The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 464 A Complete Guide to Desserts
Q: When conditions permit, what is Qin Huai's most common method for completing tasks?
A: Express your true feelings directly.

After Zhang Guanghang remained silent for five or six minutes, he sent Qin Huai a message saying that Master Xia's selection of pastries wasn't very extensive. He added that if Qin Huai and his companion really wanted some pastries and didn't mind, they could go to Fenyuan around 2 PM to make them themselves. Following this reply, Qin Huai directly told Zhao Cheng'an:
"You just said you felt today's meal was missing a staple food, right?"

"What kind of main dish would you like to eat? Or rather, a snack?"

Zhao Cheng'an was stumped by Qin Huai's question. He was not in a clear-headed state, and much of what he said was basically nonsense.

Qin Huai's question brought his IQ back to its peak. After thinking for a moment, Zhao Cheng'an asked uncertainly, "Master Xia doesn't seem to be very good at making pastries, does he?"

Listing all the signature dishes that Fen Yuan has been famous for over the years, they are all standard or somewhat unusual braised dishes; not a single one has anything to do with dim sum. It's not hard to tell from the customers who dined at Fen Yuan yesterday that they don't really like staple foods; not a single person at the other two tables ate any rice.

Staple foods are filling, and since Fen Yuan now offers unlimited dishes, of course we'll eat as many vegetables as possible. If we can't get the signature dishes, winter melon, cabbage, or pumpkin are fine too; who eats staple foods in a situation like this?

Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an ate.

Qin Huai did not answer Zhao Cheng'an's question.

Zhao Cheng'an thought for a moment and then said, "The dishes at Fenyuan are all quite appetizing, but eating plain white rice always feels a bit wasteful. If there were white flour steamed buns, rice cakes, cornbread, or the kind of snacks like the yam cakes you made this morning, I think they would be a good match."

"But even if Master Xia knew how to make these kinds of pastries, he probably wouldn't want to. It would feel like a waste of his talents."

Qin Huai revealed a satisfied smile, a smile that gave Zhao Cheng'an a bad feeling.

“That’s what I think too, so when I was chatting with Zhang Guanghang just now, I asked him if we could go to Fenyuan to make some pastries tomorrow afternoon, and Master Xia agreed.”

Zhao Cheng'an: ?

"Tomorrow at 2 pm, the two of us will go to Fenyuan to make the snacks for dinner. You can make whatever you want."

Zhao Cheng'an: ? ? ?
.
On the second day at 1 p.m., the Qin Huai duo, fearing traffic jams and being late, set off an hour early again. As a result, the journey was smooth, and they arrived at the entrance of Fenyuan at 1:32 p.m.

Holding the casserole, Qin Huai looked at the familiar, tightly closed gate of Fen Garden and asked Zhao Cheng'an a soul-searching question: "Didn't they say that the roads in Beiping are terrible and there are traffic jams every day? How come there's never a traffic jam when we come to Fen Garden?"

Zhao Cheng'an looked bewildered: "I don't know."

Qin Huai began to wonder if the mayfly was some kind of rare auspicious beast, possessing the buff that ensured no traffic jams when it went out. If so, he would definitely take Zhao Cheng'an out more often in the future.

The two lingered at the entrance of Fen Garden once again.

Qin Huai hesitated whether to send a message to Zhang Guanghang to tell them that they had accidentally arrived early again.

Zhao Cheng'an felt that they could really go to the sesame seed cake stall this time, buy a sesame seed cake, put it in their pocket even if they didn't eat it, and take it back to eat tomorrow morning.

Qin Huai felt it was unnecessary and suggested that if Zhao Cheng'an really wanted to eat sesame cakes, they could bake them themselves that afternoon. Bringing two sesame cakes to Fenyuan Restaurant would make anyone who didn't know better think they were there to cause trouble because they thought Chef Xia's cooking was bad.

Just as the two were about to start discussing sesame seed cakes at the entrance of Fen Garden, the door opened.

Wearing the same chef's uniform as yesterday, Zhang Guanghang, no longer cold but still expressionless, glanced at the two of them speechlessly and said, "Come in."

As usual, Zhang Guanghang led the way, but yesterday he led the two to the hall and let them sit down, while today he led them into the kitchen to make desserts.

The customer completely transformed into a laborer.

I must say, Fenyuan's kitchen is quite large.

Private restaurants converted from courtyard houses are truly unique, emphasizing a retro and spacious feel. Fen Yuan's kitchen features both modern cooking counters, stoves, and ovens, as well as traditional earthen stoves that can only be found in old rural houses. The wooden cabinets used for storing miscellaneous items have peeling paint and look very old, and there are even firewood and winnowing baskets in the corners.

Of course, Qin Huai thought the most modern thing was the monitoring screen on the wall.

The screen is directly facing the viewer and is extremely high-definition, providing a clear view of the diners in the main hall and private rooms. The only odd thing is that a small section of the screen is black.

Seeing Qin Huai turn his gaze to the black screen, Zhang Guanghang calmly explained, "That screen is broken and there's no time to fix it."

“You can use any of the ingredients in the kitchen. The steamer is over there. Fenyuan rarely makes desserts, so some of the utensils might not be available. Please make do with them.” Zhang Guanghang pointed to two cooking stations for Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng’an. “My master and I will come to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients later. Don’t touch the pots on the stove.”

Qin Huai quickly said, "Master Xia, you have to start preparing the dishes so early every day. You must be working so hard!"

Zhao Cheng'an: ? Hey bro, didn't you give me a wink before you started flattering me? I don't know what to say next.

Zhang Guanghang didn't say anything, leaving the kitchen to the two of them, and silently left.

As soon as Zhang Guanghang left, Zhao Chengan rushed to the freezer to inspect the ingredients, exclaiming repeatedly in surprise:

"Such high-quality bird's nest!"

"Such a huge dried abalone!"

"Such a huge Liaoning sea cucumber!"

"Wow, those hams on the wall!"

If Qin Huai hadn't known that Zhao Cheng'an in this life didn't possess his previous skills, he would have thought that Zhao Cheng'an's memories had awakened after arriving in Beiping, and that he planned to cast his first vote for returning to the industry at Xia Murui's place.

"Alright, stop looking around and hurry up and think about what you want to eat today." Qin Huai said that he should stop looking around, but he was actually looking around himself. When he saw the familiar Babaozhai gift box on the shelf, the things he couldn't understand yesterday suddenly became clear.

“Just what I mentioned yesterday.” Zhao Cheng’an was still intently observing the precious ingredients. “Just some simple steamed buns and rice cakes that can be eaten as a meal will do. I really wanted to dip steamed buns in the broth from several dishes yesterday, but unfortunately there were no steamed buns.”

"Okay, let's make steamed buns first." Qin Huai nodded. What Zhao Cheng'an really wanted to eat was definitely the easiest to complete the task. Qin Huai could now consistently achieve an A- grade in making steamed buns.

Xia Murui's red dishes are obviously S-grade. It's a bit shabby to use A-grade steamed buns with S-grade dishes, but it's still acceptable. After all, in this day and age, chefs who can make S-grade pastries are extremely rare. Even Chef Zhou's pastries can't consistently reach S-grade.

With the mission at hand, Qin Huai would definitely focus on it.

Qin Huai began to knead the dough seriously.

After inspecting all the ingredients, Zhao Cheng'an returned to the kitchen to work, but instead of kneading dough, he was handling yams and soaking glutinous rice, simply assisting.

"Qin Huai, do you think we got to have a buffet today? We made our own desserts." Zhao Cheng'an even told a lame joke, then laughed at himself.

Then he stopped laughing. Xia Murui arrived.

Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an had never met Xia Murui before.

As the only active Chinese chef among the top ten chefs in the Celebrity Chefs List, Xia Murui is famous, but she is actually quite mysterious.

Everyone says he has a terrible temper, but very few chefs have actually had the chance to be yelled at by him. Especially in recent years, Xia Murui has been reluctant to go out, and the ingredients are delivered to her door daily by familiar suppliers. When Zhang Guanghang is around, he is in charge of serving the dishes; when he is not around, the task is handled by a part-time worker or Xia Murui's nanny.

Most of the time, diners who come to Fenyuan Restaurant are like Qin Huai and Zhao Cheng'an yesterday. Even though the main hall is only a few meters away from the kitchen, and the freshly cooked dishes can be served in just a few seconds, diners never see the cooks.

If diners can't see it, then naturally, its peers can't see it either.

This has led to Master Xia being in a very mysterious state all these years. He has a notorious reputation for being fierce, but few people know exactly how fierce he is. Everyone knows he has a bad temper, but no one knows the specifics of how. He is clearly the most famous master of red-cooked dishes in the country, but most diners don't know what he looks like because you can't find any photos of Xia Murui online.

Even in the early interview column about Xia Murui in "Zhiwei" magazine, only photos of the dishes were shown, not photos of Xia Murui, because Master Xia was known for not liking to take pictures.

Qin Huai pretended to glance at Xia Murui while kneading dough, then quickly looked away, appearing to be kneading dough seriously, but actually stealing glances from the corner of his eye.

Xia Murui is really old.

Even without knowing his real age, you can tell from his appearance that he is an extremely elderly person.

His back was no longer straight, his skin was dark and loose, and his hands and face had the spots typical of an elderly person. Although he looked quite strong and not thin, his slightly cloudy eyes and the wrinkles on his face and around his eyes told the world that he was old.

Xia Murui did indeed have a face that looked like it was not to be trifled with.

But he wasn't like this when he was young.

Qin Huai still remembered the appearance of Xia Sheng in Zhao Cheng'an's memory. Although Xia Sheng often had no expression and exuded an aura that kept strangers at bay, he did not seem fierce. Instead, people felt that he had lived too long and was too lazy to show any expression.

Back then, Xia Sheng's eyes were clear and bright, and they were bigger than they are now. His features were distinct, and although he wasn't exactly handsome, he was full of energy and spirit.

Xia Sheng always stood up straight, walked with a swift gait and did everything very quickly. His hair was jet black but somewhat dry, and the skin on the back of his hands and arms did not have many hideous scars.

If Qin Huai didn't know that the person in front of him was Xia Sheng from back then, he would have found it hard to believe that it was the same person.

A person's youth and old age are like two completely different people.

Before meeting Xia Murui, Qin Huai was actually looking forward to the encounter between Xia Murui and Zhao Cheng'an. The thought of these two fellow disciples, who were complete strangers, meeting again after more than half a century was incredibly exciting.

But when Xia Murui actually stepped into the kitchen, Qin Huai realized that this encounter was actually quite ordinary. Just like any passerby you brush past on the street, you don't know that this passerby might be a friend from your past life. In this life, you can't recognize your friends from previous lives, and your former friends are not living in the past waiting for you in bygone times.

Qin Huai couldn't help but turn to glance at Zhao Cheng'an. He knew what Zhao Cheng'an was expecting, but Zhao Cheng'an clearly couldn't meet his expectations. Zhao Cheng'an merely looked at Xia Murui with a hint of surprise, as if he were worshipping every industry veteran, before burying himself in his work.

Qin Huai couldn't help but turn his head to look at Xia Murui again, and unexpectedly met Xia Murui's gaze.

sharp.

Qin Huai: ...

Sometimes he really wanted to slap himself for being unable to control himself.

For the first time, Qin Huai didn't know how to face his industry seniors.

Are you going to look away in fear? That's incredibly impolite. Anyone who didn't know better would think you're disgusted by Master Xia. What if Master Xia gets angry and throws you out?
Did he meet Xia Murui's gaze? Xia Murui's gaze was sharp, even somewhat aggressive, giving the impression that he could see right through the other person. Qin Huai was already filled with complicated emotions, lost in thought, and overwhelmed with feelings. He was afraid that if they stared at each other for a few more seconds, Xia Murui would ask him, "What are you thinking about? Do you know me?"
Should I pretend that our eyes met accidentally and then quickly look away to do my own thing?

Although it seemed somewhat deliberate, it appeared to work, so Qin Huai chose plan c.

Xia Murui did not give Qin Huai the opportunity to choose plan c.

"Ling Guangzhao said you learned how to make yam cake from an old recipe tucked in a book. Do you still have a picture of that recipe?" Xia Murui asked.

"No, that book was bought when I was in elementary school. Back then, I didn't have a camera at home, so I didn't think about taking a picture of the recipe; I just copied it into a notebook," Qin Huai replied.

"Do you still remember what the words on that prescription looked like?" Xia Murui pressed.

Character?
Qin Huai was taken aback, then realized that Xia Murui was confirming with him who wrote the prescription. Qin Huai wanted to say he remembered, and then roughly describe the prescription based on Chen Sheng's handwriting to confirm that Chen Sheng had written it himself. However, Qin Huai had never seen Zhao Cheng'an write before, and didn't know what his friend's handwriting looked like.

In a flash, a wonderful story came to Qin Huai's mind.

"I vaguely remember that the handwriting was quite beautiful. I learned calligraphy when I was a child, and I think my handwriting was even more beautiful than that of my calligraphy teacher," Qin Huai said.

Xia Murui frowned in confusion.

"I don't remember exactly what it looked like, but I remember that the strokes on the characters in that recipe were particularly beautiful. I tried to practice copying it back then, but I couldn't achieve the same effect."

Xia Murui's brows relaxed instantly, and she murmured, "So it was Ping An who wrote it."

Xia Murui gave a helpless smile that Qin Huai knew all too well: "Chen Sheng's yam cake, he actually came up with that too."

After saying that, Xia Murui turned her gaze to the dough Qin Huai was kneading and asked, "Who is your master?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Cheng'an immediately perked up, looking at Qin Huai with expectant eyes, signaling Qin Huai to quickly give the answer he wanted to hear.

Qin Huai: ...

How could he have ever thought that Zhao Cheng'an wasn't a monster? Even if he was a little more normal in his life, he was still quite like a lunatic at times.

Qin Huai took a deep breath and, speaking clearly and deliberately, uttered the answer Zhao Cheng'an wanted to hear:
"A Complete Guide to Dim Sum".

Xia Murui: ?

A complete guide to dim sum?

Wasn't that the book I bought for one yuan at the flea market when I was in elementary school in Qinhuai?

Are there still people in China with the surname Dian?
(End of this chapter)