AGN -Chapter 129 Better to Act on Impulse Than Pick an Auspicious Day

After packing up his things, Zheng Siyuan happily got off work and went home.

Qin Huai was still thinking about how Qu Jing could have been burned so badly by just two freshly steamed Gou’ers. He searched on his phone to see if there were any creatures from the Shan Hai Jing that were especially sensitive to heat, but found nothing. In the end, he simply sat in the shop waiting for Qu Jing to return and pick up the pastries, planning to casually chat with her again.

When Qu Jing came back, Qin Huai smelled a faint scent of medicinal ointment on her.

She really got burned?!

“Are you okay?” Qin Huai pointed at the burn on Qu Jing’s right forearm. “Our cafeteria has a first-aid kit. Should I ask Sister Xi to bring it over? You can handle it yourself—I trust you’re definitely more professional than us when it comes to this.”

“I’m fine,” Qu Jing replied easily. “I just said I’m more sensitive to pain. When I delivered the buns earlier, I chatted with Aunt Zhang. She said Mr. Luo has been keeping a very regular schedule lately—he goes to bed around 1 or 2 a.m. and wakes up at 8 a.m., always coming to the cafeteria on time to drink tangerine peel tea.”

“For the past two years, I talked myself hoarse and still couldn’t get Mr. Luo to maintain a regular routine. But your bowl of tangerine peel tea got him to develop a habit of sleeping early and waking early. Your ability really is impressive,” Qu Jing smiled.

“No, no—it’s because you’ve laid a solid foundation over the past two years,” Qin Huai replied with polite modesty. “Did he eat the Gou’ers?”

Qin Huai noticed that Qu Jing wasn’t carrying the buns when she returned.

Qu Jing nodded. “Mr. Luo said the recipe for the buns was given to you. These pastries should be eaten while hot—once they cool down or are steamed again, they won’t taste the same. So I ate them.”

“When I arrived, Mr. Luo was organizing his butterfly specimens. I originally wanted to help, but he didn’t allow anyone to touch them, so I stood outside the display room and ate the buns.”

Qin Huai casually asked, “Did he buy a new batch of specimens?”

“Probably replaced them,” Qu Jing said. “I remember that previously the display room was full of yellow butterfly specimens, but now there isn’t a single yellow one. They must have been replaced.”

Qin Huai paused.

He had originally been trying to casually probe Qu Jing for information, but now he was no longer very interested in her—his attention had shifted toward Luo Jun instead.

“All yellow ones?” Qin Huai was surprised.

He had just seen Luo Jun’s butterfly specimen display room, and there wasn’t a single yellow butterfly. Qin Huai had assumed Luo Jun simply didn’t like yellow butterflies.

Qu Jing nodded. “At least that was the case three months ago. When I went there for Mr. Luo’s physical checkup, he was wiping the shelves in the display room. I waited at the door for a while and glanced inside—all the butterflies I saw were yellow.”

This made Qin Huai even more surprised. Luo Jun actually cleaned the shelves himself?

That was the kind of person who wouldn’t even bend down to pick up 100 yuan if he dropped it.

“Oh right, one more thing,” Qu Jing suddenly remembered. “The first batch of donations from Mr. Luo has already been fully used by the head of the orphanage. All children who needed medical treatment are receiving it, and those who needed to attend special schools have already been enrolled.”

“I just asked Mr. Luo when he would go to the orphanage for inspection, and he said you are his heir, so he asked you, Qin Huai, to check on his behalf to see whether the children have all received proper treatment and education.” Qu Jing looked at Qin Huai. “When would you be available…?”

“Anytime works,” Qin Huai replied.

Luo Jun had already discussed this with him. Luo Jun didn’t care about the money and was also too lazy to make another trip to the orphanage since it was quite far. However, Luo Jun firmly believed the orphanage could be an important breakthrough point in investigating Qu Jing’s secrets. He told Qin Huai not to abandon this lead and to thoroughly verify that the donated funds were properly used and not embezzled.

This had put the orphanage director under great pressure, and she had messaged Luo Jun several times, asking when he could come to inspect the accounts.

After all, only after the audit confirmed that the donations were properly used could she feel comfortable requesting a second round of funding.

The orphanage director, who had finally encountered a wealthy and generous donor, was nearly going crazy with anxiety.

Qin Huai felt it was indeed time to visit the orphanage.

It had been quite some time since the last batch of buns was made, and the children were at the stage where they were eagerly waiting for food. Coincidentally, he also urgently needed a group of non-picky tasters to practice making Gou’ers—these children would be perfect!

He would handle the filling!

“Better to act on impulse than pick a day—I say we go tomorrow!” Qin Huai said.

Qu Jing: ?

That sudden?

“Tomorrow morning I’ll get off work early. I’ll borrow Sister Hong’s car to drive to the orphanage. I’ll send you a list later—Qu Jing, pass it to the director so she can prepare the ingredients. In the afternoon, I’ll check the accounts and also make some Gou’ers.”

Qin Huai felt that Luo Jun’s car was too high-profile, so it would be better to borrow Chen Huihong’s Bentley when going to the orphanage to do volunteer work.

Qu Jing was stunned by Qin Huai’s decisiveness. After a while, she nodded. “Alright, I’ll inform the director.”

Then she added, “Qin Huai… have you always been this… efficient?”

“Not really,” Qin Huai said, feeling the conversation was about done and it was time to officially get off work. “Xiao Zheng is the truly efficient one—if you send him a message at night, he’ll take a flight the next morning.”

“Oh right, I’ll ask Xiao Zheng if he wants to join tomorrow’s orphanage trip.”

Qin Huai changed clothes in the locker room while sending a message to Zheng Siyuan:

Qin Huai: “There’s a business trip tomorrow afternoon. Want to join? If not, we’ll pause teaching for a day—you can take the afternoon off and rest. You’ve worked hard these past few days.”

Back at home, already resting for a while and video-calling his father while discussing filling preparation, Zheng Siyuan saw the message: Business trip?

Zheng Siyuan: “Where to?”

Qin Huai: “A suburban children’s welfare orphanage—a public welfare trip to make Gou’ers.”

Zheng Siyuan hadn’t expected Qin Huai to be so enthusiastic about charity and immediately felt admiration, agreeing to go.

Zheng Siyuan: “I’ll go. I’ll handle the filling.”

Qin Huai: “No, I’ll handle the filling tomorrow! I think I can do it.”

Zheng Siyuan: “……”

On the video call, Zheng Siyuan’s father, Zheng Da, noticed his son becoming distracted, his expression turning serious and slightly hesitant.

“What’s wrong, Siyuan? Do you have a girl you like? Tell Dad—I’ll teach you how to pursue her! We’ll aim to get engaged this year, married next year, and have me holding my grandson or granddaughter the year after!”

Zheng Siyuan was speechless: “Dad, why does everything you say end up about blind dates and marriage? Qin Huai just messaged me about going to the orphanage for volunteer work—I was discussing the details with him.”

Zheng Da became even happier: “Volunteer work is good! It shows kindness. Your grand-uncle has been helping you look for a girl recently—she likes kind people too, and she’s in the same line of work as you, a white-case pastry chef. Let’s arrange for you to meet her for a meal when you get back.”

Zheng Siyuan ignored him: “Dad, about the filling I made—why does it still leak oil after steaming, even though I felt it was already dry enough? The second time, I intentionally stir-fried it longer to release more oil, and it didn’t leak, but the taste wasn’t as good as the first time.”

Zheng Da brought the conversation back: “Siyuan, have you considered that it might not be the stir-frying?”

Zheng Siyuan looked puzzled.

“This recipe is quite bold. Even your grand-uncle said whoever created it must be a master of hot dishes. The instructions are very detailed—after stir-frying, it requires simmering in chicken broth, and it even specifies heat level, timing, stirring method, and the ideal state. That means the simmering step is also crucial.”

“Is it possible that your stir-frying is fine, but the problem lies in the simmering stage?” Zheng Da asked.

Zheng Siyuan froze.

“Last time your grand-uncle joked that if Qin Huai had time, he should come help at Huang Ji Restaurant making pastries. After seeing this recipe, he actually wants Qin Huai to come—he handles the filling, and you and Qin Huai handle the dough.”

“If it weren’t for his bad back and reluctance to travel, I think he might have gone himself.”

“He said the pastries made from this recipe would definitely be delicious.”

“But the name of the pastry is kind of strange—why is it called ‘Gou’er’?”

Zheng Siyuan: “……That’s just the name. I don’t know why it’s called that.”

“In any case, this is the recipe Qin Huai got,” Zheng Siyuan said firmly.