The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 577 Hospice Care
When Qin Huai finally left Luo Jun's house, he was still somewhat dazed.

Luo Jun's calm tone said it all; in fact, what he said was no longer important.

Luo Jun is going to die. This time, he's really going to die.

When this thought popped into Qin Huai's mind, he himself found it absurd. He found it absurd that the thought even crossed his mind, and absurd that it had taken him so long to realize that Luo Jun was really going to die.

Qin Huai is actually not good at saying goodbye.

Even though he came from a children's welfare home, he thought his parents had abandoned him when he was a child. When he was in elementary school, some classmates with bad tempers would often use this as a point to attack orphans, saying the most vicious things in the most innocent tone. From childhood to adulthood, many of his playmates in the welfare home were adopted and taken away by new parents, and some of them lost contact with him.

But Qin Huai never felt this was a farewell.

Qin Huai always believed that true separation was between life and death; as long as one didn't know the other person was dead, it wasn't considered separation. Of course, even if one knew the other person was dead, if there was no emotional connection, it still wasn't considered separation.

Therefore, Qinhuai has never experienced separation in the past 20 years.

Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin are both in good health. The Qin family is small, and none of the elders who are familiar with Qin Huai have passed away. As for the Zhao family, Zhao Rong doesn't interact much with her maternal family, and consequently, Qin Huai, the adopted son, doesn't interact with them much either.

This led Qin Huai to have only a vague concept of death. He knew that when a person died, they were dead. Death seemed to represent many things, but he wasn't very clear about what it specifically represented.

And his many spirit friends who had died countless times...

There is a lack of basic respect.

Qin Huai felt he had to do something for Luo Jun.

Even if Luo Jun dies and is reincarnated with most of his memories, the second Luo Jun will not be Luo Jun, at least not with that name. The second Luo Jun will not be a pure spirit; he will briefly become a human with parents, a family, a social background, and a legal identity card. Whether he likes it or not, he will begin a new life.

As Luo Jun's friend from his first life, Qin Huai wanted to do something for him.

But what should we do?

Luo Jun only has 7 days left to live. Although this was said by Zhou Hu, that unreliable charlatan, Qin Huai actually believed in Zhou Hu's predictions quite a bit, perhaps because he was a spirit.

In seven days, Luo Jun couldn't even finish watching all the episodes of the show he was watching. Qin Huai had secretly checked the viewing schedule of the show Luo Jun was watching before, and it still had 15 days left before it ended.

Now Luo Jun really will have to watch the drama from his previous life in his next life.

As a pastry chef, Qin Huai seems only capable of making pastries for Luo Jun.

Luo Jun is very picky.

He only eats the best food Qin Huai makes, except for his daily tangerine peel tea and the occasional craving for stewed pigeon with gastrodia elata. This makes Luo Jun's tastes quite varied. When Qin Huai's three-ingredient buns were at their best, he loved them; when Qin Huai's four-happiness glutinous rice balls were at their best, he loved them; and now, Qin Huai's fermented rice steamed buns are undoubtedly the best, so Luo Jun is particularly fond of them.

This directly led to Qin Huai being unable to recall Luo Jun's specific tastes, whether he liked sweets, savory foods, fried foods, steamed foods, pastries, or other miscellaneous foods, when he tried to remember.

Qin Huai actually remembers many people's tastes.

He knew that Shi Dadan loved large, filling staple foods, the simpler the better. Steamed buns and mantou, especially white flour mantou, were his absolute favorites.

He knew Zheng Siyuan loved hand-rolled noodles. Yes, what Zheng Siyuan truly loved was hand-rolled noodles, not chicken soup noodles. As long as it was hand-rolled, Zheng Siyuan would accept it whether it was in chicken soup, pork ribs, or plain water.

He knew that Chen Huihui's favorite food was hedgehog buns. Even though Chef Qin could now make so many fancy pastries, Chen Huihui's favorite was still hedgehog buns. Because Chen Huihui loved sweets, and hedgehog buns were filled with red bean paste, plus the hedgehog shape was very cute.

Qin Luo loves meat-filled pastries, the more meat the better. Right now, her favorite is the Three-Ingredient Bun, but occasionally the Dream-Fulfilling Pancake can replace it in her heart.

Chen Huihong seems to eat whatever is available and especially likes to go to Luo Jun's house to get fruit, as if she loves to eat things for free. However, her favorite snack is actually rice noodle rolls.

Qin Huai doesn't make rice noodle rolls very often, but whenever Qin Huai makes rice noodle rolls in the morning, Chen Huihong is always the first to hear the news and rush to the Yunzhong Canteen.

Needless to say, everyone in the Yunzhong canteen knows that Grandpa Xu's favorite food is glutinous rice cake, a love that will last until death.

Gong Liang's current favorite food is Four Happiness Tangyuan (glutinous rice balls).

Even Zhao Cheng'an and Qin Huai knew what his favorite food was: yam cake.

Qu Jing needs no introduction; her favorite food is rice cake soup. She often cooks it at home when she has nothing to do, but under Chen Huihong's guidance, she managed to turn the rice cake soup into a clear broth spicy hot pot.

Qin Huai knows so many people's tastes, yet he doesn't even know whether Luo Jun prefers sweet or savory food.

When Qin Huai sat on his own sofa, munching on a cheese stick, and realized what had happened, he felt ashamed.

They all remember that Luo Jun had a bad temper, that he often wanted to breathe fire on them, that he didn't like to go out, that he never left Shanshi, that he failed his tribulation, that he had specific obsessions, and that he loved to buy fruit and liked to buy fruit according to everyone's taste and appetite. But they couldn't even remember the most basic thing: what Luo Jun liked to eat.

Luo Jun seems to be rich, has a bad temper, a chaotic schedule, does whatever he wants, and has a top-notch nanny. He seems to live a more comfortable life than anyone else, but he doesn't seem to have even managed to live a basic life.

It was only at this moment that Qin Huai truly realized that Luo Jun, though seemingly alive, was not actually alive; he was truly torturing himself, living in this zombie-like manner.

Qin Huai wanted to talk to someone about this.

When he encountered similar predicaments involving spirits and monsters before, his first choice would definitely be to ask Luo Jun.

Second option...

There is no other option.

He would occasionally ask Shi Dadan, because Shi Dadan was by the Qinhuai River at that time. Qinhuai didn't really want to ask Shi Dadan about Luo Jun, knowing that Luo Jun disliked Shi Dadan, so he didn't want to upset him again before Bi Fang died.

After thinking it over, Qin Huai wanted to ask Dean Qin a question.

Although Director Qin was just an ordinary person at the Sanmalu Children's Welfare Home, she was honest and upright throughout her life (the welfare home didn't have money for her to embezzle; at most, she could only take two barrels of oil home during the Spring Festival, and they could only take rapeseed oil). She often fantasized about an outstanding graduate handing her a check for 500 million yuan to spend as she pleased. She was already of retirement age but still stuck to her post as director. However, she was Qin's mother from Qinhuai.

It would be even better if this mother of Qin could destroy the paintings Qin Huai made when he was a child, which she treasured in the dean's office.

At 7:42 p.m., Qin Huailai dialed Dean Qin's number after a long time.

Dean Qin answered almost instantly.

Qin Huai hadn't called Director Qin in a long time; the last time he called was before the Lunar New Year to tell her that he was going to visit her at the welfare home.

"Hey, Huaihuai, why are you calling me at this hour? Are you back in Qiu County? Have you had dinner yet? A new 15-yuan all-you-can-eat restaurant opened near your house. It's open until 9 pm, and the food is pretty good. I heard they use clean oil. If you haven't eaten yet, you can go to that all-you-can-eat restaurant. It's called something like 'Man'. You can find it by searching for it." Dean Qin's gentle voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Aunt Qin, I didn't go back to Qiu County." Dean Qin immediately heard the disappointment in Qin Huai's voice and asked, "Huai Huai, what's wrong? Did you quarrel with your father and mother?"

"No," Qin Huai said softly. "I have a friend... who's said to not live past seven days, but I don't know now..."

Dean Qin interrupted Qin Huai: "Did the doctor say that? Is it because the ICU requires a lot of medical expenses? Thanks to you, Huai Huai, our welfare home is not short of money now. I have saved some money this year, and I should have about 20,000 or 30,000 yuan on hand. If you urgently need medical expenses, I will transfer it to you now."

"It's not that I lack medical expenses," Qin Huai quickly explained, "It's just... I'm simply dying."

“I wanted to do something for him, but I suddenly realized that even though I’ve known him for so long, I don’t know him at all. I don’t even know what his tastes are. I only know that he likes to stay at home and watch TV series and movies, but I don’t know any of his other hobbies.”

“I wanted to do something to make him happy before he died, but I didn’t even know what to do.”

Dean Qin sensed the conflict in Qin Huai's voice and, after thinking for a moment, comforted him, "Huai Huai, you've always been a very thoughtful person, and you're also very smart, but you can't possibly understand everyone."

"It's normal to want to do something for your friend, that's okay. If you can't think of anything, I'll help you think of something. How old is your friend this year?"

"92 is old."

"...9...92 years old?" Dean Qin was stunned for a moment, then quickly accepted it. "The doctor said he has at most 7 days left? If that's the case, it might not be very convenient..."

"That's what the fortune teller who was in charge of planning his funeral said."

Dean Qin's CPU burned out.

Dean Qin remained silent for a long time, so long that Qin Huai glanced at his phone to see if Dean Qin had hung up.

In the end, Dean Qin chose to be tolerant and understanding, even though she herself probably didn't understand it.

"Huaihuai, just do what you want to do," Dean Qin said. "Do whatever you think your friend needs. I believe that no matter whether he likes what you do or not, he will be happy."

"Often, the outcome of something is not important, nor is the process; what matters is the cause, because the cause represents one's intentions."

"Do what you think is right and provide this friend with some end-of-life care."

After talking with Dean Qin, Qin Huai sat on the sofa and thought for a long time until Zhou Hu sent him a message.

Zhou Hu cautiously sent a message that seemed polite but was actually useless.

Zhou Hu: Master Qin, are you there?

Qin Huai: Yes.

Zhou Hu called Qin Huai, and Qin Huai answered the phone. Zhou Hu's voice, which was less affectionate but more respectful, came from the other end: "Master Qin, did I say something wrong in the underground parking garage today?"

"I'm really sorry, but I have this problem. Once I get to know someone well, I don't keep my mouth shut and I say whatever comes to mind."

"Did Mr. Luo go to the hospital for a checkup some time ago?"

"I'm a fraud. I tell fortunes purely to swindle money. Please don't take any of what I say to heart. Mr. Luo's health condition is such that he should live for several more months. It's impossible that he only has 7 days left."

Qin Huai interrupted Zhou Hu: "How far along are the funeral plans for Mr. Luo?"

Zhou Hu frankly stated, "Theoretically speaking, it's already 90% complete."

"The more complicated parts of Mr. Luo's funeral were all on the stage. Mr. Luo incorporated many elements that everyone liked into the stage."

Qin Huai: ?
"Master Qin, I'll tell you a secret: you must not let Mr. Luo know that you already know."

“We have set up two performance stages in the village, one is a stage for operas and the other is a stage for dramas. In the morning, there will be dramas, in the afternoon, crosstalk, and in the evening, operas. There will also be song and dance performances in between. Mr. Luo asked us to buy 88 yuan worth of scratch-off lottery tickets for guests who come to pay their respects. Hot dishes, fruits and snacks will be provided all day long.”

"Of course, there are mahjong machines in both the mourning hall and next to the stage."

"Now the only thing left to do is to decide on the arrangement of the funeral hall. As for the remaining 10%, it depends on when Mr. Luo can find something he likes."

"I've basically finished all the work I can do on this side."

Qin Huai: ...No wonder Zhou Hu's work is not progressing smoothly. It seems Luo Jun's funeral was quite a spectacle.

Luo Jun has incorporated a lot of absurd opinions.

"So, you're actually quite free right now, right, Zhou?"

"Master Qin, is there anything you need me to do? Please feel free to ask, I'm not busy right now."

"Zhou, you're good at funeral planning, but are you good at end-of-life care?"

Zhou Hu: ?
"End-of-life care?"

"In other words, do you think you understand Mr. Luo? What do you think Mr. Luo wanted to do most before he died?" Qin Huai asked this question without expecting Zhou Hu to provide an answer.

But Zhou Hu gave it to him.

After thinking for a few minutes, Zhou Hu gave a very serious answer.

"Mr. Luo is a very lonely person, probably because he is an empty-nest elderly person. Every time I go to Mr. Luo's house, he is always watching TV alone, and the TV volume is very loud, but as far as I know, he is not hard of hearing."

"He must really enjoy being around people."

"Mr. Luo's requirements for the funeral can be summed up in two words: liveliness. He said that many people would come to the funeral, and liveliness was the most important thing."

"I think if Mr. Luo needs end-of-life care, he might need Mr. Qin and you to visit his home more often, watch TV with him, and chat with him."

Qin Huai nodded thoughtfully.

Is this the kind of end-of-life care?

It makes sense.

(End of this chapter)