The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 440 Let me see what you've figured out.

Qin Huai reminded her that Chen Huihong vaguely remembered some things from when she was still the crazy young lady.

"Oh, you mean the cook who does odd jobs in the kitchen of Taifeng Restaurant? I remember him. I recognized him as a spirit right away. But I think he has some mental issues. He doesn't slack off at all. At first, I thought he was just working at Taifeng Restaurant to make a living and experience life, but it turns out he was really learning the craft and working hard. The dim sum he makes is quite delicious."

"I think I've had one of his desserts before, what was it called again..."

"It looked like a longevity peach, and it was made in a very distinctive way. There aren't many chefs in Taifeng Restaurant who are good at making pastries. I remember that time it was probably the birthday of some prince. Manager Lu wanted to take the order, so he asked me to go over and pretend to praise the longevity peach for its beautiful shape. I remember it was a longevity peach with red bean paste filling, and it was quite delicious."

"Could that spirit be Zhao Cheng'an?" Chen Huihong exclaimed in surprise.

Qin Huai nodded emphatically; it would be easier if Chen Huihong remembered Zhao Cheng'an.

"Sister Hong, do you remember anything else about Zhao Cheng'an's first life?" Qin Huai pressed.

Chen Huihong thought for a moment and shook her head.

“I’m not familiar with him, I don’t think we’ve ever spoken.” Chen Huihong wasn’t very sure when she said this. “I don’t think we’ve ever spoken. You know me, I’m just a plant spirit, and I don’t really want to make friends with other spirits. When I was undergoing my first tribulation, I always preferred to avoid trouble. Unless someone came to me, I would never take the initiative to contact them.”

"Moreover, I stayed in Beiping for less than two years before going to other places, and then I was shot and killed by bandits. If I remember correctly, it seems that a few months before I left Beiping, Zhao Cheng'an, Master Chen, and Master Chen's apprentice left Taifenglou to work as cooks at the Li family's residence."

"I learned about this from Manager Lu's complaint to me, saying that Jiang Chengde was really unethical. He was only focused on introducing a good job to Master Chen, and didn't think about the future development of Taifeng Restaurant."

"Master Chen is getting old and won't be able to work for many more years. Zhao Cheng'an's cooking skills are average; only his pastries are somewhat presentable, which isn't important. But Master Chen's apprentice, surnamed Xia, has first-rate skills and talent. It would be a huge loss to keep such a talent at Taifeng Restaurant and send him to the Li family."

"Is the disciple surnamed Xia Xia Sheng?" Qin Huai asked again.

"I don't know, how could I remember their names? I don't even remember what Master Chen's name was. I just remember that Master Chen's sweet and sour carp was delicious, absolutely amazing. I've never had such delicious sweet and sour carp since I left Beiping."

Qin Huai: "...Then which residence is the Li residence?"

“How would I know? There are so many people with the surname Li in Beiping. There must be some wealthy and easy-going family among them,” Chen Huihong said, trying to close her eyes and search her memory. She then added, “Zhao Cheng’an and Master Chen had a good relationship. It seems that he always lived at Master Chen’s house.”

Qin Huai could tell that Chen Huihong really only knew this much; if she continued, she would only be making things up.

In this way, Qin Huai can probably figure out some of the timelines of Zhao Cheng'an's first life.

While looking for a job, he encountered Chen Qiusheng and relentlessly pursued him. Chen Qiusheng took pity on him and introduced him to Taifeng Restaurant. He successfully applied for the job and continued to live in Chen Qiusheng's house. Because he lacked talent, he was not accepted as an apprentice by Chen Qiusheng. Instead, Xia Sheng became Chen Qiusheng's apprentice and later followed Chen Qiusheng to work as a cook for another wealthy family.

Judging from the looks of it, he must be living a pretty good life. In those days, no one would lack food or clothing, and the chefs of famous restaurants and wealthy families would certainly not lack food or clothing. Zhao Cheng'an's meals should be decent, if nothing else.

It's unclear how the tribulation failed, but Qin Huai thinks the reason for the failure might not be important. After all, mayflies come to undergo tribulation precisely to fail. If even spirits are determined to fail, any ridiculous reason can lead to failure.

Maybe even failing can be caused by thinking that the last meal before death is too salty.

After analyzing the situation in his mind, Qin Huai glanced at the number of people in the group video call and found that everyone was there, even Chen Gong. Qin Huai immediately cleared his throat and recounted in detail everything he had just seen in Zhao Cheng'an's dream.

Finally, Qin Huai sighed, "Actually, looking at it this way, Zhao Cheng'an's tribulation is the one that best suits his wishes. In his first life, he was a cook and learned how to make pastries. He has been a pastry chef ever since. It seems that he really loves making pastries. With the experience from his previous lives, when he has an epiphany one day, he might really be able to break the record for the highest ranking of pastry chefs in the list of famous chefs."

Luo Jun didn't care about any rankings or records; he couldn't get fresh snacks from Zhiweiju in the mountain city.

"Qin Huai, do you want Zhao Cheng'an to wake up?" Luo Jun asked directly.

"Huh? Me?" Qin Huai was completely dumbfounded by this question. Was it something he could just do to wake Zhao Cheng'an up whenever he wanted?

"Mayflies are a very special type of spirit. Most spirits have never seen a mayfly that has successfully transcended its tribulation, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist," Luo Jun said. "The reason why people can't see them is that even if a mayfly successfully transcends its tribulation, it will sleep for decades and then wake up for a few days, just like before. Under normal circumstances, the chance of seeing a mayfly is very small, let alone seeing one that has succeeded."

"So mayflies do actually succeed in overcoming their tribulations." Qin Huai understood.

"Rarely, there are some unlucky souls who failed in their first life, but died young due to some accident, and succeeded inexplicably without leaving any regrets. After returning, they were very frustrated, spent their days doing nothing, and wished they could sleep for hundreds of years before waking up once, and didn't want to wake up at all."

Qin Huai: ...It sounds like successfully transcending the tribulation is really not a good thing for a mayfly.

"So I'm asking you if you want to help Zhao Cheng'an successfully overcome his tribulation. If you really help him succeed, the first thing he'll do after waking up is probably try to fail again," Luo Jun said expressionlessly.

Qin Huai sighed, truly feeling that the matter of transcending tribulations was a matter of extremes, with some spirits struggling to succeed and others unable to do so, while others tried every means possible but still failed.

“Let nature take its course,” Qin Huai said. “My system shows that Zhao Cheng’an has two more dreams. I wonder if reading all of them will reveal what Zhao Cheng’an’s inner conflict is. If I find a recipe that gives me a hint and will surprise me when I make it for him, I’ll hold off on making it for now. After all, mayflies are indeed… a bit special.”

Hearing Qin Huai say this, Chen Huihong felt relieved: "It's good that you have this mindset, Qin. You can't force things like tribulation. Of course, I really want to succeed in tribulation, but if I don't succeed, I don't think it's a big deal. Anyway, I'm going to spend my life with Huihui."

“I also want to succeed,” Qu Jing said softly. “I’m happy that I can remember my grandfather, at least I haven’t forgotten him. I’m also happy that I can find my parents, at least I still have a chance to make up for my regrets. If I hadn’t woken up and had failed the tribulation and died, I would have felt a little sorry.”

Chen Huihong frantically gave Qu Jing meaningful glances, signaling that she could say such things privately at a tea party, not here.

Qin Huai: ...Sister Hong, we're having a video call. Do you think I can't see you winking at the camera?
Ignoring the subtle actions in the chat boxes, Chen Gong shared his thoughts in a work report style: "I also think that it's not necessary to force someone to successfully transcend the tribulation, even if it's their last life. As long as they live comfortably and without regrets, that's enough. Of course, this is just my irresponsible opinion as a spirit who has already successfully transcended the tribulation. As for those who haven't, I still hope they can succeed."

After Chen Gong finished speaking, he stared straight at his phone.

Luo Jun immediately lost his temper and angrily retorted, "Wen Yaoyu, what do you mean? You also failed in your first life. What right do you have to be sarcastic towards me? This is only my first life. How do you know if I will succeed on my own next life? Let me tell you, if you can succeed in overcoming the tribulation on your own, so can I. I don't need to rely on Qin Huai at all!"

After saying that, Luo Jun hung up the voice call and angrily left the group chat.

Qin Huai: ...

They chatted casually for a few more minutes before finally ending the conversation. Qin Huai put down his phone, looked at Shi Dadan who hadn't said a word the entire time and had been silently playing on his phone with his head down, and asked:
"Old Shi, what do you think?"

"Me?" Shi Dadan looked up blankly. "I think things are fine as they are. Let nature take its course. Xiao Qin, are you making egg tarts again tomorrow?"

"Yes, we can make steamed buns in the morning and egg tarts in the afternoon. Is there anything else you'd like to eat?"

Shi Dadan smacked his lips: "If possible, make some rice cakes. I haven't had rice cakes for a while, and I suddenly felt like eating them after you mentioned it today."

"Okay," Qin Huai readily agreed.
.
The next morning at nine o'clock, Qin Huai, as usual, carried two books to work at Zhiweiju. Everyone was already used to Qin Huai bringing books into the kitchen. Chef Zhou was waiting for him with a smile at the counter, where Qin Huai's breakfast for the day was laid out. Chef Hua made beef noodles, Chef Zhou made soup dumplings, and Chef Zhang fried a soft-boiled egg. Although they didn't go very well together, it was still a star-studded lineup.

As usual, Qin Huai put down his book and ate breakfast while watching Master Zhou knead dough.

Perhaps because he watched too many of Jiang Chengde's smooth and skillful video tutorials last night, even though Jiang Chengde didn't knead the dough at all in the rice cake video tutorial, Qin Huai felt that Master Zhou's kneading skills weren't maxed out when he watched him knead dough today.

It's far from perfect.

It's not smooth enough, not exhilarating enough, and lacks the beauty of maxed-out numbers.

"I heard from Lao San that you took a fancy to a painting yesterday, Xiao Qin. Did you have any thoughts about the exhibition yesterday?" Master Zhou asked with a smile.

"Yes." Qin Huai nodded solemnly. "Master Zhou, I think I understand why my pastries aren't pretty enough, and why Zhao Cheng'an and I don't have enough personal touches."

Master Zhou looked at Qin Huai with some surprise, not expecting that he had actually gained some insights from the exhibition.

Upon hearing Qin Huai's words, Zhao Cheng'an stopped what he was doing, his face clearly saying, "What does this have to do with me?"

"Why?" Master Zhou asked.

"Because our skills aren't up to par yet," Qin Huaikang said firmly. "To put it bluntly, Zhao Cheng'an and I have very similar styles and aesthetics when it comes to making pastries. We both really like those textbook-style, neat pastries, and we both love to imitate them."

"It's just that Zhao Cheng'an's skills are a little better than mine, and my talent is a little higher than his, so we each have our own advantages and disadvantages."

Master Zhou nodded in satisfaction, with an expression that said, "This kid is teachable."

"So what do you think you should do now?" Master Zhou asked.

“Practice,” Qin Huai said. “We’re on the right track, and we do have our own personal style, but we’re just too bad.”

"Blindly imitating textbooks is certainly not acceptable, but if we become the textbooks, then there is no problem."

Master Zhou: ?

Zhao Cheng'an: ? ?
Tan Weian, who came over for a visit and brought some snacks: ? ? ?

Tan Weian: Dude, are you crazy?! You made such a boast in front of Master Zhou, do you know the last person who made such a boast in front of Master Zhou got scolded...?

After his initial shock, Master Zhou revealed a very meaningful smile, which then turned into a half-smile as he asked, "So... how are you and Lao San supposed to become textbook examples?"

"I don't know," Qin Huai said honestly. He still couldn't quite understand Jiang Chengde's video tutorial on making locust flower steamed buns, so of course he didn't know how it became a textbook for Jiang Chengde.

But now he has goals and direction. He knows that his aesthetic sense is actually not the problem; he's just a foodie.

The direction is correct; the problem lies in the strength, and the numbers are not high enough.

"But I know I'm not capable enough right now. I haven't raised the stats of any of my skills to a level that would be textbook-worthy."

"You don't have it either, so I don't know how to describe what level it would take to reach what I'm talking about."

Master Zhou laughed: "I thought the third brother was arrogant enough back then. When he became my apprentice, he told me that his goal was to surpass me before he turned 35. You are even more arrogant. You just said that I am not good enough now."

Tan Weian had already started looking down at the plate in his hand, wondering whether the osmanthus cake on the plate would end up in Qin Huai's mouth or on his face.

“But arrogance requires capital, and Xiao Qin, your current talent doesn’t give you the capital to be so arrogant. But since you can say that, I believe you must have really realized something while looking at the exhibition. So, can you show me what you’ve realized?” Master Zhou stared intently at Qin Huai.

Qin Huai was certainly able to demonstrate. Although he didn't gain any insights while viewing the exhibition, he did gain a lot of insights while watching Jiang Chengde's rice cake video tutorial.

This was the first time he had understood Jiang Chengde's video tutorials. To be honest, Qin Huai watched Jiang Chengde's video tutorials until 2 a.m. last night.

The kind of thing you watch over and over again.

Qin Huai nodded confidently, glanced to the side, and locked onto Tan Weian, who was the most suitable person to run errands: "Tan Weian, could you get me some soaked glutinous rice and regular rice?"

"I want to make rice cakes."

"Rice cake?" Tan Wei'an exclaimed incredulously. "Weren't you practicing finger techniques and puff pastry making all this time?"

"But I want to make rice cakes." Qin Huai couldn't wait to show off. Although he couldn't do it as smoothly as Jiang Chengde, he could imitate a little bit of the spirit.

"Third brother, go get it," Master Zhou said. Zhao Cheng'an immediately put down his work and left, with Tan Weian following behind.

"What exactly did you guys do at the art exhibition yesterday? I rarely see Qin Huai so confident, his face practically screaming that he's going to show you something amazing." Tan Weian couldn't wait to find out as soon as he caught up.

Zhao Cheng'an was also bewildered: "How should I know? We just strolled around the art exhibition yesterday, bought a cheap painting, and then parted ways. I still find it all very strange."

"Did Qin Huai hit his head on his way home yesterday and go crazy? Has he ever done this before?"

Tan Weian thought for a moment: "He did it once, but he only understood it after riding several roller coasters in a row."

"I've never heard of gaining enlightenment from looking at exhibitions. You've been consistently going to exhibitions for the past few years because you can really gain enlightenment from them?"

Zhao Cheng'an: ...

I have no idea!

I don't go to exhibitions to gain enlightenment; I go to exhibitions to ask for leave, invest, and incidentally scam some money.

(End of this chapter)