The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 589 Pursuing Back
As is well known, Grandpa Wang Gensheng has a poor memory and was once rumored to be suffering from Alzheimer's disease, which worried Xu Tuqiang and others who wanted to introduce him to a doctor.

Given his poor memory, it's quite normal that Wang Gensheng couldn't recall any particular snacks that held special significance for him for a while.

Qin Huai didn't expect Wang Gensheng to give him a side quest right away.

But Qin Huai didn't expect that Wang Gensheng wouldn't be able to get the problem out of him on the second and third occasions either. Such a small problem, which was not really a problem, made Wang Gensheng struggle for five days before he took leave.

Yes, I need to take leave.

Mr. Wang, a meticulous man throughout his life, even had to ask for leave if he couldn't come to the Yunzhong Canteen kitchen for snacks. When he couldn't ask for leave himself, he asked his wife to come and ask for leave on his behalf.

"I'm so sorry, Master Qin. My husband, Lao Wang, has been acting strangely these past few days, like he's taken the wrong medicine. He keeps talking about snacks at home. This morning when I came back from grocery shopping, I saw him still sitting at home. I asked him why he didn't come to your place for snacks, and he said he couldn't think of anything to eat and was too embarrassed to come here, so he asked me to come and ask for a day off for him."

"I wanted to make up an excuse for my husband to have a headache and fever to ask for sick leave, but he disagreed. He insisted that he wasn't sick, but he couldn't think of anything and was too embarrassed to come up with anything, so he wouldn't let me lie."

"He also said that if he still couldn't figure it out, he would feel embarrassed for the next few days and asked me to help him take a long leave of absence."

"You know, this whole mess is making me feel really bad. He sits in the kitchen every day on a little stool eating snacks, disrupting the normal operation of your canteen, Master Qin, and you don't even charge him. All I asked him to do was come up with a snack idea, and he hasn't been able to think of anything for days. I'll talk to him on Master Qin's behalf when I get back. Don't worry, Old Wang's leave this time won't be too long. I guarantee he'll come up with something within three days." Wang Gensheng's wife, Chen Juan, explained to Qin Huai from the kitchen doorway, patting her chest as she spoke, practically swearing an oath that Wang Gensheng would definitely complete the task within three days, or else she'd have to answer to him with her head.

Qin Huai didn't expect this matter to put so much pressure on Wang Gensheng, so much so that he had to take leave and not come to eat snacks.

Qin Huai could only nod and advised, "Aunt Chen, you don't need to put pressure on Grandpa Wang when you go back. I just thought that Grandpa Wang must have eaten a lot of good food in Suzhou when he was young, and I wanted to ask him if there was anything he particularly wanted to eat. If he can't think of anything, that's fine. Don't worry, don't feel too pressured. As long as Grandpa Wang comes to Yunzhong Canteen to eat snacks every day and helps me taste them, that's the biggest support he can give me."

Chen Juan wholeheartedly agreed: "Okay, I'll tell him that when I get back!"

"By the way, Master Qin, do you need my husband Lao Wang to help with the accounts? He's been idle at home these past few days anyway, so it'll be good for him to do some work for you."

Qin Huai: "...Not for now. Our Yunzhong Canteen's accounts are quite clear. As for Huang Ji's...whenever Grandpa Wang has time to go to Suzhou, he can go and help check the accounts."

Chen Juan understood: "I understand. After the New Year, I will go back to Suzhou with Lao Wang to visit some old friends for a while."

Qin Huai rarely interacted with Chen Juan. Before Qin Huai and Wang Gensheng became acquainted, Chen Juan barely spoke when the couple came to the Yunzhong Cafeteria to buy snacks. Later, after Wang Gensheng started receiving special meals, Chen Juan stopped coming to the Yunzhong Cafeteria and instead had Wang Gensheng buy the snacks to take home.

To be honest, Qin Huai hadn't really talked to Chen Juan much before, and this was the first time he'd heard her say so much.

He hadn't expected Chen Juan to be so much more cheerful than Wang Gensheng. Sure enough, in a family, if one person is in charge of external affairs, another must be in charge of internal affairs. Chen Juan was clearly the one in charge of external affairs.

Just as Chen Juan thought she had completed her task and was about to turn around and go home, Qin Huai stopped her and asked her to wait for another ten minutes if she had time.

A dozen minutes later, the crab shell pastries were ready. Qin Huai could also make a few more lotus root starch balls for Chen Juan to pack and take home, so that there wouldn't be no snacks at home today.

Upon hearing this, Chen Juan immediately said that retired women like her have plenty of time; she could wait for an hour or two, let alone ten minutes.

While waiting, Chen Juan sat down at table number 9 and chatted with Xu Tuqiang. Upon learning that Wang Gensheng had taken leave for such a reason instead of coming for snacks, Xu Tuqiang immediately revealed an expression of envy, jealousy, resentment, and disdain, saying, "So what if he wants some snacks? I, Xu Tuqiang, can list 80 in an hour!"
Wang Gensheng is really outrageous. He can't even meet such a small request from Chef Qin. He's a disgrace to his position in the kitchen.

Chen Juan neither commented nor refuted, but simply explained that her husband, Lao Wang, is just that kind of person, and he can't change it no matter how many years have passed.

While getting the snacks, Qin Huai casually asked, "Aunt Chen, I haven't asked you yet, are you from Shanshi or Suzhou?"

“Me? I’m from Suzhou. Old Wang used to be an accountant at a cotton mill, and I was a female worker at the cotton mill. I pursued him,” Chen Juan said proudly.

Qin Huai, who had been keeping his mouth shut, suddenly opened it again, either to get information or simply to gossip: "Back then, you were the one who pursued Grandpa Wang?"

Chen Juan laughed and said, "If I hadn't pursued him, he probably would have remained a bachelor for life. At that time, our union leaders were so worried about Lao Wang's marriage. They arranged many blind dates for him, but none of them worked out. Then that incident happened, and no one dared to arrange blind dates for him anymore. When I started pursuing him, many people thought I was crazy."

"That...that thing?" Qin Huai hesitated, unsure whether he should ask.

"Actually, it's not a big deal. In my opinion, it's a good thing."

“My husband, Lao Wang, is actually quite well-off. He's a college graduate with a promising future, and his starting salary at the factory was high. Apart from the heavy family burden and the tight budget, there aren't any major problems. At first, he couldn't find a partner because he was from out of town, his family had a heavy financial burden, and even if they got married, the couple wouldn't know where to live. Plus, he's a rather inflexible person.”

"Now that he's older, his personality is a bit better. When he was young, he was really rigid and not very likable."

"But it wasn't really a big problem. He was capable at work, and his boss valued him. There were plenty of young women willing to go on blind dates with him. At that time, he just wasn't interested in that. He said he had heavy family burdens and didn't want to think about marriage for the time being."

"later……"

"Later, Lao Wang filed a formal complaint against the factory leaders, including his department head."

"It seems to be about embezzlement, bribery, and misappropriation of factory assets. The matter has become a huge scandal. Old Wang's department head was sentenced to 10 years, and the deputy factory director and several high-ranking leaders in charge of materials were executed."

"After this incident, some people praised Lao Wang for being fair, but many more felt that he was too heartless. If you ask me, those people are just talking without understanding the situation. After the deputy factory director was executed, the money he embezzled and used to buy and sell factory materials was recovered. Why didn't they say those things when Director Xu gave us bonuses?"

"Anyway, I just like my husband Lao Wang's personality. After that incident, I fell for him and kept pursuing him. Little Qin, you don't know, I wrote him a love letter every month without fail for more than two years before Lao Wang finally agreed to date me."

"So don't think my husband is stubborn or awkward. He was even more stubborn and awkward when he was younger. He has absolutely no problem with you. It's entirely his personal issue. I'll scold him for you when I get back."

Qin Huai was completely dumbfounded.

Uncle Wang, what's wrong with you? Instead of reminiscing about your wonderful past, you keep bringing up things that no one wants to hear.

After Chen Juan finished speaking, she happily took the snacks and went back, leaving Qin Huai at the Yunzhong Canteen to wait for the good news he would bring.

A day passed, and Grandpa Wang had not yet returned from his leave.

Two days have passed, and Mr. Wang is still on leave without returning to work.

Three days have passed...

When Grandpa Wang's leave had reached its fifth day, Qin Huai started to get restless.

As the steamed buns with fermented rice, the three-ingredient buns, and the chicken soup noodles were served, Qin Huai sat down at the small table with his bowl of chicken soup noodles. He looked at Ouyang, who was scrolling through his phone while chugging his hand-brewed lemon tea, and asked, "Ouyang, what's going on with Grandpa Wang?"

Ouyang didn't even realize Qin Huai was asking him a question. After a moment of surprise, he was overjoyed to find Qin Huai staring at him: "Ask me?"

Qin Huai: ? Dude, what's wrong with you? Have you been working out too much lately? Did it mess with your brain?

Ouyang explained happily, "Qin Huai, you haven't asked me any questions in a long time. It's a little strange to be suddenly asked so many questions. Why don't you let me get used to it first? I'll go make you a hand-squeezed lemon tea, and then you can ask me your questions?"

After saying that, Ouyang didn't give Qin Huai a chance to refuse and got up to make lemon tea.

Qin Huai could only say, "Less ice!"

Qin Huai could only turn her inquiring gaze to Shi Dadan.

Shi Dadan gave Qin Huai a look that said, "You know I'm Dang Kang. This kind of brain-intensive work isn't for me, and I can't help you."

For some reason, Qin Huai misses Luo Jun a little. This morning, Qin Huai checked Luo Jun's status and found that he was still waiting in line to be reincarnated.

A few minutes later, Ouyang brought two cups of freshly made lemon tea to the table, one for Qin Huai and one for Shi Dadan. Without Shi Dadan's consent, he forcibly dragged Shi Dadan into the team of strategists, saying that three mediocre people are not necessarily better than one Zhuge Liang.

"Speak, what's going on?" Ouyang started speaking in a tongue twister.

"That's exactly what happened to Grandpa Wang right now," Qin Huai replied, his answer a veritable riddle.

"Is it because Lao Wang has already taken 5 days off and can't think of any snacks?" Only Shi Dadan was a truly honest man.

"Yes." Qin Huai nodded emphatically. "I just said it casually. I didn't expect Grandpa Wang to take it so seriously and make him so conflicted."

Ouyang looked at Qin Huai, his eyes filled with "buddy, I know you well enough. You're not just saying that casually."

Qin Huai asked, "You said that Grandpa Wang has a snack he wants to eat, but forgot what it is, or is he simply unable to remember and is therefore avoiding it?"

Ouyang fell into deep thought.

Shi Dadan took a big gulp of hand-squeezed lemon tea, found it a bit cold, silently put it down and continued eating noodles. After eating half a bowl, he said, "I think Lao Wang has something he wants to eat, but at the same time he's running away from it."

"Given Lao Wang's personality, if he simply couldn't think of anything, he wouldn't have stopped coming altogether. He must have thought of something, but he didn't want to mention it, and he couldn't think of another alternative. He didn't want to lie, but he also didn't want to ask, so he was conflicted and that's why he didn't come."

Shi Dadan's analysis shocked Qin Huai and Ouyang. Ouyang's face was full of "Old Shi, I originally thought you were just like me, happily eating and drinking here every day. I didn't expect you to be so smart while eating and drinking."

Qin Huai was shocked to discover that this small team wasn't a case of "three cobblers can't equal one Zhuge Liang," but rather "two cobblers and one Zhuge Liang."

"Just say you want to eat it, what's there to hesitate about?" Ouyang said, somewhat puzzled.

"Maybe Grandpa Wang is just someone who likes to overthink things," Qin Huai said, having a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on.

If that's the case, then the snack Wang Gensheng doesn't want to talk about must be a mission-related snack.

Now, we are only one step away from uncovering Wang Gensheng's side quest.

Qin Huai looked at Ouyang.

Ouyang: ?
Ouyang suddenly had a bad feeling.

“Ouyang, don’t you think it’s a bit inappropriate that we haven’t visited Grandpa Wang’s house after knowing him for so long? Logically speaking, Grandpa Wang’s long absence might not be due to something he doesn’t want to do; he might actually be sick. How about we pick a time tomorrow to visit him?”

"You bring your homemade lemon tea, and I'll bring my homemade desserts."

Ouyang: ? Why did you bring me along when you wanted to visit Grandpa Wang? Is it because a fraud gang is on the move and you absolutely can't act alone?

Wait, why would I assume we're a scam group?

Ouyang thought about it and figured he was free anyway, with nothing to do every day, so he might as well go with Qin Huai to visit Wang Gensheng.

“Okay.” Ouyang Xinran agreed, then couldn’t help but ask another question.

"Qin Huai, there's something that's been bothering me for a long time."

“I’m not targeting you personally, I just have this feeling, I don’t know why, but I’ve had this feeling for a long time… that you seem to be involved in fraud.”

"Sometimes I hear you talking on the phone, or chatting with other people..."

"It must be my imagination."

“Sometimes when you talk to Grandpa Wang, I always feel like you’re trying to scam his pension.”

Qin Huai never expected that his good brother Ouyang, while quietly enjoying snacks every day, had discovered his hidden side business.

“Ouyang, how could you think of me like that?” Qin Huai said with a serious face. “Don’t you know my financial situation? I just inherited Luo Jun’s estate. Why would I need to scam other elderly people?”

Ouyang: Again?

"You should keep a close eye on Zhao Cheng'an. I think he might be testing the limits of the law. I've tried to persuade him to come to his senses, but he seems a bit stubborn, probably because he has too much debt to cover."

"I'm not saying anything more. This handmade lemon tea you made today is really good. Can I have another cup?"

"Okay brother, I've got this covered!"

(End of this chapter)