In theory, crab roe pork buns require fresh crab roe to make. This way, they're the freshest, most authentic, most flavorful, and best able to combine the seasoning of crab roe and pork to their fullest.

Just like crab dumplings, only crab dumplings made with fresh crab roe are true crab dumplings, using crab yellow sauce is heresy.

Qin Huai always waits for the crab season to practice making crab dumplings; crab dumplings are the true seasonal special at Yunzhong Restaurant.

But for the crab roe pork buns, Master Qin has his own ideas.

Although Qin Huai rarely makes crab roe pork buns, he believes that whether it's fresh crab roe or crab yellow sauce made from fresh crab roe, both are well suited for crab roe pork buns. Qin Huai even thinks the latter is more fitting for buns.

Qin Huai is happily making the filling.

With a master level, and more than halfway through the experience, Qin Huai can relax and chat while seasoning, his hands working, brain thinking, and mouth talking. That's the benefit of high basic stats.

Zhou Hu is still studying feng shui. According to Qin Luo's report, he's finished observing, now Zhou Hu is hand-in-hand teaching Old Master Qin how to revise, and soon they'll reach the decluttering phase.

Considering that now Old Master Qin's decluttering victims have increased to two, today's top victim, Qin Luo, has already moved from the kitchen to the room, supervising Old Master Qin's decluttering throughout, absolutely ensuring he doesn't keep a single item.

An Youyou is eating fruit in the room.

Eating a lot.

During the Qin family's New Year, fruits are plentiful, let alone Uncle Wang having sent over a dozen boxes of fruits from Shan City. Old Master Qin and Granny Qin were already worried that with so many fruits at home, they might spoil since no one eats them. When An Youyou heard that the elderly couple was troubled over this, she immediately offered to help solve the problem, staying in the room, munching on fruits without even going to the kitchen.

By the way, An Youyou's room faces the sunshine, the kind that gets sun in the afternoon. An Youyou is quite pleased, moving a small stool to sit by the window and eat fruit.

Everyone is busy, so Qin Huai can only chat with Mr. Xu.

Granny Qin is strolling outside, Zhao Rong is washing vegetables in the kitchen, Qin Congwen is chopping meat, and while Qin Huai chats, he has to keep his words unclear but can casually speak nonsense. Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen are well accepting when their adored son occasionally rambles, saying things they don't understand, as long as others have no objections, neither will they.

If others do object, they will find ways to make them not object, or ignore their objections.

My son's snacks are so good; what's wrong if his mind is a bit off? It's not the first day his mind has been off, can't you all be a bit more tolerant? Our Huaihuai is much better compared to his childhood, isn't he? Back then, he would run around every day claiming he had a system.

"Mr. Xu, do you really like crab roe snacks?" Qin Huai asked.

Mr. Xu nodded, then shook his head: "Not really, I don't particularly like anything. When I was young, I was scared of hunger, so I liked anything edible. Before, Little Nuo would make whatever, that's what we'd eat. That kid had good skills and lots of ideas, often making snacks we hadn't even heard of."

Saying this, a nostalgic expression appeared on Mr. Xu's face, his mouth slightly curved into a smile he himself might not have noticed: "My wife used to quietly tell me, since Little Nuo loved making snacks so much, why not find a way to send him to a state-owned restaurant as a chef, no need to force him into college, especially since he wouldn't listen to us anyway."

"Xu Nuo probably didn't want to work as a chef at a state-owned restaurant, right?" Qin Huai said casually, vaguely remembering Shi Dadan mentioning it, and he'd seen it in his memory too. Xu Nuo simply loved making and eating good food, lacking enthusiasm for work.

The pastry chef position at a state-owned restaurant was fairly tiring after all.

"He didn't want to. It's not like the kid was lazy; he simply had different aspirations, always wanting to run away. But back then, leaving required permission; he was considered an aimless troublesome child, wanting to run away all the time, no wonder rumors spread about him being a wastrel, a street punk."

"Later, his mom and grandma checked him, and he helped at the state-owned restaurant, without even being considered a temporary job or getting paid." Mr. Xu shook his head as he spoke, "At that point, his mom and I realized this wasn't a child we could control. From then on, as long as he wasn't breaking the law, he could do whatever he wanted, just as he pleased, if it made him happy."

"Then there was that incident..."

"For months, my wife practically cried herself to sleep every day. I was genuinely upset too, but the more upset I got, the more I wanted to believe what Little Nuo told me, holding onto hope, no matter how absurd. I didn't plan to tell my wife about it initially; saying this back then, especially considering I was the factory director, anyone mentioning grief could easily end up deemed insane due to grief."

"Eventually I worried my wife was too saddened, so I secretly shared it with her."

"Then do you know what she did, Master Qin?"

"What?" Qin Huai asked.

"She secretly went to an abandoned, ruined temple in the wilds to pray, hoping Little Nuo would reincarnate and find a good family in his next life."

Qin Huai was startled, his hand trembled while mixing the filling, accidentally flinging a chunk of crab roe pork filling aside.

Qin Huai didn't expect the topic to turn like this. You know, Mr. Xu wasn't someone who enjoyed reminiscing about the past. Back when they were in the nursing home, even after being open with each other, Mr. Xu would always narrate exciting stories in a plain tone, and it was always about interesting and fun topics. Sadness was never part of Mr. Xu's stories, and Qin Huai and the others could tell that Mr. Xu intentionally avoided certain topics.

Like Xu Nuo.

Mr. Xu rarely mentioned Xu Nuo, and he hardly ever mentioned the name. He usually referred to him as my son or my two sons, as if casually mentioning it could make it go unnoticed when mentioned along with others.

But today, Mr. Xu had a change of heart and mentioned it on his own, leaving Qin Huai bewildered.

Qin Huai felt at a loss, starting to reflect if it was because he was making crab and pork filled buns today, and he had asked Mr. Xu if he liked crab snacks, possibly prompting Mr. Xu to recall memories and feel sad, breaking his usual routine.

In such a scenario, if Mr. Xu were a spirit, he would have triggered a side quest.

Thinking of this, Qin Huai wanted to slap himself and say: I'm really awful! I only remembered that Mr. Xu had an exceptionally good grasping ability, being the only pure human among us, and forgot that Mr. Xu is essentially an actual elder just a few years younger than Luo Jun, who might outlive Luo Jun given time.

Qin Huai, you're mistreating an elder!

Qin Huai desperately wanted to ask Mr. Xu what he liked to eat so he could make amends immediately, but then remembered Mr. Xu had just said he had no particular favorite foods.

Qin Huai, you're mistreating an elder who had to beg for food as a child.

Qin Huai considered sending a message to An Youyou to stop eating those darn fruits in her room and come to the kitchen to rescue your boss.

Qin Huai fell into silence.

In the first second of Qin Huai's silence, Mr. Xu noticed Qin Huai's inner conflict. He chuckled and said slowly, "You didn't say anything inappropriate, I just mentioned some past events offhandedly, no need to be so on edge."

"Just say what you want to, like Old…Youyou."

Since Mr. Xu said that, there was indeed something Qin Huai wanted to ask.

Qin Huai cleared his throat and asked, "Was your wife…was she regretful before she died?"

Qin Congwen: ?

Zhao Rong: ??

The couple exchanged glances, seeing shock in each other's eyes, their faces reading that their son's brain seems to have melted from making snacks, speaking so bluntly. Even Luoluo couldn't ask such a hellish question.

Mr. Xu was also a bit choked up, somewhat speechless, his face showing the thought that, maybe your earlier guilt was just a setup to ask this question.

"Actually, she had no regrets," Mr. Xu said lightly. "Before she died, she told me she couldn't wait for Little Nuo to come back and find her. Given Little Nuo's character, when he remembered and came back to find her, if he found out she was already dead, he'd surely cry anxiously. So, she deliberately wrote a letter to Little Nuo, sealed it with sealing wax, and didn't allow me to open it, afraid I'd blurt out its contents to him when I first saw him."

"She also told me that after I saw Little Nuo, to visit her grave and write a letter about Little Nuo's situation and burn it for her, not forgetting to burn one for mom too. She needed to know if the incense burned for Buddha over the years worked, whether Little Nuo ended up reincarnating into a good family."

Mr. Xu smiled as he spoke, "She didn't believe in these things at all, and she wasn't sincere when burning incense, always haggling when buying incense, afraid of paying too much."

Qin Huai also chuckled a bit.

Qin Congwen who was originally mincing meat not far from Qin Huai, silently moved the cutting board farther away while Mr. Xu spoke, thinking this is too hellish.

Though he couldn't understand at all, he felt it was too hellish, while internally sighing at how difficult serving clients was, with even these kinds of conversations being possible between two people.

Just as Qin Huai was about to say something, Qin Luo excitedly ran into the kitchen, announcing the best news of the day aloud.

"Bro, Grandpa is cleaning out stuff, he dug out all our homework books, composition books, and drawing books from over the years!"

Qin Huai: !

"Dad didn't find them all earlier, but in Grandpa's room, there are still your composition books from junior high and fifth grade. You wrote a composition about your dad carrying you to the hospital on a rainy night, and the teacher's comment was not to copy your desk mate's composition. I laughed so hard, I even took a picture, hahaha!"

Qin Huai: ?