The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 441 [Rice Cake Grade A]

In Jiang Chengde's video tutorial, the most tedious step in making rice cake is to mash glutinous rice and regular rice into a rice paste.

This is both physically demanding and technically challenging. The rice batter for making rice cakes needs to be fine; the finer the batter, the better the texture of the rice cake. For a simple dessert like rice cake, which only has the natural flavor of rice and the sweetness of white sugar, texture is a crucial factor.

Such a physically demanding and technically challenging task becomes something anyone can do with their hands, thanks to modern technology like juicers and blenders.

Set the time, start the machine, and you can achieve the desired level of detail.

As Qin Huai watched the rice milk being stirred wildly in the juicer, he marveled at how modern technology had truly liberated the hands of pastry chefs.

If a modern person were to bring a juicer that never needs charging, never breaks down, and can be used indefinitely to Jiang Chengde's era, even the grandmaster Jiang Chengde would be dumbfounded and exclaim in amazement that such a genius existed in the world to make rice milk.

As the glutinous rice and regular rice were blended into a smooth rice paste, Qin Huai's wandering thoughts of "Rebirth: I Was a Chef in the Last Century" were pulled back. She carefully added yeast and sugar to the rice paste and stirred.

The biggest lesson Qin Huai learned from Jiang Chengde's video tutorials was to avoid making mistakes.

As long as every step is flawless, then it is impeccable.

It sounds like nonsense, but it's incredibly difficult to put into practice. To truly achieve a state where there are absolutely no flaws, one must have an extremely high level of control over the dessert. This isn't something that can be done simply by being fully focused; first and foremost, one must understand what it means to be flawless.

Fortunately, Qin Huai now knows.

Qin Huai stirs the rice paste evenly at a uniform speed.

Tan Wei'an felt that this constant speed was perfect. When making baked goods, especially rice cakes which require large quantities and quick production, speed is crucial. It needs to be fast when it's appropriate and slow when it's necessary. In Tan Wei'an's view, stirring can be very fast.

Tan Weian should have gone back to work long ago, but he wanted to stay and watch the show, to see what big move Qin Huai was up to. Master Zhou didn't care about Tan Weian either, so Tan Weian took the opportunity to stay next to Zhao Cheng'an, watching the drama unfold.

"What is Qin Huai doing? Why is he moving so slowly?" Tan Weian muttered to himself.

"Shh, don't talk." Zhao Cheng'an stared at Qin Huai with a serious face. "Look carefully, did you bring your phone? If you did, take it out and record a video."

Tan Weian: ? We're recording this too?
Although he didn't understand, Tan Weian really ignored the store rules and put his phone in his pocket. When he heard Zhao Cheng'an say that, he openly took out his phone and started recording.

The rice cake is now ready to be covered with plastic wrap and fermented. Jiang Chengde's video tutorial shows covering it with gauze, but this method is more difficult. If the porcelain or wooden bowl is covered with gauze, the chef cannot see the state of the rice batter inside.

A glass bowl with plastic wrap makes all the difference. After covering the rice milk with plastic wrap, Qin Huai didn't leave but stayed by the side, watching and waiting.

Qin Huai had seen what rice milk at its best fermentation stage looked like in the video tutorial. He couldn't see the fermentation process in the video tutorial, but now he could.

Zhao Cheng'an, Tan Weian, and Master Zhou stood by the Qinhuai River and waited. Halfway through, Wang Jia came over and relayed a message, and then they didn't leave again, standing by and waiting.

Master Hua came over to ask Qin Huai what kind of noodles he wanted to eat tomorrow, but he couldn't get the question out before he arrived, so he waited on the side.

Boss Su asked Master Zhou to discuss the meeting next month, but Master Zhou refused to discuss it with him. Helpless, Boss Su could only wait until the Qinhuai rice cakes were ready before discussing it, and waited on the side.

As the rice milk was about to finish fermenting, more and more people gathered around.

Zhou Yan, Master Wang, Master Li, Master Zhao...

Tan Weian was directly pushed out, and the phone used for recording was taken over by Zhao Cheng'an—or rather, snatched away by Zhao Cheng'an. Zhao Cheng'an was afraid that with his seniority, even two more master chefs would be pushed out, so he had to take on the recording job to secure his position in the front row.

Tan Weian: ?

Finally, Qin Huai found the perfect time.

Unlike cooking, fermentation doesn't involve controlling the heat. The most crucial moment might only be a second or two, or even less. Fermentation is about finding the optimal state; it doesn't require racing against time, just seizing the right moment.

Qin Huai decisively poured the fermented rice paste into the prepared mold and steamed it over high heat.

As Qin Huai performed his actions, the master chefs watching expressed their feelings and discussed among themselves.

"That rice batter was so beautiful, the consistency and color. Old Zhao, you saw the rice batter being poured into the mold... I can hardly describe it, it was so beautiful, really beautiful."

"Indeed, I didn't expect Xiao Qin to be so good at making rice cakes. Why didn't Xiao Tan tell us before?"

"That's right, Xiao Tan's intelligence gathering is really bad; he doesn't reveal the most crucial information."

"The rice paste is in such good condition, it's a pity it's only good for making rice cakes. It would be perfect for making rice paste dumplings. Little Qin makes such delicious glutinous rice balls, her rice paste dumplings would definitely be just as good!"

"Come on, you just want to show off that you can make rice flour dumplings, right? If you ask me, such good rice flour should be used to make rice flour cakes. It's not only more difficult than making rice cakes, but it also tastes better."

"What do you mean? What do you mean by saying that rice syrup cake is more difficult than rice cake? Your rice syrup cake is just a little more difficult than rice cake, with one more step of making syrup and steaming in layers. What's so difficult about it? If you ask me, it's not as good as rice cake. Rice cake tastes purer, while your rice syrup cake tastes cloyingly sweet."

"What do you mean by 'sweet as hell'? Do you even know what rice cake is? Rice cake is supposed to be sweet!"

The chefs started arguing again while chatting. If you didn't know better, you'd think they were watching Qin Huai make rice cakes, but if you didn't, you'd think the morning meeting had started early.

Master Zhou ignored the crowd and didn't follow to see how Qin Huai steamed the rice cakes. In fact, no one followed to see how Qin Huai steamed the rice cakes; this step was completely unnecessary.

"Third brother, did you get a clear shot?" Master Zhou asked Zhao Cheng'an.

“The later parts are filmed clearly. When Tan Wei’an was filming the earlier parts, he didn’t use close-ups; it was always from one angle. The steps of rice milk fermentation are filmed very clearly, Master.” Zhao Cheng’an handed Tan Wei’an’s phone over.

Master Zhou squinted and examined it carefully for a while, then shook his head helplessly and sighed, "Xiao Tan is still not good at doing things."

Tan Weian: ??? Master Zhou, this is my phone. Out of all these people, I'm the only one who broke the store rules by putting my phone in my pocket!
Twenty minutes later, Qin Huai returned with several plates of steamed rice cakes that had been cooled for a few minutes and were at a palatable temperature, looking very appealing.

Qin Huai uses the simplest square mold, without any extra shaping, and the steamed rice cakes are all small squares.

Each rice cake is round and plump, like a sewn-up little wallet. It is off-white in color with a very beautiful sheen. The surface is visibly delicate and smooth, not to the point of being overly shiny, but definitely more eye-catching than ordinary rice cakes.

If these two plates of rice cakes were placed among rice cakes sold in the market, they would be like a fair-skinned, beautiful, long-legged supermodel mixed into an ordinary crowd—they would be immediately recognizable.

Qin Huai distributed rice cakes to each master chef. After distributing them, there was still a small half-plate left. He then picked one up from the plate and shared it with everyone.

Qin Huai had already eaten one while he was still by the stove, and the taste far exceeded his expectations, so Qin Huai could now say he was very confident.

Qin Huai chewed the rice cake slowly.

To be honest, this rice cake isn't particularly delicious. Its texture isn't rich, it lacks layers, and it doesn't have any fancy flavors. It's just an ordinary rice cake, slightly sweet, and tastes the same as rice cakes all over the world—because it's just a rice cake.

But it's a delicious rice cake that surpasses ordinary rice cakes and tasty rice cakes.

Its texture is very delicate, its rice aroma is very rich, and its sweetness is just right. It doesn't have any strange fragrance, but it's very pleasant to eat.

It's a textbook example of rice cake. Its texture, softness, and taste are just like the rice cakes that everyone imagines, remembers, and knows, but it's even better than those rice cakes.

Even a rice cake that scored 100 points on a test would have to bow respectfully in front of it, because it is an example from the textbook, and it is the only delicious rice cake that meets the standard of public perception.

That is the standard answer.

This is also the kind of beauty that Qin Huai has always pursued in desserts.

It is both aesthetically pleasing and delicious.

Master Zhou had previously shown Qin Huai so many books on aesthetics, hoping he would find answers or insights within them. He wanted Qin Huai to find his own path, to explore his own unique style. The difference between Wang Jiayi and Zhou Yan had already shown Qin Huai that to become a master chef, he must possess his own style. Previously, Qin Huai genuinely didn't understand what his own style was. He had always been imitating, always learning, whether it was studying a complete guide to pastries or copying video tutorials, he still didn't know what his own style was.

Qin Huai felt that he had never had a style in making pastries since he was a child. He had always made standard pastries that conformed to popular perception. It was just that his pastries were the benchmark.

He never innovated or set his own style; he simply made whatever was written in the dim sum encyclopedia. Even the Four Happiness Dumplings, whose recipe he figured out himself, were a standard dim sum that was widely recognized.

Regardless of whether Qin Huai figured out the recipe himself, just think about it: when you see this snack, eat this snack, or hear Qin Huai introduce this snack, don't you think that Four Happiness Dumplings are exactly like this?

Master Zhou had Qin Huai follow Zhao Cheng'an around, watching Zhao Cheng'an make pastries for so many days, actually hoping to make Qin Huai realize that he and Zhao Cheng'an had the same problem. They were both too rigid and textbook-like, to the point that they completely lacked personal style.

Qin Huai thought so too before watching the video tutorial.

Now he realizes that Master Zhou was wrong.

Master Zhou's vision is too narrow; he has never seen a master-level pastry.

What's wrong with textbooks? Are textbooks rigid? If textbooks are authoritative enough to dominate everything, then textbook-style snacks are also unique snacks!

Which student doesn't need to read textbooks?

Learn from textbooks, understand textbooks, become textbooks, and transcend textbooks.

Qin Huai looked at the few remaining rice cakes on the plate.

[Grade A Rice Cake]

Unfortunately, his stats weren't strong enough. Even at his limit, he could only make A-grade rice cakes.

Let alone surpassing textbooks, it's still a long way from becoming a textbook itself.

Jiang Chengde makes rice cakes casually, and even those that get worse when they cool down still get an A+ grade. How does he do that?
Qin Huai ate in deep thought, while everyone else was pleasantly surprised.

"I haven't had such a perfect rice cake in years!"

"Really, it's very standard, without any fancy features, it's pure."

"Little Qin is quite something, he had this trick up his sleeve."

"Actually, I'm quite good at making these kinds of desserts. If Xiao Qin were to specialize in this area, I..."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Master Zhou. Master Zhou gave the chef who had spoken a disdainful look, ignored him, and continued eating his rice cake.

On the contrary, Master Hua snorted coldly, his face saying, "I'm still in line, who do you think you are?"

Tan Wei'an was completely stunned by the food. While his technique wasn't great, his sense of taste was excellent; otherwise, he wouldn't have been the team's designated taster. Most of the pastries in Qinhuai were grade B, with only a very few that he excelled at, such as Four Happiness Tangyuan, being grade A. With Tan Wei'an's discerning palate, he could definitely distinguish between grade B and grade A.

Tan Weian knew Qin Huai was planning something big, but he didn't expect it to be this big.

Tan Wei'an swallowed the last bite of rice cake, stared blankly at Zhao Cheng'an, and asked the question that had been on his mind: "Where is that art exhibition you saw yesterday?"

Zhao Cheng'an: ...

Zhao Cheng'an scratched his head.

Is going to exhibitions really useful?

Master Zhou finished his rice cake and looked at Qin Huai, asking, "So, how much higher is the level of textbooks you aspire to be than this rice cake?"

"a lot of."

“How much is a lot?”

"If we use the rating system of the game I've imagined, this rice cake would be grade A, while your rice cake might be grade A+ or S-. But the level I want to reach is S grade or even higher."

"When I can easily make S-grade rice cakes for my kids' breakfasts, that's when I'll reach the textbook level I'm aiming for."

"Can you do it?" Master Zhou asked.

"I don't know, but at least I have this goal, and I know what level I need to reach it," Qin Huai said. "Rice cake is the best example of this, because it is simple and pure, without any extra skills. Just like the most ordinary white steamed bun, it can most directly reflect a chef's level."

"Xiao Qin, would you like to make another simple white flour steamed bun?" Master Zhou asked.

Qin Huai nodded in agreement; he had the same idea.

Although he only has video tutorials for rice cakes and not for steamed buns, he can still apply what he learned from rice cakes to steamed buns.

"Um..." Boss Su weakly interrupted the two, "The morning meeting is about to start, why don't you go to the meeting first, have lunch, and then make steamed buns?"

"What's with this morning meeting? Su Qi, have you gone crazy from all these meetings lately? Just leave our lunchboxes there. Xiao Qin and I aren't going to the morning meeting today." Chef Zhou gave Boss Su a look that said, "You're the owner of Zhiweiju, how can you not even know how to handle this kind of situation?"

Boss Su: I know how to read the situation, but I really have something important to discuss with you, Master Zhou. Let's go have a meeting.

"I won't go to the morning meeting either," Master Hua quickly declared. He wasn't interested in watching Qin Huai make rice cakes, but he was genuinely interested in watching Qin Huai make steamed buns.

The most important part of making white steamed buns is kneading the dough. Stretching and kneading are also very important. Although different techniques are used, the basic skills are the same.

"I'm not going either."

"Since none of you are going, then I won't go either."

“I’ll stay here too.”

"I……"

The other master chefs responded enthusiastically.

Boss Su: ...

"Then... Xiao Tan, go and inform the other master chefs that the morning meeting will be canceled and postponed to noon or another time."

Boss Su craned his neck to look at Qin Huai's cooking station. Although he was a boss on the surface, he was also a pastry chef in secret. He could tell how well Qin Huai had made the rice cake.

"Master Zhou, your skill in giving guidance is getting better and better. Master Qin has only been following you for a short time, but I feel that his level has improved a lot!" Boss Su exclaimed. "He gives people a completely different feeling."

"It has nothing to do with me. He found his own way," Master Zhou said calmly, though his expression betrayed a hint of displeasure.

"And by the way, prove me wrong with my actions."

After saying that, Master Zhou glanced at Zhao Cheng'an and whispered, "I'll have to thank him later. If Xiao Qin hadn't figured it out so quickly, my third son would have been led astray by me."

"So the third brother wasn't lying to me after all; going to the exhibition really did help."

Boss Su: ?
Going to an exhibition? What exhibition? The art exhibition from yesterday?
Is going to an art exhibition helpful for baking? Isn't going to an exhibition just an excuse for Zhao Cheng'an to be lazy and not go to work?
Mr. Su secretly made a note of it and decided to call his daughter later to tell her the good news.

Daughter, your dad has found a folk remedy for you!
(End of this chapter)