Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle
Chapter 62 - 55 Zhou Sha Wonton

Chapter 62: Chapter 55 Zhou Sha Wonton

Zheng Siyuan is a man of action.

He arrived at 6 PM.

Seeing Zheng Siyuan in a full set of Dior, Qin Huai silently swallowed the tomato fried rice in his mouth, marveling to himself that this father and son duo truly did not share the same style.

Zheng Da was having a meal in the dining hall with Qin Huai. Although Zheng Da thought that the meat chef’s skills at the Yunzhong Restaurant were really lacking, he couldn’t say it out loud. After all, this was the business of his future apprentice, and he couldn’t undermine it.

Zheng Da proactively stood up and served Zheng Siyuan a plate of food, then Zheng Siyuan sat opposite Qin Huai holding the plate.

"Zheng Siyuan, we added each other on WeChat yesterday." Zheng Siyuan sized up Qin Huai.

"Qin Huai." Qin Huai also introduced himself.

"When are you making locust flower buns?" On his way there, Zheng Siyuan had already gotten a general understanding of the problems Qin Huai was facing, "I need to see you make them just like my dad does."

"We’ll have to wait until tomorrow." Qin Huai said, yawning, "It’s almost time for bed, I should head back to sleep now."

Today, because of Zheng Da’s sudden visit to the dining hall, Qin Huai hadn’t gone back to sleep at noon, and now he was extremely sleepy.

However, Zheng Da’s sudden visit was not without effect; although he didn’t solve the series of problems Qin Huai encountered with the locust flower buns, he proved himself.

The entire afternoon, Zheng Da was showcasing his skills to prove he was qualified to be Qin Huai’s mentor. As long as there were ingredients and it could be made on the spot, Zheng Da made it all.

Flaky pastries, Dingsheng Cakes, fresh meat mooncakes, Plum Blossom Cakes, rose big cakes, Crab Shell Cakes, Haitang Cakes, wine paste cakes...

The focus was on quantity and satisfaction.

The elderly who were used to fighting for buns in the afternoon had never seen such a scene, they were going crazy snatching them.

Previously, they would estimate the time and squat in the dining hall, leaving once they got what they wanted. Today, even if they got something, they wouldn’t leave, sticking around just in case there were more snacks later.

Ouyang, because he couldn’t keep skipping work to grab snacks, even spent a lot to hire two runners to grab for him.

While the elderly were outside snatching, Qin Luo was inside eating, trying everything one by one, and not only dismissed the idea that Zheng Da was a fraud, but also advised Qin Huai to consider accepting him as a mentor.

There was no fault to find; it truly was delicious.

"What time do you usually start making snacks?" Zheng Siyuan asked.

"I arrive at the shop around 4 AM, I’m responsible for breakfast, and there are fixed dishes to make in the morning. Our shop’s breakfast rush is from 8 to 9 AM, so if we want to make locust flower buns, it’ll have to wait until around 10 AM." Qin Huai explained.

Zheng Siyuan nodded: "Are there any restrictions on your morning dishes?"

"Huh?" Qin Huai didn’t understand what Zheng Siyuan meant, "It’s basically just buns and such, we have very few dine-in customers in the morning."

Zheng Siyuan continued nodding to show he understood, saying, "I don’t usually wake up that early, I might not be able to make it until after 6 AM."

"Huh?" Qin Huai was truly confused.

"I have a daily habit of making snacks." Zheng Siyuan said, "I can make some special ones like buns and such, but I don’t usually make them often."

"I’ll send you my snack list, you can take a look after you get back or tomorrow morning, and pick a few that are suitable for your dining hall that I can make tomorrow."

As he spoke, Zheng Siyuan pulled out his phone to start editing a message, and after typing a few words, he asked, "Do you all eat both sweet and savory flavors here?"

Qin Huai: "...Yes, we eat both."

He couldn’t help but feel like he was interviewing a new snack chef right now.

After quickly finishing his meal, the utterly exhausted Qin Huai had no interest in small talk, and went back to sleep before Zheng Siyuan finished eating.

After Qin Huai left, Zheng Da couldn’t wait to say, "Siyuan, bring out your top skills tomorrow, make... make fresh meat mooncakes! Let Xiao Qin see our family’s capabilities."

Zheng Siyuan looked at his own dad, at a loss for words.

He had thought about many things on the way there.

He wondered if his dad tricked him into a blind date again, wondered if his dad was being scammed, but had never considered that his dad might want to scam someone else.

As soon as he entered the dining hall and saw Qin Huai, he was still contemplating whether Qin Huai was a scammer, but now he just wanted to apologize to Qin Huai.

"Dad, aren’t you not taking apprentices?" Zheng Siyuan mercilessly retorted, "Didn’t you say taking apprentices is troublesome, that if they didn’t have talent, people would suspect whether it’s the master’s lack of skill? As long as the craft isn’t lost, we’re not failing our ancestors."

"This is different!" Zheng Da had a serious expression, "I have a premonition; whether your dad can make it into history depends on whether Xiao Qin can become my apprentice!"

Zheng Siyuan suddenly wanted to apologize to Qin Huai even more.

Sorry, my dad’s not very normal.

.

The next day, the elderly out for their morning jog were surprised to find that Xu Tuqiang didn’t seem to be talking nonsense with a mouth full of lies; Yunzhong Restaurant indeed had a new snack chef.

However, this new snack chef was not the middle-aged man dressed in a mix of brands as Xu Tuqiang described, but a young man who appeared to be calm and was a few years older than Qin Huai.

"Wife, what’s going on here?" Not only were the elderly joggers confused, but Qin Congwen was also a bit puzzled.

Qin Congwen didn’t expect that by going home early to rest and taking a nap yesterday, the dining hall would change.

First, there was the inexplicable Master Zheng who came yesterday and made a pile of snacks all afternoon, then this morning an inexplicable Master Xiao Zheng arrived and started making wontons right away.

So young, with exceptional skills.

The handmade wonton skins were as thin as rice paper, fragile to the touch, and translucent when held up to the sun.

The mastery of the wonton skins alone was impressive enough, but his knife skills were also outstanding; even chopping scallions was done with the finesse of a young master chef.

His wrapping technique needed no mention; a pinch and a twist could magically create a round little wonton that looked like a bubble blown by a fish.

Is breakfast really this competitive now?

Qin Congwen began to feel fortunate that he entered the industry early; otherwise, the Qin Family Breakfast Shop wouldn’t have lasted so many years.

"I don’t know." Zhao Rong was watching the wontons in Zheng Siyuan’s hands, her bao wrapping technique gradually shifting as she became inclined to wrap the bao like wontons, "Didn’t Huaihuai say it? Master Zheng is here to help out."

"Master Xiao Zheng is Master Zheng’s son, also here to help."

Qin Congwen wanted to say he couldn’t tell if they were helping, but he felt like Master Xiao Zheng was here for a job.

"How do you wrap like that?" Zhao Rong craned her neck to watch, "I can’t seem to wrap them that round."

Unlike Zhao Rong and Qin Congwen, who could only crane their necks from afar, Qin Huai’s cooking station was right next to Zheng Siyuan’s, giving him direct access to watch and ask questions.

"Your wonton skins are very thin." Qin Huai remarked.

Thin skins mean they break easily when cooked, requiring skill both when wrapping and cooking.

"Zhou Sha Wonton needs thin skins." Zheng Siyuan explained.

Last night, Zheng Da had already given Zheng Siyuan a detailed rundown of Qin Huai’s situation, and even though Zheng Siyuan understood why his dad wanted to take an apprentice, he still felt like apologizing to Qin Huai. This made him unwittingly more patient and detailed in his explanations.

"Because the skins are thin, the cooked wontons are wrinkly on the outside, which sounds like ’zhou’ (wrinkle), hence the name Zhou Sha Wonton."

"When I was little, my dad often made these wontons at home for my sister and me. Over the years, the Zhou Sha Wonton skins sold in the market are mostly machine-made, because handmade thin skins are hard to make, and even many master chefs who know how to make them aren’t willing to spend the effort, so it’s hard to find authentic ones now."

"The filling can be pure meat, or made with fresh shrimp, or mustard greens when in season are also good. These small wontons have thin skins and little filling, the key is to savor the flavor, and the broth is crucial. Today there’s not enough time, but I’ll have my dad make a stock in the afternoon, and the wontons will taste even better tomorrow."

Listening to Zheng Siyuan, Qin Huai was tempted to ask, "Little Master Zheng, are you interested in a job?"

Our dining hall really needs someone with your talent.

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