Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle
Chapter 120 - 101 The Scent of Warmth

Chapter 120: Chapter 101 The Scent of Warmth

The dried tangerine peel, white fungus, and lotus seed soup in the pot is about to be ready.

Qin Huai was munching on a freshly baked bun while quietly observing the lucky diners in the lobby who were waiting for randomly dropped snacks.

The crowd was quite large.

An all-star lineup.

Xu Tuqiang, Uncle Wang, Mr. Cao, Grandma Ding, Ouyang, the convenience store boss across the street, several elderly folks who were never named from start to finish, Chen Huihong, Luo... Luo Jun? Qu... Qu Jing?

Qin Huai doubted his own eyes and took another bite of the bun.

His bun-baking skills have now become quite adept, whether using an oven or stove, the buns are aromatic and chewy, even good when cooled.

No mistakes, it was indeed Chen Huihong, Luo Jun, and Qu Jing, with the diligent Zhang Shumei standing beside them, the three were chatting and seemed to be enjoying it.

What’s going on here?

Isn’t it just before 9:30 in the morning? How could Luo Jun and Qu Jing meet in the restaurant at this time?

Shouldn’t Luo Jun be sleeping now?

Shouldn’t Qu Jing be at work?

What’s with you all? The one who should be sleeping is not sleeping, the one who should be working is not working, and there’s someone skipping work, along with a colleague also skipping work.

Qin Huai wanted to go and ask, but there was no time because the dried tangerine peel, white fungus, and lotus seed soup was ready.

[Dried Tangerine Peel Tea D+ Grade]

For a dried tangerine peel, white fungus, and lotus seed soup, this grade is already quite good.

Qin Huai lifted the lid and instructed Chen An, who had started making steamed egg cake, to keep an eye on the time, as the dried tangerine peel tea would be ready to sell in a few minutes. He immediately walked outside.

Having witnessed Qin Huai imagining himself having a system that would issue side quests, Chen An, who was pointing into the air by the pot, accepted his boss’s behavior of suddenly going outside to slack off and chat halfway through work quite well. He set a timer on his phone and continued making the egg cake.

He didn’t forget to ask Qin Huai, "Master Qin, do you need me to prepare the elm bark water for you?"

"If you have time, please make a pot," Qin Huai replied as he walked out of the kitchen.

Qu Jing was the first to notice Qin Huai’s arrival, and she greeted him with a mask on, "Morning, Master Qin."

"Morning." Qin Huai nodded at Qu Jing, "Dr. Qu, what brings you to the restaurant for snacks this morning?"

"Our hospital is enhancing medical quality and service, so we’ve set up an evening clinic in our neurology department. I’m on night duty today. Yesterday, Dean Qu told me that running a restaurant on your own isn’t easy, and you’re earning hard-earned money. It’s commendable that despite being so busy, you’re willing to volunteer at the orphanage and advised me to frequent the restaurant to support your business."

"So here I am."

It’s obvious that Qu Jing really listens to Dean Qu; she even believed such a ridiculous lie.

"I just didn’t expect Mr. Luo to have such a regular schedule now, heading out to the restaurant for breakfast at precisely 9:12. It’s quite a pleasant surprise."

Luo Jun felt Qu Jing was subtly mocking him and grumbled, "It’s because the recent TV dramas are so awful that I sleep early at night."

None of the three exposed Luo Jun’s lie.

"What about the dried tangerine peel tea? Is it not ready yet? Didn’t your restaurant’s server say you started brewing it early this morning? Does it take that long to brew dried tangerine peel tea? Do you even know how to make dried tangerine peel tea? Did you even read the instructions carefully?" Luo Jun threw six familiar questions at Qin Huai.

Qin Huai understood.

Luo Jun was here specifically for the dried tangerine peel tea, even willing to wake up early for it.

His devotion to tea is touching.

"It’s ready. If you’re in a rush, I’ll have Xiao An serve a bowl to cool down right away."

Luo Jun said nothing, implicitly agreeing, and Qin Huai waved to An Youyou to serve a bowl first.

Among the servers and odd-job workers at Yunzhong Restaurant, the only two names Qin Huai could call out were Huang Xi and An Youyou. Huang Xi was the store manager and the only one with whom Qin Huai had work tasks to coordinate; they interacted more often. An Youyou’s name was simply easier to remember.

The ABB-format name rolls off the tongue and is simple to write, easy to remember.

A good name lets the boss remember you the first time.

An Youyou perceptively brought out four bowls, one for Qin Huai. As soon as other diners saw that Qin Huai’s table had the dried tangerine peel tea, they began placing orders and requesting to be served.

An Youyou, feeling a bit at a loss, looked to Huang Xi, who expertly informed everyone that since the tea had just come out of the pot and was still very hot, they needed to wait a while for the safety of their dining experience.

As for why Qin Huai’s table was served in advance, it was because of Luo Jun’s strong demand.

The diners waiting were all loyal customers, over half residents of Yunzhong District, naturally familiar with Luo Jun’s name.

Everyone expressed understanding and silently condemned Luo by surname for being so unreasonable with their beloved Master Qin.

Some diners from outside the district didn’t understand Luo Jun’s significance and quietly inquired why. The convenience store boss across the street, filled with indignation, explained that Luo Jun had given their tea eggs a bad review!

The onlookers gasped in surprise.

Even Qin Huai, who overheard a few words: "... You really gave the convenience store’s tea eggs a bad review?"

Qin Huai was stunned, wondering how a tea egg could get a bad review. Was it not enough tea flavor or egg?

"Their tea eggs weren’t cracked when cooked, so they were bland. What’s wrong with me giving a bad review?" Luo Jun disdainfully glanced at the unmasked convenience store boss, "And they charged me a 5-cent packaging fee for each tea egg, so shouldn’t I give a bad review?"

After saying that, Luo Jun stirred the dried tangerine peel tea with a spoon, watching the dried tangerine peel, white fungus, lotus seeds, and goji berries evenly mixed in the slightly thick soup, nodding in satisfaction.

"Today’s looks alright." Luo Jun gave it a good review.

Well, how could it not be? Qin Huai followed the video tutorial by Liu Tao precisely for today’s dried tangerine peel tea.

Although some leeway in the amount of ingredients doesn’t hurt, adding a bit more white fungus to a dried tangerine peel, white fungus, and lotus seed soup doesn’t affect the main flavor. But Qin Huai is a person who, if there’s a standard video tutorial, will try to follow the instructions as much as possible, only altering if necessary.

Liu Tao’s dried tangerine peel tea is only D-grade; there’s little room for degradation or improvement, so Qin Huai simply replicated the video tutorial 1:1.

Luo Jun scooped a small spoonful, patiently blew on it for over a minute, then slowly delivered it to his mouth, taking a small taste.

No evaluation, no expression; Luo Jun, as if it’s his routine to drink water every day, ate it calmly, naturally, and slowly.

Chen Huihong was impatient and wanted to hear Luo Jun’s review. When he offered none, she simply tasted it herself.

Chen Huihong scooped a full spoon, quickly blew on it to cool, and then consumed half a spoonful in one bite.

"Oh." Chen Huihong made the first sound of her critique, "The taste of a lotus seed soup."

Without chewing, Chen Huihong swallowed directly, slightly licking her lips, seemingly savoring it, or perhaps struggling to find words.

"The taste... is quite ordinary, but the texture is good, very... silky? I’m not sure if that’s the right description, but it’s quite comforting to eat. It’s a bit like drinking ginger tea in winter, warm and warming." Chen Huihong completed her review and continued eating with her head down.

Qu Jing removed her mask, slowly stirring with her spoon for a few minutes. She started eating her first bite only when Chen Huihong’s bowl was almost empty.

Meanwhile, the servers began serving the waiting diners their dried tangerine peel tea one by one.

Serving dishes at the table is not common at the restaurant, but today was special. The guests had waited in the restaurant for so long, there weren’t many of them, and the dried tangerine peel tea was quite expensive at 15 yuan a small bowl, so Zhao Rong thought it necessary to improve service quality for the tea.

"It’s just like Sister Hong said; a mouthful feels warm, like drinking ginger tea in winter or having a little sun in the stomach." Qu Jing’s descriptive words were more interesting, "It also has a taste of home, similar to what we write in essays about coming home from school in winter when we were children, where our mothers would prepare a cup of hot water or milk to warm us up."

Hearing Qu Jing say this, Qin Huai also took a taste.

The taste indeed wasn’t spectacular.

A D+ grade dried tangerine peel, white fungus, and lotus seed soup, only slightly better than a regular homemade version. It might be considered good among similar soups sold on the market, but this dish is so commonplace; it’s a flavor everyone can imagine.

Without exceptional skills, creating a stunning taste is difficult.

Yet the taste fits its buff perfectly.

Warm, homely, comforting.

Qin Huai even felt a warmth and joy reminiscent of feeling newly embraced by the Qin Congwen family at mealtime for the first time rather than with fellow children at the orphanage.

For a moment, the entire lobby was quietly sipping on the dried tangerine peel tea.

An Youyou, standing nearby, looked envious and commented, "Master Qin’s dried tangerine peel tea looks really good."

"If you want to try, Youyou, go grab a bowl; I’ll report it to Master Qin for you," smiled Huang Xi.

"Really, Sister Xi? Thank you!" An Youyou cheerfully jogged into the kitchen, making sure to ask Chen An, Qin Congwen, and Zhao Rong if they wanted any as well.

Three minutes later, An Youyou emerged from the kitchen with two bowls of dried tangerine peel tea—one for herself and one for Huang Xi.

"Sister Xi, Sister Rong is so thoughtful; she had already prepared ours, and here’s yours. I just drank a bowl in the kitchen and requested another from Sister Rong," An Youyou said happily.

"Is it really that good?" Huang Xi, amused and speechless, put down her tablet and picked up the small bowl, "The stuff Master Qin makes... hmm."

Some things don’t need to be said.

"Delicious, super delicious! Even though Master Qin’s salad dressing tastes odd, duck soup isn’t appealing, and the beef soup is average, this dried tangerine peel tea is truly delightful!"

"But Sister Xi, why does Master Qin call the dried tangerine peel, white fungus, and lotus seed soup ’dried tangerine peel tea’?"

Huang Xi indicated that she didn’t know; staff shouldn’t delve into the boss’s matters.

Huang Xi took a small sip and suddenly realized she hadn’t made soup for her daughter for a long time.

This dried tangerine peel, white fungus, and lotus seed soup is quite nice; she could make a pot at home next time she’s off.

She might even pack two servings before leaving work today to take home for her husband and child to try.

Over at Qin Huai’s table, Ouyang had already brought a bowl over.

"Qin Huai, don’t make lamb soup this afternoon; just make this dried tangerine... tea. I find that you people from Guangdong Province have an inherent talent for brewing cold tea. This dried tangerine peel tea is much better than the silver ear lotus seed soup my mom makes at home!"

Qin Huai and his companions: ...

Do you even hear what you’re saying?

Do you so easily accept that this dried tangerine peel, white fungus, and lotus seed soup in front of you is dried tangerine peel tea, and even call it cold tea?

You truly leave me speechless to the point of tears.

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