Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 735 - 370: Good Brothers
Tan Wei’an nodded affirmatively, "You did. When you threw up, Ouyang just happened to come back after buying medicine. Seeing you eat the bun and throw up, he was shocked and thought the bun was so bad it made you sick."
Zang Liang was shocked, "This happened?"
Zheng Siyuan didn’t want to deal with these two anymore. After the roller coaster ride yesterday, they hadn’t been quite normal.
Zheng Siyuan bypassed the crowd, walked straight into the changing room, changed clothes, and entered the kitchen. At Ouyang’s designated dining spot, he saw Qin Huai and Shi Dadan eating buns while video chatting with Cao Guixiang.
Because Ouyang’s eating spot was occupied, he brought a small stool and happily ate in the corner.
In front of Qin Huai and Shi Dadan were three stacked plates of buns, a total of three large plates. It looked quite impressive, like a scene from a big eater competition. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
Qin Huai was relatively normal, holding a bun in his left hand, leisurely gnawing and chatting with Cao Guixiang, unhurried.
Shi Dadan, on the other hand, was like a competitive eater in a fast-eating challenge, devouring one after another without stopping, with no time to talk, only nodding occasionally and humming.
Anyone would think Qin Huai was the referee of this eating contest.
"So you chatted with Old Shi, had a portion of Mianmian ice, then came back and ate the filling until you were stuffed and figured it out," Cao Guixiang laughed from the other end of the video as she ate her meal. "Old Shi is quite invaluable, insisting on hand-delivering two good fish to you because he didn’t trust mailing them. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be having this conversation now."
Shi Dadan nodded frantically.
"Indeed, we have Old Shi to thank." Qin Huai nodded sincerely, not only for the crucial memory Shi Dadan provided but also for the final advice he gave. Simply recalling the memory, Qin Huai wouldn’t have found the right approach and understood the essence of the filling so quickly.
"Master, do you think there’s any problem with my current method?" Qin Huai asked.
"I don’t think there’s any problem at all," Cao Guixiang said, holding her bowl. "I’ve seen the recipe for the Double Crab Bun, and I watched you make the Crab Yellow Pork Bun this morning—this is exactly the thought process and method."
"Of course, there are better ways, but with your current level, you couldn’t achieve them. You’ve already thought of the best solution your current skills allow."
Shi Dadan continued nodding fervently, not really caring what Cao Guixiang said, as nodding was his default action.
Qin Huai caught onto the key words.
"You know there’s a better way."
Cao Guixiang’s smile froze, and she pretended the food in her bowl was delicious, lifting it up to cover her face as she ate.
"You always knew how the Double Crab Bun should be made, and you knew I was heading in the wrong direction, but you never told me," Qin Huai accused.
"Isn’t that right, Master?"
Facing Qin Huai’s questioning, Cao Guixiang took another few bites, pretending the meal distracted her, then put down the bowl and smiled, "That’s indeed the case."
"But I didn’t deliberately withhold it. Often, a master’s teaching and a disciple’s realization are two different feelings, two different states, and two different rewards."
"You see, now that you’ve figured it out yourself, doesn’t it feel good? But if I had told you last week when you first hit a dead end, you wouldn’t have the same feeling and reward now."
Despite saying this, there was a hint of guilt on Cao Guixiang’s face, a little guilty for watching her disciple hit dead ends just to see how he managed to figure things out.
"Of course, if you struggled with this problem for a long time, like a month, two months, or even until July or August with no results, I wouldn’t just sit by. I’d have to prompt you or outright teach you."
"I just didn’t expect you’d figure it out so quickly after chatting with Old Shi. When did you eat a similar bun, Old Shi?" Cao Guixiang asked curiously.
As Cao Guixiang asked, Shi Dadan had just swallowed the last bite of bun, ready to speak.
"It was back when I used to run the restaurant, one time when I went to Gusu. I was always on the road, you know."
Cao Guixiang nodded, then asked Qin Huai, "So when do you plan to start making the Double Crab Bun, Huaihuai?"
"I’ll start when Zheng Siyuan and the others get back; they went to the amusement park this morning." Qin Huai took a bite of his bun, "I can make the Crab Yellow Pork Bun alone, but the Double Crab Bun requires their help."
"With my current skill level, I can’t handle the sea cucumber or stew the filling to meet the Double Crab Bun’s requirements. This morning, I practiced with the Crab Yellow Pork Bun, and I’ll start the Double Crab Bun when they return this afternoon."
As Qin Huai finished speaking, Zheng Siyuan said from behind him, "We’re back."
Qin Huai turned around excitedly, "You’re back early! I thought you’d only return in the afternoon since the amusement park is far away. Hey, where are Zang Liang and Tan Wei’an? Why only you?"
"They’re outside counting heads," Zheng Siyuan said blankly. "Don’t mind them, they’ll come in after they’re done."
"I’m off to knead the dough."
"Hey, aren’t you going to eat some buns?"
"No, I already had tangyuan at the Mianmian Ice Shop."
Qin Huai: ?
Is tangyuan at that shaved ice shop really that good? Aren’t they just ordinary frozen tangyuan?
What’s so special about them? I have to go try them myself next time at the amusement park.
Since Zheng Siyuan went to knead dough, Qin Huai couldn’t just sit idle. He quickly finished his bun and went back to stir up another batch of filling to make the last batch of Crab Yellow Pork Buns, waiting for Zang Liang and Tan Wei’an to return from counting and join in.
Yes, Tan Wei’an is also joining in.
As an important member of the Double Crab Bun research team, Qin Huai thought merely providing the recipe was too unfair to Tan Wei’an. In any case, he should have some involvement.
After all, Tan Wei’an provided the recipe. If he didn’t learn anything or contribute during the research, it would be like taking advantage of the relationship.
Even if he was a connection, it shouldn’t be just that.
Qin Huai arranged Tan Wei’an’s task, which was handling the sea cucumber.
Zheng Siyuan’s task was seasoning the sea cucumber and kneading the dough alternatively, while Zang Liang was to prepare the Crab Yellow Sauce and fry the filling. Qin Huai was in charge of overall seasoning and kneading the dough.
If they wanted to make the best Double Crab Bun, it must be Zheng Siyuan handling the sea cucumber + Zang Liang handling the Crab Yellow Sauce and frying the filling + Qin Huai’s overall seasoning and dough handling.
If the standards weren’t so high and they just wanted to make it, many steps could be swapped around. Zheng Siyuan could randomly be inserted into any step except overall seasoning until he learned it well enough to make the Double Crab Bun independently.
Zang Liang and Tan Wei’an counted heads for a full fifteen minutes. Maybe their brains hadn’t been clear these past few days because they actually stood outside Yunzhong Restaurant counting the crowd, but as they couldn’t muster a college degree combined, they ultimately figured nothing out before getting hungry and heading inside to eat.
Then Qin Huai stuffed a few buns into each of their hands, urging them to hurry up and start working.
Zang Liang started working with a bun in his mouth, first pouring the Crab Yellow Sauce into the pot before taking the first bite, then exclaimed.
"Whoa, the Crab Yellow Pork Bun Qin Huai made is really good. One bite and I remember how I used to pin Tan Wei’an to the ground and beat him up as a kid."
Qin Huai: ...
What is it with you two buddies? I know you two are close, so close you can taste the buffs, but why do all your memories involve pinning each other down and fighting?
No wonder you two are such good buddies.
It’s like one practices meat cooking and the other pastry making, a red and white contest, huh?
