Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 858 - 428: Can You Also Call Me Master?
The meal was quite satisfying for both guests and host.
Because there were too many snacks, even with Shi Dadan's help, they couldn't finish them. Plus, there were still some raw ones in the kitchen. Under Master Zhou's relaxed arrangement, An Youyou happily packed two of each remaining snack and headed home with the boxes.
The rest of the snacks were taken by Qin Huai and Shi Dadan. Of course, Zhao Cheng'an's family also kept some snacks. All the dumplings he made and the pumpkin cakes he fried stayed in his house.
Hearing this arrangement, Zhao Cheng'an almost cried.
"Xiao Qin, do you have time to accompany me for a walk outside? The environment in Lao San's neighborhood is pretty nice, and it's not hot at this time, so it's a perfect time for a stroll." Taking advantage of Shi Dadan's busy packing, Master Zhou invited Qin Huai for a walk.
Qin Huai knew that the masters at Zhiwei Restaurant had a habit of walking by the lake, and originally not all the masters had this habit. But since someone set the meeting place by the lake after a challenge, more and more masters started to develop this habit. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
What if you run into someone?
The next day at work, they said, where else can you find a more exciting scene than watching it unfold live during a walk?
Qin Huai nodded obediently, "Of course I have time. I ate too much, so a walk would be good to help digest."
Zhao Cheng'an: （༎ຶ-༎ຶ）Master, you've changed. Weren't I always the one who accompanied you on walks?
Qin Huai and Master Zhou went downstairs of the apartment complex for a walk, and they really just walked. Master Zhou walked ahead in silence, Qin Huai kept a 5-10 step distance following him like a little assistant, as they wandered through Zhao Cheng'an's neighborhood.
To be fair, Zhao Cheng'an's neighborhood is quite large, but not as green as Yunzhong District. It doesn't have the luscious greenery of Yunzhong District, but there are many birds chirping pleasantly.
Qin Huai and Master Zhou walked a whole circle around the neighborhood without saying a word. Master Zhou walked briskly, not like a walk but more like a race-walk. Qin Huai was slightly breathless after completing the circle.
Starting the second circle.
Halfway through the second circle, Master Zhou suddenly stopped by the flower bed without warning, and Qin Huai almost couldn't stop in time and nearly passed him. When Qin Huai looked at Master Zhou, he found that Master Zhou was looking at him with a slightly complicated expression.
The flowers in the flower bed were blooming beautifully, meticulously arranged by the property management using flowers of different colors. Three or five birds were hopping and chirping in the flower bed, and above the blooming flowers, there were seven or eight butterflies fluttering, making it a suitable spot to stop and rest for a while.
Master Zhou had no intention of sitting down to rest, he just stood there, standing tall and looking directly at Qin Huai, asking, "What did Lao San say to you in the kitchen before dinner?"
See, not only do fathers understand their children, but masters also understand their disciples.
Qin Huai thought for a moment and organized his words, "He talked about the emotional journey he went through when apprenticing under his master."
Master Zhou was amused by Qin Huai's concise wording and chuckled, "It seems Lao San thinks that what I've been doing lately is because I want to take you as my disciple. You're already his 'definite' junior brother."
Qin Huai obediently remained silent.
Master Zhou motioned for Qin Huai not to stand, leading him to the bench to sit down, and Qin Huai followed suit.
"I really want to take you as my disciple, Xiao Qin, you should be able to tell."
Qin Huai continued to nod in acknowledgment, adding, "Not just you, Master Hua also wants to take me as a disciple, along with Master Li, Master Wang, and Master Zhao, I can somewhat tell."
"So you chose to play dumb," Master Zhou asked.
Qin Huai could only give a naive smile like Shi Dadan, wearing the words "playing dumb" on his face.
"You were taken to Huang Ji by Zheng Da, why didn't Zheng Da take you as a disciple?" Master Zhou asked.
Qin Huai didn't expect Master Zhou to ask such a pointed question. After a pause, he decided to respond with articulate language, "Master Zheng... is quite carefree and not as proactive as you all are. I know that Master Zheng really wanted to take me as a disciple, and I'm very grateful to him for willing to teach me everything. But… there needs to be some fate between a master and a disciple. There isn't such fate between Master Zheng and me, and Master Zheng never brought it up, so I guess both of us acknowledged it silently."
Master Zhou smiled dismissively, but not mockingly, "Zheng Da, he is very talented."
"He used to be able to endure hardship, I heard of his master back then, Master Jing from Gusu State-owned Restaurant, an extremely rare master proficient in both pastry and meat cooking. It's a pity he passed away a bit early. When I was young and started learning cooking, I even thought about saving money to have a meal at the State-owned Restaurant in Gusu when I started working."
"My skills are family-taught. Back when I was learning to cook with my father, I even said that if he wasn't a chef and I had to learn from him, I would have gone to Gusu to apprentice under Master Jing."
"Everyone knows I dislike Zheng Da. They only know that I dislike him because he turned away from being a decent chef focusing only on money. I feel like he's wasted his culinary skills and talent, becoming a businessman reeking of money."
"But actually, it's not that."
"I dislike him because I'm jealous of him. Jealous that he was able to be taken as a disciple and meticulously taught by Master Jing for so many years yet went into business a few years after Master Jing's passing and quit being a chef."
"I've heard a little about his reasons for going into business, but in my view, those reasons aren't sufficient at all."
