The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 517 Master Qin wouldn't lie to anyone.

"So, Mr. Wang, you feel that the ingredients in these potato dumplings are a bit too plentiful. The ones you've had before didn't have such a variety of ingredients."

"But this direction is correct. The potato dumplings you like are made by dicing potatoes, mixing them with sesame oil, and stir-frying them. This kind of filling has a better texture. It's not as hard as shredded potatoes. It's more powdery, but because it's stir-fried in oil, it's very fragrant. However, it doesn't feel like eating a vegetable dish. It's more like baby food, right?"

"The ingredients aren't that plentiful, but the flavor isn't bland either, which means there are some strong-flavored ingredients in it."

"The fact that it wasn't eaten with vinegar means..."

“I didn’t dip it in vinegar because I didn’t have any at the time,” Wang Gensheng hurriedly interrupted Qin Huai’s reading comprehension. “Back then, I lived in the cotton mill’s staff dormitory, which was a four-person room. I was the only one from out of town; the other three roommates all went home for the Spring Festival.”

"I didn't have any vinegar. My roommate locked the only bottle of vinegar in the dorm, so I didn't eat it with vinegar. I thought it tasted pretty good that way at the time, but later, to save vinegar, I stopped eating it with vinegar."

Wang Gensheng's words gave Qin Huai another idea: "To save on vinegar... it seems the ingredients in the potato dumplings you ate before were relatively inexpensive. In Suzhou, the cheaper ingredients are..."

Wang Gensheng: ?

Can you still do reading comprehension?

Qin Huai continued doing reading comprehension exercises, while Zhao Cheng'an watched in stunned silence, forgetting even to touch the fish.

"Didn't Grandpa Wang just say it was almost right, but the taste was a little off, there seemed to be too much seasoning, and it smelled pretty good? How could Qin Huai analyze so much? How did he figure that out?!"

Qin Huai replied, "You don't understand. Although Grandpa Wang doesn't talk much, every word he says is full of information. You have to listen carefully. I understand Grandpa Wang's way of expressing himself. For those of us who aren't good at expressing ourselves, every word we say is crucial."

Gong Liang smiled and agreed, "That's right, Xiao Zhao. If you want to learn how to communicate with people, you not only need to learn to understand the literal meaning of words, but also the meaning behind the words."

"However, given your current level, you should first learn to understand the literal meaning of words."

Zhao Cheng'an: ? I can tell, you're making a personal attack on me!
Shi Dadan paid no attention to Zhao Chengan's side. Wang Gensheng ate potato dumplings all afternoon. Because of his limited appetite, the tasting was genuine. The leftovers went to Shi Dadan's plate, and Shi Dadan was responsible for finishing them off.

Normally, if Ouyang were present, he would also be responsible for some of this cleanup work, but since he went to his parents' house for dinner today, he left early.

When Ouyang left, Qin Huai packed up all the unappetizing potato dumplings he had made that morning for him, even though no one had eaten them. Ouyang was incredibly touched, feeling that Qin Huai truly deserved to be his good brother, giving him all of these limited-edition delicacies without sharing them with anyone else.

Qin Huai was also very touched; he hadn't expected Ouyang to genuinely love eating.

In Ouyang's words, although these potato dumplings can be a bit greasy if you eat too many, they have a unique flavor when eaten alone. Anyway, the dumplings can be kept in the freezer for a long time, so cooking a couple of dumplings to eat as a snack every night makes for a perfect day.

Qin Huai didn't understand, but he made Ouyang a steamer of elm bark buns and told him to have them with dumplings that night. He also told him not to share such good food with his parents and to eat it all by himself.

Let your uncles and aunts eat more ordinary snacks without any special flavors, such as Four Happiness Tangyuan, Five Delicacies Buns, Yam Cake, Fermented Rice Buns, Four Happiness Dumplings, and Crab Shell Pastries.

Qin Huai hoped that Ouyang had taken his advice to heart, as he wanted to see the complete Ouyang the next day.

Otherwise, Ouyang would either squander his money by telling his employees the secret recipe his best friend gave him, or bring home disgusting snacks to murder his own parents...

I feel like my buddy has to die tonight to appease public anger.

Shi Dadan opened his mouth, stuffed a dumpling into it, chewed it, and swallowed it.

"The most common and inexpensive ingredients in Suzhou during winter are probably water celery, winter bamboo shoots, and small fish and shrimp from the river."

“You can dig up winter bamboo shoots in the countryside; you can dig up a whole bagful for free. Small fish and shrimp can be caught in the river for free too. Then there are radishes and cabbages, all common and inexpensive ingredients in winter,” Shi Dadan said.

Wang Gensheng was somewhat surprised: "Old Shi, aren't you from Guangdong Province? How do you know so much about the situation in Suzhou back then? In winter, these were indeed the few cheap foods. For winter bamboo shoots, you had to go to the suburbs or countryside, which was quite troublesome. Small fish and shrimp could really be caught anywhere in the river. They didn't have much meat, and they tasted fishy. You couldn't eat them without using a lot of seasoning and oil."

"Back then, seasonings were more expensive than fish and shrimp. Instead of wasting time and effort, we might as well make more cardboard boxes." Shi Dadan began to lie through his teeth: "Because I was in the seafood business, I knew about it quite well."

Wang Gensheng: ? Is there any connection between these two things? But since Lao Shi said so, there must be a connection.

Qin Huai then realized that Shi Dadan was actually quite good at lying; his honest and simple image was deeply ingrained in people's minds. As long as he acted convincingly when lying and didn't feel guilty first, the people being lied to would subconsciously believe him without investigating further.

This is the advantage of a famously honest person.

Wang Gensheng's focus was on Qin Huai. He saw Qin Huai using his phone's memo app to record the information he had just said, and he felt quite embarrassed: "Master Qin, I've only eaten it and don't know much about it. And those potato dumplings, actually... they're just ordinary dumplings, nothing special."

"Potato dumplings are not like double crab buns, and I don't have a recipe for them. You don't really need to study them specifically..."

“Of course it’s necessary!” Qin Huai interrupted Wang Gensheng with a determined look. “Uncle Wang, the information you provided is very important, and I think potato dumplings are worth exploring and researching.”

"Double crab buns have their value, and potato dumplings have their value. Food cannot be valued by its taste."

"You know the quality of my double crab buns. They're barely passable. That's because I'm not good enough right now. My skills should be focused on making desserts like potato dumplings."

“I was just wondering what to make before. If you hadn’t mentioned potato dumplings, I would have been completely at a loss. Your idea and suggestion were like a timely rain after a long drought, or like meeting an old friend in a foreign land. It was more like a timely rain than a helping hand in the snow. I don’t know how to thank you enough.”

Wang Gensheng was so guilty that his lips trembled, and he wished he could have the words "I can't accept something for nothing" etched on his face: "No...it can't be that bad."

"Absolutely!" Qin Huai said firmly, "So I'd really appreciate it if you could carefully taste the potato dumplings for me!"

Your opinion is really important!

Uncle Wang, this is your side quest. I need your approval to complete it!

Wang Gensheng was deeply moved by Qin Huai's words and nodded emphatically: "Good!"

"I will definitely try the food carefully and write a thorough food review!"

"...No need for a written food review, you can just describe it verbally."

Not far away at the kitchen counter, An Youyou, who was also wolfing down a plate of potato dumplings, watched Wang Gensheng's changing expressions and felt a sense of déjà vu.

An Youyou felt that Grandpa Wang today was a bit like herself a while ago.

She felt that Master Qin was trying to fool Grandpa Wang.

An Youyou quickly shook her head, trying to banish this terrible thought from her mind.

How could Master Qin possibly lie to me? Master Qin is such a good boss. He pays overtime, provides employee dormitories in Yunzhong Community, lets me stay by his side every day to watch him make pastries and learn his skills, and even trains me to be the successor of Yunzhong Canteen.

Although Master Qin was a bit quiet and always asked Master Zhao to explain things, An Youyou knew it must be because Master Qin was too tired.

Master Qin would never lie to anyone!
An Youyou thought she must be overthinking things and continued to eat her potato dumplings.

Hehe, these dumplings are really delicious.

It would be even better if some cabbage were added to the filling.

(End of this chapter)