The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 497 Foreign Women's Cake

The 12 kinds of pastries that Luo Jun sent to Qin Huai didn't seem particularly difficult to make overall, but they had very different styles.

Fanpo cake, fermented rice steamed bun, crab shell pastry, thousand-layer oil cake, coconut mooncake, mung bean cake, Dingsheng cake, chestnut pastry, milk tofu, coconut juice cake, lard rice cake, osmanthus cake.

These snacks included Northern Chinese desserts, Cantonese mooncakes, Suzhou-style snacks, and Malaysian snacks. Since Qin Huai had never seen "Fanpo Bing" in the snack encyclopedia, he had to search for it in his browser to find out exactly what it was.

This snack is simply a cake made from tapioca flour, eggs, sugar, and coconut milk. It is one of the common New Year's cakes eaten during the Lunar New Year and is something that almost every household knows how to make, so it is not very difficult. However, each family has slightly different recipes.

Qin Huai searched for several recipes online, each with its own variations. Some used tapioca flour, others sago flour. Some used coconut milk, others coconut cream, and still others emphasized the need for coconut oil. The preparation process was largely the same: stir-fry tapioca flour, let it cool, add eggs, oil, coconut milk/coconut cream, knead into a dough, and bake in the oven—a very standard pancake recipe.

Judging from the raw materials alone, the finished product should taste pretty good.

It's safe to say that Qin Huai can make all the pastries on the list Luo Jun gave him, and none of them would be difficult for him given his current skill level. As long as the pastries on Luo Jun's list are correct and meet the requirements in the mission details, Qin Huai can guarantee that he will complete the side quest before Gong Liang dies from overeating.

Qin Huai didn't send a message to ask Luo Jun why he was so sure that the snacks were among the 12 items, because he knew that with Luo Jun's personality, if he really sent a message to ask Luo Jun, he would most likely ignore it. It was better to wait for an opportunity when Chen Gong and Chen Huihong were both there and ask him directly in person.

As for why we had to wait until both Chen Gong and Chen Huihong were present...

Qin Huai could only say that these two were more likely to attract attention. Luo Jun only had one mouth and couldn't scold three people at the same time. Most of the time, Luo Jun's first choice would definitely be: Chen Huihong, are you sick?

Since chestnut pastries were among the twelve items, Qin Huai forwarded the list directly to Zhao Cheng'an, wanting to discuss with him about having him spend a few hours training on chestnut pastry making the next day.

Although chestnut pastries aren't particularly difficult to make, Qin Huai hasn't made many flaky pastries. She plans to focus on practicing making chestnut pastries for the next few days, and if the results aren't satisfactory, she'll have Zhao Cheng'an make them instead.

The mission details only stated that Gong Liang wanted to eat the dessert he had been dreaming of in a family-friendly setting, but it didn't say that the dessert had to be made by Qin Huai.

While Qin Huai was still typing, Zhao Cheng'an replied with lightning speed.

Zhao Cheng'an: ?

Zhao Cheng'an: ? ?
Zhao Cheng'an: ? ? ?

Zhao Cheng'an: So many?? Am I supposed to make all these desserts by myself tomorrow?? Why does your Cloud Cafeteria sell everything? You might as well just let me make macarons, chestnut cakes, brownies, and Basque pastries.

Qin Huai: Can you do it?

Zhao Cheng'an: ?

The next second, Zhao Cheng'an called. Qin Huai answered immediately, and Zhao Cheng'an's wailing came from the other end of the phone: "Qin Huai, even if my master asked you to urge me to make pastries, you can't urge me like this! Making pastries for a few hours every day is enough. Didn't I come here on vacation? My master knows what's going on. He knows that with my character, I definitely won't work properly after leaving Zhiweiju. I can't let him down."

Qin Huai: ...Redefining expectations.

You truly are a mayfly; if Master Zhou heard this, he'd probably be moved to tears.

"I didn't ask you to make these desserts. This is the dessert list that Luo Jun just sent me." Qin Huai didn't tease Zhao Cheng'an and told the truth directly.

“Making twelve kinds of snacks for a tea party is too much,” Zhao Cheng’an continued to lament. “A tea party only requires a smaller quantity of snacks, but there are many different kinds. These are twelve kinds of snacks, and each one requires ingredients. Luo Jun’s kitchen is too small.”

Qin Huai: "...Did you not listen to a word at today's tea party and just focus on eating fruit?"

Zhao Cheng'an was shocked: "How did you know?"

"I've seen you guys praising Luo Jun's fruit in the group chat before, but I didn't think much of it. I thought, how good can fruit be? Last time at the tea party, I was so focused on the buffet that I didn't try any fruit. But today, I was blown away! The frozen durian in the fridge was absolutely delicious. I even wanted to take the other two home!"

“You could actually pack it up and take it with you; if you don’t, Sister Hong will take it anyway.”

Qin Huai briefly explained the origins of these 12 pastries in two minutes, and Zhao Cheng'an was greatly surprised again:
"How did Luo Jun do that? Aren't the Bi Fang people supposed to be skeptical? They're usually too lazy to even talk. How could they possibly fool the E's Beast? My goodness! I'm going to tell everyone when I get back!"

Qin Huai: ...

Can't you mayflies focus your attention where it should be?!

Zhao Cheng'an, did you die in your first seven lives because you couldn't find the point? When others talk about city gate towers, your focus is on hip bones and elbows. When you go to work on the grasslands, people tell you not to run out alone because there are lions, and your focus is "Holy crap, there are lions on the grasslands?"

Qin Huai raised his voice: "My main point is to have you teach me how to make chestnut pastries these next two days!"

“Sure!” Zhao Cheng’an readily agreed. “As long as it doesn’t make me work overtime, can I just teach you how to make chestnut pastries for the next two days?”

Qin Huai hung up the phone, left the room, and wanted to grab two cheese sticks from the refrigerator to calm down. As he passed the living room, he discovered that He Cheng had evolved to the point where the TV was playing anime, the computer was running games, the tablet was chatting, the phone was scrolling through short videos, and the speakers were playing music, all while he was still lying on the sofa.

Seeing Qin Huai come out of the room, He Cheng sat up with a jolt and asked solicitously, "Brother, would you like some fruit? Would you like some juice? Was I too loud and disturbed you? Is the first batch of breakfast still ready at 6 o'clock sharp tomorrow morning? I set 10 alarms this time, I'll definitely be there before Sister Luo tomorrow!"

Qin Huai ignored the first few unimportant questions and answered the last one: "It's 6 o'clock every day."

"Okay, bro, I'll definitely be there by 5:50 tomorrow and try to be the first to finish eating and start clearing the plates and wiping the table!"

Qin Huai said he didn't quite understand the subtle competition between He Cheng and Qin Luo, and felt that He Cheng wasn't as suitable as Qin Luo to be a waiter. Qin Huai could tell from the speed and efficiency with which He Cheng cleared the dishes today; He Cheng wasn't as quick and efficient as Qin Luo.

After eating two cheese sticks, Qin Huai went to sleep contentedly. The next morning, he got up early again and arrived at the Cloud Canteen at around 4 a.m. to start making yam cakes and rice cakes.

When Qin Huai arrived at the cafeteria, An Youyou was already busy in the kitchen. Although Qin Huai had given An Youyou two days off, An Youyou, who was eager to improve, only rested for one day before returning to work. She was also very enthusiastic about her work, and she wanted to do the work of three people.

"Good morning, Master Qin!" An Youyou greeted Qin Huai with great enthusiasm.

"How's the house? Are you settling in well?" Qin Huai asked with a smile.

"It's absolutely wonderful!" An Youyou exclaimed excitedly. "I've never lived in such a nice house in my life! There's no need to wait for the elevator, and it has floor-to-ceiling windows. I spent the whole day on the sofa yesterday. The sofa is so big and soft, and the sun was shining on me so warmly that I even fell asleep while playing on my phone."

“Sister Hong is a really nice person. She left me a lot of things in the house. I was tidying up yesterday afternoon and found three air purifiers, a vacuum cleaner, a microwave oven, a rice cooker, two boxes of aromatherapy diffusers, six boxes of expired band-aids, a box of cups, and a box of ribbons. I asked Sister Hong, and she said she didn’t want any of them and would give them all to me.”

Qin Huai: ? What exactly has Chen Huihong stockpiled? "Well... that's good." Qin Huai could only nod with a smile.

"By the way, let me tell you something."

"Youyou, would you be willing to work two hours extra in the afternoons for a few days?"

"I am willing!"

"Here's the thing, the exact date hasn't been set yet, but in a few days Zhao Cheng'an and I will be going to Mr. Luo's house to make him some pastries. There are quite a few kinds of pastries, so we need someone to help out. You can come along too. After you're done making the pastries, you can stay and eat with us, and chat with Mr. Luo. You know Mr. Luo's temper and personality; it's not the best, but he's a nice person."

"When the time comes, just be more accommodating to Mr. Luo. No matter what he asks you, just answer."

An Youyou nodded solemnly: "I understand, Master Qin. Old people often have strange tempers and personalities as they get older. My grandmother's temper and personality are very strange. My grandmother is only in her 70s now, while Mr. Luo is over 90. I will go along with him."

Seeing that he had finished fooling the easiest person, Qin Huai walked to the kitchen counter with satisfaction and started working. While making yam cakes, he pondered in his heart how to fool Grandpa Wang later.

Grandpa Wang is actually quite easy to fool. Just tell him to change the tasting location to Luo Jun's house; it's not good to openly give everyone special meals in the cafeteria all the time. The only problem is that I need to carefully consider my approach. I expect there will be some back and forth with Grandpa Wang. Luckily, the snack list Luo Jun gave me includes crab shell pastries, so you could say those pastries were made especially for Grandpa Wang.

Kill two birds with one stone!
perfect.
.
At 6:5 a.m., He Cheng rushed to the inner entrance of the Yunzhong Canteen, panting heavily. Because he had left in such a hurry that he hadn't worn his glasses, he could barely see people and objects more than 10 meters away.

He knew he had overslept again today.

There's no way to wake someone who doesn't want to get out of bed, even if you set 10 alarms.

However, He Cheng felt it wasn't a big problem. 6:05 was a very early time. He would only be a few minutes later than Qin Luo, and he would definitely be among the first batch of people to arrive at the Cloud Cafeteria. He was sure he could show his dear cousin his determination to eat breakfast.

He Cheng pushed open the inner door of the Yunzhong Canteen and went inside, where he saw a huge crowd and a long queue.

He Cheng: ?
His nearsightedness of 600 degrees is so blurry that he sees double and mistakes three people for 30.
He Cheng could hardly believe his eyes. The next second, Qin Luo's gloating words made him realize that his already poor eyesight wasn't that bad.

"Hey, who's this? Isn't this my dear cousin He Cheng? Didn't you say yesterday that you'd be the first one to arrive at the Yunzhong Cafeteria? Why are you only arriving now? I was almost finished with breakfast and started helping to clear the tables. Don't you want to help your brother? You're not even wearing your glasses. Can you even see me when I'm wiping the tables? If you don't want to help, just say so. There's no need to come so late. You can come back at 9 o'clock for breakfast and still get to eat."

He Cheng: "...What time did you arrive?"

Qin Luo proudly raised her head: "You think I'm like you? I got up at 5 o'clock today and arrived at 5:10. Before you came, I was in the kitchen washing vegetables for my brother for half an hour!"

He Cheng: ...

"I'll be there at five o'clock tomorrow too!"

"Come on, I'll be there at 4 a.m. tomorrow!"

I'll be there at three!

"Then I'll be there at two o'clock!"

"I'm not going to sleep!"

"I'll just sleep in the lobby!"

The two unlucky kids got louder and louder, and even Qin Huai, who was temporarily cosplaying as a waiter at the window serving rice cakes to the elderly, heard them. Helpless, Qin Huai stuck his head out and shouted, "Alright, you've already said you were sleeping in the lobby. Luo Luo, the fermented rice buns are ready, do you still want some? Xiao Cheng, if you're not wearing your glasses, go back and get them first. With your eyesight, I'm afraid you won't be able to see the glass door and will bump your head on it."

"No breakfast allowed if you don't wear your glasses."

He Cheng turned and ran back.

Like a victorious rooster, Qin Luo proudly raised his head, carrying his tray to queue for steamed buns.

Qin Huai shook his head helplessly, quickly serving Grandpa Qian rice cakes while saying, "Grandpa Qian, today is different from yesterday. Today, there's a limit on the number of rice cakes and yam cakes you can buy. Each person is limited to 6 rice cakes and 3 yam cakes. You can't eat 20 rice cakes by yourself. There will be other snacks later. Aren't you going to have Chef Zheng's wontons around 7 o'clock?"

Grandpa Qian quickly pledged his loyalty: "What do you mean by wontons? Master Qin, I love your pastries the most! You know me, don't listen to that Xu Tuqiang's nonsense. I didn't mean to not come at 6 o'clock yesterday. I just recently developed a love for taking showers. I feel uncomfortable if I don't shower after my morning run."

Qin Huai: "What kind of scripts did you guys discuss in the group yesterday?"

Grandpa Qian chuckled: "As long as you like listening, Master Qin, any style of writing is fine. I just don't know what style of food review you prefer, or if there's a word count requirement. Is 1000 words okay? I only wrote 800 words last night. If 1000 words isn't enough, I'll try my best to make it 1500, but I really can't write any more than that. I'm not as good at making things up as Xu Tuqiang. Don't be fooled by how long his food reviews are; they're all just nonsense."

Xu Tuqiang, who was at the end of the line, couldn't take it anymore and yelled, "Hey Qian, that's enough! We agreed in the group chat that I'd only say a couple of things about crickets, but why did you put crickets on my food review? You only moved one piece of yam cake for me, how long are you going to keep yelling at me? If you keep this up, I'm going to have to pay more!"

Grandpa Qian shouted back, "Two yuan!"

Xu Tuqiang at the back of the line shut up.

Grandpa Qian continued loudly, "Look, Master Qin, Xu Tuqiang is exactly that kind of person."

Qin Huai couldn't help but chuckle: "It's alright, Uncle Qian. I'll give you two extra yam cakes on top of the purchase limit, but only this time, not next time."

Grandpa Qian chuckled.

The elderly men and women behind the old man in line all showed expressions of frustration, cursing in their hearts that the man surnamed Qian had used the earliest trick first, wondering what trick they would use next.
Master Qin finally managed to cosplay as a waiter, and you, surnamed Qian, used such a good trick. Can't you leave us a way out?

As for why Qin Huai personally sold dim sum today, even though there were plenty of staff and other helpers could have taken over at the window...

Grandpa Qian left with his tray, beaming. Qin Huai turned his gaze to Grandpa Wang, who was standing behind Grandpa Qian in line.

"Good morning, Uncle Wang."

"Are you free these afternoons? If you are, why don't you pick a time to get together with Mr. Luo?"

(End of this chapter)