"It must be Four Happiness Dumplings! What’s wrong with you three? If you feel unwell, go see a doctor, don’t just tough it out here."
Grandpa Qian continued to frown, frowning until Wang Gen Sheng already took out his phone, ready to contact the children of the three stubborn elders to drag them to the hospital, before he slowly spoke:
"Though Four Happiness Dumplings aren’t as good as guo’er, they are tastier than Three Meat Buns."
Xu Tuqiang added: "And it’s best eaten in-store, because it’s not easy to pack."
Grandma Ding agreed: "Huang Ji’s Three Meat Buns start forming queues at 5 in the morning."
Wang Gen Sheng suddenly understood what the three were worried about.
Wang Gen Sheng weakly asked: "In the future, will we also have to queue outside at 5 in the morning to get into the store to eat Four Happiness Dumplings?"
Wang Gen Sheng hurriedly stopped looking for the contact details of the three stubborn elders’ children, and instead called his own wife.
"Juan’er, yes, there are Four Happiness Dumplings today. Can you ask our son and daughter to come over later? No, now, I’m worried if we wait too long, we won’t get to eat."
Soon, the diners eating at Yunzhong Restaurant started calling others over, and before it was even seven o’clock, the ground floor hall was full, with half of the second floor also occupied.
Bear in mind, this is usually how busy it gets at regular dinner times.
It’s even after some of the elderly patrons willingly stopped chatting and left because the business was too good, freeing up seating.
Huang Xi keenly noticed there was surely a battle to be fought this morning, and after obtaining Qin Huai’s consent and settling overtime pay, she messaged the employees who were resting today one by one, asking if they could come to work.
Li Hua felt the sky was falling when he arrived at the store.
Hadn’t he already arrived half an hour early for work? What was the last name Pei person doing in the kitchen kneading dough?
Does living nearby make you special? Exactly what time did you start work?
Didn’t you say after work yesterday that there wouldn’t be competition today?
Li Hua quickly changed clothes in the dressing room and rushed into the kitchen.
As soon as he entered the kitchen, Li Hua witnessed a heart-wrenching scene.
Pei Xing, who had just been kneading dough at the culinary station, was now standing next to Qin Huai, who was kneading, moving slowly, even pausing after each knead to start explaining.
Although the explanatory content lacked substance.
"It’s this feeling. Can you sense it? It seems like applying a lot of force, but when kneading the dough, it’s a gentle touch, unfolding the dough."
"The dough you just kneaded is marginally better than before, but that’s not properly kneaded, that’s just forcing a lot of power. You don’t need to use brute force when kneading, it’s not about skill, it’s more about the sensation. You understand what I mean by sensation, right?"
Pei Xing displayed a suddenly enlightened expression, which Li Hua was all too familiar with; every apprentice from Zhiwei Restaurant knew how to show this expression.
"I seem to understand a bit, thank you Master Qin, I’ll go back and ponder this myself."
This very rhetoric, every Zhiwei Restaurant apprentice who received a master’s guidance used this damned rhetoric!
Pei Xing turned around, saw Li Hua, and casually remarked: "Li Hua, you’re here, just in time, the kitchen is busy and short-handed."
This very eye-rolling, every competition king at Zhiwei Restaurant did this very eye-rolling!
Pei Xing, you still claim you’re not the competition king!
Qin Huai was pleased to see Li Hua arriving. The helpers hired by Yunzhong Restaurant were too ordinary, really incomparable with Huang Ji’s, with knife skills that were at a normal restaurant helper level.
Pei Xing’s knife skills were decent, but Li Hua’s knife skills were even better.
"Li Hua, you’re here, just in time. I’ll send you the meat filling photos and requirements, and you handle chopping a batch of meat filling for me, you’re the one with the best knife skills in our restaurant, we’ve been waiting on you," Qin Huai said happily.
Li Hua smugly passed by Pei Xing, turning his head, showing a face as if saying, "What if you came early, my knife skills are the best."
Then Li Hua turned his face towards Qin Huai, showing a humble apprentice demeanor: "Sure, Master Qin, I’ll chop right away!"
"If there are any questions when making the snacks, feel free to ask me," Qin Huai smiled, "anything about kneading or filling can be asked."
"Thanks, Master Qin!"
The morning’s business was unexpectedly brisk.
Possibly because Qin Huai’s visit to Xiao Ou Handmade Lemon Tea Store yesterday afternoon had warmed up the situation in advance, many nearby office workers caught wind, knowing that Qin Huai’s buns and mantou would likely be available this morning. Worried that business would be booming on Master Qin’s first day back, not allowing split orders, they got up half an hour to an hour earlier to snatch them.
After all, there was precedent for not allowing split orders; when Dried Tangerine Peel Tea sold the most, forget split orders, even running errands to the store might not guarantee getting a spot.
And those who arrived early got lucky.
Currently, Yunzhong Restaurant’s Four Happiness Dumplings are only available for dine-in, not takeout.
The reason for not allowing takeout is simple; Four Happiness Dumplings, unlike buns or mantou, aren’t conveniently consumed while walking, and once cooled, reheating by steaming or microwaving could potentially affect the taste if not handled well.
The essence of Four Happiness Dumplings is large glutinous rice balls.
Anyone who’s tried glutinous rice balls knows that if you don’t finish the freshly cooked ones at the first serving and cook them again... when you have them next time, you’ll likely end up with sesame glutinous rice skin soup.
Cooking for too long may make the glutinous rice skin disappear entirely, turning directly into sesame paste.
Qin Huai could only say that Four Happiness Dumplings really lucked out on their name and shape. Many native Shan City people simply regard them as a new kind of snack, unaware of their real nature as large glutinous rice balls.
Spending 68 yuan to eat a bowl of glutinous rice balls might drive many to curse the store as a scam, but spending the same 68 yuan on a new snack is something many can accept.
Only the glutinous rice balls are hurt in this world.
Since the Four Happiness Dumplings sell for 68 a bowl, Qin Huai must ensure that what people eat is always A-Level taste.
Moreover, Yunzhong Restaurant is essentially a community canteen, unlike upscale restaurants that prioritize dining atmosphere, considering table spacing and decor.
Of course, Yunzhong Restaurant’s decor is quite nice; while offering nice decor, it also encompasses the biggest advantage of a community canteen—high space utilization.
Simply put, there are enough tables and chairs.
The total number of guests that the first and second floor can accommodate is much more than normal restaurants.
Qin Huai felt with Yunzhong Restaurant’s area, guaranteeing that morning dine-in customers could eat a bowl of hot Four Happiness Dumplings in-store was certainly no issue.
This was Qin Huai’s thought before 8 in the morning.
To be accurate, it was his thought at 7:47 AM.
Because from 7:48 AM, Yunzhong Restaurant had its first customer standing and eating dumplings while holding a bowl.
Considering that as it got closer to the worktime, customers rushed more, yet were eager to try the new product the Master Qin learned during his months away, while they all had budgets at the ready.
The customer standing and eating dumplings at 7:48 AM might just be the beginning.
By 8:27 AM, the store couldn’t accommodate any more, leading customers to stand outside the store eating dumplings.
This was practically a live advertisement.
For many customers trying A-Level snacks for the first time, Four Happiness Dumplings were a revelation.
A food that upended their understanding of snacks.
When many customers believed Three Meat Buns and Five Fillings Bun were the world’s tastiest snacks, Four Happiness Dumplings burst out swinging, slapping them with four big slaps, grabbing their collars to question:
What did you say? Who’s really the world’s tastiest snack?!
After being slapped four times, the customers would nod at the Four Happiness Dumplings repeatedly, saying: It’s you, Four Happiness Dumplings are indeed the world’s tastiest snacks.
The Fourth level Soup Dumplings aren’t really fragrant snacks; to be precise, they hardly have any fragrance while eating.
Unlike freshly steamed Three Meat Buns or Five Fillings Bun, whose aroma spreads through several meters with one bite.
But the expressions on the customers’ faces are a powerful advertisement.
When you pass by a store, find it packed with crowds, some sitting to eat, some standing to eat, some even standing outside because the inside couldn’t hold any more.
Those standing outside, chewing in the cold wind with faces full of contentment, oblivious to their surroundings, focused solely on chewing the dumplings.
No words are needed at such moments; those who understand know to step inside the store and order a bowl of the same dumplings people from outside are holding.
Who could resist trying a bowl?
For 6.8 dollar postage, I’d turn back and leave, but for 68 dollar Four Happiness Dumplings, I’ve got to try it!