Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle
Chapter 255 - 174: Pastry Snacks Masters are All Somewhat Outrageous_2

Chapter 255: Chapter 174: Pastry Snacks Masters are All Somewhat Outrageous_2

Alright, it’s not important. Let’s get to work.

When Qin Huai changed into his kitchen clothes and entered the kitchen, Qin Luo had already unpacked the raw pastries from the suitcase and was even nibbling on a flaky pastry.

Qin Huai portioned it out as one per person, two for Ouyang, and two for Qin Luo, counted the raw pastries, and placed them directly in the steamer. He asked Qin Luo to store the remaining pastries in the freezer, then went to the tank to pick crabs.

As a crab-picking expert, Qin Huai could tell at a glance that the batch of crabs in the tank was of excellent quality, almost on par with Huang Ji’s regular stock. It was evident that Huang Xi had already tried his best to source the best available in the market. However, since it was the end of the crab season, even the best were not as good as they were half a month ago.

That’s enough.

After his Filling skills improved by 32,000 points, Qin Huai’s proficiency in making fillings had skyrocketed. Despite the quality of the ingredients being an objective factor, Qin Huai was confident that under the current conditions, he could make some decent Crab Dumplings.

After all, the new employees were watching in the kitchen.

Actually, they weren’t that new, but since today was only the second time Qin Huai met Pei Xing and Li Hua, he couldn’t quite match their names to their faces at first glance when he saw them upon entering the kitchen.

The background helpers were even less noticeable, not even knowing their names.

"Hello, Boss." Li Hua, the professional worker, greeted first.

"Hello, Boss." Pei Xing followed.

"Hello." Qin Huai nodded, and the three exchanged greetings with the feeling of strangers meeting for the first time.

During this month, Qin Huai hadn’t thought about the new employees in his canteen at all, but his two new employees had been keeping him in mind all along.

Unbeknownst to Qin Huai, he had already gained a bit of fame in the pastry chef circles.

The news of a skilled young pastry chef joining Huang Ji had spread throughout the southern pastry chef circles.

Compared to the thriving meat cooking, pastry had been lacking in talent for years, mostly relying on each family’s master to train their own apprentices. Rarely did a famous maverick emerge from nowhere.

Qin Huai, being such a true maverick, was like a bolt of lightning out of the blue.

Many pastry chefs had secretly gone to Huang Ji to try Qin Huai’s snacks.

The reviews were all positive.

The skill was undeniable, the taste was excellent, and the variety was plentiful, with good quality control. The only drawback was that the overall difficulty wasn’t high, the most challenging being the Five Fillings Bun. The chef himself wasn’t well-versed in Finger Skills, and completely neglected to style the snacks.

Surely a maverick.

There haven’t been any recent culinary exchange events; otherwise, pastry chefs from all over the south would surely gather to gossip and discuss whether this new chef at Huang Ji was really Zheng Da’s Closed-door Disciple.

If he were indeed Zheng Da’s Closed-door Disciple, then Zheng Da’s luck would be extraordinary. Having a great son and discovering a promising talent, his later years would surely be honored and retired comfortably with the credit.

In normal circumstances, chefs like Li Hua and Pei Xing, who had left Jiangnan but were half-retired from the core circle to return home for retirement, would not have kept up with the news so well.

But each had their own ways.

Li Hua had left the core circle, but his master hadn’t.

Pei Xing’s situation was even simpler; he was related to Pei Shenghua. As a renowned master of Huaiyang cuisine, besides his culinary skills, Pei Shenghua was even more famous for his title of Melon King. In southern culinary circles, both meat cooking and pastry, there was no gossip that the Melon King couldn’t get his hands on, be it true, false, second-hand, or exaggerated. The Melon King consumed it all, unreservedly.

For any gossip, just ask the Melon King.

Over the past month, Pei Xing and Li Hua had quietly consumed a lot of gossip about the boss from faraway Gusu.

Some truthful, some fictional, some legendary, and some bizarre.

A more reliable version said that Qin Huai was Zheng Da’s Closed-door Disciple, who had traveled to Gusu to learn.

A slightly exaggerated version claimed that Qin Huai wasn’t impressed with Zheng Da and was taken in by Huang Shengli as a Closed-door Disciple.

A legendary version stated that Qin Huai hadn’t apprenticed at all; Zheng Da and Huang Shengli, enamored with his talent, poured their hearts into teaching him. Now at Huang Ji, he held a high position and great power, wielded absolute control, and was sought after by a renowned tycoon to marry his daughter, with a vast family fortune as a dowry, embodying the male protagonist from one of those heroic tales.

An intriguing tale suggested that Qin Huai was a schemer, pretending to pledge himself to Zheng Da to follow him to Huang Ji, wooing others and deceiving Huang Ji’s Young Master into acquiring 50% of its shares, leaving Huang Ji voiceless and with grievances.

Gossip is like this, with all sorts of versions, starting with a picture and the rest made up.

For employees, the more gossip about the boss, the better, growing more delighted the more they delve. Hence, in the past month, Pei Xing and Li Hua had constantly followed news about Qin Huai, determining the truth of the rumors in their hearts, pondering whether Qin Huai had really acquired 50% of Huang Ji’s shares, and whether they had a chance of being transferred to work at Huang Ji.

The salary at Huang Ji was renowned in the industry.

Li Hua figured that if he could work at Huang Ji, returning to Gusu wouldn’t be out of the question.

The two quietly observed Qin Huai.

Qin Huai paid no attention, as he was focused on making Crab Dumplings.

During his month at Huang Ji, Qin Huai’s greatest improvement wasn’t in making fillings, but in his concentration while cooking.

The kitchen at Huang Ji was actually quite noisy.

The back kitchen of a large restaurant was always like this, with many people, tasks, and divisions. When it was time for meals, communication relied on shouting, with the helpers delivering dishes wishing they had two more legs for faster movement.

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