The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 423 Auspicious Cloud Pattern Pastry

In the following time, Qin Huai and the others inquired about each other's recent situations. Actually, there wasn't much to inquire about; they mainly asked about Luo Jun and Chen Gong's situations.

To sum up Luo Jun's current situation in one sentence: calmly awaiting death. Luo Jun is very calm about it, only complaining that the new TV series is not good and the updates are too slow. If the TV series are not finished by the time he dies, he doesn't know when he will be able to finish watching them in his next life.

As for Chen Gong, he had many things to do. With Good Taste Company thriving, Han Guishan expanded his business beyond soy sauce to include several new condiments.

With the company thriving, Chen Gong, as the all-around assistant, was naturally extremely busy. Every day, from the moment he opened his eyes, he was in meetings, revising plans, arranging schedules for the boss, and coordinating the work of other assistants—more like working 007 than 996.

Chen Gong himself sighed with relief that he had woken up. Although his body was still human, he had regained the abilities of a spirit, and his physical condition was now much better than that of a normal human.

A normal person would have died from exhaustion long ago if they stayed up like that.

Based on this topic, Qin Huai also curiously asked Chen Huihong, Qu Jing, and Shi Dadan if they felt like Superman after waking up and regaining their abilities, and the answer they received was no.

These three spirits are: a plant spirit that eats itself for sustenance, a bird that eats itself to cure amnesia, and a mythical beast that has its own buffs but no special abilities. The three spirits combined cannot defeat a single breath of fire from Bifang.

Thinking about it this way, it's understandable why Luo Jun was so arrogant back then. He wasn't just arrogant towards humans; he was arrogant towards spirits as well. Bifang simply looked down on all living beings equally.

After the video call ended, Qin Huai first messaged Huang Xi, asking her to talk to An Youyou, and then called Su Qi to ask if Zhiweiju could accept another exchange apprentice.

Su Qi's answer was also very Su Qi-like.

Su Qi not only agreed immediately, but also enthusiastically stated that he was considering the matter even if Qin Huai hadn't brought it up. Zhiweiju and Yunzhong Restaurant have a very friendly partnership, and even though there's no cooperation yet, he thought, what if there is in the future?
Mutual exchange is a good prerequisite for establishing a relationship between the two parties. Su Qi said that Zhiweiju has very rich experience in apprentice management. Qin Huai can not only send An Youyou, but also Li Youyou, Wang Youyou, Zhao Youyou, Zhang Youyou, etc. Sending more is not a problem at all, and Zhiweiju can accept them all.

Startled, Qin Huai quickly declined. It wasn't that he didn't want to send someone, but there were very few who met the requirements. The two who best met the requirements were graduates, and he couldn't very well send them back to their alma mater to repeat their studies.

After finishing these business matters, Qin Huai chatted with Shi Dadan for a few more minutes, asking him what his plans were after arriving in Hangzhou.

While researching a popular online review site, Shi Dadan explained his dining plans. He had saved many recommended restaurants and planned to try them one by one. By the time he had eaten enough, Qin Huai's conversation would probably be over, and Shi Dadan could return to Shan City with Qin Huai to finish the meals he hadn't eaten there.

It was a very relaxing vacation.
.
At nine o'clock the next morning, Qin Huai arrived at Zhiweiju on time, ready to start a hard day's work.

Yes, hard work.

In Qin Huai's view, the observation of the previous few days was over, and Master Zhou's assessment of him was also finished.

Now that you've finished watching, it's time to practice.

After a good night's sleep, Chef Qin, full of energy, was ready to face Chef Zhou's rigorous but highly efficient culinary training.

What greeted Master Qin was a plate of fragrant auspicious cloud-patterned pastries, which were actually pastries shaped like cloud patterns.

"Xiao Qin, haven't you had breakfast yet? I was a bit late making these auspicious cloud pattern pastries this morning, so I didn't make any other snacks. Just eat whatever you like. I just went to check on other places. Old Wang's shrimp dumplings should be ready soon, Old Zhao made soup dumplings, and Old Liu made pan-fried buns. If you're tired of these, if all else fails, Hua's noodle-pulling skills are pretty good. The pork rib soup today was quite good, so I'll have him make you a bowl of pork rib noodle soup to tide you over."

Master Zhou's gentle voice, warm smile, and fragrant pastries made Qin Huai wonder if the egg tarts he made yesterday were just a dream.

Qin Huai accepted the auspicious cloud-patterned pastry with perfect honesty and took a bite first.

Hmm, it tastes like a very normal shortbread.

The aroma of the butter is maximized after baking. The flavor itself is a perfectly normal sweet and savory pastry, and the texture is that of a typical crumbly, flaky pastry. It's the simplest type of pastry, only featuring a cloud-shaped pattern. The pattern doesn't alter the taste at all, and this simplest pastry surpasses 100% of the pastries on the market.

Qin Huai originally only wanted to take a bite, but he couldn't stop eating it.

He was already hungry early in the morning, and his instinct to eat made it hard for him to resist this baked dessert with a mixture of sugar and oil.

After eating three or four auspicious cloud-patterned pastries, Qin Huai respectfully asked, "Master Zhou, what kind of pastry would you like me to make today? Should I continue with egg tarts like yesterday, or should I make these auspicious cloud-patterned pastries?"

"No rush. Just watch, like before. I have something to do today. Su Qian's head's been stubborn these past few days, I need to give him a strong dose. The temperature in the low-temperature zone is a bit low, so Xiao Qin, don't go in. You'll catch a cold if you stay there too long. The Auspicious Pastry doesn't necessarily have to be made in the low-temperature zone. I'll have Lao San find a cooler place for you to watch him make it."

"Huh? I'm not doing it, I want to watch Zhao Cheng'an do it?" Qin Huai was slightly surprised.

"Yes, let's look at how the third brother does it first. Although his pastry-making skills are a bit too crafty and lack his own style, it can still be used as a textbook example."

“I thought about it carefully yesterday. Since you’re going to teach me, I can’t just teach you what I want to teach. Xiao Qin, the main reason you came to Zhiweiju this time is not only to practice finger techniques, but also to practice cloud patterns. So, we should definitely follow your wishes.”

“Let’s learn cloud patterns for a while first, which will also help you improve your finger technique. You have the skill, but your awareness is lacking. This auspicious cloud pattern pastry is the simplest type of cloud pattern pastry. If you practice this pastry first, you can practice both cloud patterns and puff pastry making. When you follow me to practice puff pastry making, it will be easier for you to get started.”

Qin Huai: ?
He came to Zhiweiju this time to learn cloud patterns, practice finger techniques, and now he also has to practice making flaky pastries. At this rate, when will he ever finish learning and return to Yunzhong Restaurant? Could it be that Luo Jun won't even be able to wait for him to come back?

Of course, this terrible thought only lingered in Qin Huai's mind for two seconds before he quickly banished it, replacing it with the resolute image of Master Qin.

"Okay, Master Zhou, I will watch Zhao Cheng'an make pastries carefully and learn more from him."

Master Zhou smiled kindly, then turned around, quickly withdrawing his smile and switching to a stern expression, before striding aggressively towards the low-temperature area.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Su Qian is finished today. He's just unlucky. There's no harm without comparison. He was just in a bad state. Everyone has bad days. He'll be fine after a couple of days of adjustment."

"You made such beautiful egg tarts as soon as you started making them yesterday. He'll probably be having nightmares about egg tarts every night for the next few days."

As soon as Master Zhou left, Zhao Cheng'an sidled up to Qin Huai to share the latest intelligence. Qin Huai glanced at Zhao Cheng'an and noticed that his hands were empty and clean.

Seeing Qin Huai examining his hands, Zhao Cheng'an explained directly: "As soon as I arrived today, my master instructed me to teach you how to make auspicious cloud pattern pastries. This pastry is so simple that I haven't made it since I was 17. My master was afraid I would make a mistake, so he made it in front of me. I've been helping my master the whole time and haven't even kneaded the dough myself."

"Where should we practice now?" Qin Huai asked. "Next to Gu Li's place. He has an empty cooking station there, and the temperature is relatively low. My master specifically told me to go there."

"Why?" Qin Huai asked knowingly.

"Let Guli take a look while we're at it. His style of making pastries is quite similar to mine. We both follow the recipe exactly, but he's just too untalented to copy it properly. He's practiced cloud patterns for several years, but he's still just so-so. He has a lot of theoretical knowledge, but he makes mistakes when it comes to practical application. My master likes Guli quite a bit. Let me take this opportunity to give Guli some extra help without giving anyone cause for gossip."

"Oh, by the way, Qin Huai, what are you planning to have for breakfast this morning? That bone broth is really good. If you ask Chef Hua to make you a bowl of thin noodles cooked in the bone broth, with an egg poached on top, a couple of blanched greens and a handful of bean sprouts, the taste would be amazing..."

Qin Huai immediately said, "I also think that pork rib noodles are a good choice for breakfast. Cheng'an, you go to Gu Li's place first, and I'll ask Chef Hua if he's free."

Zhao Cheng left, satisfied.

Master Hua was always available, whether he was or not. When he heard Qin Huai say that Master Zhou had recommended him to ask, Master Hua even showed a villainous expression on his face: "So what if you're the best at making white dishes, when it comes to stretching noodles, you still can't beat me."

Then, while stretching the noodles, he kept an eye on Qin Huai's progress in the exchange, which every master chef at Zhiweiju knew. He used words that were meant to be tactful but were no different from being direct to express his incomprehension and dissatisfaction with Master Zhou's teaching methods. He also stated that he was a pragmatist and would never let the master chefs he was exchanging ideas with just watch without doing anything.

If Qin Huai wanted, he would go to the low-temperature zone right now and have a fight with Master Zhou so that Qin Huai could start making noodles all day.

As Qin Huai left with three bowls of pork rib noodles, he figured that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Master Hua would likely have another argument with Master Zhou during the morning meeting.

They've had several arguments already. According to Zhao Cheng'an, an insider, Master Hua tried to arrange a real fight with Master Zhou by the lake, but Master Zhou refused.

As for why Qin Huai left with three bowls of pork rib noodles...

While Master Hua was cursing and dissing Master Zhou, he didn't control the portion size and made enough for 10 bowls of noodles at once. Qin Huai took three bowls of noodles because he thought Tan Weian's cooking station was right next to Gu Li's and Tan Weian might also want a bowl.

By the time Qin Huai arrived near the cooking station with the noodles, Tan Weian was already chatting with Zhao Cheng'an.

Zhao Cheng'an was kneading dough, while Tan Weian was slacking off. Their conversation contained no academic exchange, only a thirst for gossip.

The noodles have arrived, so let's stop gossiping and eat the noodles first.

Unfortunately, the noodles couldn't shut Tan Weian up. While eating, Tan Weian sighed, "Master Zhou's teaching method is still the same as always. I remember when Zhao Cheng'an first became his apprentice, Master Zhou taught him the same way, not letting him do it himself but only letting him watch. I was so envious back then."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Qin Huai asked.

“I always thought that I would be taught in this way in the future. When my grandfather taught me step by step, I was not happy. I wanted my grandfather to teach me like Master Zhou taught Zhao Chengan, only letting me watch but not let me practice. As a result, Zhao Chengan learned it by watching, but I forgot everything by watching, and wasted two months of progress. I was exhausted from extra practice later.”

Zhao Cheng'an, speechless, held his noodles and looked down at Tan Weian, taking advantage of being half a head taller than him: "How can that be the same? In my master's words, each disciple should be taught in a different way. Someone like me who can learn by watching doesn't need to practice, but someone like you should be whipped from behind."

Tan Weian: (-)

"But Brother Cheng'an, this auspicious cloud pattern pastry has both cloud patterns and flaky pastry, is it really okay for me to just look at it and not practice?" Qin Huai asked with some concern.

"I didn't ask you to just watch without practicing. Just watch for now. Don't you know how good I am at making pastries? It's textbook-level. Just watch."

"Previously, Boss Su wanted to use the video of me making pastries as a template to share at the exchange meeting, but my master thought my skills were not up to par and I hadn't graduated yet, so he was afraid of embarrassing me and didn't agree. You know what I mean, Gu Li, you should know about this."

Gu Li, who had been quietly making pastries in the background, nodded and then continued making pastries without giving Zhao Cheng'an a second glance. He didn't realize that Master Zhou had deliberately arranged for Zhao Cheng'an to make pastries here.

Qin Huai sighed silently to himself, thinking that no one else could be as stubborn as Gu Li.

After finishing the pork rib noodles, Zhao Cheng'an began his lesson. Because it was a lesson, Zhao Cheng'an made the pastries with extremely high precision, but he also deliberately slowed down his pace, making him even more robotic than a robot.

Qin Huai stood on the side and watched.

The two of them quietly made and watched each other for more than 40 minutes, until Zhao Cheng'an started to get restless. Before, when they were making desserts, Zhou Yan would usually bring up the topic first, either her husband or her children, chatting about trivial things. Wang Jia would occasionally chime in with Zhao Cheng'an's words, and then the conversation would drift to other things.

Of Master Zhou's three apprentices, Zhao Cheng'an seems to be the most gossipy, but it is always Zhou Yan who takes the initiative to start conversations.

With Zhou Yan absent, no one initiated the conversation, and Zhao Cheng'an felt awkward even while making the pastries.

"Qin Huai, why don't you say something? It's too quiet. If I wasn't worried that Tan Weian would take the opportunity to slack off while we're chatting, I would have called him over for a chat."

Qin Huai was waiting for this very sentence.

As long as Zhao Cheng'an takes the initiative to speak, Qin Huai can justify any outrageous topic he brings up.

"Brother Cheng'an, do you dream?"

Do you sometimes dream of things that feel so real, like they happened in a past life? Or do you sometimes feel like you're not yourself, that you have another life or flashback memories?

Zhao Cheng'an: ?

Are all the topics Qin Huai throws out in conversation this philosophical? He felt that Qin Huai was about to say something like Freud once said that humans have an id, an ego, and a superego.

Zhao Cheng'an paused for a moment, but his eagerness to gossip made him seriously consider this somewhat strange topic, and then he nodded affirmatively.

"I think I have had that dream. Sometimes I dream that I am traveling around the world, and I am also a chef while traveling around the world."

"But considering that I am actually traveling around the world, it's probably because I want to travel too much. Sigh, I also asked my master if I could go on a trip twice a year, and he almost scolded me to death."

(End of this chapter)