Director Qin led everyone towards the kitchen.

In terms of scale, the Sanmalu Children's Welfare Institute is certainly not as good as the orphanage where Qu Jing grew up. Shan City is a city, while Qiu County is just a county town. Before Qin Huai was adopted, there were still some normal, healthy children in the orphanage.

At that time, Director Qin was more like the head of a nursery than the director of the Sanmalu Children's Welfare Institute. Back then, each household couldn't afford much, and the living conditions of ordinary children's homes weren't necessarily better than those in the welfare institute. The children played together, and at first glance, you couldn't really tell who was from the welfare institute.

Many residents of the Sanmalu District, due to their busy work schedules, entrusted their children to Director Qin during the day. They would occasionally send rice or flour as a supplement, and Director Qin considered it as an extra job.

Qin Huai still remembers, before he was adopted, often persuading kids from the community to farm with him.

Before stepping into the kitchen, Qin Huai took a glance at the rundown little building.

Nowadays, the kids at the Sanmalu Children's Welfare Institute probably can't experience the fun he had back then when he fooled others. Not only has the institute moved to the suburbs, but normal children were also nearly gone.

When Qin Huai was taken in by the Qin Congwen couple, it represented the adoption of the last physically healthy boy from the Sanmalu Children's Welfare Institute.

If during Qin Huai's childhood, because of the era's circumstances, there were still many physically healthy orphans in the welfare institute who were easy to adopt, nowadays there are few normal children left in the institute.

Even children who are deaf are considered to have good innate conditions in the welfare institute.

Currently, Director Qin's expectations have shifted from finding a good family for the children, studying hard to get into college, to learning a skill to live independently so they wouldn't starve after adulthood.

The future of welfare institute children is bleak, with the number of volunteers decreasing year by year. Even the chef was fired due to being involved in a fraud case. In such circumstances, Qin Huai introduced two capable and compassionate individuals to the welfare institute in the second half of the year, appearing like a godsend.

Had Director Qin not organized a welcoming ceremony for Qin Huai with the children would already be considered as letting him off the hook.

In the kitchen, two volunteers were chopping meat, and judging by the fat content of the meat, it was clear it was for bun filling.

"Your Aunt Liu and Aunt Chen are over there taking care of the children and can't come. With the New Year approaching, we're short-staffed. Huaihuai, you can take over, and if you can't finish these fillings, let Uncle Qin cook meat-filled soup for the children," Director Qin comforted.

Qin Huai glanced at the ingredients laid out on the counter and thought it wasn't much of a problem. After a few months of exchanging and learning at Huang Ji, Qin Huai was no longer the Qin Huai of the past.

He is now a more efficient Qin Huai.

Having made the daily Four Happiness glutinous rice dumplings and guo'er, tonight is just about making Four Happiness dumplings and buns, small matter.

"No problem, I can finish it." With that, Qin Huai rolled up his sleeves and began to prepare the filling.

As soon as he arrived at the welfare institute, he began to brush up on his filling skill level. This New Year, Qin Huai had the confidence to level up his filling skill to Master Level.

Next, he would joyfully obtain the A-Level Four Happiness glutinous rice dumplings!

Make Gong Liang thrilled after the new year, smoothly completing Cheng Gong's side task.

Ah, it's a perfect arrangement.

While Qin Huai prepared the filling and the volunteers were handling the remaining ingredients, Director Qin was trying to help but ended up being more of a hindrance.

Qin Luo, being strong, was instructed by Qin Huai to pound the meat for the Four Happiness dumplings once more. Qin Congwen and Zhao Rong were considered advanced helpers, so Qin Huai let his parents help by making syrup first.

Simultaneously directing so many people, Qin Huai, with rich experience from Huang Ji in directing helpers, organized everyone methodically and unhurriedly.

With nothing to do, Director Qin could only start asking about Qin Huai's life when he was not in Qiu County.

Qin Congwen and Zhao Rong were also curious. When Qin Huai was at Huang Ji, he was busy, working and making snacks, completing tasks, leaving little time to communicate with his parents by phone.

Besides knowing that Qin Huai was highly valued at Huang Ji and had risen to Master Chef with many helpers under him, appearing in famous magazines, and that the snacks he made were sold at high prices, they knew little else.

The couple was also afraid of disturbing their son and delaying Qin Huai's rest, rarely calling him. Seeing Director Qin had initiated the topic, they quickly perked up to listen.

Qin Huai picked the tellable parts to talk about.

Until all the fillings were dealt with, and after kneading the dough needed for two batches of buns, leaving the dough to quietly ferment,

they began mass-producing the glutinous rice skin and barely finished speaking.

Director Qin concluded, "In these few months, you've had a more exciting time than in your years at Qiu County."

Qin Huai thought, of course, this is a few months in the life of a system novel's protagonist. It could write up to 900,000 words in a novel, definitely exciting.

"It was quite exciting, met many elders, and made some new friends," Qin Huai humbly summarized.

Director Qin laughed, his crow's feet more pronounced, "Sure enough, big cities are better. No wonder they say young people should explore big cities. Staying a lifetime in our small county town, life is just like this. Huaihuai, your skills need a big city to shine, staying in our little place is such a waste."

Upon hearing this, Qin Huai subconsciously glanced at Qin Congwen and, as expected, saw him wear that familiar guilty expression.

Just as Qin Huai was about to say something to change the topic, Director Qin asked, "Huaihuai, you didn't say earlier, what is your biological parents' surname?"

Qin Huai answered, "It's also Qin, quite a coincidence."

Director Qin turned to Qin Congwen, "Old Qin, see, I've said it before, you and Huaihuai are destined to be father and son this life. Don't be so quick to show you're indebted when you hear something, where are you so indebted anyway?"

"Watched too many Qiongyao dramas, haven't you?"

Qin Luo didn't quite understand and asked casually, "Why is it that because my brother's biological father is surnamed Qin, it means he and my dad are destined to be father and son?"

Zhao Rong and Director Qin laughed inexplicably, Qin Huai suddenly had a bad premonition.

Director Qin was good in every way, except for one issue, as he aged, his memory didn't falter a bit. All the black history he remembered crystal clear and settled old scores faster than anyone.

Director Qin smilingly explained to Qin Luo, "Your brother used to be surnamed Qin because I was surnamed Qin, and he followed my surname. In our Qiu County, while Qin is a big surname, not every household has it.

"Normally, when welfare children get adopted they take their adoptive parent's surname and changing names is common."

"But not your brother, no matter how he was a healthy boy at that age with many willing adopters. Every time it came to adoption, everything was fine at first until it came to changing surname and name. Then, he'd cry and make a scene, crying incessantly, drove away countless couples wanting to adopt him."

"Later, our welfare institute had no choice but to specifically select adoptive parents with the surname Qin. While there are many Qin-surnamed in Qiu County, we could find Qins willing to adopt him."

"Surname Qin wasn't enough, he refused to change names."

"When he cried, those unknowing would've thought our welfare institute was abusing children, nearly involving police."

Qin Huai scratched his head awkwardly, "Didn't they say it was suspected there was something wrong with me because of my childhood hyperactivity, so I wasn't adopted?"

"Yes, while other kids could sit obediently, you couldn't sit for minutes. Looked clearly lacking intelligence. When it came to changing surname and name, you'd bawl, everyone doubted your sanity.

Luckily, your parents lived nearby, knowing you fully. Otherwise, you'd've ruined my reputation."

"I remember, what did they used to say? Oh right, they said I was untrustworthy, clearly a foolish child claimed as normal."

Qin Huai: ...

In all fairness, he was just starving with ignorance, lacking literacy back then!

How many kids, devoid of cultural literacy but possessing a system, knew before reading system novels they had an unactivated system?

Feeling embarrassed, Qin Huai wanted to bury his head into the dough, yet Qin Luo casually replaced the dagger with afterthought.

"So Big Brother never got adopted because he wasn't smart?"

Qin Huai: ...

Dear sister, you missed the tasting of the mixed fruit filled dumplings, huh? No worries, during New Year's, you'll make up for it.

"But this means not only dad and brother are destined father and son, I and brother are destined siblings."

"If brother had been adopted elsewhere, he wouldn't be my brother."

Qin Luo said loudly, giggling.

Touched, Qin Huai blurted out, "Luoluo, this New Year, I'll make sure you eat A-Level Four Happiness glutinous rice dumplings!"

"Brother, what are A-Level Four Happiness dumplings? Is there some task from those imagined systems?"

"Don't worry, once you eat, you'll know. Your task for this New Year is to eat!"

"Mhm!"

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