Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 747 - 378: Never Letting Master Zheng Off the Hook
Qin Huai finished listening to the news Dong Shi gathered in the changing room and had a basic understanding of the Four Happiness Rolls. He adjusted the Huang Ji employee uniform he was wearing to ensure the embroidery of the name "Qin Huai" on the chest was straight, smoothed his shirt, and headed to the kitchen.
This time, the news Dong Shi found out was quite comprehensive and should be fairly reliable.
Zheng Da hasn’t made Four Happiness Rolls much over the years, maybe because he has a psychological shadow from it. (Afraid of being scolded)
From what Qin Huai knows about Zheng Da’s character, he really might adopt the attitude that if I pretend the Four Happiness Rolls don’t exist, and secretly work hard in private, it would be as if the past never happened.
As for why Zheng Da, with his current culinary skills, still can’t face the Four Happiness Rolls head-on...
It might be because Master Jing indeed has superb culinary skills, and even with low-quality, budget ingredients, he could make the Four Happiness Rolls reach a sufficient standard, which is something Zheng Da can’t achieve at his level.
Of course, the main reason should be that Zheng Da is too lazy. He only tries hard secretly during the few days of the New Year. It’s hard to achieve much by working hard for only a few days each year.
Qin Huai speculated that Zheng Da probably doesn’t know the real recipe for Four Happiness Rolls. The information Dong Shi found clearly stated that Four Happiness Rolls are the type of snack Zheng Da is least skilled at. Master Jing retired due to illness years ago, and after an unexpected leg injury, it was almost impossible for him to cook or make snacks anymore.
Back when Qin Huai was a pure autodidact, he wasn’t very clear about how these formally trained chefs learned their skills. Even when Qin Huai was previously learning at Huang Ji, he didn’t quite understand. It was only recently, when learning formally from Cao Guixiang, that Qin Huai understood the thought process behind how these masters teach their apprentices.
They teach what the apprentices can learn first.
Everyone has their own strengths; even chefs who have been famous for many years will have areas they’re relatively less skilled at.
Not every chef can become a hexagonal warrior, maxing out all their skills in this ideal state, which more often appears in online games and probably requires in-game purchases. Masters know their apprentices well enough to train them in targeted ways, magnifying strengths infinitely, while ensuring weaknesses are simply adequate.
The Four Happiness Rolls were the type of snack Zheng Da was really not good at, and it was understandable that Master Jing didn’t intentionally teach Zheng Da.
It’s understandable that in the early years, Zheng Da would be mentally dissed by neighbors for making bad Four Happiness Rolls.
Of course, it’s even more understandable that Zheng Da doesn’t want to make Four Happiness Rolls because of a psychological shadow.
Thinking of this, Qin Huai suddenly regretted not letting Dong Shi gather information first before asking Zheng Da if he could make Four Happiness Rolls yesterday.
Zheng Da has a psychological shadow about Four Happiness Rolls and reacts at the mention of those three words, yet I want to ask him to teach me how to make them. Is that being too presumptuous and not treating my dear Master Zheng as a person?
Qin Huai felt a bit guilty.
Dong Shi followed behind Qin Huai, completely unaware of Qin Huai’s guilt, and continued to chat about other things.
"Qin Huai, you won’t believe it. Ever since you stopped selling guo’er at Huang Ji after the New Year, there’s been no line of customers. But maybe it’s just because people forgot about it; business is always worse after the New Year than before. My salary last month and the month before was much lower than before the New Year."
"But during the New Year, Mr. Gong gave me and my brother a very big red envelope. I heard Mr. Gong gave you several huge red envelopes too. You wouldn’t know this, but over the past month, Mr. Gong and Junior Master Zheng were not in Gusu. Junior Master Zheng went to Sanya for vacation, and Mr. Gong went to Beiping for meals. They only returned the day before yesterday."
"Meals in Beiping? Fen Garden?" Qin Huai remembered that last time when Gong Liang went to Beiping for a few days of eating, it was at Fen Garden.
"That’s right, Fen Garden. I heard that Master Xia’s apprentice returned from studying in Japan, and Fen Garden updated its menu. Mr. Gong originally wanted to eat for seven consecutive days like last time, but he couldn’t get a table, so he could only eat twice a week, which kept him in Beiping for a whole month." Dong Shi had his ear to the ground on matters like these.
Qin Huai casually said: "Fen Garden’s dishes are so hard to snag a spot for, huh? I was thinking about spending a few days in Beiping when I have the time and grabbing a meal at Fen Garden. Last time I went to A City for an event, and I got to know Master Tong from Babaozhai. He’s a nice guy, and we agreed that I’d try his cooking when I visit Beiping."
Dong Shi: ?
Master Tong from Babaozhai, is there another Master Tong besides Tong De Yan at Babaozhai?
Is Tong De Yan, the super critic who, along with Xia Mubing, forms the Twin Cannons of Beiping, actually nice?
Dong Shi was left dumbfounded.
Qin Huai walked into the kitchen.
As soon as he stepped in, Qin Huai saw Huang Shengli and Gong Liang crowding at the kitchen entrance. Gong Liang was craning his neck, apparently trying to look inside, while Huang Shengli blocked the entrance like a doorman, not letting Gong Liang take a step inside.
"Oh come on, Old Huang, why are you being so inhospitable? What’s wrong with just a peek? That Crab Yellow Sauce smells amazing. Could I possibly get Little Zang to fry up a batch or two for me to take home and mix with rice later?"
"Old Huang, step aside, you’re blocking my view. I’m not going in; I know your kitchen rules are strict, hygiene is important, and outsiders like me shouldn’t enter. Your Huang Ji staff have to stand at the door to speak anyway; I’m just standing at the door for a look."
Huang Shengli stayed in front of Gong Liang, immobile. "I know you well enough. Just now, I asked An Yao to keep an eye on you at the door, and with just two words you distracted An Yao and almost went over to chat with Xiao Cang."
"I’m just curious," Gong Liang said with a playful grin. "It’s the Double Crab Bun, you know how many years it’s been since I last had a Double Crab Bun? Since Master Jing retired, I’ve never..."
Huang Shengli replied disdainfully, "Okay, okay, it’s just been four years since you’ve had one."
"And it’s not entirely your fault for not having Double Crab Buns, right? The last time Zheng Da made them, he intended to make only 100 buns for everyone to taste. But you, without saying a word, bought over 500 crabs, and then shamelessly went to Zheng Da’s house to urge Si Yuan to seize this good opportunity to practice Double Crab Buns."
"This put Zheng Da in a difficult spot, making Double Crab Buns at home for five whole days. Since then, whenever it’s crab season, he just runs off."
Hearing this, Gong Liang immediately cried injustice, "Hey, Old Huang, you can’t just badmouth me with half-truths. Four years ago, it was you who told me that Zheng Da was getting lazy and rusty and that he needed to make more snacks, preferably something challenging. That’s what led me to this great idea. Do you think those 500 crabs were easy to buy? They were the finest crabs! I specifically arranged them through someone, and ordinary folks can’t get such quality goods."
"Did I ask you to buy 500 crabs?!"
"I actually planned to buy 800 crabs, but it turned out I couldn’t get that many."
Qin Huai: ...
Looks like a few years ago, Huang Shengli and Gong Liang didn’t spare Master Zheng either.
Qin Huai quickly walked forward, pretending not to have heard the earlier conversation, and greeted Huang Shengli with a smile, "Good morning, Master Huang, sorry I got up late."
Then he turned to Gong Liang, "Mr. Gong, long time no see. I heard you went to Beiping for a meal recently. How’s the new menu at Fen Garden?"
Hearing Qin Huai mention this, Gong Liang immediately perked up. "It’s indescribably good, worth every penny. If you have time, Master Qin, you must visit Beiping for the Fen Garden experience. I’ll book the table for you!"
"Well, thank you so much, Mr. Gong," Qin Huai replied with a smile.
Huang Shengli didn’t say anything, just smiled as he looked Qin Huai up and down before saying, "You’ve lost weight."
"Do you have confidence in making Double Crab Buns?" Huang Shengli asked.
"Of course, I wouldn’t say it’s amazing, but I’ll definitely make them." Qin Huai confidently raised his head, "Not to boast, Master Huang, but in these past few months, my seasoning, knife skills, and fire control have improved leaps and bounds; I guarantee you’ll be impressed!"
"The Double Crab Buns we sell at Huang Ji now will definitely not tarnish Huang Ji’s reputation."
Huang Shengli laughed heartily: "Nowadays, Huang Ji’s golden reputation is mostly thanks to you, little Qin. After the New Year, many customers asked why Huang Ji no longer sells snacks, and why they can’t find signature items like the Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns, Three Meat Buns, and guo’er on the menu."
Afterward, Huang Shengli glanced at Gong Liang: "I heard you rushed over to Huang Ji early today at around 7 a.m. when you heard we’ve made Double Crab Buns again. If I hadn’t stopped you, you’d probably have already been at Little Zang’s trying some Crab Yellow Sauce."
After saying this, Huang Shengli gestured with his eyes at Zang Liang, who was busy preparing Crab Yellow Sauce. Following his gaze, Qin Huai saw that everyone was busy at work.
Tan Wei’an was processing sea cucumbers, Zheng Siyuan was seasoning them, and Zheng Siyuan had already finished kneading the dough with Zang Liang, who was cooking large batches of Crab Yellow Sauce.
It could be said that the three of them were all ready, just waiting for Master Qin to make his grand entrance.
Qin Huai took a deep breath.
"You two just wait and see, today’s Double Crab Buns will surely not disappoint you."
