The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 399 Deadly Hand, Hurry Up and Roll!
By the time Zheng Da finished crying, the Four Happiness Rolls had cooled down a bit, but it wasn't a big problem; they were still delicious.

After an emotional breakdown and a good cry, Zheng Da went through a series of thoughts, from wanting to die to desperately wanting to jump off a building, but then realizing that Huang Ji's restaurant was only two stories high and that jumping might break his legs, he thought about choking on a Four Happiness Roll but found that difficult, and he also lacked the talent to eat until he was stuffed. After much deliberation, he decided not to die for the time being. Faced with the cruel reality, he decided to pretend that nothing had happened if all else failed. After this complex psychological process, he chose to lose his memory.

"Xiao Qin, look, this is how you make Four Happiness Rolls. It's not very difficult. I haven't made them for many years, so some of the Four Happiness Rolls might not have very nice cloud patterns. Your ham recipe is very good, so I'll use your recipe."

"Did you see the process of making the Four Happiness Rolls clearly? Is there anything you don't understand? Feel free to ask if you don't understand. Would you like me to demonstrate it for you a few more times?"

Qin Huai watched Zheng Da, who had portrayed amnesia so convincingly that he almost banged his head against the wall to depict the entire process, and couldn't help but think to himself, "Who said Master Zheng has no mental fortitude? He's so sensitive."

That's some seriously top-notch mental fortitude.

Zheng Da wanted to feign amnesia, and Qin Huai naturally had to cooperate with him, nodding repeatedly and saying in a very sincere voice, "Really? That's wonderful, Master Zheng! We all want to see your demonstration a few more times!"

Zheng Da felt a warm glow in his heart when he was addressed as "Master Zheng" in a friendly manner. Without any hesitation, he rolled up his sleeves and started kneading the dough.

They were incredibly motivated and elated.

Gong Liang stood at the kitchen door and saw Zheng Da seemingly starting work again. He quickly swallowed the four-happiness roll in his mouth, and put the half-eaten roll in his hand into the takeout box on the small table. He then took out his phone and made a call.

"Hey, honey, are you home? Oh, you're shopping with Baozhu? That's perfect, hurry up and come to Huang Ji with Baozhu. Zheng Da's gone crazy again, I feel like he's going to make four-happiness rolls all day, bring over the biggest takeout boxes from home."

After saying that, Gong Liang hung up the phone, picked up the half-eaten Four Happiness Roll, and waved to Dong Shi.

Dong Shi stepped forward, puzzled: "Mr. Gong, is there something wrong? You really can't go in anymore. It's almost opening time. Even if you change into your work clothes, you can't go in."

Gong Liang revealed a kind and gentle smile unique to elders: "Of course I know the rules of your Huangji. Outsiders are not allowed in the kitchen, and everything is based on kitchen hygiene and food safety. As a shareholder of Huangji, how could I not understand this principle? Do you think I'm the kind of person who makes trouble unreasonably?"

Dong Shi: ...?
"I wanted to ask, was the Four Happiness Rolls enough for you?"

Dong Shi: "Huh?"

Gong Liang pointed to the Four Happiness Rolls in the takeout box: "If you're not full, I have more. You young people have big appetites, and chefs do heavy physical labor. Eat more to tide you over, otherwise we'll be too busy to keep up with the demand during mealtimes."

Dong Shi, looking bewildered, returned to the cooking station with two takeout boxes and handed out Four Happiness Rolls to everyone, including Zang Liang.

When sending the message to Zang Liang, Dong Shi couldn't help but complain, "Mr. Gong usually gives out a lot of red envelopes, but this is the first time I've received some snacks. What day is it today? My uncle is crying like this for no reason. I've been asking Master for a while but can't get the reason. And now Mr. Gong is giving out snacks. Am I dreaming?"

Zang Liang was so engrossed in cooking that he barely paid attention to the shape of the Four Happiness Rolls. He just glanced at them to make sure they were flower rolls before stuffing them into his mouth and eating them.

Hearing Dong Shi's complaints, Zang Liang chewed hard a few times, swallowed the half-cold Four Happiness Roll in his mouth, and used his free left hand to hold the Four Happiness Roll to speak, saying, "What reason could there be? Isn't Chef Zheng making new ones? Freshly steamed hot flower rolls are definitely tastier than cold ones!"

"I must say, these steamed buns are quite delicious. Have Qin Huai and the others been researching these steamed buns lately? Why did he suddenly think of making them?" At this moment, Zang Liang finally remembered Master Qin.

Dong Shi: ...

For the past few days, Dong Shi has been listening to Tan Weian complain that Zang Liang has become obsessed with crime cases since he came to Huang Ji, living entirely in his own world and having lost sight of the world around him.

Dong Shi always felt that Tan Weian was exaggerating.

just now……

Dong Shi was shocked: "You don't even know what Qin Huai and the others are doing? Gu Li was teaching Qin Huai cloud patterns yesterday, didn't you know?"

Zang Liang was also shocked: "Holy crap, Gu Li is teaching Qin Huai cloud patterns! How come no one told me about something so amazing?! Oh dear, I missed it."

Zang Liang was filled with regret. The more he thought about it, the more he felt he couldn't miss such an important moment. He put down the cleaver and said, "Dong Shi, help me finish chopping the rest of the vegetables. I have to go check on things."

After saying that, Zang Liang ran over to Qin Huai to watch Zheng Da make Four Joys Rolls.

Zheng Da's second demonstration was not much better than the first. His forward strokes were still perfect, but his reverse strokes were full of problems. Gu Li remained dedicated to his commentary, providing thorough explanations and pointing out every single one of Zheng Da's mistakes.

I must say, Gu Li's assessment of the problem was quite accurate.

This time, Zheng Da deliberately slowed down when making the Four Happiness Rolls, unlike last time when he did it very quickly. If he wasn't careful, he would miss a lot of details.

This demonstration lesson, coupled with Gu Li's explanation, created a perfect teaching environment.

Qin Huai could even watch Zheng Da make Four Happiness Rolls while shaking lotus root starch balls. Shaking lotus root starch balls mainly tests one's feel for the ball, and Gu Li's explanations helped Qin Huai grasp the key points. Shaking and scalding the balls at the same time didn't affect his studies.

This kind of lineup makes the teaching team seem quite strange.

Zheng Da currently has five students.

A student was multitasking, making lotus root starch balls while listening to the lecture.

One student was both neglecting his studies and overly conscientious, learning while lecturing.

One student was listening attentively and had a good foundation, but he couldn't help but drift off, and he was eating at the same time, his mouth never stopping as he kept eating the four-happiness rolls.

One student was a chef specializing in hot dishes. He couldn't understand anything, but he insisted on standing there and listening.

There was another student who was his own son. He was the most normal one among them, listening attentively without saying a word, but he was also the one that Zheng Da found most abnormal and uncomfortable.

Zheng Da always felt that his son was a very rebellious person. Ever since he had mastered the craft and could barely be considered a master, he had been very fond of going against his father.

Zheng Da offered Zheng Siyuan the option of becoming a pastry chef at Huang's restaurant, or at another well-known restaurant he wanted to work for, or even, if all else failed, for Zheng Da to open his own restaurant specializing in pastry dishes. Despite these three excellent options, Zheng Siyuan stubbornly chose the fourth: opening an ordinary pastry shop near the entrance of his residential complex.

Zheng Da arranged for Zheng Siyuan to go on blind dates, but Zheng Siyuan either refused to go on any of them, or he was never satisfied with any of them.

When Zheng Da taught Zheng Siyuan how to make new pastries, Zheng Siyuan always had different opinions. He would either point out that Zheng Da's skills were a bit rusty, or he felt that Zheng Da was cutting corners and being too lazy in some aspect.

In Zheng Da's memory, it seems that after his son grew to a certain age, he stopped being obedient and sensible. When he was obedient, he became a troublemaker and a rebellious son, picking on his father everywhere.

Today, he spent so long working on the Four Joys Rolls, and the problems with the reverse rolls were so obvious, yet Zheng Siyuan didn't say a word. Zheng Da found it quite strange.

Zheng Da, unaccustomed to this, asked directly, "What do you guys think of my Four Happiness Roll?"

Qin Huai praised him highly, saying, "Absolutely outstanding! Master Zheng, your skills are undoubtedly superb!"

"Excellent, excellent!" Tan Weian echoed haphazardly.

"Delicious, delicious!" Zang Liang couldn't understand the recipe at all, so he could only comment on the taste. "Chef Zheng, your skill level is among the best even in our Zhiweiju restaurant," Gu Li said very frankly.

Zheng Siyuan was the only one who hadn't spoken, and Zheng Da stared intently at him.

Zheng Siyuan: ...?
Is his dad... driven mad by some kind of shock?

Zheng Siyuan said expressionlessly, "It's fine."

Zheng Da: 〣(Δ)〣

Zheng Da: Oh no! My son has gone mad!
After the second batch of Four Happiness Rolls was cooked, everyone finally got to eat the best-tasting and hottest Four Happiness Rolls.

Even though Gu Li told Qin Huai yesterday when he was laying the groundwork, many times, for desserts like Four Happiness Rolls, the shape and taste have nothing to do with each other.

The cloud pattern primarily serves a stylistic purpose; the Four Happiness Roll is essentially a flower roll, and it's the cloud pattern that gives it a courtly and high-end feel. Just as many elaborate dishes made with premium ingredients aren't necessarily delicious, in an era when high-ranking officials and nobles pursued ultimate luxury and uniqueness, many fine dishes weren't necessarily tasty.

Given Qin Huai's current level of expertise, even if they made the Four Happiness Roll into a regular steamed bun, it would still be a delicious steamed bun, perhaps one that wouldn't taste much different from the Four Happiness Roll.

Qinhuai's fillings are of a very high standard; master-level fillings can definitely handle 99.99% of pastries.

However, after tasting the hot version of the Four Happiness Rolls, Qin Huai felt that Zheng Da's Four Happiness Rolls were much better than the ones he had made yesterday.

It wasn't just because Zheng Da's culinary skills were already superior to those of Qinhuai, but also because of the successful cloud pattern.

Qin Huai discovered that the cloud pattern in the Four Happiness Rolls seems to serve not only a decorative purpose, but also to complement the flavor, although its effect is not as significant or obvious.

But it will definitely be helpful.

Qin Huai even thought of the Ruyi Roll, which is more difficult to make than the Four Happiness Roll, but its shape is not as beautiful. If the cloud pattern of the Ruyi Roll is only for making a fancy shape, then using a more difficult technique to create a shape that is not as beautiful as the Four Happiness Roll is a bit of putting the cart before the horse.

Ruyi Rolls were Master Tan's signature dessert, even his exclusive signature dessert. This dessert was recreated by Master Tan using an ancient recipe, which was lost after his death, and no one else knows how to make it.

Its quality goes without saying; it's much higher than the Four Happiness Roll.

Gong Liang could find some low-end alternatives to the Four Happiness Rolls outside the Great Wall, but there weren't even any low-end alternatives to the Ruyi Rolls.

Is the cloud pattern on this dessert, which is difficult to make, has a good background, is well-known, and has a proven track record, really just for aesthetic purposes?
As Qin Huai thought this, he couldn't help but look up at Gu Li.

Qin Huai wanted to talk to Gu Li, but not now; he had other ideas.

He now wanted to punch the Four Joys Roll in his hand.

This is too difficult!
Yesterday's Four Happiness Scroll from Qin Huai was, to put it bluntly, a complete failure in terms of cloud patterns. Due to Gu Li's limited skill, he could only provide theoretical guidance on language, but not any practical technical instruction.

Yesterday, Qin Huai appeared to be practicing both the forward and reverse versions of the scroll, but in reality, he was just imitating the form and his writing was a complete mess. He didn't even know what made the Four Joys Scroll difficult.

Now Qin Huai has learned this under Zheng Da's guidance.

He finally understood why Zheng Da always had problems when he was rolling the paper backwards; he would pause before the problem occurred.

Because he can too.

He was even worse than Zheng Da; he stopped when he was rolling up the scroll.

If the difficulty level of the forward version is 5, then the reverse version is 10. Qin Huai's current level is only 3 to 4. It can be said that there are small problems with the forward version and big problems with the reverse version. Together, they are a huge problem.

Sometimes, Qin Huai would get so angry while rolling up the dough that he'd slap his own hand and ask, "You clumsy thing, why can't you roll it up? Why don't you roll it up then!"

Qin Huai even thought of the game system's previous evaluation of his finger technique: You don't give the desserts any shape at all.

At that time, Qin Huai looked down on finger techniques because his main use of them was wrapping steamed buns; as long as the pleats of the buns looked nice, that was enough.

Later, he made apple pastries on the first try as if he had a cheat code. Although the other pastries were not very good, it didn't matter, because Qin Huai didn't make any other pastries, he only made apple pastries.

It can be said that Qin Huai has not encountered any problems with his finger technique since he obtained the game system.

Now he has encountered it.

It wasn't until this time, when Qin Huai was making the Four Happiness Rolls, that she realized that to create cloud patterns in the forward and reverse rolls, the chef's finger technique was crucial.

It turns out that finger technique isn't just for creating shapes; it can also determine the taste of desserts. There's a reason it's listed in the game's basic skills section: it truly is a fundamental skill for chefs.

In contrast, Qinhuai doesn't bother to decorate its pastries at all.

He looked at Zheng Siyuan and thought that Zheng Siyuan's curls were not bad.

He looked at Tan Weian and realized that Tan Weian was indeed worthy of being Master Tan's grandson; he had a solid foundation. Not only was his regular curling decent, but his reverse curling also seemed acceptable. It was just that the final product was not satisfactory.

He looked at Guli again.

Gu Li's years of practice in cloud pattern making were not in vain. Although his reverse curls were not very good, his forward curls were better than Tan Weian's.

Then look down at your own curled hair.

Damn it, I really want to punch this Si Xi Juan and slap my own hand while I'm at it.

At this moment, Qin Huai suddenly felt a sense of empathy for Tan Weian.

So this is what it feels like to be the worst in your team in terms of skills.

Qin Huai looked up, refusing to look at that damned Four Joys Scroll, and felt a pang of urge to shed two lines of tears.

Actually, it's not entirely Zheng Da's fault for not being able to make the Four Happiness Rolls well.

This Four Happiness Roll is really too difficult.

(End of this chapter)