Chapter 62: Jianbing

Qin Qing didn’t know the owner of Yawei Jiangnan. But that didn’t stop others from knowing her.

Seeing his brilliant smile, it was clear the restaurant’s revenue must have seen a huge increase since her last visit.

He said a lot, but the central idea he conveyed was simple: The God of Wealth has come to my home, and I must worship her!

“I see this is a family banquet. This private room is a bit small and might not fit everyone comfortably. Let me move you to a larger one.”

Swish…

Everyone turned their heads in unison toward Qin Qing.

…

Qin Qing refused, “This is fine, no need to change. Grandpa and Grandma have trouble getting around, so moving would be a hassle.”

“That’s right,” said the robust Old Qin. “My legs hurt if I walk too much. I don’t like walking at all.”

“Alright then. I won’t disturb you and your family’s meal. The waitstaff will be right outside the door, just call if you need anything. Today, this table is on my tab. Uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, grandpa, grandma—feel free to add anything you’d like to eat.” The owner then instructed the waitress beside him, “Go tell the kitchen to prioritize any additional dishes for this table.”

“Rest assured, boss.”

Finally, the owner glanced at the order slip hanging on the side of the table.

He said to Qin Qing, “Our restaurant has recently added a few new dishes. You must try them and give us your opinion.”

Only then did he withdraw.

Xiao Yuan had already started wiping away sweat with a napkin.

Swish…

A unified movement, all eyes on Qin Qing.

A unified expression, all filled with curiosity.

Oh, except for Second Aunt. Her face was ashen.

The grandfather, who had been forced into having mobility issues, asked with a chuckle, “Qin Qing, do you know this owner?”

“Haha, not really. I just happened to do him a small favor once, I didn’t expect him to be so courteous.” She didn’t elaborate.

Mainly because the story wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny. What could she say? That she ordered a dish here that made netizens go crazy? It sounded a bit fake, more like bragging.

The dishes arrived one after another. Second Aunt didn’t take a single bite.

Grandma spoke up, “Second Aunt, why aren’t you touching your chopsticks? The owner said it’s on the house, for Qingqing’s sake. You’ve saved quite a bit this time.”

Second Aunt’s expression was nothing short of ferocious and twisted, but the one speaking was her own mother, so she couldn’t talk back.

Cousin Yaqian also kept putting food on Second Aunt’s plate, coaxing her, “This is delicious, Mom, hurry and try some.”

Second Aunt had just managed to pick up her chopsticks when the waitress came again with more dishes, all of which they hadn’t ordered.

The waitress announced the dishes, saying they were compliments of the owner, the head chef, a sous chef named Yang… There were so many plates they couldn’t all fit on the table.

Second Aunt put her chopsticks down again.

Qin Qing couldn’t be bothered with all that; the head chef’s skills were as superb as ever.

It was great having so many people; she could eat so many different dishes.

As the newcomer to the family, Xiao Yuan went around toasting everyone present. Compared to the enthusiasm he showed when pouring tea earlier, there was now an added layer of caution.

Especially when it came to Qin Qing.

His waist was bent so low it was almost level with the table, his face overflowing with a smile.

Qin Qing sighed. She was annoyed with Second Aunt, but she didn’t feel the need to make an enemy of this man; she wasn’t that bored.

This Xiao Yuan, aside from a penchant for petty gains, like taking gift boxes from the company to give to relatives, wasn’t a bad person. Moreover, he was sincere toward Cousin Yaqian; both of them were on each other’s System Panel’s Character Relationship Map. She had no intention of breaking up a good match.

Qin Qing didn’t put on airs, and her attitude was normal, which allowed Xiao Yuan to relax a little.

But just then, Second Aunt, still trying to regain her sense of superiority, chimed in after Xiao Yuan downed his drink in one go: “Qin Qing, you’re the one who should be toasting Xiao Yuan. You’re in the same company, and Xiao Yuan is your senior. You should have him look out for you in the future.”

“Not at all, not at all.” Xiao Yuan waved his hands frantically. How could he dare to play along with his future mother-in-law’s posturing? Even the way he addressed Qin Qing changed. “Consultant Qin’s rank is much higher than mine. I should be the one asking Consultant Qin to look out for me.”

On the company’s internal system, a regular employee couldn’t look people up by structure or position. But it was a different story if you knew their name. Searching a name would reveal the person’s department, rank, and position.

So naturally, he had found out about Qin Qing’s consultant status.

Xiao Yuan was doing well in the marketing department and was quite a smooth operator. He knew the company’s system; a consultant was basically a part-time position, although their part-time job already paid more than most full-time employees. To be invited by the company for a part-time role meant their main career must be flourishing. He didn’t dare to be arrogant.

“Consultant?”

Facing everyone’s questions, Xiao Yuan gave them a quick rundown. He added flatteringly, “I wonder where Consultant Qin holds her primary position?”

Qin Qing was extremely embarrassed.

Being praised by outsiders and being praised in front of relatives who had seen her bare bottom as a baby—how could those two feelings be the same?

She braced herself and handed out her studio’s business cards.

Although they couldn’t understand what she did, everyone clicked their tongues in amazement. It seemed very impressive.

They even grumbled at Old Qin and Ms. Wang, “You two are so tight-lipped. Your child is so successful, and you didn’t say a word to any of us.”

First Aunt shot a glance at Second Aunt. “If Qingqing’s male cousin were this successful, I’d definitely be talking about it in the group chat three times a day. Don’t you think so, Second Aunt?”

Old Qin feigned modesty in a particularly loud voice, “It’s no big deal, just the kid fooling around.”

“You can’t say that. This is the first child in our Qin family to start their own business. It’s bound to be a success.”

Finally, there was someone who could completely crush the show-off Second Aunt. Everyone was delighted, so much so that they could eat two more plates of food.

Only Second Aunt was left, probably already full from anger.

As for Xiao Yuan, he had already tucked away the business card from Qin Qing with great care. For the rest of the meal, he adhered to the principle of speaking less and doing more, serving everyone like an industrious little bee.

After the meal, the owner of Yawei Jiangnan personally brought the chefs over to hear their opinions on the food.

All eyes were especially on Qin Qing.

What did she know? She would have been better off taking a stroll through the back kitchen to see if there were any undiscovered talents with a cooking Talent.

But since she had eaten their food, she couldn’t just say nothing.

She didn’t say anything off-putting about areas for improvement. Instead, she just looked at the chefs’ System Panels and extracted key points for praise.

For example, “The reason so many people love Yawei Jiangnan’s dishes is because the flavors are controlled with such fine precision. I imagine there must be a ‘good tongue’ in the back kitchen overseeing things. As long as that tongue is there, it’s hard for the dishes not to be delicious.”

The executive chef smiled. His ability to dominate the industry relied on that very good tongue of his.

For example, “These dishes… you couldn’t achieve this kind of flavor and texture without being immersed in Huaiyang cuisine for many years. Others might not be able to tell, but I know that without thirty years of skill, you wouldn’t get this result.”

The head chef smiled. He started his apprenticeship at 15 and was now 45—wasn’t that exactly 30 years?

An expert, a kindred spirit.

Qin Qing accepted the praise with a sense of unworthiness.

Along with the praise, she also accepted three complimentary VIP cards from the owner, which offered priority queuing and a permanent 15% discount.

There was a park nearby, so everyone walked over to admire the moon and aid their digestion.

At the park entrance was a night market, and as they passed by, they spotted a stall selling jianbing guozi.

Qin Qing habitually scanned the buzz-cut man who was making the jianbing.

“Oh my god!” She was so delighted she nearly jumped for joy.

It was Officer Meng! She had finally managed to catch this culinary prodigy who was being held back by his police identity.

Her voice not only startled her relatives beside her but also the hyper-vigilant Officer Meng. The look he shot over in that instant was as sharp as a falcon’s.

Ms. Wang slapped her on the arm. “What are you screaming about? Did a bug land on you?”

“No. Mom, I want to eat jianbing guozi.”

…

The falcon vanished, leaving only a merciless crepe-making machine in its place.

You had to admit, Officer Meng was impressive.

He was just making jianbing, yet there was already a line of six or seven people waiting to buy them.

Ms. Wang wasn’t the only one left speechless by Qin Qing’s request.

Even Cousin Yaqian said, “Qingqing, didn’t you say you were stuffed?”

Qin Qing refused to admit it, arguing righteously and logically, “Jianbing isn’t a proper meal, it’s just a snack. It goes into a different stomach.” She then gave a strong recommendation, “This jianbing looks delicious just by looking at it. Even the crispy cracker looks more golden than anywhere else. Do you guys want one?”

No one took Qin Qing up on her recommendation. Second Aunt even made a snide remark about how she was so old yet still as greedy as a child.

Grandma said, “Isn’t Qingqing the youngest in the family? It’s fine, Grandma will buy you some digestive pills.”

Seriously, at that moment, Qin Qing could feel many eyes on her.

They were probably all wondering which family was spoiling such a brat.

The brat was left behind to buy her own jianbing, while the adults went into the park to sit and wait for her.

Qin Qing stood at the end of the line, lamenting that she had encountered Officer Meng at the worst possible time.

If she hadn’t just eaten and if jianbing didn’t taste bad after sitting for a while, she would have willingly bought one of every flavor on the menu to hoard and eat later.

Who knew where Officer Meng would be staking out next time.

Qin Qing stared at the stall’s menu and, after a difficult decision, decided to get a Supreme Family Combo!

While waiting in line with nothing to do, she opened her System Panel to observe the people around her.

She didn’t know what kind of target Officer Meng was staking out, but it was definitely a criminal.

Since she was about to eat Officer Meng’s jianbing, she was happy to help him keep an eye out. Come to think of it, Officer Meng had it tough, working overtime on a holiday to stake someone out.

But everyone around seemed quite normal.

Next to the jianbing stall was a stall selling stir-fried noodles.

A young man in loud floral pants came over to order: “Two beef chow ho fun, no spice, and three pork belly stir-fried rice noodles with extra spice. All to go. Make the portions bigger, I’m starving. Hurry up.”

After ordering, he sat down at a small table in front of the stall. Qin Qing personally witnessed this man in floral pants start picking his nose and then wipe it on the table…

…

She wanted to puke.

But she suppressed her discomfort and took a look at his System Panel anyway.

【Merit: 7】

【Sin: 55】

Qin Qing shuddered. It hadn’t reached the Sin Value that would trigger a System Panel alert, but the number was already terrifying.

She subconsciously looked at Officer Meng. He seemed completely unaware, still mechanically spreading the batter for a jianbing.

This wasn’t Officer Meng’s target?

Qin Qing didn’t dare to look at the man in the floral pants anymore. She took out her notebook and wrote down his name.

She quickly checked his log.

【September 5, 17:21: Traded the boy Luo Zhihan in Lihua Village, profit 90,000.】

【September 5, 21:30: Split profits with accomplice, personal share 1,800 yuan.】

【September 11, 15:15: Abducted the girl Feng Huanhuan on Tonghua Street, Lufeng County.】

…

Qin Qing didn’t look any further, but she knew this group had at least one more child in their hands.

Scum!

While she was checking the log, the people ahead of her in line had already bought their food and left.

Officer Meng was scraping the residual batter from the edge of the griddle with his spatula, making a clanging sound.

“What do you want?”

“Supreme Family Combo.”

Officer Meng glanced at her, probably recognizing her as the brat from earlier. He said, “Can you even eat it?”

“My appetite is just fine.”

She saw that the stir-fried noodles ordered by the man in the floral pants were already being packed up.

Qin Qing suddenly stepped into the stall.

Officer Meng instantly crouched into a horse stance, his right hand moving to the small of his back.

Qin Qing said loudly, “I’m just checking to see if your ingredients here are fresh.”

Officer Meng continued making the jianbing, but his eyes never left her.

Pretending to inspect the ingredients, Qin Qing moved closer to Officer Meng and whispered quickly, “I’m Qin Qing, a criminal investigation consultant for the Wuning Sub-bureau. I’ve also worked with Captain Chen Deyu from your sub-bureau. Don’t look at me! At your three o’clock, there’s a human trafficker. Black T-shirt, floral pants, blue slippers, yellow hair. He’s not armed right now, but he should have accomplices nearby. More importantly, they have at least one young girl they’re waiting to sell.”

Officer Meng quickly glanced in the direction of the man in floral pants.

He whispered back, “How sure are you?” There was sound, but his lips barely moved.

“One hundred percent.”

Officer Meng finally looked at her properly.

“Officer Meng, trust me!” Qin Qing looked him straight in the eye, conveying her sincerity. “Oh no, he’s leaving.”

“Can’t arrest him here. If there’s really a gang, it’s best to catch them all in one go. I’ll follow him and see.”

He said loudly, “I’m going to the restroom, watch the stall for me.” He used his eyes to signal for Qin Qing not to follow.

Then he went after the man in the floral pants.

Feeling uneasy, Qin Qing called Chen Deyu and Lin Feng separately to request backup for Officer Meng.

This place was actually quite far from both the Wuning Sub-bureau and the Jiangnan Branch Bureau. She didn’t know if they could make it in time. She hoped Officer Meng wouldn’t act rashly.

After doing all that, there seemed to be nothing else she could do.

She looked down and made a new discovery.

It was fine for Officer Meng to chase the criminal, and it was fine for him not to let her go. The problem was her jianbing! It was still on the griddle, not yet finished.

If you weren’t going to let me go, shouldn’t you have at least finished this jianbing? It was already at the sauce-spreading stage, which would only take ten seconds. She felt that chasing the man in the floral pants didn’t need to be so urgent as to not spare ten seconds.

Now, was she supposed to roll up the jianbing herself? There were too many fillings; she couldn’t roll it properly.

Qin Qing stared intently at the jianbing on the griddle, trying to use her gaze to make it understand that for a jianbing, the most important thing in life is knowing how to roll itself.

However, this jianbing was not sensible; it had not learned to roll itself.

Aaaah!

May all the criminals in the world drop dead.

She was just a weak, helpless, greedy foodie. Was it wrong for her to want a jianbing? She had been craving it for a whole month.

Qin Qing could already smell something burning. If she didn’t roll it soon, the crepe would be ruined.

She tried to reach out.

A minute later, Qin Qing was sitting behind the stall, munching on the irregularly shaped jianbing she had rolled herself.

Aside from its poor appearance, the jianbing she made tasted pretty good, especially the crispy crepe skin. It was super fragrant!

A young couple came over and, without a word, scanned the QR code to pay.

“Boss, two original flavor jianbing, please.”

Qin Qing looked at the customers blankly.

The girl was saying to her boyfriend, “The owner is eating it himself, so it must be clean.”

Qin Qing: “You might not believe me, but my jianbing-making skills aren’t very good.”

“Is this a new stall? That’s okay, we’re not picky. As long as it’s clean.”

The art of making jianbing is simple to describe and not actually that difficult to do.

If you don’t care about the appearance, that is.

In any case, the result was that half an hour later, when her long-absent family came back to look for their greedy girl, they discovered a familiar-looking, busy stall owner inside the jianbing stall.