Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1173 - 562: The Gift of the Three-Legged Golden Toad (2)

But if Qin Huai wants to simply process semi-finished products, like steaming buns or mantou, he can hand them over to the hotel kitchen, and the staff will take care of it.

Qin Huai thought this would work too, as he had to go to Lin Juan's house to make snacks. Making more semi-finished products to take along would help him fulfill Shi Dadan's thousand-day breakfast challenge.

Even cooking a soft-boiled egg for Shi Dadan would count as fulfilling the task, but Qin Huai's professional ethics and his relationship with Shi Dadan wouldn't allow him to make breakfast carelessly every morning.

Let's get back to the topic of the gold bars.

Looking a bit disheveled, An Youyou returned from what seemed like an ambush, successfully bringing back three precious gold bars.

Three hefty yellow fish.

Even though Qin Huai had over 20 million in his bank account, he had never seen three gold bars with his own eyes.

How should I put it, they were smaller than he imagined.

Qin Huai initially thought the yellow fish would be a large one, only to find the actual object rather small—it was just a metal bar. It wasn't gleaming gold, and looked a bit dull, probably because it had been buried in the ground for a long time.

An Youyou rubbed her hands excitedly, "Boss, am I about to get rich?"

Qin Huai calmly analyzed, "These three gold bars probably aren't even enough to buy the bedroom of the apartment you're living in now, so you wouldn't exactly be rich. Wait until Luo Jun convinces Chen Huihong to transfer the property to you, then you'll be rich."

The toad was disappointed.

"Ah, I should have made Mr. Luo my little brother back then," An Youyou said, a bit disheartened.

Qin Huai: … You have quite an imagination, Three-legged Golden Toad, it turns out you're the most daring spirit in the group.

An Youyou pushed the three gold bars in front of Qin Huai and said, "Here, Boss, my gift to you."

"It's just a pity that Little seven couldn't find his bank card, otherwise, he could've added the money in his account to the gift. I know the rules and procedures, I'd give you everything and not keep a cent. Besides, I think Little seven is doing quite alright."

"I quietly asked one of the staff at the nursing home yesterday, and my monthly salary isn't even enough to cover a month of Little seven's residence there. He's living much better than I am."

"He doesn't need me to support him, and since he can't even find his bank card, I don't expect him to support me. Initially, I thought it would be nice if he learned how to transfer money and sent me some funds occasionally, but seeing his status, if he can remember how to use a smartphone, it'd already be good."

"Boss, I checked online, people in Little seven's situation typically don't have many years left. Do you think Dr. Qu can develop a cure for dementia within five years to cure Little seven, teach him how to transfer money via mobile, and make regular payments to me?"

Qin Huai was at a loss, unsure whether to first critique An Youyou's words or accept the three gold bars.

Qu Jing probably didn't expect that upon waking, her biggest task would be to conquer dementia, becoming a leading figure in the academic medical branch.

Qin Huai pondered for a moment, and finally asked the question he most wanted answered, "You're not keeping even one of these three gold bars for yourself, and giving them all to me?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Qin Huai had considered the possibility that An Youyou might give the gold bars to him as a gift, but he didn't expect her to give them all; he thought she'd at least keep one for herself.

That way, when the authorities come for an arrest, someone could accompany him to jail.

Now great, Qin Huai became the mastermind, so if anyone is jailed, it'll be him alone.

"I don't want them," said An Youyou, "Little seven has dementia; spending his gold bars might get me arrested as a scammer, and I don't want to serve time."

"So if you give me the gold bars, I won't get arrested?!"

"Boss, you can give the gold bars back to Little seven," said An Youyou.

"So Lin Qi gave you the gold bars, you dug them up and brought them back as a gift for me, and then I return the gold bars to Lin Qi. In this complex transaction, no one gains anything or loses anything, yet you've completed your gift, is that right?" Qin Huai looked at An Youyou.

An Youyou chuckled awkwardly.

"Boss, you know me, I truly don't have the money for any gift. My salary each month is paid by you."

Qin Huai: …

Alright then.

Qin Huai didn't expect much in the way of gifts from An Youyou anyway, he originally planned just to let An Youyou donate 2000 yuan to the Sanmalu Children's Welfare Institute as a formality. But now, great, An Youyou doesn't even need to donate 2000 yuan.

No wonder she's a Three-legged Golden Toad, even more stingy than a Pixiu.

Qin Huai put away the gold bars, "I'll take them to Lin Juan's house this afternoon and tell her, Mr. Lin got confused and insisted you dig them up, and even take photos. You symbolically dug a little and actually found some, so we thought it best to return them to their rightful owner."

"Does this explanation work for you?"

An Youyou replied, a little embarrassed, "Boss, no need to mention me, if you tell her that, Lin Juan might invite me to dinner, and that would be a bit awkward."

Qin Huai: 6

At 3 p.m., carrying the gold bars along with Lin Juan's directions, Qin Huai arrived at the community where Lin Juan's home was located. It was an old residential area in the city center, reportedly part of a school district. The buildings were a bit old, but the location was excellent.

Lin Juan was waiting for Qin Huai at the entrance to the community.

"Master Qin." Lin Juan hurried over to Qin Huai upon seeing him from afar, with a slightly apologetic smile, "I got a call from my Old Jiang earlier, saying when he asked for leave from his boss, the boss, upon hearing that Master Qin you're coming to our house to make snacks, also wants to come and meet you."

"Since it's Old Jiang's boss, he couldn't really refuse, could you..."

Jiang Yong was the editor-in-chief of "Taste," and his boss was naturally Xu Cheng.

Since the last birthday banquet in A City, Qin Huai hadn't seen Xu Cheng. But that was quite normal; as a renowned foodie with a packed agenda of global dining, many top chefs consider themselves lucky if they meet Xu Cheng once in years, let alone frequently.

Qin Huai didn't know Xu Cheng was in Shanghai; Xu Cheng rarely posted on social media, and when he did, it was usually about some new, insightful dishes he had tried.

The last time Xu Cheng posted was three months ago, and the location was across the ocean, which led Qin Huai to think he was not in the country.

"It's Mr. Xu, right? It's my honor that Mr. Xu wants to try my snacks. When will he likely come?"

"He should be coming with my husband, around four in the afternoon," Lin Juan said.

Qin Huai nodded, "Sister Juan, is anyone else at home? I have something to discuss with you."

Lin Juan shook her head, "No one is home, I originally planned to ask my son to come home for dinner tonight, but he said he has classes at school and it's too far to come home and then go back."

"Master Qin, the thing you want to discuss... is it about my grandpa?"

Qin Huai smiled and nodded, saying no more and signaling for Lin Juan to continue once they were home.

Lin Juan led Qin Huai home.

Lin Juan's house was an older building without an elevator, the space wasn't big, and the decoration was simple. There were many boxes for storage due to the clutter, yet the place was organized and very clean, filled with a sense of living.

Lin Juan offered slippers to Qin Huai.

"My place has a lot of stuff and is rather small, it might look a bit messy, Master Qin, please don't mind. I was discussing with my husband a few days ago whether we should get a carpenter to make a row of cabinets at home for more storage."

"My kitchen is also rather small, but I went to the market this morning and bought all the ingredients you mentioned."

As Lin Juan spoke, Qin Huai pulled out the three gold bars wrapped in cloth from his pocket.

The pants Qin Huai wore today had quite large pockets, enough to store two jianbing guozi according to Qin Luo's measurement unit.

Lin Juan was baffled.

She seemed to see Qin Huai pulling out a cloth bundle from his pocket, revealing three gold bars inside.

No, they were three metal rods.

No, they were three metal rods that looked like gold bars.

No, actually they were three gold bars.

Yet it didn't seem reasonable—who would carry gold bars wrapped like that?

"This was dug up by An Youyou from under a tree at the old house in your village yesterday, as Mr. Lin specifically instructed."

Qin Huai's words set Lin Juan's CPU into overdrive.

Lin Juan: "…Huh?"

"If law enforcement checks the surveillance and tracks us down, please help explain."

"Huh?"

"Mr. Lin didn't escape from the nursing home because of worsening health; although it's possible, the main reason was to check on whether the gold bars were still buried."

"This may all sound a bit complicated, let me explain."

"But one thing, Sister Juan, you must believe us, we're definitely not professional scammers."

"If in the future Mr. Lin's health improves and there is occasional large money transfer, also please believe us."

"Huh???"