Chapter 166: Two-Way Rush

Although Zheng Da wanted to stop deboning the pigeons immediately and show off his talent by making a fresh batch of crab roe shumai for Qin Huai on the spot, he held back.

The preparation work for crab roe shumai is extremely complex. If Zheng Da started preparing now, barring any accidents, Qin Huai wouldn't be able to see the finished shumai until evening.

Qin Huai had spent the day traveling, and Zheng Da couldn't bear to have his future precious closing-door disciple stay up late with him.

Zheng Da continued to process the pigeons.

To be fair, as a top-tier pastry chef, Zheng Da's knife skills were also top-tier among pastry chefs. In a sense, he could even be considered a "hexagonal warrior"—his fundamentals in all areas were solid, and his stats were quite high.

Combined with the fact that he hadn't been a professional chef for very long—he had even retired at the peak of his career to go into business—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Zheng Da a genius.

Although, right now, the genius was lacking a bit of dignity, miserably processing pigeons for a closing-door disciple he wasn't even sure he could trick into joining him.

Pigeons really need to be processed carefully; the difficulty is much higher than that of chicken or duck.

Not to mention that Zheng Da had some sort of episode and insisted on showing off his knife skills by deboning the pigeons whole. He botched the first one and tore the skin, so he had to continue deboning the second one to save face.

Qin Huai didn't understand, so he chose to silently boil soup.

Since the video tutorial had nothing worth referencing or learning, Qin Huai mainly relied on his own improvisation to make the Gastrodia elata pigeon stew.

Of course, since someone else had already processed the pigeons, there wasn't much room for improvisation; he just needed to control the heat and stew it properly without messing up.

The Gastrodia elata pigeon stew was sold by the portion, requiring specially customized small crocks. There was a batch in the Huang Ji warehouse that was the perfect size, so they were all organized for Qin Huai to use.

In no time, the entire kitchen was filled with the thick, rich aroma of pigeon soup.

Gong Liang, who had secured a spot for a tasting, had moved from the lobby to the kitchen entrance, craning his neck to look inside.

Even though many people in the Huang Ji kitchen had deep "pastry chef filters" for Qin Huai, they had to admit that this afternoon's Gastrodia elata pigeon stew smelled very average.

It felt no different from the 28-yuan portion of Gastrodia pigeon soup at a small shop outside.

The only difference might be that Qin Huai was generous with the ingredients; a single portion really contained a whole pigeon, along with plenty of Gastrodia elata, and the auxiliary ingredients like goji berries weren't just tossed in for show.

The ingredients were so plentiful that many chefs with a slight understanding of food therapy muttered to themselves that the portions for this stew might be a bit too heavy. Gastrodia, goji berries, red dates, and ginger slices weren't exactly ingredients that enhanced freshness, and using too many might result in a poor flavor.

If Qin Huai could hear their inner thoughts, he would definitely tell them that this wasn't something he could decide—Liu Tao was the one who put in that many ingredients.

That's just how extravagant E-grade Gastrodia elata pigeon stew is.

Two hours later, the stew was ready.

【Gastrodia elata pigeon stew, D+ grade】

It was all D+ grade; not a single portion reached C grade, which showed that Qin Huai's heat control still had a certain distance to go before reaching C grade.

Qin Huai stewed them by headcount—one portion for each kitchen staff member, plus Gong Liang and the lobby manager. Huang Shengli and Huang Anyao were at the hospital for a follow-up, so they weren't there and didn't get any.

Gong Liang was assigned a portion with a very beautiful presentation. Excited, he picked up a spoon, scooped up some soup, blew on it, and became the first person to eat the crab.

It was very average.

That was Gong Liang's first reaction upon tasting the pigeon soup.

Actually, this adjective had been quietly beautified by Gong Liang in his mind. Who was Gong Liang? He was a childhood friend of Zheng Da and Huang Shengli, a former sales department head who had achieved financial freedom at a young age, and had even accomplished the epic feat of eating crab roe shumai made by Master Jing Lixiang every day for a month.

Never mind D+ grade pigeon stew; even if it were the braised whole pig head made by Huang Jia, Gong Liang wouldn't look twice at it if he had other choices.

Gong Liang felt he hadn't had such an average soup in a long time.

It was too average.

If a shopkeeper dared to serve him this kind of soup when he went out to eat, Gong Liang would flip out and curse them.

However, considering this soup was Qin Huai's latest effort, and Qin Huai was a pastry chef by trade, it was normal for him to be unskilled at boiling soup. Besides, Gong Liang had heard about Qin Huai's progress in heat control and knew it was worrying.

After weighing his options, Gong Liang gritted his teeth and finished the entire portion of stew.

He didn't just drink the soup; he finished the pigeon meat and the Gastrodia elata, leaving only the red dates and goji berries.

Gong Liang really didn't like those two things.

After finishing, Gong Liang comforted himself, thinking it was all to encourage Assistant Xiao Qin, and that it was an investment for better dim sum in the future. Sacrificing his taste buds to eat something mediocre now wasn't a loss.

Sigh, if only he had inquired more clearly before rushing over.

Gong Liang sadly went upstairs to the private room and sent a message to Huang Shengli, stating that he had sacrificed a lot this afternoon to avoid crushing Qin Huai's confidence, and strongly demanded that Huang Shengli stir-fry two dishes for him tonight to make up for it.

On the other side, Huang Jia and the manager also agreed after eating that the dish was truly average—so average that it didn't even reach the level to be on the Huang Ji menu.

But considering the cook was Qin Huai, and he had already emphasized that the taste might not be great and that it was food therapy, it wasn't impossible to put on the menu from a medicinal diet perspective.

Ultimately, Huang Jia and the manager decided it could be on the menu, but the price had to be set very low, marketed as a new dish special—at cost, not making any money.

Furthermore, the dish had to have a prefix—

Nourishing Medicinal Diet!

Someone was worried sick about Qin Huai's pigeon stew, but Qin Huai himself didn't care much.

He had emphasized what needed to be emphasized and patched what needed to be patched; Qin Huai felt there was nothing more to say.

Gastrodia elata pigeon stew is considered qualified at E-grade, and D+ grade definitely has a buff. It's just that the buff for this dish has a chance to trigger, and the higher the grade, the higher the chance. The trigger chance for D-grade shouldn't be high; Qin Huai guessed it might not even be 50%.

Therefore, Qin Huai didn't expect it to sell exceptionally well. He felt that as long as it wasn't too terrible, and some diners happened to trigger the buff and find it useful, that was enough.

Improves eyesight and calms the mind; good for the body.

A blessing for office workers and students.

Qin Huai's focus now was on the crab roe shumai.

After unlocking all of Luo Jun's memories, the only targets left for Qin Huai to conquer were Gong Liang and Qu Jing.

Qu Jing was in Shancheng and was a neurologist at a private hospital with a steady job. Qin Huai was in Gusu; with the two of them so far apart, Qin Huai definitely couldn't complete Qu Jing's side quest in the short term.

Not to mention that Qu Jing's side quest still left Qin Huai a bit confused; it was too abstract, with no hints at all.

Previously, Qin Huai had focused on getting close to Qu Jing because Chen Huihong and Luo Jun had both emphasized that Qu Jing's state was very dangerous, and the stranger she acted, the closer she was to her "seventh day" after death.

Now that Qin Huai had discovered Qu Jing's biggest secret of self-harm, and Chen Huihong had indicated that Qu Jing could live for at least another five years in this state, Qu Jing's task didn't seem as urgent as before, so Gong Liang's task could be moved up slightly.

Admittedly, Gong Liang wasn't urgent at all.

Their gold-medal salesman, Mr. Gong, wasn't even in his final life; he even had a high probability of successfully crossing his tribulation without Qin Huai's intervention.

But Qin Huai had run into him, hadn't he?

Not to mention that Gong Liang's task was so simple—specifically asking to eat crab roe shumai—that not working hard to complete it would be a disservice to such a straightforward task.

Moreover, since Gong Liang had been financially free for so many years, Qin Huai felt it was necessary to strive for 10% of Gong Liang's inheritance.

On the first day Assistant Xiao Qin returned to his post, the Huang Ji kitchen staff had breakfast once again.

Breakfast was longevity noodles. Hand-kneaded noodles, chicken soup, a beautiful day starting with a bowl of delicious noodles.

Gong Liang was very certain of this statement.

"Slurp."

After Gong Liang finished his third bowl of longevity noodles, the late-arriving Huang Anyao rushed into the kitchen and was shocked to see Gong Liang sitting on a small stool, holding a bowl and eating noodles at the kitchen entrance.

"Uncle Gong, why are you here?"

Heavens, who let Gong Liang in? He was a key surveillance target for the Huang Ji kitchen.

Gong Liang pretended to be dissatisfied and said, "Anyao, what do you mean by that? You don't welcome your Uncle Gong? It's a pity I held you so many times when you were a child, gave you red envelopes every year, and bought you so many toys and new clothes. I really wasted my affection on you."

Huang Anyao hurriedly explained, "That's not what I meant. I just find it a bit strange that you would come to Huang Ji so early, Uncle Gong, and... and even be eating noodles."

"Assistant Xiao Qin invited me personally." Gong Liang said proudly, "You think Assistant Xiao Qin is like you? Seeing me like a mouse seeing a cat, wanting to turn around and run. Assistant Xiao Qin is very enthusiastic. He sent me a WeChat last night saying the afternoon's pigeon stew wasn't done well and asked if I had time to come to Huang Ji for breakfast this morning."

"Anyao, you should learn from Assistant Xiao Qin. You're going to take over Huang Ji in the future; be more tactful. If your dad or Zheng Da secretly cook something good, tell me immediately, and I'll come over right away."

Huang Anyao:...

Is there a possibility that my dad and Master Zheng Da only cook secretly for you?

Huang Anyao could only mumble perfunctorily, letting Gong Liang continue to sit at the kitchen entrance slurping noodles, while he went inside to have a bowl himself and ask Dong Shi, who was the most well-informed, what exactly was going on.

How did Gong Liang end up sitting at the Huang Ji kitchen entrance eating while he was accompanying his own father to the hospital for a follow-up?

This progress was too fast. Huang Shengli had another follow-up next month. Huang Anyao was afraid that when he returned from accompanying Huang Shengli next month, Gong Liang would be sitting directly inside the kitchen eating.

Dong Shi had already obtained first-hand intelligence from Qin Huai.

Gong Liang was invited by Qin Huai, and Qin Huai was prepared for Gong Liang to sit in the Huang Ji kitchen every morning for breakfast.

He was even prepared for Gong Liang to push his luck at any time, asking Qin Huai to cook secretly for him in the afternoon and make some delicious dim sum.

Qin Huai had told Huang Jia about this in advance, and Huang Jia indicated that as long as Qin Huai didn't mind, Gong Liang could sit at the kitchen entrance if he wanted to.

As long as he didn't come inside to eat.

That was Huang Ji's bottom line.

After all, for the sake of food hygiene and health in the kitchen, even the young proprietor Huang Anyao couldn't come in to eat without changing clothes.

Before Qin Huai arrived, Huang Anyao also ate at the entrance. It was only after Qin Huai arrived and Huang Anyao had to enter the kitchen more often that he developed the habit of going to the changing room to change clothes before entering the kitchen.

And those who knew Qin Huai knew that he was a chef who didn't mind cooking secretly for friends.

Not just for non-human friends, but even for human friends like Ouyang, Grandma Ding, and Old Man Wang—who were 100% human—Qin Huai didn't mind cooking secretly every now and then.

After all, Qin Huai's culinary skills were practiced by cooking secretly. If it weren't for Luo Luo insisting on eating whatever she saw over the years, where would Qin Huai have gotten the motivation to learn over 200 types of dim sum?

According to the menu of the Qin family breakfast shop, Qin Huai being able to make over 20 kinds of steamed buns was already an act of innovation.

Now Qin Huai wanted to conquer Gong Liang, and Gong Liang wanted to conquer Qin Huai; in a sense, the two were already rushing toward each other. Qin Huai threw out a slight olive branch, and Gong Liang climbed up the vine.

Gong Liang left after breakfast, presumably having work to deal with. Qin Huai worked normally in the morning, and besides making dim sum, he stewed 112 portions of Gastrodia elata pigeon stew.

Thanks to the enthusiastic promotion by the neighbors, the 112 portions were snatched up by diners at noon. Many diners who came specifically to pack dim sum also packed a portion of the pigeon stew to support Qin Huai's new dish, a heart-warming gesture.

Huang Jia and the manager's food therapy strategy also made preliminary progress. Although the taste of the pigeon stew was not satisfactory and below Huang Ji's passing level, with the medicinal diet as a cushion, the vast majority of diners chose to accept it and insincerely stated that as a medicinal diet, the taste was already quite good.

Assistant Xiao Qin was truly thoughtful, fearing that everyone would hurt their bodies by consuming too many carbohydrates and sugars from eating too much dim sum, so he specially prepared a medicinal diet.

Qin Huai's lunch was, as usual, a staff meal cooked secretly by Huang Jia.

Shortly after finishing lunch, Zheng Da arrived.

Zheng Da brought Qin Huai some good news.

Huang Shengli's follow-up yesterday was very ideal, and the doctor arranged a full set of physical therapy for him. Huang Shengli had to stay in the hospital for physical therapy for the next two days and was forbidden from approaching the kitchen, so Zheng Da would temporarily take over the important work of guiding Qin Huai.

And Zheng Da himself considered himself an unworldly master.

Zheng Da stated that the previous teaching was a misunderstanding—that it was just casual teaching and hadn't shown his true level at all. Now, he would bring out 120% of his effort and enthusiasm to let Qin Huai see what a true gold-medal master was.

What did Huang Shengli know about teaching apprentices?

Zheng Da wasn't trying to step on Huang Shengli, but his apprentices—he had taken in quite a few, a full nine—and not one of them was capable.

The one with the best skills was the eldest disciple, Huang Jia, and in terms of talent, he was only slightly better than an ordinary chef, hardly a genius. The youngest apprentice, Dong Shi, had decent talent, but Dong Shi was "inconsiderate"—too full of his own ideas—so he couldn't be considered a good apprentice either.

Unlike him; although he had only taught one apprentice in all these years, and it was his own son, his son was promising!

His son, Zheng Siyuan, was a famous and renowned genius in the pastry chef circle.

What? You say many pastry chefs don't know Zheng Siyuan?

That's because Siyuan is low-key; he doesn't participate in culinary exchange meetings, nor has he gone to big restaurants to apprentice or exchange ideas. How could he make a name for himself while holed up at the entrance of a residential complex?

What? You ask how Zheng Siyuan could be a recognized genius in the pastry circle?

Please, he, Zheng Da, was already a famous genius in the pastry circle. He had personally admitted his son was a genius, so how could his son not be a genius?

What? You say he, Zheng Da, isn't very famous in the chef circle either, and many people don't know him, thinking he's just a businessman selling dim sum?

Nonsense, absurd, rumors! What do they know about chefs!

This time, the self-proclaimed gold-medal master Zheng Da brought his crab roe shumai teaching.

"Xiao Qin, I really appreciate that you want to learn crab roe shumai; there aren't many young people willing to learn this dish now. You've come to the right person to learn from. To tell you the truth, one of the most famous dim sum dishes my master had back then was crab roe shumai. If you don't believe me, go ask Gong Liang. After he became the head of the sales department, he ate crab roe shumai at the state-run restaurant for a whole month. He knows best!"

"There are two types of fillings for this crab roe shumai; let me give you a basic introduction first."

Qin Huai answered preemptively: "Siyuan mentioned this to me before. One is the real crab roe shumai with fresh shrimp meat and crab roe, and the other is the substitute version with fresh shrimp meat and egg yolk."

Zheng Da shook his head.

Qin Huai:?

"Siyuan is talking about the crab roe shumai sold on the market now, but when my master made crab roe shumai at the state-run restaurant back then, there was no substitute version with egg yolk. At that time, egg yolk was much more expensive than crab; how could we use egg yolk to substitute for crab?" Zheng Da explained.

"The two types of fillings I'm talking about: one is based on shrimp meat, mixed with crab meat and crab roe, seasoned, and then steamed. The preparation work for this filling is relatively simple, but the seasoning difficulty is extremely high. It's hard to balance the ratio between crab meat and shrimp meat. If not done well—in your words—it's a serious disaster. It either tastes extremely fishy, or you can't taste the shrimp and crab meat at all, only the heavy taste of the seasonings."

"The other type is relatively much lower in seasoning difficulty, but the production process is very complex. Its filling needs to be stewed in advance. After steaming the crab, you dismantle the crab meat, boil the crab oil, and stew the crab meat, crab roe, lean meat, chicken soup, gelatin, and bone soup together, like stewing a high-quality broth. Although the steps for this crab roe shumai are cumbersome, the quality control can be guaranteed, and it's not easy to mess up."

"Of course, in terms of the cost back then, the cost of the second type would be much higher than the first."

"Then which method was used for the crab roe shumai that Mr. Gong ate at the state-run restaurant for a month?" Qin Huai asked.

"Of course, the first type. The year Gong Liang became a department head, could he afford to eat crab roe shumai stewed with chicken soup, lean meat, and bone soup every meal? If he hadn't been my master's neighbor, my master wouldn't have made such difficult crab roe shumai for him for a month. The seasoning alone would torture a person to death. Back then, searching the whole city, I guess only my master dared to make the first type."

"Then can I learn the first type first?" Qin Huai asked, "I'm not good at stewing high-quality broth, and you know my level of heat control, but I have confidence in my seasoning."

"I want to learn the first type."

"Good!" Zheng Da indicated that he had the same intention. How could he show off his level by making the second type?

Of course, he had to challenge the high difficulty!

He was worthy of being the closing-door disciple he had his eye on; they had a tacit understanding, a meeting of minds!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 167 =====