Pointing at the person next to him, Zhang Chu said, "Look, doesn’t it resemble?"
Honestly, it really does.
When she arrived, she also thought the Qin Family Village was holding an event this year. On the way, she even took out her phone, ready to capture dragon and lion dances.
Standing beside them, Qin Huai: ...
Do you two always talk without considering who’s around? At least lower your voices a bit.
Then Zhang Chu blatantly pointed at Qin Huai and asked, "Guixiang, are you sure Master Qin can use the molds I made? Didn’t you say those molds could only be used by professional pastry chefs?"
"He can," Cao Guixiang nodded confidently. "After tasting his dumplings, you already called him Master Qin. Do you think he can’t?"
Qin Huai felt it was time to show off a little.
Clearing his throat to grab their attention, Qin Huai sincerely introduced himself, "Grandpa Zhang, I’m a professional pastry chef. I’ve been featured in ’Taste,’ and the cover snack of this year’s first issue was one of mine."
Qin Huai felt completely satisfied after saying that. Ever since he learned about the prestige of ’Taste,’ he hadn’t had a chance to casually show off .
Then he saw Zhang Chu looking at him, bewildered, and turn to ask Cao Guixiang, "Guixiang, what’s ’Taste’?"
Equally puzzled, Cao Guixiang said, "I think it’s a magazine. I’ve been retired for years, but it might be a rather famous one."
Zhang Chu suddenly realized, "I see. Master Qin really has a successor. Young Master Qin is indeed better than his predecessors. Rest assured, if you say the word, I’ll make you as many sets of molds as you want for free, using the finest wood!"
The defeated Qin Huai silently looked up at the sky.
After some awkward small talk at the kitchen entrance with Zhang Chu and Cao Guixiang, and also with their son and daughter, Qin Huai went back to work.
The kitchen helpers asked, waiting for Master Qin to return and take charge.
Qin Huai barely knew the Zhang family before today, having no contact, except for early on when Qin Congwen paid something akin to a ’tuition fee.’ They had zero interaction otherwise.
The meeting today was mainly due to Old Secretary’s arrangements. Qin Huai had no other purpose but to request Zhang Chu to make another batch of molds. Adding each other on WeChat would be enough, and details could be discussed later.
Zhang Zhiyun and Qin Luo had already run outside the courtyard, arguing whether the elder was more impressive or the elder brother. Other members of the Zhang family wandered around with bowls, catching gossip while finishing their Four Happiness Glutinous Rice, then dividing Three Meat Buns and Fermented Rice with Steamed Buns.
"Mom, try this bun, it’s really delicious!" Zhang Chiyuan eagerly offered a bun to his mother, stuffing two in Cao Guixiang’s hand and one in Zhang Chu’s.
After a bowl of Four Happiness Glutinous Rice, Cao Guixiang felt pretty full. She had just stir-fried two dishes at the village chief’s house in the village where she served as a young trainee, nibbled a few bites, and came over. With no room for more buns, she took a tentative bite.
With just one bite, Cao Guixiang was astonished again.
When it comes to tasting snacks, amateurs enjoy the show, while experts appreciate the craft.
While eating the Four Happiness Glutinous Rice, Cao Guixiang noticed Qin Huai’s exceptional seasoning skills. The fillings of red bean and peanut brittle stood out, while the meat filling was slightly lacking, and the mixed fruit filling overly rich yet uniquely delightful. The overall balance was decent.
Based on the Four Happiness Glutinous Rice alone, Cao Guixiang could determine that Qin Huai wasn’t an ordinary pastry chef. He must have received guidance from a master, possessed excellent recipes, and diligently practiced for years to reach his current level at this age.
After eating a Three Meat Bun, Cao Guixiang also tasted Qin Huai’s remarkable dough-kneading skills.
These two snacks alone were enough to prove he was a mature pastry chef, the kind who could graduate.
Retired for many years, Cao Guixiang suddenly became curious about what kind of master could teach such an outstanding disciple.
Chewing on the bun, Cao Guixiang noticed the Old Secretary eyeing her bun curiously and instinctively offered the untouched one.
Old Secretary didn’t expect to enjoy an employee meal after retiring, and happily took the bun and began eating.
"Qin Zhishu, I have something to ask you," Cao Guixiang said. "Do you know who Young Master Qin’s master is?"
"Master?" the Old Secretary mumbled, considered for two seconds, then decisively shook his head. "Where did Huaihuai find a master? His grandfather mentioned that his skills are self-taught."
Over the past couple of days, the Old Secretary had become addicted to gossip. Whenever someone started a story, he couldn’t help but continue it with everything he knew.
It was nothing more than a story about an orphanage background, a born genius with a brother and sister, full pastry talent, causing a sensation in the village in his first year. He went to the big city to develop after inheriting a legacy and returned with enhanced skills.
To outsiders, it sounded like a success story, but to insiders, it was a legend.
Cao Guixiang was dumbfounded.
You’re telling me these skills were self-taught?
Back when she was learning, Cao Guixiang considered herself a natural genius, but even she couldn’t self-teach to this extent.
In the end, holding a half-eaten and forgotten bun, Cao Guixiang asked in a daze:
"Can I, come in and watch Young Master Qin make snacks?"
The Old Secretary negotiated in the kitchen.
The Qin Family’s kitchen was a restricted area, and random people were not allowed.
But there was room for compromise.
In the past couple of days, while discussing Zhang Chu’s family’s gossip, the Old Secretary spent 40% of his words describing Zhang Chu’s extraordinary carpentry skills, which amazed everyone for miles and attracted envy from other production teams for having such a talented young man with inherent skills, gnashing their teeth in jealousy.
The remaining 60% of his words were devoted to describing how delicious Cao Guixiang’s dishes were. Stir-fried vegetables were delicious, cold mixed wild vegetables were delicious, stewed mixed fish was delicious, and the pork dishes made when the village slaughtered pigs were so tasty that they could make your tongue melt.
Given Zhang Chu’s carpentry skills, Qin Huai had seen molds made by Zhang Chu over twenty years ago. Making a comparison, Qin Huai believed Cao Guixiang’s cooking skills should rival those of Huang Shengli.
Qin Huai welcomed experts of all kinds to offer guidance, and if they could provide an online course, that would be even better.
Young Master Qin admitted he had too many things to practice: filling skills, finger skills, fire control.
Previously, Qin Huai thought he was decent at making snacks, but after activating the game system and seeing the data panel, he felt inadequate everywhere and needed practice in every area.
When Cao Guixiang entered the kitchen, Qin Huai was seasoning the meat filling.
To this day, he hadn’t conquered the Four Happiness Glutinous Rice’s meat filling.
He knew it was a skill issue.
His skill wasn’t up to par, and the meat filling hadn’t kept pace with the other three, falling behind.
This was a proficiency issue.
After frantically making glutinous rice in recent days, Qin Huai’s filling proficiency had increased significantly, now at (82314/100000).
At this rate, there was hope of mastering filling techniques by the Lantern Festival.
Now Qin Huai’s hope was to first master filling, then let the Four Happiness Glutinous Rice catch up, becoming his first truly A-level snack.
Therefore, each time he reached the filling stage, Qin Huai was extremely focused.
Qin Huai began mixing the meat filling.
"Have you ever tried soaking the meat filling twice in starch water?" a gentle voice sounded next to Qin Huai.
"Huh?" Qin Huai turned and saw Cao Guixiang.
Cao Guixiang was staring at the bowl of meat filling, not looking up, she said, "When I was eating the Four Happiness Glutinous Rice, I noticed the meat filling was clearly inferior to the other three sweet fillings, but your seasoning is excellent. You have a great palate. With your level of making Three Meat Buns, there shouldn’t be such a big gap."
"So I thought, you must have some secret recipe for the other three sweet fillings."
"I’m not good at making snacks, especially not sweet fillings, but I happen to have some small tips for savory and meat fillings."
"Soaking the meat filling twice in starch water will have a dramatically different effect. Do you want to try it?"
With a smile, Cao Guixiang looked at Qin Huai, as if she wasn’t revealing a secret recipe but just sharing some practical kitchen tips.
She smiled kindly, looking like a very amiable and easy-going elder.