Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1136 - 547: Uncle Wang’s Taste Is Truly Unfathomable (Part 2)

In the fridge, there were potato dumplings made yesterday that hadn't been cooked or sold. Qin Huai asked An Youyou to cook a bowl.

After making potato dumplings for so long, Qin Huai genuinely didn't know what other versions he could create.

Potato dumplings can be as simple or as complex as you like. Normally, when making snacks, you need a direction, but Wang Gen Sheng's potato dumplings had no direction because Wang Gen Sheng couldn't remember.

Previously, Qin Huai had used exhaustive methods to make every type of potato dumpling he could imagine or create. Now, there's no new idea, and any further creation would veer into being bizarre, which wasn't feasible.

If it weren't for not finding a direction, Qin Huai wouldn't resort to his ultimate skill—pressuring Wang Gen Sheng, hoping Uncle Wang might suddenly remember.

What if Uncle Wang ate potato dumplings for a whole month, his body can't take the painful torture, reaches a breakthrough, and recovers lost memories?

The human body is strong, and sometimes we don't know our limits until we push ourselves.

Of course, Qin Huai wouldn't really let Wang Gen Sheng eat potato dumplings for a whole month; it would be harmful to his body because he's too old to withstand such strain. In this life, if there's hope for awakening, let it happen; if not, it shouldn't be this way.

Qin Huai said that he's still young and doesn't want to end up in jail for murder.

As the dumplings were cooking, Xu Tuqiang enthusiastically shared some pickles with everyone. While opening the jar, he said, "This jar was given to me by my daughter when she came over for snacks last night. I haven't tried them yet, but they're homemade, so they should taste good."

"My wife used to make pickles too, but she hasn't in years. She wasn't very good at it; they were too salty. But back then, our taste was heavy, and I remember the pickles my mom made were also really salty."

Saying this, Xu Tuqiang opened the pickle jar and took some with his chopsticks to mix into his noodles first.

"It's normal; pickles were always about preservation and seasoning, especially when there were no sides to eat, making the salty ones easy to go with rice." Qin Huai agreed, taking some pickles without noticing Xu Tuqiang's hesitation.

"Master Qin, wait..." But by the time Xu Tuqiang tried to stop him, it was too late.

Qin Huai had already tasted the pickles.

How to say it? True to the name, it was classic old-fashioned pickles.

Unpleasant and salty. Very salty, very unpleasant, enough to make a mouthful of pickles go with a whole bowl of rice.

Qin Huai's noodle-eating also paused.

Shi Dadan, not knowing any better, directly tried some and commented, "It is quite salty."

Xu Tuqiang asked, seeing Shi Dadan so nonchalant, "Little Shi, do you like it?"

"I had a lot before." Shi Dadan said, "Back then when we were poor, pickles helped with meals. You soaked rice in cold water and added some pickles; as long as there was taste, it was fine."

Xu Tuqiang didn't expect Shi Dadan, who was much younger than him, to have gone through tough times, and was about to express his feelings when Wang Gen Sheng chimed in first.

"Back when I was an accountant in Gusu, I ate like that, too. The meal tickets and vegetable tickets were separate at the factory. To save money, I ate vegetables once every two days, the rest of the time just pickles with rice."

"College days were even tougher. Vegetables once every three days, almost every meal was rice with pickles. Sometimes, when I couldn't afford mixed grain, I'd have sweet potatoes; pickles and sweet potatoes go well together too."

"The pickles back then were sent by my mom. She knew I treated pickles as vegetables, so she made them very salty and wasn't stingy with the oil. That was something…" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Xu Tuqiang didn't expect Wang Gen Sheng to reminisce about the past over a jar of pickles. Though it was new content, it wasn't very interesting.

The main issue was, while eating, five people were present. An Youyou was by the stove eating noodles and waiting for dumplings. Of the four at the table, everyone except Wang Gen Sheng tried the unpleasant pickles; Wang Gen Sheng was purely reminiscing without eating, seemingly avoiding the pickles with nonsense.

"Wang Laogen, are you eating?" Xu Tuqiang interrupted Wang Gen Sheng's reminiscence, "If you like this jar of pickles, take it home and eat to your heart's content."

With that, Wang Gen Sheng picked up his chopsticks, tasted a bit of the pickle, and continued reminiscing, "Back when I was starting as an accountant in Gusu, every day was like this, with just a bit of pickle…"

Xu Tuqiang: … Wang Gen Sheng, are you out of words? After one bite, you're starting your story all over again.

Expressionless, Xu Tuqiang listened to Wang Gen Sheng retell those tough days when only pickles were available, only interrupted by Shi Dadan's curious question of whether these pickles were saltier than the old ones, to which Wang Gen Sheng replied that the old ones were saltier.

His mom was more generous with the salt since she didn't eat them herself and had no reason to hold back.

After his reminiscing, Qin Huai curiously asked, "Uncle Wang, did your family have financial difficulties? Why were you only eating pickles even after graduating and working at the factory?"

Qin Huai remembered that Wang Gen Sheng was from a family that had benefited from urban renewal. Though he didn't earn much money while working or have much post-retirement, he got rich later when his family properties were substantially compensated through relocation.

Qin Huai had seen memories of Wang Gen Sheng's early years in the factory, where as one of the top two factories in Gusu, the cotton mill had excellent employee benefits, even assigning dormitories and offering salary advances.

Shi Dadan was a driver at the mill back then, with enough salary to not only feed himself but also save and help Xu Nuo. Of course, maybe driver wages were higher, but Wang Gen Sheng was a college graduate assigned there, so his starting salary shouldn't have been low. It didn't make sense for two employees in the same factory to have such different financial experiences.

Wang Gen Sheng wasn't used to someone listening so intently and asking questions about his past, so after thinking a bit, he replied, "I had many siblings, and only my father and I had stable jobs at the time."

"My eldest brother was a temporary worker, and so was my sister-in-law. They had three children, and my second brother and eldest sister were in the countryside needing support. I got into college because I saved four drowni... kids from drowning and had good grades; that's why I was recommended. When assigning jobs, I chose the cotton mill in Gusu because it offered the highest salary."

"Back then, more than half my wages went home. No matter how hard it was for me in the city, it couldn't be worse than my siblings in the country. At least I had grain meals with pickles at the factory. They couldn't even afford that. For five years after I got married, over half my salary still went home."

"This was why my parents later gave me both the City house and what was then a countryside house. It's why during the redevelopment, I ended up with so many properties."

It was also the first time Xu Tuqiang heard this story and sighed, "Wang Laogen, that's quite the story of good deeds bringing good rewards."

Though Wang Gen Sheng didn't respond to Xu Tuqiang's words, Qin Huai noticed a hint of nostalgia in his expression.

With a sigh, Wang Gen Sheng took another bite of pickles.

At that moment, An Youyou brought the dumplings to the table.

"Uncle Wang, the dumplings are ready. After I served them, I left them to cool on the stove for two minutes; they should be ready to eat now." An Youyou said considerately.

Wang Gen Sheng took his bowl and diligently began eating the dumplings, while Qin Huai was slurping soup.

The pickles were truly a bit salty. From eating that mouthful of pickles until now, Qin Huai had drunk more than half a bowl of soup, always sipping it during Wang Gen Sheng's reminiscing.

Just as he was about to finish his soup and get up for a refill, a game notification sounded in Qin Huai's mind.

"Ding, congratulations to the player for completing the side quest [Potato Dumplings]. You have received the quest reward: [A Memory of Wang Gen Sheng]."

Qin Huai: ...?

Uncle Wang has such a unique taste?

Not only did he need pickles with rice when he was young, but also with potato dumplings?

That's quite a strong preference, Uncle Wang.

Looking at the biggest contributor to this side quest, Xu Tuqiang, Qin Huai eagerly asked, "Uncle Xu, do you have any particular snack you'd like today?"

Xu Tuqiang: !

Master Zhou truly deserves the title of master, for a single Lucky Charm to have such miraculous effects!

"I... I'd like to take two bags of locust flower buns for my daughter!" Xu Tuqiang excitedly said.

"Two bags wouldn't be enough! I believe you also have a son, Uncle Xu. This afternoon, I'll make more and pack 6 bags for you!"

Xu Tuqiang: (σ≧︎▽︎≦︎)σ.