Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 859 - 428: Can You Also Call Me Master?

"He was protected too well by Master Jing. What's wrong with not becoming a master chef at a state-owned restaurant? It's not like someone else took that position; wasn't it taken by his senior brother Huang Shengli? The pastry department has been in decline for so many years. If it weren't for Little Su managing Zhiwei Restaurant so successfully and making a name for it, would there be a nationwide restaurant focused on pastry snacks?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Every master at Zhiwei Restaurant has faced more unfair treatment than he has, and everyone has endured similar grievances. Yet, it was only Zheng Da who couldn't bear even a little hardship. He stopped being a chef and went into business, abandoning the skills he learned over many years without a second thought."

"And he was lucky enough to have a son with an exceptional talent. It's common in our line of work for children to inherit their father's trade, but the prerequisite is that the child can indeed inherit it. My three children lack such talent and interest, and I don't force them. Don't underestimate Xiao Tan, who seems a bit lazy and not very ambitious; his talent isn't particularly outstanding. Yet, at Zhiwei Restaurant, Xiao Tan is already considered a great example of a child inheriting their father's trade. He took on what his father couldn't."

"We have several retired old-timers at Zhiwei Restaurant who are now hoping their sons or daughters possess a talent like Xiao Tan's to inherit their skills."

"After all this, do you know why I changed my view of Zheng Da?" Master Zhou suddenly cued Qin Huai.

Qin Huai, engrossed in the story, was surprised by the sudden change of topic during the chat and shook his head, boldly guessing: "I heard it's because Master Zheng reformed the snack recipes, no longer producing low-end batch snacks, but instead producing mid- to low-end snacks, elevating industry quality."

"No." Master Zhou shook his head, "That's just a side note."

"Then what is it?" Qin Huai was curious. In his view, managing to reform industrial snacks to this level is already considered an outstanding feat. Such reforms would be at a master level in the traditional pastry world.

"It's after you appeared on 'Taste', and I, wearing a mask, went with Lao San to Huang Ji to eat guo'er, and then lined up at 5 a.m. at Huang Ji to buy the day's snacks."

"Huh?" Qin Huai was stunned.

"You can say Zheng Da imparted everything to you." Master Zhou said, "I tried your premium three filling buns and fermented rice with steamed buns; Zheng Da truly withheld nothing, imparting all his unique skills to you. Especially your skill in making fermented rice with steamed buns, it's even better than his son Zheng Siyuan."

"Although Zheng Da abandoned his craft for a minor matter and ventured into business, not taking any apprentices, only passing his skills onto his son. His son, who knows what he's thinking, neither came to Zhiwei Restaurant nor went to Huang Ji, insisting on opening a pastry shop at the old neighborhood entrance."

"I originally thought Zheng Da would spend his life like this, but unexpectedly, he still has some chef's perseverance. He passed on his master's skills by choosing the best candidate."

Qin Huai: ...

Qin Huai didn't know how to explain for a while. Indeed, Zheng Da did teach wholeheartedly and withheld nothing in passing down his skills to the best of his ability. However, Master Zhou, you're mistaken; the three meat buns and fermented rice with steamed buns were not taught by Master Zheng.

Would you believe that these two snacks were taught by Master Jing? I have instructional videos from Master Jing here, which can be watched repeatedly.

Qin Huai chose to remain silent.

"When I tasted the snacks you made at Huang Ji, I was curious about what kind of talent Zheng Da picked to teach them. These past few months, Xiao Tan mentioned some things about you that piqued my curiosity further. But I don't really trust Xiao Tan's words; since he was young, he liked to brag and exaggerate. Whenever he met someone with stronger talent, he exaggerated their greatness, making others seem extraordinary instead of himself being inadequate."

"This made me anticipate your arrival at Zhiwei Restaurant even more. I even urged Little Su multiple times, asking if it was possible to bring you here earlier. By July or August, I could hardly wait."

Qin Huai: ?

"Then you arrived." Master Zhou looked at Qin Huai, his gaze full of affection, "Your talent, skill, mindset, and comprehension exceeded my expectations."

Hearing Master Zhou's words filled with praise, Qin Huai felt somewhat embarrassed.

Well, such words, Qin Huai indeed heard since childhood, especially at the orphanage, due to Director Qin's knack for praising children. Director Qin's words and tone in praising Qin Huai were at least tenfold more exaggerated than Master Zhou's current words.

But consider Master Zhou's credibility.

This is a genuine top pastry master, winning over Shi Dadan effortlessly, the distinguished brand of Zhiwei Restaurant, emitting golden light of an SSR, renowned for his sarcasm expertise.

"I've actually been evaluating you these past few days." Master Zhou's voice softened, infused with a hint of hoarseness.

"I had you watch Lao San and the others while they made snacks to see if you could distinguish the essential differences between an excellent pastry master and a master chef."

"I had Lao San lead you to chat about gossip to see how much focus you have on snacks, whether trivial matters would distract you, and whether a pleasant and relaxed environment would cause complacency."