Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 31 - 30: Better to Be Oneself than to Play by the Rules (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

"Slurp."

"Slurp, slurp."

"Slurp, slurp, slurp."

The sound of eating noodles filled the first floor lobby.

When Qin Congwen happily made noodles, he made too much, not only for all the employees but also for the entire neighborhood committee.

No kidding, it really had a unique flavor.

Although it wasn't the fine white noodles, and the texture was slightly lacking, the gray noodles mixed with wheat bran were more resilient, and overall not bad. Especially for Qin Luo and Qin Huai who had never tasted this kind of noodles before, it was indeed a special flavor.

How to describe this flavor...

When a rich kid who usually eats lavishly first tries tasty wild vegetables, they might fall in love with the flavor just because it's new.

Stories in third-rate magazines aren't entirely false.

"Dad, these noodles are really good. I want another bowl!" Qin Luo was definitely an expert at praising, polishing off a bowl of noodles in no time.

Having not enjoyed such attention for many years, Qin Congwen chuckled and said, "You see, we used to eat gray noodles because we couldn't afford white noodles. As long as we have the means, we can make decent noodle dishes. Especially during New Year, no matter how hard times were, we'd make buckwheat buns with gray noodle mix and scrape together some brown sugar to sweeten them for the family."

With his words full of confidence, Qin Congwen was very persuasive, and Qin Luo believed him on the spot, holding a bowl with a look of desire: "Dad, make me brown sugar buns with white flour tomorrow. I don't want any buckwheat."

Even Qin Luo and Qin Huai were tired of eating buckwheat buns lately.

After all, making buckwheat buns was Chen Huixi's wish, and whether it worked out depended on her taste. But as the chef making the buns, Qin Huai couldn't avoid tasting them entirely. He had to judge Chen Huixi's preferences based on the bun's flavor, which theoretically meant he ate more than her.

Not to mention making buckwheat buns involved overtime, violating Qin Huai's belief in finishing work by noon. Eating what he made from overtime was really something.

Since both Qin Luo and Qin Huai agreed, Qin Congwen was greatly encouraged, thinking his excellent noodle-making skills had conquered his children. For a moment, he even regretted giving up his noodle-making career early because it wasn't profitable, otherwise he might now be a famed noodle master in Qiu County.

Zhao Rong, who had already seen through the truth, silently ate her noodles.

"By the way, dad," Qin Huai said after swallowing the last mouthful of noodle soup, "since you're making brown sugar buns with white flour tomorrow, leave the remaining gray flour for me."

"Huh?"

"I feel mixing gray flour with buckwheat for buckwheat buns could have a unique flavor. I want to try it," Qin Huai said.

Chen Huixi, buried in her noodles, thought: (=°Д°=) Still eating?!

Chen Huixi shouted in her mind: Brother Huai, can we take a break? She wanted fried chicken instead.

But Chen Huixi didn't say anything, she just bravely swallowed the noodles and shed a silent tear in her heart.

The next day, Qin Luo got her wish and ate white flour brown sugar buns.

Then she concluded that her dad's pure white flour brown sugar buns weren't as delicious as her brother's buckwheat buns. In some ways, technique is more important than ingredients. The success of the gray flour noodles might just be because everyone was sick of buns and craving a change.

Qin Congwen's brown sugar buns were a flop, and Qin Huai's gray flour buckwheat buns didn't receive Chen Huixi's approval either.

In terms of taste, mixing gray flour and buckwheat flour added a few unique flavors to the buns. This combination of not-so-refined fine grains and sufficiently coarse grains might suit curious city kids who grew up eating fine grains and seldom ate coarse grains, yet it still wasn't Chen Huixi's dream bun.

After changing the flour didn't work, Qin Huai realized this task might be a long, tough battle and not something that could be completed quickly.

Since it couldn't be quick, why not let loose?

Qin Huai claimed he was a professional at letting loose.

Back when he experimented with Four Happiness Dumplings, he tried everything he could think of—bitter melon, eggplant, cucumber, beans, fish, pork, duck, and goose... anything available at the market was wrapped in dumpling skins.

Qin Huai and Qin Luo, this brother and sister pair, one dared to make, the other dared to eat. The success of Four Happiness Dumplings came after Qin Luo got beaten three times and endured over a month of experimental cuisine.

And Qin Luo wasn't like the small-appetite tester Chen Huixi. Qin Luo could really eat and dared to eat, having a spirit of boldness and self-sacrifice for taste testing.

Considering Chen Huixi didn't have strong endurance, Qin Huai let Qin Luo be the vanguard tester for her.

Let Qin Luo try first, and only when she nodded that the buns were edible did he let Chen Huixi have them.

As for how to let loose with making buns...

Qin Huai said as long as you're bold enough, there's a lot you can add during the dough-making process.

Eggs: chicken, duck, goose, quail, ostrich...

Milk: cow, goat, camel...

Sugars: white, brown, black, malt, maple, honey...

Among honey varieties alone: multifloral, longan, rapeseed, loquat, citrus, lychee, locust flower, vitex, jujube flower...

With control over the amount of these ingredients and their combinations, theoretically, the let-loose version of buckwheat buns could turn Qin Luo into a bun shape.

In this bun-making mode, Qin Huai lived a routine life of finishing work at noon, starting overtime at 2 PM, selling buns and snacks early in the day, and making buckwheat buns in the afternoon.

"Boss, what buns do you have today? Give me two tasty ones."

At 4 PM sharp, the bun-buying crowd entered Yunzhong Restaurant.

Oddly enough, Yunzhong Restaurant's menu originally didn't include buns, and Qin Huai never planned on selling them, given they're prone to failure during testing phases and made in small batches, unsuitable for sale.

But some people just wanted to eat them.

Everyone knows buns are a cheap and versatile food.

People's preferences for buns vary; some love fresh ones, some love day-old ones, some love soft ones, some love chewy ones, some love flavorless ones, and some love sweet ones. Some even love them heated till hard in the microwave for 2 minutes.

In theory, any food steamed from flour without filling can be called a bun.

After letting loose, Qin Huai didn't limit himself to just flour, water, and sugar for making buns. The added ingredients became more diverse.

As the ingredients diversified, the buns smelled especially delicious when steamed.

The first resident of Yunzhong District to walk into the restaurant attempting to buy buns was lured by this aroma.

'It's not that I'm greedy; it's just that the wheat aroma of those buns was so strong. I happened to be hungry then, and thinking that coarse grain buns are good for health, I bought a couple to try. I found them good and posted it in the homeowners' group, and they quickly became a hit.'

At 4 PM, playing with his grandson in the community, feeling hot and looking for a place to cool off, Uncle Lou stepped into Yunzhong Restaurant, bought two buns out of appetite, casually snapped a photo and posted it in the homeowners' group, and has regretted it ever since, spoke the A building 1701 owner, who wished to remain anonymous.

Today, the anonymous Uncle Lou also squeezed into the bun-buying crowd, striving for his grandson's summer nutritional balance by eating more coarse grains.

"Luoluo, which buns are good today?" Fully geared with work clothes, hat, mask, and gloves, An Youyou at the window turned around and asked Qin Luo.

With a bun in hand, chewing in her mouth, Qin Luo struggled to extend a finger and pointed: "This one, this one, and this one!"

"Especially this one with locust flower honey, delicious!"

With this mention, the bun-buying diners outside the window became even more excited.

"Give me two with locust flower honey!"

"I'll take two as well!"

"Do you still have the maple syrup milk from yesterday?"

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"Luoluo, Luoluo, remember grandpa? Grandpa gave you a cantaloupe yesterday. What's good? Quickly tell grandpa!"

Still making buns, Qin Huai:...

Not really, neighbors of this district and those sneaking out from the adjacent district to buy buns, and the office workers skipping work to come here.

Our restaurant's buns aren't for sale; there's no bun entry on the menu!

Could you not make it seem like you're snatching up limited edition goods?

With what you're doing, I'm really tempted to work overtime.