Qin Huai felt the buffs were stacked quite well; other than tomorrow not being Gong Liang’s birthday, all possible buffs were in place.
He had tried making Qianhua Gongdeng Buns, and they indeed posed a high level of finger skill challenge, purely a technical issue. Forcing himself to make them caused Qin Huai significant pain, and the end result wasn’t very appealing either.
Instead of practicing Four Happiness dumplings and then spending half a year figuring out the Qianhua Gongdeng Buns, why not take a gamble and see if he could find a shortcut.
If there’s no shortcut, then practice again. They’re not mutually exclusive.
So, before Zheng Da got off work, Qin Huai secretly called him over, expressing his love for Qianhua Gongdeng Buns and complimenting Zheng Da’s previous work with exquisite language skills.
Oh, those buns from last time were truly a work of art!
Qin Huai hoped to see the piece of art again tomorrow.
On a normal day, Zheng Da might hesitate on whether to make them.
Making one or two is fine, but with so many people eating tomorrow, even if Zheng Da liked showing off, he wouldn’t want to exert so much effort just for that.
But in the situation yesterday, Zheng Da agreed without any hesitation.
He really needed to prove himself.
The rebellious child actually questioned his dim sum making skills!
What’s wrong with making mixed fruit glutinous rice balls with peanut and melon seed filling? What’s wrong with being simple? Deliciousness is key!
Do you think your old man can’t make complex snacks? Do you think he’s just someone who slacks off? Don’t underestimate your old man’s skills, okay!
Zheng Da felt Qin Huai’s request was really a godsend; as long as he produced two plates of Qianhua Gongdeng Buns that were true pieces of art, he could prove his skills while showing off.
He could transform from a slacker to Master Zheng, who has his own ideas.
The most crucial part was that when the buns are served, he wouldn’t have to say a word; they would speak for themselves.
Thus, Zheng Da immediately assured it was no problem and took the chance to boast, saying last time was just casually done and not worth calling art. This time, he’d make a grander one to show Qin Huai what true craftsmanship in Qianhua Gongdeng Buns looked like.
With Zheng Da handling the Qianhua Gongdeng Buns, Qin Huai felt there shouldn’t be too much trouble with his Four Happiness dumplings.
If the taste wasn’t great, emotions would fill the gap anyway; the Four Happiness dumplings had enough buffs.
For tomorrow’s decisive victory, he would have to bother the trial-tasting group of uncles and aunts and the couple next door tonight.
If there’s nothing to eat tonight but a surprise tomorrow, it’s even better.
Qin Huai casually bluffed: "If you eat today, you won’t eat tomorrow. It’s just one night; the flavor won’t change that much."
"Just be careful when you cook them yourself at home tomorrow and don’t overcook them."
Ouyang was immediately touched, "Good brother, no need to say more!"
As long as my hand-shaken lemon tea shop is open, you’ll have tea to drink.
Just as they were talking, the dumplings were done.
In total, only four were cooked; two per person, three flavors in a blind box style.
After the 3 minutes and 50 seconds cooldown, both Qin Huai and Ouyang started eating.
The first one Qin Huai ate was the peanut and melon seed one.
Don’t say, this filling, though common and normal, did indeed suit the public taste and was hard to mess up.
Moreover, it was simpler compared to other fillings; the ingredients’ combination was easier to control, less prone to failure, and allowed for breakthroughs.
"Mmm." Qin Huai made a sound of admiration.
Just as he was praising it, his phone rang; it was a WeChat call from Qin Luo.
"Hello hello hello hello hello, brother brother brother brother, can you hear me? Can you hear? Can you hear me? Let me know if you hear me, hello!"
Qin Luo’s voice echoed throughout the kitchen, making even the uncooked mixed fruit-filled dumplings wish they could cover their ears.
Such excitement surely meant good news.
Qin Huai swallowed the dumpling in his mouth: "Yeah."
"Brother, let me tell you, we..."
"Started the holiday early?" Qin Huai interjected.
Qin Luo, interrupted in casting her spell, paused for several seconds, then organized whatever language she could to resume with excitement and a raised voice:
"Yes, holiday starts early! After tomorrow’s last exam, I can head to Gusu to find you!"
"Mom already bought me a ticket for tomorrow afternoon, and if I transfer to the high-speed train, I’ll arrive by 11 PM! Brother, what fun things are there in Gusu? What delicious food? What can I eat at 11 PM?"
"You’ve only come back for a few days in the past couple of months, and I’ve been eating in the canteen and Chen An’s buns every day, starving me slim. Just earlier, I had a video call with Grandma, and she said my face looks a lot thinner. She even transferred me 500 yuan to buy more good food."
"Really, that’s great. When you come to Gusu, you can give me the 500 yuan Grandma sent you to cover part of the snack debt you owe." Qin Huai calmly ate the dumpling.
Qin Luo’s voice halted again.
"Paying debts is only right. The finals have already started, haven’t they? How do you think you did? How much lucky money do you think you’ll get for the New Year? Will it be enough to cover your debt?"
Ouyang looked at Qin Huai in shock, as if he were seeing a heartless capitalist.
"Brother!" Qin Luo’s voice was even more pitiful.
"Okay, enough about that. As for what fun things are in Gusu, I don’t know—your Brother Ouyang will have to take you. As for food, there’s plenty across from our house: Crab Meat Meatballs, Braised Silver Carp Head, Braised Pig’s Head, Sizzling Fried Eel, Squirrel Mandarin Fish, Big Boiled Dried Shredded Tofu, Biluo Shrimp, Soft Pouch Long Fish, Pine Nut Corn, Wensi Tofu, Chuncai Soup, Cherry Meat, Yangzhou Fried Rice, Dongpo Knuckle, Dongpo Pork—all are quite delicious. When you arrive, I’ll introduce you to a Brother Huang; have him talk while you eat, it tastes even better."
Qin Luo swallowed hard.
"However, you’re a high school student now, so you can’t just think about eating, drinking, and playing all the time during winter break without regard for studying. You can certainly indulge more during the New Year, but there’s still some time until then, and if you play around every day while I work at Huang Ji without supervising you, Mom and Dad won’t feel safe leaving you in Gusu." Qin Huai’s tone was full of hesitation and struggle.
"Don’t worry, brother, I’ll definitely study well at home; I’ll finish my homework every day before going out to eat!" Qin Luo lamented that it was a voice call and not a video call, otherwise she would have made a vow right there.
"I’m not at ease with you studying alone at home. Now that you’re in high school, we can’t tutor you that easily."
"I can attend tutoring classes!"
"This is Gusu, and you’re going to a private school; where will you go for tutoring classes?"
Qin Luo was bewildered: "Then what do we do? Mom already bought the ticket; she wouldn’t make me go back to do homework after staying in Gusu for just a few days, right?"
"I have an idea." Qin Huai smiled slightly, putting his bowl down as it was inconvenient to gesture with it.
"If you can’t go to tutoring classes, we can hire one-on-one tutoring teachers. Once your final scores are out, hire a tutor for whichever subject you didn’t do well in, paying all at once."
"That way, if Mom and Dad want you to go back, I’ll just say the lessons aren’t finished and non-refundable. Being protective of finances, they’ll definitely let you stay until the lessons are done before you return."
Qin Luo was overjoyed: "Brother, you’re so smart!"
Then she hesitated a bit: "But..."
The trailing tone made Ouyang, on the other end of the call, nervous, glaring at Qin Huai disapprovingly for misleading his sister, thinking: See, she’s found out.
"One-on-one tutoring is expensive."
"It won’t be. We know people."
Qin Luo finally felt at ease: "Then let’s do what you said. Haha, I can stay in Gusu until New Year’s! Brother, you won’t be like Mom and confiscate my phone, letting me only play for two hours a day, right?"
"Of course not." Qin Huai smiled, even though Qin Luo couldn’t see his expression, "As long as classes are done and homework is finished, you can play as much as you want!"
If Qin Luo still had time to play when the time came.
Qin Huai considered himself a very democratic brother, respecting his sister’s opinions.
He also placed high importance on education. Spending a bit more money on his sister’s grades was no big deal.
Qin Huai hung up the phone.
Ouyang was puzzled, holding his bowl and pointing at the phone, "Every holiday, was Luoluo coaxed into extra classes ?"
Qin Huai waved his hand: "How can you say ’coaxed’? She had more back in elementary school. When I was in high school, my parents, wanting to be fair, would enroll her in as many classes as I had, complementing language, math, English with math competitions and Go; thinking back, Luoluo did pretty well in elementary school."
"It’s just that, in junior high, there were fewer classes—by then I was done with tutoring, and sometimes when Luoluo didn’t want to go and caused a fuss, my parents, pressed for time, just let it go."
"Now is a critical time, and money isn’t an issue at home. Having more classes is good for the kid."
Ouyang: "I feel you simply don’t want Luoluo to have too much fun during the break."
"How can you say that? I’m known far and wide in our hometown as a great brother." Qin Huai looked solemn.
"Caring about my sister’s studies is my duty."