Afraid that the junk in his trunk would dirty Qin Huai's luggage, the Old Secretary's grandson even laid out two pieces of cloth.

Qin Huai mentioned the address of Cao Guixiang's neighborhood, then got in the car and set off.

On the way, the Old Secretary's grandson remained quite silent, only unable to hold back his curiosity near their destination, asking, "So, Qin Huai, when are you planning to come back for the Chinese New Year this year?"

"I mean no harm, it's just that my grandpa's place now has two new fridges, big ones, capable of holding loads!"

Qin Huai understood exactly what he meant and said with a laugh, "Probably the same as always, back before New Year's Eve and leaving after the Lantern Festival."

"Great, great, great." Imagining getting to eat snacks for half a month straight during the New Year celebration made the Old Secretary's grandson grin from ear to ear. "All these things must be hard to carry, and your two suitcases are quite heavy too. Let me help you carry them upstairs."

"Sure thing." Qin Huai accepted without hesitation, pulling his two suitcases while the Old Secretary's grandson carried the free-range chicken and the eggs.

But before they could take a few steps, they met Cao Guixiang and Zhang Chu, who had been waiting for some time, at the bottom of the apartment block. With a glance from Cao Guixiang, Zhang Chu strode quickly forward to take the suitcase, thinking it would be a breeze, but to his surprise, it was incredibly heavy.

Zhang Chu was shocked, thinking to himself about what Qin Huai had brought back to make it so heavy. He was only staying for a few days, surely he hadn't packed dumbbells?

Seeing that her husband was only pulling one suitcase, Cao Guixiang gave him a look, indicating he should take the other suitcase too.

We live in a walk-up on the third floor without an elevator; we can't possibly let Xiao Qin carry these suitcases up the stairs.

Zhang Chu had no choice but to grit his teeth and lift the other suitcase too.

Qin Huai found the situation both amusing and exasperating, hastily saying, "Grandpa Zhang, I can carry this suitcase myself. This one is even heavier and filled with raw snack doughs."

Hearing Qin Huai say so, Zhang Chu suddenly found renewed strength; his back no longer ached, his legs stopped hurting, and his hands and feet brimmed with energy, as if he had instantly returned to his youthful vigor at eighteen, rediscovering the stamina he had when apprenticing as he continuously planed wood.

Zhang Chu shouted robustly, "No problem, Xiao Qin, you're underestimating your Grandpa Zhang. Your Grandpa Zhang has nothing but strength! Back in the day, hauling three to four hundred pounds of wood was nothing!"

Then Zhang Chu gasped for breath, huffing and puffing with each move as he carried the suitcase.

Qin Huai: ...

Cao Guixiang waved with a smile, "Don't mind him, let him exercise a bit; he's been sitting around fishing every day and could use the workout."

Silently following at the end of the line and clutching the chicken, the rope that tied the chicken had snapped, so the Old Secretary's grandson had to hold the box with the chicken and eggs in one hand and press down on the chicken with the other: ...

Does no one care about me? Isn't anyone concerned about me?

Cao Guixiang led Qin Huai as they joyfully walked ahead, saying with a laugh, "I originally wanted to make you some nice dishes today, but your Grandpa Zhang's unreliable, the Luzon grouper he ordered arrived a day late. Just as well, I haven't made soup in front of you before, tonight we'll just have some simple fare. I made you some home-cooked dishes: green onion braised sea cucumber, preserved vegetable pork belly, clay-clay duck, and stir-fried yam."

"The yam hasn't been stir-fried yet, later you'll come to the kitchen and assist me. The thickening you did for the yam that day had a little issue, watch me do it once and see if you can identify where your problem was."

Just hearing the names of the dishes made Qin Huai's mouth water, thankful he didn't eat much on the plane except for two cups of ice coke, nodding heavily, "Alright, Master Cao, we're starting tonight…"

"Tonight is a small trial, just a practice. Mainly because I'm going to be making soup tonight, and you've been on a plane all day, you're probably too tired to practice thickening extensively. Practicing when you're not in good form is futile, we'll just casually practice some knife skills tonight. Did you practice today?"

"I practiced for about twenty minutes this morning."

"Then you should practice more, cut radishes while I make the soup tonight, Grandpa Zhang has already bought them for you."

Cao Guixiang led Qin Huai up to the third floor, went inside, Zhang Chu and the Old Secretary's grandson followed behind, and as the Old Secretary's grandson entered, an old hen broke free from its restraints and flew out of the box. Cao Guixiang, quick as lightning, caught the hen in mid-air, impressing the Old Secretary's grandson to the point that his jaw dropped to the floor.

At this time in Guangdong Province, the temperature is already quite high, and Qin Huai worried that the snacks might spoil if left in the suitcase for too long. Without saying much, he directly carried the suitcase to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and started cramming snacks inside.

He didn't forget to slip two bags to the Old Secretary's grandson.

The Old Secretary's grandson: !

Oh family, what a delightful surprise! If there's ever another delivery of pasture chicken like this, do count me in!

Since Qin Huai had made quite a lot of snacks this time, they didn't all fit in Cao Guixiang's fridge, leaving one entire suitcase of snacks to be stored in the neighbor's fridge.

Watching Zhang Chu skillfully knock on the neighbor's door to borrow their fridge, Qin Huai could tell their fridge often served as backup storage.

The preserved vegetable pork belly, clay-pot duck, and green onion braised sea cucumber were all ready, looking lovingly prepared as if Cao Guixiang had timed the cooking perfectly, ready just in time for Qin Huai's arrival downstairs.

Only the stir-fried yam remained.

"Xiao Qin, come to the kitchen and help me out," Cao Guixiang said cheerily, handing Qin Huai a brown apron.

Qin Huai adeptly tied on the apron and headed to the kitchen to slice the yam.

The yam had already been peeled, only the slicing remained.

As Qin Huai walked into the kitchen and picked up the kitchen knife, he instinctively checked if his grip was correct, a reflex from the muscle memory formed while being corrected on his knife-holding technique in the past while in Cao Guixiang's kitchen.

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