Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 692 - 355: Zang Liang: ?

Zheng Siyuan had a keen eye for people. Zang Liang rushed into Yunzhong Restaurant at 8:37 AM, clearly in a hurry, but not really catching up with any time.

As soon as Zang Liang entered the restaurant, Qin Huai handed him a plate of shumai. After being named by Qin Huai to eat shumai, Pei Xing’s enthusiasm for work exploded, and he made a bunch of shumai.

Ouyang found it hard to continue eating by 8 o’clock. Qin Huai tasted one and thought, indeed, it was no wonder Pei Xing, as his speed in correcting mistakes was very slow, and there was basically no change.

Of course, it’s not entirely his fault. After all, Pei Xing was originally not good at making shumai, and the issues reflected in the shumai were all long-standing bad habits he had developed over the years.

Every time Qin Huai saw the old habits of Pei Xing, Chen An, and Li Hua, he felt very lucky. Although his knife skills were bad before, they were almost nonexistent, so it was urgent to forget them.

Otherwise, no matter how high Cao Guixiang’s skills were or how great her teaching ability, it would have been impossible for Qin Huai to brush his knife skills up to an intermediate level in such a short time.

Zang Liang was never picky when it came to breakfast; he ate whatever was available. Seeing Qin Huai handing him a plate of shumai, he chewed and ate it all.

"Just waiting for you," Qin Huai said.

Hearing this, Zang Liang became instantly excited.

That day, Qin Huai sent a group message to the three, telling everyone he had found the feeling, whetting Zang Liang’s appetite. Although he wasn’t exactly an impatient person, in the chef circle, he was considered to have a relatively quick temper.

That day, Qin Huai said it couldn’t be explained immediately and would be discussed upon return. Qin Huai returned yesterday but didn’t come to the restaurant, making Zang Liang so anxious he wanted to visit Qin Huai’s house yesterday and ask:

What kind of feeling did you find? How did you find this feeling? Is the feeling you mentioned the same as the one I imagined? Why was your feeling so easily found? I’ve been looking for so long and only barely touched the feeling’s edge?

Among the followers of the feeling school, Zang Liang was the most anxious. He wasn’t as exceptionally gifted as Zheng Siyuan, who could understand much of what Qin Huai meant. For those truly talented, things that couldn’t be explained and came from talent were all considered as feelings.

Not to mention, Zheng Siyuan was much better at expressing himself than Qin Huai. He had already automatically transformed the feeling Qin Huai talked about into a skill he comprehended but couldn’t explain, so he dubbed it as a feeling.

As for Tan Wei’an, he was the other extreme. This guy never knew what feeling was.

Over the years at Zhiwei Restaurant, Tan Wei’an got used to it, couldn’t compete, and lacked talent. If you can’t compete, so be it. There are many things one can’t compete with in a lifetime.

What feeling, not important! If you can understand, then understand; if not, just keep listening. Just listening is right.

These two didn’t need to understand too deeply what Qin Huai’s feeling was. It was only Zang Liang, this truly feeling-seeking person, who was overly curious about Qin Huai’s sense of feeling.

But unfortunately, he was the one who least understood Qin Huai.

He knew Qin Huai was poor at expressing himself, but was entirely ignorant of how poor. Moreover, he hadn’t met Zheng Da and didn’t understand the telepathy among people who were poor at expressing themselves.

"Waiting for me? Waiting for me to do what? To tell us what feeling you found? Is it related to thickening? Did that Master Cao of yours teach you some special thickening skill? The one where the hand movement you demonstrated earlier, with big movements?"

"During the days you weren’t around, I’ve been pondering thickening. I could follow your method broadly but found it ineffective. Perhaps I haven’t grasped the technique, not understanding the meaning of such large movements. I still prefer my old thickening method and actions from all these years."

"Sigh, Master Cao said you learned it and could teach me. What if I can’t learn it? I would be letting you and Master Cao down. Should I send a gift to Master Cao? What does Master Cao like? Knives? Pots? Chopping boards?"

Qin Huai: ... 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Why didn’t he realize before that Zang Liang talked so much, with no break for him to interject?

Also, what kind of thought process do you meat chefs have for gift-giving? Knives, pots, and chopping boards, why not a spatula?

"It’s not thickening," Qin Huai cut off the possibility of Zang Liang continuing to speak with one sentence.

Zang Liang: ?

Zang Liang opened his mouth, showing a puzzled expression: "Ah, not thickening... Weren’t you learning thickening? You found a feeling other than thickening?"

Qin Huai was thinking about how to explain, realizing it was hard to explain in a few words. He excelled in lying. If he made up something, he could talk smoothly, logically, convincingly, and flawlessly.

But if it was true, with no space or need for fabrication, Qin Huai had trouble expressing it in words.

Now, Qin Huai was in a situation where he needed to tell the truth.

Qin Huai opened his mouth but found it impossible to organize the language. He could recall the feeling of upgrading knife skills and fire control, but describing it was tough. He wished technology had developed to the point where brain waves could communicate, letting him send the feeling of upgrading directly to Zang Liang.

"Let’s do this," after struggling for a while, Qin Huai squeezed out these three words, "I’ll stir-fry a plate of yam, and once I’m done, you’ll know."

Stir-fried yam, the best dish to showcase Qin Huai’s current level.

Qin Huai: Thanks to stir-fried yam!

The three: ? Stir-fried yam?!

The three exchanged glances, seeing confusion in each other’s eyes. Zang Liang gave Tan Wei’an a look, asking what was going on and why he couldn’t understand what Qin Huai meant just because he was a little late.

Tan Wei’an returned a look saying he didn’t know either, then turned with his eyes to ask Zheng Siyuan what was happening.

Zheng Siyuan spoke directly: "If you have a question, can’t you just ask? I don’t understand what your stares mean."

Tan Wei’an: Hmph, no tacit understanding.

While the three muddled through their exchange of glances, Qin Huai already found the yams, the prepped ones.

Out of habit, Qin Huai took 10 at once.

Qin Huai began slicing the yam.

Intermediate knife skills and basic knife skills are completely different, visibly different. Even those who don’t understand chopping can see the difference.

Previously, when Qin Huai chopped vegetables, everyone in Yunzhong Restaurant, including the outside diners, could see that he rarely chopped vegetables and basically didn’t know how. Even if he practiced, it was clear he was just practicing and not proficient.

But intermediate chopping is different. Although moving from basic to intermediate is just a matter of 1,000 points of proficiency, these 1,000 points mark the distinction between amateur and professional.

It’s the complete journey from 0 to 1.

Qin Huai made the first chop.

Zheng Siyuan originally wanted to explain to Tan Wei’an why he couldn’t understand the look in his eyes. But when Qin Huai made his first cut, Zheng Siyuan ignored Tan Wei’an, standing aside and quietly watching Qin Huai slice yam.

Tan Wei’an felt like Zheng Siyuan had something to say to him, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Zheng Siyuan wasn’t paying attention. Tan Wei’an raised a question mark over his head and followed Zheng Siyuan’s gaze to see Qin Huai slicing yam. The question mark disappeared.

Zang Liang was already silently watching Qin Huai.

Qin Huai had become very adept at slicing yam by now.

The thickness was just right; his cuts were quick, accurate, and steady, making him already look like a competent kitchen helper.

As for why not excellent, it’s because Qin Huai mentally gauged that the knife skills of the helpers responsible for cutting at Huang Ji were all Advanced level or near that.

In the realm of meat cooking, knife skills are a fundamental skill that everyone is vying to master.

He quickly finished slicing 10 yams. Throughout Qin Huai’s cutting process, Zang Liang had many things he wanted to say but dared not utter a single word. He feared this was the "feeling" Qin Huai talked about, and speaking would ruin that feeling, leaving him unable to comprehend it further.

Qin Huai put down the knife.

Zang Liang urgently whispered to Tan Wei’an, covering his mouth, "How exactly did Qin Huai learn his knife skills? How long has he been practicing? The last time I saw him, he hadn’t just started learning knife skills, right?"

Tan Wei’an thought for a moment, "It seems like he had just started. When I saw him at Huang Ji, he hadn’t practiced knife skills at all, and his grip on the knife was all wrong."

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" At times, Zang Liang’s language was quite limited.

What Zang Liang didn’t know was that the storyline shocking him had only just begun.

After slicing the 10 yams, Qin Huai moved to the stove to start stir-frying.

He heated the pan and added oil.

In went the yam.

He tossed, continuously tossed, and randomly tossed.

The action was still recognizable as Qin Huai’s signature way of appearing not too skilled at stir-frying, but the result was completely different.

When the fire control rose to Advanced level, Qin Huai could clearly tell when the food in the pan needed tossing, which part needed tossing, and whether any extra maneuvers besides random tossing were necessary.

Sometimes, his hand would move before his brain, and by the time he realized a section needed tossing, his spatula was already in action.

Of course, this only applied to stir-frying yam. Perhaps Qin Huai had stirred so much yam recently that he had developed a mechanical motion.

Then it was time to thicken.

The starch water was already prepared, mixed according to a formula.

Qin Huai picked up a bowl, without any flamboyant actions like the arm-spinning wide circles Zang Liang had been practicing diligently, just an ordinary and straightforward thickening.

But the thickening was well done.

It was a qualified thickening.

The timing was well grasped, the movement and quantity were good too, and there was no problem with the starch water.

The most crucial part was that Qin Huai’s fire control had improved, making stir-frying a plate of yam no problem for him. Good fire control and qualified thickening combined to form an excellent thickening.

Tan Wei’an was already stunned.

It was less about Qin Huai having learned normal thickening and not making small mistakes, and more shocking to Tan Wei’an that Qin Huai seemed to have learned everything.

No way, dude, weren’t you just here to learn thickening? How did you sign up for a comprehensive class?

And so many courses, did you really manage all this in just a few days? How did you learn it all?

Aren’t you the rising star of our pastry world? Why do I feel you could transfer to the neighboring meat cooking line, and do you even let others live?

Whether you let others live or not isn’t important. Do you let me live?

Even if I’ve already given up, you can’t be so aggressive.

Zheng Siyuan fell into deep thought.

It was apparent from his thoughtful expression that he didn’t understand, but he was deeply shocked.

He didn’t speak, but his face was written with "cook another one, quickly, cook another one!"

This time, I want to clearly see your skill and actions.

As for Zang Liang, things were straightforward and direct.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!"

"Is this Qin Huai? Could he have a twin brother? Not Qin Huai, no, you’re... oh my god!"

"Qin Huai... Brother Qin... Master Qin!"

"Teach me, please teach me! Is this what you meant by finding the ’feeling?’ What feeling can improve so many things simultaneously?"

"I don’t ask for much; I just want to find a bit of that taste-related feel. My master always says I can’t find the feeling. The feeling he talks about must be your kind of feeling, but what exactly is that feeling?"

Qin Huai thought for a moment.

"If you want to improve in taste, my suggestion is."

"Relentlessly practice knife skills and fire control."

Zang Liang: ...?