Zheng Da and Huang Shengli both strongly agree with his way of learning and teaching.
However, the two had a huge disagreement over how to add, subtract, delete, or modify the mistakes in the mistakes notebook.
The Crab Dumplings made by Qin Huai are notoriously bad, which is a widely accepted fact.
But as for exactly how they taste bad, why they end up tasting so bad, and how Qin Huai’s culinary skills and abilities can be adjusted to make the dumplings less unpalatable, became the issue.
Huang Shengli and Zheng Da held completely different views on this.
Zheng Da felt it was simply a lack of practice.
His teaching method paired with Qin Huai’s learning style was a perfect match, a naturally paired master and disciple. As long as they followed this model, with him cooking once and Qin Huai cooking once every day, repeating continuously for a month or two, it would solve it.
In summary, it was just one sentence.
Huang Shengli felt that if Zheng Da really didn’t understand how to teach a student, he should step aside and not waste time.
Is Qin Huai’s problem really just a lack of practice?
But clearly, there were other issues as well.
Huang Shengli could see at a glance that Qin Huai was very unfamiliar with the ingredients needed for Crab Dumplings.
Whether it was fresh shrimp, crab meat, or crab roe, none of these were ingredients Qin Huai was skilled with.
Huang Shengli thought that what Qin Huai needed to do now was not practice Crab Dumplings, but first get familiar with the ingredients. He needed a knowledgeable master to guide him step by step, to help him understand how to prepare and taste them.
As for that master, he was right in front of him.
Zheng Da thought Huang Shengli was making a fuss over nothing.
Huang Shengli thought Zheng Da didn’t know how to teach students.
"That’s how Master taught me back in the day!" Zheng Da shouted.
Zheng Da looked at Huang Shengli, with a face full of you’re doubting my teaching abilities, surely you shouldn’t doubt Master’s abilities as a teacher.
"How can your situation be the same as Xiao Qin’s?" Huang Shengli retorted decisively, with an expression that said who knows how long you’ve been teaching Xiao Qin.
"When Master was teaching the two of us, he didn’t skip any basic skills. At that time, we were apprentices, just doing odd jobs in the State-owned Restaurant, no pay but plenty of work. Dirty and hard work, we did it all, from chopping vegetables to handling ingredients, we had plenty of contact with fish, shrimp, and crabs. When we were first responsible for the water platform, we even smelled fishy all over even during sleep, unable to sleep due to the smell, have you forgotten?"
Zheng Da’s voice got softer: "That was back then, not how Si Yuan was taught when he was little. Back then was back then, now is now, and those days had no such conditions."
"I know, and I don’t teach my apprentices like that either. I’m trying to tell you, Xiao Qin is different from us, he doesn’t have that foundation."
"We all grew up here, eating the fish, shrimp, and crabs from the river since we were little. Back then there were no seasonings, boil or steam, if there was anything else to eat why would anyone choose this stuff, the fishy taste of fish, shrimp, and crab is ingrained in us."
"So when Master taught you how to make Crab Dumplings, you naturally knew how to remove the fishy taste and adjust the flavor, because you were familiar."
"But Xiao Qin is not like that, if you even ask him, the number of times he’s eaten crab since he was a child is probably not even a fraction of yours."
"Listen to yourself, it’s not like Xiao Qin’s family is so poor..."
"I’m saying Xiao Qin just doesn’t like to eat crab! Talk to him some more and you’ll know, his sister Luoluo got sick of eating steamed crab when she was little, for a few years even the smell of crab made her nauseous, their family never steamed crabs."
Zheng Da was shocked: "How come Luoluo gets sick of whatever she eats."
"That’s why I’m saying the situations are different. Xiao Qin has limited exposure to these kinds of ingredients, he doesn’t even know them well usually. It’s like letting a child who hasn’t learned the alphabet write an essay, aren’t you making it difficult for him? Is that how you teach? You still want to take him as a disciple, but you don’t even know how to teach, on what basis can you accept him as a disciple? You think having skills is enough? You think just having skills makes you a good master?"
Zheng Da was scolded by Huang Shengli into silence.
"Enough already, let me teach first, let me build the foundation, and after I’m done you can teach. Stop bragging in front of me about researching for several days and discovering some great teaching method, all your research in these decades hasn’t produced much of anything."
Huang Shengli achieved a complete victory.
Qin Huai was dumbfounded by the scene.
Because these two were arguing right in front of him.
It was the first time Qin Huai had witnessed such a scene.
Since researching locust flower buns, he had been taught by Zheng Da, and by Huang Shengli, but had never been taught by the two of them at the same time. Occasionally they appeared together, it was always over the phone, Qin Huai never expected that when they taught together in person, it would be...
So unlike fellow disciples.
Huang Shengli looked at Qin Huai, instantly switching to the kindly master expression with a smile: "Xiao Qin, don’t listen to what your Master Zheng says, he just can’t teach these basic things."
"Come on, let me take you to the seafood section to pick some live shrimp, I’ll start by teaching you how to choose the right shrimp and crabs."
Qin Huai looked towards Zheng Siyuan for help.
Yes, Zheng Siyuan was there today too.
Even though he hadn’t spoken a word from beginning to end, acting as if he hadn’t entered the scene. But Zheng Siyuan was in the kitchen the whole time, playing the role of a taste tester.
Zheng Siyuan nodded affirmatively.
"Just get used to it." Zheng Siyuan said, "My dad and Uncle have had incompatible teaching philosophies for many years, they often argued when they taught me as a child too."
"Don’t worry about what they’re arguing about, just learn from whoever wins."
"The winner is right."
Your sect’s teaching method is so unique.
Teaching through arguments, whoever wins gets to teach.