Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle

Chapter 1269 609: Surprise (2)

Ever since deciding to settle in Shan City, Qin Congwen rented out the Breakfast Shop's property. The old minivan at home, which was on the verge of falling apart, was initially intended to be sold by Qin Congwen, but the van was too worn to fetch much as a secondhand sale. Besides, the Qin Family needed a vehicle to carry the New Year goods back to the countryside each year, so the van was kept instead of sold.

"Brother, you said Aunt Chen and the others will come over to celebrate New Year with us this year, right? When are they coming?" Qin Luo asked while keeping an eye on the steamer.

"They'll arrive on the twenty-ninth of the lunar month. Zhao Cheng'an will come a bit later; he can only make it by the thirtieth." Qin Huai replied.

Although Qin Huai hoped to spend a couple more days in Qiu County this year to make more snacks for the children at the orphanage, time was indeed tight. After all, returning to the countryside was the main focus during the New Year period. Qin Huai had to leave for the countryside by the afternoon of the twenty-eighth to prepare for a big event in Qin Family Village, aiming to show the villagers what Master Qin had achieved over the year, and he needed to prepare thoroughly in advance.

Qin Huai had already coordinated quietly with Old Master Qin and Granny Qin. He placed online orders in advance to purchase 150 bowls, two large freezers, and a new refrigerator. Old Master Qin had also arranged with the neighbors to rent their kitchen during the Spring Festival, with the use of their refrigerator still undecided.

The neighbors were ready to lend a hand.

According to Granny Qin, who preferred to remain anonymous, she saw with her own eyes that the eastern neighbor had purchased a large-capacity double-door refrigerator before the New Year.

Neighbors of the Qin Family never fought unprepared battles.

"Are Mom and Dad not going to the orphanage tomorrow?" Qin Huai asked.

"Mom said there's no time; she and Dad need to go shopping at the supermarket, and there's the matter of putting up the New Year couplets at home. Granny said the township's red envelopes aren't appealing, so Mom should pick out some pretty and festive red envelopes in the city and buy a lot. We need to pack many rear-end red envelopes this year, and... there's plenty to do. Before heading out, Mom asked me to clean up the house properly, so we don't have to wait for her and Dad to return. Tomorrow morning, Dad will drive us to the orphanage, and if we need to be picked up, we should call Dad in advance."

Qin Huai nodded in acknowledgment. There were indeed plenty of matters to handle before the New Year; the reason they could come back late last year was because Old Master Qin, Granny Qin, and Qin Xiuli had helped finish many tasks. Returning early this year naturally meant not troubling the family.

"I'll clean up with you later. Let's get to bed early tonight and wake up early tomorrow. Ideally, we should head out by 4 AM, reaching the orphanage by 5 AM, so the kids can have the first batch of breakfast by around 7 AM." Qin Huai discussed the next day's schedule with Qin Luo.

Qin Luo agreed without issue. For most high school students, waking up at 4 AM during the holidays is akin to torture. But for someone like Qin Luo, who's been accustomed to waking up early due to the family's Breakfast Shop, rising at 4 AM is as normal as eating and drinking.

Getting up early means tasty food, less work, and the chance to play on the phone—who wouldn't be up for it?

After heating up the meal, Qin Huai watched Qin Luo joyfully eat while praising Cao Guixiang's culinary skills incessantly. Qin Huai casually inquired about Qin Luo's progress on his homework, ensuring he could play to his heart's content throughout the New Year, and then the siblings began cleaning together.

To be honest, when it comes to cleaning skills, Qin Huai doesn't quite measure up to Qin Luo.

After cleaning, Qin Huai reminded Qin Luo not to dabble too much on the phone tonight, as they needed to wake up early tomorrow, then headed to his room to rest.

Before going to sleep, Qin Huai saw a message on WeChat from Shi Dadan.

Shi Dadan planned to go to sea to catch some seafood the next day, asking Qin Huai what he preferred so he could catch more of what Qin Huai likes. He'd send it over before the New Year, just right to add a good dish to the Qin Family's New Year Eve dinner.

This involved Qin Huai's area of ignorance; after all, he was only skilled at making snacks, not cooking dishes. The Qin Family's New Year Eve dinner was a pastry and snack specialty. After some thought, Qin Huai told Shi Dadan to simply pick some easy-to-cook fish, and he'd eat whatever was available, as he wasn't picky.

At 4 AM the next morning, Qin Congwen led Qin Huai and Qin Luo to the market to pick up the preordered ingredients, then drove them to the orphanage.

The entire journey, Qin Luo was yawning incessantly, clearly ignoring Qin Huai's warnings the previous night and secretly staying up to play on his phone.

"Brother, do you think we'd be too early for Director Qin to be up? It's still dark now, and is Uncle Qin at the guardhouse at this hour? Would we find the door unattended upon arrival, with no one to open it? Is Director Qin's phone on ringtone or do-not-disturb? What if we can't get through to her?" Qin Luo voiced his concerns amidst yawns, fearing they might end up crouching at the orphanage gate in the mild winter, burdened with fresh produce, waiting desperately for the doors to open.

Qin Huai looked at Qin Luo in exasperation: "Have you not been to the orphanage in a while and forgotten that Uncle Qin gets restless due to his age and wakes up at 4 AM daily? Director Qin has mentioned several times that Uncle Qin should keep it down when he gets up to avoid waking the kids in the adjacent room."

Qin Luo yawned, indicating she'd been muddled by sleep and forgot about it.

Qin Congwen laughed happily as he drove, "Luoluo, later on, don't be lazy; help your brother out. Director Qin isn't very skilled, and her mincing skills aren't as good as yours."

Chopping meat, especially stuffing for buns, sometimes requires extraordinary strength; even though Qin Luo lacks technique, she has the strength.

Qin Luo proudly straightened her back.

At 4:57 AM, in the darkness, the old run-down minivan of the Qin Family pulled steadily to the orphanage's gates. The orphanage remained as dilapidated as before. Director Qin was the epitome of pragmatism, even with sufficient funds, she wouldn't dream of investing heavily to renovate the orphanage. For her, it had no meaning; with idle funds, it'd be better to increase the daily meal budget by three yuan each.

Moreover, the orphanage wasn't that financially affluent, as all the children there are disabled, and the special school fees themselves are a substantial expense. Whether with or without money, Director Qin had her way of spending; she could spend a fortune on hospital surgeries but wouldn't spend lavishly on paint to refinish the orphanage's front gate.

Uncle Qin was already in the guardhouse playing on his phone.

Playing so intently that he hadn't noticed the minivan stopping at the orphanage gate at all.

Qin Huai jumped off the van and expertly knocked on the door, trying to get Uncle Qin's attention.

Uncle Qin looked up over his reading glasses, seeing little due to the darkness and the dim lights at the gate, but upon seeing the minivan, he stood up happily.

"Is it Huaihuai here!"

"Uncle Qin, you play on your phone during work, beware that if someone sneaks in to steal something you won't notice. Be careful or Mrs. Qin will dock your bonus when she sees it." Qin Huai teased with a smile.

"Where got any bonus, just 2000 yuan monthly to dock from, no big deal. If they dock it, I'll just take a barrel of oil home from the kitchen." Uncle Qin retorted, chuckling as he opened the door for Qin Huai, "Is Luoluo here yet?"

"She's here, stayed up late playing on her phone yesterday and is dozing off in the van now. Is there a clean room left in the orphanage for her to catch some sleep later?"

"There is, just cleaned up yesterday. Ah, Huaihuai, you bought so many ingredients! If I'd known, your mom wouldn't have needed to buy so much flour and meat yesterday, she's certainly going to get upset over spending money. She's like that, been stingy for a lifetime and suddenly doesn't know how to spend now that there's money. I asked her for a couple more barrels of oil last New Year to take home but she refused, only gave me one barrel and snuck 20 pounds of cabbage from my home." Uncle Qin laughed heartily.

"Mrs. Qin bought a lot of flour and meat; how she knew I'd come today, I didn't mention it beforehand." Qin Huai was taken aback.

"Your friends mentioned it; a lot of your friends came to the orphanage yesterday. No wonder Huaihuai is the most promising child from our orphanage, bringing in so many donations, let alone all the friends who bring supplies and volunteer before New Year."

"Good thing we have many vacant rooms in the orphanage, else they wouldn't fit."

"Here, Huaihuai, have a banana."

Qin Huai accepted the banana blankly, sounding puzzled: "My friends volunteer and donate resources at the orphanage?"

"Those friends, could they be... all kinds of folks?"

Surely Qin Huai was planning a surprise for Director Qin, and Chen Huihong, alongside others, wished to surprise Qin Huai as well.