The Four Happiness glutinous rice snacks with three sweet fillings are just too sweet!!!
The Old Secretary led Master Zhang’s family to the Qin Family early, and seeing Qin Luo with a big sea bowl sitting at the kitchen door, he laughed: "Luoluo, you’re eating glutinous rice snacks early in the morning!"
"How long since the last batch of snacks came out? When will the next batch come out? Why the long face, who’s upset you? I get it, is it your brother making you do your homework? You really should hurry with it. The kids at my house always rush their homework in the last few days of vacation, and what they write is a mess, wasting time and accomplishing nothing."
Having said that, the Old Secretary quietly peeked his head inside, and seeing that everything was in order in the kitchen, he relaxed and called out loudly: "Huaihuai, Xiao Zhang... Master Zhang and his family are here."
Upon hearing the Old Secretary say this, Qin Luo thought of all the papers he hadn’t finished, and grew even more upset, sniffing as tears almost fell into his soup bowl.
The Old Secretary noticed Qin Luo sniffing and asked caringly, "Are you catching a cold? You kids, why are you sitting in the draft? Even if it’s not cold now, you shouldn’t sit here."
Just as Qin Luo was about to feel touched and open his mouth, the Old Secretary added, "Go sit inside where it’s warm, and you can do your homework there too."
Qin Luo lowered his head and took a bite of the glutinous rice snack.
At this point, might as well eat some snacks.
The Old Secretary stood at the kitchen door waiting for Qin Huai to come out. During the Spring Festival, the kitchen was an important area, and no unrelated people were allowed to enter, a fact the Old Secretary understood.
Master Zhang’s family stood outside the kitchen, also unsure why they were waiting.
The Old Secretary had explained Master Zhang’s family situation during his gossip sessions. Master Zhang was called Zhang Chu, originally from Beiping, who came to Qiu County as a sent-down youth and worked in some nearby villages of the Qin Family Village. Later, thanks to the Old Secretary’s information, he worked as a carpenter at a lumberyard in Qiu County for several years before the whole family moved to the City.
Master Zhang’s wife was named Cao Guixiang, an excellent cook, known in ten miles and eight villages as Xiao Cao, but she died in a car accident a few years ago.
Master Zhang had a son and a daughter, the son named Zhang Chiyuan, the daughter named Zhang Siyu, a grandson named Zhang Zhiyun, and a granddaughter named Chang Qingqing.
Every year, Master Zhang would bring his family back to the village for the New Year, intending to let the younger generation see the places where their grandparents once worked hard, appreciate their current life, and recall the past hardships and sweetness.
While the Old Secretary was outside talking, Qin Huai was busy with filling and couldn’t leave immediately, so he had to ask He Cheng to move chairs for Zhang Chu’s family, so the guests wouldn’t have to stand.
Seeing He Cheng had a task, Qin Luo felt he couldn’t fall behind. If he didn’t perform well, he might end up eating only Four Happiness glutinous rice snacks for the holiday, so he quickly put down his bowl and went to move chairs too.
"Sit!" Qin Luo placed a chair in front of Zhang Zhiyun, shouting loudly.
Zhang Zhiyun was startled by Qin Luo.
In terms of age, Zhang Zhiyun was about the same as Qin Luo; the Old Secretary had mentioned that Zhang Chu’s grandson was in the third year of middle school this year.
Qin Luo, not realizing he’d frightened the new guest, quickly scurried about grabbing chairs with one hand each, running fast enough to make Zhang Chu exclaim:
"This little girl has the strength of a bull."
After all the Zhang Family was seated, Qin Luo very deftly served tea, leaving He Cheng speechless, not understanding why his cousin suddenly seemed so driven.
It seemed he was also driven himself.
Once the Zhang Family was sipping tea, Qin Huai had some free time and came out to greet the guests.
"Grandpa Zhang, I’ve long admired your reputation. I heard your carpentry skills are exceptional and have always wanted to get in touch to order a set of molds from you. Unfortunately, you moved away from Qiu County years ago, and I didn’t have your contact information, so I thought it wasn’t meant to be."
"But it turns out it’s such a coincidence. A few days ago, the Old Secretary told me he knew you and that you come to our village every year for the New Year. I specifically asked him to introduce us when you arrive today."
"Have you had breakfast? If so, it doesn’t matter, as it’s almost lunchtime; please stay and have something with us. There’s not much here, but there are Four Happiness glutinous rice snacks cooling down and ready to eat shortly. Luoluo, would you check if the steamed buns, mantou, and dumplings are done? If so, take them out."
"Soon, I’ll make some hand-rolled noodles, cook them in chicken soup, and add some greens and mushrooms; they’ll taste just as good."
Qin Huai’s enthusiasm left Zhang Chu somewhat flustered, and after some thought, he couldn’t recall who Qin Huai was.
Zhang Chu scrutinized Qin Huai’s age and concluded that this young Master Qin hadn’t ordered molds from him before.
Feeling wary, Zhang Chu tentatively asked, "Qin... Qin..."
"You can call me Xiao Qin."
"Did your family order molds from me before?" Zhang Chu carefully asked.
Qin Huai nodded, "My father ordered them back then; I probably wasn’t even born yet. My dad said at that time in Qiu County, it was popular to make snacks with molds. He wanted to open a snack shop and ordered four sets of molds from you, some standard, some complex, and one set was the Journey to the West series."
"The molds were great, but unfortunately, my father’s skills weren’t up to par, so after ordering, he couldn’t use them. Those molds went unused, and my dad never opened the snack shop and instead opened a breakfast shop."
Zhang Chu’s heart skipped a beat.
He had made a lot of unethical money to buy a house in the City, and for 20 years, it hadn’t come to light, only to be confronted by the wronged party two decades later.