Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle
Chapter 63 - 56 The key to the problem is finding the key problem.

Chapter 63: Chapter 56 The key to the problem is finding the key problem.

Two bowls of small wontons.

One bowl of wontons has skins puffed up like bubbles, thin as cicada wings, and nearly powdery white, making the wontons in the white porcelain bowl with seaweed and spring onion garnish look like a painting.

The wonton skins in the other bowl are also thin as cicada wings, you can even see the filling through the wrinkled skins, visibly revealing the ingredients. Besides the regular seaweed and spring onion, this bowl in the white porcelain also has dried shrimp and egg skins, making it look vibrant next to the Paopao Dumpling.

Qin Luo, having already eaten two Five Fillings Bun and two Three Meat Buns, gulped crazily.

At this moment, she especially wanted to tell Qin Huai: Brother, I think Brother Zheng is more reliable than Uncle Zheng, why don’t you become Brother Zheng’s apprentice!

"The one on the left is the Paopao Dumpling, and the one on the right is the Zhou Sha Wonton," said Zheng Siyuan. "Both kinds of wontons are for savoring the freshness."

"Because we’re running out of time, the filling and the skin are the same, the Paopao Dumpling is in a lard-based soup with a drop of sesame oil. One bowl is about this amount, pricing is up to you guys."

"Want to taste it?"

As soon as the words were spoken, Qin Luo took action.

A spoonful of a small wonton, delivered into her mouth along with the soup, went down her throat without much chewing.

Qin Luo was almost in tears.

"Mom, Brother Zheng’s wontons taste so much better than yours!"

Zhao Rong, thinking about Qin Luo’s unsettled high school plans, felt a bit like punishing her daughter in front of outsiders.

When the first bowl of Paopao Dumpling and Zhou Sha Wonton was served, it was already 7 AM.

By this time, the first batch of early risers who came for buns had already eaten and gone home. The shop had only a few loyal customers, like Mr. Xu and Mr. Cao, who lived in either the same community or the neighboring one, didn’t have to work, and preferred to pass time chatting and boasting in the restaurant, drinking some handmade lemon tea if they got thirsty.

The shop didn’t have signs for Zhou Sha Wonton and Paopao Dumpling but did for regular wontons and fresh shrimp wontons.

"Sister Xi, go find the fresh shrimp wonton sign and put it up, cover the ’shrimp’ part with cloth, and say it’s a limited-time new wonton promotion," Qin Huai shouted from the kitchen doorway.

This wasn’t the first time the restaurant did such a thing. With so many types of Buckwheat Buns scheduled for the afternoon, it wasn’t practical to make a sign for each one. They all became new buns, limited-time promotions.

Huang Xi understood and went to find the sign.

The grandpas, who had been discussing their grandchildren’s study and work, immediately perked up.

Xu Tuqiang sat up straight instantly and, while Qin Huai was still at the kitchen door, loudly asked, "Master Qin, do you have wontons now?"

Qin Huai was a bit surprised: "Grandpa Xu, this morning you had a bowl of mung bean soup, two baskets of Five Fillings Bun, one basket of Three Meat Buns. Just now while chatting, I saw you drink a glass of homemade lemon tea, a glass of soy milk, and eat a tea egg. Can you still eat wontons?"

Xu Tuqiang was so touched that he almost wanted to post on social media to record this fantastic conversation, loudly saying, "I can eat."

His voice was firm as if he were trying to join a party.

Qin Huai shook his head, indicating he didn’t understand these elderly morning exercisers, and went back to the culinary station to instruct Zheng Siyuan to secretly cook half a serving for Mr. Xu, and make up for it tomorrow to avoid overstuffing him.

After giving instructions, Qin Huai began making Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns again.

Zheng Siyuan started boiling wontons and watched Qin Huai make Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns at the same time.

"Your technique for making Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns is a bit like mine," Zheng Siyuan said, "My skills were taught by my dad, and my dad learned from his master."

"Is that so," Qin Huai replied, "I learned my skills from the Snack Encyclopedia, right, Luoluo?"

"Yes, yes, yes," Qin Luo nodded while eating her bowl, "My brother couldn’t make Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns well before, but he kept making Buckwheat Buns every day some time ago, maybe he got inspired, and suddenly the Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns became super delicious!"

Zheng Siyuan: ...

For some reason, after hearing this story, he felt really annoyed.

These damn naturally gifted people.

"The key to making Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns is the temperature," Qin Huai eagerly shared, "The temperature of the fermented rice, the kneading temperature, and the fermentation temperature are all important. Also, based on my experience, don’t blend the fermented rice in a juicer, manually mash and filter it for better results."

Zheng Siyuan nodded, indicating he learned something and would try it at home when he got the chance.

Around 8 o’clock, Zheng Da, who hadn’t been a pastry chef for many years, arrived at the restaurant, changed clothes, and started work.

At this point, the regulars at Yunzhong Restaurant believed that Qin Huai had hired the two pastry chefs he mentioned earlier.

Everyone expressed high praise for the skills of the two new pastry chefs, saying their food was delicious, loved, and worth sneaking off work to enjoy.

But what everyone didn’t know was that both Master Zhengs quickly encountered the same confusion as Master Qin.

Why couldn’t they make the locust flower buns well?

Zheng Siyuan had the same thought as Zheng Da: Qin Huai’s skills, techniques, and production process had no major problems, but the final product was not at his level.

Simply put, Qin Huai’s level was B~B-grade, under normal circumstances, he should be able to make B~B-grade snacks.

Of course, the deliciousness of snacks depended on their type and recipe, but Qin Huai could undoubtedly make B-grade snacks.

Now, the locust flower buns only had a C~C-grade flavor, indicating there was a problem somewhere.

Not to mention, this bun was made with an S-grade recipe.

There was a big problem.

And the biggest problem now was that they couldn’t find the problem.

In the afternoon, Qin Huai made them again.

This time, Zheng Da and Zheng Siyuan sat down on stools, almost like they were going to record the entire process to watch it frame by frame at home.

Still couldn’t find the problem.

"This shouldn’t be happening," Zheng Da was genuinely troubled by now.

Zheng Da initially thought that with his experience and Zheng Siyuan’s talent, solving a small bun problem would be a breeze.

Now, the father-son duo were caught by the buns.

"Si Yuan, do you have any thoughts?" Zheng Da looked at his son.

Zheng Siyuan hesitated for a moment and asked, "Can I try making them?"

Zheng Da thought this was a great idea. If they couldn’t see the problem, they might as well try making them themselves.

This led to a scene where Qin Huai sat on a small stool watching Zheng Da and Zheng Siyuan make steamed buns.

And the result wasn’t great.

Zheng Siyuan had a massive failure, Zheng Da had a minor one.

All three held a bun, staring into silence.

After a long time, Zheng Da spoke, "How about this."

"Si Yuan, later we’ll go shopping and buy several sets of clothes."

"Let’s extend the hotel for another week."

"I don’t believe I can’t solve this bun in a week!"

Zheng Siyuan: ...

Dad, don’t speak too soon.

Don’t end up with no disciple and unsolved buns.