The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 398 The Chef's Heart
As the steamer lid was lifted, thick steam billowed out of the steamer and spread out, along with the aroma of the Four Happiness Rolls.

Yes, it smells like meat.

Those who frequently eat ham know that whether stir-fried or steamed, ham has an extremely rich aroma. It's incredibly delicious, with a savory and salty meaty fragrance.

Four Happiness Rolls must use high-quality ham. With Huang Ji's supply chain, even if the young master's business acumen is poor, he could not possibly obtain ham of inferior quality. The raw materials are absolutely top-notch.

Therefore, Four Happiness Rolls are incredibly fragrant the moment they come out of the pot.

The aroma of diced ham, sesame oil, and chopped scallions blended together is simply the epitome of savory and salty, making you feel like you should eat some staple food just by smelling it.

Four Happiness Rolls are a staple food.

Zheng Da deftly took the four-happiness rolls out of the steamer one by one, cut them in half, and arranged them on a plate. Qin Huai and the others immediately gathered around to witness this historic moment.

It has cloud patterns and the design is not bad, but the quality control is not very good.

Zheng Da demonstrated that even a reverse-rolled brush can create cloud-like patterns, although the patterns might not be very distinct or aesthetically pleasing. However, it's still recognizable as a cloud pattern. After all, aesthetics are diverse, and who knows, someone might actually like this kind of cloud pattern?

Zheng Dayou's Four Happiness Curls show a unique aesthetic sense, but most of his Four Happiness Curls are quite normal, not particularly outstanding or beautiful, but definitely acceptable.

This was the first time Qin Huai had seen a successful cloud pattern, and she knew what the Gu Li Ruyi Scroll would look like after being cut open if it was successful.

Qin Huai and the others were all amazed by Zheng Da's Four Joys Scroll.

To be honest, this batch of Four Happiness Rolls was more successful than Qin Huai had imagined, because Zheng Da's reversal of the rolls clearly had many problems, and Qin Huai thought several times that Master Zheng was going to fail. In the end, the finished product was surprisingly good, which shows that Four Happiness Rolls have a high tolerance for error.

Huang Shengli was also very emotional, his face full of relief. He was obviously relieved that his junior brother was no longer secretly making Four Happiness Rolls at home during the New Year and then feeding them to the dog.

Only Gong Liang showed no praise or appreciation; his eyes were filled with longing for the Four Happiness Roll.

Gong Liang said that he had finally found a chance to sneak into the kitchen today, so of course he had to sit in the kitchen and eat to his heart's content.

As for Gong Liang's nonsense last night about him possibly having something to do today and needing to send his assistant over to pick up some snacks, Gong Liang had long since selectively forgotten it.

However, Gong Liang did not ask the question, "Can we eat now?" because even though he was some distance away from Zheng Da, he could tell that Zheng Da's mood was not right at the moment, and everyone was waiting for Zheng Da's response.

Zheng Da's expression was very complicated, very unlike his usual self.

His expression held a hint of melancholy, a touch of loss, a longing for the past, and a uniquely middle-aged man's reminiscence of his youth.

This was the first time Qin Huai had seen Zheng Da display such a complex expression; most of the time, Master Zheng was a very simple person.

He's a simple lazybones, simply unambitious, simply unmotivated, simply loves sending red envelopes, simply enjoys throwing money around, and simply wants to take him on as an apprentice.

Perhaps it was because Zheng Da was a very simple person that he traveled all the way from Suzhou to Shanshi to give Qin Huai pointers, even though he didn't know Qin Huai at all, had only had one video call with him, and had given him some simple instructions on how to make locust flower steamed buns. He thought Qin Huai was very talented and realized that video calls alone might not be enough to solve the problem.

Thinking about it carefully, this matter seems so unbelievable and incomprehensible, but it makes perfect sense when applied to Zheng Da, because that's exactly the kind of person he is.

Even though he hasn't been a chef for many years and has achieved financial freedom through business, he is still a pure chef at heart. He is still the same Chef Zheng from the state-run restaurant who couldn't become a head chef because of the leaders' prejudice against pastry, cried at home for several days, and then resigned in anger.

Master Zheng stared blankly at the Four Happiness Rolls on the plate.

These are the Four Happiness Rolls he made himself. The method is exactly the same, and the imperfections are exactly the same, but the filling has changed and the recipe has been changed. The diced fatty pork, diced pork belly, diced lean pork, and minced meat that he didn't understand have been replaced with fragrant diced ham.

Zheng Da slowly stretched out his hand and precisely picked out the ugliest, most disastrous, and most problematic one in terms of cloud pattern from among the four happy rolls.

Pick it up and take a bite.

A big mouthful.

Like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy who had worked all day and was so hungry he could eat a whole cow and stuff a big steamed bun in two bites, he took a big bite, his cheeks bulging out as he chewed.

Zheng Da chewed quickly, mumbling incoherently:
"It's diced ham! It's actually diced ham! It really is diced ham!"

“Master, I knew this filling was wrong. I finally know what the right filling is.”

"It's ham, it's actually ham."

Zheng Da murmured, and in the blink of an eye, two large tears fell instantly. Then, the tears flowed uncontrollably like a river bursting its banks. Zheng Da was still chewing on the four-happiness roll that he hadn't swallowed. As he ate, he suddenly burst into tears.

Everyone was stunned; Gu Li even took two steps back in fear.

Even Zheng Siyuan looked at his own father with an incredulous expression, as if he had never known this father before.

Although Qin Huai didn't understand why Zheng Da would cry over Sixi Juan like he had in his dream the night before, he wasn't surprised, but felt a little melancholy and wistful.

Some were even happy for their beloved Master Zheng.

Gong Liang had originally wanted to eat Four Happiness Rolls, but seeing Zheng Da like this, he exchanged a surprised glance with Huang Shengli. After understanding the meaning in Huang Shengli's eyes, he quietly stepped forward and gently patted Qin Huai and Zheng Siyuan, indicating that everyone should leave first, or if necessary, go to the kitchen door.

At least leave this area, along with all the Four Happiness Rolls on the plate, for Zheng Da.

The others were also quite perceptive and didn't approach or ask any questions. Even the most gossipy Dong Shi kept his eyes to himself and obediently chopped vegetables at the cutting board.

The group walked to the kitchen door, making sure that Zheng Da, who was crying inconsolably, couldn't hear them from a distance. Only then did Zheng Siyuan ask, slightly shocked, "Uncle-Master, what's wrong with my dad?"

Huang Shengli sighed.

“I didn’t expect your dad to react so strongly. Xiao Tan and Xiao Gu probably wouldn’t understand this. You can ask Xiao Jiu later.”

"Siyuan, what did your dad tell you about Four Happiness Rolls?" Zheng Siyuan thought for a moment and said, "My dad said that this was a snack that the state-run restaurant used to make every year during the Spring Festival when my master was still alive. He wasn't very good at it, so it didn't sell for a good price. It wasn't too simple, but it wasn't too complicated either, so he didn't like to make it."

“But he has eaten four-happiness rolls every Chinese New Year since he was a child. He and my mother are used to it, so we make them at home every year for Chinese New Year.”

“I’ve always thought this was his excuse for not doing it well, because I heard from Uncle Gong that when my father first retired, he was scolded terribly by the guests for making Four Happiness Rolls. He had a psychological trauma, so he only made them secretly at home.”

Huang Shengli nodded helplessly: "I thought so too before, but now it seems we all underestimated him a bit."

Qin Huai could tell from Huang Shengli's expression that there must be another version of the story, and given Huang Shengli's current attitude, it was clear that this version of the story could be told directly here.

"Master Huang, what is the actual situation?" Qin Huai asked.

Gong Liang also gave Huang Shengli a questioning look, his face saying, "There's something I don't know? Weren't we good buddies back then? You guys formed a clique behind my back?"
"Back then, Zheng Da was indeed secretly criticized a lot by his neighbors for making Four Happiness Rolls, but it wasn't as bad as you might imagine. At most, people would mutter a few words during casual conversation, saying that Zheng Da's skills were not as good as his master's, and then lamenting how his master suddenly became unwell and retired due to illness. Everyone thought he could still work for a few more years."

“The state-run restaurants back then were different from what they are now. They were more like the community canteen you run, Xiao Qin. The people who ate there year after year were neighbors who knew each other well for many years. I was in charge of cooking, and Zheng Da was in charge of the side dishes. I just cooked in the kitchen every day, while Zheng Da also sold steamed buns outside. Especially during the years when he was an apprentice, Zheng Da was the one who sold all the steamed buns, mantou, and shaomai in the entire state-run restaurant.”

"To use a popular phrase online, Zheng Da and I were both guests of the state-run restaurant and neighbors who watched us grow up."

"Given this kind of relationship and connection, do you think Zheng Da would be severely criticized even if he didn't make the Four Happiness Rolls properly during the Lunar New Year?"

Hearing Huang Shengli mention this, Gong Liang nodded in agreement: "Indeed, there's no way I'd be verbally abused to your face. The amount of abuse Zheng Da received over the years probably doesn't even equal what I got in a month as a salesperson."

"But that's just his temperament. If someone points at him and criticizes his pastries as worthless, he might not get that angry; at most, he'll just feel resentful. But if people look at him with disappointment, or just sigh, shake their heads, and say nothing, he'll really be hurt."

“I thought so too before,” Huang Shengli said, “but now it seems that’s not the case.”

"My master retired suddenly due to illness. To put it bluntly, the chef profession is physically demanding, and you can't be a chef if you're not in good health. Although my master had a limp, his health had always been good, and he could have worked for a few more years."

"No one expected that Master's health would deteriorate due to a cold, and he would be unable to keep up with the physical demands, so he naturally retired due to illness. Actually, it wasn't a big deal at the time. Even in the first year that Zheng Da took over, when the Four Happiness Rolls turned out so badly, he didn't really... pay too much attention to it."

"After all, his pastries didn't get much recognition that year, except for the Four Happiness Rolls, which had the worst reputation."

“It was after his master’s accident the following year that Zheng Da began to pay great attention to the Four Happiness Scroll.”

"Something happened?" Qin Huai didn't quite react.

“At that time, my master was cooking at home alone with a coal stove. The coal stove fell over and coal briquettes covered his good leg. My master fainted from the pain and was not discovered until Zheng Da and I came home from get off work.”

"Originally, we were going to take him to the hospital on a handcart, but Gong Liang was quick-witted and borrowed a car from the factory, which saved his life by getting him to the hospital in time, but his good leg was also ruined."

“After that, Master’s physical and mental condition deteriorated significantly. He started staying at home alone and wouldn’t go out. Even when Zheng Da and I had a carpenter make a wheelchair for him, he wouldn’t go downstairs.”

"Later, Gong Liang tried to find a family on the first floor to exchange houses with his master, but the situation did not improve. At that time, we all felt that our master was in a bad mood because he could not accept reality, so we tried to cheer him up. That year, we even spent the Spring Festival with Gong Liang's family."

Gong Liang looked enlightened, indicating that he remembered.

"I remember when we had our New Year's Eve dinner that year, didn't Zheng Da mention that he felt the filling for the Four Happiness Rolls was a bit off and that it shouldn't have been made with diced fatty pork?" Gong Liang asked.

"Yes, Zheng Da did say that, but it was very late at that time, and my master was not in good spirits, so I guess he didn't hear clearly."

"At the time, Zheng Da was actually making excuses to explain why his Four Happiness Rolls weren't very good. He didn't really care about it. It wasn't until he made Four Happiness Rolls again during the Spring Festival the following year that he brought it up again."

"But at that time, Master's health was already very poor, his memory was not as good as before, and he was even a little confused."

"I don't remember exactly what my master said at the time, but it was probably something like there were definitely better remedies, but Zheng Da had to figure them out himself."

"Didn't Zheng Da also say that he would definitely make a better Four Happiness Roll than Master Jing on New Year's Eve?" Gong Liang asked again.

“Yes.” Huang Shengli nodded again, followed by a sigh. “Actually, Zheng Da’s words were just to make Master happy during the New Year. But Master didn’t live to see the New Year the following year; he passed away in the autumn.”

“We all know that Zheng Da has been secretly making Four Happiness Rolls at home every year during the Spring Festival, but no one has called him out on it because of this.”

"However, I thought it was because of the Four Happiness Rolls that he was reminded of the past. Just like when his boss wouldn't let him be the head chef, he was clearly furious but he stubbornly refused to admit it. He took leave and cried at home for several days until his eyes were swollen, but he still insisted that he was beaten by his mother."

"I never expected that I would always remember what I said to my master during the Chinese New Year that year."

"One day he will make an even better Four Happiness Roll than his master's on New Year's Eve."

As Huang Shengli spoke, his eyes reddened.

Qin Huai glanced at Zheng Da, who was no longer crying bitterly, but was silently eating the Four Happiness Roll while choking back sobs.

Zheng Da, who was a pastry chef in his twenties, would cry for days because he felt that his boss was prejudiced against pastry chefs. In a fit of anger, he quit his job and was criticized by his colleagues for more than ten years for not doing his job properly.

Zheng Da, a successful businessman in his fifties, wept bitterly because he had fulfilled a promise that was 30 years overdue.

“Siyuan,” Huang Shengli said, “that’s just the kind of person your father is. You don’t need to have a problem with him just because you think he’s not doing his job properly and is wasting his talent.”

"Whether he works as a chef or not, he has the heart of a chef."

"He's just a bit lazy."

Zheng Siyuan glanced at his father, his expression calm and indifferent, but that indifference spoke volumes.

"I understand, Uncle-Master."

"I will no longer urge him to make desserts every day."

(End of this chapter)