Qin Huai and Zheng Siyuan each ate an apple pastry, leaving about ten more on the plate.
This timing coincides with lunchtime, and these pastries aren’t enough to randomly distribute, plus pricing them is tricky.
Originally, Qin Huai didn’t plan to sell pastries at Yunzhong Restaurant, but during recent practice sessions, some pastries made in the afternoon were randomly distributed, priced quite haphazardly.
Dates and apricots are cheap, while apples and pears are expensive. Sometimes when he and Zheng Siyuan think their work is exceptional, they charge more; less so when it’s not up to mark.
After all, the afternoon crowd for the random distribution consists of regulars who are both wealthy and leisurely. For them, as long as there’s something to buy, price and type don’t matter.
But now it’s different. Qin Huai has unlocked a new main task, which requires five signature snacks. The cafeteria currently offers two, and Qin Huai thinks apple pastries have strong third-slot potential.
If Qin Huai can make a B-level apple pastry, its quality will certainly not be inferior to any existing snack in the cafeteria.
Not to mention, a qualified apple pastry would come with buffs.
D-level Dried Tangerine Peel Tea, through buffs, even became a signature product at the cafeteria. Qin Huai believes a B-level apple pastry would do the same.
To qualify as a signature product, it needs to be a staple.
Being a staple means the pricing can’t be arbitrary.
If the price is low, not only is it a hassle and unprofitable, but it also lowers the prestige of the pastry. As the aesthetic pinnacle of pastry making, with high difficulty that’s impossible to find on review apps, selling it at 8 yuan—cheaper than Three Meat Buns—how would diners value it?
But if it sells for 88 yuan... Well, even that isn’t too much for a pastry, but what Qin Huai is making is a knock-off apple pastry.
The kind that even Zheng Siyuan feels ashamed of, betraying his ancestors.
The kind that looks worse the better it’s buffed.
You could say, it lacks all the flavor, filling, shape, and color a pastry should have.
Hey, if it lacks all that, is it still a pastry?
Qin Huai’s eyes lit up, feeling he just came up with a great idea.
"Siyuan, what do you think of this recipe?" Qin Huai asked.
Zheng Siyuan, already halfway through his second, thought critically about the taste and found the bun filling paired surprisingly well with the pastry skin. If wrapped ordinarily in a bun, the sensation wouldn’t be the same.
"It’s quite good." Zheng Siyuan sincerely praised, "This recipe is daring but surprisingly fitting. The chef who came up with this must have profound control over fire control, an exceptional meat Chef good at using his strengths to hide his weaknesses."
Qin Huai picked up his only self-brushed, rather ugly apple pastry. After steaming, the pastry expanded, evolving into even more uneven patches, looking quite unpleasant.
"What do you think of adding this to the cafeteria’s staple snacks?" Qin Huai asked.
Zheng Siyuan didn’t know whether to praise Qin Huai’s courage or call him delusional.
Pastry, cafeteria, staple snack—such niche terms.
"Probably not," Zheng Siyuan politely opposed, "The difficulty and time involved in pastry making is significant—even with meat filling, it doesn’t get any easier; maybe even harder for you."
"Even if you worked 24 hours a day non-stop, you couldn’t make many pastries. Such high-end snacks aren’t suited for mass sale."
"What if I shorten the production time?" Qin Huai pointed to the pastry in his hand, "The challenge of the apple pastry lies in shaping it like an apple, but if the shape doesn’t need to be perfect and just vaguely fruit-like, the coloring just ."
"In this way, while still somewhat tricky, the process speeds up. As proficiency grows, I could custom order molds from a carpenter, thereby speeding things up even more."
Zheng Siyuan’s soul asked, "Is it still a pastry if made ?"
"That’s exactly what I think!" Qin Huai felt understood by Zheng Siyuan, "So it should have a new name."
Abbreviated form of ’apple pastry’!
Zheng Siyuan was utterly shocked, thinking such renegade origins were advantageous. Doing such unorthodox, ancestry-betraying acts without any mental burden, precisely because there were no ancestors to betray or doctrines to defy.
Damn, when thought about this way, there’s even a bit of envy.
"As long as you’re happy," Zheng Siyuan squeezed out a smile, "The recipe given by Mr. Luo, as long as he’s satisfied, feel free to improvise. Even renaming it, Mr. Luo as a diner wouldn’t mind."
"Just don’t claim this guo’er is actually an apple pastry."
"Rest assured, I won’t," Qin Huai assured, "I think this guo’er is really good. The filling can hone fire control, and the pastry itself can practice Finger Skill. How about we make more batches this afternoon, calling it a new product and have Mr. Xu and the others taste-test? It’ll be good frying practice for me." suggested Qin Huai.
Zheng Siyuan naturally had no objections. He thought Qin Huai made valid points; as long as this guo’er wasn’t a pastry, it was indeed an ideal, tailor-made practice dish for Qin Huai.
Zheng Siyuan gladly agreed.
If practice continues in the afternoon, then there’s no need to save any separately for Qin Luo.
Qin Huai first looked after his own people, offering An Youyou and Chen An, both finished with work and about to leave, two guo’ers each, for them to enjoy on the way home and taste today’s training results.
The remaining guo’ers were distributed among the working meat Chefs, one for Huang Xi, two each for Qin Congwen and Zhao Rong, and two for Ouyang, who came to eat at the cafeteria. There were none left.
Chen An, used to tailored meals every day at the cafeteria, was cheerfully taking these premium treats to the subway.
It was An Youyou’s first time with such high-end meals. Unaccustomed, she was reluctant to eat them right away and feared they’d get squashed in her bag, especially since she still had a long way home on her e-bike.
"Brother Chen, isn’t this the pastry Master Xiao Zheng has been making recently?" An Youyou asked.
"Yes, apple pastries, you can tell by the shape," Chen An nodded, contemplating a reward of bubble tea for himself from across the milk tea shop.
"Are these expensive?" An Youyou asked.
"Expensive!" Chen An affirmed, "Didn’t Director Chen’s brother come to discuss business at the cafeteria recently? They ordered these, at 125 each!"
An Youyou’s pupils shrunk in shock, feeling the simple plastic bag didn’t do the guo’ers justice. She held them in her hands right then.
She was holding 250 yuan, essentially two days of wages!
Without any hesitation, she grabbed one and took a bite.
The guo’er was at the perfect temperature, warm enough to bring out the juicy filling, with meat filling and carrot puree spreading in her mouth, the mushroom and bamboo shoot dice chewed between her teeth. Normally, when even the Three and Five Fillings Buns were rare to come by, biting into a snack of this caliber had An Youyou closing her eyes in sheer happiness.
Chen An laughed at how exaggerated her expression was: "Is it really that good? You’re overdoing it like acting."
"Having money is great." An Youyou opened her eyes, gazing longingly at the Yunzhong District walls, "I, too, want to be as wealthy as Grandpa Qian or Uncle Wang, living in Yunzhong District, eating Master Xiao Qin’s snacks every day."
Surprised she extracted life goals from eating, Chen An shook his head: "Yunzhong District is out of reach for workers like us."
"I’d be content just being able to afford a down payment there."
"I want to live there one day," An Youyou said, eyes firm as ever, "I want to be wealthy, that’s the life I desire!"
"Brother Chen, see you tomorrow. I’m heading home to rest; I’m working tomorrow at 2 o’clock. Bye-bye."
Stuffing the other guo’er into her mouth, she quickly finished it. Protectively tying the next one in a knot to prevent any accidents, she cheerfully rode her clearly second-hand e-moped home from work.
Leaving Chen An utterly bewildered.
"2 o’clock... Didn’t she say 2:30 just this morning?"
"The boss doesn’t encourage starting too early!"