"These two recipes you sent me... they seem exactly like what my dad taught me." Zheng Siyuan stood in front of the culinary table, frowning at the recipe sent to him over WeChat by Qin Huai. "The ingredient ratios are identical."
"Really? What a coincidence." Qin Huai was somewhat surprised. Having searched for many recipes online, he knew that it’s very rare to find recipes with identical ingredient proportions.
"Are all old recipes pretty similar? This one was bought by Luo Jun 60 years ago. Back then, they didn’t have precise scales; there was no way to measure exact milliliters or temperatures." Qin Huai speculated.
"Possibly, but I guess the master who sold the recipe to Mr. Luo might belong to the same faction as my grandmaster." Zheng Siyuan said, "Information was limited back then. Similar recipes might indicate the same school of thought, and if you trace it back, it might even have been taught by the same master."
Zheng Siyuan put down his phone. "It’s a shame this recipe was bought sixty years ago; otherwise, we could have asked about the master who sold it."
Zheng Siyuan began kneading the dough.
An Youyou noticed Qin Huai was no longer chatting and started working, so she quickly brought over a large basin of minced meat and asked, "Master Qin, Master Xiao Zheng, is this minced meat fine enough?"
Zheng Siyuan looked it over and nodded. "It’s good."
An Youyou ran back to continue working.
Zheng Siyuan glanced around the kitchen.
As soon as An Youyou returned to the culinary table, she resumed making buns. Qin Congwen was mixing the filling, Chen An was kneading dough, Zhao Rong was chopping vegetables, and Qin Huai was loafing around.
To say he was loafing around isn’t entirely accurate; after all, Qin Huai had technically finished his work.
By this point, not only had Qin Huai steamed the first batch of Three Meat Buns and Five Fillings Buns, but he had also kneaded the dough for the Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns and even prepared the filling for the Fresh Shrimp and Crab Shell Cake, completing his tasks exceptionally well.
Zheng Siyuan checked the time, 6:10 a.m., realizing he hadn’t come late after all.
"Did you come early today?" Zheng Siyuan asked.
"No, I was actually over ten minutes late today. You don’t know, I dreamt about stir-frying the filling last night, the shine of the oil on its surface, the control of the moisture, the finish of the broth—it was simply... exquisitely perfect!" Qin Huai savored last night’s dream. "So, I was reluctant to get up this morning, which made me leave home late."
Zheng Siyuan could only express his lack of understanding with six dots.
"Why does it seem like everyone’s working faster today?" Zheng Siyuan continued to ask.
Normally, at this time, Chen An, Qin Congwen, and Zhao Rong would still be making buns, clearly finishing one batch and already making another—progress was much faster today.
"Oh, it might be because Youyou is here," Qin Huai said. "My mom told me that today is Youyou’s first day helping in the kitchen, and she was too excited to sleep, coming to work at 2:30 a.m."
"Though her dough-kneading skills aren’t as good as my dad’s, she works quickly and knows a lot. She can chop vegetables, wash vegetables, mince meat, mix fillings, make buns, dumplings, and shumai. By the time I arrived this morning, all the materials for the snacks we needed to prepare today were already ready." Qin Huai said, pointing to Chen An.
"Chen An might have been influenced by Youyou, as his efficiency is exceptionally high today."
"I’m really worried they’ll make too many buns to sell."
Zheng Siyuan could only shake his head, not understanding the 2:30 a.m. work start.
It’s all because of this breakfast crew, making him, who arrives at six, feel so out of place.
Zheng Siyuan wasn’t influenced by the efficiency of the new overachiever, maintaining his own pace by first making dumplings, then snacks, methodically and without pressure.
An Youyou, on her first day as a kitchen helper, felt a bit reserved while eating Paopao Dumpling with everyone.
Although the Yunzhong Restaurant provided three meals, the kitchen staff, especially those like Chen An, the breakfast chefs’ meals, were different from outside waiters’.
Chen An could have Three Meat Buns, Five Fillings Buns, Paopao Dumpling, and Zhou Sha Wonton for breakfast; when exhausted from the morning, he could grab one or two snacks from Qin Huai as a little pick-me-up. The waiters outside weren’t so lucky, usually having to eat the buns made by Chen An or Qin Congwen. When Qin Huai tried new items, he’d invite everyone to taste, but on regular days wanting snacks, their only chance might be the unsold egg cakes from the canteen.
It was An Youyou’s first morning trying Zheng Siyuan’s Zhou Sha Wonton.
Overcome with excitement, she had three bowls and was too full to try the Paopao Dumpling.
Regret hit An Youyou so hard she wished she could slap herself.
Qin Huai remembered that at first, An Youyou wanted to be an apprentice and didn’t mind investing extra time to cultivate promising employees.
"An Youyou," after she finished her wonton and conscientiously cleaned her bowl, Qin Huai called her, "did you do a similar assisting role at home too?"
An Youyou nodded. "I pretty much did whatever my parents were too busy to do, sometimes even delivering goods and buying vegetables."
"Is there anything you want to learn?" Qin Huai asked.
Having watched the video tutorials for so long yesterday afternoon, Qin Huai genuinely believed Jiang Weiming’s way of cooking was excellent. Habitually teaching slowed down his actions, and slowing down meant more focus, which reduced errors.
Qin Huai wanted to try this method himself.
An Youyou hesitated for a moment and then asked very softly, "If I want to, can I learn?"
Is there something she wants to learn?
"What do you want to learn?"
"Five Fillings Bun!" An Youyou replied without hesitation.
Qin Huai was a bit surprised. "Why?"
"Because Five Fillings Buns are expensive!" An Youyou said firmly. "I heard Chen Master say that breakfast chefs get sales commissions, and with each Five Fillings Bun priced at 35, I’d earn more with the commission! I want to learn to make the expensive ones!"
Qin Huai: ... What an honest reason. How much do you love money? Your parents must be...
Okay, your parents are also quite extreme; only paying 200 a month for hard work, it’s understandable to want more money.
"Okay." Qin Huai nodded.
Upon hearing this, both Chen An and Zheng Siyuan, who were secretly eavesdropping, were stunned. Chen An’s eyes widened in disbelief, faces full of regret.
His expression translated roughly to: Damn, is this real? Is learning Five Fillings Bun as simple as just wanting to learn? Boss, I want to be an apprentice too!
"But you’ll have to learn it backward. I don’t have time to practice dough kneading, so you might need to start with cooking and stir-frying the filling."
"I’m also not the best teacher. I’ll just proceed slowly, and you watch from the side. Ask questions if you don’t understand. You get this teaching mode, right?"
Feeling he couldn’t fall behind, not a second time, and thinking actions speak louder than words, Chen An made a move!
Quietly stepping forward, Chen An gathered his courage and asked, "Master Qin—no, Boss, can I apply to change positions?"
"I want to switch to be an apprentice!" Chen An said earnestly. "I want to learn the Five Fillings Bun too!"
"No need to change positions. You can also watch from the side. But you two can’t let it affect your daily work. Our kitchen already has high work pressure, and all the regular buns, steamed buns, shumai, youtiao, dumplings, egg cakes, and rice cakes are counting on you two."
"Don’t worry, Master Qin. I found a very nearby small room yesterday for rent—cheap too—and it’s just under an hour ride by electric bike."
"I can get up early and start working at 2:30 a.m."
"I can come early to get things done too," Chen An immediately declared.
Qin Huai: "... No need. Just arrive at the usual time. Coming too early makes it look like I’m coming to work late."
Zheng Siyuan wasn’t in the mood to speak anymore.
He really didn’t understand these people who make breakfast.
With high spirits, Chen An and An Youyou returned to their work, and Qin Huai continued making snacks. Zheng Siyuan, silently making snacks nearby, held back for around ten minutes before he couldn’t help but ask:
"Why are you teaching the filling first?"
Zheng Siyuan couldn’t understand why anyone would choose to teach their weak points first. Qin Huai’s fire control didn’t offer much teaching scope either.
"Actually, Mr. Luo gave me three recipes yesterday. There’s one recipe I think you might not like very much, so I plan to practice it myself first. The core point of that recipe is stir-frying the filling," Qin Huai explained.
Zheng Siyuan frowned, feeling somewhat slandered by what Qin Huai said.
How could there be a recipe he wouldn’t like? He considered himself a very accepting pastry chef.
When pressed, Qin Huai shared.
Zheng Siyuan took a deep breath.
While he thought himself accepting, this world seemed a bit too crazy.
No way, how could there be such a recipe for dumplings?!
And it’s a recipe from 60 years ago!
What exactly did the pastry world go through 60 years ago?!
"I told you, you might not recipe very much, so I plan to practice it myself." Qin Huai comforted Zheng Siyuan.
"No." Taking another deep breath, Zheng Siyuan said, "I’m intrigued by this recipe and want to see what kind of dumplings it makes."
He was determined to see what kind of dumplings this heretical recipe would produce.