The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 606 Stealing food
Since Qin Huai and Shi Dadan brought four extra-large suitcases filled with raw embryos, Shi Dadan specially arranged for someone to pick them up from the airport and deliver the suitcases to Cao Guixiang's house. Qin Huai and Shi Dadan then took a taxi there.

The suitcase arrived at Cao Guixiang's house before Qin Huai and the other two.

It's clear that not only Qin Huai made ample preparations (four suitcases of raw materials), but Cao Guixiang also made ample preparations—everyone in her family was present.

Cao Guixiang's son and daughter were waiting at home. When Qin Huai arrived downstairs at Cao Guixiang's house, the entire corridor was filled with the rich aroma of broth, a delicious and complex fragrance.

Delicious is the most direct, clear, and simple affirmation of Cao Guixiang's culinary skills, while complexity is the praise for the richness of the dishes Cao Guixiang prepared today.

Qin Huai was taking a deep breath in the hallway.

Well, I can only smell that it's most likely braised shark fin, but I can't really tell what other dishes are in it. Maybe those dishes haven't been cooked yet and are in the final stages of cooking.

Tan Family Cuisine emphasizes appreciating the chicken's flavor and the fish's freshness, stressing that no other flavors should interfere with the original taste of the dishes. When braising, the original broth must be used; adding more broth or diluting the sauce is not allowed. Therefore, even if many dishes use the same stock, a distinct difference in aroma can be detected.

As a former professional chef, Cao Guixiang has a very precise grasp of the cooking time and heat of dishes. She can cook all kinds of complicated soup dishes fresh within 5 minutes using only a simple home kitchen with two stoves.

Shi Dadan also took a deep breath and made a very experienced judgment: "Braised shark fin, shrimp and sea cucumber, shredded three... How come there are two shark fin dishes? Shredded shark fin and chicken and bird's nest soup."

"The soup should be old duck soup; this is the taste of old duck soup stewed with osmanthus."

Qin Huai looked at Shi Dadan with some shock, his eyes saying, "Old Shi, how many good things have you eaten at Cao Guixiang's house all these years? You can smell so many dishes just by smelling them."

Shi Dadan smiled innocently: "I haven't eaten much these past few years. After all, Guixiang is no longer a chef. I can only go out to sea every now and then to get some good ingredients and have Guixiang cook for me."

“When I ran a restaurant in Qiuxian County, I ate here every day.”

Qin Huai: ...Alright, stop talking. If you keep talking, our system novel's male protagonist will really get jealous of your auspicious beasts.

Both are auspicious beasts, but how come you, Dang Kang, live so well? It makes the three-legged golden toad look particularly miserable. Not only is it poor and destitute, but it has never eaten anything good, and the recipes it finds are all of low quality.

The aroma had already wafted from the house into the hallway, and even down to the first floor. Qin Huai felt they couldn't dawdle any longer, so he grabbed Shi Dadan and quickly climbed upstairs.

Then they heard a commotion upstairs.

The voices sounded familiar; they seemed to be Zhang Chiyuan (Cao Guixiang's son) and Zhang Siyu (Cao Guixiang's daughter). They even sounded like they were arguing.

Qin Huai quickened his pace so he could hear more clearly.

"Brother, I'm not kidding, that refrigerator of yours is so old, I doubt it even works anymore. I bought mine around New Year's Day, it's big-capacity, the freezer compartment can hold a lot, you're definitely taking it to my place to freeze!"

“So what if my refrigerator has been used for many years? It means it’s of good quality and won’t break down! Last month I even found some frozen meat from two years ago in the refrigerator. It was frozen perfectly and looked like it could still be eaten. Besides, my house is close to my parents’ house. It’s only a ten-minute walk to get it back, so it will definitely be kept at my house.”

"Chiyuan, Siyu, you two stop arguing. Just leave it at our house. Our refrigerator is newly replaced. Besides, for so many years, when your refrigerator wasn't big enough, we've always kept our things at our house. Why are you being so formal?"

"Impossible! The Four Happiness Dumplings were stolen and eaten when we left them at your house last time!" Zhang Chiyuan and Zhang Siyu said in unison, united against the common enemy.

This is what Qin Huai and Shi Dadan saw when they reached the corner of the stairs.

Cao Guixiang's house is a typical old building in an old neighborhood. It has six floors but no elevator, and the staircase is relatively narrow. The lights in the stairwell are broken all year round, and the windows are poorly lit, making it somewhat gloomy.

Now the narrow and dark stairwell is completely blocked by the two families.

Of the four suitcases Qin Huai and Shi Dadan brought, one was placed in the hallway, and the other three were placed in front of Cao Guixiang's door. Cao Guixiang's door was wide open, and it was clear that all three suitcases inside had been opened, and the raw embryos had already been taken out and sorted. No wonder the hallway smelled so strong; it turned out the door was open.

Judging from the situation, Qin Huai must have brought back too many embryos this time, and even with a new, larger refrigerator, Cao Guixiang's family couldn't fit them all. Disagreements arose about where to put the excess embryos, since everyone knew that no matter whose house they were kept at, someone would sneak a bite in the middle of the night.

However, given the unfortunate example of the neighbor's grandson who ended up in the hospital after sneaking a late-night snack and eating too much, people are now more cautious when sneaking snacks and try to avoid ending up in the hospital.

Seeing Qin Huai arrive, Cao Guixiang patted her son and daughter irritably, giving them both a 50/50 slap: "Alright, Qin Huai and Shi are here, and you're still arguing."

"Just like I said, put the steamed buns, dumplings, and glutinous rice balls next door, and put the rest at Chi Yuan's place. Chi Yuan, be quick, make sure it takes 20 minutes to get back and forth, so you can be back just in time for dinner, without any delay."

"Hurry up and go! What are you doing blocking the door? Are you preventing Xiao Qin and Lao Shi from coming in?"

Zhang Chiyuan immediately beamed with joy and moved the embryos with his wife. Although Zhang Siyu was a little reluctant, she still lent a hand and smiled at Qin Huai as they passed by.

Cao Guixiang quickly invited Qin Huai and Shi Dadan into the house. She first looked Qin Huai up and down with a smile and said, "You haven't lost weight."

Then he glanced at Shi Dadan and shook his head helplessly: "Old Shi, you're getting on in years, you need to control yourself. You've gained so much weight this year, you've gotten a whole size bigger."

"If you knew, you went to Shanshi to explore new markets; if you didn't, you'd think you were staying at Xiao Qin's place and didn't want to go home."

Shi Dadan could only give a simple, honest smile.

"You two sit down for a moment, I need to go to the kitchen to get busy. Xiao Qin, the guest room has been prepared for you, the sheets and duvet covers are all new. You haven't been back for a while, stay here with me for a couple more days. We'll have a big meal today, and starting tomorrow we'll have home-cooked meals."

"Oh, by the way, I specially made two shark fin dishes today: braised shark fin and shredded shark fin. You can use the braised shark fin to mix with rice, and eat the shredded shark fin as usual. Lao Shi, I also specially made braised pork belly and braised chicken wings for you. I was originally thinking of letting you eat more, but looking at your belly... you should eat less today." After Cao Guixiang finished speaking, she went into the kitchen to continue cooking.

Qin Huai also wanted to go in: "Master, let me help you."

Cao Guixiang stopped Qin Huai at the kitchen door: "What are you going to help with? The kitchen is so small, full of pots and pans, and it's almost finished. You should be grateful if you don't make things worse by coming in."

"Since you've come from afar, you're a guest too. Sit on the sofa and watch TV."

Qin Huai was ushered to the sofa, where he sat with Zhang Zhiyun and Chang Qingqing.

Shi Dadan then went to chat with Zhang Chu.

Qin Huai and two schoolchildren sat on adjacent sofas, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Qin Huai was contemplating whether he wanted to become a despicable adult who would ask children the questions they hated most during the Lunar New Year, such as "How were your grades this year?" or "What score did you get on your final exam?"

However, Zhang Zhiyun and Chang Qingqing shouldn't be afraid of being asked, as both of them have excellent academic performance.

Finally, Zhang Zhiyun couldn't hold back and spoke first: "Brother Qin Huai, which of these pastries you brought back this time is the most delicious?"

"I definitely won't have room for these snacks tonight, but I'll digest them by midnight, so I can sneak a bite when I wake up!"

Qin Huai: ?
You're Cao Guixiang's grandson, are you still going to sneak food in the middle of the night?

(End of this chapter)