Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle

Chapter 1267 608: The Thoughtfulness of an Outstanding Graduate

"Slurp."

"Slurp, slurp."

By the dining table at Cao Guixiang's place, Shi Dadan was holding the biggest ocean-bowl in the house, inhaling Chicken Soup Noodles with the momentum of a tiger swallowing a thousand miles.

Even though Shi Dadan had already eaten Level S- Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns, and his favorite snacks were still white flour steamed bun, that didn't stop him from going all out, eating Chicken Soup Noodles with an appetite like never before.

Dang Kang still loves his carbs.

Between Level S meat dishes and Level S carbs, Dang Kang was obviously more into the carbs.

Cao Guixiang was completely dumbfounded. She didn't show much expression while eating noodles herself, but watching Shi Dadan eat noodles, she ended up showing a whole bunch of expressions rarely seen on her face.

"Old Shi, you've been eating like this the whole time at Xiao Qin's place… and you only got this little bit fatter?" This was the first time Cao Guixiang realized that Shi Dadan was a naturally skinny type.

Even more shocked than Cao Guixiang was Zhang Chu. To soothe his own shock, Zhang Chu chose to drink half a bowl of chicken soup to calm his nerves.

In the middle of that storm-like slurping, Shi Dadan gave Cao Guixiang a simple, honest smile.

Qin Huai actually wanted to speak up for Shi Dadan, but there was no way he could say something as ridiculously far-fetched as "my teacher is still growing, it's normal for him to eat more," so he could only choose silence and, by the way, glance at his phone.

And then Qin Huai saw a string of exclamation marks and question marks from Tan Wei'an.

Seeing Tan Wei'an so worked up, Qin Huai felt relieved, thinking his Level S Longevity Noodles hadn't been made in vain. Tan Wei'an had sensed how extraordinary that bowl of noodles was just from the photos. He put away his phone and joined the conversation with peace of mind.

Cao Guixiang was chatting with Shi Dadan, asking what plans he had for the New Year—was he going to stay in the City like usual and come over for free meals at her place every day, or was he planning to spend a few more days in the countryside?

The reason she asked was mainly because she had different plans this year. In previous years, she and Zhang Chu would pick a day between the first and eighth day of the lunar New Year to go back to the village, pay New Year visits to families they knew, and spend the rest of the time in the City.

But this year, Cao Guixiang was planning to stay in the countryside a few extra days, drop in on Qin Huai, see if Master Qin, whose cooking skills had advanced by leaps and bounds, could cause an unprecedented sensation out there this year, and help out a bit while she was at it.

She had even arranged work for her grandson and granddaughter—just like Qin Luo, those two were in charge of washing dishes.

You could say she was very considerate.

Hearing this, Shi Dadan got extremely excited and really wanted to chat with her on the spot, but his mouth was stuffed with noodles and he couldn't get a word out, so Qin Huai had to explain for him.

"Master, what a coincidence. Old Shi is also planning to stay in the countryside a few more days this New Year. I've got a lot of friends coming to my place for the New Year, and Old Shi gets along really well with them. We've already agreed that throughout the whole New Year period, Old Shi will bring his family over to my place for breakfast every day." Qin Huai said with a smile.

Cao Guixiang: …?

She didn't really get it, but she accepted it.

The four of them stayed by the dining table like that—Shi Dadan eating, the other three watching him—chatting happily all morning.

Every time Qin Huai came to Cao Guixiang's before, it was basically to practice cooking. He only stayed over during special training, came with a mission, and left with results. Every day he opened his eyes, it was all about drilling the basics, with very little time for rest or idle chatter.

Even when they did talk, it was conversation under high tension. Cao Guixiang was very good at "fishing law enforcement" through small talk, testing whether Qin Huai could chat and still keep his focus without making mistakes.

At lunchtime, just as she expected, Zhang Chiyuan, Zhang Siyu and the others had already had a wild midnight feast the night before, so they had absolutely no appetite for lunch. One by one they came up with excuses to bail. Cao Guixiang, very thoughtfully, expressed her understanding and told them not to come for dinner either, just gnaw on steamed buns at home.

In the evening, Shi Dadan brought his wife and kids over to freeload a meal, and it was the first time Qin Huai met Shi Dadan's wife and his two unlucky kids with poor grades.

Shi Dadan's son was named Shi Jing, and his daughter was named Shi Xi. Apparently, Shi Xi had always been very unhappy with her own name, because compared to her brother's, hers was obviously a lot harder to write.

How to put it… The kids' grades weren't great, but their appetites were, and they absorbed well. Both of them were chubby little fatties.

Because for the past half year or so, Shi Dadan had been telling his family he was in Shan City opening up a new market, mainly partnering with Qin Huai, his wife was very enthusiastic toward Qin Huai—not the warmth you show a friend, more like the warmth you show a business partner.

In terms of social skills, Mrs. Shi was on a much higher level than Shi Dadan, and she was much better with words too. In "civil mode," she could fuss over Qin Huai and ask about everything, and after getting a general idea of his situation, carry on a pleasant, equal-footing conversation without being ingratiating or arrogant. In "martial mode," she could string up their two unlucky kids and beat them, then go to the fish ponds at the farm and curse at them for two hours straight.

A true all-rounder, both literary and martial!

On their way out, Mrs. Shi didn't forget to say to Qin Huai with a big smile, "Master Qin, our Old Shi isn't that smart. Sometimes he's a bit slow on the uptake. He's been bothering you there for so long; most of the time, we can only hope you'll be patient with him."

"But Old Shi has one big advantage—he's honest to the core, he'd never cheat you. And in one way, he's a lot like you: he's passionate about charity. Old Shi has been donating to orphanages, nursing homes, hope primary schools, and lots of charity organizations for many years. When he was younger, he often volunteered too. His character is absolutely spotless."

"As for cooperation, you can rest a hundred and twenty percent easy. When it comes to aquaculture, there's no one in all of Guangdong Province more professional than our family!"

Qin Huai nodded seriously to show he really did believe that. Who could be more professional in aquaculture than Dang Kang?

When Dang Kang does aquaculture, he doesn't bother with logic or basic rules.

After the Shi family left, Cao Guixiang asked with a smile how long Qin Huai was planning to stay in the City this time.

"I might have to head back to the county the day after tomorrow," Qin Huai said, giving her an apologetic smile. "I already agreed with Mrs. Qin that this Little New Year I'll spend it at the orphanage with the kids there."

"Last year I came back late for the New Year and hardly spent any time at the orphanage, and I didn't make any snacks for the kids. This year I've got time, so I want to make more."

"Every year on Little New Year and during the New Year I used to go to the orphanage."

He was telling the truth. Among the orphanage's outstanding graduates, they had an agreement: if circumstances allowed, they'd come back to the orphanage every Little New Year to keep Director Qin company. The only thing was, there weren't many outstanding graduates to begin with, and the one even more outstanding than Qin Huai had ended up inside.

As time went on, a lot of people built their own new lives and stopped going back to the orphanage as often. Everyone would just send some supplies to Director Qin during the New Year, transfer her a red envelope on WeChat, then drop by whenever they had time, but they wouldn't specifically pick Little New Year.

Only Qin Huai, who had always stayed in Qiu County and interacted with Director Qin frequently in daily life, kept the habit of spending Little New Year at the orphanage every year, and he took Qin Luo with him every time.

Last year, it was only because he returned to Guangdong Province too late that he couldn't spend Little New Year with them.

Logically speaking, with the only graduate still sticking to this habit now giving it up too, Director Qin should have felt a bit disappointed. But last year, Qin Huai had brought in a flood of donations to the orphanage. In all her years as the director, she had never fought such a "rich battle." She'd never even dreamed of it. Just looking at the numbers on the books every day was enough to make her grin from ear to ear. She had no time or mood to feel disappointed; all she could think about was annexing nearby orphanages and turning Sanmalu Children's Welfare Institute into the biggest orphanage within a hundred-mile radius.

This year, Qin Huai hadn't called ahead either. He just wanted to give her a surprise.

Outstanding graduates are just that considerate.