The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 442 The Power of Textbooks
After the morning meeting was canceled, even more chefs came to watch Qin Huai make steamed buns.

What? It's not right to slack off like this with the boss around. What do you know? Can you call it slacking off when the head chef is doing his job? This is just a concern; we're here to check on Chef Qin's situation.

Besides, isn't the boss slacking off too?

Even though everyone was squeezed out, and Tan Weian, who might not even be able to see Qin Huai's hand movements even if he jumped up, wasn't he also slacking off?
Tan Weian wasn't really interested in Qin Huai making steamed buns; he mainly wanted to squeeze in and get Zhao Cheng'an to return his phone. However, there were too many people and his seniority was too low, so he didn't dare to push his way in. He could only watch from the outside and try to sneak a bite.

Qin Huai is kneading dough.

When Qin Huai was still a breakfast shop chef, his dough-kneading skills were unparalleled. The best-selling item at Qin's Breakfast Shop was the meat bun. The shop's motto was low profit margins and high volume; the quality of the ingredients used was obviously not exceptional. They simply refused to cut corners or be unscrupulous.

After all, we're all neighbors. If the guests get sick from eating unclean ingredients, the residents of Sanmalu Community could come and smash up the Qin family's place at any time.

Qiu County is known for its simple and honest folk customs.

Later, Qin Huai realized that he was no longer just a breakfast shop chef, but a true pastry chef, and even a master chef. Qin Huai's kneading skills never held him back.

Whenever he wanted to, he could always knead dough better than his peers, making it more suitable for the corresponding pastries. Even though his dough-making skill was only at the advanced level, in the current climate where white-paste work is clearly declining and there is a lack of skilled workers, his advanced dough-making skill was already quite impressive among his peers.

Zhao Cheng'an's cooking skills are better than Qin Huai's, and correspondingly, his dough-kneading skills are also better than Qin Huai's. However, according to Qin Huai's judgment, Zhao Cheng'an's dough-making skills are probably only at the advanced level, and even Zhou Yan's or Wang Jiayi's dough-making skills may not have reached the master level.

Many of the chefs at Zhiweiju have reached the master level. To become a master chef who can stand on his own at Zhiweiju, one must definitely pass the test in terms of stats.

With such overwhelming numerical superiority, the many technical shortcomings and minor issues that Qin Huai revealed when kneading the dough were clearly seen by the master chefs.

But the master chefs didn't care.

The master chefs were all amazed by the smooth and flowing rhythm of Qin Huai.

A pastry chef needs to be in the right state of mind when making pastries. Technique is one thing, and mindset is another. It's like a top student taking an exam. If something affects their mood, they might make mistakes on certain questions, even if they knew the answer before.

The same applies to chefs. Theoretically, if your skills are up to par and you've succeeded before, you'll know how to do it. But this is only in theory. In practice, all sorts of unexpected situations can arise, and no chef can guarantee that they won't make a single mistake within their capabilities.

If you really don't make a single mistake, then it means you're in great shape.

If you can't make a single mistake, and you add a touch of unstoppable force, then today's dessert is going to be the best. With the confidence and aura of "I'm the best in the world," that's what it means to perform beyond your usual level.

The Qinhuai River has that kind of momentum now.

He didn't wear his "I'm the best in the world" on his face; he just wore my style, my path, my direction, and my aesthetic on his sleeve.

He kneaded the dough very neatly.

It's even neater than the dough that the robot Zhao Cheng'an usually kneads.

No one spoke; everyone was watching Qin Huai knead the dough. Zhao Cheng'an, as the photographer, despite his low seniority, still occupied a front-row position, holding his phone with both hands, afraid to move, constantly adjusting the angle and zooming in and out, afraid of missing even a single detail.

The dough is kneaded; now it's time to wait for it to rise.

The dough for steamed buns takes a long time to ferment, and Qin Huai couldn't just stand by the dough and wait for it to finish fermenting without doing anything. After thinking for a moment, Qin Huai decided that since he had already made plain steamed buns, he might as well make his specialty and signature fermented rice steamed buns as well, and started kneading the dough again.

Master Hua watched with shining eyes. If it weren't for the fact that it was inappropriate for him to speak in this setting, he would have grabbed Qin Huai's hand and pleaded with him: "Little Qin, stop thinking only about steamed buns. There are many kinds of pastries that can be made from noodles. Let's get back to the point and make some hand-kneaded noodles or stretched noodles!"

Unfortunately, Master Hua could only dream about it.

There are many master chefs like Master Hua whose eyes light up.

Unlike rice cakes and glutinous rice balls, which are relatively niche snacks, there are so many kinds of snacks that can be made with dough. 80% of pastry chefs specialize in pastry-based dishes.

Pan-frying, boiling, steaming, and deep-frying are all suitable for making pastries. You can't find a single pastry chef at Zhiweiju who doesn't know how to make pastries.

To be precise, it would be very difficult to find a pastry chef who doesn't know how to make any kind of pastry.

Many master chefs were secretly watching Master Zhou, eager to roll up their sleeves, show off their muscles, and have a friendly arm-wrestling match with him.

It's definitely impossible to win in a 1v1 situation; Master Hua has already taught everyone this lesson the hard way. But what if it's an nv1 situation?
Let's deal with Zhou Guanghai first, then we can deal with the others.

Boss Su: ...

Boss Su had a feeling that he would be very busy at the upcoming morning meetings.

Qin Huai was still kneading the dough as if by divine intervention.

After realizing that stacking the values ​​would yield the strongest solution, Qin Huai suddenly felt free of worry, anxiety, and trouble. All the problems and difficulties that had been looming over him vanished in an instant.

Previously, he would think about whether he was going in the wrong direction, whether his skills were wrong, whether there was something he hadn't grasped, and how he could find his own personal style.

He doesn't care about any of that now.

The reason these problems occur is because the basic stats are not high enough; to put it bluntly, you're bad at the game. If you're bad, practice more.

Learning is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind. The same applies to making desserts. There's no room for shortcuts or tricks. As long as you max out the stats, no problem is insurmountable.

The results and version of the answer from "The Grandmaster" are right there. In fact, Qin Huai had this version of the answer a long time ago, but he was too inexperienced at that time and couldn't understand it even when it was right in front of him.

The game system that distributes teaching materials has obviously also noticed this problem, so it throws a low-level version of the textbook at Qin Huai and tells him to read the rice cakes first as a transition.

Soon, the dough for the first batch of white flour steamed buns was fermented and steamed.

Steamed white flour buns are ready.

A very fragrant, standard white steamed bun.

The appearance is standard, the color is standard, even the steam and the unique aroma of steamed wheat are standard.

Each of the master chefs had a standard, and they ate the steamed buns in a standard way, chewing them carefully.

Everyone who eats steamed buns is a connoisseur, including Tan Weian. The moment they hold a steamed bun in their hands, they can't help but start scoring it.

The size is just right, perfect for holding in one hand. It looks nice, and it's soft, firm yet elastic when you squeeze it. You can tell it's a good steamed bun just by squeezing it.

One bite reveals a soft, warm texture. The smooth skin of the steamed bun has a unique aroma and taste, while the inside is firm and chewy but not dry. When chewing, you can taste the slight sweetness caused by the starch, and the rich wheat flavor. You can even feel the wonderful moist texture brought by the steam because the bun is fresh out of the steamer.

Good standard, ordinary, and delicious steamed buns.

To say it's absolutely delicious would be an understatement. It's just a steamed bun, delicious on its own, and also delicious when you break it open and spread fermented bean curd, pickled vegetables, salted vegetables, or even spicy strips inside.

But it certainly exceeded expectations.

It wasn't until they tasted the steamed bun that many of the master chefs suddenly understood the bold words Qin Huai had just spoken.

Such a seemingly ordinary steamed bun, made casually, can truly showcase a chef's skill to the fullest extent. The current version is already quite surprising; if it were even better, or even two levels better… the skill involved would be so impressive it makes one laugh out loud, something unimaginable even in a dream.

Qin Huai didn't eat the steamed buns he made himself; he was making the next batch without any effort.

Before long, the fermented rice buns were also ready.

When the fermented rice buns came out of the pot, Qin Huai paused for a moment, then felt somewhat relieved. He still didn't eat the fermented rice buns, but silently handed them out to everyone.

[Fermented Rice Wine Steamed Buns - Grade A]

This is the first time Qin Huai has made A-grade fermented rice buns. Although it did not reach the best A-grade that Qin Huai can currently make, it is enough to say everything.

Previously, the fermented rice buns from Qinhuai were all grade B, and they had never broken through that grade.

Fermented rice buns are the earliest signature snack in Qinhuai, and have been made for the longest time and in the largest quantity, but they are not as prominent among Qinhuai's signature snacks.

Even at Huangji Restaurant, the home turf of fermented rice buns, fermented rice buns only briefly took center stage before being overshadowed by premium three-ingredient buns, fruit dumplings, and four-happiness glutinous rice balls.

Many of Huang Ji's long-time customers love to eat fermented rice buns, mainly because they're eating the nostalgia of yesteryear.

Qin Huai didn't deliberately try to improve or upgrade the level of the fermented rice buns, because a B-level fermented rice bun was already sufficient, and the recipe he found was B-level.

As a result, the fermented rice steamed buns got an A- grade today.

All I can say is that the teaching materials of famous teachers are really useful. They may not teach you very specific things, they may not teach you a certain formula or a certain routine, but they will point out your way of thinking.

Once you understand the concept, everything else will fall into place.

Qin Huai didn't have a recipe for white flour steamed buns, but he thought his white flour steamed buns should be at least A-grade by now.

In terms of difficulty and the numerical requirements for the basic panel, steamed buns are definitely more difficult than rice cakes. After all, rice cakes are just too easy, so it's normal that the final result of steamed buns is not as good as that of rice cakes.

The current effect is already quite good.

The display of Qinhuai's basic snacks continued until after 2 p.m.

Rice cakes, white flour steamed buns, fermented rice steamed buns, sesame flatbreads, the most common large meat buns, and vegetable buns were made in rotation. In the middle of the process, a batch of hand-kneaded noodles and clear soup hand-kneaded noodles were even made.

Master Hua was so excited that he almost cried tears of joy.

Boss Su watched from the front row until around noon before leaving to go back to work. It wasn't that he had too much work to handle; it was mainly because he was full. The main dish was just too filling for him to eat any more.

Before leaving, Boss Su thoughtfully canceled today's morning meeting. Missing a morning meeting is no big deal; compared to the enlightenment of a promising pastry chef, the morning meeting is not important at all.

As for the guests of Zhiweiju...

They were all ecstatic.

A while ago, Chef Zhou would randomly drop a batch of egg tarts every day, which drove the regular customers crazy. As a traditional Chinese pastry restaurant, Zhiweiju's signature snack was promoted by customers as egg tarts during that period.

What? You come to Zhiweiju and don't buy egg tart blind boxes? Then you've really wasted your trip. Do you even understand the value of egg tart blind boxes?

Later, Master Zhou began to formally train Qin Huai, making all sorts of pastries involving basic finger techniques. The variety increased and the quantity increased, and the customers who were keen on opening blind boxes became even more enthusiastic. Zhiweiju's signature pastries changed from egg tarts to various beautiful pastries.

As a result, the guests were surprised to find today that it seemed they didn't need to open the blind boxes.

The steamed buns, mantou, sesame cakes, and rice cakes they've been selling randomly since this morning are all delicious!
The blind box version is delicious.

Although you can tell from the taste that it wasn't made by Chef Zhou, you still can't tell which chef made it.

Has Zhiweiju gotten a new, amazing master chef?

He's also a chef who likes to make cheap, large-volume, and filling snacks. He's so approachable!

Admittedly, deep down everyone likes those desserts that look high-end, fancy, and that they've never eaten or seen before.

Everyone is curious about new things, and everyone wants a better life and more delicious snacks—that's normal. But while they may have these desires, their wallets will clearly tell every ordinary diner that they're dreaming.

What are you thinking? With this little money, you expect to eat crab roe pastries, lion dance pastries, five-ingredient buns, four-happiness glutinous rice balls, eight-treasure cakes, and hibiscus cakes every day? I bet you can barely eat a beef pancake. You should eat some steamed buns, mantou, and shumai instead.

As the top restaurant for dim sum, Zhiweiju is not cheap.

Tourists might enjoy expensive snacks for a short time out of curiosity, and it's fine to do it occasionally. However, regular customers who eat them every day often find their wallets unable to keep up.

Every chef at Zhiweiju makes their signature dim sum at a high price, and over 90% of them don't make simple everyday dim sum like plain steamed buns or vegetable buns.

These pastries are for apprentices to practice making.

Now, Zhiweiju has a master chef who likes to make inexpensive, basic dim sum.

The regulars at Zhiweiju were so happy they wanted to hug the chef, whom they had never met and whose name they didn't even know, and cry out: "My soulmate! My benefactor! We've been waiting for you for so long!"
The poor old customers spread the good news to everyone: don't miss it, hurry up and come to Zhiweiju to buy white flour steamed buns! Yes, you heard right, white flour steamed buns!
You won't lose out, you won't be cheated. It's the most ordinary and standard white flour steamed bun, but it's incredibly delicious.

Being able to eat two steamed buns like this every morning makes the day something to look forward to.

Qin Huai was unaware that he had become the new head chef at Zhiweiju, and he had just finished making the last batch of white steamed buns.

“Master Zhou,” Qin Huai looked at Master Zhou, “I think I’ve found my direction.”

"Going to work at 9 am every day is too late. I'll go to work at 7 am from now on. I need to practice these simple snacks on brushing the numerical panel first, including the finger technique snacks that you've been teaching me recently."

"If the stats aren't high enough, everything else is meaningless. I want to get my finger technique or dough-making skills to master level!"

Master Zhou didn't say anything, but a master chef who was good at getting up early couldn't contain his excitement and shouted, "It's good that you're here early, Xiao Qin. If Master Zhou is late, just come find me. I'll be here early, before 7 o'clock!"

"I also arrive early. I love waking up early. I've had this good habit since I was an apprentice!"

"It's not like anyone can't get up early. When I had a physical exam a while ago, the doctor told me to get up early, and I've decided to follow the doctor's advice."

Master Zhou: ...

Master Zhou gave a kind smile: "Getting up early is good, it's good for your health. Actually, I can't sleep every day, so it's good to start work at 7 o'clock."

"Third brother, starting tomorrow, you will also be here at 7 o'clock every morning."

Zhao Cheng'an: ?

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(End of this chapter)