The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 513 [Potato Dumplings]

Wang Gensheng felt a little uneasy under Qin Huai's piercing gaze. He cautiously took a sip of tea and then whispered to Gong Liang, "Section Chief Gong, is Master Qin doing this again...?"

The next second, Qin Huai directly opened the game panel in the void and began to check the side quests.

Wang Gensheng silently swallowed the three words "had an attack" that he hadn't finished saying.

Gong Liang calmly glanced at Qin Huai, then turned to Wang Gensheng, who still couldn't accept that Master Qin's illness was so severe, and explained, "You'll get used to it. Master Qin is tired after making pastries all day, so it's normal for him to act a little strangely."

Wang Gensheng silently sipped his tea, trying to process this habit, and felt that everyone was so calm, so he must be making a fuss over nothing.

Sigh, it seems that getting old makes it hard to accept new things. Even though he's already eating in the kitchen, he still can't accept the fact that Chef Qin's condition has become so serious.

But shouldn't such severe delusions be checked out at the hospital?
Wang Gensheng looked at Qin Huai with some worry.

Qin Huai, of course, was oblivious to Wang Gensheng's gaze; he was completely absorbed in reading the details of the newly triggered side quest.

The name of this new side quest is very simple and straightforward:
[Potato Dumplings]: Wang Gensheng, a man of integrity and uprightness throughout his life, had very low material demands. He was content with simply surviving on enough food, clothing, and shelter. He could accept his wife's leftover steamed buns for breakfast, or a cheap, not-so-delicious vegetable bun from the neighborhood shop. Of course, he would be happiest if he could have a gourmet breakfast prepared by Master Qinhuai at the Yunzhong Canteen. Wang Gensheng didn't have high aspirations when it came to food; besides his love for crab shell pastries, he didn't have any particular favorite snacks. Until recently, when someone mentioned potato dumplings, which brought back fond memories of his youth. Players, please make potato dumplings that will surprise and delight Wang Gensheng, fulfilling his sudden desire to relive his youth.

Mission Reward: [A Memory of Wang Gensheng]
Qin Huai found it difficult to evaluate this side quest at the moment.

Well... I've rambled on a bit, and linking potato dumplings to reliving youth feels a bit abrupt, but the requirements are fairly clear.

I just want to eat potato dumplings.

After finishing the side quest, Qin Huai asked Wang Gensheng directly, "Uncle Wang, what kind of filling did you eat in the potato dumplings when you were young?"

Wang Gensheng: ?

Has Master Qin's illness become this serious?

"Potato filling."

"I know it's potato filling, but I'd like to know if it's just potato, or if other ingredients are added, like diced meat and vegetables? What are the characteristics of the flavor? What kind of potato dumplings do you like?"

"It was... I think it was potatoes, but I don't really remember. It tasted like potato dumplings." Wang Gensheng's answer lived up to his food review.

Qin Huai didn't expect to get anything out of Wang Gensheng. He had spent three days writing a food review, and it was really difficult for him to give his opinion on the potato dumplings.

Even if we don't expect Wang Gensheng to have Gong Liang's eloquence, just having him explain how to make pastries and what their characteristics are, like Shi Dadan, would be enough to drive the tongue-tied Grandpa Wang crazy.

After all, even Grandpa Wang's incredibly vivid recollections of the past, which were practically impossible to relive, could be made quite boring by him.

Qin Huai nodded, indicating that he understood: "I understand. I'll have to trouble you, Uncle Wang, to eat less of the other snacks tomorrow afternoon and save your appetite for the potato dumplings."

Everyone:?
What did Qin Huai understand?

Zhao Cheng'an kept this question to himself for over an hour, until everyone finished dinner and he and Qin Huai left the Yunzhong Cafeteria together before he finally couldn't help but ask, "Qin Huai, what did you understand this afternoon?"

"I didn't understand anything," Qin Huai said calmly. "Uncle Wang is like this. He's not good with words and can't express what he wants clearly. You have to make the things for him first before he can slowly express his needs little by little."

"And I think I've figured out Grandpa Wang's tastes a bit."

"What flavor?"

"The same flavor as Ouyang's." Zhao Cheng'an: ?

"I'll make all those snacks tomorrow, and you'll know once you try them. They have a very unique flavor. Anyone who loves potato dumplings is definitely not an ordinary person."

Zhao Cheng'an nodded in agreement at first, but seeing that Qin Huai kept walking forward and didn't wait for him, he quickly caught up. Then, he realized what was going on and shouted in dissatisfaction, "Qin Huai, what do you mean? What do you mean that someone who likes potato dumplings must be no ordinary person? Those potato dumplings are my recipe!"

"C-grade potato dumplings."

"That's because of the times; we didn't have many good things back then."

"Master Chen's yam cake is grade A+".

"...That's different! Potato dumplings are delicious too, lots of people want to eat them but can't get any!"

"Then eat more tomorrow."

"I don't want any. Tomorrow I want Four Happiness Tangyuan (glutinous rice balls). You haven't made Four Happiness Tangyuan for several days. And Four Happiness Dumplings too, Qin Huai, don't you think your Four Happiness Dumplings are especially delicious? Make some Four Happiness Dumplings tomorrow. When we were chatting at noon today, Gong Liang told me that you made a lot of crab roe shumai at Huang Ji last year. Crabs will be in season soon. When they are in season, could you make me some crab roe shumai? I want to eat crab roe shumai too. We used to have a chef named Liang at Zhiweiju. His crab roe shumai was super delicious, but unfortunately he retired three years ago."

"His apprentice is the one with a mole on the corner of his mouth, the one surnamed Wang. Master Wang's crab roe shumai is much worse than Master Liang's. I haven't had a good crab roe shumai in many years."

Do you have a recipe for crab roe shumai? If not, could you find one?

Qin Huai: ?
“I have it.” Qin Huai paused, emphasizing, “The buff is quite suitable for you, but the recipe requires an S-level rating, which I can’t make.”

The crab roe shumai buff can inspire fighting spirit. Qin Huai felt that Zhao Cheng'an really needed to eat some crab roe shumai to inspire his fighting spirit and work hard. He had been slacking off at the Yunzhong Cafeteria for a while. Except for the group of children waiting for school to be dismissed in the afternoon, which could put some pressure on Zhao Cheng'an, he could be said to have let himself go the rest of the time.

Qin Huai still remembered Master Zhou's instructions.

He was instructed to keep a close eye on Zhao Cheng'an and prevent him from slacking off too much.

It can only be said that no one knows a student better than their teacher.

Qin Huai decided that when he made snacks for Ouyang and Wang Gensheng tomorrow, he would also make a portion for Zhao Chengan. If he didn't eat it, he would stuff it into Zhao Chengan's mouth to show him the consequences of slacking off every day.

Last time Qin Huai made potato dumplings, she wanted to stuff them into Zhao Cheng'an's mouth, but Zhao Cheng'an ate them on his own, so Qin Huai didn't manage to stuff them in. She felt a little disappointed.

Qin Huai had forgotten about this little regret, but when he held a tea party at Luo Jun's house last time, Luo Jun successfully stuffed a coconut mooncake into Gong Liang's mouth. That quick and decisive action brought back the regret in Qin Huai's heart.

It would be a real shame if I couldn't stuff snacks into the mouths of spirits in my lifetime.

Qin Huai looked at Zhao Cheng'an.

Zhao Cheng'an felt a little uneasy under Qin Huai's gaze and asked warily, "What do you want?"

"Qin Huai, I've said it many times, I really can't get up in the morning. The working hours at your Yunzhong Cafeteria are really unreasonable. I really can't get there at 7 o'clock. I can only get there at 7:30 at the latest, have breakfast first, and start working at 8 o'clock."

"I didn't make you get up early." Qin Huai smiled slightly. "I was just thinking about what snacks to make for you tomorrow."

Zhao Cheng'an was overjoyed: "Qin Huai, you're such a good person."

"Could you please provide me with a small, fixed stool over there, Gong Liang? Sometimes making pastries is really tiring, and I'd like to sit down and have a cup of tea."

(End of this chapter)