Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle

Chapter 1336: Xia Mubing Side Story (Part 3)

Qin Huai’s suggestion deeply moved Xia Mubing. Xia Mubing had various concerns and didn’t want to reunite with Jiang Weiguo, or, perhaps, he was both yearning for Taifeng Building to reopen and fearing it reopening. Yet, his desire to meet old acquaintances was genuine.

At this age, having the chance to reunite with old acquaintances is indeed a rare life event.

Even though Xia Mubing had already reunited with two reincarnated old friends, he still wanted to see for himself how Jiang Weiguo was doing now.

Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng’an came to Beiping this time both to pay New Year’s wishes to Xia Mubing and to spend the Lantern Festival with him. Now that the three of them had chatted and eaten some appetizers, it was only natural for Qin Huai to show Xia Mubing a taste of New Year flavor from Master Qin—

Making Fuling Cake.

Zhao Cheng’an also wanted to showcase his progress during this time to his senior brother—

A significant improvement in his appetite.

During the New Year, Zhao Cheng’an ate snacks every day at Qin Family Village until he was full, spending time day and night with Dang Kang. His appetite improved a bit, and the speed of this progress was much faster than his culinary skills.

Zhang Guanghang, after checking the rooms where Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng’an would be staying over these days, had just walked in from the backyard of Fen Garden when he saw Qin Huai making Fuling Cake. Xia Mubing was sitting in a chair eating with a smile, and Zhao Cheng’an was standing on the side gobbling them down.

Even though he was mentally prepared, Zhang Guanghang still found it a bit hard to adapt to his master’s so loving demeanor.

What to say, Zhang Guanghang felt that his master was better off expressionless with a stern face. Such a kind master always gave him the illusion that the master would be swindled by two tricksters and lose all his assets at any moment.

"Master, I’ve checked the rooms, and everything’s fine. I put two extra pillows in each room, both high and low ones, and they’re all new. Rubber and buckwheat pillows are also ready, in the cabinet in the small eastern room," Zhang Guanghang said.

Xia Mubing nodded, beckoning Zhang Guanghang over: "Xiao Hang, come and have some Fuling Cake. In the early years, about 70 years ago, eating Fuling Cake was very popular during New Year in Beiping."

Zhang Guanghang stepped forward quickly, looking at the freshly baked and still warm Fuling Cake on the plate.

With Qin Huai’s current skills, it was really hard to find flaws in the appearance of the snacks he made. Of course, there were no complaints about the taste either.

Now, Qin Huai’s snacks were of a very mature textbook style. The snacks he made were exactly what they should look like in textbooks. If the snacks in the textbooks were different from Qin Huai’s, then surely there was a problem with the textbooks, which needed to be revised.

As a born and bred Sino-French mix, who spoke standard Beiping dialect since childhood, Zhang Guanghang naturally had eaten Fuling Cake.

As an adult, Zhang Guanghang didn’t particularly like sweet things; to be accurate, he didn’t like overly sweet foods. He liked those with a bit of sweetness but not too much, with a subtle texture and a unique style, sweet but not cloying, and yet couldn’t be entirely without sweetness.

Fuling Cake clearly didn’t fit his aesthetic; in Zhang Guanghang’s view, most of the Fuling Cake sold in Beiping was too sweet, and the cakes weren’t thin enough.

Now, the Fuling Cake on the plate was evidently thin enough.

A hint of doubt flashed in Zhang Guanghang’s eyes.

He actually had no issues with Qin Huai. Compared to Zhao Cheng’an, Qin Huai hadn’t deceived Xia Mubing much, just getting a few houses and a quadrangle courtyard. Qin Huai didn’t communicate much with Xia Mubing under normal circumstances, and he certainly didn’t drag Xia Mubing into late-night WeChat chats. Moreover, compared to Zhao Cheng’an, Qin Huai’s pastry skills were clearly superior, although his aesthetic had some issues. Zhang Guanghang still didn’t understand why Qin Huai insisted on making that unappetizing potato dumpling, but his attitude toward Qin Huai himself remained positive.

Zhang Guanghang vaguely remembered that Qin Huai’s skills last time didn’t seem to be this good.

While Yam Cake was undoubtedly delicious, it wasn’t something one couldn’t find faults in.

But the Fuling Cake before him...

Could Fuling Cake be Qin Huai’s signature snack?

It’s astonishing that a snack master’s signature item could be such a simple, every-day treat.

Zhang Guanghang picked up a Fuling Cake and took a bite.

The Fuling Cake was very thin, tasting almost like paper. Freshly baked, it was still warm, and as he bit into it, the cake was crispy, possessing a unique flavor, consistent with Zhang Guanghang’s taste for distinctive styled snacks.

The filling was sweet, simple yet pure, reminiscent of every Fuling Cake he had tasted before. The texture inclined toward soft candy, like thick honey, occasionally interspersed with bits of nuts, and the mouthfeel was pleasant.

Normally, Zhang Guanghang wouldn’t like such sweet snacks. Out of respect for his master, eating one was his limit.

However, today, while savoring this seemingly ordinary yet unique treat, before he knew it, he finished one and found himself wanting more, instinctively reaching for a second Fuling Cake.

By the time Zhang Guanghang realized it, he had already consumed three Fuling Cakes.

Xia Mubing chuckled beside him: "Xiao Hang, you haven’t had this many sweets in years. I remember you loved sweets as a child; every winter, you’d clamor for candied haws, always ending up with sugar all over your face. Once during New Year, nougat was all the rage, and you ate more than two pounds in a day. Ever since then, you haven’t eaten much sweets."