Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1000 - 489: Oh_2

Master Qin arrived at his faithful Yunzhong Restaurant at 4:37 in the morning.

At this hour, Chen An and the assistants in charge of breakfast had already started working. Qin Huai didn't bother with small talk; he just put on his work clothes and got down to business. During the few months at Zhiwei Restaurant, Qin Huai spent nearly half his time doing what he was familiar with from his breakfast shop, making buns, steamed rolls, shumai, and rice cakes with great ease.

The A-level rice cake and Chen Sheng brand yam cake had already won over the customers of Zhiwei Restaurant. It was time for the customers at Yunzhong Restaurant to experience the power of A-level ordinary breakfast.

Unusually for him, the first thing Qin Huai did after starting work was not kneading dough but making rice batter and steaming yams, processes he didn't frequently do. With An Youyou taking a break, Qin Huai casually picked a couple of assistants to help him without lifting his head, not noticing Chen An's complex expression.

As soon as Qin Huai entered the kitchen, Chen An greeted him, just as he had a few months before.

Chen An wanted to say something to his dear boss, but he didn't know where to start.

This time, Qin Huai had been away from Yunzhong Restaurant for too long. Originally planned to return after a one-month exchange at Huang Ji, Qin Huai seamlessly transitioned to Zhiwei Restaurant after completing the exchange, staying for several months.

The customers at Yunzhong Restaurant in Shan City waited for a month, but instead of Master Qin, they got Master Xiao Zheng.

Zheng Siyuan was a very responsible snack master, and because of this, he also became a breakfast chef.

Talking nonsense, the aunts and uncles of Yunzhong District couldn't compare to Gong Liang, but there was only one Gong Liang, whereas there were heaps of aunts and uncles in Yunzhong District. The chatter was infinite, one flowery speech after another, and they talked Zheng Siyuan into being half a breakfast chef from a snack master.

Zheng Siyuan originally intended to brush up on his snack-making skills at Yunzhong Restaurant, but in doing so, he ended up making every kind of snack, working longer and longer shifts, and the customer reviews kept piling up.

After realizing that Zheng Siyuan genuinely enjoyed reading reviews, the aunts and uncles of Yunzhong District put in extra effort, as 60 was the right age for learning. Led by Xu Tuqiang and Grandpa Qian, the review squad made substantial investments to purchase the entire set of "Taste," studying carefully how Xu Cheng and a host of food critics wrote reviews and descriptions, ensuring everyone produced at least one quality review weekly for Zheng Siyuan.

Zheng Siyuan was coaxed into making snacks every day as soon as he opened his eyes, without even time to check WeChat.

Chen An had a lot to say to Qin Huai.

He wanted to tell Qin Huai that now, many aunts and uncles had stopped their morning exercises. Previously, many aunts and uncles would exercise every morning and eat at Yunzhong Restaurant by 6 a.m. to follow the trend, to grab the first batch of Qin Huai's breakfast, to show their face in front of Qin Huai.

Nowadays, with Qin Huai gone for several months, Chen An's ordinary breakfast failed to attract the aunts and uncles, and they stopped rushing for the 6 a.m. shift, changing to the 7 a.m. shift instead.

At 7, they could get the first batch of wontons made by Zheng Siyuan.

Chen An wanted to tell Qin Huai that the most popular snacks at Yunzhong Restaurant were no longer the various buns, but the Four Happiness Flower Rolls and fresh meat mooncakes. Zheng Siyu had to make large quantities of Four Happiness Flower Rolls and fresh meat mooncakes every morning, many people eating the fresh meat mooncakes as if they were meat buns.

Chen An also wanted to tell Qin Huai that Pei Xing was no longer striving. Previously, Pei Xing started coming to work earlier and earlier, becoming more competitive, gritting his teeth every day to practice shumai secretly competing, but that's all history now.

Now Pei Xing had returned to being the snack master who clocked in on time, no longer making shumai, just making snacks as usual every day.

The thing Chen An most wanted to tell Qin Huai was that he was no longer the most popular snack master at Yunzhong Restaurant. It seemed that Master Xiao Zheng had already taken his place.

When you were not around, aunts and uncles would sit in Yunzhong Restaurant chatting, looking at things and missing people, gazing at the windows with eyes full of faint sadness and longing for Master Qin. Now, aunts and uncles stayed in Yunzhong Restaurant, eager to submit reviews, and seize any opportunity to exchange a few words with Master Xiao Zheng, persuade him to make the snacks they wanted to eat.

The daily topic in order-sharing groups among office workers in nearby office buildings was no longer about when Master Qin would return, but when Master Xiao Zheng's mooncakes would be ready.

Yunzhong Restaurant had not displayed signs for Dried Tangerine Peel Tea, Three Meat Buns, Five Fillings Bun, or Four Happiness glutinous rice for a long time. Those once signatory dishes were almost forgotten by customers.

Chen An desperately wanted to grab Qin Huai by the collar and shout: Master Qin, you can't go on like this! You can't just keep burying your head in making snacks! Do you know the winds have already changed? The outside world has changed, and your position at Yunzhong Restaurant risks being replaced by Master Xiao Zheng!

And I, your most loyal breakfast chef Chen An, have always had my heart aligned with yours from start to finish!

I know that although you seem to have become a snack master, deep down, you've always been that breakfast chef – you will always be the pride of us breakfast chefs!

Chen An hesitated, showing a difficult expression, his demeanor solemn, visibly tense, with a mix of three parts worry, two parts self-blame, and five parts of not knowing if he should or shouldn't say it.

Qin Huai naturally noticed Chen An's odd behavior, turning his head to glance at Chen An after instructing the apprentices to steam the yam cake: "Are you feeling sick? Do you need to take a day off and see the doctor? Stomach trouble is no small matter, it could be serious if it's prolonged gastritis."

The sudden gastritis Zhao Cheng'an experienced in Beiping last time left a deep impression on Qin Huai, and now he felt that gastrointestinal issues could not be ignored.

Chen An was very touched, feeling that as a loyal staff member of Qin Huai's, he had to say something at this moment; he opened his mouth.

Just then, Zheng Siyuan entered the kitchen.

Wearing the Yunzhong Restaurant uniform, with an expressionless face, Zheng Siyuan entered the kitchen with a subtle aura of lifelessness that vanished the moment he saw Qin Huai. He quickly walked over to Qin Huai's side, first glancing at the culinary station in front of Qin Huai to confirm what he was doing, before finally speaking:

"You're finally back."

"Didn't I send you a message ahead of time saying I'd be back yesterday?" Qin Huai replied.

Zheng Siyuan let out a sigh of relief, speaking to himself: "It's good that you're back. I heard from Tan Wei'an that recently at Zhiwei Restaurant, you were starting work at 4 a.m. every day, planning to open a branch of Yunzhong Restaurant in a nearby community, leaving this place to be managed by An Youyou."

"I thought maybe this time you brought Zhao Cheng'an back to stabilize the business at Yunzhong Restaurant, planning to leave for Hangzhou again after staying two days to attend to the new store."

Qin Huai: ...

What? He's already back at Yunzhong Restaurant, and still catching wind of Tan Wei'an's rumors!

Tan Wei'an, do you really have so much free time? Weaving gossip circulating at Zhiwei Restaurant wasn't enough, you even discuss it with Zheng Siyuan on WeChat.

"But judging by the current situation, it seems like Tan Wei'an was just randomly guessing."

"Of course, he was guessing!" Qin Huai raised his voice, "Even if I'm opening a branch, I'd never do it across from Zhiwei Restaurant; that'd be crazy, competing for snack business with them. Am I nuts?"

"Now that I'm back, I don't plan on leaving again anytime soon. But Zheng Siyuan, you've been coming to work really early; it's only 6:02 a.m. and you're already here." Qin Huai glanced at his phone.

A subtle shade of emotion swept across Zheng Siyuan's face once more, as he said somewhat numbly: "I wish I didn't have to either, but Grandpa Xu and the others aren't young anymore; having breakfast after 8 a.m. is indeed not good for the stomach, so I have to come early."

Qin Huai wasn't sure what to say, he just wanted to pat Zheng Siyuan's shoulder and say that he's truly been put through hardship, Master Xiao Zheng.

Thank you for staying at Yunzhong Restaurant to divert some of the pressure, drawing attention away, so that the aunties and uncles haven't collectively rushed to buy houses across from Zhiwei Restaurant like before.

The property prices across from Zhiwei Restaurant are much higher than those across from Huang Ji.

"Have you had breakfast yet? I just started kneading the dough, and the first batch of rice cakes and yam cakes are already steaming, they'll be ready shortly."

"Did Tan Wei'an tell you how much my cooking skills have improved these past few months?"

"He did." Zheng Siyuan said flatly, "He said you're about to break through from the Nascent Soul Stage to the Mahayana Realm."

Qin Huai: ... Tan Wei'an's level classifications are truly incomprehensible.

With a serious face, Qin Huai said: "He wasn't lying, my breakfast-making skills have skyrocketed."

"You'll know once you taste it, it's astonishingly good."

The A-level basic breakfast, wherever it is placed, is top-tier, the kind you wouldn't be ashamed to package into a premium gift box to send to Xia Mubing.

Zheng Siyuan: ...

After spending a few months at Zhiwei Restaurant, how did Qin Huai end up with the same penchant for what Tan Wei'an likes to call 'running a train with a full mouth'?

"Oh." Zheng Siyuan said expressionlessly.