Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1005 - 491: Yunzhong Restaurant’s Most Loyal Customer (Part 2)

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6:15 AM, Xu Tuqiang, having finished his morning run, walked into Yunzhong Restaurant, panting heavily.

Xu Tuqiang knew that today, he was probably still the earliest regular customer at Yunzhong Restaurant. The breakfast patrons at Yunzhong Restaurant were mostly residents from the community and office workers from nearby buildings. Yunzhong District was an area with a high proportion of elderly people, while students and office workers were scarce, especially high school students who needed to wake up early.

It could be said that the number of customers coming to the restaurant at 6 AM for breakfast was few and far between.

The morning running group used to be the first to arrive at Yunzhong Restaurant at 6 AM, but now they've changed. Whenever Xu Tuqiang thought of these traitors, he couldn't help but despise them in his heart.

Humph, fickle traitors.

Although Xu Tuqiang would also sit at table number 9 in Yunzhong Restaurant until 7 AM to wait for the first batch of Master Xiao Zheng's breakfast offerings to be sold before eating, he would arrive at 6 AM to sit at his loyal number 9 table, reminiscing about old times.

Unlike those who would stop running while waiting, or those who, even while running, would not immediately come to Yunzhong Restaurant to sit down, but instead would go home to shower and change clothes, waiting to arrive right at 7 AM, like some traitors.

Yes, Master Qin is no longer at Yunzhong Restaurant; he left and never returned, as if he vanished into thin air in Hangzhou, never looking back, as if he forgot that there was still a group of elderly folks eagerly awaiting his return at Yunzhong Restaurant. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

But is this your reason for not sitting in Yunzhong Restaurant at 6 AM?

Finishing the morning run without sitting in the restaurant for an hour to chat, only vacating the seats when the morning rush starts for those who need it, what's the point of such a morning?

Although there were rumors last night, saying that Master Qin came back, someone seemed to have seen him in the community, but Xu Tuqiang knew it was probably just another rumor.

Qin Huai didn't post anything on WeChat Moments.

During this period, everyone had heard too many rumors; basically, every half month, someone would spread the rumor that Master Qin was back.

Thinking of this, Xu Tuqiang straightened his chest and walked into Yunzhong Restaurant with great pride.

No matter the rumors, he, Xu Tuqiang, would always be the most loyal customer of Yunzhong Restaurant. Whether Master Qin was there or not, he would be the earliest customer sitting in the restaurant waiting to have breakfast!

Almost the moment he pushed the door open, Xu Tuqiang saw Qin Luo sitting by the window, looking somewhat melancholy, taking bites of rice cake and drinking soy milk.

Seeing Qin Luo's expression, Xu Tuqiang instantly empathized, feeling that Qin Luo, like him, was sitting by the window, reminiscing about Master Qin.

"Luoluo, you're here so early today." Xu Tuqiang greeted Qin Luo with a smile.

"Good morning, Mr. Xu." Qin Luo responded politely, not forgetting to remind Xu Tuqiang, "My brother's rice cake and yam cake are ready, and they're particularly tasty! However, there will probably also be white steamed buns, meat buns, and baked buns later. Mr. Xu, eat with moderation; if you eat too much now, you won't be able to eat later."

Xu Tuqiang was stunned by Qin Luo's words, his whole body frozen, almost standing in a daze, turning around to look at the window. Through the familiar window beside table number 9, he saw Master Qin, whom he had been longing for day and night.

Qin Huai was kneading dough by the cooking station, preparing hand-pulled noodles for Zheng Siyuan, with a focused expression, skillful movements, wearing Yunzhong Restaurant's uniform, and there was an assistant helping him nearby.

Xu Tuqiang's eyes welled up with tears.

It was this scene, this familiar arrangement, oh God, it wasn't a dream!

Excited, Xu Tuqiang quickly stepped forward, walked to the window, stared straight at Qin Huai, his lips trembling. He wanted to say a lot, but when the words came to his mouth, he couldn't utter a single word.

Qin Huai also saw Xu Tuqiang, smiled, and said, "Good morning, Mr. Xu. Just now, Master Zheng was still telling me you all changed the breakfast time, and now come at 7 instead of a little past 6. Consequently, the restaurant's staff also adjusted their work time, with the morning shift now starting at 6:30. Didn't expect you to come so early."

"I haven't made much here, only rice cake and yam cake. Want to try a little to fill your stomach? The snacks I've practiced hard at Zhiwei Restaurant in Hangzhou over the past few months are very worth a try and quite popular there."

Suppressing his excitement, Xu Tuqiang tried hard to make his voice calm, but his tone was uncontrollably high-pitched, "Then... give me two of each!"

Xu Tuqiang still remembered Qin Luo's words; there would be more delicious foods later.

Qin Huai didn't expect Xu Tuqiang to be so reserved, only eating two yam cakes, but thinking about it, he could understand. Given Mr. Xu's age, he probably doesn't like pastries that much, and besides, Xu Tuqiang loves sticky rice cakes the most, so he might really not be that interested in yam cakes.

The assistant next to Qin Huai swiftly gave Xu Tuqiang the rice cake and yam cake, passing them through the window to him. Xu Tuqiang took a deep breath, took the small plate, and walked gravely towards table number 9, sitting down solemnly.

He stared at the rice cake and yam cake on the plate, unable to speak for a long while.

He felt that the two pieces of pastry on the plate looked ordinary, yet they were so alluring.

Especially the rice cake. Ever since he got addicted to eating at Yunzhong Restaurant, Xu Tuqiang hadn't eaten rice cake for a long time. He recalled that there was a breakfast shop at the entrance of a community 2 kilometers away from Yunzhong District that sold rice cake. The rice cake there was also made fresh daily, reasonably priced, and since it was freshly made, the rice cake wasn't that white, falling between off-white and pure white.

The surface of the rice cake didn't look as delicate and smooth as the one on his plate; its pores were visible to the naked eye, and the rice aroma wasn't as rich as the one on his plate. However, when the boss lifted the steamer lid to grab rice cakes for customers, the aroma released with the steam was very enticing.