Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 847 - 422: Lucky Cloud Pattern Cake

In the following time, Qin Huai and the others checked in on each other’s recent situations. Actually, there wasn’t much to check on, mainly focusing on Luo Jun and Cheng Gong’s situations.

Luo Jun’s situation can be summed up in one sentence: calmly waiting for death. Luo Jun was very composed about it, merely complaining that the new dramas on TV were boring and updated too slowly. If he dies before the dramas have finished airing, who knows how long it’ll be before he can catch up on them in his next life.

As for Cheng Gong, he had a lot going on. Hao Weidao Company was thriving, and Han Guishan had expanded from the original soy sauce business to several new condiments.

With the company booming, Cheng Gong as the all-around assistant was, of course, extremely busy. Every day as soon as he opened his eyes, it was meetings, revising plans, scheduling for the boss, and coordinating other assistants’ work, busier than a 996 work schedule, almost 24/7.

Cheng Gong himself sighed with relief that he had awakened. Although his body was still human, he had regained his spirit abilities, making his physical condition much better than a normal human’s.

Normal people would have long collapsed under such stress.

On this topic, Qin Huai curiously asked Chen Huihong, Qu Jing, and Shi Dadan if they felt like superheroes after regaining their abilities. The answer was no.

These three spirits—one being a Plant Spirit that ate itself to stave off hunger, one a bird that healed forgetfulness by eating itself, and the last a self-buffing auspicious beast with no special abilities—couldn’t collectively withstand a single fire breath from a Bi Fang.

Thinking about it this way, it’s understandable why Luo Jun was so arrogant back then. He wasn’t just arrogant towards humans, but also towards spirits, while the Bi Fang simply looked down on all creatures equally.

After the video call ended, Qin Huai first sent a message to Huang Xi to have her work on An Youyou’s mindset, then called Su Qi to ask if Zhiwei Restaurant could accommodate another exchange apprentice.

Su Qi’s response was very typical of him.

Su Qi not only readily agreed but enthusiastically stated that even if Qin Huai hadn’t mentioned it, he had been considering it. Although there were no collaborations at present, Yunzhong Restaurant and Zhiwei Restaurant shared a very friendly partnership, just in case future opportunities arose.

Mutual exchanges serve as a great foundation for building relationships, Su Qi said, adding that Zhiwei Restaurant had rich experience in managing apprentices. Not only could An Youyou be sent over, but also any Li Youyou, Wang Youyou, Zhao Youyou, or Zhang Youyou. Sending more wouldn’t be an issue; Zhiwei Restaurant could accommodate them all.

Alarmed, Qin Huai politely declined. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to send anyone; rather, there weren’t many who met the criteria. The two most suitable candidates were still graduates; it wouldn’t make sense to have them return to their alma mater for retraining.

After handling these tasks, Qin Huai chatted a bit with Shi Dadan, asking about his plans after coming to Hangzhou.

Shi Dadan, while browsing reviews, talked about his dining plans. He had bookmarked many recommended eateries and intended to visit them one by one. Once he had eaten enough, the exchange on Qin Huai’s end would also be concluding, and Shi Dadan could accompany Qin Huai back to Shan City to finish the eateries he hadn’t visited there.

It could be said it was quite a leisurely vacation.

.

At nine the next morning, Qin Huai arrived punctually at Zhiwei Restaurant, ready to begin a hard day’s work.

Indeed, hard work.

In Qin Huai’s opinion, the observational phase of the previous days was over, and Master Zhou’s assessments were complete.

Now that the observation was done, it was time to practice.

After a restful night’s sleep, the refreshed Master Qin was ready to embrace Master Zhou’s rigorous but efficient culinary training.

Instead, Master Qin was welcomed by a plate of aromatic Lucky Cloud Textured Sugar, essentially flaky pastry shaped like a cloud pattern.

"Xiao Qin, you haven’t had breakfast yet, have you? Making these Lucky Cloud Textured Sugars took a bit of time, so I didn’t make other snacks. Help yourself. I just checked in elsewhere; Old Wang’s shrimp dumplings should be out of the steamer soon, Old Zhao made soup dumplings, and Old Liu did pan-fried buns. If you’re tired of these, the noodles from that guy Hua aren’t bad, and today’s pork rib soup is quite good. Have a bowl of pork rib soup noodles to fill up."

Master Zhou’s gentle voice, kind smile, and the aromatic snacks made Qin Huai doubt whether the egg tarts he made yesterday were just a dream.

Honestly, Qin Huai reached out for the Lucky Cloud Textured Sugar, taking a bite.

Hmm, a very typical taste of a flaky pastry.

The butter’s aroma was maximized during baking. Taste-wise, it was a straightforward sweet and savory snack, and texture-wise, it had that classic crispy crumbly feel. It was the simplest pastry without the cloud pattern affecting the taste whatsoever, yet it could outshine 100% of flaky pastries on the market.

Originally, Qin Huai just wanted to take a bite, but he couldn’t stop, devouring one bite after another.

Starting the morning hungry, his basic instinct to eat made it difficult to resist such a sweet and oily baked snack.

Qin Huai ended up eating three or four Lucky Cloud Textured Sugars in a row before respectfully asking, "Master Zhou, what snack should I make today? Should I continue making egg tarts like yesterday, or try making these Lucky Cloud Textured Sugars?"

"No need to rush; today you should watch, just like before. Besides, I have some things to take care of. Not sure if Su Qian’s head got kicked by a donkey or filled with cement; he hasn’t been receptive lately, I need to give him a heavy dose. The low-temperature area is quite cold so, Xiao Qin, don’t go in; staying too long might give you a cold. The Lucky and Auspicious Pastry doesn’t necessarily need to be made in the low-temperature area. I’ll have Lao San find a cooler spot, and you just observe him making it."