Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle
Chapter 260 - 176: Daily Life

Chapter 260: Chapter 176: Daily Life

That night, the Qin family of four found a mid-to-high-end restaurant near the mall with a so-so reputation. The prices weren’t cheap, and the taste was nowhere near that of Huang Ji, and they had dinner there.

After eating, Qin Huai felt that this restaurant probably wouldn’t last long.

It was unclear whether it was due to indifference or the chef’s inadequate skills. The dishes that needed stir-frying didn’t have the fire control right. If the cooking skills were lacking, they relied on starch to thicken; if the seasoning was off, they added pepper powder; and if that didn’t work, they counted on rich ingredients.

Cooking emphasizes the pairing of ingredients; the dish’s flavor can be rich but not greasy, fresh but not bland, paired but not mismatched. Beef and lamb are great dishes by themselves because they are inherently flavorful and distinct. Making them into a creative dish with a fancy name and stir-frying everything together recklessly is simply a waste of ingredients.

After finishing the meal, Qin Huai realized he’d indeed gained some insight.

Previously, when dining out, Qin Huai would simply think a restaurant was a rip-off, with high prices and mediocre food, and couldn’t quite articulate why.

Now, not only can Qin Huai express it, but he can also point out the issues and suggest improvements. Huang Shengli’s basic cooking lessons were indeed helpful, and Qin Huai enriched his basic knowledge significantly.

Although the dishes that night were average in taste, the dining atmosphere was great. A family dinner can remain enjoyable as long as the dishes aren’t terrible, especially since the main diner was already full when they sat down at the restaurant.

Qin Luo ate 8 shumai, 2 guo’er, and gnawed on quite a few flaky pastries. In the end, she begged Qin Huai to make a pot of dried tangerine peel tea and drank several bowls of it.

Qin Huai couldn’t help but marvel at his teenage sister’s capacity, truly a case of "meet a friend again after three days and see them in a new light."

High school is indeed the peak of one’s appetite.

Of course, Ouyang was no slouch either.

He only ate 1 guo’er and 4 shumai, but he packed 1 guo’er, 8 shumai, and two cups of dried tangerine peel tea to take home, claiming he had to have dinner at his parents’ home that night.

Ouyang said it didn’t matter if he ate less; he could spare a bit of snacks from between his teeth to bring back to his parents. His filial piety was touching to behold.

Qin Huai asked if his parents hadn’t given him money recently, hence why he wanted to go back and con some money out of them.

Qu Jing had a day shift today, but she had a meeting in the afternoon and would only return late. Qin Huai sent her a message telling her he’d saved some snacks and dried tangerine peel tea for her and that she should pick them up herself at Yunzhong Restaurant after work.

Qu Jing only hastily replied with a "good," suggesting the meeting was quite important, and she couldn’t check her phone often during it.

As for Luo Jun and Chen Huihong.

Qin Huai would specially bring some over to them in the evening.

Yes, tonight Qin Huai and Chen Huihong would again gather at Luo Jun’s house to sample some high-end fruits from Luo Jun’s household, have a chat to discuss the situation regarding Gong Liang, and Qin Huai would take the chance to witness some memories on site.

Qin Huai still didn’t understand why the memories he got from Gong Liang weren’t dreams when Gong Liang clearly wasn’t from the first lifetime.

This game system had no instructions, and he only got the world background introduction after Chen Huihong woke up and informed him.

Lousy game, definitely a rough draft!

After dinner, the Qin family of four leisurely strolled towards Yunzhong Restaurant.

Qin Congwen and Zhao Rong were going back to check inventory with Huang Xi, Qin Huai had to get some snacks, and Qin Luo’s school bag was still at the restaurant, so she had to pick it up before heading back to do homework.

Qin Luo still had at least 3 assignments left to do. The joyful snack indulgence experience card had ended, and it was time to face reality and go home to diligently do homework.

The family of four walked by the roadside, with Qin Congwen and Qin Huai walking slowly at the back. Zhao Rong, for some reason, deliberately slowed down her pace too, just slightly ahead of Qin Huai and Qin Congwen, while Qin Luo bounced around, turning the path into an s-shape at the front.

Qin Huai knew that with this arrangement, Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen definitely had something they wanted to say to him.

Sure enough, halfway through the road, Zhao Rong stopped to wait for Qin Huai and Qin Congwen to catch up, saying, "Huaihuai, your dad and I rented out the Qin Family Breakfast Shop’s space over half a month ago."

Qin Huai nodded, understanding what Zhao Rong meant by this.

With Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen’s simple values, leaving a property empty is wasteful, and not renting it out is a loss.

During the summer vacation, the Qin Family Breakfast Shop space hadn’t been rented out, because Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen thought they still wanted to return to Qiu County to continue selling breakfast.

After Qin Luo started at Shuanghai High School, the space remained un-rented, and Qin Huai didn’t ask about it either.

Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen have run the breakfast shop in Qiu County for more than 20 years, making Qiu County feel like home to them. No matter how good the location or business was at Yunzhong Restaurant, it was still a job away from home. They planned to go back and keep running the breakfast shop after Qin Luo finished high school.

"We’ve also reached out to an agent for our family house, asking your aunt to show it, and we expect to rent it out next month," Qin Congwen added.

"Your mom and I have held you back all these years," Qin Congwen sighed. "If we had listened to your cousin when you were in high school and managed to have you learn the craft at Zhiwei Restaurant, you wouldn’t have had to return home and sell breakfast for years after graduating from university, waking up early and working hard."

Qin Huai guessed that during his month-long absence from Yunzhong Restaurant, Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen had asked Li Hua and Pei Xing about Zhiwei Restaurant and the pastry and snack chefs.