AGN -Chapter 348 The Awakened Spirits

After a simple wash, Qin Huai walked into the kitchen.

Cao Guixiang usually made clear broth, and most of her dishes were based on it. However, Three-Shredded Shark Fin required a golden broth—chicken stock cooked until it turned a rich golden color—so she had actually prepared two pots of soup.

Qin Huai could only use the clear broth to make chicken noodle soup.

A bit extravagant.

Before kneading the dough, Qin Huai secretly helped himself to a small sip of the clear broth.

Fresh.

Incredibly fresh.

Flawlessly fresh.

The most important quality of a superior stock is its freshness—bringing together the essence of all ingredients into the soup. In theory, no matter what dish you make, as long as you pour a ladle of good stock over it, it won’t taste bad.

Cao Guixiang’s stock-making skills were exceptional. At first glance, the clear broth looked almost like plain water, bubbling gently. After one sip, Qin Huai couldn’t help but take another before finally starting to knead the dough.

Zhang Chu, who seemed to be sitting in the dining area playing on his phone but was actually sneaking glances into the kitchen, saw Qin Huai stealing sips of the soup. He whispered to Cao Guixiang, “Xiao Qin’s just like me. Back when we were in Qiu County, every time you made stock, I couldn’t resist sneaking a few sips too.”

Cao Guixiang: …

She said helplessly, “And you still have the nerve to say that? You set a bad example as a father—Chiyuan and Siyu copied you. Every time I made a pot of soup, by the time I went into the kitchen, half of it was already gone. Not even enough left to cook with.”

“On Siyu’s birthday, I promised her three dishes, but couldn’t make two of them. She cried the whole night until her voice went hoarse. All thanks to you.”

Zhang Chu scratched his thinning hair awkwardly and grinned apologetically. “My fault, all my fault, dear. You’ve scolded me for years already—no need to do it again in front of Xiao Qin.”

Cao Guixiang couldn’t help but laugh. “So you do know embarrassment. By the way, did you finish the phone stand I asked you to make for Xiao Qin?”

“Of course! I even made two, just in case one isn’t enough. One for the restaurant, one for home, and one small one to carry around. I made the portable one lighter than the other two.”

Cao Guixiang nodded in satisfaction and continued watching Qin Huai knead the dough from afar.

After five days of stir-frying Chinese yam, returning to dough kneading felt like returning to his comfort zone. Everything came naturally again—the familiar Chef Qin was back.

At his current level, making hand-pulled noodles was effortless.

Soon, three portions of noodles were ready.

Time to cook.

With Qin Huai’s advanced control over heat, cooking noodles wouldn’t go wrong—unless he somehow fell asleep mid-cooking and boiled the water dry.

Still, he felt a bit nervous.

Because after boiling and rinsing the noodles in cold water, they would be passed through the clear broth once more—that final step was the essence.

Before, when he used Huang Shengli’s stock to make chicken noodle soup, it was already delicious enough to leave Zheng Siyuan unable to stop eating. Now, with Cao Guixiang’s clear broth…

Slurp.

Qin Huai suddenly wanted another sip.

It was just too good.

Having a refined palate had its downsides—he could perceive just how extraordinary a dish was. Of course, if something tasted terrible, he’d probably notice that more than others too.

An average person like Qin Luo could tell the difference between Huang Shengli’s and Cao Guixiang’s soups. She could confidently say Cao Guixiang’s tasted better—but if asked how much better or in what way, she’d only vaguely sense it.

She could, however, express it in terms of quantity: she could drink 4 jin of Cao Guixiang’s soup, but only 3.2 jin of Huang Shengli’s.

3.2 jin was her limit—but Cao Guixiang’s soup pushed her beyond it.

Qin Huai, on the other hand, found the clear broth almost excessively delicious. Every second it lingered on his tongue was pure bliss. If not for propriety, he would’ve stopped calling her “Master” and started calling her “Grandma.”

Zhang Zhiyun and Chang Qingqing were truly enviable kids.

Qin Huai nervously cooked the noodles.

They were done.

[Longevity Noodles — Grade A+]

Who would’ve thought—these noodles had practically risen to greatness thanks to the clear broth.

What does an A+ grade dish mean? Just look at how Xu Cheng praised Guo’er in Zhiwei to understand.

Qin Huai served three bowls. The aroma filled the air—rich with the fragrance of clear broth.

Zhang Chu stared at the noodles, eyes wide. He had eaten many fine dishes over the years, but this was the first time he’d seen noodles this extraordinary.

Even Cao Guixiang herself hadn’t expected noodles cooked in clear broth to turn out like this. She paused for a few seconds before picking up her chopsticks.

“If my master knew I used this carefully prepared broth to cook noodles, he’d definitely scold me.”

Qin Huai was already slurping his noodles. Hearing that, he quickly bit off a strand and said apologetically, “Was I being reckless? I didn’t know clear broth shouldn’t be used like this…”

Cao Guixiang interrupted him, taking a big bite of noodles. “What does my master know about noodles? He’s just a chef for savory dishes—he doesn’t understand dough work at all. Xiao Qin, next time you come back, tell me in advance. I’ll prepare the broth—we’ll eat like this every morning!”

“Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!” Zhang Chu nodded vigorously, his mouth stuffed full of noodles, unable to speak.

Qin Huai: !

“Don’t worry, Master! When I go back, I’ll practice kneading diligently. Next time, I’ll make even better noodles worthy of your broth!”

Did you hear that? Heat control, seasoning, knife skills—I’m going back to practice dough kneading. Know where to put your skill points now?

After finishing a luxurious yet simple breakfast, Qin Huai rested for half an hour, then returned to the kitchen to finish slicing the remaining Chinese yam.

Just slicing, not stir-frying—didn’t take long.

After that, he quickly cleaned up and sat with Zhang Chu at the kitchen doorway, watching and casually playing on his phone—a long-overdue moment.

First, he checked in—belatedly—on Wang Jun’s love life. As expected, his poor sixth senior brother had suffered another breakup and returned to being single. Qin Huai silently lit a candle for him and told Dong Shi to keep reporting updates.

Next, he scrolled through the family group chat, “Loving Family.” It had been quite lively: Chen Huihong initiated six video calls, shared four web novels, and Luo Jun asked her seventeen times if she was sick. Qu Jing mentioned the cafeteria hadn’t sold rice cake soup in a while and tried making it herself—only to burn it. Chen Huihong then took the pot and brought it to Luo Jun’s house to share.

Chen Gong asked if it tasted bad. No one replied.

Luo Jun didn’t scold Chen Huihong in the group—he probably did it in person.

After catching up on the “spirits’” recent lives, Qin Huai continued scrolling through his feed, liking and commenting where appropriate. By the time he finished, it was almost 11 a.m.

Just as he was about to open a video app to relax with a show, Zhang Chu’s phone rang.

“Hello? Old Shi, you’ve arrived? You even brought things—ah, you didn’t have to.”

“Another batch of Luzon yellow? Guixiang’s been tired lately, might not have the energy for shark fin dishes… Oh, the quality’s good? Worried there won’t be such good stock near the New Year, so you brought it early? Alright, I’ll come down to get you.”

“You even brought wine? No need to be so polite—we’re just having a simple meal today.”

“And fruit too? Next time just bring fruit. Okay, I’m coming down.”

After hanging up, Zhang Chu got ready to go downstairs. Qin Huai quickly followed, offering to help carry things.

As they headed out, Zhang Chu told him it wasn’t necessary—there wasn’t much to carry anyway.

After that, Zhang Chu and Qin Huai went downstairs—and saw five large boxes of fruit, two cases of alcohol, and four gift boxes of Luzon yellow (dried fish maw).

Qin Huai: …so this is what “a little fruit and two bottles of wine” means now.

Boss Shi was quite young—at least much younger than Qin Huai had imagined. Qin Huai didn’t know the exact ages of Zhang Chu and Cao Guixiang, but they were definitely old enough to be called grandpa and grandma. After all, Zhang Zhiyun was already in middle school.

Since the two of them kept calling him “Old Shi,” Qin Huai had assumed Boss Shi was even older. But upon meeting him, Qin Huai realized he looked at least fifteen years younger than Zhang Chu.

He seemed to be in his forties, dressed casually in a shirt, shorts, and flip-flops. Slightly chubby, with a cheerful and easygoing demeanor—his eyes would narrow into a line whenever he smiled. At a glance, it was obvious he lived a very comfortable life.

Zhang Chu had probably mentioned Qin Huai to him over the phone, because Boss Shi greeted him warmly as soon as they met.

“You must be Xiao Qin. Old Zhang and Chef Cao talk about you a lot. My name is Shi Dadan—everyone calls me Old Shi, so you can call me that too.”

“Chef Cao said you run a community cafeteria. If you ever need seafood supplies, just let me know. I can arrange delivery all the way to Shanshi. Good prices, guaranteed quality—we’re all on the same side here. I’ll give you the lowest price, and if you want top-grade goods, just tell me. I’ve got the widest connections!”

Qin Huai had always thought “Old Shi” referred to age—he didn’t expect it to be just a nickname.

“Is it really okay for me to call you Old Shi?” Qin Huai hesitated.

“Of course it is. People were already calling me Old Shi when I was barely in my twenties. Don’t let my current build fool you—I used to look very young. At twenty, I looked like a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old kid. Plus, I started working early—left home at fourteen or fifteen to do business. When I opened a restaurant in Qiu County, I was only eighteen. People thought I was inexperienced and easy to bully, so I told everyone to call me ‘Old Shi’—if I looked young, at least my name would sound older.” Shi Dadan said with a grin.

Qin Huai nodded and awkwardly called him “Old Shi,” then started carrying the fruit upstairs.

They had to move things in batches—there was no way the three of them could carry everything in one trip.

When they brought up the first two boxes of fruit, Cao Guixiang was finishing the last dish. Hearing the noise, she poked her head out—and was stunned by the size of the boxes in Qin Huai’s arms.

“This is what Old Shi calls ‘a little fruit’?!” Her voice almost cracked.

“There are three more boxes,” Qin Huai replied quietly before heading back downstairs.

By the time everything was moved upstairs, Qin Huai felt like he could eat an entire cow.

Even though he had only spent less than an hour slicing yam in the morning, it still felt like hard work. He decided to reward himself with an extra bowl of rice.

Lunch consisted of: Three-Shredded Shark Fin, Imperial Wanfú Pork, Abalone with Pigeon Eggs, Tomato Scrambled Eggs, Stir-Fried Water Spinach, and Old Duck Soup.

Cao Guixiang had said she would “just casually make some braised pork,” and that the ingredients for the clear-broth bird’s nest dish would be saved for tomorrow’s shark fin with pigeon eggs. But in reality, the braised pork turned into Wanfú Pork, and the pigeon eggs didn’t last until tomorrow—they were paired with abalone today.

Shi Dadan rubbed his hands excitedly, first serving himself a bowl of shark fin rice—just like Zhang Zhiyun—then adding a large piece of Wanfú Pork on top and taking a big bite.

A mouthful of meat, followed by a mouthful of shark fin rice—he ate with great relish, his face full of happiness.

“Guixiang, it would’ve been great if you’d kept working in restaurants. I wouldn’t even need to open one myself—I’d just give it to you and be a shareholder,” Shi Dadan said nostalgically after his first bite. “Back in Qiu County, we worked so well together. Our restaurant even made it into the newspapers. If we’d kept it going, it’d definitely be a time-honored brand by now—maybe even a chain.”

Cao Guixiang, who was eating tomato-and-egg rice, smiled and shook her head. “Tan family cuisine as a chain? If we could pull that off, we’d be pioneers like no other.”

“Well, you could at least open a private kitchen. Those are very profitable now. Have you heard of that place in Beiping called Fen Garden? Their prices are even more outrageous than ours back then. I used to think our pricing was crazy—I worried customers would throw the menu in my face. But after eating there once, I realized we were too conservative.”

“That place has great decor though—set in a courtyard house, excellent chefs too. I think it’s ranked in the top ten of some list. Pretty impressive. But honestly, I still think you’re better. If you joined that ranking, you’d definitely place higher.”

“I’ve been retired for years—what’s there to compare?” Cao Guixiang said, placing a piece of Wanfú Pork into Qin Huai’s bowl. “Xiao Qin, take whatever you like. Old Shi eats very fast—if you blink, the table might already be empty.”

Shi Dadan grinned, revealing a simple yet hearty appetite.

Qin Huai quickly sped up his eating.

“Oh right, Old Shi,” Cao Guixiang asked, “we spent most of our early years in the countryside and Qiu County, rarely traveling. You were always out doing business—have you ever had double crab buns? I think they’re from Suzhou.”

Qin Huai had just opened his mouth to say that, given Shi Dadan’s age, he probably hadn’t eaten them—after all, judging from his looks and background, Shi Dadan was at least fifteen years younger than Zhang Chu and Cao Guixiang.

Back when Shi Dadan opened his restaurant at eighteen, Cao Guixiang’s son Zhang Chiyuan was already in elementary school.

And double crab buns hadn’t been sold in state-run restaurants for long. When Xu Nuo bought the recipe and gave it to Master Jing, Zheng Da wasn’t even qualified to make fermented rice buns independently yet. Roughly calculating the timeline, Qin Huai suspected Shi Dadan hadn’t even been born when those buns were sold.

Before Qin Huai could say anything, Shi Dadan naturally replied:

“Double crab buns? Of course I’ve had them. That’s an old pastry—from a state-run restaurant in Suzhou, made by Master Jing, right?”

Qin Huai: ?!

He had actually eaten them—and even knew the chef.

Wait… weren’t you supposed to be a local fisherman from a family of three generations? Do people from Suzhou also have three generations of fishermen?

Qin Huai began to doubt his own math, judgment, and memory. No matter how he calculated it, Shi Dadan shouldn’t have been able to eat Master Jing’s double crab buns!

His shock must have been too obvious, because Shi Dadan noticed immediately. He looked puzzled at first, then suddenly paused, put down his chopsticks, took out his phone, and said enthusiastically:

“Come on, Xiao Qin, let’s add each other on WeChat. Should I scan you or you scan me?”

Qin Huai showed his QR code, still trying to figure out where the logic had gone wrong.

They added each other.

Shi Dadan’s first message was:

AAA Seafood Wholesale Boss Shi: A spirit? With memories? Which life?
Qin Huai: ?????

Qin Huai stared at Shi Dadan in shock. Shi Dadan gave him a calm look that said, Let’s talk on WeChat—don’t make it obvious.

Qin Huai: I’m not a spirit. It’s complicated—we can talk later.
Qin Huai: You are… second life?

AAA Seafood Wholesale Boss Shi: Yes. And I’ve awakened, hehe.
AAA Seafood Wholesale Boss Shi: [image] (a blushing emoji)

Qin Huai: …

For a moment, he didn’t know what to say. After thinking for a bit, he silently added Shi Dadan to the “Loving Family” group chat.

‘Qin Huai invited AAA Seafood Wholesale Boss Shi to the group’

Chen Huihong: ? Xiao Qin, did you add the wrong person?
Qin Huai: No. He’s awakened.

Chen Huihong: ???
Luo Jun: ??
Qu Jing: ?
Chen Gong: Welcome (>▽<)

AAA Seafood Wholesale Boss Shi: Wow, there are so many of us? And there’s even a group? I had no idea before! Hello everyone!
AAA Seafood Wholesale Boss Shi: [WeChat Red Packet]

Qin Huai quickly grabbed one—66 yuan—and replied: “Boss is generous.”

“What are you two chatting about?” Cao Guixiang asked, glancing at them curiously. It was unusual for them to be so engrossed in their phones during a meal.

“Uh… Old Shi sent a red packet,” Qin Huai replied briefly.

Cao Guixiang nodded in understanding. “That’s just how he is. Take it—now eat before the food gets cold.”

Qin Huai quickly put his phone down and resumed eating.

Shi Dadan also switched back to his simple, hearty eating mode, devouring his food in big bites.

Cao Guixiang was right.

He really did eat fast!