Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 896 - 443: The Exchange Meeting

"Master Zhou, these are the Piglet Buns and Hedgehog Buns I just steamed. Could you please take a look?"

In Zhiwei Restaurant, Qin Huai was frantically working on his skill level as always, presenting his newly made snacks to Master Zhou for review.

Qin Huai still remembered his real purpose for coming to Zhiwei Restaurant was to polish his Finger Skill proficiency, although things took an unexpected turn, and now he was improving all kinds of skills. But Finger Skill was undoubtedly his top priority, as the side quest for the Four Happiness Rolls was still looming, and the Finger Skill proficiency indeed needed to be honed.

Therefore, Qin Huai blindly made other snacks, but whenever it involved Finger Skill and required styling, he would let Master Zhou have a look after completing them.

Master Zhou's smile never left his face.

Nowadays, whenever Master Zhou saw Qin Huai, he was all smiles. Previously, he might have occasionally been in a slightly sarcastic mood when alone or angry when displeased with someone. But now, there's no such issue; Master Zhou switches his expression faster than his mood whenever he sees Qin Huai.

"Very good, very standard," Master Zhou nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the Piglet Buns and Hedgehog Buns in the steamer, which were so perfectly made as if they just came off a factory production line.

If it were before, Master Zhou would definitely not be happy to see Qin Huai making snacks like this and would subtly or directly point out that such snacks had no distinctiveness, soul, or personal style.

But not anymore.

The shockingly amazing dishes Qin Huai practiced deeply moved Master Zhou, convincing him that all deficiencies originated from values not being maximized. The statement that textbooks are the best expression of aesthetics profoundly influenced Master Zhou, making him see Qin Huai's copy-paste style snacks as his unique style.

This is also a form of aesthetics.

How should I put it? There's always a great scholar to argue for me.

In the steamer next to Qin Huai's were Zhao Cheng'an's snacks, and just at that moment, the time was up. An apprentice watching the timer turned off the heat and opened the steamer, revealing Four Happiness Flower Rolls identical to those from an assembly line.

Master Zhou frowned as he saw Zhao Cheng'an's Four Happiness Flower Rolls.

Being Master Zhou's Direct Disciple, Zhao Cheng'an didn't have any specific KPIs to meet at work. He had already mastered all the basic skills he could and learned all available techniques. Master Zhou didn't require him to practice or do anything in particular, managing him with a laissez-faire approach.

Even if he wanted to manage more strictly, it wouldn't help because Zhao Cheng'an is inherently laid-back. If subjected to military-style high-pressure management, he'd really defect from his mentor's school. Hell, even without full military-style management, Zhao Cheng'an standing next to a diligent peer, having his daily workload increased and required to clock in at 7 AM instead of arriving at work by 9 AM, already makes him feel like quitting.

Facing this attribute of his little disciple, Master Zhou was at a loss. He's a strict teacher who teaches according to the disciple's character, and Zhao Cheng'an's laziness is ingrained in his bones. After years of trying every method — whether it be beating, scolding, talking, or advising — it's clear that letting him be free with counsel when necessary is the best educational method Master Zhou could think of.

After all, good disciples are hard to find these days, and even harder are those with innate talent and high understanding. While hardship can be cultivated, talent is truly innate. Humans can't have it all, so having such a disciple is already quite fortunate, and he should be satisfied.

Before witnessing what Qin Huai was capable of, Master Zhou used to console himself this way.

It wasn't until recently when Qin Huai opened up, even Master Zhou couldn't keep up with his drive.

By the way, starting work at 5 AM was no longer enough for Qin Huai. He basically arrived at his station every day between 4:30 and 4:40 AM, with An Youyou arriving at 3 AM to prepare ingredients.

The master chefs at Zhiwei Restaurant no longer saw Qin Huai as a gloriously bright talent. Instead, they were somewhat envious, sometimes staring straight at Qin Huai with eyes that seemed to say, "Aren't you my long-lost precious disciple? Where have you been all these years?"

Smart, perceptive, and capable of finding his own shockingly unique path without much guidance. Critically, he's proud yet humble, and not just diligent—extremely diligent, getting up before 4 AM to make snacks kind of diligent!

The only flaw is that his mind isn't quite normal, as he's always fantasizing about having a game system. But that doesn't matter; it's not important, as an unusual mind doesn't affect his ability to make snacks or live normally.

With the increasing types of breakfast Qin Huai makes—rice noodle rolls, wontons, Yangchun noodles, sesame balls, various baked buns, and pancakes—in fact sometimes he even makes a couple of crepes when tired of other breakfasts, the master chefs at Zhiwei Restaurant increasingly realize how deep Qin Huai's pool of snack varieties is and how broadly it encompasses.

Just to put it this way: each master chef at Zhiwei Restaurant now feels that Qin Huai could specialize in their particular area, shine, and become the strongest.

What? You say Xiao Qin isn't very adept at this type of snack, and his signature snacks aren't in this category. What do you know! He's not adept because he hadn't previously devoted time and energy to this area, nor met a renowned teacher in this category. As long as Xiao Qin is willing, he would undoubtedly excel at it!

Many master chefs whose skills aren't as good as Master Zhou's, nor their Combat Power, started to inwardly wonder: Who does Zhou Guanghai think he is? You think you're impressive? You're merely the number one in pastry work. You weren't always the number one right from the start; you clawed your way to it over many years, and you're not exceptionally outstanding either.