"Qin Huai, what are you planning to practice this afternoon?"
Qin Huai isn’t in the habit of taking a midday break. Every noon, after eating, he makes snacks for a while, then practices Fire Control with Huang Shengli. He rests for 10 minutes before starting the evening service.
In fact, if you really add it up, Qin Huai spends no less time practicing snacks every day during this period than the hardworking bunch at Zhiwei Restaurant.
Qin Huai even makes another batch when he goes home at night.
However, Qin Huai doesn’t feel tired. To him, some snacks are work, some are tasks, and some are relaxation.
Although he’s making snacks from morning till night, these snacks vary, encompassing both work and entertainment.
"Hedgehog Bun, didn’t you see I brought my toolkit?" Qin Huai said.
Qin Huai has a set of tools specifically for shaping snacks.
Although his Finger Skill has just reached the Intermediate level, as they say, a poor student has many supplies. Qin Huai isn’t any less equipped with various pastry tools than the professionally trained chefs.
Small tongs, small awls, small rods for shaping, and some peculiar gadgets and various molds, Qin Huai has them all.
Recently, he was strongly recommended by Zheng Da to get some new tools for making intricate edges on Qianhua Buns.
"Why did you suddenly start practicing Hedgehog Bun again?" Tan Wei’an asked with curiosity.
From what Tan Wei’an knows about Qin Huai, if Qin Huai suddenly practices a certain snack one day, it might be on a whim. But if he practices the same snack for two consecutive days, it means he’s serious about it.
No matter how many days exactly he’s practiced, even if it’s just two days, it’s deliberate practice.
"Practicing Finger Skill to get the feel of it. I plan to practice Qianhua Gongdeng Bun in a while," Qin Huai said, putting down his bowl and casually stopping a passing Zhiwei Restaurant chef, "Is anyone making xiaolongbao today?"
"Yes, yes, yes, Master Qin, I’ll get it for you!"
Ever since the Zhiwei Restaurant chefs came to help at Huang Ji, the variety of breakfast has become increasingly abundant.
"Practicing new snacks again," Tan Wei’an murmured, then raised his voice, "Qin Huai, why on earth are you practicing so many peculiar snacks?"
Tan Wei’an directly asked the question that had troubled Zheng Siyuan for a long time.
"Because friends want to eat them," Qin Huai felt his mouth a little dry, grabbed a washed tomato from the vegetables, and started biting it. "Like the Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Ball, Mr. Gong wants to eat it."
"Rice cakes are Dr. Qu’s favorites."
"Double Crab Bun is something Uncle Wang wants to eat."
"Including the guo’er I make every day now, it’s liked by a friend you don’t know who doesn’t like going out."
"Many with meat fillings, and even more imperial snacks, are what my sister Luoluo wants to eat."
"You practice just because friends want to eat them? Like practicing making Four Happiness Glutinous Rice Ball?" Tan Wei’an was shocked.
"Yeah," Qin Huai obviously couldn’t tell Tan Wei’an that some snacks were to complete game tasks, so he used another explanation, "Aren’t snacks meant to be made for people to eat?"
"It’s just that for many chefs, the snacks are made for the customers. As for me, many snacks are made for friends to eat."
"For me, as long as family and friends are happy eating my snacks, it’s satisfying enough. Not to mention, I can also earn money. No matter what snacks I make, I might as well make the ones I want to, the ones that can make family and friends happy."
Tan Wei’an still wore a shocked expression, with a hint of realization and satori.
"Why did you suddenly ask this?" Qin Huai asked.
"I just suddenly felt confused after coming to Huang Ji," Tan Wei’an blurted out. "I’ve learned many snacks, have many good recipes, and even some secret recipes, too many to learn them all."
"So for the last couple of years, I’ve been a bit lost on what to practice, what to make, where to start learning, where to start practicing. Too many choices left me unsure which is the best. I can’t manage the hardest ones, yet am unsatisfied with doing the ones I’m best at."
"Seeing you doing this and that every day, I thought you were like me. Turns out, you’re different."
Did he just hear some sort of humblebrag?
What does it mean to have too many snack recipes to learn? Just how many recipes are in your treasure bag, Tan Wei’an, that you can’t learn them all?
"Qin Huai, where do you think I should start practicing from?" Tan Wei’an looked as though he’d found a life mentor.
Qin Huai really wanted to tell Tan Wei’an to empty out his treasure bag so he could see just how many snack recipes there are that he can’t learn them all.
But he couldn’t do that.
Tan Wei’an just said that many are secret recipes; no matter how good the relationship is, you can’t casually look at someone else’s secret recipe.
Not to mention, both Tan Wei’an and Qin Huai were actually labor dispatches to Huang Ji, only temporary colleagues.
"Practice what you like, or if that doesn’t work, practice what Guli likes. Isn’t he your junior brother? Having someone close help with taste-testing can be motivating."
Tan Wei’an found this sensible and quickly sidled up to Guli: "Junior brother, what kind of snacks do you like to eat?"
Guli looked up at Tan Wei’an, said nothing, and continued making snacks.
Guli was a bit puzzled why third senior brother had any right to nag about Qin Huai becoming obsessed with making Mixed Fruit Filling, turning into a weirdo. He wasn’t much better himself.
Since coming to Huang Ji, the third senior brother had become increasingly unreliable.
That night, Qin Huai made another batch of mixed fruit filling glutinous rice balls.
With the first attempt yesterday giving a general direction and the exchange with Tan Wei’an setting the main tone during the day, the mixed fruit filling glutinous rice balls achieved a huge breakthrough!