Qin Xiuli and her husband have always been relaxed about their son’s New Year’s money and pocket money over the years, never confiscating it, because their son has never paid off the money he owes Qin Huai.
"I’ve saved a lot!" He Cheng asserted he hadn’t had any snacks for over half a year, he planned to focus on debt repayment this New Year, "As soon as I get my New Year’s money, I’ll pay back my brother, and I’ll owe just 2000 at most!"
"I’ve paid mine off!" Qin Luo boasted proudly.
He Cheng was shocked, his face showing a look of disbelief as if Qin Luo had betrayed the group.
Weren’t we the siblings who owed money together, and the poor duo all year? How did you secretly get wealthy behind my back?
Where is justice? Fairness? The path to riches?
"That’s right, I’m going to feast this year! Hahahahaha!"
Qin Luo’s arrogant laughter echoed throughout the village.
As Qin Luo laughed behind them, Granny Qin and her group at the front had already entered the house.
If someone had never been to Mr. Qin’s house, they’d be particularly surprised as they entered the courtyard, because the newest and seemingly most expensive little bungalow, the best-built, was actually the kitchen.
Mr. Qin has always believed that a general can’t go to battle without a gun, a student can’t go to an exam without a pen, and his beloved grandson Qin Huai can’t make snacks without a big kitchen.
Initially, the Qin Family’s kitchen wasn’t this big.
Those familiar with countryside kitchens know that they’re usually a small room next to the main building. It might not be tiny but not very large either.
Besides the earth stove and the refrigerator, there’s not much else. In a slightly sophisticated kitchen, you’d have two racks for ingredients, while in a less sophisticated one, vegetables are tossed on the ground, and meat is stored in the fridge. Most of the space is used for storing wood piles and kindling straw, initially looking dirty and disorderly, and not clean upon closer inspection either.
But the Qin Family’s kitchen is different.
The Qin Family’s kitchen is especially large!
In terms of area, it’s comparable to Huang’s Kitchen. Not only is it big, but also clean, with designated zones.
Those knowledgeable about pastry know the dough’s fermentation temperature shouldn’t be too high, as being too close to the heat source will negatively affect fermentation.
Thus, the Qin Family’s kitchen has separated areas for kneading dough and steaming snacks, with an air conditioner in the kneading area while the steaming area still uses an earth stove.
The large open space in the middle isn’t wasted; it’s convenient for visiting relatives and friends during New Year to chat with Qin Huai in the kitchen without disturbing his snack-making.
Such a large kitchen, every year, Qin Huai turns it into a fairyland of Yunzhong while making snacks in the countryside, proving his unmatched skills.
As an aside, this new kitchen was commissioned and built at great expense by Mr. Qin during Qin Huai’s freshman year in college. Prior to that, although Qin Huai made snacks when returning home for New Year, as a student, his main tasks were studying and playing, and the family wouldn’t let him do too much or get exhausted, making just enough for himself.
In his freshman year, Qin Huai first showcased his true skills.
Without exaggeration, that year the entire village was abuzz. All the villagers wished they could squat in the Qin’s courtyard with a bowl, from the first to the fifteenth of January.
From that year onwards, Mr. Qin deeply realized their kitchen was too small, hindering his grandson’s performance, and the poor kitchen environment was not conducive for his grandson’s snack-making.
He spared no expense to build an additional dedicated kitchen.
Since their property wasn’t big enough, they even borrowed the neighbor’s courtyard, and the neighbor tore down their wall for this.
The Qin Family has three neighbors, and they almost got into a fight over whose wall would be torn down for the expansion.
Ultimately, Mr. Qin’s cousin’s family won, leveraging their relative status to tear down their wall first, seizing the early advantage.
"Ah, Huaihuai has come back!"
Almost as Qin Huai stepped into the courtyard, the neighboring cousin of Mr. Qin, who Qin Huai should call Sixth Grandpa according to seniority, appeared. Owing to the early wall demolition, he always stood out among the relatives, getting pastries on New Year’s Eve despite being over sixty, yet still agile, Qin Tianhe emerged swiftly.
"Happy New Year, Sixth Grandpa." Qin Huai greeted with a smile.
"Happy New Year, here, these are the morel mushrooms your Uncle Dazhuang sent back through someone. Sixth Grandpa couldn’t bear to eat it all; it’s for our Huaihuai." Qin Tianhe gleefully handed over two boxes of the gift-packaged morel mushrooms.
Qin Dazhuang is Qin Tianhe’s younger son, settled elsewhere, always bringing the family back for New Year.
"Uncle Dazhuang isn’t coming back for New Year this year?" Qin Huai asked.
"Couldn’t grab a ticket, won’t be back until the third." Qin Tianhe replied.
Being so near yet having to wait until the third to come home for snacks, Qin Dazhuang, residing elsewhere, equally resents everyone who managed to secure a New Year’s return ticket.
After a brief chat with Qin Tianhe, Qin Huai turned to the main topic.
"Granny, did all the packages I asked you to look out for and sign arrive?" Qin Huai inquired.
"Yes, they did. Even though you got a bunch of fillings, why did you buy so many snacks? They’re all stuffed in the fridge. I even had to borrow one from your Sixth Grandpa because ours couldn’t fit everything." Granny Qin responded.
Qin Tianhe chuckled, "Plenty of fridge space at our place!"
By the way, Qin Tianhe’s elder son sells refrigerators.
"Those are all snacks for this year. Some are raw and can go straight into the steamer. I came back late this year, so many fillings couldn’t be made in advance and had to be shipped." Qin Huai explained.
"Did the fruits arrive too?"
"They’re here, so much the house can’t store it all." Granny Qin replied.
"That’s great, my friend sent them to our home especially for Grandpa and Granny to use during New Year visits." Qin Huai said.
"What a considerate friend." Granny Qin exclaimed, "There were also a lot of flaky pastries in the package, but some are crushed. You can buy these in town; shipping them is such a waste of money."
"Those flaky pastries are delicious, Granny, I’ll start making snacks in the kitchen now. You haven’t eaten the pastries yet, have you? You’ll know once you try them, they’re also made by my friend."
Granny Qin nodded, noticing the others hadn’t caught up yet, and poked her head out of the courtyard to call to the back, "Xiuli, hurry up, Huaihuai is starting to work!"
"You’re just in time to help cut the vegetables!"