hu to order noodle gift boxes, stating that the reason this batch of noodles was sold cheaply was due to insufficient skill, and that the name of Master Qin should not be revealed when giving the gift boxes as gifts, Qin Huai still wanted to make good noodles.

When it comes to things for your own people or those you have connections with, you should try your best to do them well, and if you can't, you should create the conditions to do them well.

Master Qin is the kind of person who likes to take care of people he has connections with.

Otherwise, Xu Tuqiang wouldn't have been so eager to get into the kitchen and become one of Qin Huai's closest associates.

Speaking of Xu Tuqiang, Grandpa Xu has been quite emo lately.

He briefly ate in the kitchen before returning to table number 9.

The sense of loss stemming from his past success led Xu Tuqiang to try contacting Zhou Hu to buy another luck-changing talisman, but Zhou Hu sternly refused. Zhou Hu warned Xu Tuqiang that luck-changing talismans only work temporarily, and long-term reliance on them would inevitably backfire. Even if Xu Tuqiang didn't believe in superstitions and bought so-called luck-changing talismans from other fortune tellers, it certainly wouldn't change his luck.

If you don't believe me, Xu Tuqiang can try it. He'll definitely suffer a backlash on the spot, and the more expensive the talisman, the more severe the backlash. If Xu Tuqiang insists on hitting this wall, he can buy some cheaper ones first, such as talismans costing 5, 10, or 50 yuan. It's not recommended to buy talismans costing more than 100 yuan, as the backlash will be very severe.

Xu Tuqiang, as expected, refused to believe in superstitions and went to the area in City A where the most cheap fortune tellers were gathered, spending a huge sum of 50 yuan to buy a luck-changing talisman.

Then came the backlash. Forget about eating it in the kitchen, even the glutinous rice cakes were hard to find. Either they forgot to coat it with sugar, or they coated it with too much sugar, or the texture of the rice cakes was strange and not as good as before. Even worse, sometimes they couldn't buy it at all. If I went to buy glutinous rice cakes at 6 a.m., they weren't ready yet, and by the time I came back from the bathroom in the afternoon, they were all sold out.

Xu Tuqiang was completely bewildered, not understanding what he had done wrong to deserve such divine retribution.

At this point, some people might be wondering, is Xu Tuqiang really that unlucky?

Of course not, it was Qin Huai and Zhou Hu who conspired together.

During Qin Huai's absence, Zhou Hu, through persistent efforts, finally found a theatrical troupe that could barely satisfy Luo Jun. To be precise, it wasn't a theatrical troupe, but rather actors from a provincial opera troupe, or rather, from another province. Zhou Hu pulled strings, and Luo Jun, being wealthy, spent a lot of money to get it.

Since it was unknown when Luo Jun would die, and Luo Jun felt that he was about to die, his requirement for the funeral was that the stage be set up and the opera be performed on the day of his death. This meant that the opera troupe members had to stay in Shanshi on standby.

This request would have been difficult to fulfill, but Luo Jun used his financial resources.

Now the troupe members are based in Shanshi and don't perform in theaters there. They go to Luo Jun's house every day to sing operas, taking turns to sing the operas they know and are good at. If Luo Jun thinks it's good, they'll decide to sing it at his funeral.

Selection of the deceased.

With dramas to watch and shows to listen to every day, Luo Jun's temper improved significantly, and he became more peaceful and loving. He was no longer as demanding of Zhou Hu's team as before. In addition, with the most difficult part resolved, the rest of the work was actually just trivial matters, so the previously busy Zhou Hu had some free time.

When he had free time, he had time to follow Xu Tuqiang.

Yes, we are tracking Xu Tuqiang.

High-level fortune tellers often only require the most basic follow-up.

After two days of surveillance, Zhou Hu successfully caught Xu Tuqiang buying an expensive talisman for 50 yuan from a street vendor. He then quickly contacted Qin Huai and instructed him to stab Xu Tuqiang in the snack he most wanted to change his luck with, giving him a bloody lesson so that he would stay away from feudal superstition and not try to change his luck or get something for nothing through crooked means like fortune telling.

Zhou Hu's series of smooth maneuvers left Qin Huai dumbfounded.

At 5:17 PM, Qin Huai finished get off work and handed over the 19 boxes of steamed buns he had made to Zhou Hu, who had just come from Luo Jun's house.

Having received the 30% deposit and no longer having to bow down for a pittance, Zhou Hu, who started a side business and swindled people to pay off his mortgage, was in high spirits. His whole demeanor had changed, and even his fawning smile didn't seem as obsequious as before.

"I still owe you 41 gift boxes of noodle dumplings. If all goes well, they should all be ready by the day after tomorrow. If you need more, Zhou, you can contact me to place the rest." Qin Huai and Zhou Hu arranged to meet in the underground parking lot.

It's quite convenient; you can simply put the noodle gift box into the trunk of the Zhouhu car.

"Thank you, Master Qin." After several days of delivering meals during his hospital stay and conspiring to steal snacks from Xu Tuqiang, Zhou Hu and Qin Huai had become much more familiar with each other. In his interactions with Qin Huai, Zhou Hu showed less of the respect he would show to the client who would be paying the final payment in the future, and more respect to Master Qin.

"Mr. Luo, are you satisfied with today's performance?" Qin Huai asked.

Luo Jun only listens to operas during the day, while Qin Huai has to work during the day and doesn't have time to go to Luo Jun's house to join in the fun. Chen Huihong, on the other hand, goes to Luo Jun's house to listen to operas every day, and it is said that she sings quite well.

In Chen Huihong's words, the opera singers sang quite well, with strong voices. It was fortunate that they sang during the day, otherwise even if Luo Jun bought all the houses in the vicinity, the neighbors who lived nearby would still complain about the disturbance.

“I’m quite satisfied,” Zhou Hu said. “Mr. Luo really enjoys listening to opera; I feel that it always lifts his spirits.” “Mr. Luo also approved the stage design today. Now all that’s left is to arrange the mourning hall. Once that’s finalized, and we just need to finalize a few more details, Mr. Luo’s preparations will be basically complete,” Zhou Hu said.

"The arrangements for the mourning hall haven't been finalized yet?" Qin Huai was somewhat surprised. He thought the arrangements for the mourning hall had been discussed long ago, since this was the first part to be decided.

Before Zhou Hu was hospitalized, his team would create several different versions of the floral arrangements every day, ordering large quantities of flowers from florists and making the florists very wealthy. The florists would even secretly send WeChat messages to Zhou Hu, asking when his funeral was, so they could send two extra-large wreaths.

“No.” Zhou Hu shook his head. “Mr. Luo has never been very satisfied. I can sense his dissatisfaction, but he can’t quite put his finger on what exactly he’s unhappy about.”

“We’ve tried almost every normal flower and color combination, even bright red, but Mr. Luo is still not satisfied.”

"Perhaps our capabilities are limited, and we haven't yet created the design that Mr. Luo wanted."

"It's alright," Qin Huai reassured her. "There's still time."

Zhou Hu's expression was somewhat complicated. After thinking for a moment, he walked up to Qin Huai and whispered, "There might not be that much time left."

Qin Huai: ?
What do you mean? You think Luo Jun, the client, is too much of a nuisance, so you've decided to assassinate him in the next few days?
You nine-tailed foxes are so bold, daring to assassinate even Bifang. You truly deserve to be called professional villains in movies and TV dramas.

Qin Huai then gave Zhou Hu a look that was a mixture of confusion and fear. Zhou Hu immediately realized that Qin Huai had misunderstood and quickly explained, "I couldn't resist and secretly told Mr. Luo's fortune a couple of days ago."

"Big evil."

"Mr. Luo may really be nearing his end, at most... only one week left."

Qin Huai was stunned.

Although Zhou Hu himself didn't believe in fortune telling, and Qin Huai didn't really believe in it either, when Qin Huai heard Zhou Hu say it, his first reaction was what would happen if Luo Jun really died.

Although Luo Jun's death was a foregone conclusion, and his funeral had been in preparation for a long time, Qin Huai was not actually prepared for Luo Jun's death.

Death is a very serious matter.

But Luo Jun was a spirit, and a spirit who failed his first tribulation, so his death didn't seem so serious.

Luo Jun was the second spirit Qin Huai met, and also the only one who was still in his first life.

The first spirit Qin Huai met was Chen Huihong. Huihui was actually half a spirit, since Huihui was a dissipated spirit and, in a sense, Huihui was now a pure human.

Luo Jun was deeply involved in many of the spirits' missions and awakenings, providing Qin Huai with a great deal of help and guidance. Compared to the clueless plant spirits, Bi Fang was undoubtedly an encyclopedia of the spirit world; he understood and was even familiar with most spirits, making him, in a sense, more like Qin Huai's cheat code.

Qin Huai had gotten used to informing Luo Jun immediately whenever the unawakened spirits made new breakthroughs or progress, and then holding an online or offline tea party to listen to Luo Jun's analysis.

This cheat is going to be taken offline now.

Although it's a short-term shutdown, the shutdown period is conservatively estimated to be three or four years. Even if Luo Jun is reincarnated quickly, he will still need to be at least three or four years old before he can play with his parents' mobile phones and call Qin Huai to make contact.

Previously, Qin Huai didn't really feel the reality of Luo Jun's impending death. Everyone kept talking about Luo Jun's death, and talking about something that seemed serious enough made it seem less serious, and even a bit lighthearted and joyful.

Zhou Hu's words just now have lifted this layer of lightheartedness and joy.

Qin Huai's first reaction was bewilderment.

I was completely bewildered, like I'd suddenly received a phone call informing me that I was getting married the next day and needed to be on time.

"Little...Master Qin, what's wrong? Are you alright?" Zhou Hu was startled by Qin Huai's reaction and was somewhat incoherent, not knowing what to say.

"It's alright," Qin Huai said calmly. "There are still 41 gift boxes of steamed buns left. I won't talk about this tomorrow or the day after. I have something to do and I'm leaving now."

After saying that, Qin Huai ran towards the elevator entrance of Building A and headed straight for Luo Jun's house.

When Qin Huai rang Luo Jun's doorbell, Luo Jun was curled up on the sofa watching TV as usual.

Zhang Shumei opened the door.

Upon seeing Qin Huai arrive, Luo Jun did not get up, but simply said to Zhang Shumei, "I'm going out to buy something."

Zhang Shumei understood the implied meaning from the music and left without even taking off her apron.

"What's wrong?" Luo Jun pressed the remote control to pause the TV series. "Why are you in such a panic? Is Wang Gensheng about to wake up?"

"No."

"Is Zhou Hu about to wake up?"

"Not at all."

"You've discovered a new spirit?"

"not at all."

Luo Jun gave Qin Huai a look that seemed to ask, "Why are you rushing to my house in such a panic?" He rolled his eyes at Qin Huai, speechless, and pressed the remote control to continue watching TV.

"The fruit is in the kitchen; help yourself if you want some."

“If An Youyou asks you to come and get fruit for her, tell her that she can come to my house to pick it up before 2 a.m.

"It's not about taking fruit." Qin Huai looked at Luo Jun and noticed that Luo Jun's temper had really improved a lot.

There was no cursing involved.

"Zhou Hu just told me that he did a divination for you, and that you have at most 7 days to live."

Luo Jun: ...

Luo Jun paused the TV series again: "Is this the first time you've heard I'm going to die?"

"I can't bear to part with you," Qin Huai said bluntly. "I can't bear to see you die so suddenly."

Luo Jun fell silent.

"If I don't die, whose inheritance will you inherit?"

"If I don't die, wouldn't all that money spent on the funeral planning have been wasted?"

"I was going to die anyway."

"Don't try to appeal to my emotions; I'm definitely going to fail my tribulation."

(End of this chapter)