Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 981 - 482: Breakthrough

After a day of rest and discussion, Qin Huai finally decided to give up being a breakfast shop master, a method to brush up on basic skill levels, and instead focus on making various dumplings, returning to being a snack master.

The result of this major decision was that Zhiwei Restaurant's regular customers lost out on the cheap, large, and filling white steamed buns, vegetable buns, meat buns, flower rolls, shumai, rice noodle rolls, and other breakfast items. However, they could now randomly drop by anytime and pay a high price for the scarce and highly unstable various dumplings, except for the apple dough balls.

Becoming a snack master meant a change in schedule too. A breakfast shop master might start work at 4 AM, but starting at 4 AM as a snack master felt a bit too diligent. Buying steamed buns at 6 AM sounded reasonable, but buying dumplings priced in three figures at 6 AM sounded a bit absurd.

Of course, if Qin Huai insisted on working on dumplings at 4 AM, he could. It would be tough on Zhiwei Restaurant's customers, but surely there would be customers willing to wake up early to grab dumplings. However, Master Zhou couldn't.

Master Zhou really couldn't get up.

As a snack master, Master Zhou's final stubbornness was not wanting to start work before 7 AM.

8 AM would be even better.

Qin Huai could only make apple dough balls on his own. To make other dumplings, he needed Master Zhou's guidance or supervision.

For better instruction, Master Zhou skipped the morning meetings at Boss Su's office and called Boss Su directly to the kitchen. Anyway, this area was just Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an; to prevent Zhao Cheng'an from chatting overly freely, Master Zhou hadn't moved them back, keeping them away from Zhou Yan and Wang Jiayi.

Boss Su didn't mind holding meetings in the kitchen. Even though he and Master Zhou discussed extremely confidential snack recipes, it was all still up in the air. Since the recipes weren't finalized, they were just nothing yet. Boss Su wasn't worried about Qin Huai eavesdropping; running a factory and a restaurant were completely different things. Just having a recipe without understanding management, supply, and delivery wouldn't necessarily work out.

Boss Su even hoped Qin Huai could listen in while making dumplings and offer some useful suggestions; more voices, more strength.

As for Zhao Cheng'an, he didn't count on him. Zhao Cheng'an still had his issues unresolved.

Over at An Youyou's side, since Qin Huai changed the schedule, she didn't have to come to work at 3 AM every day, and Qin Huai suggested she take a day off to adjust her schedule.

An Youyou adopted Qin Huai's suggestion, took a day off today, and returned to regular work tomorrow. Her work content was mostly the same as before, watching Zhao Cheng'an make snacks in the morning and afternoon, and returning to her own station to make snacks under Tan Wei'an's guidance.

Having so many direct disciples teach her one-on-one, An Youyou's treatment at Zhiwei Restaurant was quite exclusive.

By the way, when Boss Su heard Qin Huai was shifting from breakfast to dumplings, he was shocked. After receiving a WeChat message from Qin Huai about the change in work content, he directly called Qin Huai to concernedly ask if he was influenced by outside rumors.

Qin Huai was so puzzled then, he asked Boss Su what rumors he was talking about, wondering why he hadn't heard Tan Wei'an release a new version. The version he knew was still about supporting An Youyou to become Yunzhong Restaurant's successor so he could better develop his business in Hangzhou, building community restaurants to compete with Zhiwei Restaurant.

Boss Su said it was the rumor about Zhiwei Restaurant wanting to become the nation's top breakfast shop and immediately expressed he had no such intentions, only wanting to protect Zhiwei Restaurant's status as the top Bai'an Restaurant. The top breakfast shop position should still be left to Qin Huai's Yunzhong Restaurant.

Qin Huai asked Boss Su if Tan Wei'an had released a new version again.

Boss Su said yes.

Then Qin Huai stuffed all the dragon fruits—left in the fridge for too long, on the verge of spoiling and totally ready to be thrown in the trash—into Tan Wei'an's hands, warmly invited him to eat more, and before Tan Wei'an came, hid all the cheese sticks, telling Tan Wei'an that Zhao Cheng'an had finished them that afternoon.

These little interludes before making dumplings stopped here, and now let's turn our attention to the main battlefield of dumplings—the back kitchen of Zhiwei Restaurant.

Boss Su brought his own little stool, sat next to Qin Huai, holding a tablet in his hand and an electronic pen, poking at the tablet now and then with furrowed brows.

"If it's production line manufacturing, the shelf life shouldn't be too short. But for the taste of the snacks, you can't add too many food additives, can only increase the proportion of oil, sugar, and salt. But doing so will make the snacks lose much flavor. No wonder the snacks I used to buy on the street could only be low-end versions; it's difficult to even create mid-level formulas, let alone high-end," Boss Su wished he could bury his head into the tablet, battling with the formulas in the spreadsheet.

"I've been hearing this for two weeks now, can you say something new? Chanting these phrases over and over every day, will you chant out a result? Do you think the tablet is a magic lamp for making wishes? Even if it is, you should be making requests, not complaining. Even if there is a tablet genie, hearing your endless repeated complaints would be enough to make it nauseated, not wanting to come out," Master Zhou relentlessly criticized, not bothering to throw an extra glance at Boss Su, focusing on Qin Huai's hand movements, sweeping his eyes over Zhao Cheng'an from the corner of his eyes.