Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle
Chapter 125 - 106 The Big Order

Chapter 125: Chapter 106 The Big Order

After the video call ended, the broth was ready shortly.

Ouyang hadn’t come over after work yet, so Qin Huai tried a small bowl himself first.

The taste was not bad.

Though it lacked some imagination by strictly following the recipe, the results were still visible.

It’s delicious.

Qin Huai rewarded himself with another bowl.

As he was drinking, Chen Huihong came. Seeing Qin Huai drinking the broth, she knew today’s broth must be well-made and eagerly requested a bowl.

"Sister Hong, how come you’re free to come over this afternoon?" Qin Huai asked.

From what Qin Huai knew about Chen Huihong, she usually wouldn’t come to the canteen outside of snack drop-off times. This was the time for the broth to be ready; though Chen Huihong couldn’t cook, she’d had her fair share of good eats.

She loved eating the pastries Qin Huai made, but was never impressed by his broths, so she never came at this time.

"My brother wants to collaborate with you," Chen Huihong said.

Qin Huai put down the bowl of soup.

It was really rare for Chen Huihong’s brother, Chen Yingjun, to look for collaboration with Qin Huai.

It’s important to know that Yunzhong Restaurant’s current prosperity couldn’t be attained without Chen Yingjun’s silent contributions.

Who recruited the service staff, led by Huang Xi?

The HR at Chen Yingjun’s company.

Who hired the current excellent backbone of Yunzhong’s breakfast staff, responsible for buns, flower rolls, shumai, wontons, deep-fried breadsticks, and the egg cakes that need discounts to sell?

The HR at Chen Yingjun’s company.

Whose real money donation secured Qin Luo’s high school admission?

Chen Yingjun.

When Qin Congwen sometimes ambitiously made too many buns to sell, whose money ended up buying them so Chen Huihong could distribute them as afternoon tea snacks to company employees?

Chen Yingjun.

Chen Yingjun, who for a long period, did not earn the recognition he deserved, yet consistently contributed, is truly the financial backbone of Yunzhong Restaurant.

Now that Chen Yingjun is proactively suggesting collaboration, Qin Huai felt it was something to be taken seriously.

"What does President Chen have in mind for collaboration with our restaurant?" Qin Huai’s tone became respectful.

Chen Huihong: ...

Knowing the exact stats on Qin Huai’s skill panel, Chen Huihong felt like she knew how Qin Huai got to Intermediate in management.

"Well, my brother’s company is involved in various fields, including large-scale retail and logistics, but its main business is property management. Xiao Qin, you’re aware of this, right?"

Qin Huai shook his head; he didn’t know.

He even suspected before that Chen Yingjun didn’t secretly run a food chain, based on how adeptly service staff and pastry chefs were being recruited.

"But you’ve seen the announcements in the homeowner group, right?"

With Chen Huihong saying this, Qin Huai understood.

"The property fee payment announcements? Yeah, saw it. It said the property fee for September to October is due, and you can pay for a year, three years, or five years; the more you pay, the more you get as gifts like supermarket cards, beauty cards, grains, and mountain bikes."

"While making breakfast these days, I even heard Grandpa Qian and others discussing it. I felt everyone seemed very keen on paying the property fee; the service in our community is quite good."

"It would be even better if the property fee could be cheaper." Though Qin Huai had moved into a high-end community, he was not yet used to the high property fees.

It’s too expensive; in his hometown, Qiu County, a small county, the annual property fee could cover a year’s rent.

"Small matter, I’ll tell my brother to waive 20 years of property fees for you," Chen Huihong said, as it wasn’t her money, just a word away, "The problem is that our community is so popular, no one’s willing to sell. But my brother’s property company serves more than one community, and he ate too many of our restaurant’s snacks recently. He had a sudden idea that giving away rice, grains, and oil is unattractive, and he wants to add dried tangerine peel tea as a gift."

"Huh?" Qin Huai was dumbfounded.

This was indeed a sudden thought.

Paying property fees to receive dried tangerine peel tea; what an odd idea.

"He doesn’t understand dried tangerine peel tea, but I do. You’ve got a buff of 1314 cups a day for that tea; beyond that, it’s just ordinary dried tangerine peel, white fungus, and lotus seed soup, which is definitely unrealistic."

Qin Huai nodded.

"So I suggested he gift snack gift boxes."

Qin Huai: ?

Is that realistic?

Sister Hong, do you know how many homeowners there are in a community?

If all the gift boxes for property fee payments are sourced from our restaurant, and currently, Qin Huai is the only pastry chef who can make gift box-level snacks...

Then the question is, how long until Qin Huai collapses?

He’s a boss, not a workhorse.

How could there be such a workhorse boss?

"My brother thinks this idea is good. He has faith in your craftsmanship, although he prefers Master Xiao Zheng from Gusu more. But Master Xiao Zheng is in Gusu, it’s too far and inconvenient to order from him."

"What a coincidence," Qin Huai said, "How did you know Master Xiao Zheng is coming back to our restaurant for another exchange? His dad even bought him a house in the neighboring community."

Thank you, Zheng Siyuan.

Let’s be workhorses together.

"But Sister Hong, sourcing snack gift boxes in bulk from our restaurant doesn’t seem quite feasible either," Qin Huai said. "You probably know our daily production capacity, and delivering large quantities of gift box-level snacks without disrupting normal operations would be a huge workload."

"I also considered that," said Chen Huihong. "The quantity won’t be particularly high. Xiao Qin, you can make gift boxes with just four snacks in each."

"Four snacks, four shapes, four flavors. By then, my brother can claim they’re limited edition high-end custom orders from a dedicated pastry chef, all handmade, and it can also double as an advertisement for Yunzhong Restaurant."

"It’s not much quantity, easy to handle, but you’ll have to put some thought into what snacks to make. It would be best to offer various levels as well, given there are differences in property fees among the communities."

After stating the requirements, Chen Huihong mentioned Chen Yingjun’s offer.

A uniform price, 500 per set.

The kind of price that’s hard to refuse.

For the financial backer of Yunzhong Restaurant, Qin Huai felt it was his obligation to seriously think and put in extra effort.

President Chen has truly remarkable wealth.

Who else could just donate to renovate a school playground on a sister’s mere suggestion?

"Sister Hong, leave it to me!" Qin Huai said earnestly.

Although his Finger Skill is only at Basic level, making it unlikely he can produce anything refined or artistic, but he can practice!

Everything can be practiced!

He’ll go back and study the Snack Encyclopedia!

If he can’t manage it, he will plead with Zheng Siyuan for a bit of support.

Just consider it a big client order for Zheng Siyuan.

"I heard from Luo Jun this afternoon that you took on a new side quest from him to make guo’er... What’s that?" asked Chen Huihong curiously. "I’ve never even heard of it."

Qin Huai was about to answer when his phone buzzed. Looking down, he saw a message from Zheng Siyuan.

Zheng Siyuan: My dad told me to go teach you Finger Skill for a while. Aren’t you practicing Fire Control? Why do you want to practice Finger Skill now?

Zheng Siyuan: He said Luoluo wants to eat some guo’er, so how about I come over and make them for her? I think focusing on Fire Control is more important for you right now; you can practice Finger Skill later.

Zheng Siyuan: Of course, if you’re interested in Finger Skill, you can practice it, since you didn’t have anyone teaching you before; Finger Skill is still quite important in many snacks.

Zheng Siyuan: My dad says he bought me a house in your neighboring community, so not having to stay in a hotel is great. If you really want to learn Finger Skill, I’ll stay longer; it’ll be a good time to remodel the pastry shop and get a new batch of equipment.

Zheng Siyuan: What are your plans now?

Qin Huai: Can you come over tomorrow?

Zheng Siyuan: ?

Qin Huai: I got a big order for you; why not take it while teaching me Finger Skill?

Zheng Siyuan: ?

Qin Huai: A very big order!

Zheng Siyuan: ...Alright, I’ll book a flight for tomorrow morning.

Qin Huai put down the phone and said to Chen Huihong, "Even if you haven’t heard of it, don’t worry. Chances are, Sister Hong, you’ll get to taste it tomorrow."

"This task is too challenging, so I called in some help."

A very reliable helper.