Dong Li’s words inspired Qin Huai greatly.
Yes, why didn’t he think of that?
Recently, he focused solely on cooking soup. If the soup turned out well, he sold it cheaply in the evening; if it flopped, he gave it away for free. By four or five in the afternoon, the entire cafeteria was filled with the aroma of meat soup, attracting more dinner customers than lunchtime—
All coming over to snag some free soup.
If they couldn’t get the free kind, they didn’t mind the cheap one.
Qin Huai had never been confined by rigid rules when cooking before.
Like how a bun should be made this way, dumplings wrapped that way, fried dough stick done just so, Four Happiness Dumplings can’t change ingredients...
None of these ever applied to Qin Huai; rules, techniques, Southern School or Northern Style—none of it mattered.
Because he knew nothing at all.
If he could follow the Snack Encyclopedia, then great; if not, well, the encyclopedia must be wrong.
But after starting formal classes on Fire Control and soup brewing, Qin Huai felt constrained.
Every day was about memorizing cases, reading materials, and doing practical work, with nothing but soup on his mind, practically forgetting that Fire Control practice wasn’t limited to meat cooking, but applied to pastry as well.
"Your talent with pastries is indeed far superior to meat cooking." Dong Li continued, "You may not notice it yourself, but you’re always extremely tense when making beef soup, quite uneasy."
"Yet, when you make Crab Shell Cake, you’re very relaxed, sometimes even zoning out."
"When my brother and I first apprenticed under our master, he reminded us. Being overly tense and concerned often doesn’t yield good results. A proper level of relaxation often reaps unexpected rewards."
"Soup brewing should still be practiced, but if it becomes too exhausting, try practicing Fire Control with pastries to change your mindset."
As Dong Li’s words wrapped up, from the other end of the video came Dong Shi’s loud cry: "Bro, didn’t we agree I would say that to the new apprentice? I’m the Closed-door Disciple, I should teach the new junior apprentice!"
"You do know you’re the Closed-door Disciple, where’s this new junior apprentice coming from?" Dong Li glanced expressionlessly to the right, then turned back to the camera, "Let’s end here today, goodbye."
Qin Huai, holding the Crab Shell Cake already on the plate, began to ponder.
Should these Crab Shell Cakes be baked or not?
It seemed the store didn’t have the old-style oven for baking Crab Shell Cakes, right?
But getting a substitute for an oven should be simple.
After some thought, Qin Huai decided to use technology for this batch of Crab Shell Cakes to save time. He’d mention to Huang Xi to figure out how to find the most suitable oven for baking Crab Shell Cakes, and practice Fire Control with traditional methods only when the oven was available.
That afternoon, customers enjoyed the tech-enhanced Crab Shell Cakes.
Zhang Shumei basked in the envious eyes of the older men, securing two pounds of them—everyone knew these were specially cooked by Master Qin.
No one usually felt envious since everyone knew that thanks to Xiao Qin, they occasionally got to enjoy snacks that randomly appeared. Without his special cooking, they wouldn’t have any Crab Shell Cakes to eat.
The elders were mainly envious of Luo Jun.
Luo Jun’s attitude at the store drinking cold tea was noted by everyone; his demeanor could be called reborn if not amiable.
This morning, many recognized Qin Huai driving Luo Jun’s car—even though Luo Jun’s car had been parked in the underground garage unused for one or two years, its double-R logo was quite eye-catching.
Everyone secretly cursed Old Luo as a no-good who, without leaving his house, managed to rope in Master Qin, more despicable than that Ding fellow.
The despicable Old Luo was snuggled in a lazy boy chair, gnawing on Crab Shell Cakes as if avenging past wrongs, while watching a movie. On the small table in front of him was a bowl of freshly cooked Lotus Seed Silver Ear Soup by Zhang Shumei, living quite comfortably.
Luo Jun took a sip of the Lotus Seed Silver Ear Soup, feeling slightly soothed from the therapy session at noon.
Picking out his phone from the couch crevice, Luo Jun started messaging Qin Huai.
Luo Jun: Tomorrow I want some Dried Tangerine Peel Tea!
Luo Jun: I’ll have Xiao Zhang prepare the ingredients and bring them over. Also, this salty Crab Shell Cake isn’t tasty; I want fresh shrimp filling. And make the baked buns you made at my place last time, no filling.
Luo Jun indicated he’d already sacrificed a lot, so why couldn’t he order a few things to eat?
Qin Huai: Sure, I was planning to make traditional Crab Shell Cakes tomorrow^_^
Already home, Qin Huai put down his phone, pondering if the baked buns could be made traditionally to practice Fire Control, too.
Traditional baked buns, just the words sound appealing.
Luo Jun, your picky taste is perfect; you’ll test-taste tomorrow.
Huang Xi’s efficiency was outstanding.
By the next morning, she’d already fetched the perfect old-style oven for Crab Shell Cake from the second-hand market, specifically designed for baking them, although the previous owner also used it to bake some buns for mix-selling.
The oven was sturdy, had a vintage vibe but still retained quality. Huang Xi snagged it for a high price on the second-hand market and then had Zhao Rong reimburse her.
Qin Huai was very satisfied with this oven.
One oven, two traditional methods, it was just perfect!
Qin Huai put it to use that afternoon.
First, he prepared pork rib soup, and while it was cooking, Zhang Shumei coincidentally brought the ingredients for Dried Tangerine Peel Tea, so Qin Huai prepared a small pot to simmer along.
Luo Jun requesting the Dried Tangerine Peel Tea was unexpected to Qin Huai, as the tea didn’t require much skill, really just hand labor involved.
Currently, he’s drinking a substitute every day—it’s just Lotus Seed Silver Ear Soup without the dried tangerine peel because Zhang Shumei makes it daily these days.
But Luo Jun never requested it, leaving Qin Huai puzzled whether Luo Jun favored the tea or the Lotus Seed Silver Ear Soup.
After dealing with the pork rib soup and Dried Tangerine Peel Tea, Qin Huai began making the Crab Shell Cakes and the hollow baked buns.
Huang Shengli watched from the video call, nibbling on Green Bean Cake, clearly Zhang Siyuan’s creation.
"Looks like I was right; Xiao Qin, you’re noticeably more relaxed and natural when making snacks." Huang Shengli chuckled, waving to the side, "Si Yuan, come quickly, see what new toy Xiao Qin has created."
Unexpectedly, Zheng Siyuan was at Huang Ji Restaurant.
Zheng Siyuan’s face appeared onscreen, Qin Huai’s hands kept moving as he asked, "Are your shop’s pastries sold out?"
"My dad is inviting Uncle for dinner tonight, so I didn’t make more pastries after selling out the morning batch, hence I came early." Zheng Siyuan replied.
It took a few seconds for Qin Huai to fully comprehend: "Your dad is inviting Master Huang to eat at Master Huang’s restaurant?"
"Yes, I have to personally cook the dishes later," Huang Shengli replied, "Forget that. Little Zheng, did you see this oven? When your dad and I were young, this was our favorite; back then, your master not only used it to bake Crab Shell Cakes but also baked buns, small round sesame biscuits, sweet potatoes were great too."
Zheng Siyuan was curious, "Are snacks better baked in this kind of oven?"
Huang Shengli laughed heartily, "No wonder your dad says you have a pastry brain, filled with snacks. An oven is better for baking snacks, even control over heat and time; we just didn’t have ovens back then."
"If this little oven has any merit, it’s probably that it makes snacks smell especially good. Especially when you sit nearby waiting, the aroma gradually wafting out, every sniff makes you hungrier, and after knife skills practice, eating one of these, you feel you could chop 200 more pounds of radishes."
Zheng Siyuan was confused, "With the oven better, wouldn’t Qin Huai find it easy to mess up Crab Shell Cakes with this kind of oven?"
It could only be said Zheng Siyuan was indeed familiar with Qin Huai’s cooking skills.
"He’s practicing Fire Control; when he can bake snacks with this oven to the same quality as with the oven, that’s when he’s mastered it." Huang Shengli squinted for a closer look at the screen, shaking his head, "This batch probably won’t make it; the temperature’s too high."
Huang Shengli judged accurately; the first batch indeed failed. When Qin Huai rose from the little stool, carefully removing the entire first batch of Crab Shell Cakes, picking one that looked most presentable for a cautious bite—
Qin Huai found it somewhat dry.
If these were just ordinary sweet or meat-filled Crab Shell Cakes, the dryness might be less noticeable, but with fresh shrimp filling, it was quite apparent.
Using an oven was truly challenging.
The oven is truly a great human invention.
As Qin Huai contemplated his dry Crab Shell Cakes, Ouyang arrived.
Ouyang originally came for soup but, surprised by the Crab Shell Cake scent, exclaimed, "Crab Shell Cakes today too?"
"Not for sale, just casually baked a few to try. If you want to eat, there are a couple left over there; help yourself."
Qin Huai gestured toward the Crab Shell Cakes in the dish, slightly cooled.
Having eaten the rest himself, with Qin Luo away at school, missing his best taste-tester, Qin Huai had no choice but to test them himself.
Ouyang, delighted, took a Crab Shell Cake, encased it in one bite, and keenly chewed while giving a thumbs up, mumbling, "Mmm, delicious! Qin Huai, you make the best snacks, this is the flavor!"
He knew it; this important task of testing Crab Shell Cakes couldn’t go to Ouyang.
He says everything tastes good.
Having re-evaluated, Qin Huai prepared for the second oven, while messaging Luo Jun to have Zhang Shumei collect the Crab Shell Cakes, hollow buns, and Dried Tangerine Peel Tea when the second batch was done.
For such refined items, only a professional like Luo Jun could properly taste-test.
The best part was Luo Jun’s reluctance to leave home.
Qin Huai in the cafeteria, Luo Jun at home—Luo Jun might rant on WeChat, but wouldn’t attack in person.
At this moment, Qin Huai felt sincerely that Luo Jun was indeed an excellent, helpful neighbor.
This year, if they were to award Yunzhong District’s Best Neighbor, he’d definitely vote for Luo Jun!