Chapter 3 Housewarming Meal

“What’s difficult?” Qin Luo came back holding a bag of original-flavor potato chips and the iced black tea Ou Yang had asked for. She handed the drink to Ou Yang and asked, “Brother, where are we going to eat later?”

“Your Brother Ou Yang says it’s really hard to find a cleaning lady for less than 5,000 a month nowadays,” Qin Huai replied vaguely. “We’re going to a stir-fry place next to the nearby shopping mall. I saw the pictures—the renovation looks pretty good.”

Qin Luo’s eyes immediately lit up. “5,000! A cleaning job pays 5,000? Brother, after your cafeteria opens, hire me as a cleaner! I don’t start school until September—I’ll only charge 4,000.”

“If that doesn’t work, 3,500 is fine too!”

She jumped straight into bargaining.

Ou Yang: “……”

Has this kid fallen into a money pit?

“Is your family really in that bad of a situation?” Ou Yang quietly asked Qin Huai.

So bad that a biological daughter who had just finished middle school was coming out to work as a cleaner to support the family?

Qin Huai: “……Not really. It’s mainly because Luo Luo owes me a lot of money.”

Ou Yang immediately looked at Qin Huai with an expression that said: You’re exploiting your own sister? Are you even human?

“To encourage Luo Luo to study, my parents set a rule. She can only choose snacks if she achieves certain exam rankings. Otherwise, she can only eat the buns we sell at home.”

“But Luo Luo has a sweet tooth. If she doesn’t get to eat what she wants, she cries, makes a fuss, and even threatens not to eat. She insisted on using her pocket money and New Year money to buy snacks. Over three years of middle school, her academic performance wasn’t great, but she kept buying anyway. As of now, she owes me…” Qin Huai opened his phone to check his notes, “18,612 yuan.”

Ou Yang: “?”

“Do you guys eat imperial banquets every day?”

“Not really. Just some simple pastries like crab-shell yellow pastries, Wuding buns, Sihxi dumplings, pea flour cakes, donkey roll cakes, white jade cream cakes, Ding Sheng cakes, hibiscus cakes, eight-treasure cakes, lotus root starch balls, Buddha’s hand pastries, golden-thread siu mai, sugar fire cakes, and bean roll cakes, things like that. I keep the prices very affordable, but the quantities add up—so over time, she ended up owing me that much.”

Ou Yang: “???”

Isn’t your family running a breakfast shop? Why are you selling these in a county-level city in Guangdong?

During lunch, Ou Yang’s mind was filled with crab-shell yellow pastries, Wuding buns, Sihxi dumplings, pea flour cakes, donkey roll cakes, and white jade cream cakes. He barely registered anything said at the table.

As for the rest of the pastries—did Ou Yang not like them? There were simply too many; he couldn’t remember them all.

“Xiao Ou, what do you think of Xiao Qin’s idea?”

Ou Yang, still thinking about crab-shell yellow pastries, was snapped back to reality by Chen Huirong’s voice. He belatedly responded, “What idea?”

“Xiao Qin thinks that such a large space in Yunzhong Cafeteria—two floors—would be wasted if it only operates as a community cafeteria. Instead, the first floor could sell pastries, while the second floor serves dine-in meals. This would expand variety and create a unique feature. I think it’s a good idea. There are quite a few restaurants in this area, but not many pastry shops, and even fewer with large dine-in spaces. Xiao Qin said you’ve tried his cooking, so your opinion matters.”

Ou Yang answered without hesitation:

“Qin Huai’s pastry skills are beyond question. Sister Hong, you could ask around at our university—there might still be seniors remembering Master Huai’s signature meat buns.”

Chen Huirong became interested. “You used to sell pastries at school?”

“Not exactly selling. One year our university held a cooking competition inspired by trends. It seemed to be organized by the contractor of the sixth cafeteria. The top 10 got extra credits, 2nd–4th place got cash prizes, and 1st place got both a cash prize and a one-year unlimited dining card for the sixth cafeteria,” Qin Huai explained.

“Then you got first place?” Chen Huirong asked curiously. Even Chen Huihui, who had just recovered from a fever and looked pale and listless, tilted her head to look at him.

“No, I got second place. Probably because I made pastries, which are easier to distribute. The dishes other students made were limited in quantity. Many people tried my pastries, so I left a deeper impression.”

Ou Yang waved his hand and cut in:

“What do you mean easier to distribute? The first place winner was the nephew of the sixth cafeteria contractor—it was rigged. You could tell his boiled fish used a pre-made seasoning packet. The taste was exactly like my mom’s cooking. I’ve eaten it for 20 years—I recognized the brand instantly. How could that compare to Qin Huai’s buns? His meat buns had thin skin and generous filling, with juices soaking into the bun without leaking oil. The texture was perfect—completely outclassing the overnight buns from the sixth cafeteria by miles.”

As he spoke, Ou Yang almost drooled, his face full of nostalgia.

“Too bad Qin Huai only cooked that one time. Later during our club activities, when we asked him to cook again… the dishes he made… sigh, let’s not talk about it.”

Qin Huai: “?”

Hearing this, Qin Luo nodded in agreement:

“My brother’s stir-fried dishes aren’t good. Not even as good as the 10-yuan stir-fry shop next door. My mom says this is what happens when one door opens and another window closes.”

Qin Huai: “??”

Hearing both of them say this, Chen Huirong laughed:

“Then Xiao Qin’s idea is definitely worth trying. Hearing you all say this, I’m actually looking forward to tasting it.”

Before Qin Huai could react with more question marks, Chen Huirong’s words caught his attention.

His side quest list still had [Chen Huirong’s Approval] pending.

Although the title itself might not be particularly useful, the +100 popularity reward was quite appealing.

Ou Yang was right earlier—while the cafeteria itself didn’t cost money, labor, utilities, and other expenses were significant. With such intense competition in the area, the community cafeteria might not necessarily be profitable.

At times like this, attracting initial traffic at opening was crucial.

Back when Qin Congwen’s Qinji Breakfast Shop opened 20 years ago, they knew to offer free soy milk with every bun purchase and even set off firecrackers to draw crowds.

Qin Huai was just wondering how to build rapport with Chen Huirong to trigger the parent-child cooking event quest—her words were like someone handing him a pillow when he was feeling sleepy.

“Sister Hong, if you’re interested, you can try it tonight. My stir-frying might not be great, but pastries are my specialty. Since we’re moving in, we’re planning a housewarming meal anyway. If everyone doesn’t mind, come to my place tonight and have some pastries as dinner—consider it a housewarming gathering.”

“Is there anything you’d like to eat?” Qin Huai added, smiling as he looked at Chen Huihui and repeated the question.

Chen Huihui was rather shy. When Qin Huai looked at her, she shrank back slightly and instinctively looked toward her mother, Chen Huirong.

“Brother, I want Sihxi dumplings!” Qin Luo eagerly ordered.

“Brother… uh, Qin Huai, I want meat buns!” Ou Yang blurted out.

As soon as he said it, he regretted it. Why meat buns? At a time like this, they should be ordering crab-shell yellow pastries, Wuding buns, Sihxi dumplings, pea flour cakes, donkey roll cakes, and white jade cream cakes!

It didn’t matter what the flavors were—just order everything they hadn’t tried before first.

Seeing that both had finished ordering, Chen Huirong thought for a moment and said, “Red bean buns. Huihui likes sweet things.”

Chen Huihui nodded.

“Alright, those three items then. I’ll also make some small wontons. Tonight at 6:30 PM, everyone come to my place for a housewarming meal.”

Qin Huai finalized the decision, and the matter was settled.

The cover—super beautiful! (loudly!!!)