Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 819 - 411: Fate

Master Zhou is a very considerate master chef, of course, this consideration might only be for Qin Huai.

In Qin Huai’s view, Master Zhou is quite thoughtful.

Qin Huai left work at 3 p.m. with a takeout box.

As Master Zhou said, since Qin Huai is new, there was no need for him to do too much today. Normally, when someone like Qin Huai comes for an exchange, it’s the Boss Su’s job to introduce the environment and arrange communication partners and methods.

But unfortunately, Boss Su had to attend a meeting outside and wouldn’t be back until at least 7 p.m. Master Zhou thought Boss Su wasn’t important enough to make Qin Huai wait until 7 p.m. at Zhiwei Restaurant, especially since Qin Huai wasn’t feeling well today, having come with motion sickness. People with motion sickness should go home and rest.

So by 3:19 p.m., Qin Huai left work with two takeout boxes.

In one of the boxes were egg tarts made by Master Zhou, who once again personally cooked with his exquisite pastry skills, beating the market’s 100% puff pastry. Along with the last batch of shrimp dumplings made by Master Zhang before he left work.

We can say that the guests who came to Zhiwei Restaurant for snacks this afternoon are indeed lucky. If they were fortunate, they could buy egg tarts made by Master Zhou and shrimp dumplings made by Master Zhang at the same time. All were crafted with care, and of extraordinary quality.

Master Hua wanted to make a bowl of Dragon Beard Noodles with fourteen cuts for Qin Huai, but was directly rejected by Master Zhou. According to Master Zhou, although Master Hua’s noodle pulling skills are good, his soup preparation skills lack a bit, with his skill points overly specialized. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Without a good pot of soup, a fourteen-cut Dragon Beard Noodles is just a gimmick. After all, the noodles are too delicate; if not cooked well, they easily turn mushy. Too much cooking can also lead to mushiness; normally, it’s a small bite of noodles with a bowl of soup, just to taste.

Currently, Zhiwei Restaurant doesn’t have good soup. It’ll be ready only after 5 p.m. If Master Hua really wants to showcase his excellent noodle-pulling technique, he should do it tomorrow. If he really has time, it’s better to spend more on those unlucky apprentices of his.

Upon hearing this, Master Hua gave up on noodle pulling. He kind of wanted to pick a fight with Master Zhou, but he didn’t dare to, because he couldn’t win.

In short, Qin Huai changed his clothes in the locker room at 3:22 p.m., ready to go out the rear door to eat egg tarts.

Egg tarts should be eaten hot, fresh out of the oven, with crispy crust; the heart of the tart should be slightly hot but very tender, with a rich aroma, warming your heart even if it scalds your mouth, that’s the best egg tart.

Qin Huai opened the egg tart takeout box and walked towards the side door.

Suddenly, Tan Wei’an appeared in the break room, having changed out of his work uniform. His eyes sparkled oddly when he saw the egg tarts in Qin Huai’s hands.

Qin Huai handed the takeout box to Tan Wei’an, "There happen to be two egg tarts, one for you, one for me?"

Tan Wei’an immediately smiled from ear to ear, yet pretended to be reserved, "Oh dear, how can I accept this? Master Zhou made these just for you. But how do you know I happened to be hungry and really wanted an egg tart? It’s such a coincidence. I guess I’ll just have a taste."

While he was speaking, for fear that Qin Huai might change his mind, Tan Wei’an quickly reached out to the takeout box, accurately grabbing an egg tart, not even a bit shaky. If not for the conditions not allowing, Tan Wei’an would’ve taken a big bite and marked his name on that egg tart before even leaving the restaurant.

"Do you always get off work this early?" Qin Huai asked in surprise.

Tan Wei’an arrived later than Qin Huai, yet left work almost at the same time, at 3 p.m. Except for morning snack chefs who start work at 6 or 7 a.m., this leaving time is early at any high-end restaurant, let alone a well-known place with a reputation for deadlines.

From what Qin Huai knew about Tan Wei’an, it was impossible for him to start work at 7 a.m.; he had never worked as a breakfast shop vendor, as he truly couldn’t wake up early.

When at Yunzhong Restaurant, Tan Wei’an’s limit was starting at 7:30 a.m.

"No way, under normal circumstances, it’s good if I can leave by 7 p.m. Boss Su is fine with everything except he loves meetings. In the morning, he has meetings with master chefs to resolve conflicts; in the evening, he has meetings with us to standardize behavior. Sometimes, when he talks more, we might not even get off by 8 p.m." Tan Wei’an lowered his voice to frantically complain about the boss.

"Why do master chefs have meetings in the morning?" Qin Huai asked curiously.

Tan Wei’an was momentarily at a loss: "... because Master Zhou and the others don’t want to delay their leaving time."

Qin Huai had a few more realizations about the relaxed nature of Zhiwei Restaurant’s master chefs.

Qin Huai and Tan Wei’an walked towards the side door side by side, and almost as they pushed through the door, Tan Wei’an shoved the egg tart into his mouth, taking a big bite. The crispy crust fell everywhere, creating a low but clear sound, the delicious noise of crust being munched.

Tan Wei’an was already lost in the joy of eating the egg tart.

Qin Huai still held his egg tart, glancing at the window to see what snacks were being sold and whether to buy some to take back and eat.

"You haven’t told me why you’re getting off work so early today," Qin Huai reminded, eyes fixed on the window, noticing a lot of new snacks added since he queued at noon.

All sorts of flower cakes, Dragon Beard Candy, flower pastries, custard buns, and yam Furong Cake were newly on sale. The queue was longer than at noon, with over 50 people, forming a long line, seemingly worth grabbing.