Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 851 - 424: Workplace Guide

After a meal, Shi Dadan and Zhao Cheng’an even added each other on WeChat. On the way back, Shi Dadan went through all of Zhao Cheng’an’s posts from the last three months and liked them each in turn, maxing out his social etiquette.

Five minutes after getting home, Qin Huai received a call from An Youyou, who, in a sincerely anxious tone, expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to train at Yunzhong Restaurant, thanking the company for this valuable advancement opportunity.

Then, after some perfunctory small talk for about two or three minutes, she inquired in detail about the travel allowance, whether there was a transport or meal subsidy, and if there were mandatory overtime requirements, such as the rumored apprentice long working hours at Zhiwei Restaurant, not less than 12 hours a day.

It was clear that she was being very cautious and took this exchange seriously.

Upon learning that the workload would be intense and the pay equally good, An Youyou asked excitedly if she could set off a few days later, as she needed time to sublet her current apartment.

Qin Huai readily agreed, telling her to sort out everything in Shan City before coming to Hangzhou. Considering that An Youyou had never been on a business trip, Qin Huai gave a few more pieces of advice, sharing some tips about business trips and getting along with new colleagues, which An Youyou eagerly noted down as if she had found a treasure, almost just short of recording it.

After hanging up, Qin Huai noticed Shi Dadan looking at him with a complicated expression.

"What’s the matter? Did you eat too many dumplings tonight and now have a stomach upset? Do you want me to accompany you to the hospital?" Qin Huai asked with concern.

"No." Shi Dadan’s expression remained unchanged, "Although I only had a formal job in my first life, I think the skills you just shared might not apply to the Three Legged Golden Toad."

"Xiao Qin, have you ever had a formal job?"

Qin Huai was about to deny, saying how could he possibly never have had a job, he had been...

Hm, it seemed he actually never had a formal job.

After graduating from university, Qin Huai went back to help at the Qin Family Breakfast Shop, becoming even more of a young master than the young master himself. Master Qin’s fame was known across the whole Sanmalu District.

Not long after inheriting the family business, Qin Huai inherited an even bigger business and became his own boss. The short time he could call a job might have been during exchanges at Huang Ji, but even that was casual, as Qin Huai was treated like a master chef, with direct disciples like Wang Jun being appointed by Huang Shengli to assist him.

Now at Zhiwei Restaurant, it’s even more so, as all the master chefs there are treated with utmost respect, incomparable to a real job.

The more Qin Huai thought, the more alarmed he became, realizing that this was his blind spot; he genuinely never had a formal job.

"So, what I just told An Youyou, was a lot of it incorrect?" Qin Huai earnestly asked for leave.

Shi Dadan was also unsure: "I can’t say for certain, as I’m not very good at working either. But I can help An Youyou write some notes on how to get along with colleagues at work, and you can say that you specially prepared it for her, which should be useful."

"I’ve seen that girl a few times in the kitchen while eating at Yunzhong Restaurant. She’s a little dopey, learning whatever she’s taught, but aside from being very decisive about money, she’s not very competent otherwise. But among them, Three Legged Golden Toads, An Youyou is already considered quite smart. I used to know a Three Legged Golden Toad that succeeded in crossing its tribulation; it asked for food for 30 years during its tribulation and succeeded only after starving to death in a famine year."

Qin Huai: ...?

So, do the Three Legged Golden Toads have a tribulation manual called "The Begging Manual," teaching every undeath undergone Three-legged Golden Toad how to beg for food?

Except, An Youyou’s aspirations were a bit higher than others, who only sought their own food, while An Youyou liked to collect little brothers, which is why she failed her tribulation.

Qin Huai acknowledged Shi Dadan’s earnest gesture, but...

"Old Shi, are you sure your notes on workplace interactions are useful?"

It wasn’t that Qin Huai doubted Shi Dadan, but based on Shi Dadan’s accounts and Qin Huai’s recollection of his work reputation, Qin Huai felt that Shi Dadan was even less adept at working than he was.

"It should be useful." Shi Dadan said, "I’ll list everything I did in my first-life workplace as prohibited actions, which should act as a warning."

Considering the urgency of An Youyou’s work notes, Shi Dadan hurried through the night and didn’t leave to search for food the next afternoon. He finally completed the notes before dinner and sent them to Qin Huai.

Qin Huai glanced at the document Shi Dadan sent, noticing an average of one typo every 20 words. It was hard to tell if this was due to high error rates in voice-to-text conversion, or if it was simply because Shi Dadan was not good at typing. Qin Huai leaned towards the former because Shi Dadan almost never typed, only sent voice messages on WeChat.

When he said he was allergic to reading, it wasn’t an exaggeration. Qin Huai once suspected that he wasn’t just allergic to reading books, but also to written words.

Dang Kang was indeed sincere, just not good at remembering. If Qin Huai didn’t think of it or bring it up actively, Shi Dadan wouldn’t remember to mention many things, like how he had traveled worldwide, something most people would boast about, but Shi Dadan thought nothing of it and didn’t even mention a word.

.

"So, today Su Qian’s egg tarts were still not up to par, causing Master Zhou to be irritable. Xiao Tan’s Four Happiness Flower Rolls were all for show, and he was caught red-handed by Master Zhou while chatting with Zhao Cheng’an."

"This directly led to Xiao Tan having to practice for 3 more hours tonight and missing our dinner, and Xiao Zhao also didn’t come because he got a scolding for slacking off." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

At the same dumpling restaurant, sitting at the same table, with the same 14 plates of dumplings in different flavors and three stacks of pickles, Qin Huai and Shi Dadan were having dinner while discussing what happened today at Zhiwei Restaurant.

"But Zhao Cheng’an wasn’t left behind for slacking off and getting scolded. Master Zhou is very tolerant when it comes to teaching. For Zhao Cheng’an, chatting while making snacks doesn’t count as slacking off. Telling him not to chat would actually affect his snack-making," Qin Huai explained. "I feel like he got scolded because today he let me make the Lucky Cloud Pattern Cake, and Master Zhou found out."

"So how did your Lucky Cloud Pattern Cake come out?" Shi Dadan immediately shifted focus from Tan Wei’an to the snacks.

"I think it went okay," Qin Huai shrugged. "I don’t think it’s just me feeling good about it. I used to find all pastry work, including flaky pastries, quite challenging, so I was reluctant to do them and did them rarely."

"But today, when I started, I found it wasn’t that hard. It felt even better than making egg tarts the past couple of days."

"Also, didn’t Zhao Cheng’an make a batch of dumplings for you today while chatting? I hadn’t seen him make dumpling filling before, and today I suddenly noticed he has a habit similar to mine when making dumpling filling."

"What habit?" Shi Dadan asked.

"When we make meat-filled dumplings, we both like to mix the other ingredients first, season them, and then add and season the meat filling again."

Shi Dadan didn’t quite understand: "Does doing it that way make them tastier? Like how some fish need cold water, and the meat of cold-water fish becomes more tender."

"There shouldn’t be much difference; it’s just more troublesome. I have this habit because when I was a kid at the orphanage, Director Qin would have everyone make dumplings with cabbage mixed with a bit of ground meat, and we rarely had proper meat-filled dumplings."

"We could only enjoy a few proper meat dumplings during holidays or the New Year. I was good at mixing the dumpling filling so that by second grade, all the dumpling fillings at the orphanage were made by me."

"I thought meat was precious, and I was terrified of ruining it by making it too salty, so I would first season the cheap fillings like cabbage or radish. Only after Director Qin tasted it and thought the seasoning was right would I mix in the meat filling for re-seasoning."

"Looking back now, it seems unnecessary, but I felt it was safer. Director Qin didn’t know how to cook at all and thought it was my special technique, so he never stopped me, which led to my habit of mixing all dumpling fillings this way, even for Four Happiness Dumplings."

"Then why does Zhao Cheng’an also do it this way?" Shi Dadan asked.

"I asked him today, and he said that when he first apprenticed with Master Zhou, he liked to invent new ways of doing things, thinking he was extraordinarily talented and would create many snack-making techniques unseen before."

"This way of mixing fillings was one of the techniques he invented. He initially believed that this extra step would make the filling more delicious, but later realized it didn’t. However, since other techniques he created made the snacks worse, and this one didn’t really have any impact, he kept doing it and now can’t break the habit."

Shi Dadan: ...

Shi Dadan couldn’t understand it, nor respect it, so he just quietly ate a couple of dumplings.

"Oh, right, Zhao Cheng’an can’t come today; he’s too busy getting scolded to even touch his phone. He asked me to tell you that he’ll make a few more kinds of dumpling fillings over the next two days, and you can see which ones you like. Four days later, he’s off work, and I’ll see if Master Zhou is available. If not, I’ll join him in taking the day off, since my main job now is to watch Zhao Cheng’an make snacks."

"When he’s off, he’ll cook and invite the two of us over to his place for a meal. The main dish will be dumplings, and he’ll prepare some of his best snacks as side dishes."

"If you have any snacks you like, Old Shi, you can send him a list on WeChat now so he can prepare them at home."

"Oh, sure," Shi Dadan said cheerfully. "I’ll go home and make a list to send to him."

"When the time comes, I’ll bring some fruit over. What does Xiao Zhao like to eat? If it’s the thought that counts, I’ll get a big fruit basket with everything in it."

Qin Huai: ...

Our gift-giving skills are really on the same level. You specifically noted in the guidelines for An Youyou that when giving gifts to leaders and colleagues, don’t just go with fruit, especially not just two apples.

Yet, when it’s your turn to practice, you still settle it with a big fruit basket.

Way to go, Dang Kang.