Qin Huai sent a message to Luo Jun.
Qin Huai: Mr. Luo, I have arrived in Gusu. On the way here, I looked into delivery services from Gusu to Shan City. If you ever want to drink Dried Tangerine Peel Tea in the future, you can hire a delivery service using planes and high-speed trains. Gastrodia stewed pigeon can be delivered too.
Luo Jun: I understand.
The two of them ended their brief exchange, tacitly avoiding mentioning the matter of spending 100,000 RMB to hire Bingbingzi to paint a portrait of Liu Tao.
Qin Huai knew there would be no new portraits in Luo Jun’s display room.
After quickly eating some fruit, Qin Huai glanced at the time and found it was only 3 PM, so he could go take a look around Huang Ji.
He was just idle with nothing else to do.
Qin Huai left, and as soon as he stepped outside, he ran into a neighbor who recognized him.
This neighbor was unknown to Qin Huai and was a regular customer at Huang Ji. Usually, when Qin Huai was making snacks at Huang Ji, he wouldn’t go into the main dining hall, so he didn’t really know the customers.
"Master Qin, you’re back from your hometown." The neighbor greeted warmly, joy overflowing, "Tonight you..."
"I’m resting today, back to normal work tomorrow." Qin Huai replied.
The neighbor seemed a bit disappointed, but nodded understandingly. Master Qin had traveled all the way back and wanted to rest for half a day, which was quite normal. You couldn’t expect him to work right away as it would be too inhumane.
"By the way, tomorrow I might introduce a new stewed soup, Gastrodia stewed pigeon. The taste is average, but it’s good for the eyes and calming, a nourishing dish. If you’re interested, you’re welcome to try it at Huang Ji." Qin Huai thought for a moment, deciding to promote his new dish to the neighbors.
Qin Huai knew that his dishes at Yunzhong Restaurant would have no trouble selling. Even the Seven Spice Dampness Removing Tea, as long as he cooked it himself, loyal diners would buy a bowl while tearing up, drink it in front of him, and then place an order for freshly made lemon tea.
But Huang Ji was not Yunzhong Restaurant. Huang Ji had highly skilled meat chefs. The Dried Tangerine Peel Tea, which was all the rage at Yunzhong Restaurant, barely managed to sell out daily at Huang Ji. Without any taste-enhancing buffs, the D+ level Gastrodia stewed pigeon worried Qin Huai it might face a Waterloo.
Becoming the least popular dish Master Qin had ever sold at Huang Ji.
That’s why Qin Huai added a word, gently promoting his new dish to the enthusiastic neighbor who recognized him.
However, Qin Huai clearly underestimated his influence in this neighborhood.
And also slightly underestimated the popularity of Huang Ji’s chefs.
Qin Huai had just walked into Huang Ji’s kitchen when news spread through Huang Ji’s diner circle that Master Qin was back from Shan City and would launch a new nourishing soup tomorrow.
Qin Huai was still discussing with Huang Jia whether to have Dong Shi or Dong Li handle the pigeon processing for tomorrow when Gong Liang, who had just finished lunch at Huang Ji, rushed over as soon as he heard the news.
Zheng Da was showing Qin Huai that, although he was a pastry chef, he also knew something about meat cooking. Handling pigeons was just right for him to do. He wasn’t only skilled on the pastry side but also good with fire control and excellent with knife skills. Volunteering to handle the pigeons, he began to butcher the plump pigeons when Gong Liang arrived.
Seeing the chaotic scene before him, Qin Huai felt this was not the situation he imagined.
Zheng Da was processing the pigeons.
While doing so, he stated that although Huang Shengli was skilled in meat cooking, teaching might not be his strong suit. Zheng Da felt he never had the space to showcase his talents in previous years, but now he was ready for the world to see his skills.
Zheng Da wanted to replace Huang Shengli in teaching fire control tomorrow afternoon.
Huang Jia was assessing the quality of the pigeons, and Qin Huai couldn’t tell which type of pigeon would be best for Gastrodia stewed pigeon—fat, big, small, skinny, gray, or white pigeons—he was at a loss.
Huang Jia thought, since it couldn’t be determined, why not try them all? This afternoon would be a trial for tomorrow’s new menu.
Huang Ji had pigeon dishes, so the kitchen naturally had pigeons prepared. While Huang Jia felt Junior Master Zheng might have gone a bit crazy, he proceeded with strict quality control.
Huang Ji’s headwaiter and Huang An Yao were squatting by the back kitchen door, pointing at everything happening inside and incidentally setting a price for Gastrodia stewed pigeon.
Dong Shi was at the front, eating melon seeds and watching the drama.
Wang Jun kind of wanted to try handling pigeon tasks himself, thinking if he was going to assist Qin Huai, he wanted to do something professionally aligned.
Dong Li was searching if Gastrodia stewed pigeon genuinely improved eyesight and calmed the nerves. If the effects were insufficient, would their restaurant be accused of false advertising?
Gong Liang was sitting in the main hall, having heard that Qin Huai was trying a new dish, he strongly requested to be the new dish tasting officer, claiming he had contributed and invested in Huang Ji, so it wouldn’t be too much to take the first bite?
Actually, Qin Huai wanted to ask Zheng Da about Crab Dumplings.
Yes, in this situation, all Qin Huai could think about was Crab Dumplings.
His eagerness to undertake tasks was touching.
But looking at the chaotic scene, Qin Huai felt it might be inappropriate to ask about Crab Dumplings at this time.
Zheng Da was still showcasing his knife skills.
Although Qin Huai couldn’t quite see it, he wondered why Zheng Da insisted on deboning a pigeon when Gastrodia stewed pigeon didn’t require deboning.
Deboning for Dezhou Roasted Chicken was something that only appeared in the works of unprofessional food writers. That’s because the writer, not having done their research, wrote the Chapter first and then found out that Dezhou Roasted Chicken didn’t need deboning, so they had to publish it while justifying it afterward.
Using deboned pigeons for Gastrodia stewed pigeon, was this dish becoming too advanced?
Qin Huai looked at Zheng Da, thought for a moment, and organized his words in his mind.
"Master... Zheng, I have a question I’d like to ask you."
"Do you know how to make Crab Dumplings? I’ve been very interested in this dish lately and want to learn."
My good disciple, whatever you wish to learn, the master will teach it all to you!
Zheng Da’s eyes watered, his voice exceptionally resolute: "Of course, I know!"
"To be honest, what I’m most skilled at is Crab Dumplings!"