Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1015 - 495: Ersatz_2

"I don't even dare to imagine what I'll turn into next time."

Qin Huai could only comfort him, saying, "Those who can, do more work. There has to be someone to make the snacks for the tea party. You're a pastry chef, and I'm a pastry chef. If we don't do it, who will? Luo Jun is providing the fruits and the venue all by himself. If you have money, contribute money; if you have strength, contribute strength. In terms of annual salary, you're the lowest among us, even lower than Qu Jing by a few thousand dollars, and as for assets, well, let's not mention it. I've never once seen your stock app in the red. When Luo Jun dies, I'll share a bit of his inheritance with you, so you won't lose out."

Zhao Cheng'an: "Do you believe I'll make a call to Xia Mubing right now and ask him to transfer me a few hundred thousand to show you my strength?"

"Could you give me this house? I really like this house."

"You'll have to ask Mr. Luo about that. What if he's gotten used to living in this house and wants to live in it again when he's reincarnated?"

"I can live in it for 20 years first, and then redecorate it before returning it to him."

Luo Jun's voice rose again from the living room, "You two, I'm not dead yet! Next time you discuss how to divide my inheritance, close the kitchen door! Also, no giving this house to anyone, and no one is allowed to live in it. I plan on living in it in my next life!"

Zhao Cheng'an could only express his disappointment by munching on an apple.

Shi Dadan was still at the sink washing fruits, washing dates, and asked, "Qin Huai, how many bananas do you want? Do you want any kiwifruit? If you do, I'll peel a few for you. All the peeled kiwis are already eaten by me."

"Just one banana is fine. I don't want anything else." Qin Huai said as he added the final touch of color to the orange dumpling in his hand, gave it a satisfied look, and put it down.

Qin Huai sighed, "Ah, if only after finishing this orange dumpling, a game notification sounded in my mind saying, 'Ding, congratulations, your dough skills have been upgraded to Master Level.' But skills leveling up doesn't produce game notifications, and the dumplings I made today aren't enough to upgrade dough skills. What a pity."

Zhao Cheng'an was convinced that Qin Huai was obsessed to the point of madness with leveling up, as he swallowed the last piece of orange while the oven dinged, signaling that the butterfly cake was ready.

Everyone placed the pastries, desserts, tea, and fruits on the dining table, gathering together to listen to Qin Huai talk about the newly triggered side quest.

After Qin Huai finished announcing the details of the task, Shi Dadan was the first to exclaim, "I didn't expect Gong Liang to like this type of TV series. My wife also loves watching this type, but she prefers watching family stories with estranged children that end in a big reunion."

Chen Huihong was still nibbling sunflower seeds, not having touched the tea in front of her.

Zhao Cheng'an focused on eating fruits, acting as if discussing this high-difficulty task had nothing to do with him, as someone who had spent the whole afternoon making snacks couldn't even sit down to enjoy them.

Luo Jun remained silent, pondering.

The dining room fell into silence, which was eventually broken by Cheng Gong, who began his analysis: "I didn't expect Mr. Gong to be this kind of person, which explains why he was so friendly and kind to Mr. Luo today."

"What do you mean?" Luo Jun asked, his tone and look directed at Cheng Gong filled with displeasure, as he had never taken a liking to Cheng Gong, and in Luo Jun's eyes, Cheng Gong's mere breathing could be wrong.

"Mr. Gong likes family reunion plots, where no reason is needed as long as there's a family reunion. Adding that Mr. Gong's previous two memories involved Master Jing, it shows that this Master Jing holds a very high status in Mr. Gong's mind in this life. And Master Jing was also an old man, appearing fierce but actually kind and gentle, a solitary elder."

With Cheng Gong's words, everyone caught on, looking at Luo Jun in unison.

Luo Jun himself was bewildered, his voice filled with disbelief, "So, Gong Liang is brain-dead enough to see me as a stand-in for Jing Lixiang?!"

"We can't exactly say 'stand-in.'" Cheng Gong continued his calm analysis, "After all, Master Jing has been deceased for many years. Mr. Gong might simply be stirred by the scene, feeling that Mr. Luo, you, in many aspects, are very similar to Master Jing, so he subconsciously wants to treat you well."

Luo Jun's expression was as if he'd swallowed a fly.

"And today's tea party configuration and atmosphere actually align with Mr. Gong's preference for a happy family gathering. Without any reason, nor needing any logic, a group of seemingly unrelated people gather joyously, among them someone resembling an elder he respects greatly. This kind of family reunion might be the main reason for triggering Mr. Gong's side quest."

Qin Huai realized, "So, the task details not only hinted at the tea party but also subtly suggested the direction of snacks inquiry."

Cheng Gong nodded, "To make Gong Liang stir with emotion, it indicates that snacks that left a deep impression on him appeared in a similar situation, likely an event involving Master Jing."

Chen Huihong suddenly understood, "If that's the case, then it narrows down the range quite a bit. Qin Huai, you can just ask directly."

"It doesn't actually narrow it down that much," Shi Dadan interjected a word amid his busy task of eating snacks, "Although in my previous life I wasn't very familiar with Gong Liang, having only met him a few times and knowing of his existence, I did know he was Master Jing's neighbor and had a great relationship with him. If reuniting with Zheng Da and Huang Shengli for a meal counts as a family reunion, they might have reunited over 100 times a year."

Qin Huai: "Did Gong Liang enjoy eating so well before?"

"He didn't cook a single meal, just went next door to eat, right?"

Just as everyone was plunged into silence again, Luo Jun, who hadn't spoken all this while, spoke with a slightly elevated tone, sounding a little smug—a tone he used when he was confident.

"If gathering four people for a casual meal counts as a family reunion, the phrase 'happy family' really would be worthless."

"Qin Huai can't handle this matter."

Qin Huai opened his mouth, "I can just directly—"

But Luo Jun interrupted Qin Huai without mercy, "Directly ask? You think the Scammer is like Chen Huihong, a not-so-bright Plant Spirit who can accept abrupt topics without suspicion? How will you directly ask? If it's really that frequent a year, how can you be direct?"

"You won't be able to ask; I need to do the asking."

"Isn't he coming to my house to sign the contract tonight? Chen Huihong, find a print shop to print the contract, and the rest of you shouldn't linger in my house tonight. Go do whatever you need to and don't get in my way."

"Tonight Gong Liang is definitely bringing something over to my house. What does he like to eat? Qin Huai, make some snacks he likes, leave the snacks and go, boil a pot of Dried Tangerine Peel Tea as I want to drink it tonight, and leave the rest to me."

Seeing Luo Jun so self-assured, Zhao Cheng'an, who had stayed out of the situation and was even blatantly playing on his phone, couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Luo, how are you going to ask?"

Luo Jun shot Zhao Cheng'an a look, "What does it have to do with you? Do you think I'm like you Mayflies, living eight lifetimes in vain, getting burdened by the skills of my first life upon waking up, combining eight lifetimes not worth my first. You really think I have wasted these 90-plus years of my life?" 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The first time Zhao Cheng'an suffered from Luo Jun's verbal attack, he just thought sometimes when Qin Huai and Tan Wei'an spoke, it wasn't as harsh as this.

When the two personally attacked, they still somewhat talked about reason; Luo Jun's personal attack was just pure attack.

Zhao Cheng'an silently shut his mouth.

Seeing that Luo Jun didn't want to say more, Qin Huai stopped asking. After making a batch of Four Happiness Flower Rolls and wrapping a batch of Four Happiness glutinous rice balls, he went home to await news.

The others also returned to their respective homes, and before leaving, Chen Huihong packed not just the fruits but also the unfinished sunflower seeds.

Qin Huai stayed at home waiting quietly until 10 p.m., during which the "Loving Family" group chat had over 999+ messages. Chen Huihong @ed Luo Jun more than 30 times, asking if he got the information, but Luo Jun didn't respond.

Finally, at 10:03 p.m., Luo Jun sent a list to Qin Huai.

The list contained 12 kinds of snacks.

The attached note read: "It's definitely among these 12 snacks. If you made them all and didn't complete the task, that means you did it wrong."

Qin Huai: "Oh!"

Family, indeed, ginger gets spicier with age!

The Bi fang for a change, indeed, one lifetime here has more substance than a Mayfly's eight.