Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1096 - 532: Major Breakthrough (Part 2)

After Qin Huai finished kneading the dough for the Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns, he even felt confident enough to attempt the more challenging locust flower buns. What he previously didn't understand was now clear, and it was time to reach out to Grandma Ding to purchase another batch of locust flower honey.

Qin Huai couldn't stop kneading the dough.

Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns, plain buns, Three Meat Buns, Five Fillings Buns, red bean paste buns—Qin Huai even began to hand-roll noodles, intending to make a batch of Chicken Soup Noodles without chicken for his family, essentially just boiling noodles in water.

While Qin Huai was immersed in rolling the noodles, the first batch of Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns was out of the steamer.

Standing before the steamer, Qin Huai rubbed his hands nervously, took a deep breath, stepped forward half a step, and reached out to uncover the steamer.

The aroma of rice wine was pervasive.

Compared to ordinary buns, the biggest feature of Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns is their strong fragrance, a sweet aroma of rice wine that is hard to conceal, especially when just out of the steamer.

Old patrons of Huang Ji once described how, back when Master Jing was making Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns at the State-owned Restaurant, the aroma could waft down half the street whenever the buns came out. It was mealtime for children living nearby when the buns were ready, and many children's childhood smell was the aroma of Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns mixed with rice, which was no exaggeration.

Previously, when Qin Huai made Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns, the aroma couldn't travel half a street away; having it waft into the hall was already considered decent.

But now it could.

It was truly fragrant.

The steam dissipated after a few meters, yet the aroma spread far and wide. Qin Huai keenly noticed that the scent of the Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns this time wasn't just the simple sweet aroma of rice wine but a mix of the aroma of wheat as well. It seemed slightly less intense than before, but it was an aroma that made one hungry.

It's the kind of aroma that makes you want to eat the main course.

No wonder the children living nearby used to take this aroma to mix with rice.

In the entire Yunzhong Restaurant, Wang Gen Sheng was the only one who, when young, had smelled and eaten the Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns made by Master Jing. At the first moment Qin Huai lifted the cover, Wang Gen Sheng jumped up excitedly, babbling and waving his hands around.

"This... this... this... bun..." Wang Gen Sheng didn't have time to curse his own clumsiness, feeling like his brain had stalled.

Every time he ate Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns at Yunzhong Restaurant, Wang Gen Sheng felt it was already the taste of Master Jing. However, the moment he smelled today's buns, memories flooded back.

This aroma loudly told Wang Gen Sheng that this was the taste of Master Jing, this was the smell of Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns that wafted half a street away, the taste that countless employees of the cotton spinning factory and silk factory would rush to on their bicycles after work, pedaling so hard that they might break the pedals and spark the tires in a frenzy to grab these Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns.

This was the taste!

Sitting at table number 9, Xu Tuqiang smelled the aroma two seconds later than Wang Gen Sheng. Seeing Wang Gen Sheng suddenly jumping up excitedly as if having a seizure, Xu Tuqiang complained helplessly to Grandpa Qian, "What's up with Wang Laogen? Having a seizure? I've never heard of him having epilepsy before."

"Maybe he got poisoned by eating too many potato dumplings." Grandpa Qian's words were full of envy. Before he could finish, he smelled the aroma of the Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns, took a deep breath, and showed a satisfied expression. "Today, these Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns... smell like a good meal."

"Did you not have enough to eat at lunch and are hungry?" Grandma Ding took a deep breath as well, "I feel a bit hungry too, these Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns are perfect; maybe I'll have one to fill my stomach."

While Grandpa Qian and Grandma Ding were still exclaiming, Xu Tuqiang was already ahead of them, standing in line at the window, eager to see how many Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns Qin Huai had steamed this time.

What was Qin Huai doing at this moment?

Qin Huai was still standing in front of the steamer looking at the Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns.

To be precise, he was admiring them. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Qin Huai felt this time he had truly redefined buns.

[Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns S-Level]

Who would have thought that leveling up yeast to Master Level wasn't a leap from A-level to A+ Level but a leap from A-level to S-level.

Wherever S-level Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns are placed, they are remarkable. Even when placed alongside a table of dishes prepared by Xia Mubing at Fen Garden, they would still not be overshadowed.

At Fen Garden, you could taste S-class dishes, and Xia Mubing, being the number one in Chinese cuisine today, has served dishes where just a belch would let the taste come out of the throat, Qin Huai trusted her skills immensely, convinced that her dishes reached S-class quality.

You could have S-class red meat dishes, but have you ever tasted S-level buns?

Even Master Zhou, the undisputed number one in pastry, might not necessarily make S-level buns.

Looking at the Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns before him, Qin Huai felt it somewhat unreal.

Could it be that an S-level snack was made just like this?

No getting stuck, struggling like before, no catastrophic failures leading to self-doubt, just smoothly creating it in one go?

Is this the benefit of a solid foundational skillset?

Is this the invincible tactic described in textbooks?

Qin Huai didn't immediately take the buns out of the steamer, just standing there silently admiring them.

Qin Huai could see the rating, but Zhao Cheng'an couldn't. Standing beside him, Zhao Cheng'an was getting anxious. He wasn't blind; he obviously could tell that Qin Huai's kneading skills had improved significantly.

In Zhao Cheng'an's eyes, Qin Huai's breakthroughs have never been sudden; he's constantly progressing, only his pace is fast enough to be visibly noticeable.