The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 414 Zhao Cheng'an

At 9:12, Qin Huai held a plate in his left hand and chopsticks in his right. On the plate were 18 small and exquisite soup dumplings, steaming hot, with thin and translucent skins, each pleat just right, as perfect as if they had stepped out of a painting by an artist with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

These 18 xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) fulfill everyone's fantasy of the perfect xiaolongbao.

It is crystal clear, but not completely transparent. The skin is so thin that it doesn't need strong light. Even in natural light, you can feel the light about to penetrate the skin of the xiaolongbao, allowing you to see the soup and meat filling inside.

The bun is exquisitely designed; every pleat seems meticulously crafted. The overall shape is incredibly smooth, forming an irregular yet perfectly formed triangle from top to bottom. Just by looking at its shape, you can imagine how much broth it holds. Taking a bite, the warm, savory, and perhaps slightly sweet, meaty broth flooding your mouth is such a wonderful sensation.

And the imagination and reality matched perfectly.

There are two ways to eat soup dumplings in Qinhuai.

The usual way to eat it is to dip it directly in vinegar. Use chopsticks to gently pick up the xiaolongbao and roll it in the vinegar dish to let the skin of the xiaolongbao absorb the vinegar flavor. Then, with lightning speed, stuff the whole xiaolongbao into your mouth and chew it thoroughly.

This is the most common way to eat it in Qinhuai.

The second way of eating is learned by Qin Huai and Qin Luo. Luo Luo is someone who loves to dip steamed buns in vinegar. She dips not only xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) in vinegar, but also regular meat buns, radish buns, and green bean buns in vinegar, and not just a little bit.

Qin Luo's favorite way to eat a big meat bun is to first pour half a bowl of vinegar, break the bun open, and then press the side of the bun skin that has been soaked in meat juice and oil hard into the vinegar, directly staining the bun skin black with vinegar. Then, she wraps it up in one bite with the meat filling.

According to Qin Luo, this way of eating means the oilier the bun, the tastier it is. Qin Luo particularly liked to eat Qin Congwen's buns this way because Qin Congwen's technique wasn't very good, and he often made the meat buns too oily, while Qin Huai's buns weren't really suited to this extreme way of eating.

If the bun skin is soaked in too much vinegar, you'll only taste the vinegar and not the bun itself. When eating buns in Qinhuai, you need to taste the original flavor; the vinegar shouldn't overpower the bun.

Under such extreme eating habits, Qinhuai developed a way of eating xiaolongbao (soup dumplings). When eating xiaolongbao, first take a small bite to break the top, then pour vinegar into the xiaolongbao and swallow it in one bite.

The exact amount of vinegar poured, whether to fill the bowl completely or just a small sip, depends on how much the person eating the xiaolongbao likes vinegar and whether their hand is trembling.

At first, Qin Huai kept his distance from Qin Luo's extreme way of eating. However, after Qin Luo strongly invited him to try it once, Qin Huai discovered that this way of eating also had its merits.

Especially when eating xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) with very delicious broth, adding a little vinegar makes for a much better eating experience than dipping them directly in vinegar.

Qin Luo also summarized this, saying that dipping in vinegar is for external application, pouring vinegar is for internal use, and the combination of external application and internal use is more effective.

Qin Huai chose a combination of external application and internal use.

The other person was standing by the kitchen counter, both hands were full of things, and there was no room in the plate to put the small dish of vinegar.

But that's okay, these things can be placed in the corner of the kitchen counter.

The corner of the kitchen counter not only had a small dish of vinegar, but also a small pot of vinegar with a narrow spout for easy pouring into xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), a cup of hot tea at a suitable temperature, and a steaming bowl of 12-cup chicken noodle soup, perfect for breakfast.

The chicken noodle soup was something Master Hua insisted on serving to Qin Huai. In Master Hua's words, he had tasted Qin Huai's cooking yesterday, and today it was Qin Huai's turn to taste his cooking.

The corners of the kitchen counter were filled with things from Qinhuai, and this kitchen counter belonged to Su Qian.

Su Qian was diligently kneading dough under Master Zhou's watchful eye, not daring to slack off at all, a completely different state from when he was in the Cloud Canteen.

When Su Qian worked at the Cloud Cafeteria, he was the deputy team leader and the backbone of the entire team, handling everything with ease, including making pastries. But here, Su Qian is Master Zhou's undisputed last disciple.

Although it's said to be a done deal, he's not actually a direct disciple yet, so he's still the most stressed and stressed apprentice at Zhiweiju.

The cooking stations near Su Qian belong to his future senior apprentices, namely Master Zhou's three direct disciples.

Master Zhou had already introduced Qin Huai, one of the three disciples, to him while he was eating xiaolongbao. The three of them were very distinctive in both appearance and personality.

Master Zhou's eldest disciple is Wang Jiayi, who is a few years older than Huang Jia. His daughter is about to enter junior high school. Wang Jiayi is not only Master Zhou's personal disciple, but also the head chef of Zhiweiju. His treatment is almost identical to that of the head chef, and he also has two apprentices of his own.

In terms of culinary skills, Wang Jiayi is already very skilled and is only one step away from completing her apprenticeship, which is to say, having her own unique culinary style, as envisioned by Chef Zhou.

In terms of talent, Wang Jiayi is above average, but he is also extremely hardworking, which is the type that Master Zhou likes. In some ways, he is more like a high-end version of Gu Li.

Master Zhou didn't elaborate much on Wang Jiayi's personality, but Qin Huai could roughly tell that Wang Jiayi was chubby and seemed easy to talk to; he was probably even easier to talk to in person than he appeared. For example, when Qin Huai brought over his steamed buns to observe Master Zhou's apprentices, Wang Jiayi glanced at the buns on Qin Huai's plate and then gave him a small dish of vinegar.

Yes, Wang Jiayi took Qin Huai's small dish. The way he did it so skillfully and naturally made Qin Huai think that it was a habit that Wang Jiayi had developed in his daily life.

It's no wonder that Master Zhou likes Gu Li. He himself has a disciple of this type, so when he treats Gu Li, he inevitably shows some of the same affection he shows when he sees his eldest disciple.

Master Zhou's second apprentice shares his surname and is a very rare female chef named Zhou Yan. Although the proportion of female chefs in the white food category is slightly higher than that in the red food category, the number of female chefs is still very small, because there are almost no female chefs in the red food category, and top female chefs are even rarer.

Qin Huai met so many master chefs from Zhiweiju yesterday, but there were only two female chefs, which shows how much Zhou Yan is valued.

In terms of talent, Zhou Yan is far superior to Wang Jiayi, but because she does not have Wang Jiayi's book and is eight years younger than Wang Jiayi, her strength is much weaker than Wang Jiayi's. In Zhiweiju, she is at the level of a master chef in preparation, and there is still a long way to go before she can graduate.

Compared to the first two, Master Zhou's third apprentice was much younger, only three years older than Su Qian, and his name was Zhao Cheng'an. Zhao Cheng'an caused quite a stir when he entered Zhiweiju, and he was considered a legendary figure. Tan Weian even mentioned him to Qin Huai when he was gossiping.

Unlike most apprentices who come to Zhiweiju to learn the craft, Zhao Cheng'an joined Zhiweiju because he didn't study, and his parents wanted him to experience some hardship. Coincidentally, his parents knew a relative of Boss Su, so they used their connections to get Zhao Cheng'an into Zhiweiju as an apprentice, so he could see that learning was the easiest thing.

As a result, Zhao Cheng'an taught his parents a lesson, letting them know that their son's entry into Zhiweiju as an apprentice was a misguided path.

Before joining Zhiweiju, Zhao Cheng'an had virtually no background in the industry, though he was only nine years old at the time.

Yes, nine years old. This child stopped going to school in the third grade of elementary school. His parents had no choice but to use their connections to send him in for two months of hardship during the summer vacation.

What kind of apprentice can a nine-year-old with no experience be at Zhiweiju? He'd be lucky if he didn't cause trouble. It's only because Zhao Cheng'an's parents have connections that he wouldn't have gotten in at all.

At that time, Zhiweiju was in its golden expansion period, and Boss Su didn't have time to pay much attention to this nepotism case. He simply asked a very good-natured chef to take care of the child and let him suffer a bit. As it turned out, Zhao Cheng'an was amazed by the hardships he endured.

Not only is he proficient in all the basic skills, but he also comes from a well-off family and is practically a rich young master. However, because he was naughty and didn't like studying since he was a child, he was often beaten by his parents. Therefore, he is particularly resistant to beatings and pressure, has good physical fitness and great strength, and has a sensitive sense of taste.

Most importantly, she has an amazing talent for pastry making, a great aesthetic sense, and a love for making desserts.

After the two-month summer training program ended, Boss Su personally visited Zhao Cheng'an's parents to beg them to keep their child at Zhiweiju. He appealed to their emotions and reasoned with them, even going so far as to say that since the child's grades weren't good anyway, and being a pastry chef was still a special talent, he should definitely focus on his studies, but making pastries could also be cultivated as a special talent – ​​such nonsense.

In the end, Zhao Cheng'an's parents were completely fooled by Boss Su and agreed to the learning plan he proposed, which included attending school during the week, practicing on weekends, and special training during winter and summer vacations.

Zhao Cheng'an's amazing talent made him a sought-after disciple of many master chefs. He eventually became Master Zhou's apprentice at the age of 10, becoming a nightmare for all the apprentices and disciples of Zhiweiju.

In Tan Weian's words, if Zhao Cheng'an hadn't been a bit lazy, not so diligent, not at all lazy, and not so rich, and not so passionate about his work, and even had to take a fixed half-month vacation every year to travel, he would have already defeated Zheng Siyuan to become the number one young Bai An, and become a legend.

It was also because of this personality that Zhao Cheng'an was no longer as amazing as he used to be after he turned 20. Of course, he did not become just an ordinary person either, and became a normal disciple of Zhiweiju.

According to Tan Weian, although Zhao Cheng'an had this personality, Master Zhou still liked Zhao Cheng'an the most. It wasn't because Zhao Cheng'an was the most talented, but because Zhao Cheng'an had the sweetest tongue; he would say anything to get time off for a trip, and Master Zhou loved hearing nice things.

It's easy to see from Master Zhou's three apprentices that although Master Zhou is a bit sarcastic, he is very tolerant as a master.

He has an eldest disciple who is above average in talent but extremely diligent, a second disciple who is above average in talent but average in conduct, and a third disciple who is exceptionally talented but relatively lazy.

Even as the top chef in the pastry industry, Master Zhou cannot find a highly talented and diligent disciple to teach him personally. This shows how difficult it is to find a disciple. No wonder the master chefs of Zhiweiju often fight and argue fiercely over who will be his disciple.

Master Zhou's three disciples have studied under him for many years and now require little attention. Therefore, Master Zhou now focuses most of his energy on Su Qian.

At this point, some people might be wondering why Tan Weian knows Zhao Cheng'an so well, and whether they have a good relationship.

Yes.

Because the very good-tempered head chef whom Boss Su chose to take care of the children back then was Tan Wei'an's grandfather.

When Zhao Cheng'an was promoted to a full-time employee at Zhiweiju during his summer job, Tan Wei'an was still just a kid, occasionally practicing basic skills at home without formally studying cooking. At that time, Tan Wei'an always thought he would be the next Zhao Cheng'an, that he would amaze everyone at Zhiweiju with just a little effort.

Then reality slapped Tan Weian in the face, telling him he'd been overthinking things. Although everyone had connections, and Tan Weian's connections were even stronger, some people with connections were born to be the main characters, while others were born to be extras.

This is why Tan Weian was able to remain so calm and unperturbed after meeting Qin Huai. Qin Huai was indeed more abnormal, but Tan Weian had already gotten used to it. He had grown up in the shadow of a prodigy, and life was still long; what if he met someone even more abnormal than Qin Huai in the future?
Qin Huai stood beside Su Qian's cooking station, but wandered between several cooking stations.

Su Qian, Zhao Cheng'an, Zhou Yan, and Wang Jiayi were all kneading the dough.

Kneading dough is the most basic and important skill for chefs specializing in pastry.

Although these four people were taught by the same master, Qin Huai discovered that they each had their own unique characteristics when kneading dough.

Zhao Cheng'an has the most eccentric personality, yet he is the most composed and focused when kneading dough. As a typical talent-driven individual, Zhao Cheng'an's dough has almost no personal style, and it's nearly impossible to find any flaws. The few minor issues that might seem slightly off are easily dismissed as his own ideas. It can be described as very conventional and steady.

Completely opposite to Zhao Cheng'an is Wang Jiayi, a more sophisticated version of Gu Li. His kneading technique is quite distinctive, with exaggerated and unrestrained movements that make it seem more like a performance than kneading dough. Furthermore, his culinary skills are actually superior to Qin Huai's. Qin Huai simply enjoys watching him knead dough, even wondering why someone of this skill isn't considered a qualified apprentice; Master Zhou's standards for graduation are truly high.

As Master Zhou's only female direct disciple, Zhou Yan's kneading movements are relatively small, gentle, and even simple, clean and neat, without any unnecessary movements.

It has a certain personal style, but not much.

As for Su Qian.

He was the worst of the four; Qin Huai could spot many flaws in his cooking at a glance. Previously, when Su Qian worked at Zhiweiju, Qin Huai thought Su Qian's culinary skills were quite good, easily surpassing those of the other apprentices.

Now...

It can only be said that there is no harm without comparison. Compared with his three future senior brothers and sisters, Su Qian definitely needs to practice more.

Qin Huai watched with great interest, devouring soup dumplings one after another, completely absorbed in the moment.

Master Zhou didn't tell Qin Huai what he wanted to see, and Qin Huai wasn't quite sure what he wanted to see either, but whatever, he just wanted to see it.

If someone completely unaware of the situation were to pass by at this moment, they would most likely assume that Qin Huai was the young master of Zhiweiju, and then shake their head, thinking that Zhiweiju was finished.

The young master was so leisurely that he could eat breakfast while watching the pastry chefs knead dough, and he seemed to be watching the show without knowing what he was watching. He was probably a spendthrift who couldn't make pastries at all.

Qin Huai swallowed the last bite of the soup dumpling, put down the plate, and prepared to eat noodles.

Master Zhou asked with a smile, "Would you like to eat something else? Old Hua's chicken noodle soup is just so-so, there's not much to eat. If you're not full, Xiao Qin, I'll make another batch of egg tarts later when I have time, so you can eat a few to fill your stomach."

Zhao Cheng'an, who was focused on kneading the dough, couldn't help but look up at Master Zhou, his face saying, "Is this still my master?"
I didn't receive this kind of treatment when I was a child. How come this little Qin in front of me is no longer a child, yet she's still being treated like one?
Master, am I still your beloved third disciple?

Master Zhou didn't even glance at Zhao Cheng'an.

"Master Zhou, there's no need to go to so much trouble. I'll just grab something to eat." Qin Huai smiled slightly embarrassedly. "Everyone's busy, and I feel a little awkward eating alone. How about I..."

“No need,” Master Zhou said firmly. “Xiao Qin, you’ll watch it today, and that’s all.”

"Third brother, stop slacking off, you're daydreaming again," Master Zhou said sternly.

Zhao Cheng'an: QAQ
(End of this chapter)