Huang Xi nodded, "Don’t worry, Master Qin will definitely buy it for you."
"Oh right, there’s more." Qin Huai looked at Chen Huixi with a bit of apology, "Huihui, I was so busy today I didn’t notice you came."
"Brother Huai apologizes to you here. I may not have time recently to study buckwheat buns, so your taste testing will be paused for a while. Once I’m less busy, I’ll make you the buckwheat buns you love. Rest assured, they’ll be even better than before."
Chen Huixi was still holding the unfinished fermented rice bun, and upon hearing this, she nodded firmly, her face full of trust in Qin Huai.
"I believe in you, Brother Huai. You’re the best! You can definitely..." Chen Huixi thought of the topic everyone was discussing earlier and quickly corrected herself, "make fermented rice buns that taste even better than the ones Grandpa Wang had in Gusu!"
Qin Huai was amused by what Chen Huixi said, realizing this child was just like how Qin Luo used to be, unable to hide anything, and nodded with a smile before heading back.
Back home, Qin Huai watched the video tutorial again and then fell into a deep sleep from exhaustion.
Whether it was a case of ’daytime thoughts manifest in dreams’ or he’d just gotten obsessed with making fermented rice buns, Qin Huai dreamed that night of watching Qin Wan make them.
It wasn’t the hand-focused view from the video tutorial, but rather an observer’s perspective.
In the dream, several indistinct children were around Qin Wan as she both tended to them and mashed the fermented rice and kneaded the dough. The whole kitchen was lively with noise.
The dream ended with a pot of aromatic fermented rice buns being completed; Qin Huai was about to eat them when he woke up.
The alarm clock woke him up.
Ah, damn 4 AM shifts.
Qin Huai calculated the time and realized he had slept for a full 10 hours.
Indeed, work makes you sleep better.
There’s no better sleeping pill than work in this world.
Qin Huai smacked his lips, regretting not getting to taste the sweet fermented rice buns in his dream.
If only he had tasted them, maybe inspiration would strike, and he’d know how to make them.
Qin Huai shook his head, casting away the ridiculous thoughts, thinking he truly might have gone mad from making buns.
The weather today wasn’t great; there was some light rain. Master Qin tidied up, grabbed an umbrella, and prepared to head to work.
When he arrived at Yunzhong Restaurant, Qin Congwen was already there, yawning, while wrapping buns.
"Huaihuai!" Seeing Qin Huai arrive, Qin Congwen quickly lifted his spirits, relieved to see Qin Huai looking energetic and not as lethargic as he was, "You must be hungry, your mom cooked some tea eggs, go have one."
Qin Huai obediently went to eat a tea egg, then started the usual dough kneading.
Daily Five Fillings and Three Meat Buns couldn’t be skipped, and he promised Uncle Wang he’d make Crab Shell Cake today, so today’s baked snacks couldn’t be left out either.
At 6 o’clock, it wasn’t Uncle Wang who stepped into Yunzhong Restaurant on time, but Huang Xi who started work early.
Because of the rain, the old men didn’t go for their morning run and were a bit late.
"Master Qin." Huang Xi smiled, lifting the hand with the shopping bag, "Yesterday, you said you wanted handmade fermented rice, and there’s a shop selling it right below where I live. I bought some after work yesterday and kept it in the fridge overnight, and I came early today to bring it over."
Saying this, Huang Xi placed the bag by the window, "It shouldn’t have gotten wet in the rain, and the boss selling the fermented rice told me to keep it in the fridge’s chiller section, saying high temperatures will kill the yeast, which isn’t good for making buns."
"See if this fermented rice is suitable, if it is, I’ll talk to the boss about bulk purchasing to get a discount."
Huang Xi’s words were like a jolt of lightning, instantly waking Qin Huai.
Qin Huai thought of the video tutorial where Qin Wan’s each action was slow.
Kneading, rolling, and even mashing the fermented rice were all done slowly and gently.
At first, he thought it was just Qin Wan’s nature, as in Chen Huihong’s dream, Qin Wan appeared to be a very gentle woman.
But what if some steps really needed to be slow?
Qin Huai quickly went to find the spice-grinding mallet.
"Huaihuai, what are you looking for?"
Qin Congwen & Zhao Rong: ?
Zhao Rong was a bit confused: did their Huaihuai really get too stressed?
Making buns without flour, switching to rice?