Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 867 - 431: Mayfly

This is understandable. Don't spirits feel this way too? If they could, who would want to be stuck in one place working obediently? Who wouldn't want to go out and play, travel the world, and enjoy shopping?

"Brother Cheng'an, do you know about the mayfly?" Qin Huai asked.

Zhao Cheng'an's eyes lit up: "Mayfly? Which mayfly? Is there a painting called 'Mayfly'? You have your eye on that painting, too? That's great, take me to see it right away. Is it expensive? If it's too expensive, I don't think it's necessary to buy it. Ideally, it should be around 3000. Then I'll report it as 5000, which is about the usual price I pay for paintings."

Qin Huai: ...

"If Master Zhou knew..."

"My master knows," Zhao Cheng'an said casually. "I don't make a lot of snacks regularly. And going out to play, including investing and buying all sorts of things, costs a lot. I don't have enough money, but my master has always known that."

"My master isn't short on money; he subsidizes us three as well. But for my two senior siblings, the support is more aboveboard. Like buying nutritional supplements for their kids, enrolling them in classes, introducing teachers for interest classes, or directly giving them red envelopes."

"But I'm not married, have no kids, and not even a partner. My master can't subsidize my frivolities for fear of encouraging me to play around all day and not focus on making snacks. So, my master secretly supports me in this way, as long as my expense reports aren't too outrageous, he turns a blind eye."

Qin Huai was a bit stunned.

Zhao Cheng'an chuckled, "I know, it's hard for you to understand this kind of dynamic without a master. The apprenticeship at Zhiwei Restaurant is very traditional. The masters never take disciples lightly, but once they do, there's a tea ceremony and apprenticeship rites. During the entire apprenticeship, there's basically no salary. Masters provide for apprentices' food, clothing, housing, and transportation, give red envelopes during holidays, and teach them skills. The master is the apprentice's confidence, and the apprentice is the master's pride."

"In summary, it's much like the master-apprentice relationships of the old days, where a master is like a father. I became an apprentice in junior high, and my master feels no different than my dad. My dad rarely hit me, but my master did quite a bit. I remember when I first became an apprentice, my dad told my master: 'Beat him well. I can't bring myself to do it at home, but now I've finally found someone who will.' 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Hearing this, Qin Huai felt a bit emotional but also understanding: "I get what you're saying, I also understand that kind of relationship."

"It's like when I was 11 and got adopted by my foster parents. Before that, I didn't have biological parents, but I had Director Qin as a mother. After that, I had two more parents. They weren't my biological parents, but they treated me well. Your relationship with Master Zhou might be similar."

This time, it was Zhao Cheng'an's turn to be taken aback. He was silent after Qin Huai's words, and after more than three minutes of daze, he said with a complicated expression, "Although it seems... maybe... probably... perhaps, it's about the same? But dude, what you just said was a bit deep. I don't even dare to say I understand you."

"So, how about talking about the mayfly? Where's that painting? I'll ask about the price."

"It's not a painting. I'm talking about the ephemeral mayfly. I just happened to think of it and asked offhandedly," Qin Huai said.

"Oh, that kind of mayfly," Zhao Cheng'an thought for a moment, "I know about it, but not well. I've heard their lives are particularly short, and they die a few hours after they're born. It seems quite pointless."

"In just a few hours, what can you do? You'd die in the time it takes to eat a meal. I don't get the point of such a creature's existence, just to walk around?"

Qin Huai: ...Dude, do you realize you're talking about yourself?

Alright, you probably don't know.

"Alright then, if you aren't interested in anything else, I'll go buy that painting for you now. Wait here for me, I'll find a staff member. Geez, this exhibition is so unprofessional. There aren't any staff members around, and I have to go looking for one." After saying this, Zhao Cheng'an went looking for the staff, hungry for the 1800 bucks.

Seeing Zhao Cheng'an leave, Shi Dadan, who had been quietly eating bread and acting like a background board without saying a word the whole time, suddenly spoke, "Xiao Qin, did you discover something by asking about the mayfly just now?"

Qin Huai was instantly impressed with Shi Dadan. Although Dang Kang were generally not smart, and this lack of intelligence was famously recognized among spirits. But Shi Dadan had lived two lives and briefly became human in this life, so he had indeed learned a lot or gained many keen intuitions.

He was able to trust in Cao Guixiang so much, hire Cao Guixiang as the head chef, manage the restaurant successfully, and do well in seafood trading after the restaurant closed, not just relying on the auspicious beast's buff but also on his own abilities.

"The encyclopedia unlocked just now," Qin Huai said succinctly. "Zhao Cheng'an is a mayfly."

"A mayfly?" Shi Dadan showed a rarely seen expression of surprise.

"Old Shi, you know about mayflies?" Qin Huai quickly caught on to the key point.

"Of course I know. Mayflies are considered very special spirits where we come from. The common understanding among all spirits with transcendence tribulations doesn't apply to mayflies."

"Huh?" Qin Huai was genuinely shocked this time.

Luo Jun and Chen Huihong had both told him that some spirits are special, and their transcendence would be different from most spirits. Qin Huai had unlocked many spirits, and although the species and personalities varied, with fierce beasts, auspicious beasts, plant spirits, ordinary birds, and even fish that leapt into the sea to die, they all fell within the conventional spirit category. So he never really thought about how special these spirits could be.

But now he encountered one.

"How so?" Qin Huai asked.

"I don't know much about mayflies, but I've heard a bit. The mayflies from our side are different from how you define them here."

"The mayflies on our side aren't born in the morning to die at night, but it's similar. They can stay in the water or underground for ten years, remaining in a dormant state the whole time, then waking up for 3-7 days before entering another long dormancy. For mayflies, their waking moments are very precious, and each awakening is a brand new experience."

"As a result, while most spirits dread transcendence tribulations, mayflies look forward to them. For mayflies, the tribulation is the most exciting part of their long and monotonous, dark life. They cherish every day in the human world and might even deliberately fail the tribulation. Mayflies don't aim for successful transcendence; they seek to live vibrantly in the human world, experiencing different sceneries and lives."

"Because of this, mayflies have a very low success rate in transcendence. They often drag it to their last life, where success rates are already low, but they seem to relish in this. I've even heard that mayflies can reincarnate many more times than ordinary spirits, sometimes even into a seventh or eighth life."

"As they are among the few spirits who face transcendent tribulations with a mindset to fail, the Heavenly Dao is slightly more lenient towards them."

Qin Huai understood, as long as you slack off enough, the universe might tweak the game rules for you. But due to mayflies' excessive slacking, no amount of tweaking can save them.

"If you put it that way, Zhao Cheng'an's personality makes sense," Qin Huai nodded. "He even willingly makes snacks at Zhiwei Restaurant for ten months a year, so he genuinely loves making snacks."

"I know a little about this, too. Although mayflies are very special spirits, they're still spirits and carry the common issue of being influenced by their first lifetime."

"The fact that Xiao Zhao loves making snacks so much likely means he was a snack master in his first life and that he truly loved doing it."

"Based on his current situation, even if he isn't in his last life, he's in one of the later ones. Mayflies tend to push the limits and reincarnate particularly quickly, so he might be in his fifth or sixth life already."

This was the first time Qin Huai had heard such a long analysis from Shi Dadan, unrelated to himself or Xu Nuo, purely analyzing someone else.

Such professional analyses were usually done by Luo Jun. Although Bi fang had a bad temper, was stubborn, and failed his transcendence, he would soon reincarnate, but he had vast knowledge and understanding. Usually, fierce beasts would perform spirit analysis and introduction.

But today, the auspicious beast took on the role of the fierce beast.

"Old Shi, I've discovered you actually know a lot." Qin Huai marveled.

"Really?" Shi Dadan gave a simple smile. "I just happened to hear some things. Mayflies are truly famous where we come from. Luo Jun definitely knows more, he's more intelligent and knowledgeable than I am."

"I'm just saying what I know, it might not even be correct. Later, we can ask him again."

"Xiao Qin, you didn't eat that bread. Is it because you don't like it? If you don't, give it to me. I have another flavor here, you can have this one."