Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 17 - 16 The First Guest

The filling in the pot was still simmering over a low flame. Qin Huai took a moment to check the fermentation progress of the dough next to it. Then he started a new pot to prepare the filling for the Three Meat Buns.

The Three Meat Buns, as the name suggests, are a youthful mini-version of the Five Fillings Bun.

The preparation steps are basically the same, except that the filling is two ingredients short, lacking shrimp and ginseng. The taste slightly differs from the Five Fillings Bun. It's not inferior, just that each has its own merits.

The Five Fillings Bun uses more ingredients and is more challenging to make. As anyone who has cooked with sea cucumber knows, it's a difficult ingredient to handle, almost flavorless, often sandy and fishy. If done well, it's like the flower that adorns the embroidery; if messed up, it's the last straw that breaks the camel's back.

Compared to the easy-to-spoil Five Fillings Bun, the Three Meat Buns are simpler and easier to master. As long as there's no major mistake when preparing the filling, it's hard to go wrong, and the taste is fairly consistent.

To make the Three Meat Buns, use tender and fatty hens, pork belly with the right balance of fat and lean, and bamboo shoots selected by season, preferably winter bamboo shoots.

Whether it's the Three Meat Buns or the Five Fillings Bun, the key to the flavor is freshness. This freshness comes not just from the variety of ingredients but also from their level of freshness, demanding very high-quality raw materials. Cutting any corner would significantly affect the taste of the buns.

This also means that these buns can't be priced cheaply.

The Three Meat Bun filling was starting to simmer, while the Five Fillings Bun filling was at the thickening stage.

Qin Huai was handling both with ease, accustomed to this routine every New Year.

The Qin Family gathered on New Year's Eve. By the first day of the New Year, guests arrived with chickens, ducks, fish, shrimps, pork belly, fresh bamboo shoots, fish, shrimp, and sea cucumbers in hand to eagerly celebrate and taste the New Year-exclusive Five Fillings and Three Meat Buns. If Qin Huai didn't multitask, he wouldn't manage, barely stepping out of the kitchen during the entire New Year.

Qin Luo changed clothes and went from impatiently squatting outside the kitchen door to squatting by the culinary counter, face full of hunger and desire to eat.

Getting closer, it smelled even better.

Slurp.

After finishing the sauce, Qin Huai put the Five Fillings Bun filling into the fridge to cool, then looked at the dough on the board.

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Almost there.

Qin Luo turned, looking bitterly at Qin Congwen, and said, "The dough doesn't quite match the description, stays quite high even when relaxed. Dad, when will your kneading be like the one in 'The Su Yuan Food List'?"

Qin Congwen: ?

Were you talking to me?

Zhao Rong glared at Qin Luo with annoyance and said, "Why are you using fancy words at a time like this? And you don't seem to score high in Chinese tests either. If your dad could make such a dough... why did he open the breakfast shop for over 20 years? Stop idling and come help wrap the buns."

"Okay." Qin Luo went to wash her hands.

"Luoluo, don't start wrapping buns yet." Qin Huai called out to Qin Luo, "Go get the molds from the shelf. The red bean paste and mung bean paste should have thawed. Use dad's kneaded dough to press five sets of buns with each mold."

Hearing Qin Huai's words, Qin Luo immediately cheered up. She thought pressing buns with molds was much more fun than wrapping buns. Usually, at home, Qin Congwen didn't allow her to play with the molds.

"Be careful, Luoluo." Qin Congwen reminded.

Qin Congwen didn't stop Qin Luo from playing with the molds because he was worried about the molds but because they were quite heavy and he feared Qin Luo might hurt herself. However, Zhao Rong always felt Qin Congwen's worry was needless, as Qin Luo had been strong from a young age despite being petite, and had always been the foremost carrier of watermelons during the summer at home.

In Mr. Qin's words, if this child were placed in the countryside, she would surely be an excellent farmer.

"Don't worry, Dad!" Qin Luo happily went to play with the molds.

The family continued working in their own roles, busy until sunrise at 5:30.

As the sky began to brighten, someone arrived at Yunzhong Restaurant, entering from the outer gate.

The person who came in was an efficient-looking woman in her early thirties, with short hair and flat shoes. She looked somewhat familiar to Qin Huai, but he couldn't immediately recall where he had seen her. Just as Qin Huai pondered whether to put down his buns and go to the kitchen door for a closer look, the woman headed there herself.

"Boss, I'm Huang Xi." Huang Xi accurately found Qin Huai behind the culinary counter.

After Qin Huai delegated all matters of Yunzhong Restaurant to Huang Xi, he set only one rule: non-kitchen staff must not enter the kitchen without changing clothes. Huang Xi was perfectly adhering to this, standing about 30 cm from the kitchen door, maintaining a good distance.

Qin Huai realized he hadn't seen Huang Xi in person these past few days, just in photos, so he didn't recognize her at first.

"Master Qin, Master Zhao, Luoluo, good morning." Huang Xi greeted the others with a smile.

"You don't need to call me Boss, just call me... Master Xiao Qin." Qin Huai said, as that's what the neighbors used to call him in Qiu County.

Qin Congwen was Old Qin, Qin Huai was Xiao Qin, and the owner of the 10-yuan stir-fry restaurant next to the Qin Family Breakfast Shop also had the last name Qin. However, as both Old and Xiao Qin were already taken, people generally called him Bald Qin.

"Master Xiao Qin." Huang Xi smoothly adopted the title, "The others should arrive around 6 o'clock. I see the snacks are already steaming. Should I hang the menu boards now?"

Qin Huai nodded.

Huang Xi immediately got to work, and Qin Luo ran to the window to tell Huang Xi which menu boards to hang.

The menu boards had been custom-made two days prior, each with the dishes and prices clearly marked for easy replacement.

Qin Huai had not seen Huang Xi in person but had communicated a lot on WeChat these days. Due to the business hours, Huang Xi had arranged for the server shifts to be divided into long and short shifts.

The long shift was from 6:30 am to 8 pm, and the short shift was from 11 am to 9 pm. These shifts alternated every half month. The all-rounders had to work a bit harder, taking on long shifts regularly, so their salary was increased by 500 yuan above the firm's standard.

After hanging the menu boards, Qin Huai had just finished wrapping the batch of Three Meat Buns and put them in the steamer. He took a moment to stick his head out of the window and asked, "Isn't the shift starting at 6:30? Isn't it a bit early to arrive by 6?"

Huang Xi smiled and replied, "Today is the opening day. Arriving early to prepare is necessary. In a few days, once everything is on track, it won't be like this."

While she was speaking, the inner door opened.

An elderly man in a vest, ready for action, looking like an early-morning jogger, stuck his head in, reassured by seeing people inside, and fully entered.

"Is it open for business?" the old man asked, then looked through the window at the pile of steamers in the kitchen.

Before Huang Xi could answer, the old man went straight to the window and started scrutinizing the hanging menu boards.

"Six yuan for a steamer of meat buns, one yuan fifty each for fresh meat buns, one yuan each for mushroom and vegetable buns... quite cheap. 25 yuan per steamer for the Three Meat Buns, with two in each. 35 yuan for the Five Fillings Bun, per steamer, with one each... What are these, that they are so expensive?"

"Red bean paste buns, all three yuan each, how come red bean paste buns are even pricier than meat buns?" The old man had the expression of someone who wasn't easily fooled or fleeced.

Huang Xi was about to explain but was interrupted by the old man: "Oh, right, I got a flyer at the community entrance saying there's a 30% discount with it. I didn't bring it when I left this morning, can I get the discount directly?"

Huang Xi finally found a chance to reply, quickly saying, "Of course, our flyer is mainly for promotion. Until the 10th, all dine-in customers enjoy a 30% discount."

The old man nodded satisfactorily, mumbling, "30% off, 24.5."

"It's expensive."

"But it's with a discount."

"What if it's delicious?"

"No, still a bit much."

"Well, I did eat that crab meat soup bun for 35 yuan. What's 24.5 yuan for a bun, bring me a steamer!"

"Also, give me a steamer of those Three Meat Buns and a cup of soy milk." The old man convinced himself without Huang Xi needing to say anything.

Huang Xi: "Sure, but our buns are still steaming, so it might take a few minutes."

The old man found out the buns weren't ready yet and needed a few more minutes. He went over to the cash register, paid, got his receipt, and asked Huang Xi to pour him a bowl of soy milk, as he was quite thirsty after his early jog.

As the old man paid, a game notification sounded in Qin Huai's mind.

"Ding, congratulations on completing the main quest [Restaurant Opening], earning mission reward of popularity boost +100."

"Ding, a new optional main quest has been discovered, please check in the task panel."

Qin Huai continued wrapping buns while Mr. Xu, sitting at table No. 9, the closest to the window, started making a phone call.

"Hello, what do you mean I was late after jogging? Am I, Xu Tuqiang, the type to be late? I left in a hurry this morning and even missed drinking water. I'll just duck into the convenience store opposite for a bottle of water, it'll just take 5 minutes, I'll be there soon."

After hanging up, Xu Tuqiang shouted at the window, "Young man, whatever buns you've got, hurry up. I have something on, need to be quick."

After speaking, Xu Tuqiang took a big sip of his soy milk, proving he was indeed thirsty.

Qin Huai: ...

Mr. Xu, eating breakfast before jogging is usually not recommended as it may lead to indigestion.