Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 786 - 398: Clumsy Hands, Hurry Up and Roll

Chapter 786: Chapter 398: Clumsy Hands, Hurry Up and Roll

This kind of lineup makes the teaching team seem rather odd.

Theoretically, Zheng Da currently has five students.

One student is multitasking, making lotus root powder balls while listening to the lesson.

Another student is not engaged correctly yet overly diligent, teaching while learning.

One student listens very attentively and has some foundation, but can’t help getting distracted, eating nonstop while listening and continuously munching on Four Happiness Rolls.

There’s a meat Chef who fundamentally doesn’t understand anything but insists on standing by and listening.

The last student is his own son, seemingly the most normal of the bunch, listening intently without speaking, which makes Zheng Da feel the most uncomfortable.

Zheng Da always thought his son was very rebellious. Ever since he barely mastered the craft to a passable level, he has loved to contradict his father.

Zheng Da suggested that Zheng Siyuan work at Huang Ji as a snack master, or go to any other reputable restaurant he wanted. If all else failed, Zheng Da would bankroll a white pastry restaurant himself. But among these three great options, Zheng Siyuan stubbornly chose a fourth—opening a regular snack shop at the neighborhood entrance.

Zheng Da tried to set up blind dates for Zheng Siyuan, but he either adamantly refused or was never satisfied with any potential match, always finding something wrong with them.

When Zheng Da teaches Zheng Siyuan how to make new snacks, Zheng Siyuan always has different opinions, either pointing out that Zheng Da’s technique is rusty or that he’s cutting corners in some way, being too lazy.

In Zheng Da’s memory, it seemed like his son stopped being obedient and understanding after a certain age, turning into a rebellious troublemaker, constantly finding fault with his father.

This time he had been working on the Four Happiness Rolls for quite some time, and with the reverse roll problem glaringly obvious, Zheng Siyuan surprisingly didn’t say a word, leaving Zheng Da feeling quite uneasy.

So uneasy that he directly asked, "What do you all think of my Four Happiness Rolls?"

Qin Huai enthusiastically said, "Absolutely outstanding, Master Zheng! Your skills are undeniable!"

"Very good, very good!" Tan Wei’an echoed mindlessly.

"Delicious, delicious!" Zang Liang had no understanding, so he could only comment on the taste.

Guli commented earnestly, "Master Zheng, your level is among the top even at our Zhiwei Restaurant."

Only Zheng Siyuan remained silent, with Zheng Da staring intently at him.

Zheng Siyuan: ...?

Is his dad... out of his mind?

Zheng Siyuan replied expressionlessly, "Pretty good."

Zheng Da: 〣(ºΔº)〣

Zheng Da: No, my son has gone mad!

.

After the second batch of Four Happiness Rolls came out, everyone finally tasted the best and hottest ones.

Even though Guli had explained to Qin Huai yesterday that for snacks like Four Happiness Rolls, the appearance and taste are often unrelated.

The cloud pattern is more for visual impact, making the Four Happiness Rolls seem more grand and sophisticated, much like how dishes with high-end ingredients aren’t always delicious. In a time when nobility pursued extreme opulence and uniqueness, many exquisite dishes didn’t necessarily taste good.

At Qin Huai’s current level, even if the Four Happiness Rolls were made into regular flower rolls, they would still taste good, likely no different from the taste of Four Happiness Rolls.

Qin Huai’s Master Level filling skills could definitely handle 99.99% of snacks.

But after tasting the hot Four Happiness Rolls, he sincerely felt that Zheng Da’s were tastier than what he had made yesterday.

It wasn’t just because Zheng Da’s culinary skills were better, but more due to the successful enhancement from the cloud pattern.

Qin Huai discovered that the cloud pattern in the Four Happiness Rolls seemed to enhance the taste too, though its effect wasn’t substantial or obvious.

But it certainly helped.

Qin Huai even thought of Ruyi Roll, which is more difficult than Four Happiness Rolls yet not as visually appealing. If the cloud pattern of Ruyi Roll was merely for appearance, then trying to achieve a less attractive look than Four Happiness Rolls with more difficulty seemed rather pointless.

Ruyi Roll was Master Tan’s signature snack before he passed, even exclusively so. This snack was restored from tradition, and after Master Tan’s passing, no one else could make it.

Its excellence is self-evident, far surpassing Four Happiness Rolls.

Gong Liang could still find some low-end substitutes for Four Happiness Rolls outside the border, but none for Ruyi Roll.

Such a snack with challenge, renown, and documented achievements—could its cloud pattern truly serve only a decorative purpose?

Thinking of this, Qin Huai unintentionally glanced at Guli.

He wanted to have a chat with Guli, but not now; he had other ideas.

Right now, he wanted to punch the Four Happiness Roll he was holding.

It was just too hard!

Yesterday, Qin Huai’s Four Happiness Rolls were a cloud pattern failure. Given Guli’s limited skills, he provided only theoretical guidance, unable to give practical technical help.

Yesterday, Qin Huai appeared to be doing the rolls correctly but was just copying the looks, rolling messily without knowing what made Four Happiness Rolls difficult.

Now under Zheng Da’s guidance, he understood.

He finally realized why Zheng Da often paused before encountering problems during the reverse roll.

Because he did too.

He was even worse than Zheng Da, pausing even during the regular roll.

If the regular roll difficulty level is 5, then the reverse roll is 10, and Qin Huai’s skill level was only 3 to 4. It means small issues with the regular, big ones with the reverse, adding up to a colossal problem.

Sometimes while rolling, Qin Huai would get frustrated, wanting to slap his own hands, asking: You clumsy hands, why can’t you roll? Just roll!

Qin Huai even thought of the game system’s previous evaluation of his Finger Skill: "You give no shape to the snack."

Back then, Qin Huai didn’t think much of Finger Skill, mainly using it to make nice-looking bao buns.

Afterwards, making apple dough balls was a breeze, like being on cheat mode, although other dough balls didn’t turn out well, it didn’t matter, as Qin Huai didn’t make them, just apple dough balls.

You could say ever since getting the game system, Qin Huai hadn’t faced any problems with Finger Skill.

Now he had.

It wasn’t until this time making Four Happiness Rolls that Qin Huai discovered that to create the cloud pattern, a chef’s Finger Skill was necessary.

Finger Skill wasn’t just about shaping; it could also impact a snack’s flavor. There was a reason it was listed as a basic skill in the game system, as it could indeed be foundational for chefs.

And Qin Huai, gave no shape to his snacks.

He looked at Zheng Siyuan—his regular rolls weren’t bad.

He looked at Tan Wei’an, noticing Tan Wei’an, unsurprisingly Master Tan’s grandson, had a foundation. Not only did his regular rolls look decent, but his reverse rolls seemed okay, although the final product was unimpressive.

He then looked at Guli.

Guli had practiced cloud patterns for years, not in vain. Though his reverse rolls weren’t great, his regular rolls were better than Tan Wei’an’s.

Finally, lowering his head to look at his own rolls.

Damn, he really wanted to punch that Four Happiness Roll and slap his own hand.

At that moment, Qin Huai suddenly felt a sort of kinship with Tan Wei’an.

So this is what it feels like to be the least skilled in a small team.

Qin Huai raised his head, averting his gaze from the damned Four Happiness Roll, feeling a little tearful.

In truth, it wasn’t entirely Zheng Da’s fault for struggling with the Four Happiness Rolls initially.

These Four Happiness Rolls were honestly just too hard.