In the days that followed, Qin Huai’s life was very routine.
He would get up early to make breakfast, then work on snacks after the morning rush. He’d finish work at noon and start his overtime right at 1 PM.
His overtime involved some physical labor (making sticky rice cakes), then online teaching (videoing with Huang Shengli), interspersed with some fun activities (playing with the stove), and finally, taste testing the results.
Under Huang Shengli’s guidance, Qin Huai’s understanding of ingredients and control of heat have improved to some extent.
He’s even started making duck soup.
But it’s not going too well.
On the third try, Ouyang frowned as he drank a small bowl of duck soup with baked buns and jujube and yam cake, voicing his protest: "Qin Huai, can we go back to making beef soup?"
Since starting with duck soup, Ouyang has missed the days of drinking beef and pork rib soup.
"Does it still taste weird?" Qin Huai asked.
Ouyang nodded firmly: "It’s more than just weird; it’s awful. It feels like drinking soup right in the duck circle, you get what I mean?"
"Then there was a problem when processing the duck," Qin Huai frowned.
"Qin Huai, don’t worry too much about it. You don’t have great knife skills, so processing the duck must have been an issue. Master just wanted you to try cooking duck soup for a few days to get used to the ingredient, not expecting you to get it right."
"If it really doesn’t work out, don’t you have a meat chef in your restaurant? Find someone who’s good with knife skills to process the duck for you. Try again tomorrow, the soup will surely taste better than what it is now, drinking it in a duck circle," Dong Shi shouted in the video, "Your friend is pretty amazing. This duck soup is evidently hard to drink, yet he managed to down it."
Dong Shi, you are too loud; our online class is on speaker.
Ouyang stared accusingly at Qin Huai, his eyes full of "listen to the people’s voice."
Qin Huai felt a little guilty.
He was not good at processing duck. He followed the tutorial but didn’t process it properly, resulting in a soup that’s hard to describe. As Ouyang forced himself to taste this test over the past few days, it was truly a challenge for him. Truly, you see true friendship in difficult times!
Thinking this, Qin Huai handed Ouyang another plate of jujube and yam cake: "Eat more, tomorrow I’ll make you Elm Bark Steamed Buns."
Ouyang was instantaneously okay.
"Qin Huai, why have you been making jujube and yam cake every day recently?" Ouyang asked casually.
Qin Huai said, what else could it be, if not because Qu Jing loves to eat it.
Qin Huai found Qu Jing’s interest in jujube and yam cake far exceeded sticky rice cakes.
The last time he sent sticky rice cakes to Qu Jing, she ate very politely, and although she highly praised the sticky rice cakes when done, she didn’t come to the restaurant to buy them actively.
Jujube and yam cake, however, was different—Qu Jing genuinely loved it.
Qin Huai only made jujube and yam cake twice before because Qin Luo’s Chinese teacher assigned reading "Dream of the Red Chamber" during summer vacation. As everyone knows, the dishes in "Dream of the Red Chamber" look delicious, and Qin Luo wanted to try every dish, but unfortunately, Qin Huai couldn’t make them.
It was only later, seeing Granny Jia send jujube and yam cake to help her daughter-in-law recover health, that Qin Huai found the recipe in the Snack Encyclopedia and tried making it twice for Qin Luo.
Qin Luo didn’t like it much.
That child doesn’t like yam.
Having not made it for many years, Qin Huai practiced for a week before bringing this snack to Qu Jing, slightly improving the recipe from the Snack Encyclopedia by increasing the proportion of powdered sugar to make the jujube and yam cake sweeter.
While making it, Qin Huai discovered its irreplaceable advantage.
The jujube and yam cake recipe wasn’t complex; it only needed to be fresh. It didn’t require much in terms of heat and finger skill. The jujube filling could match the sticky rice cake style, while the outer layer used yam mashed with powdered sugar and glutinous rice flour to blend into a dough.
Steamed with such ingredients, the cake was soft and sticky, sweet yet had yam’s fresh aroma. It was a delicate sweetness, not syrupy sweet.
And yam and jujube truly complemented each other, even having health benefits, no wonder it became a gold label snack often appearing in drama series.
Its simple making process, great texture, and versatility with molds meant it could be mass-produced, indeed the king of cost-performance ratios.
Upon discovering this excellent snack, Qin Huai also fell deeply in love with it. He made them every day, steaming a batch in the morning and another in the afternoon, selling them freshly steamed.
Making so many, Qin Huai developed new methods. Regular jujube and yam cake was white, use purple yam to make it purple, combining two yam colors resulted in a different hue. Even mixing a little sweet potato paste into the yam mashed improved color and taste, making it richer and more aromatic.
Recently, the guests at the Yunzhong Restaurant had been eating their fill of jujube and yam cake.
Seeing Ouyang eat happily, Qin Huai felt a bit hungry too. He plated himself a small dish of rabbit-shaped ones and sat opposite Ouyang to eat.
Ouyang had the elephant-shaped ones, which were larger.
As they were eating, Chen Huihong arrived.
"What soup did you make today?" As soon as Chen Huihong approached, she could smell the duck soup Ouyang was drinking, "Duck soup?"
"Sister Hong, your nose is sharp," Ouyang praised his boss before grimacing in complaint, "Qin Huai’s duck soup is really awful, yet he insists on making it again tomorrow."
"Xiao Qin is just brave enough to try," Chen Huihong lightly defended Qin Huai, casting her gaze at the plate of snacks, "Having jujube and yam cake again today, do you have any sticky rice cakes?"
"I didn’t make sticky rice cakes yesterday, but I did today, so we’ll have some tomorrow. Sister Hong, if you want, I’ll save you half a pound?" Qin Huai asked.
"Save two pounds. I’m going to my brother’s for dinner with Huihui, I’ll bring some along. Last time, he had his assistant buy Master Xiao Zheng’s pastries in Gusu and brought me back ten pounds of flaky pastry; I have to return the gesture," Chen Huihong said.
Qin Huai was surprised that someone would go so far to Gusu just to buy pastries, indeed someone famously gullible who could be coaxed by his sister to to renovate the school track.
"Sister Hong, what’s your brother’s name?" Qin Huai was a bit curious, as Chen Huihong’s brother didn’t yet warrant having a name.
"My mom was pragmatic naming him. She thought he was too ugly at birth and worried he might not find a wife. So, she named him Yingjun, hoping he’d grow more handsome to attract a wife."
"And now his looks are..." Ouyang was curious too.
"Not great when he was thin, but now you could compliment his plump looks," Chen Huihong said with an impartial evaluation, "He’s quite cheerful like Maitreya Buddha, Huihui loves to visit Uncle’s place."
"Last time, I went to pick up Huihui and saw them eating spicy strips together. Almost 40, yet still eating like a child, it’s just..." Chen Huihong couldn’t help but complain.
Qin Huai, concerned about her getting thirsty, brought her a glass of cold tea.
It was a modified dried tangerine peel tea, with added brown sugar and salt.
Chen Huihong tasted the tea: "This dried tangerine peel tea is nice too. Xiao Qin, do you have time to make it tomorrow afternoon? I’ll take two pots with me for my brother to drink more."
Just then, Qu Jing arrived.
Indeed, Qu Jing came after work to buy jujube and yam cake.
When Qin Huai made sticky rice cakes before, Qu Jing wouldn’t come over after work just to buy them. After sending jujube and yam cake once, the next day Qu Jing texted Qin Huai asking if the restaurant was selling them that day, and upon receiving a definite yes, she came over after work.
Since then, she’d come every day without fail, rain or shine, right after work.
Luckily, she finishes work early.
"Dr. Qu is here." Qin Huai quickly stood up, "Today, we have white yam, purple yam, and white yam mixed with sweet potato, six mold shapes, which do you want?"
"Half a pound of each please, I’m volunteering at the orphanage tomorrow, so I’ll bring some for the kids," Qu Jing said.
"When are you going to volunteer at the orphanage tomorrow?" Qin Huai asked.
"From 10 AM to 2 PM," Qu Jing replied honestly, "I’m usually there at this time, understaffed, so I help with prepping and cutting vegetables."
Qin Huai pondered: "I don’t have snacks to make tomorrow. Do you mind having one more volunteer at the orphanage?"
"Back in my hometown, I often brought snacks to the orphanage. I haven’t made basic buns and steamed buns in a while, so I’d also like to practice."
Although Qu Jing didn’t quite understand why Qin Huai, who makes snacks daily, would have rusty skills, she was pleased to have another volunteer and certainly wouldn’t refuse.
"I’ll go back and inform the director, and reply to you on WeChat. With your volunteering experience, the director will surely be happy."
Qu Jing took her snacks and left.
Ouyang munched on the jujube and yam cake, asking Chen Huihong a bit dazedly: "Sister Hong, did I mishear, Qin Huai mentioned not making snacks tomorrow. Didn’t he just say he’ll make sticky rice cakes tomorrow?"
"Sticky rice cakes can be finished before 10 AM." Qin Huai stated flatly, "Arrive early, and it’ll be done, start at 3 AM in the kitchen, the basic snacks can’t escape me."
Ouyang took in a sharp breath.
Could what the elders say be true?
Is Qin Huai pursuing Dr. Qu?!
Oh gosh, he’s willing to get up at 3 AM to make snacks!
"Sister Hong." Ouyang looked at Chen Huihong for help.
Chen Huihong was calm: "Then I’ll also take the sticky rice cakes in the morning. By the way, Xiao Qin, there’s something about Luoluo’s school I’d like to discuss with you, can we chat alone..."
Qin Huai understood the hint, nodded and pointed towards the storage room: "If you don’t mind, let’s chat in the storeroom. It’s quieter, and there are chairs to sit on."
The two left the bewildered Ouyang and headed to the storeroom for a private chat.
Once the door closed, Chen Huihong directly asked: "Did something go wrong with Qu Jing’s task? Why the sudden need to volunteer at the orphanage."
Qin Huai nodded: "There is a slight issue, I think my snacks suit Qu Jing’s taste very well. She’s been consistently eating them for some time. I’ve also been hinting that sticky rice cakes and jujube and yam cake will become routine snacks at the restaurant, yet the side task remains unfinished."
"What could be the reason?" Chen Huihong frowned, "Xiao Qu isn’t picky, she’s simple with her meals, just getting by."
"I suspect the issue lies in long-term provisioning." Qin Huai said, "My relationship with Dr. Qu isn’t strong enough yet for her to want to routinely come here after work to buy snacks."
"Through our chats, I’ve discovered Dr. Qu doesn’t enjoy going out. She practically has no friends, no social life, no hobbies."
"The distance from her home to our restaurant is quite far, and going out to buy snacks seems burdensome for her. She’s willing to come now because jujube and yam cake are still novel for her. Once she tires of it, she won’t come specially, and my provisioning wouldn’t be long-term."
"However, the variety of jujube-based and rice cake snacks I can make isn’t vast, even with variations to maintain long-term interest."
"So what’s the plan?" Chen Huihong listened intently.
"We need to befriend Dr. Qu." Qin Huai said with earnest, "Sister Hong, you, me, and Luo Jun are already the three people Dr. Qu is relatively familiar with."
"I think now we need to develop our relationship into a friendship, so Dr. Qu would like to come to a friend’s shop for snacks, achieving the long-term goal."
Chen Huihong was struck by enlightenment: "Understood, I’ll volunteer tomorrow too."
"Truth be told, I excel at volunteering!"