Starting with the gossip between Master Liu and Master Hua, Tan Wei’an seed to open a floodgate, pouring out the gossip from his mind non-stop.
Just like taking recipes from his Treasure Bag, he’s got the goods, but usually doesn’t have the chance to spill it out. Once soone starts the topic, he dives into his Treasure Bag, frantically searching without being prompted.
All kinds of gossip abound.
Like how Master A always had a grudge against Master B because once during a gathering, Master B, after drinking a little too much, criticized Master A’s snacks. Afterward, Master B completely forgot about it because he drank too much and blanked out, but Master A held onto that grudge, feeling too petty to argue about it with Master B. So, he silently fud and has been holding a grudge until today.
After the fact, everyone comnted that indeed, Master A was being very petty. Of course, Master A doesn’t know about these comnts because everyone feared that Master A would hold a grudge against them, too.
And then there’s Master C holding a grudge against Master B because they both fancied an apprentice and wanted to take the apprentice as their disciple. Master C thought he was more skilled and sure to win, but the apprentice ended up becoming Master B’s disciple.
This left Master C vexed, convinced that Master B must have secretly and underhandedly swiped the apprentice he wanted. He was furious with Master B, and their conflict almost got out of hand. Finally, Boss Su intervened and managed to make peace between the two.
As for why the apprentice eventually chose Master B, nobody at Zhiwei Restaurant knows except Tan Wei’an. Because one ti, Tan Wei’an was having a al with that apprentice who inadvertently revealed that, although he knew Master C’s cooking was better suited for him, he personally preferred Master B’s orchid cake, which was the reason he decisively chose Master B as his ntor.
There’s also Master D, who is a clean freak, so his biggest requirent for his disciples is that they must be clean. Master E is obsessed with appearances, preferring good-looking male or female disciples. But Master E’s wife is very plain-looking, leaving everyone wondering if he’s truly into appearances.
As for the insignificant gossips like a Direct Disciple of Master A being scamd 200,000 in an online relationship, or a Direct Disciple of Master B discovering after two years of an online relationship that the other person was the sa gender, or a Direct Disciple of Master C being involved in two-timing, leading a girl to their workplace to cause a scene, nearly getting expelled from the sect — these are countless.
At this point, many might find it strange why they refer to them as A, B, C, D instead of their surnas. Couldn’t they even make up surnas if they couldn’t co up with nas?
That’s mainly because that’s exactly how Qin Huai heard it. Tan Wei’an used ABCD while telling the story.
In Tan Wei’an’s words, he indeed knows a lot. He knows what Su Qian knows and even what Su Qian doesn’t know, maybe due to his status at Zhiwei Restaurant.
Tan Wei’an is quite a unique presence at Zhiwei Restaurant. He’s not only the Direct Disciple of the Master but also the master’s actual grandson and a shareholder of Zhiwei Restaurant. But incidentally, his grandfather passed away a few years ago, and his senior brothers have all left Zhiwei Restaurant to explore the outside world, leaving only him and Guli behind. This results in Tan Wei’an having a high status at Zhiwei Restaurant without real power, with no conflicts of interest with any factions.
He’s a bit like the mascot junior uncle from cultivation novels — everyone is willing to give him face. He seems to have strong backing but is actually average, lacking substantial power. Nobody wants to offend him, yet nobody truly fears him. Everyone feels having such a person in the sect does good, so his personal relations are extrely good.
This is why Tan Wei’an’s ability to gather gossip isn’t as good as Dong Shi’s, but he knows a lot of authentic and explosive gossip.
Moreover, Tan Wei’an is very professional about gossip; he discusses what can be discussed, picks what can be shared, and keeps his mouth shut about absolutely secret gossip.
And the gossip he talks about is always verified and authentic, with no fake, falsified, or second-hand news.
The quality is guaranteed.
Tan Wei’an uses ABCD as placeholders because he feels that gossip should be for gossip’s sake; these things shouldn’t affect Qin Huai’s judgnt of the people at Zhiwei Restaurant.
Qin Huai is new, coming to Zhiwei with a fresh identity. On top of that, Tan Wei’an clearly sees Qin Huai as a smart person who has his own set of judgnts and logic about everyone. If he tells Qin Huai everything up front, Qin Huai might develop preconceived biases about many people.
Tan Wei’an shares gossip to help Qin Huai blend into Zhiwei Restaurant better and faster, not to have a counterproductive effect. Using ABCD as placeholders allows Qin Huai to make judgnts about who is who based on future interactions, which is more useful than directly telling him.
The only problem is that it left Qin Huai slightly confused, the ABCD revolving around in his mind making him dizzy, wishing he could pull out a notepad to sort through the people and draw a tree diagram.
Even up to the point of getting out of the car, Qin Huai was still reminiscing.
Since Qin Huai ca to Hangzhou with the people from Zhiwei Restaurant this ti, Boss Su didn’t bother to arrange for pick-up and drop-off, directly letting Su Qian take Qin Huai to his accommodation.
When they hailed a cab, due to the large suitcases of the four people, they split into pairs to get two cabs. Tan Wei’an and Guli shared one cab, Qin Huai and Su Qian shared another, as the addresses were similar.
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