Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 357 - 212 The Residents of Yunzhong District are in Despair (Thanks to Xiaoningdai for the alliance reward!)

Chapter 357: Chapter 212 The Residents of Yunzhong District are in Despair (Thanks to Xiaoningdai for the alliance reward!)

Qin Huai still didn’t know what he was about to face, but the residents of Yunzhong District felt like the sky had fallen.

For the residents of Yunzhong District, this New Year’s Day was another dull New Year’s Day.

Yunzhong Restaurant operated as usual, Qin Congwen’s buns were still cheap and not tasty, and Chen An’s buns were slightly more expensive but also average. The snacks from Pei Xing and Li Hua were decent but that’s about it.

The residents of Yunzhong District claimed it wasn’t that they were picky eaters, nor did they have anything against Master Pei Xing and Master Li Hua. They admitted that these two masters made decent snacks; their pastries and puff pastries were the best in the area, and no ordinary snack shop had such skills.

But.

They couldn’t compare to Master Qin!

The few days Master Qin returned felt like a dream, the taste of the Three Meat Buns would occasionally be savored in midnight dreams, but only in dreams could they eat them.

It’s been many days without Master Qin, and they missed him.

On the morning of January 2nd, Yunzhong Restaurant was a bit quieter than usual.

Many office workers from nearby office buildings weren’t working today, and even Qin Congwen and Li Hua deliberately made fewer buns.

Xu Tuqiang, Grandpa Qian, and their group steadfastly stayed at Yunzhong Restaurant as usual, eating ordinary meat buns with their hearts longing for the Three Meat Buns, reminiscing about the past. If the elders weren’t limited in their literary talents, they would have written volumes of poems, waiting for Qin Huai to return so they could present them to him, showing their poignant emotions in every word.

"Sigh." Xu Tuqiang took a deep breath and sighed deeply.

"Sigh." Grandpa Qian also sighed deeply.

"Sigh." The nameless elderly all sighed in unison.

In the days when Qin Huai wasn’t in the canteen, everyone’s breakfast became much more diverse: buns, mantou, youtiao, shumai, wonton, noodles, and steamed dumplings were all available. As a professional breakfast chef, Chen An could make a wide variety of breakfasts.

Looking at a table full of lavish breakfast, Xu Tuqiang couldn’t muster an appetite.

"How long will Master Qin stay in Gusu?" Xu Tuqiang expressed his long-standing inquiry, "No matter how good Gusu is, how effective the learning exchange is, he can’t stay there forever without returning!"

"Exactly!" Grandpa Qian uncharacteristically sided with Xu Tuqiang, "What’s so great about Gusu? Even Wang Laogen isn’t decent, with Master Qin not around he rarely comes to Yunzhong Restaurant, despite eating so many Crab Shell Cakes before."

"Don’t you know?" an elderly man spoke up, "Wang Laogen and his wife went to Gusu last night, saying they went to meet old colleagues and friends in Gusu, and to visit the restaurant where Master Qin is learning and exchanging ideas."

"What’s that restaurant called again? Huang Ji Restaurant."

"What?!" Xu Tuqiang was outraged, "Wang Laogen sneaked away!"

Grandpa Qian remained silent and seemed deep in thought.

A few ladies at the next table started whispering, and Grandma Ding even took out her phone, put on her reading glasses, and focused on clicking her phone with a dedicated expression.

The atmosphere suddenly turned silent.

Just when Xu Tuqiang found everyone’s behavior a bit strange and was about to ask what was going on, Pei Xing suddenly rushed in with a stack of magazines, heading straight for the kitchen, shouting as he ran, "Taste! Taste! Everyone, look at this issue of Taste!"

With fewer buns to make today, Zhao Rong was idly wiping the shelves in the kitchen. Hearing the commotion outside, she poked her head out and asked, "Xiao Pei, what’s going on? Why are you so flustered, what are you holding?"

"Taste! Taste! Boss...no, Master Qin, Master Qin is featured in Taste! And it’s the cover, the New Year’s edition cover!" Pei Xing’s face turned red with excitement, laughing loudly, "Haha, my boss is on the cover of Taste! Hahahahaha!"

Zhao Rong: ...

Is Xiao Pei not mentally normal today?

Pei Xing eagerly wanted to distribute a magazine to each person and hug the boss’s family. Just when he was about to rush into the kitchen without changing clothes, he looked up and found everyone indifferent.

Zhao Rong looked at him, full of "Are you okay, young man?"

Qin Congwen was wrapping buns while craning his neck, looking outside for fun.

Chen An and An Youyou were whispering, and from Pei Xing’s not-so-great lip reading, he could barely identify keywords like ’what Taste’, ’don’t know’, ’breakup’, ’revenge shopping’.

Pei Xing: ...

No, this is...

This is Taste!

Taste!

New Year’s edition, cover!

Pei Xing held a thick stack of Taste, which he bought when he passed by two newsstands on his way. He was worried everyone wouldn’t be able to get the magazine, so he cleared two newsstands.

Pei Xing opened his mouth, feeling a bit powerless, "Don’t you know about Taste?"

Zhao Rong, seeing that Pei Xing seemed almost normal again, dared to engage, "Xiao Pei, you’ve been going on about Taste, Taste. What is it? What cover and such, is it a book?"

"A magazine, Taste is the most famous and authoritative food review magazine in our industry! Boss, Master Qin, Qin Huai is featured in Taste! It’s the first issue of the year, cover, interview...almost equals an exclusive interview!"

Now Zhao Rong understood and immediately beamed, "Our Huaihuai was interviewed by a magazine! That’s wonderful, ah, Huaihuai sure has a good event and didn’t tell us, where can we buy this magazine? Can we get it at the newsstand outside or order online?"

"Old Qin! Old Qin! Stop making buns, this is a big event and you’re still making buns, our son is on a magazine! Seems like there’s his article or something, quickly call mom and dad, my brother, and Xiuli, and tell them to buy magazines to boost Huaihuai’s sales."

Pei Xing: ...

Pei Xing wanted to tell Zhao Rong that Taste doesn’t need boosting sales, and it wasn’t an ordinary magazine; it is significant for chefs. He felt an urge to hold a special lecture right now, educating everyone in the shop for three days and nights, to let them know how amazing it is for Qin Huai’s snacks to be on the cover of Taste’s New Year’s edition.

But in the next second, Pei Xing had something more important to say.

"Wow, Xiao Pei, you bought so many, you’re very considerate. This magazine isn’t cheap, how much did it cost? Aunt Zhao will reimburse you!"

The intended lecture on Taste instantly turned into: "Bought thirty-five copies, thank you, Aunt Zhao."

Taste is really expensive, when Pei Xing passed the newsstand and found Taste released, he casually bought a copy. Unexpectedly, when he opened it, he saw Qin Huai’s article; looking closely, he found guo’er on the cover. Excitedly, he bought all the Taste from two newsstands between his house and Yunzhong Restaurant.

Thinking about it now, it was indeed an impulsive purchase.

Just as Pei Xing was about to continue his lecture, Li Hua also rushed in with a stack of Taste, shouting, "Taste! Taste! Boss...no, Master Qin’s snacks on Taste’s cover!"

The intended lecture on Taste again turned into: "Qin...Old Master Qin, you don’t have to go out and buy it, all the Taste around here should already be cleared by us."

Qin Congwen: ?

When did he become Old Master Qin, wasn’t everyone calling him Master Qin?

.

On the other side, Gusu.

Wang Gen Sheng and his wife Chen Juan leisurely strolled back to the hotel after having breakfast at a nearby Breakfast Shop.

"Gen Sheng, are you sure you don’t want to text Master Qin? I saw Old Qian’s Moments, and it looks like Huang Ji’s business is quite good, you have to wait in line for Master Qin’s buns," Chen Juan said uneasily, "Didn’t Director Ding ask us to bring two jars of locust flower honey to Master Qin?"

Wang Gen Sheng said, "When is Huang Ji not crowded? Even when Huang Ji was a State-owned Restaurant, people lined up; remember, we nearly lost bicycle paddles fighting over two buns back in the day. Rest assured, I’ve asked Old Qian, and as long as we take a taxi now, we’ll avoid traffic, and by waiting over an hour, we can eat Three Meat Buns around noon."

"I’ll text Master Qin after he’s off work to give him the locust flower honey. We just eat a couple of buns; it’s unnecessary to trouble Master Qin to prepare a special meal, favors aren’t used like this."

Chen Juan found reason in his words and said no more.

They had only walked a few steps before Wang Gen Sheng’s phone rang. It was Qian Zhongheng calling.

"Hello, Old Qian."

"What? You want me to quickly cycle to Huang Ji, because the roads around Huang Ji are already terribly jammed?"

"Isn’t it only nine-thirty now? Didn’t you tell me the roads around Huang Ji don’t get jammed until after ten-thirty?"

"It was before, today is different."

"What?! The queue at Huang Ji’s entrance is already over 200 meters long!"

"Taste? What’s that?"

"It’ll get even more crowded? The queue will be longer?"

"When they first got featured in Taste, people started lining up at six in the morning???"

"Okay, got it. Thank you, Old Qian. I’ll get Chen Juan, and we’ll cycle there now!"

Wang Gen Sheng hung up the phone and said in a grave, urgent tone, "Juan, the situation has changed. Quickly return to the hotel to grab the locust flower honey, let’s queue first. If we’re not served by noon, we’ll message Master Qin."

Chen Juan: "Ah?"

.

At the entrance of Huang Ji, the number of people in line was increasing visibly.

Neighbors living around the area all realized the seriousness of the situation.

When Huang Ji was first featured in Taste, they all lived nearby, and they vividly remembered the scene and the tragic days of not being able to have a meal for months.

Everyone knew today was their last chance.

From other provinces, time was insufficient; from other countries, it was impossible to come quickly. Taste was issued in the morning, and it was the limit for nearby cities to rush in by noon today. Competing for snacks at Huang Ji today, the main challengers were still from the surrounding areas of Gusu.

It may not be the case in the future.

In the future, let alone eating buns, being able to smell them would be a fortune.

Buy, they must buy!

Get the whole family involved and buy!

Qian Zhongheng hung up the phone, looked at the ever-growing queue, and thought about the recent treat of a snack feast courtesy of Wang Gen Sheng. He gritted his teeth and made a decision.

"Xiujuan, Old Wang probably doesn’t pedal much in these years, so he won’t arrive fast. Looking at this, he probably won’t be able to buy any by the time he gets here. If he can’t buy any, let’s give him half." Qian Zhongheng said while his heart bled.

This might be the last batch of Three Meat Buns and Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns he would enjoy for a month.

He even had to give half to Wang Gen Sheng, making them lifelong comrades.

"Dad, half? Can’t we give a third?" Qian Zhongheng’s son exclaimed.

"Half, if it wasn’t for your Uncle Wang, you wouldn’t be able to eat dumplings! Half!"

The son thought about the dumplings and begrudgingly nodded with tears in his eyes.

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