CHAPTER 547: CHAPTER 295: PROFESSIONAL (PART 2)

Qin Huai: ... ?

So, what does it actually taste like? Give me some words, President Han, give me some words!

Is it inevitable that all clients worldwide are dissatisfied with the plan but can’t provide any feedback?

Han Guishan quietly finished a pickled vegetable dumpling, sat back somewhat disappointed without eating the rest, and waited to try other dishes.

The dishes on Zang Mu’s side were ending.

Zang Liang, sensing the smell of gossip, sneaked away from his master to Qin Huai’s side and asked quietly, "What’s up? Is there a problem with the food?"

"Nothing wrong with the food. Tomorrow’s dishes have long been tested." Qin Huai pointed to the pickled vegetable dumpling. "President Han wanted to try pickled vegetable dumplings, so I gave it a shot, but it seems it’s not quite to his taste."

"Can you eat it? If you can, help me taste it." For a moment, Qin Huai even questioned his own skills in making coarse grain dishes.

It shouldn’t be, after all, he is the Buckwheat Noodle Prince; he shouldn’t mess up with cornmeal.

Zang Liang eagerly tried the dish, grabbed a pickled vegetable dumpling and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing hard.

Pickled vegetable dumplings are made with firm dough, much harder to chew than normal pastries. People who like chewy dough may enjoy it, but others find it too tiring for the jaw.

Evidently, Zang Liang doesn’t often eat such chewy food and took a long time to swallow.

After swallowing, Zang Liang gave a very fair assessment, "Not bad."

"Even though it doesn’t taste great, it is just a firm dough of cornmeal mixed with pickled vegetables. To make it taste like this is already quite good. The texture is fine and not coarse, it has the sweetness of cornmeal and the salty spiciness of the pickles. It’s okay to eat as an ordinary snack, how else could you make such a snack taste better?"

Hearing Zang Liang say this, Qin Huai felt a warmth in his heart.

"I’ll bring one for my master to try."

With Qin Huai’s nod of agreement, Zang Liang took another pickled vegetable dumpling and rushed over to Zang Mu, saying something that Qin Huai could lip-read as: Master, help Qin Huai taste this pickled vegetable dumpling or something like that.

Zang Mu, with no free hands, had the dumpling pushed into his mouth by Zang Liang, almost choking him.

Zang Mu could only manage the fire control while frantically chewing, unable to swallow, and signaled Zang Liang to fetch him a cup of water.

It wasn’t that the pickled vegetable dumpling was hard to swallow; Zang Mu just took too big a bite. After all, with the dumpling so close, it’s hard to resist biting off a big chunk.

After eating the first bite, Zang Mu quietly murmured a few words to Zang Liang, indicating that he could place the dumpling on the side dish and that he would eat it himself without being fed.

Zang Liang put down the dumpling and ran back to Qin Huai, discreetly whispering, with an uncharacteristic low voice and a hand over his mouth, "My master said your pickled vegetable dumplings are quite good, and it’s hard to make them taste any better."

"He told you not to mind what President Han said; some clients are like that, offering random, bizarre opinions just to make things difficult. Just ignore them."

Qin Huai: ...

It seems that the usually silent Zang Mu is a chef with quite a story to tell.

How many demanding clients has he encountered during his catering jobs to be able to offer such experienced comfort?

Not far away, having just plated and served his dishes, Tong De Yan glanced at Zang Liang, who was whispering, and frowned slightly.

The dishes on Tong De Yan’s side were first to be plated.

Qin Huai vaguely remembered that tomorrow’s birthday banquet would feature big dishes like pork knuckles, but with limited time for tasting this afternoon, and since Tong De Yan only arrived in A City this afternoon and didn’t have time for meal prep, he couldn’t make dishes that require long braising or simmering.

During lunch, Cheng Gong mentioned that after tasting the dishes in the afternoon, Qin Huai and Zang Liang could return to their tasks, but Tong De Yan needed to stay in the Imperial Restaurant’s kitchen for further preparations.

Tong De Yan is a chef from Beiping Eight Treasures House. When Han Guishan visited Beiping, he tasted his dishes and was very pleased and confident in Tong De Yan’s skills. The tasting today afternoon was mainly for Qin Huai and Zang Mu, and involving Tong De Yan was just a precaution not to upset this eccentric master chef by excluding him.

It’s known in the industry that Tong De Yan has a bad temper, even food enthusiasts like Han Guishan are aware.

Tong De Yan cooked four dishes: Sweet and Sour Carp, Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallions, Oil-Braised Shrimps, and Double-Crispy Stir-fry, with the latter being a famous Shandong stir-fry dish that Tong De Yan just flash-fried.

These four dishes were timed to be served around the same time so they could be tasted together. Qin Huai suspected that Tong De Yan chose these dishes to showcase his excellent timing skills.

And timed they were indeed.

Good timing in banquet dishes is an added bonus.

One wonders how many banquets Tong De Yan must have cooked to fine-tune his timing so precisely. Cheng Gong certainly picked the right person for the head chef position, a gold-star assistant whose value keeps rising.

From afar, Qin Huai gazed at the freshly plated dishes with a look of desire.

He truly wanted to eat them.

While at Huang Ji’s, Qin Huai had many big and good dishes, mostly consisting of Huaiyang cuisine. Huang Shengli knew some Shandong cuisine, but surely none could compare to a master like Tong De Yan.

During his time with Cao Guixiang’s family, Qin Huai had authentic Tan Family Cuisine, but mostly enjoyed home-cooked meals.

From the four dishes made by Tong De Yan, aside from the Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallions and Oil-Braised Shrimps that Qin Huai had tasted at Cao Guixiang’s, the other two were not only unseen but never tasted.

Watching from afar, Cheng Gong could tell Qin Huai wanted to try the dishes too, and was about to inform Han Guishan and graciously invite Qin Huai and Han Guishan to have a taste when Tong De Yan acted first.

Tong De Yan disregarded his freshly made dishes and headed straight to Qin Huai, stopping by the plate of pickled vegetable dumplings.

"I’d like to try too," Tong De Yan said expressionlessly. His tone was calm, with no fluctuations.

Yet Qin Huai inexplicably picked up a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone, as though accusing them of excluding him from their little group.

Qin Huai: ?

Was their little group so obvious? Did Tong De Yan realize it from so far away?

"Help yourself," Qin Huai said quickly. "Do you want a bun? How about some steamed bun? Rice balls... oh no, Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls?"

Upon hearing Qin Huai’s enthusiastic offer, Tong De Yan’s demeanor softened substantially. Although one couldn’t see any visible change, it was evident his mood improved greatly.

"Sure," Tong De Yan said.

Qin Huai brought out the hidden Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns, Three Meat Buns, and Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Balls for Tong De Yan, all of which were warm and ready to eat.

"Um... Master Tong, can I try your newly made dishes?" Qin Huai asked.

Already munching on a pickled vegetable dumpling, Tong De Yan muttered indistinctly, "You should ask President Han about that."

It was clear that Tong De Yan was a professional banquet chef.

Qin Huai walked over to Han Guishan and asked straightforwardly. Han Guishan, who was busy eating the Double-Crispy Stir-fry, didn’t answer verbally but handed Qin Huai a pair of chopsticks, along with a bowl, implying he could eat freely.

Having given chopsticks and a bowl to Qin Huai, Han Guishan didn’t forget to do the same for Cheng Gong. The three of them stood in a row, starting to eat.

Qin Huai and Han Guishan happily ate together, chatting about how delicious the dishes were, making Cheng Gong, who was beside them, feel quite constrained like a typical worker.

He indeed was just a worker.

Watching from the side, Zang Liang was astounded, feeling that in the next moment, Han Guishan and Qin Huai would become brothers.

Zang Liang was completely bewildered. He wanted to directly complain to Tong De Yan, opened his mouth, then held back, and quietly whispered to Zang Mu beside him, "Master."

"Is this how tasting is supposed to be? Can chefs eat with the boss?"

Zang Mu replied calmly, "President Han doesn’t mind."

Then Zang Mu raised his head to quietly glance at Qin Huai and Han Guishan, noticing Han Guishan was already passing a plate for Qin Huai to discard the shrimp shells.

Qin Huai, holding both the plate and a bowl, returned with a Fermented Rice with Steamed Bun for Han Guishan, telling President Han to ease up and that buns taste better with the dishes.

"Qin Huai... probably doesn’t understand."

"Didn’t Tan Wei’an say he’s purely self-taught?"

"And he runs a community canteen himself, as the boss he doesn’t need to know these things."

"Zang Liang, come back here; you are not allowed to go eat!"