Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 969 - 476: Mastery Through Integration

On the second day, when Qin Huai returned to work at Zhiwei Restaurant as usual, he heard a brand-new version of the rumor about him starting his own business.

Master Qin had already decided on the successor to the community canteen in Shan City in order to develop a new community canteen influence in Hangzhou. Starting his own business was already a sure thing; it was just that the timing wasn't ripe yet.

As soon as Qin Huai finds a suitable shop, things will head in an uncontrollable direction. The pressing matter for Boss Su now is not to persuade Qin Huai to change his mind, but to rent out all possible store spaces near Zhiwei Restaurant that could turn into a community canteen.

When Qin Huai heard this latest rumor, he wondered if Tan Wei'an had some shops nearby that needed to be rented out.

Tan Wei'an's storytelling speed seems a bit too fast; doesn't he sleep at night?

Qin Huai's return did not cause much of a stir at Zhiwei Restaurant. After all, he hadn't left for many days. Even though a lot happened during the trip to Beiping, he stayed there for just over five days.

Nobody cared about the exchange meeting held by Babaozhai. The first question everyone asked upon seeing Qin Huai was, "Is Fen Garden's food good? Did you have any good dishes?"

For modesty, Qin Huai just humbly said that he had the luck to try the signature dish claypot shark fin at Fen Garden through a friend's connection. The rest were just some ordinary dishes.

When mentioning Xia Mubing, Qin Huai also couldn't stop praising Mr. Xia, commending his culinary skills, character, and temperament in every aspect. In Qin Huai's words, Xia Mubing was simply a venerable, kind-looking elder.

Everyone who heard Qin Huai's evaluation of Xia Mubing left with question marks all over their heads.

Master Zhou didn't ask much about the minor matter of Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an staying an extra day in Beiping; he merely reminded Qin Huai not to overwork himself after returning since the long trip was quite exhausting.

Before Qin Huai could show Master Zhou the biggest achievement from his Beiping trip—A-level Chen Sheng's Yam Cake, Master Zhou was pulled away by Boss Su to join an online meeting with Zheng Da.

Boss Su genuinely wanted to collaborate with Zheng Da to establish a dessert brand belonging to Zhiwei Restaurant. This matter, which involved both business and technical aspects, required Master Zhou's presence. Master Zhou could only remind Zhao Cheng'an not to slack off and to supervise Qin Huai's pastry-making so he wouldn't get too tired, then hurried off to the meeting.

As soon as Master Zhou left, Zhao Cheng'an sourly said, "Why is the advice from our master to me 'don't slack off', while to you it's 'don't get too tired'?"

Qin Huai thought for a moment, "Maybe the master knows his apprentice best."

This time, upon return, Qin Huai continued using the method of randomly practicing to increase skill level. He would practice whatever he felt like. The latest acquired recipe, potato dumplings, didn't catch much of Qin Huai's interest. The potato and bacon-filled dumplings were not really to Qin Huai's taste; the recipe was C+ level. The ones Qin Huai made imitating Chen Sheng's skills were also at C+ level.

Since then, Qin Huai hadn't made potato dumplings, as he figured that even with all his effort, he could only make it to B-level due to the recipe's limitations.

Qin Huai currently lacked the breakthrough ability to ingeniously transform a not-so-great formula into something novel.

He wasn't too interested in potato dumplings, but he was quite interested in Yam Cake.

Yam Cake was a category of snack that Qin Huai was very skilled at. If he could once again break through and elevate his snack-making capability from A-level to A+, Yam Cake was more likely to surpass Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns and Four Happiness glutinous rice balls.

It's not that Qin Huai wasn't good at Four Happiness glutinous rice balls; rather, Yam Cake was simple enough that its grade could be elevated more easily by just piling up basic stats.

Right now, Qin Huai was making the Chen Sheng-style Yam Cake.

Don't ask why it's the Chen Sheng style; anyway, if he couldn't produce A+ level, there was no buff. Qin Huai just enjoyed making Chen Sheng-style snacks in front of the Mayfly.

Zhao Cheng'an was also eating happily. On his first day back at work at Zhiwei Restaurant, he made the rebellious decision to slack off, munch on snacks, and chat while eating.

"How did your chat with An Youyou go yesterday? Today I feel like she's super-motivated, like at least 1.2 Xia Sheng's effort. What did you say to her? Did you stun her with money?" Zhao Cheng'an asked curiously.

Qin Huai thought to himself, "Being awake makes a difference, as even senior brothers become units of measurement." He pointed at the dough in front of Zhao Cheng'an, indicating not to slack off too much, or his character setup would collapse. He briefly described his conversation with An Youyou the previous night and her reaction.

"As expected, my method worked, right? If you follow Bi fang and their way, you might not discover within a year that the Three-legged Golden Toad can actually refuse windfall." Zhao Cheng'an said proudly, not doing any work, and continued munching on the Yam Cake.

Qin Huai stopped what he was doing and stared straight at him. "You woke up, not possessed by laziness. If Master Zhou comes back later and finds out that going to Beiping changed your personality, making you lazier than even Tan Wei'an, won't he find it strange?"

Zhao Cheng'an waved his hand, "My master is not like that."

"With my master, laziness isn't scary; it's being stuck in a rut and not progressing that is. As long as my skills progress, I can tell my master that I realized something big after eating Fen Garden's food in Beiping, discovering that the truth of pastry-making lies not in quantities but in heartfelt feelings. He'll definitely be relieved."

Qin Huai: ...

"You used to be a pastry chef? Did you make snacks during your life in Africa?"

"How could that be? It's not like it's such a coincidence. I only became a pastry chef by chance in this lifetime. Speaking of which, it's weird—I used to have pretty good grades in school, so why don't I enjoy studying in this lifetime? Maybe because I was so good at it in a previous life that being sent overseas created a psychological shadow, so I don't like studying?" Zhao Cheng'an began to ponder.

Qin Huai interrupted Zhao Cheng'an's thoughts: "Then how did you manage to reach enlightenment? Your skills in the first life were worse than now, making potato dumplings like that—it's the worst snack recipe I've ever discovered, besides Rice Cake Soup."

"And at Li Mansion, it was even more absurd. You almost added a lethal amount of sugar to the desserts. Just watching was too sweet. How could you reach enlightenment like that?"

Zhao Cheng'an: "…Can't say any more, it's impolite."

"You shouldn't generalize. Those potato dumplings turned out like that because of limited conditions, and at Li Mansion, the old lady's taste had declined and she liked everything sweet. Normal sweets she disliked. I was just working there, so of course, I made what the old lady liked. Otherwise, how could I earn a living?" Zhao Cheng'an tried to argue, "Besides, who says I can't reach enlightenment? Do you think only you have a cheat?"

Qin Huai tilted his head: "You're not just awake, you've also gained a system?"

"No, but I can integrate everything."

"Look, I remember everything now—Master Chen's teachings, being influenced in Taifeng Building, and Master Jiang's memory of making snacks over the years. These are priceless experiences that others wouldn't even dream to have."

"Back then, I might not have been gifted or hardworking enough, so I wasn't as good as Xia Mubing. But now, I'm also diligent and disciplined. In your words, I'm following the textbook method. Plus, I've read so many textbooks; it can't be that you understand enlightenment from just seeing a dish while I can't integrate my years of memories, right?"

"Let me tell you, I have a feeling that this awakening is actually fate. Soon, my legend will be spread again in Zhiwei Restaurant. Beiping is my place of enlightenment, and I will tell everyone that the genius who shocked Zhiwei Restaurant is back!"

Zhao Cheng'an was fired up.

Qin Huai remained unmoved, stopped making snacks, crossed his arms, and watched Zhao Cheng'an.

"So this is your reason for sleeping until 9 AM before coming to work at Zhiwei Restaurant and then idly loafing around?"

Zhao Cheng'an: ...

"I'm preparing, aren't I? Watch carefully and you'll know what it truly means to reach enlightenment!"

Zhao Cheng'an stuffed the remaining Yam Cake into his mouth, washed his hands, warmed up, and started making snacks.

"I'll first make the most basic white flour steamed buns for you, to show you what real white flour buns look like!"

.

After 40 minutes, Zhao Cheng'an was staring at the white flour steamed buns, which did not differ much from his previous skills, and he fell deep into thought.

Zhao Cheng'an began to doubt his life's worth—questioning all eight lives at once.

"It shouldn't be like this." Zhao Cheng'an was baffled, taking a bite of the bun in his hand, a face full of this isn't my script.

"It shouldn't be like this, I remember everything, theoretically, I've integrated everything. Reaching enlightenment should make sense!"

Qin Huai, expressionless, gnawed on his bun, giving Zhao Cheng'an a look that said, you're not there yet. Honestly practice, stop idling.

"Did you think reaching enlightenment was easy? Every time I do, it seems easy, and not too difficult, but there are techniques. It's not something you reach casually—you're making being the leading man in a system story seem too simple."

"Take your time, maybe in a few months you'll be enlightened."

"Then come to Yunzhong Restaurant for an exchange; our Yunzhong Restaurant truly needs a snack master like you, skilled in making puff pastry snacks." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

For some reason, since Qin Huai painted fantasies for An Youyou last night, he seemed to get more adept at it.

Maybe this is a Boss's natural skill.