The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 645 Extra: Chen Huihui's Story (Part Two)
Chen Gong has already finalized the general plan, but the details will naturally need to be completed by Chen Huihong and Qin Huai.

Chen Huihong was in charge of recruiting people, calling all of Huihui's relatives and friends to persuade the parents of Huihui's close friends to let them feel at ease leaving their children in her care to take them to Beiping for a few days.

Chen Huihui's close friends and classmates have known each other for at least three years. Their parents all know each other well, and since it's currently the summer vacation after the high school entrance exam, all the parents agreed with reassurance after Chen Huihong's repeated assurances.

Qin Huai's side was responsible for finalizing the menu.

This is a very crucial task.

Taifeng Restaurant has already opened and become very famous (in fact, it was already famous on the day of its opening). Head chef Jiang Feng has ranked sixth on the list of famous chefs, and the occasionally randomly appearing head chef Jiang Weiming is even ranked second on the list of famous chefs. It can be said that it is difficult to get a dish.

As for why Qin Huai knew...

He went to Beiping to visit Zheng Siyuan once last year and secretly went to Taifenglou Restaurant for a meal, but he couldn't even get a table. In the end, he had no choice but to ask Chen Gong to help him make a reservation.

Jiang Feng's current skill level is certainly not as good as Jiang Chengde's back then, but it is definitely among the top in the country. However, Qin Huai felt that the sixth place ranking in the Famous Chefs List was a bit inflated, as it was somewhat influenced by Xu Cheng's personal factors (among the top 10 chefs in the Famous Chefs List, Xu Cheng usually ate Jiang Feng's dishes the most). At least last year, Jiang Feng's skill level was not as good as Xia Murui's back then.

Zhao Cheng'an had also secretly eaten at Taifenglou a few times. He lamented to Qin Huai on WeChat that it would have been better if Xia Murui had died a few years later. Now, Jiang Feng's cooking skills and Taifenglou's business were much better than when it first opened. It would have been good if Xia Murui could have lived a few more years and eaten a few more meals.

It can be said that if we want to give Chen Huihui a perfect and regret-free 15th birthday in this life, the location of Taifeng Restaurant is very important, and the dishes are equally important.

Qin Huai can replicate Jiang Chengde's chicken noodle soup from back then, but Jiang Feng's current skills can't replicate the dishes from Taifenglou back then. Although Chen Huihui never tasted a proper dish from Taifenglou in her previous life until her death, the opportunity only comes once, so Qin Huai can only try his best to do his best.

Qin Huai spent a whole day studying the menu and ordered all of Taifenglou's signature dishes from back then.

Of course, signature dishes like Phoenix Eggs and Jiang's Ginseng Soup were a must-order. Qin Huai wanted to order Golden Jade Cabbage, but Taifeng Restaurant didn't sell it. Considering Jiang Feng's expertise in certain dishes, Qin Huai also ordered Oyster Sauce Lettuce, Glutinous Rice Stuffed Duck, Egg White Chicken Slices, Clear Broth Willow Leaf Swallow's Nest, Braised Pork, Two-Colored Prawns, and Century Egg and Lean Pork Congee.

It's fair to say that Jiang Feng could tell from the pre-ordered menu that the person who ordered the food was a seasoned gourmet. Given his personality, Qin Huai believed that Jiang Feng would not be careless when preparing these dishes.

Of course, the highlight of Chen Huihui's birthday celebration was longevity noodles.

For the sake of this longevity noodle soup, Qin Huai didn't make any snacks during his last two days in Shanshi, spending every day practicing making the broth. Afraid that he might have made some mistakes while making the broth, he would make video calls to Zheng Siyuan or Huang Shengli while making the broth, which made Huang Shengli think that Qin Huai felt that he had already mastered the art of white dishes and had no room for improvement, so he wanted to develop his skills in red dishes.

Huang Shengli also gave a subtle hint, indicating that although his back was still not well and his old ailment had not been cured, and Huang's Restaurant had been transformed into Qin's Pastry Shop, which specializes in pastries, under the guise of being acquired by Qin Huai, he was still as skilled as ever and could take on another disciple to teach carefully.

It just so happens that Qin Ji Pastry Shop in Suzhou is doing so-so, and head chefs Li Hua and Pei Xing still have a lot of room for improvement, so they really need Qin Huai's guidance.

If Qin Huai doesn't want to go to Suzhou, Master Huang can risk motion sickness and stay in Shanshi for a while.

Mr. Huang said he is still young, not yet 60, and his body can handle it.

Qin Huai quickly explained that Master Huang had misunderstood; he had only wanted to improve his soup-making skills these past few days. He suggested that Master Huang should stay home and enjoy his retirement, happily scolding his son and taking care of his grandson.

Unlike Huang Shengli, Zheng Siyuan didn't think Qin Huai wanted to develop the "red case" (a term referring to a criminal organization or group involved in illegal activities). Zheng Siyuan simply felt that Qin Huai had relapsed. After all, Qin Huai wasn't someone who had suddenly become mentally unstable. Although his condition had been relatively stable and improved in recent years, it was normal for him to have relapses from time to time.

Zheng Siyuan was only concerned about when Qin Huai would come to Beiping, how long he would stay, and whether, besides dining at Taifenglou to celebrate Huihui's birthday, he should also have a few meals at Babaozhai. Tong Deyan didn't mind giving Qin Huai special treatment. The only thing to keep in mind was to be wary of Ling Guangzhao.

In Zheng Siyuan's opinion, Boss Ling was good in every way, except that he liked to poach employees. This habit had improved a few years ago, but three or four years ago, Ling Guangzhao poached Tong Deyan, who had already left and changed jobs, back to Babaozhai. After this made Babaozhai's already booming business even better, Boss Ling felt that he was capable again.

Zheng Siyuan was afraid that Ling Guangzhao would have a relapse if he saw Qin Huai, so he wanted to poach Qin Huai again.

After all, when Huangji went bankrupt, Ling Guangzhao went to Suzhou to poach people, and the first person he wanted to poach was Qin Huai. Only when he was poaching him did he find out that Qin Huai was the owner who bought Huangji.

Ling Guangzhao had poached employees from the opposing company's boss more than once.

Qin Ji's pastry shop is currently doing so-so, and Ling Guangzhao is unaware that Qin Huai actually runs a community canteen in Shanshi. With the buff that he feels capable again, he will most likely wield his little hoe again.

"Qin Huai, when are you coming to Beiping? Has Luo Luo returned to China? How many days are you planning to stay in Beiping? Do you want to invite Dong Shi and Dong Li out for a meal?" Zheng Siyuan asked.

Qin Huai was skimming the foam off the chicken broth when he casually remarked, "Luo Luo probably won't be able to come back to China this year. I told her not to study in Germany, but she wouldn't listen and insisted on going. My mom originally thought it wasn't safe abroad and didn't want her to go, but she was misled by some classmate into thinking that studying in Germany would be very prestigious. After all these years, she hasn't even graduated with a bachelor's degree. I'm afraid if she studies for another year, she'll only graduate with a high school diploma."

Zheng Siyuan: ...

"But it's good. My mom was always worried that she would become a spendthrift rich kid. She's been studying abroad for so many years without getting a degree and she hasn't dropped out. My mom has been much more at ease these past two years." Qin Huai continued, "Meeting for dinner... that's fine. We can do it after Huihui's birthday. I just don't know if Dong Shi and Dong Li can take a break together. Taifeng Restaurant is doing so well right now. They're both head chefs, so it's not easy for them to take time off."

"But I have to see how things go. I wonder how things are on Huihui's birthday? If things aren't going well, I don't think I'll be in the mood to meet and have dinner with you all." As he spoke, Qin Huai sighed with worry.

Zheng Siyuan ignored the parts of Qin Huai's speech that were hard to understand and said, "We'll talk about it later. What time is your flight? I'll pick you up from the airport."

"No need for that trouble."

“I’ve recently run into a problem making mung bean cakes. The hotel you booked is right next to my house. I’ll drop you off at the hotel, and then you can come to my house and help me figure out what the problem is.”

"Okay, do you have a pot for making stock? If you do, I won't send the pot over."

"Have."

"Lend it to me sometime. I want to make chicken noodle soup for Huihui on her birthday."

"Row."

　Short update

　　By the way, let me explain why I'm writing the side stories so slowly right now. It's because the side stories related to the main storyline have already been finished (actually, they're just Shi Dadan's side stories). These are all proper supplementary side stories.
　　I'm currently working on a new book, and I'm writing side stories to keep my writing skills sharp. If I don't write for too long, I'll get rusty and won't be able to write smoothly when I start the new book. So I might keep writing these side stories until the new book is released.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)