After leaving Luo Jun’s house, Qu Jing heard Chen Huihong saying that the Suzhou style snacks newly sold at Yunzhong Restaurant tasted quite good, so she went over to buy some to take to the hospital.
Inside the restaurant, Zheng Siyuan was still diligently making snacks.
The fresh meat mooncakes were about to come out of the oven.
Qin Luo was already squatting next to the oven with a bowl, waiting.
Seeing Qin Huai, Chen Huihong, Ouyang, and Qu Jing coming in, Qin Luo ran to the window with her bowl and greeted everyone through the glass. When she greeted Qu Jing, she took an extra second to confirm with wide eyes that it was an older sister before saying, "Hi, sister."
Once outside, Qu Jing wrapped herself up as if she was about to rob a bank. Her ponytail was pressed under her hat, making it hard to tell her gender at first glance from the front.
"Brother, you guys are back from visiting! Did Grandpa Luo like the homemade lemon tea I made?" Qin Luo asked.
Qin Huai didn’t respond, to prevent Qin Luo from hearing any negative comments that might affect her enthusiasm for making lemon tea.
"What snacks do we still have in the store?" Qin Huai asked.
"We still have the fried dough sticks you made this morning, Furong Cake, the Crispy Cookies made by Brother Zheng, Dingsheng Cake, flaky pastry, Lard Rice Cake, and the fresh meat mooncakes are just about to be done."
Just as Qin Luo finished speaking, Zheng Siyuan called out loudly, "Luoluo, the mooncakes are ready."
"Coming, coming!" Qin Luo ran back with her bowl.
Qin Huai could only explain to Qin Luo’s retreating figure, "My sister is just ; she’s not very enthusiastic about eating unless thoughts are involved, in which she’s very excellent."
Qu Jing nodded, seemingly smiling, but her face was too covered to tell her expression, and she praised, "She has a great personality, very lively."
"Dr. Qu, would you like to have a little of each? If you can’t finish them, you can put them in the refrigerator, although the fresh meat mooncakes should be eaten while hot," Qin Huai suggested.
The server began to weigh and pack the items for Qu Jing.
Qu Jing went to scan the code to pay, while Chen Huihong stood with hands on her hips, considering the unsold snacks, possibly thinking about buying them all for the community committee colleagues as a treat.
After all, some community committee staff had worked hard today.
Especially Xiao Luo and Xiao Qian.
It’s necessary to buy some delicious and sweet snacks made by Master Qin himself to reward their wounded souls.
"Is this all the Furong Cake? Pack it all. Five pounds of fried dough sticks, three pounds of Dingsheng Cake, one and a half pounds of Crispy Cookies. Eight pounds of flaky pastry for my brother as snacks, thirty freshly baked mooncakes packed in ten bags, three per bag." Chen Huihong started purchasing passionately, even sharing her snack-buying tips with Qu Jing.
"Xiao Qu, you can buy a couple more pounds of the flaky pastry; they keep well and make good work snacks."
Qu Jing, evidently persuaded, bought two more pounds.
After shopping, seeing that Qin Huai hadn’t changed into his kitchen attire, Chen Huihong grabbed a bag of still warm fresh meat mooncakes and walked to Qin Huai’s side, deciding to chat a bit.
"Xiao Qin, are you sure pastry chefs are still being hired? It’s not that I’m unwilling to help, my brother is just having a bit of trouble, and his HR recently interviewed a few candidates, none as good as Little Zheng and Old Zheng. I think Little Zheng is quite good; is it a salary issue? Why not join in?" It was clear that Chen Huihong really liked Zheng Siyuan’s skills.
Qin Huai thought Chen Huihong’s hiring standards were a bit too high. If they hired pastry chefs based on the skills of Zheng Da and Zheng Siyuan, even if they were willing to come, he might not be able to afford to pay them.
"Si Yuan has his own pastry shop in Gusu," Qin Huai said, "Master Zheng’s main job isn’t making pastries; he has a dedicated pastry factory with his own brand."
"They’re just here to help me out and discuss how to make locust flower buns."
In the meantime, they tried to recruit me as a disciple.
That part he didn’t say aloud.
Listening to Qin Huai, Chen Huihong felt a bit disappointed: "Where is Little Zheng’s pastry shop? I’ll go there to buy when I have time."
Qin Huai could only say that the way you rich people spend money is indeed baffling.
They also chatted about Qin Luo’s high school situation.
Chen Huihong suggested that Qin Luo directly attend an international high school since her academic performance was quite limited, and her enthusiasm for studying even more so.
If Qin Huai could make it to a decent university with some tutoring, then even if they tried really hard, Qin Luo might only get a second-tier degree.
Having reviewed Qin Luo’s high school entrance exam scores, it was clear she struggled in every subject except English. Chen Huihong thought since her focus was so lopsided, it might be better to invest money and opt for an international education route.
"Shuanghai High School is quite good, with excellent faculty and a nice campus environment. My brother’s daughter, my niece Jia’ai, is attending Shuanghai Middle School. The middle and high schools are next to each other. Jia’ai is abroad now, but she’ll be back next week. If Luoluo goes to Shuanghai, when Jia’ai returns, I can have her show Luoluo around the campus to get familiar." Chen Huihong sincerely recommended.
Qin Huai knew Chen Huihong was genuinely recommending it and also knew Shuanghai High School had no issues except for the 600,000 yuan annual tuition fee.
But 600,000 yuan a year was precisely the biggest issue.
With Qin Luo’s dream salary of 3,000 yuan a month as a cleaner, it would take her 50 years to earn enough for tuition.
In this regard, Ouyang really is infuriating; he lost Qin Luo’s 183 years’ worth of salary in just one year.
"I can’t make that decision; it really depends on my mother’s choice," Qin Huai said evasively.
Qin Huai knew why Chen Huihong would recommend Shuanghai High School: with the current revenue at Yunzhong Restaurant, 600,000 yuan a year for tuition wasn’t particularly much.