Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 817 - 410: Someone Else’s Shadow_2

"You..."

Master Zhou signaled to Master Liu, who pretended to lose his balance and pushed forward, shoving Master Hua aside.

Master Hua: !!!

"Liu, are you..."

Master Zhou seized the opportunity to speak up: "If you want to argue, go do it in the break room. This is the kitchen, not the place for your arguments. Why is everyone standing around here? Aren’t your own apprentices here? Have you finished making your snacks? Is it quitting time already? If Little Su sees this, the next meeting is going to be 15 minutes longer with his nagging. Little Su said that at tomorrow morning’s meeting, there will be time to introduce Xiao Qin to everyone, so no need to rush."

"Go on, attend to your own tasks. Xiao Qin, regarding the Four Happiness Glutinous Rice you just made, I have a few points I’d like to discuss with you."

With Master Zhou’s words, the other masters who were there just to watch the show knew they couldn’t stay and gawk any longer. Besides, Master Zhou made a good point, among those who were watching, only a few were about to finish their shifts and could slack off a bit. The rest hadn’t finished their work and were only here to waste time.

Master Hua wanted to stay and continue exchanging noodle-making tips with Qin Huai, but Master Liu was too quick, directly dragging Master Hua, indicating they needed to have a proper argument in the break room.

Master Hua hadn’t really intended to argue with Master Liu, but now he was genuinely feeling a bit mad, grinding his teeth in frustration.

Master Hua and Master Liu went to the break room for a one-on-one showdown, and the other masters also scattered away like birds and beasts, not forgetting to whisper among themselves as they left:

"Hua Zhongxing has guts, challenging Old Zhou for an apprentice."

"He just loves talent too much, didn’t you see Hua Zhongxing’s expression just now? His eyes were almost glued to the dough in Xiao Qin’s hands. It’s understandable, given the situation with his apprentices—some are good, but none with extraordinary talent."

"Old Hua primarily focuses on noodle pulling, and it’s rare for apprentices at Zhiwei Restaurant to specialize only in this. Those particularly gifted in this area usually aren’t lacking in other talents as well, so Old Hua generally can’t compete for apprentices."

"But didn’t I hear from Xiao Tan that Qin Huai recently apprenticed under someone? How do Old Zhou and Old Hua plan to take him as a disciple, snatch from someone else? Steal?"

"What apprenticeship? Your information isn’t up to date, you didn’t hear it firsthand from Xiao Tan, did you? At most, it’s just a named disciple, addressing someone as ’Master’ without a formal ceremony. Besides, Qin Huai apprenticed under a meat chef, which doesn’t conflict with us. But I doubt Old Hua stands a chance against Old Zhou. That Four Happiness Glutinous Rice, I tried a bit but didn’t quite get the level, but the Three Meat Buns I devoured, no question about the foundational skills and craftsmanship."

"Here at Zhiwei Restaurant, that level is definitely up to a master’s standard. It’s just that Xiao Qin is young and doesn’t quite look the part of a master, which is why Old Hua and Old Zhou are considering taking him as a disciple. If Xiao Qin were in his 30s or 40s now, they wouldn’t even think about it, and would just engage as equals."

"Those Three Meat Buns were indeed good. The way Xiao Qin made the filling taste like that, he really has a remarkable palate. I used to think Xiao Tan was exaggerating—running into a young, talented chef outside who outshone him, and unable to save face, he came back and exaggerated the newcomer’s talent."

"Turns out, it was all true."

"Do you remember that other rumor from Xiao Tan?"

"What rumor?"

"When Xiao Qin was in his teens, a relative wanted to arrange for him to apprentice at our Zhiwei Restaurant. But his parents thought studying was more important and being an apprentice was too grueling, which delayed his entry until now. Otherwise, he could have joined 10 years ago."

"Ah." All the masters chatting in the group sighed regretfully in unison. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Why didn’t he come earlier? He should have come sooner!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

"A gem like Xiao Qin, how could we ever bear to let him suffer!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

"If he’d come 10 years earlier, I would have shamelessly taken him as my apprentice!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

With those words, the group of masters looked at each other, exchanging glances, clearly seeing the word ’rival’ in each other’s eyes.

After a moment of silence, saying nothing, they dispersed.

In the corner, Tan Wei’an, who had quietly listened to all the juicy gossip, thought: ...Whoa, how come he felt like Zhiwei Restaurant was about to undergo a storm of rivalry for Qin Huai?

On the other side, as Qin Huai was kneading dough, he listened to Master Zhou’s critique of his Four Happiness Glutinous Rice.

Before Master Zhou could start, a quick-witted apprentice with no name brought out a freshly steamed Three Meat Bun, which Master Zhou received and promptly took a bite.

"Your foundational skills are excellent." Master Zhou said, savoring slowly, leaving Qin Huai momentarily unsure if he was critiquing the Four Happiness Glutinous Rice or the Three Meat Bun.

"Earlier, Xiao Tan used very exaggerated language many times to tell us how talented you are, and indeed, your talent lives up to his praise. I went to Huang Ji and had your guo’er, as well as the Three Meat Buns you made then. Your progress is genuinely impressive."

"You actually went to Huang Ji and tried my guo’er!" Qin Huai was somewhat surprised.

"There’s nothing to be surprised about; most Zhiwei Restaurant masters have discreetly done so with masks on. When "Zhiwei"’s New Year issue featured a pastry on the cover, no self-respecting pastry master in the country could resist trying it to know what it tasted like." "