Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1130 - 545: Order Confirmation
Qin Huai has completed many spirit-related side tasks and understands well that the core of these often differs from the literal expressions.
The task details can only convey a one-sided view, while the spirits' ideas are truly whimsical.
Luo Jun belongs to the "cheating zone," where words don't matter; he can ask directly.
Qu Jing is abstract in words and takes some time and full goodwill to understand the task details.
Gong Liang, regardless of the task details, seems challenging and demanding, but as long as emotions are aligned, he can complete them instantly—a man of sentiment.
An Youyou is the "fate and coincidence group"; her tasks seem like making potato dumplings, but actually require potato buns, making them really hard to complete without some luck and serendipity.
Qin Huai feels Zhou Hu is different from those mentioned, belonging to the "secretive group."
The real Zhou Hu, if he doesn't want to open up, simply using goodwill won't dig deep; only an exchange in frequency between fellow patients can reach Zhou Hu's heart.
Qin Huai was lucky.
Zhou Hu can even hide his awful mental status so well, not to mention the details of side tasks. When Qin Huai first looked at the side tasks, he thought the details seemed to say everything but the crucial part of what needs to be done.
Now, it seems he somewhat knows.
One could say Master Zhou is truly a conscientious master, although due to personal financial issues, he doesn't plan to return the money (at least subjectively, Zhou Hu thinks it's swindled money), but wants to spend a little extra to reward old customers in a roundabout way. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
Hmm…
The mental status is truly not great.
It's an urgent order.
Qin Huai feels Zhou Hu might be more likely than Zhao Cheng'an to someday decide not to pay off that damn mortgage, not to live anymore, and to leave this not-so-beautiful world.
Qin Huai thought for a moment, then imitated the way Zhou Hu promoted earlier and unenthusiastically said, "Planner Zhou, do you know guo'er?"
"Guo'er?" Zhou Hu's puzzled expression revealed his ignorance of this snack.
That's normal; given Zhou Hu's work, residence, and financial condition, if he knew guo'er, it'd be strange. Most Yunzhong Restaurant customers only learned about the snack after Qin Huai began selling it.
"It's a snack made into fruits, vegetables, or animal shapes, mainly using fruits, looking just like the real one, with a corresponding fruit flavor," explained Zhao Cheng'an, "A very high-difficulty snack sold only at upscale restaurants with skilled pastry chefs and some specialty pastry joints."
Zhou Hu showed a sudden realization yet still didn't understand why Qin Huai mentioned such high-end snacks.
"Our Yunzhong Restaurant sold a batch of guo'er gift boxes last year, each box containing four guo'er. One was an apple dough ball made by me, and the other three were made by another chef," Qin Huai slowly said, "When I heard Planner Zhou wanting some rare edible fruits, my first thought was guo'er."
Zhou Hu almost gasped but held back; his remaining reason reminded him Qin Huai wasn't just a fellow patient but also the payer for the large orders.
50% settlement is still pending from Qin Huai, can't offend; Zhou Hu had just collected 25% of the initial deposit.
"Mas… Master Qin, this apple dough ball… should be expensive, right?" Zhou Hu tried subtly reminding Qin Huai he's a pauper, unlikely to afford such high-end stuff.
"Quite expensive," Zhao Cheng'an sensed Qin Huai's intent and assisted in the dialog.
Despite his often scattered behavior, with Mayflies zoning out during tea talks, Zhao Cheng'an is reliable when needed, very smart.
Zhou Hu was about to decline, thinking Qin Huai hadn't caught his hint. However, Qin Huai spoke first.
"It's this way; Planner Zhou might not be familiar with guo'er, it's a broad category term. Each guo'er is different, requiring time to practice. Currently, the apple dough ball is my specialty."
"Practicing new guo'er demands extensive time and effort, challenging to ensure quality control. At Yunzhong Restaurant, snack quality is paramount, so practice guo'er with unsatisfactory quality control won't be for sale."
"I don't know if Mr. Xu mentioned this; typically, my mornings and forenoons are spent making regular snacks and afternoons in practice. Practice snacks are impending releases, priced randomly during the afternoon sales at an excellent price. Mr. Xu and others support my snack career, frequently queuing for practice snacks, even writing reviews with suggestions."
Zhou Hu nodded, acknowledging he's heard of it.
"But guo'er differs from prior snacks."
"Previous practices were largely buns, steamed buns, or rice dumplings, casually priced with minor batch sales, nonchalant about flavor flaws."
"However, guo'er is unique, relying mainly on appearance rather than taste that's not awe-inspiring. Guo'er often flavors to embellish the look; only well-crafted appearances can enhance the taste."
