Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 960 - 470: In What Capacity Will You Meet Him?

Xia Mubing agreed to Qin Huai's request to borrow the kitchen. Qin Huai was afraid Zhao Cheng'an, alone in the private room, would secretly eat the fruit platter and be too full to eat the potato dumplings later. So he quickly ate more than half of the fruit platter and then, under the puzzled gaze of Zhang Guanghang, your pastry chef, entered the kitchen to start working.

Zhao Cheng'an didn't go to the kitchen; he was sitting in the private room.

It's not that he didn't want to go; he's just feeling too full. Friends who have often eaten too much know that if you're really too full, you don't want to move, or even stand, because it makes your stomach feel uncomfortable. Sitting is barely tolerable, and all you want is to lie down.

Zhao Cheng'an can't lie down now, so he can only slump in a chair. Even though he wants to see what Qin Huai is making and why it's so urgent, all he can do is think about it.

Qin Huai is kneading dough in the kitchen.

Xia Mubing quietly cooks on the side. For some reason, the monitor on the wall has a blank spot again; maybe it's malfunctioning. Zhang Guanghang has nothing to do, so he eats a small plate of yam cake while watching Qin Huai knead the dough. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Qin Huai's dough-kneading skills are quite average, trying hard to match Zhao Cheng'an's skills in his first life.

These snacks that awaken spirits after just one bite don't aim for perfection but original replication.

If he made it but Zhao Cheng'an couldn't wake up after eating a couple bites, he'd really have to go to the restroom to vomit before continuing to eat.

Anyway, Zhao Cheng'an has to awaken today.

Qin Huai said, he's the protagonist of the system novel, and in this book, what he says goes.

To pursue Zhao Cheng'an's skills from the first life, he must intentionally do worse, add some minor flaws, and imitate some of Zhao Cheng'an's bad habits.

Qin Huai doesn't know if the imitation is convincing, but halfway through, he deeply feels that Zhao Cheng'an in the first life just practiced insufficiently; had he been locked in a kitchen to hone his skills for a few years, he surely wouldn't be like this.

After kneading the dough, he covers the dough with a cloth and puts it on the culinary station to ferment, and Qin Huai starts making the filling.

In Fen Garden, there are already peeled potatoes, and Qin Huai doesn't need much—two are enough. If he makes too many, Zhao Cheng'an won't be able to eat them. Qin Huai isn't too eager to let Xia Mubing and Zhang Guanghang try C+ level potato dumplings either.

After all, it's Fen Garden's kitchen, and Fen Garden's kitchen probably hasn't seen dishes of such a low grade for many years.

Such thoughts make him feel sorry for Fen Garden's kitchen.

Thinking like this, he quickly steams the potatoes, mashes them into puree, chops bacon, and seasons it.

Will the potato dumplings turn out delicious?

Qin Huai believes theoretically they can be tasty.

Potatoes aren't inherently bad, and dumplings are a versatile staple that accommodates a variety of fillings. As long as he controls the ingredient proportions, adds a bit of meat and other veggies to the potato filling to counterbalance the rich monotony of mashed potatoes, potato dumplings can indeed be delicious.

But this isn't Qin Huai's current concern; back when Chen Qiusheng and Chen Sheng made potato dumplings, they were purely potato-flavored. The house couldn't find anything else, even the seasoning was very basic, making the dumplings simple with limited potential.

Qin Huai makes them with ease.

Watching Qin Huai, Zhang Guanghang involuntarily furrows his brow. It's not that he doubts Qin Huai's culinary skills; he already saw Qin Huai's excellent pastry skills in the afternoon—a rare and remarkable level for a young pastry chef.

Being a renowned genius himself, Zhang Guanghang understands the rarity and preciousness of talent. To him, Qin Huai is an equal, if not a superior genius.

How could a genius fall apart in less than half a day?

What kind of things were just made?

The dough kneaded is vastly different from the afternoon's, and the mashed potato filling seems far from normal dumpling stuffing. What's Qin Huai up to...

Does he have a peculiar taste for bad flavors?

Is it a bizarre habit of balancing a feast with bad snacks?

Feeling perplexed, Zhang Guanghang instinctively looks up at Xia Mubing, hoping his mentor would say something to guide Qin Huai back on track, but turning his head, he finds Xia Mubing watching even more intently.

Almost fully focused on Qin Huai's actions, displaying no displeasure, no impatience, and no disdain for the subpar-looking dumplings being made in front of him.

Only shock and nostalgia.

Nostalgia to the extent of not wanting to blink, just watching Qin Huai's actions with the fear of missing something in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Guanghang: ?

Is there some hidden merit in this snack that eludes him?

Are the pastry secrets this secretive? It's as if, despite being a meat chef, he can't decipher a single thing.

Qin Huai finishes making the filling, waits quietly for the dough to ferment, then starts rolling the dough.

Then, wrapping dumplings.

He doesn't wrap them all; he wraps only six dumplings, and then promptly cooks them, saying to Xia Mubing: Sorry, Master Xia, the others are waiting to eat dumplings eagerly, I'll boil these first and come back later to wrap the rest.

Xia Mubing doesn't react much, only nods slightly, not minding the prepared side dishes on the stove, standing there staring into space at the unhandled dough and dumpling filling.

Qin Huai is in a rush.

He was annoyed for the first time that this version of Earth online couldn't accelerate. This process of cooking dumplings was too long; why hadn't the dumplings floated yet? They weren't cooked yet, and he was already impatient to shove the piping hot dumplings down Zhao Cheng'an's throat.

Finally, the dumplings were cooked.

With the astonishing speed of a seasoned Breakfast Shop chef, Qin Huai deftly scooped the dumplings out, placed them in a bowl, and briskly walked to the private room to serve them. The whole process flowed like water, with his steps making him seem like a debt collector at the door.

The door to the private room was closed.

Qin Huai pushed open the door with a bang, startling Zhao Cheng'an, who was playing on his phone inside.

Qin Huai steadily placed the dumplings in front of Zhao Cheng'an and uttered a single word: "Eat!"

The pronunciation was clear and full of vigor.

Zhao Cheng'an: ...

Qin Huai's condition really can't be delayed any longer; he's beginning to show violent tendencies. Zhao Cheng'an felt like if he didn't eat now, Qin Huai would cover his head with the bowl of dumplings and pry his mouth open to shovel them in, giving off the impression of a bully.

Zhao Cheng'an silently picked up a dumpling, dared not ask why there was no vinegar, instinctively hiccuped as soon as he opened his mouth, then blew on the dumpling and took a bite.

Zhao Cheng'an: ?

What kind of filling is in this dumpling? The taste is so strange!

Potato filling? There's a potato-filled dumpling in this world? Is this still a dumpling? This is too heretical! Qin Huai, what were you thinking? Did I offend you somewhere? You actually made something so...

The complaints in Zhao Cheng'an's mind came to a sudden halt.

He was frozen like a robot crashing, system malfunctioning, his expression no longer changing, eyes appearing somewhat dazed, the dumpling in his mouth not yet swallowed still busily there, and his hand gripping the chopsticks neither tightening nor loosening, holding onto the remaining dumpling steadily.

This was a scene Qin Huai was very familiar with. He sat beside Zhao Cheng'an, quietly watching him, waiting.

About a minute later, Zhao Cheng'an's eyes started to change.

First from vacant to expressive, then confused, and finally clear, blinking as if just waking from a big dream and subconsciously swallowed the dumpling in his mouth, coughing suddenly when it misdirected, and then meeting Qin Huai's half-smiling gaze.

"You..."

"I know you have many questions, but hold on. You're not the first spirit I've encountered, nor the first spirit to awaken after eating my dish. I know you're a Mayfly and also know your first incarnation was Xia Sheng." Qin Huai had become adept at saying such lengthy segments without stumbling.

"We have a group here, and I'll pull you into it later. We'll have a group video call, and I'll explain everything then. Before I do that, there's something I find more urgent."

"Your senior brother Xia Mubing is still in the kitchen now."

"Do you want to see him? Or rather, in what identity do you want to see him?"

Qin Huai felt this was a very difficult problem, difficult to choose from, like Qu Jing struggling with her thoughts before finding her past life's parents, hesitating, deliberating, and pondering for a long time before recognizing them.

For spirits, this was an inherently reasonable dilemma regardless of choice.

Qin Huai thought Zhao Cheng'an would be stuck in his chair thinking for a long time.

But he didn't.

Without a moment's hesitation, Zhao Cheng'an leapt up from the chair like a wild horse, nearly throwing up his stomach contents, staggering with a hiccup, then dashed out of the room like an arrow, with Qin Huai barely able to catch sight of him.

This agile prowess vaguely hinted at the style of the Beiping Thief King.

But there was no need to chase; the guests in the hall had already finished and left. Now Qin Huai, Zhao Cheng'an, Xia Mubing, and Zhang Guanghang were the only ones left in the Fen Garden.

Zhao Cheng'an shouted in a voice as loud as Chen Sheng's: "Xia Mubing, Xia Sheng, I'm Chen Sheng!"

"I remember, I remember everything! Do you still remember me?"

"It's me, Chen Sheng, Chen Sheng!"

"You're still alive and back in Beiping—it's just wonderful, hahaha!"

When Qin Huai arrived at the kitchen door, Zhang Guanghang had already been chased out by Xia Mubing, still holding the unfinished yam cake.

The kitchen door of Fen Garden was tightly closed, with only Zhao Cheng'an and Xia Mubing inside.

Qin Huai met Zhang Guanghang's speechless yet confused gaze and smiled awkwardly: "Well..."

"I'm telling you now, Zhao Cheng'an is actually a child of Teacher Xia's distant relatives, with some kinship. Do you believe it?"

Zhang Guanghang: ...

I believe it. Now I'll believe whatever you say.

If you say the two of you came to Beiping from far away to defraud my master, I believe it.

You two don't seem to be here for food but to brainwash my master.