The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 457 Yam Cake

After leaving the dream, Qin Huai was still immersed in the shock and could not recover for a long time.

Xia Murui, Xia Sheng is actually Xia Murui!

If it were a common name like Xia Yi, Xia Er, Xia San, or Xia Si, Qin Huai could think it was just a coincidence or a case of the same name. But the name Xia Murui is very rare, not to mention that she is a master chef, and the era and age match up perfectly.

Qin Huai had become accustomed to seeing people who had long since passed away in the dreams of various spirits and monsters. Now, he actually saw a person who was still alive, a teenager in the dream, but now a frail old man in his nineties.

Qin Huai found it difficult to describe his feelings at that moment. Even though he wasn't directly involved, he was still deeply moved and awestruck. As a mere observer, he felt that the upcoming meeting of the century was so exciting and inspiring.

Although the two people meeting this time might not even recognize each other, Zhao Cheng'an has been reincarnated countless times and has long forgotten everything from his first life. Xia Murui also has no chance of recognizing Zhao Cheng'an, whose appearance, personality, and name have all been completely changed.

But it doesn't matter, someone knows what kind of encounter this was.

Qin Huai suddenly felt an intense longing to see Zhao Cheng'an's final dream. Only by reading all of Zhao Cheng'an's dreams could he understand the source of Zhao Cheng'an's obsession with failing his tribulation as a mayfly. As Luo Jun and Shi Dadan had said, the purpose of a mayfly's tribulation was to fail. If Zhao Cheng'an was failing for the sake of failing, then Qin Huai, as Zhao Cheng'an's friend, shouldn't interfere too much in Zhao Cheng'an's tribulation.

However, if Zhao Cheng'an's failure was an accident, as Shi Dadan said, although the vast majority of mayflies undergo tribulation with the aim of failing and experiencing life in the human world, there are also extremely rare instances of floating creatures successfully undergoing tribulation. There is no fixed number for the tribulations of spirits; if one were to deduce each spirit's tribulation according to common sense, one would find that each spirit's tribulation does not follow the usual pattern.

Luo Jun knew he had failed, yet he lingered in the mortal world, refusing to die, only torturing himself.

Wen Yaoyu, being a fish, committed suicide by jumping into the sea after her Dao heart was shattered.

The one who was most likely to succeed in transcending the tribulation failed because of the death of his friend, but succeeded in transcending the tribulation again in his second life by relying on himself.

Even after successfully overcoming its tribulation, the Luan bird sacrificed itself for Chen Huihong, choosing to dissipate and becoming Chen Huihong's second lifeline.

The confused plant spirits didn't even realize they had failed their tribulation; they only discovered it before they died.

Qin Huai already knows so many strange spirits who failed to transcend tribulations for bizarre reasons and then succeeded, so it doesn't seem surprising that he would get to know one more mayfly who actually wants to succeed in transcending tribulations.

Qin Huai sat in his room for more than ten minutes, silently processing the information. After calming himself down, he opened the game panel to check the newly acquired recipes.

Name: Zhao Cheng'an
Species: Mayfly

state:???

Dream: 2/3
Recipes: Rice Cake, Red Eggs, Yam Cake (Click to view details)
Gifts: None
Qin Huai opened the recipe for yam cake.

[Yam Cake Grade A+]

Producer: Chen Qiusheng

Dish Details: As the former second-in-command of Taifenglou Restaurant, renowned Peking chef Chen Qiusheng is best known for his red-cooked dishes. Few know that he secretly honed his white-cooked skills for several years for a mentally challenged apprentice who refused to become his disciple. One of his most diligently practiced dishes was yam cake. As for Chen Sheng, the diner, while he felt Chen Qiusheng's pastries weren't as good as Jiang Chengde's, they were still the second-best in the world—though he never told his master this. The pastry is said to taste even better if it bears the diner's name; after all, who could resist a yam cake specially made for them?
Number of times you can make it per day: (0/555)

After reading the details of the dishes, Qin Huai felt that it must be very hard for Chen Qiusheng to raise three children on his own.

The biological son is weak and expensive but sensible; the apprentice is obedient and sensible, so there's nothing to complain about. Zhao Cheng'an has a skill and is quite sensible, but he does have some mental issues.

Poor Master Chen.

Qin Huai sent a WeChat message to Zhao Cheng'an asking when he would be back. Zhao Cheng'an said they would be back after dinner and asked Qin Huai if he wanted to come over for dinner, eat by himself, or if he could pack some food for him. Qin Huai said not to worry about him, he would just order takeout.

Then Qin Huai began to happily watch the video tutorial for making yam cake.

The video tutorial for making yam cakes was the entire process Qin Huai had witnessed in the kitchen. He had already seen it very closely, and now, watching the close-up video tutorial, he noticed something new. Chen Qiusheng's style of making pastries was completely different from Jiang Chengde's.

Jiang Chengde's approach to making pastries is purely numerically superior; he doesn't need to use any special techniques for ordinary pastries, he can just do it all. Chen Qiusheng is clearly inferior to Jiang Chengde in terms of numerical ability, but he has his own unique style.

Chen Qiusheng's dessert-making skills are rather mild.

This is very much like his personality. Chen Qiusheng is a very good person. If he were not good, he would not have spoken to Xia Sheng when he went outside the city to buy a pageboy. Faced with Zhao Cheng'an's self-recommendation, he took the child home even though he was not very willing.

Even when Zhao Cheng'an casually told Chen Ping'an that he would have Chen Ping'an support him in the future, Chen Qiusheng just smiled and didn't say anything, obviously tacitly agreeing.

He treated his own son like a precious gem, raising him with meticulous care, and he also devoted himself to teaching his two unrelated children with the same dedication and patience.

This personality is well reflected in his desserts, and it is also very suitable for yam cake, which is a mild dessert.

Chen Qiusheng did every step meticulously and carefully. Perhaps because it was originally made for children, the yam cake he made was delicate and soft, delicious and beautiful. It was the kind of pastry that made you feel that the pastry chef must be a very good-tempered person just by looking at it.

This is the most comfortable video tutorial Qin Huai has ever seen.

It wasn't the smooth, effortless technique that was comfortable, but rather the overall production style and atmosphere. Just by watching these video tutorials, Qin Huai could imagine how Chen Qiusheng usually taught Xia Sheng and Zhao Cheng'an, and at the same time, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly at how lucky Zhao Cheng'an was to have met such a good person on his first try, someone who taught him so carefully and patiently.

Zhao Cheng'an still doesn't want to become Chen Qiusheng's apprentice, thinking that Chen Qiusheng's skills are not as good as Jiang Chengde's. Zhao Cheng'an, you deserve to die!

Qin Huai was so engrossed in watching video tutorials that he forgot to order takeout, and he kept watching until Zhao Cheng'an came back.

When Zhao Cheng'an returned, he was carrying a bunch of random things.

Fridge magnets, ancient coins, an antique-style copper hairpin (I don't know what it's for), sour plum drink, donkey rolls, pea flour cake, aiwowo (a type of steamed bun), and two bottles of cola that look like they were bought at the convenience store downstairs.

They returned with a full load. "Qin Huai, you really missed out by not going out with us this afternoon. You have no idea, on the way there, the owners of two restaurants got into a fight. I've kind of forgotten which two restaurants they were from, but it doesn't matter. At first, they were cursing Ling Guangzhao, then they started to disagree. Then they started arguing, then they started insulting each other, and finally they started revealing each other's dirty laundry. It was quite a show."

"What about those early days when they made their fortune? Using double menus, selling inferior goods, cheating customers, and taking a cut of the profits? Wow, wow, it's such a simple business tactic, all it takes is to expose their dirty secrets!" Zhao Cheng'an excitedly shared as soon as he came in.

Qin Huai wasn't interested in these gossips; he just stared at Zhao Cheng'an without saying a word, which made Zhao Cheng'an feel a little uneasy. He shivered and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong, I'm just suddenly curious," Qin Huai said. "Do you ever dream at night that you're a really good thief?"

Zhao Cheng'an: ?

"Thief, why do I dream that I'm a thief? How good am I?"

"The kind of people who would sneak out of the city at night to steal food from slave traders, from pig's head meat to pig offal, rice bran, black beans, flatbread, and white flour steamed buns, leaving nothing behind. They would steal two or three sacks, then carefully select the contents of one sack and carry it back to the city, stealing all night long," Qin Huai said.

Zhao Cheng'an was completely dumbfounded and couldn't help but complain, "Is this thief out of his mind? Your background sounds like it's from ancient times. Why would he steal from human traffickers outside the city? And he only steals worthless things. If he's going to steal, he should steal from wealthy families. Gold, silver, jewelry, agate ornaments, he could just steal one or two things and retire."

Look, even the spirit cannot empathize with its first incarnation.

"Do you ever dream that you once had a very good master who taught you carefully and whose skills were also very good... about the same as Master Zhou's, but you didn't like him. You preferred a master whose skills were at least twice as good as Master Zhou's and wanted to become his apprentice."

Zhao Cheng'an continued to complain: "Where did you hear this story from? This is too outrageous. Is this guy out of his mind? He has such a skilled master teaching him so carefully, yet he's still not satisfied and wants to be ambitious enough to become someone else's apprentice. Has he taken the wrong medicine?"

"Did you go to Babaozhai to listen to gossip this afternoon? Where did you hear the gossip from? Which restaurant was it? How come I didn't hear a word about such exciting news?" Zhao Cheng'an asked curiously.

"It happened many years ago, and I only heard about it secondhand," Qin Huai said.

Hearing that it was gossip from many years ago, Zhao Cheng'an immediately lost interest. He simply spread all the things he had brought back on the table, tasted each of the pastries he had bought, and then said with disdain that the pastries from the roadside stalls were indeed not good enough.

"What's our schedule for tomorrow?" Qin Huai asked.

"Climbing the Great Wall? I asked around, and it seems like nobody wants to go. It'll probably be free time for everyone," Zhao Cheng'an said, sipping his plum juice. "This plum juice tastes alright; it's probably made from smoked plums. Qin Huai, would you like to try some?"

Qin Huai waved his hand: "If it's free time, can I borrow the kitchen of Babaozhai to make some pastries?"

Zhao Cheng'an: ? ?
Zhao Cheng'an was genuinely shocked this time, his face clearly saying: Dude, I always thought you were just a bit crazy when you said things before, but what you're saying now is a little scary.

Are you alright? Weren't we here to have fun? Weren't we here to eat, drink, and relax? Weren't we here on a company-funded trip? Why do you want to make desserts again?
"This afternoon I saw an old recipe for yam cake online, and I thought it was quite interesting, so I wanted to make some yam cake."

"Do you have anywhere you want to go tomorrow? If not, come with me to Babaozhai to make some pastries."

Zhao Cheng'an: ? ? ?
.
At 10 a.m. on the second day, Tong Deyan looked at Qin Huai, Zhao Cheng'an and Ling Guangzhao, who appeared in the kitchen of Babaozhai at the same time, and felt that the world had turned upside down.

Tong Deyan wasn't surprised that Qin Huai would appear in the kitchen of Babaozhai. In Tong Deyan's view, Qin Huai was a very diligent pastry chef who wasn't short of money but simply loved pastries. His spirit was so high that he remained untainted by the world's corruption. He had high emotional intelligence, a sweet tongue, and apart from having a slight mental lapse, he was practically flawless.

No one is perfect; it's normal to have some flaws.

Tong Deyan could only reluctantly accept that Zhao Cheng'an would appear in the kitchen of Babaozhai. As a disciple of Master Zhou, Zhao Cheng'an was quite well-known in the culinary world, after all, his master was the undisputed number one pastry chef.

Adhering to the principle of not airing dirty laundry in public, Zhao Cheng'an's laziness didn't spread much. Tong Deyan had heard a few rumors but wasn't entirely clear on the details. Since Zhao Cheng'an had come with Qin Huai, Tong Deyan assumed that Zhao Cheng'an had been influenced by Qin Huai to abandon today's tedious field trip and come to Babaozhai to make pastries.

Yes, it was a boring field trip.

In Tong Deyan's view, Ling Guangzhao's idea of ​​a field trip on the second day was a clear indication that he had something wrong with his brain. Whose chef is going on a field trip? If he wants to have fun, he should just do it. Don't give him this high-sounding excuse; if he wants to spend money, he should just say so.

It turns out that the activity was arranged by Ling Guangzhao, but he didn't go to participate. Instead, he ran to the kitchen to watch everyone cook.

Tong Deyan stared intently at Ling Guangzhao, his face full of displeasure. "Are you alright, boss?"

Ling Guangzhao straightened his chest, raised his chin slightly, and spoke to Qin Huai with utmost confidence: "Master Qin, what kind of pastries would you like to make today?"

"Yam cake," Qin Huai said, "we've already started making it."

Ling Guangzhao continued, "Yam cake is good. It's the best time to eat yam cake this season; it's nourishing. Master Qin, do you not really like today's field trip? Are you not interested in climbing the Great Wall? Oh dear, actually, I also think climbing the Great Wall is not very interesting. I wonder who arranged it."

"Master Qin, how many days do you plan to stay in Beiping? How about I find a travel agency to arrange a one-on-one tour guide for you to explore Beiping for a few more days? The Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven are definitely worth visiting, as are the hutongs and alleys. The best of culture and history is found in the hutongs and alleys."

"We also have many old pastry shops in Beiping. When the time comes, the tour guide and I will take you to experience them with Master Qin. They are very unique."

Qin Huai smiled and said, "Boss Ling, there's no need to go to so much trouble. I'll stay in Beiping until the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow, Zhao Cheng'an and I are having dinner at Fenyuan. We have our own plans and don't have time to go anywhere else to visit or have fun."

Upon hearing Qin Huai mention Fenyuan, Ling Guangzhao immediately perked up: "Master Qin, you're going to Fenyuan for dinner tomorrow? What a coincidence! I know Fenyuan's menu best. I used to eat there often before I went abroad, and I'm quite familiar with Chef Xia."

Hearing Ling Guangzhao say this, Qin Huai's eyes lit up: "I didn't expect that you, Boss Ling, are so familiar with Master Xia. Do you know Master Xia's temperament? Zhao Cheng'an and I are visiting Fenyuan for the first time. We are afraid that we don't know the rules of Fenyuan and might upset Master Xia."

"I heard that Fenyuan is the best private restaurant in Beiping. Private restaurants have a lot of rules."

Ling Guangzhao waved his hand: "That's another private restaurant. There are no rules at Fenyuan. Paying is the biggest rule."

"Master Qin, let me tell you something about Fenyuan..."

(End of this chapter)