Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle

There's no need for a preset way to eat it. When you start to savor this dish bite by bite, in your heart you'll find the best way to enjoy it.

Qin Huai didn't hesitate. He picked up the bowl and scooped up a big spoonful, without caring whether every ingredient was in the spoon or not, and just sent the whole thing into his mouth along with the broth.

Hmm~

Such a fresh and delicious taste, such a strong scent of the sea.

The salty and savory flavor from the seafood is almost contained in this tiny spoonful. The broth made of clear soup and shrimp oil perfectly neutralizes the potential fishiness and saltiness from the large amount of seafood.

This dish requires so many ingredients: abalone, shark fin, sea cucumber, dried scallops, shrimp meat, dried shrimp, ham, all essential not just for piling on ingredients or jacking up the price, but because each has its purpose.

It must have so many ingredients, must be so fresh, must have such a rich taste, must be so layered that each bite offers multifaceted flavors. The more you chew, the more lingering and memorable it becomes. Even when all the ingredients are mixed in the mouth, laid out on the tongue, making it hard for the taste buds to distinguish, it's not important.

It's tasty, its rich layers, its texture, its flavor speak for themselves.

Of course, perhaps reducing some ingredients might create a unique taste, making individual flavors stand out more, making the taste less mixed and perhaps better. But hasn't Qin Huai only had this one version?

As Cao Guixiang said, as long as your skill level is high enough, reaching the pinnacle, there's reason in any way of doing things.

Just like the mixed fruit filling glutinous rice balls made by Jiang Wei, the ingredients are absurdly abundant, but it doesn't matter. The absurdity has its reason, as some great scholar defends it with theology.

Qin Huai was already enchanted by the dish. He didn't even want to eat other dishes, just wanted to relish the soup-filled Yellow Fish again.

But he was a bit embarrassed to scoop another spoonful. Earlier, Cao Guixiang had given him a very large ladleful. There was only one Yellow Fish on the table, and yet so many people. This dish was obviously the highlight, the main attraction. If he ate too much, wouldn't that be a bit...?

Cao Guixiang immediately saw what Qin Huai was thinking, not giving him a chance to hesitate, she stood up directly and snatched Qin Huai's bowl, giving him two more ladles.

"Xiao Qin, this wild Yellow Fish is hard to come by, you should eat more," Cao Guixiang said.

Qin Huai took the bowl with an embarrassed chuckle and buried his head in eating.

Hehe, the soup-filled Yellow Fish is really delicious.

Slurp.

Ah, if he'd known it would be this good, he would've brought Luoluo back with him. Skipping a couple of days of classes wouldn't have mattered. Qin Luo has been studying quite diligently lately. Using such a dish as a carrot dangling ahead, Qin Luo would surely put in all his effort into studying.

Indeed, it must be because of Huai's lack of culinary skills over the years that Luoluo has not shown much enthusiasm for studying.

No, it's not his fault. Luoluo simply didn't like studying since he was a child. It's mainly because he didn't like reading.

"Brother Huai, have some braised shark fin."

Just as Qin Huai was eating and contemplating how to help Qin Luo transform from a poor student, Zhang Zhiyun very ingratiatingly served Qin Huai a ladle of braised shark fin.

"If you don't eat it, Qingqing will finish it. I specifically told her to save you a ladle. She almost forgot," Zhang Zhiyun snitched.

Chang Qingqing:?! Betraying me?

"You clearly ate the most, and Grandma wouldn't let you mix rice with the soup-filled Yellow Fish, so you're dying to use braised shark fin with rice," Chang Qingqing angrily protested, raising her voice to complain, "Grandma, Zhang Zhiyun only scored 108 in the math monthly test this time, and I scored 112!"

Qin Huai: ...

If he remembers correctly, the full score for junior high math is 120, right? If this counts as a bad score, then Qin Luo's math before...

Qin Huai glanced at Zhang Zhiyun and Chang Qingqing, feeling that indeed people's joys and sorrows cannot be communicated. If Qin Luo had scored 108 in math in the third year of junior high, the whole family would have laughed in their sleep. Indeed, those who eat snacks can't compare to those having feasts at home.

Cao Guixiang deliberately said with a stern face, "Yunyun indeed got slack, weren't you scoring 115 regularly before? Don't forget the bet you made with Grandma. How many points do you have to score in the final exams to eat braised shark fin rice for three consecutive days? Don't blame it on not reaching the score, and only watching Qingqing eat braised shark fin and Big Black Sea Cucumber while you cry on the side."

Zhang Zhiyun: QAQ

Zhang Zhiyun quietly asked Qin Huai, "Brother Huai, when will you come back next time? Could you tell Grandma you want to eat braised shark fin when you come back next? You love braised shark fin, don't you?"

Qin Huai noted Zhang Zhiyun's scheming nature but not enough, he seriously put on a regretful expression and shook his head, "That can't be guaranteed. You know, I'm usually in Shan City. I'll probably return at the end of the year."

Zhang Zhiyun: QAQ!

Zhang Zhiyun sadly ate braised shark fin over rice.

After the meal, Zhang Chu took his son and daughter to the next-door neighbor's house to get snacks. The snacks brought by Qin Huai were distributed fairly, divided into three parts: one for Zhang Chu and Cao Guixiang, one for Zhang Chiyuan's family, and one for Zhang Siyu's family.

While counting the snacks, Zhang Chu discovered that the neighbor had secretly stashed away 2 bags of Four Happiness glutinous rice, 1 bag of Three Meat Buns, and 1 bag of fermented rice with steamed buns. The neighbor denied it vehemently, claiming they only hid 1 bag of each, and Zhang Chu's accusation of 2 bags of Four Happiness glutinous rice was slanderous.

Both parties argued for 5 minutes, until the neighbor's grandson confessed. Last night, he got too greedy, got up at midnight and secretly cooked a bag of Four Happiness glutinous rice and ate it all.

The neighbor was furious, saying the boy dared eat all 12 of them alone, not afraid of bursting his stomach. No wonder he made excuses about being late for school and took his breakfast to-go, it was because he was too full to eat. This made the neighbor angry enough to spank the grandson on the spot.