Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle
Chapter 168 - 146: Must Not Tarnish the Reputation

The taste was quite good, just mixed together it felt a bit nauseating.

This feeling is commonly known as being overly full.

Qin Huai felt that he had never been so stuffed in his entire 20-some years of life.

Dong Shi was afraid that Qin Huai, on his first day, might not be able to find the apartment Zheng Da rented for him, so he volunteered to take Qin Huai back.

Qin Huai thought he was overthinking it. The neighborhood opposite Huang Ji Restaurant is a standard old community, with only 6 floors, and without an elevator. The area has a lot of greenery, and although the facilities are quite old, with some unit number signs missing, the layout is still very normal.

The apartment Zheng Da rented for Qin Huai is in Building 1, Apartment 102, very easy to find.

"Qin Huai, are you really going to be responsible for making snacks for the staff meals? I’m telling you, we have a lot of staff in our place, you saw all the kitchen staff today, there are even more waiters in front, everyone eats together. If you make steamed buns, you’ll probably have to triple today’s amount and it still won’t be enough," Dong Shi’s mouth could never stay idle, he could find a topic in any situation.

"Speaking of which, the Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns you made this afternoon were really delicious, it felt like the same kind that Junior Master Zheng makes. But Junior Master Zheng usually doesn’t cook much, it’s good if he makes snacks once or twice a year. Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns... I feel like I only had it once the year before last."

Qin Huai was a bit shocked hearing Dong Shi say that. He knew that Zheng Da’s main focus now is on business, not really interested in making snacks, and reluctant to get hands-on, but he didn’t expect his disinterest to be to this extent.

No wonder in the past few months at Yunzhong Restaurant, Zheng Da worked diligently for two weeks and then started finding all sorts of excuses to skip work in the morning and sneak away in the afternoon. Turns out he had made ten years’ worth of snacks in just two weeks.

Qin Huai even felt a bit touched, just feeling sorry for Zheng Da.

Sigh, wait, why didn’t Zheng Da come to the welcome dinner tonight, didn’t anyone notify him?

"Isn’t Master Zheng in Gusu?" Qin Huai asked.

"Junior Master Zheng went to Hangzhou," Dong Shi said. "Apparently, there was an issue with a production line over there, he left last night on short notice, probably won’t be back for a few days."

Qin Huai nodded, not asking further.

The neighborhood was just across from Huang Ji Restaurant, Qin Huai confirmed with Dong Shi that he was supposed to start work at 9 a.m. the next day, and once he got a definite answer, they walked to the entrance of the neighborhood.

A streetlight at the entrance of the neighborhood was broken, making it easy to see up close, but all you could see from afar were shadowy figures.

"Xiao Dong? Just getting off work at this hour?" An elderly man returning from shopping bumped into Dong Shi at the entrance of the neighborhood, smiling as he greeted him.

"Just finished dinner," Dong Shi replied familiarly, "Uncle Qian, this is our restaurant’s new pastry chef, Master Qin, here to make traditional snacks for us. He’s only expected to stay for a month or two. Make sure you drop by to support us when you have time tomorrow."

The old man squinted his eyes, taking a good look at Qin Huai, and nodded with a smile, "Master Huang is finally willing to hire a new pastry chef. It’s about time. Back when Master Jing was around, the State owned Restaurant was selling both snacks and dishes."

"Little Zheng is ambitious, wanting to make money, so he stopped being a chef and went into business. Your master believes in ’Don’t settle for less’ and won’t be satisfied with any pastry chef without Little Zheng’s skill. He’s afraid of tarnishing Master Jing’s name."

"If you ask me, it’s been so many years now, besides us old folks, who still remembers Master Jing? You haven’t even seen your master’s grandmaster. Hiring other pastry chefs to sell ordinary snacks isn’t shameful. Your master is just too stubborn."

Dong Shi didn’t respond: "Master just feels our place doesn’t have any outstanding pastry chefs, and talented pastry chefs would be wasting their time here."

The elderly man chuckled and left.

Qin Huai, listening, felt a bit confused. He knew who Master Jing was, but wasn’t Huang Ji Restaurant opened by Huang Shengli? How was it related to Master Jing?

"Why would Master Huang refrain from hiring new pastry chefs to preserve Master Jing’s legacy?" Qin Huai asked curiously.

Dong Shi, very unusually, hesitated for a moment, thought for two minutes, then explained: "Qin Huai, have you noticed that the area around our restaurant is full of old neighborhoods, without any malls?"

Qin Huai nodded, he had noticed long ago.

The neighborhood Zheng Da rented for him, though an old neighborhood, was already considered to have very good and new facilities compared to other actual old neighborhoods in the area.

"That’s because this area is an old part of town, Huang Ji Restaurant was originally the State owned Restaurant before it went bankrupt. My master didn’t want the restaurant to just shut down, so he bought it himself and opened the current Huang Ji Restaurant on the original site. After business improved, he acquired the surrounding shops, which is how it expanded to its current size."

"A few years ago, Huang Ji Restaurant was called Huang Ji Inn, but then An Yao thought the name sounded like a place that sells alcohol, so he changed it, and my master agreed. Although many people still habitually call us Huang Ji Inn, it’s not a big deal because people generally just refer to us as Huang Ji."

"There used to be a lot of state-owned factories around here, and two streets down was the old cotton mill, although the cotton mill has long since shut down."

"Many of the residents living around here have been our shop’s customers for a long time. Although they don’t dine frequently, maybe once a month, they’ve eaten here for many years. Some customers, like Uncle Qian just now, used to be an accountant at the cotton mill. My master said he has lived around here for forty years since when Huang Ji was still a State owned Restaurant, and all these people have tasted my master’s skills."