With Qin Huai's reminder, Chen Huihong recalled a few things from when she was the crazy lady.
"Oh, you're talking about that kitchen helper chef at the back of Taifeng Building. I do rember him. I recognized right away that he was a spirit. But I thought sothing was wrong with his head because he worked tirelessly. I initially thought he was just working as a chef at Taifeng Building to get so food and experience life, but it turns out he was genuinely learning the craft and working hard. The snacks he made were quite tasty."
"I think I rember eating one of the snacks he made, what was it called..."
"It seed to be a longevity peach, crafted very distinctively. There weren't many chefs at Taifeng Building skilled in making snacks. I think that occasion was for so Prince's birthday. Manager Lu wanted to grab the order, so he had go over to pretend to praise the appearance of the longevity peach. I recall it had red bean filling, and it was quite delicious."
"Could that spirit be Zhao Cheng'an?" Chen Huihong was shocked.
Qin Huai nodded emphatically. As long as Chen Huihong rembered Zhao Cheng'an, it was easier to deal with.
"Do you still rember anything else about Zhao Cheng'an's first life, Sister Hong?" Qin Huai asked further.
Chen Huihong thought for a mont and shook her head.
"I wasn't familiar with him; I don't think we even talked," Chen Huihong said, uncertain. "Probably not. You know —I'm just a plant spirit, not really keen on making friends with other spirits. During the tribulations of my first life, I always preferred not to get involved unless absolutely necessary. As long as others didn't co to , I would never seek them out first."
"Moreover, I stayed in Beiping for less than two years before moving to other places, then got shot dead by bandits. If I rember correctly, a few months before I left Beiping, Zhao Cheng'an, Master Chen, and Master Chen's apprentice left Taifeng Building and went to work as chefs at the Li Mansion."
"I learned about this from Manager Lu complaining to , saying Jiang Chengde was quite inconsiderate. He focused on introducing Master Chen to a good job and didn't consider the future developnt of Taifeng Building."
"Master Chen was getting old and couldn't work for many more years. Zhao Cheng'an's culinary skills were average, and only the pastries were sowhat decent, but that wasn't important. However, Master Chen's apprentice, with the surna Xia, had first-class skills and talent. Talents like that should have been retained at Taifeng Building; losing them to the Li Mansion was a huge loss."
"Is the apprentice with the surna Xia, Xia Sheng?" Qin Huai asked again.
"I don't know; how would I rember their nas? I don't even rember Master Chen's na. I just rember Master Chen's sweet and sour carp being delicious, an absolute delicacy. After leaving Beiping, I haven't eaten such a tasty sweet and sour fish again."
Qin Huai: "...And which mansion is the Li Mansion?"
"How would I know? There are so many people with the surna Li in Beiping. It should be so wealthy and agreeable big family," Chen Huihong said, closing her eyes and rummaging through her mory, then added, "Zhao Cheng'an and Master Chen got along quite well. It seems they always stayed at Master Chen's house."
Qin Huai could see that Chen Huihong really only knew this much; anything more would be making things up.
This way, Qin Huai could sowhat piece together Zhao Cheng'an's tiline in his first life.
Found a job, t Chen Qiusheng, pestered him persistently, eventually softened Chen Qiusheng's heart, who introduced him to Taifeng Building, where he got hired, and continued living at Chen Qiusheng's ho. Due to lacking talent, Chen Qiusheng didn't take him as an apprentice, instead, Xia Sheng beca Chen Qiusheng's apprentice, and later followed Chen Qiusheng to another big house as a chef.
Judging by how life should have been decent: during that era, anyone might lack food and clothing except for the chefs at renowned restaurants and big houses. Zhao Cheng'an's als should have been fine at least.
It's just unclear how he failed the tribulation, but Qin Huai thought the reason for failing the tribulation might not even be important. After all, a Mayfly's purpose in undergoing a tribulation is to fail. When spirits are intent on failing, any ridiculous excuse can lead to failure.
Maybe even finding the last al before death too salty and unpalatable could cause failure.
After analyzing it in his mind, Qin Huai glanced at the group video call participant count and realized everyone was there, even Cheng Gong had joined. Qin Huai promptly cleared his throat and recounted in detail everything he had just seen in Zhao Cheng'an's dream.
At the end, Qin Huai sighed: "Thinking about it this way, Zhao Cheng'an's tribulation seems to align perfectly with his wishes. His first life was as a chef, where he learned the skill of making snacks. Even up to this life, he is a snack master. It seems he really enjoys making snacks. With experience from previous lives, when he finally masters it, he might completely rewrite the highest ranking for pastry chefs in the Chef Record."
Luo Jun wasn't concerned at all with record rankings; he couldn't enjoy fresh snacks from Zhiwei Restaurant while in Shancheng.
"Qin Huai, do you want Zhao Cheng'an to wake up?" Luo Jun asked directly.
"Ah? ?" Qin Huai was taken aback by the question. It wasn't like Zhao Cheng'an could wake up just because Qin Huai wanted him to.
"Mayflies are a very special type of spirit. Most spirits have never seen a Mayfly succeed in a tribulation, but that doesn't an it hasn't happened," Luo Jun explained. "People haven't seen one because even if a Mayfly succeeds in the tribulation, it would then sleep for several decades and awaken only for a few days. Under normal circumstances, the chances of encountering a Mayfly are very slim, let alone a successful one."
"So Mayflies can actually succeed in tribulation," Qin Huai realized.
"Very rarely. So unfortunate souls who didn't manage to fail in their first life might die young due to an accident and, without leaving much regret, inexplicably succeed in the tribulation. After that, they'd be consud with regret, loafing around everyday, yearning to sleep for centuries without waking up, wishing never to awaken again."
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