Under Qin Huai’s professional training, the villagers’ helping skills became more proficient, and the team of helpers grew larger.
How to put it, it’s good to keep close ties with relatives.
Every time a few new relatives showed up for New Year’s visits, there would be a few more outstanding helpers in the kitchen. When there are many helpers, it gets saturated, and they not only accept various leaves but also have to schedule shifts.
For a while, the competition among relatives became intense. Qin Huai’s cousins, with whom he didn’t have deep connections, all showcased their skills like peacocks displaying their feathers, arriving with their own bowls and chopsticks to help.
Those living nearby would come and go in a day, and those from afar would find a place to stay overnight.
Qin Huai’s eldest uncle and third uncle had been staying at the Qin Family since the second day of the Chinese New Year and hadn’t returned home.
Don’t ask; if you ask, it’s because they have a deep bond with their little sister, and they haven’t seen each other for a long time and have endless things to talk about.
At this time, someone might ask: Helping in the kitchen is tiring, you know! Those who have helped prepare large banquets in the countryside or the New Year’s Eve dinner know it’s not an easy task, even chopping wood and lighting fires is no easy job. Four Happiness glutinous rice balls are indeed delicious, but essentially they’re just large dumplings; after a few days, the novelty wears off, so why are villagers so passionate about helping out?
The answer is the helpers’ meals were different.
From the time the fortune teller came to Qin Family Village and predicted that Qin Huai would have one brother and one sister, Mr. Qin was ecstatic and gave 5 bucks and a free meal, you could tell that the Qin Family has a very genuine tradition of providing meals for others.
The helpers who successfully competed for spots ate with the Qin Family members.
Qin Huai indeed aimed to level up his skill with Four Happiness glutinous rice balls; he had gained quite a bit of experience with them at Huang Ji. But Four Happiness glutinous rice balls were made for others to eat, how could he possibly eat them every day just for skill leveling?
Who can withstand eating Four Happiness glutinous rice balls three times a day?
Neighbors ate them every night, but ate normally at other times.
As a pastry chef proficient in various pastries, Qin Huai loved to eat something different usually.
Things like Three Meat Buns, Five Fillings Bun, Four Happiness Dumplings, Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns, Crab Shell Cake, sticky rice cake, Furong Cake, Green Bean Cake, the village chief’s preserved mustard pork, Old Secretary’s braised pig trotters, Eldest Uncle’s glutinous rice steamed balls, white cut chicken and roast goose from town, fresh stir-fried greens from the neighbor’s fields.
Qin Huai’s three meals were still very rich, having had several free meals at the Qin Family; the Eldest Uncle was so happy he almost forgot he didn’t live there.
The always abundant He Cheng and Qin Luo hadn’t held big bowls to eat Four Happiness glutinous rice balls these days, they were merely chopping wood.
Yes, Qin Luo passed on the wood-chopping skills to He Cheng, and the siblings chopped wood together.
When it came to sharing gossip, Qin Luo couldn’t compete with Old Secretary at all, who would come to the kitchen every day with his teacup and stool to talk. Moreover, Old Secretary was adept at brewing tea; the tea he made was quite good—he was an indispensable pillar in the kitchen.
The indispensable Old Secretary would be absent on the sixth day.
He had pre-reported it; someone was coming to visit, and Old Secretary was going to bring Master Zhang’s family over to eat Four Happiness glutinous rice balls.
By the sixth day of Chinese New Year, the Qin Family was still bustling with guests.
No one will forever love eating Four Happiness glutinous rice balls, but there will always be people willing to come for New Year’s visits to eat them.
On the first day of Chinese New Year, Qin Huai declared that throughout the New Year, anyone visiting would not leave empty-handed; even if standing outside in the courtyard, they could at least have a bowl of fresh, warm Four Happiness glutinous rice balls.
Between Mr. Qin and Granny Qin, Qin Huai explained that in March, he had a big deal concerning reputation; it was financially rewarding, with a grand scene enough to gain insights into the world, and very important. For this major event in March, rigorous training on Four Happiness glutinous rice dumplings was necessary, and he asked his grandparents not to feel sorry for the materials used for the dumplings. People visiting during the New Year weren’t coming empty-handed, after all! If their grandson succeeded, the New Year red envelopes would be received by check, and making Four Happiness glutinous rice balls during the New Year was like repaying the community.
Since Qin Huai explained it so thoroughly, Mr. Qin and Granny Qin had no objections, fearing their eldest grandson would get tired, they actively sought out reliable helpers.
For the sake of helpers, Granny Qin almost reconciled with her siblings and started choosing among her nephews and nieces.
But none were selected.
Somehow, none seemed as good as the Zhao Family’s.
During this time, Qin Huai’s second uncle tried to sneak in on the fourth day to visit but was caught by Granny Qin on the spot. Using "you’re getting old and can’t even remember the New Year’s visiting dates correctly, you can see how full the house is, we really can’t entertain any more guests. The gifts? Take them back, we need to stick to the procedure; if we don’t follow the agreed schedule for New Year’s visits, wouldn’t it just get confusing with so many relatives?" as rhetoric, she sent him packing.
Witnessing the whole process, Qin Luo ran back to the kitchen in between chopping wood and whispered to Qin Huai that after all these years, Granny was still so petty, and her rhetoric hadn’t changed a bit.
As a result, He Cheng reported her words to Granny Qin, and Qin Luo happily got her fill of Four Happiness glutinous rice balls but nothing else.
On the morning of the sixth day, having already eaten Four Happiness glutinous rice balls for a day and a half, Qin Luo squatted at the kitchen door with a big bowl in her hand, eating the glutinous rice balls halfheartedly.
Though Four Happiness glutinous rice balls were delicious.
Three Meat Buns, Five Fillings Bun, Four Happiness Dumplings, and fresh meat-filled Crab Shell Cake were also delicious.
Grandma, I was wrong! I’ll never say you’re petty and hold grudges again, your granddaughter really wants to eat meat-filled snacks!!