Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 739 - 374: Discharged from the Hospital

Under Qin Huai’s speedy driving, the three of them reached the doorway of the cornermost room on the 13th floor of Building 7 at the hospital at 3:03 PM.

As for why the location was described so precisely yet the room number was missing, it was because Zang Liang didn’t remember which room Tan Wei’an was staying in; he just remembered it was at the very end.

When Zang Liang kicked the door open, Tan Wei’an was still receiving an IV drip.

Seeing Zang Liang, Tan Wei’an pointed to the chair next to him and then to the drip that was almost finished, about to say that he could handle his discharge paperwork as soon as the drip was done, when Qin Huai came in with Zheng Siyuan right behind him, both carrying buns.

Without saying a word, Qin Huai handed the buns to Tan Wei’an.

"Guess what these are?" Qin Huai asked.

"Aren’t these... you’ve made the Double Crab Buns?!" Tan Wei’an, not being a fool, realized it before finishing the first sentence. He looked at the big bag of buns before him, overwhelmed by mixed emotions.

At first, Tan Wei’an was surprised, then envious, and finally happy. His expression was exactly as Qin Huai had expected, except for a small touch of disappointment at the end.

"You guys actually did it while I’m still not discharged; how could you complete it without me?" Tan Wei’an murmured in slight disappointment.

All along, Tan Wei’an had been in a stable and easygoing state, only recently having sparked some fighting spirit due to Pei Xing’s flash of insight. The spark had barely been lit when he had to face the truth that he was still inexperienced, even though he had always been aware of it.

However, knowing a fact and confronting it are different matters.

In Tan Wei’an’s heart, even if he couldn’t contribute anything beyond the recipe for the Double Crab Bun Research Squad, he should at least make some contribution.

"Of course, you made a call that day sounding like a last wish. We had to fulfill your wish before you were discharged, make the Double Crab Buns. Thankfully, you stayed an extra two days, otherwise, we might not have succeeded," Zang Liang, oblivious to his good friend’s disappointment, started to relay their journey with the Double Crab Buns with a chatterbox’s enthusiasm.

"You have no idea what time we’ve been getting off work these days. We start at 7 AM, end at 7 PM, and after work, I have to review the issues with the filling I made that day. I woke up yesterday morning in a daze, thinking I was back 10 years ago, practicing the basics morning and night. Otherwise, why would I be getting up at 6 AM every day?"

"I asked Zheng Siyuan what he did the past few days, but he wouldn’t say. I suspect he practiced in secret because Qin Huai definitely did. He found his own kitchen too small, so he went to Mr. Luo’s to practice. This morning, Mr. Luo even came to the canteen with Old Shi."

"Wow, what a temper; his expression was more stern than my high school dean’s. I felt like he could scold me to death with a single word."

Seeing Zang Liang go off on another tangent, Qin Huai quickly interrupted: "Alright, enough chatter; the buns will get cold."

"Tan Wei’an, have some buns. You’re the most qualified among us to critique the Crab Bun. Our approval doesn’t count unless it’s approved by you."

Hearing Qin Huai say this, Tan Wei’an’s disappointment immediately vanished. Right, even if his culinary skills were lacking and he was a little lazy with no value in the squad, so what? He was the officially designated taste tester. His hospitalization was due to a work-related injury—work-related!

Tan Wei’an was all good again.

He found it more convenient to hold the bun with his right hand while still receiving the IV with his left. He put down his phone, untied the bag with one hand, and grabbed a Double Crab Bun.

The Double Crab Bun was still warm.

Even though these 28 buns had been transported in the passenger seat with the utmost care, they’d been on the road for a while, and weren’t at their peak taste and texture.

But it didn’t matter. Being a professional bun eater (at least for now), Tan Wei’an knew the quality of the bun skin the moment he picked it up.

Texture aligns with taste.

Tan Wei’an could tell, this bun skin must have been made by Qin Huai.

Alright, this didn’t even need validating.

Tan Wei’an took a bite.

!!!

His professional taste-tester spirit overrode Tan Wei’an, making him speak out even before swallowing the filling.

"It’s perfect! This bun is absolutely perfect! A Double Crab Bun, the taste, the pairing, the combination—unbelievable that you actually did it!"

"When I pay respects to my grandpa this New Year, I’m going to tell him the great news!"

"Why not tell your great-grandpa too?" Zang Liang asked.

"I will tell both of them," Tan Wei’an replied promptly.

"Take your time eating; these buns are all yours, made specifically for you," Qin Huai said with a smile. "Successfully making the Double Crab Buns, you are a great contributor. If you can’t finish them all, share them. But don’t overeat today; you’ve just been discharged, and we need you healthy for Gusu in a few days."

Tan Wei’an couldn’t hear a word Qin Huai was saying, too focused on the Double Crab Buns. He just nodded absentmindedly and devoured the buns.

Though Tan Wei’an wasn’t eating as glamorously as Shi Dadan, it was enough to stimulate appetites, drawing interest from the young man in the next bed: "Brother Tan, can I have a bun? The doctor put me on a bland diet for a few days, my mom’s been feeding me plain porridge every day without even allowing pickles. What bun is this? I smell crab roe!"

"They have crab roe filling," Tan Wei’an mumbled, generously handing over two buns to the young man.

He eagerly took a big bite and was impressed beyond words, exclaiming, "My god, this is fantastic!"

"Is it because I’ve been having plain porridge for days? How can these buns taste so rich?"

Despite his claims, the young man didn’t stop munching on the bun. In a blink of an eye, one bun was gone, followed quickly by a second, proving to Qin Huai and the others how he ended up in this hospital room.

While the young man was on his second bun, his mother came in with washed fruits. Seeing her son eating a bun, she was about to scold him but was promptly handed a bun by Tan Wei’an.

Then both mother and son started enjoying buns together.

Noticing the young man could use more buns, Tan Wei’an was about to give him two more, but his mother stopped him, explaining that her son’s current condition allowed for two buns at most, and she, as a mother, would bear the responsibility of eating them for him.

For a mother, toughness comes naturally; it’s part of her duty as a mother.

The young man: (༎ຶ-༎ຶ)

When Tan Wei’an packed up to leave the hospital, every patient and family member in the ward was burping with the aroma of Double Crab Buns.

On the way back, Tan Wei’an took the passenger seat, replacing the Double Crab Buns.

Tan Wei’an still felt a bit incredulous: "I can’t believe you made the Double Crab Buns and did it before I got discharged."

Qin Huai smiled, saying: "Still in awe? You must have accumulated a week’s worth of laundry during your stay. Remember to wash everything and pack up, we’re heading to Gusu in a few days."

"To Gusu?" Tan Wei’an didn’t get it.

"The backstory is a bit complex, but essentially we’ll be heading to Huang Ji to make Double Crab Buns."

"You’re part of our Double Crab Bun Research Squad, right? You need to be there for research and of course for the final product."

"Luckily, Huang Ji doesn’t have a pastry chef. You can fill in when we go to Gusu and help expand our range of snacks."

Tan Wei’an: ???