AGN -Chapter 370 Is It Really That Delicious

By the time Zang Liang and the others returned to Yunzhong Canteen, they just happened to catch the final batch of crab-roe pork buns made by Qin Huai.

Every single batch was A-grade.

Qin Huai felt like he was getting a bit addicted—he simply couldn’t stop.

When he was first researching the double crab bun, he always felt something was off here and wrong there. He couldn’t find the balance, and the result kept turning out strange and awkward. But he could never figure out the reason, which eventually made him feel slightly resistant to making it.

So every day, he only made a small amount of the double crab buns—just a quick taste, about twenty or so at a time, carefully controlling the quantity.

This directly resulted in very few people actually getting to participate in the tasting.

The kitchen staff naturally all took part in the tastings, since Qin Huai needed to ask for different opinions during the process. Most of the waiters also tried them, as well as the elderly regulars—uncle and aunt customers who were familiar with Qin Huai, whose names he could even remember.

Beyond that, there was almost no one else.

Ordinary diners and office workers with limited time nearby rarely managed to get a taste of the double crab buns.

This meant that most customers at Yunzhong Canteen actually had no idea what Qin Huai’s new product was.

They only knew that Xiao Qin had been very busy lately, constantly researching some kind of crab roe bun. The progress didn’t seem smooth. People often heard Uncle Xu Tuqiang and other well-known regulars mention that Xiao Qin was in a bad mood, somewhat depressed, and always frowning while making buns and thinking deeply.

They didn’t know the details. They only knew that recently, Xiao Qin had made very few pastries, spending most of his time on bun research. The output of this bun was also very low, so it was likely very difficult to make—and probably very expensive.

Everyone had already mentally prepared themselves for eating “luxury-priced buns.”

It could only be said that the customers of Yunzhong Canteen had already developed a consumption habit shaped by Qin Huai’s continuously improving craftsmanship and new creations.

At first, the Five-Ingredient Bun made many office workers grit their teeth just to afford one. Later came fruit pastries, premium three-ingredient buns, fermented rice steamed buns, and Four-Delight Tangyuan… Although these items weren’t necessarily more expensive than the original Five-Ingredient Bun, their taste kept improving, and their prices were always significantly higher than normal pastries.

Over time, the customers’ mindset changed.

From “delicious but expensive, only worth buying one if I grit my teeth,” it gradually became “Xiao Qin’s craftsmanship is worth this price—everyone hurry and grab some, or they’ll be gone!”

This shift in mentality was directly reflected in the afternoon rush for the crab-roe pork buns.

The regular customers didn’t even know if this was Xiao Qin’s new product. They only knew he had released something new—plentiful, filling, and discounted during the tasting period.

Buy early to enjoy it; buy late and it would be full price.

When Zang Liang and the others returned to Yunzhong Canteen, what they saw was exactly this scene.

“Ah? They’re really gone?”

“Damn it, all because of that stupid boss! Forcing us into a meeting after work—talking nonsense for hours! If I’d known, I would’ve just skipped work!”

“Will there be more tomorrow? Will Xiao Qin keep making them tomorrow? Are they really that good? Who managed to buy some just now?”

“How much are they? 15? Only 15 each?!”

“Has Xiao Qin said the regular price yet? It’s not set yet? What?! I didn’t even get one? Aaaah! Manager Hu, you deserve to go bald!”

After waiting in line for who knows how long but still failing to get the crab-roe pork buns, the diners in Yunzhong Canteen were filled with regret. Some hated their companies for getting off work too late, some hated themselves for not running fast enough, and most of them were furiously cursing their bosses and managers for still holding meetings after work.

The resentment of these office workers who missed out on the buns was enough to sustain ten Evil Sword Immortals.

Zang Liang, who had just taken five consecutive roller coaster rides and felt like his brain had been shaken into scrambled eggs, originally thought he was simply carsick from the ride and the car back. He even suspected he was hallucinating after getting off.

After all, he wasn’t new to Yunzhong Canteen—he had never seen customers this crazy before.

And these customers were too abnormal.

Zang Liang himself had worked in high-end restaurants before. The place he currently worked at was also a famous Huaiyang cuisine restaurant that had once gone viral online.

During holidays, there would also be queues outside. There were times when customers waited a long time only for the kitchen to stop taking orders when it was time to close.

Customers would often get angry, frustrated, or even complain and curse.

But collective cursing of the boss like this? That was rare.

And what confused Zang Liang the most was—after cursing, these people didn’t leave. They just kept lining up.

But lining up for what?

The buns were already sold out.

“Why aren’t they leaving?” Zang Liang asked weakly, still dizzy.

Tan Weian wasn’t in much better shape. He had also ridden the roller coaster five times and still hadn’t gained any enlightenment. After the last ride, he felt the world spinning, his stomach churning, almost vomiting gastric acid.

At least he wasn’t as disoriented as Zang Liang.

“Since we’re already here, of course we should eat before leaving,” Tan Weian explained while supporting him. “We just don’t know what’s for dinner tonight, or if Qin Huai will save any buns for us.”

“Tell me, how did he even make that double crab bun? He just rode a roller coaster a few times and suddenly understood everything? I feel like after five rides, I didn’t understand buns—I almost met my great-grandfather.”

Zang Liang, leaning on him weakly, said, “If you really met your great-grandfather, you could just ask him how to make the double crab bun.”

Standing behind them the entire time, Zheng Siyuan: “……”

Are these two idiots now brain-damaged from roller coasters? No—more like they were already brain-damaged before. Normal people don’t ride a roller coaster five times in a row.

Thinking this, he glanced at Qin Luo, who was enthusiastically taking photos with her phone.

After a full day of roller coasters, drop towers, and pirate ships, Qin Luo was still full of energy, chatting nonstop and even posting three moments on her social feed.

Yeah. Definitely the other two who are not normal.

“What are you standing outside for? Go change your clothes quickly. Luo Luo! What is on your collar? You ate shaved ice? Three colors?! How many bowls did you eat?! Didn’t Mom and I tell you—you can binge eat, but not ice like that! Last time you mixed ice and hot pot and ended up in the emergency room with acute gastritis—have you forgotten already?”

The “detective” Qin Huai had just come out from the kitchen to call everyone in for the last buns, but immediately spotted the shaved ice stains on Qin Luo’s collar.

Qin Luo panicked instantly, trying to think of an excuse.

But Qin Huai’s attention had already shifted.

“What happened to you two?”

Did they go to an amusement park or get kidnapped and rescued?

“They rode five roller coasters in a row, vomited for 20 minutes, drank two bottles of water and still vomited. We had to rest another 30 minutes before coming back. On the way back, Zang Liang got carsick again and rested another 30 minutes. That’s why we’re late,” Zheng Siyuan explained. He looked around. “Oh, and Ou Yang hasn’t come back yet. He said he has a pharmacy card and went to buy motion sickness medicine for Zang Liang.”

Qin Huai didn’t understand.

And Qin Huai was deeply shocked.

Qin Huai cast Zang Liang and Tan Weian an admiring look and asked, “You two really love roller coasters that much?”

You should’ve said so earlier—next time there’s an event taking Qin Luo to the amusement park, I’ll call you guys too. Even if you’re a bit weak at it, it’s fine—you can train.

On the matter of roller coasters, Qin Huai actually had a lot to say. At the beginning, he could only accompany Qin Luo for about three or four rides before hitting his limit. Later on, he gradually got used to it—vomiting until he got used to it.

Zang Liang was already completely dizzy, his brain turned to mush. Hearing Qin Huai say that, he subconsciously nodded.

Tan Weian, on the other hand, shot him a resentful look.

Qin Huai: ?

The two “not-so-important members” of the Double Crab Bun research team had ended up like this, so Qin Huai didn’t say much more. He helped Tan Weian carry Zang Liang into the kitchen, distributed the buns he had saved for everyone, and then went to talk privately with Zheng Siyuan.

Originally, Qin Huai wanted to say it publicly, but seeing Zang Liang and Tan Weian in this state, he felt it would be useless. Even if they heard it, they probably wouldn’t remember it. In fact, Qin Huai was afraid their brains were so dizzy that if he said “city gate tower,” they’d hear “hip bone joint” and remember “Dongpo pork hock” instead.

That would truly be disastrous.

In their current condition, they should just eat buns. The only concern was whether Zang Liang would vomit after eating—Qin Huai vaguely remembered that people who get motion sickness tend to vomit everything they eat.

So Qin Huai briefly explained his entire process of “awakening through memory.” Of course, he modified it slightly—saying that instead of awakening on a roller coaster, it happened while eating shaved ice at a dessert shop and chatting with Shi Dadan.

He also mentioned that when Shi Dadan was young, a friend once made him crab roe meat buns. Qin Huai wasn’t wrong—Shi Dadan did have that experience when he was young… just that “young” was a bit too literal—like from a previous life.

After hearing this, Zheng Siyuan looked at the pork bun in his hand and took a bite.

He chewed calmly and said while eating, “You were busy all afternoon. We messaged you but you didn’t reply. From the group chat, we all thought you were just out having fun and suddenly figured out how to make the double crab bun.”

“To be honest, I even wanted to go ride a roller coaster myself just now.”

“Even though I’ve known you for so long and am used to your ridiculous behavior, I still feel like learning the double crab bun after a trip to an amusement park is too illogical—even imagining you have a system would still be more logical than this.”

Qin Huai: …

So, brother, you’ve already accepted the idea that I might have imagined a system? Your acceptance level is already the same as Qin Luo’s?

Zheng Siyuan continued chewing.

“I think your approach is right,” he said. “Based on your method and the taste of this crab roe pork bun I’m eating now, I believe there’s no problem.”

“My tongue doesn’t lie. This bun is delicious, unique, and exactly the imperfect fusion of red-cooked and white-cooked cuisine we’ve been pursuing.”

“But when applied to the double crab bun, sea cucumber and pork are still different. Sea cucumber is harder to handle, more difficult to pair, and far trickier to control in cooking.”

“I know,” Qin Huai interrupted excitedly. “But that’s just difficulty. Every dish, every pastry has difficulty. We’ve already found the direction.”

“This direction—we found it ourselves!” Qin Huai’s eyes sparkled. “I’ve never had this feeling before. It’s like I know the answer is right in front of me. I can roughly see the solving method, but I always miss that final step.”

“I used to fail for a long time. I tried many ‘formulas.’ I suspected the formula was wrong, suspected my ability was lacking, even suspected the problem itself was wrong.”

“Until this afternoon—not even in the amusement park.”

“In the amusement park, I found the correct formula but didn’t know how to apply it. It was after I finished cooking the filling, when I went back step by step and carefully analyzed the taste, the logic of the filling, why something always felt off, why something always seemed unreasonable—that I finally understood.”

“Before, I made pastries entirely by feeling. I couldn’t explain those feelings because I genuinely couldn’t put them into words.”

“But this time is different. This time I can clearly tell you how I made it and how I thought about it.”

“I’ve never had this experience before. When the crab roe pork bun came out of the steamer, I even felt like I had already conquered the double crab bun. Even though I hadn’t tasted it yet. I was too full—I ate the first one and didn’t think it was that amazing. Only after making more and getting a bit hungry again did I realize it actually tasted better than the first bite.”

“But now I truly feel like I’ve solved the double crab bun. I feel confident. I feel victory is within reach.”

“Zheng Siyuan, do you understand this feeling?”

“I do,” Zheng Siyuan nodded, still expressionless, slowly eating his bun.

“My tongue doesn’t lie. The moment I tasted this bun, I knew you had already solved all the problems of the double crab bun—you just haven’t fully executed it yet.”

“As for the feeling you just described, I understand that too.”

He sighed slightly.

“This is actually the normal experience and sense of accomplishment every pastry chef gets when they break through a recipe. It’s just that you’re so abnormal that experiencing a normal process feels unusually novel and surprising to you.”

“I see,” Qin Huai suddenly realized. “Alright then, you guys keep eating. I’m going to the bathroom.”

And with that, he ran off.

After Qin Huai left, Tan Weian—who wasn’t actually that dizzy anymore—leaned over while chewing his bun and asked Zheng Siyuan, “What did Qin Huai just say?”

“I was seriously scared for a moment. I almost thought he had actually finished the double crab bun. Turns out it’s not. But this bun is insane too—first bite is unbelievable. It even reminded me of the first time I beat up Zang Liang.”

“That time I pinned him to the ground and beat him—only time I ever did that. It felt amazing.”

Zheng Siyuan: …

Your friendship is truly incomprehensible.

“Oh right,” Tan Weian asked again, “so what did Qin Huai say?”

“He just briefly explained his thought process. He’ll probably go over it with you tomorrow. You two are in too poor a state right now—you wouldn’t remember even if you heard it.”

Zheng Siyuan paused, then added, “I also happen to have something to do tomorrow morning, so I won’t be coming. You two can make buns with Qin Huai.”

“Ah? What thing?”

Zheng Siyuan said calmly: “I’m going to the amusement park shop that sells shaved ice.”

“I’m going to eat a bowl of shaved ice.”

Tan Weian: ??

Is it really that good???