Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1033 - 502: Coconut Trio Set

In Zheng Da's jubilant boasting, Gong Liang took the freshly baked, still hot coconut mooncake from Master Jing's hands. It's hard to tell if Gong Liang's love for coconut makes him powerless against any snack related to it or if the freshly baked coconut mooncake is just too enticing.

Gong Liang foolishly took a bite of the scorching coconut mooncake, only to jump up and make a clumsy attempt at cooling his mouth as if tapping out a quick rhythm with his tongue.

He didn't want to spit it out, but couldn't swallow it either.

Master Jing quickly handed Gong Liang an empty bowl, signalling him to spit out the mooncake first, then gesturing to Huang Shengli to pour a bowl of cold water, to prevent this silly kid from laying out flat.

Even after spitting out the mooncake, Gong Liang kept trying to cool down his mouth, nearly enough to break into a tap dance.

"You child, I just said you all look like kids to me, and here you are acting like one. Putting such a hot mooncake in your mouth - if you burn your tongue, you won't be able to eat dinner and you'll have yourself to blame," Master Jing laughed and scolded, "Drink a few more sips of water, and hold the last sip in your mouth."

Gong Liang obediently drank several sips of cold water, and held the water in his mouth, listening to Master Jing's chiding without speaking.

"This mooncake just came out of the oven. The outside feels hot, the inside is even hotter, you shouldn't just bite into it immediately. Ruining your tongue for a mooncake during a festival isn't worth it, luckily you're not training to be a chef. If Zheng Da or Shengli burned their tongues from being greedy, I'd have to give them a good thrashing with a bamboo stick."

"A chef's most important asset is their tongue. Xiao Liang, your tongue is important too—your sales rely on your mouth. How can you speak if your tongue is burnt?"

Gong Liang couldn't speak with water in his mouth.

Only after holding water in his mouth several times did Gong Liang start to recover, sheepishly smiling, "Master Jing, it's my fault, the enticing smell of this mooncake got the better of me."

Master Jing chuckled, "It's just a mooncake. Now that you're the head of the sales department, whenever you want, every Mid-Autumn Festival I can..."

Master Jing paused, realizing he'd be retiring officially from the state-owned restaurant starting tomorrow, wouldn't be a chef there anymore, and said with a hint of melancholy, "In future Mid-Autumn Festivals, just ask Zheng Da to make whatever mooncakes you want. Coconut mooncakes aren't difficult, as long as there's fresh coconut or shredded coconut, Zheng Da can make them."

Gong Liang, seeing Master Jing's change in mood, grinned and said, "Master Jing, now that you're retired, should I wait for Zheng Da to make me mooncakes? You live right next door, I'll just come over to your place whenever I want them, as long as you don't chase me away."

Master Jing smiled, "Our building's kitchen is communal; I can't hog it all to myself. Cooking at home means using a coal stove, and with that and a small pot, what can I cook?"

"Why not set up a kitchen at home? When Zheng Da gets a single dorm room, let him move out and convert his room into a kitchen. I'll pay for the renovations!" Gong Liang slapped his chest, "Don't worry, with my connections, I'll make sure you have a perfect kitchen."

Zheng Da widened his eyes, yelling, "Gong Liang, what do you mean? Kicking me out just so you can freeload?"

"Kicking you out? You plan to live at Master Jing's forever? Even after you get married, will you live there?"

"So what if I live at my master's house? Even when I get married, I'll live here!"

"Oh please, living with your teacher and trying to find a wife—who'd marry you?"

"I'm an official worker at the state-owned restaurant! Do you know how much I earn monthly now? Do you know I eat white flour buns every meal now? You… You think being head of sales means you're all that? Your salary's just better than mine because..."

Seeing them about to argue, Huang Shengli sighed, "Zheng Da, fine, argue if you like, but keep working."

Zheng Da had to multi-task, arguing while working, with most of his attention on the job. In a war of words, he never stood a chance against Gong Liang, and now being distracted, he quickly lost several rounds in their banter.

Their bickering helped improve Master Jing's mood, who watched them exchange words with a big smile.

"Alright, it's a festival, you two. If you argue any louder, people outside might think you're fighting in the kitchen," Master Jing chuckled.

"Xiao Liang, hurry and eat some more snacks. The dishes will be served soon."

"Oh, oh." Gong Liang stopped the arguing and hurriedly stuffed snacks into his mouth like a hamster, chewing like mad.

As Gong Liang devoured everything in sight, Qin Huai's memory drifted away.

As he left the memory, Qin Huai felt a bit dazed, thinking he'd see the whole Mid-Autumn feast. The simultaneous cooking of dishes with several pots and the finished dishes showed Master Jing poured considerable effort into this Mid-Autumn meal.

To have chicken, duck, fish, and meat all at once—such a lavish feast was rare in those times, even for New Year's.

But Gong Liang only tasted a few snacks in the kitchen before the memory ended.

A bit of a pity.

Since it was a short memory, there wasn't much for Qin Huai to savor. When Gong Liang entered the kitchen, all the snacks were ready, and the dishes were nearly finished, allowing Master Jing to feed Gong Liang snacks while chatting. Most of the miscellaneous tasks were handled by Huang Shengli; there wasn't much to meticulously explore on a technical level.

As for the recipe, Qin Huai suspected it would likely be the coconut mooncake this time.