The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 300 New Crab Variety

"Xixi, do you really want to compete with Qin Lang?"

Zhao Qian couldn't help but widen her eyes, "This guy is a monster, the kind who can beat someone to a pulp."

"...It's not that exaggerated." Qin Lang's lips twitched slightly.

"It's okay, I'm not afraid!" Ren Xi grinned, her face showing a hint of anticipation. "I'm quite confident when it comes to crab dishes."

It's no exaggeration to say that Ren Xi grew up eating crabs.

"What are you sure about?"

A voice with laughter came from behind Ren Xi, and a tall, middle-aged man strode over with a look of curiosity on his face.

"Dad, you're here!" Ren Xi's eyes lit up.

"Hello, Uncle Ren!" Zhao Qian, who also knew him, greeted him with a smile.

"It's Xiaoqian." Ren Qiu laughed. "You've grown quite a bit taller in the two years I haven't seen you. I heard from Xixi that you've become a Spirit Chef now."

“Yes.” Zhao Qian nodded, pointing to Qin Lang and the others beside her, “These are my friends…”

"I know him, Qin Lang." Ren Qiu stepped forward with a smile, patted Qin Lang on the shoulder, and looked at him with great admiration.

"Huh?" Ren Xi tilted her head. "Dad, are you also following the cooking competition in Tianhua Prefecture?"

"No, not at all." Ren Qiu shook his head. "However, if it weren't for Qin Lang, the crab farm might have been destroyed in that disaster a few days ago!"

"Wow!" Ren Xi's eyes widened, her gaze towards Qin Lang filled with disbelief. "You're the one who awakened the leaping fish?"

She had heard Ren Qiu mention it before, but only now did she connect the young spirit chef who saved the entire Yuehu City with Qin Lang.

"This isn't just my achievement," Qin Lang smiled. "It's everyone's effort that saved Yuehu City."

"Don't just stand at the door, everyone, come in." Ren Qiu laughed heartily. "You've come at the perfect time. It's the season when Yuehu crabs are at their fattest and most delicious. Eat as much as you like today, it's on me."

The crowd's faces lit up with joy. After thanking Ren Qiu, they followed him into the East Lake Crab Farm.

"This is the logistics warehouse." Ren Qiu pointed to the largest factory building on the right-hand side of the entrance. "After the harvested Lake crabs are assessed for quality, they are transported via cold chain according to their quality and sent to various places."

"A little further ahead is our Yuehu crab breeding base." With that, Ren Qiu led everyone to the lakeside.

The lake surface is divided into dozens of huge aquaculture areas by a giant screen, and each area is where fishing boats and workers are working.

Just as they entered the base, the nearest staff member scooped up a large net of leaping lake crabs. Looking around, not a single one of the lively crabs weighed less than six ounces, all of them of extremely high quality.

In the more distant aquaculture areas, there are even larger leaping lake crabs.

Seeing the massive scale of the crab farm, Qin Lang's eyes lit up, as if he had entered a treasure trove, and he couldn't help but ask questions.

"Mr. Ren Qiu, I heard that you are breeding crabs of even higher quality than Yuehu crabs. Have you successfully bred such crabs yet?"

"Oh?" Ren Qiu chuckled. "Xiaoqian said it, didn't she?"

"Besides the rare delicacies, the two most famous crabs in the Dongyun area are the Yuehu crab and the Qingyun crab. The former comes from here, while the latter comes from Yunmengze and is named for the natural cloud patterns on the back of its shell."

"Due to different environments, the two types of crabs each have their own advantages and disadvantages. The meat of the Yuehu crab is sweeter and more suitable for all kinds of cooking, while the crab roe and crab paste of the Qingyun crab are more flavorful and can be made completely without any fishy smell."

As someone who has spent his entire life dealing with crabs, Ren Qiu spoke eloquently about the topic. "Two years ago, I hoped to hybridize and select superior crabs from Yuehu crabs and Qingyun crabs to obtain higher-quality crabs that combine the advantages of both."

"For this reason, I made a special trip to Beihu and Mengze prefectures to bring back the highest quality Qingyun crab seedlings."

Everyone listened intently, and Qin Lang couldn't help but ask, "And then what happened?"

"And then..."

Ren Qiu paused, a smug smile spreading across his face. He pointed to a breeding area beside him and said, "The answer is right here."

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but turn their gaze to this area, which was noticeably smaller than the other breeding areas.

"Wow--"

Ren Qiu picked up the net and scooped up a net full of crabs. He then picked out one from the net and carefully put the rest back into the lake.

"Come on, take a look at this new variety of crab." Ren Qiu laughed and handed the crab to Qin Lang.

Qin Lang reached out and took it, examining it carefully.

He had been in contact with quite a few Leap Lake crabs recently and was already quite familiar with them, so as soon as he got this crab, he noticed the difference between the two.

Compared to the Leap Lake Crab, this crab has longer and thinner claws, and a thicker body, giving it a plump appearance. In addition, its carapace is not the usual bluish-black color, but a lighter bluish-green, with some large areas of light-colored spots.

Besides the difference in appearance, what surprised Qin Lang even more was...

"This female crab actually weighs a pound?"

What does it mean to weigh a pound of crab? That's already considered a king of crabs, let alone a female crab that's relatively light in weight.

“That’s right, this female crab weighs a full pound.” Ren Qiu smiled. “And it’s not even the largest female crab in this batch of new varieties. There’s another female crab that weighs 1.2 pounds, and that’s the real queen of crabs!”

"However, this variety has not yet been completely stabilized." Ren Qiu shrugged as he said this. "After all, it is a hybrid breeding program, and it will take at least several generations to produce the most stable and excellent new variety."

"Therefore, these crabs cannot be sold to the public for the time being."

“However, we can talk about the name first.” Ren Qiu raised an eyebrow, his eyes filled with a strong sense of pride. “I plan to name this new species Yunhu Crab.”

"In a few years, I believe this variety will become the highest quality that all spirit chefs pursue!"

"I look forward to that day." Qin Lang smiled and carefully placed the female crab back into the lake.

"These crabs need to be selected for breeding, so we can't let you try them yet. However, the already stable Leap Lake crabs are fine." Ren Qiu laughed and strode to another breeding area.

"Come and see our Leaping Lake Crab King!"

As he spoke, he carefully scooped up a net full of crabs. Seeing that each crab weighed eight ounces, Qin Lang and the others couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"These Leaping Lake Crabs are the highest quality Leaping Lake Crabs selected and bred over generations. They have undergone strict selection from the crab larvae, and their quality is among the best in the entire Dongyun area. They are the best of the best!"

Seeing the expressions on Qin Lang's and the others' faces, Ren Qiu waved his hand generously.

"Let's eat this today, eat as much as we want!"

(End of this chapter)