The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 557 Reciprocity

On the second day, Qin Huai got up very early, at 3:2 a.m., and went to the Cloud Canteen under the stars to make white sugar cake.

Qin Huai had briefly watched the video tutorial for making white sugar cake the night before going to bed, but there was nothing worth learning from it.

Only the parts where corners were cut need special attention. As the inheritor of a century-old white sugar cake shop, Zhang Yi's craftsmanship is somewhat unworthy of their reputation, but the level of corner-cutting is commendable.

The Ming Dynasty book "Records of Customs and Products of Southern Regions" mentions white sugar cake: "Tea houses sell snow rings, wrapped three times with glutinous rice flour." This record shows how important glutinous rice flour is to white sugar cake. Normally, white sugar cake is made by mixing wheat starch and glutinous rice flour, kneading them into a dough, adding sugar and lard, scalding the dough with boiling water, kneading it into rings, deep-frying it to set its shape, and then coating it with sugar.

It's not very difficult.

When Qin Huai looked at the dish details, he thought that Zhang Yi had cut corners by not coating the dough with sugar and adding less sugar and lard when kneading it.

This is the limit of Qin Huai's imagination, not Zhang Yi's.

Zhang Yi cut corners in every aspect. For example, the "cheng mian" (澄面) is made by repeatedly washing dough in water to remove protein, leaving only wheat starch—essentially washing away the gluten. Cheng mian is commonly used to make crystal dumplings, which result in a translucent wrapper after steaming.

Zhang Yi cut corners on the starch; he couldn't bear to wash it too thoroughly, so he just washed it twice and considered it done.

The amount of glutinous rice flour used when kneading the dough was also incorrect, probably because glutinous rice flour is relatively expensive and too little was added. But if less glutinous rice flour is used, something else has to be used to make up for it. Wheat starch is also quite expensive, and it's used for white dough, so Zhang Yi chose to use cheaper cornmeal as a substitute.

Cornmeal and sugar cake—truly, there are masters among the common people.

In a sense, the white sugar cake that An Youyou ate that day was no longer a white sugar cake. It was a peculiar mixture of cornmeal, wheat starch, and glutinous rice flour. It wasn't fried properly, and it was only coated with a little sugar. The lard was just used as a prelude to this entirely new dessert.

Such a brand-new dessert can be rated D... Well, don't be surprised, maybe Zhang Yi's cooking skills are not bad, and he has not let down the heritage of his family's century-old white sugar cake brand.

Qin Huai diligently replicated the dish 1:1 in the kitchen.

He only watched the video tutorial once. A perfect replica was impossible; he'd just have to do it randomly. If he accidentally did a great job, his grade would definitely be above D. But it wasn't a big problem. The instructions didn't say he had to make a D-grade white sugar cake. Qin Huai trusted that his excellent employee, An Youyou, had a basic appreciation for good food, and she'd definitely be more accepting of something tastier.

An Youyou arrived at the kitchen while Qin Huai was kneading the dough. As an outstanding employee of Qin Huai, An Youyou always arrived at work so early.

"Good morning, Master Qin." An Youyou can now accept that Qin Huai sometimes arrives earlier than her. She no longer feels anxious and fearful as before when she finds that Qin Huai has arrived early, as if her job is in jeopardy.

"Youyou're here! Don't do anything yet, watch me make some snacks," Qin Huai said.

An Youyou didn't think much of it, assuming that Qin Huai was in a particularly good mood and willing to teach today, so she happily ran to the edge of Qin Huai's house and studied diligently.

After studying for a while, An Youyou felt something was off.

Although she wasn't a good pastry chef, or even a pastry chef at all, An Youyou had been an apprentice at Zhiweiju for a few months, so she knew a little about the basics of making pastries.

She felt that the pastries Qin Huai was making now were somewhat contrary to the Basic Law.

An Youyou shook her head, banishing the terrible thought from her mind, telling herself that Master Qin must have had another clever idea, but her cultivation level was too low to see it, and then she continued to concentrate on watching.

Before I knew it, the sugar cake was done.

The appearance was terrible. It wasn't fried properly, resulting in poor shaping, and the sugar coating was also sparse. The whole sugar cake looked limp and soggy, like it had been sitting for a long time and was about to be thrown in the trash.

An Youyou:?

Regardless, Master Qin must have another clever idea.

"Youyou, try it and see if you like it," Qin Huai said.

Getting An Youyou to eat is too easy; you don't even need to come up with an excuse, just get her to eat.

An Youyou obediently picked up a cheap white sugar cake with her chopsticks, looked at it a few more times with some doubt, but still stuffed it into her mouth and took a big bite.

Hmm, not very sweet.

It's soft, not sticky, and doesn't stick to your teeth. The texture is a bit rough and not delicate; it's a little dry.

It's okay... it's alright, but not bad either.

An Youyou was confused and began to wonder if this was a test from Qin Huai, a test of whether she was an honest employee who dared to point out the boss's problems. He had deliberately set this test for her. If she flattered and excessively praised him, she would lose her eligibility to run for the future store manager, but if she spoke frankly, she would gain the boss's favor.

But if this isn't a test question, and I'm too blunt, will I be fired on the spot?

Should we use the art of language in situations like this?
An Youyou began to recall the book "The Art of the Workplace" that she had bought online for one yuan some time ago. It seemed to have written about how to deal with this situation, but she didn't know how to use sweet talk. What should she do? What should she do?

An Youyou chewed the white sugar cake expressionlessly, but the little voice inside her was already jumping around anxiously, feeling that she was facing the biggest challenge of her career.

An Youyou swallowed the white sugar cake and subconsciously took another bite.

The little devil in my heart has stopped beating.

All the random thoughts disappeared.

An Youyou's eyes became vacant, and she froze on the spot like a stone statue.

Qin Huai breathed a long sigh of relief.

He was terrified. He'd seen An Youyou eat for ages without starting to recall anything, and he thought the sugar cake was too high a grade and the awakening process had failed. Qin Huai was just thinking about whether he should watch the video tutorial again carefully to imitate it, lest he accidentally make a C-grade sugar cake.

Sometimes, once you've mastered the basic skills, it's really hard to make a bad dessert.

Qin Huai waited quietly, and while waiting, he picked up a piece of white sugar cake to taste whether this C-grade white sugar cake was delicious.

general.

This white sugar cake could actually be sold in the Cloud Canteen, provided that people are told that it was made by Qin Congwen, and it costs three cents each.

While eating, Qin Huai pondered whether he could trigger the buff if he made it the normal way of making white sugar cake. If not, it would be difficult to make it taste good if he followed Zhang Yi's shortcut method.

Qin Huai thought the white sugar cake had a decent buff, and since it was like opening a blind box, he really wanted to make a batch so that his relatives and friends could all try it.

Let's see what motivates everyone to strive for excellence.

Just as Qin Huai's thoughts were getting more and more off track, An Youyou made a move.

Her expression was quite unusual.

When the other spirits first woke up, their expressions were either surprised or disappointed. Some, like Qu Jing, with stronger emotions, would even burst into tears. But An Youyou was overjoyed.

There was no surprise whatsoever, only pure joy at successfully overcoming the tribulation.

"I successfully transcended the tribulation?" An Youyou exclaimed. "How did I succeed? I didn't become rich! I didn't become a mountain king! I didn't find my 13 former followers!"

It's clear that An Youyou is a spirit with a very clear understanding of why she failed her tribulation. The three-legged toad may seem carefree, but its abilities are quite good.

An Youyou glanced at the white sugar cake in her hand: "Eating this can help you successfully transcend tribulations? I've never heard of that before." Qin Huai: ...

The contrast between your spirits and monsters after waking up is really quite large, it has a kind of beauty of schizophrenia.

Qin Huai weakly asked, "Is it possible that you succeeded in transcending the tribulation because of me?"

Just as Qin Huai was about to follow the normal procedure, first introducing himself to An Youyou as the male protagonist of a system novel, then pulling An Youyou into the "Loving Family" group chat, and then introducing her to the real situations of the spirits in the group chat, An Youyou's words completely stumped Qin Huai.

"Boss, so you're a spirit too! What a coincidence! No wonder you've been training me so well. Thank you."

Qin Huai: ?
After An Youyou finished speaking, she looked at Qin Huai for two seconds and then paused, "No, boss, you're not a spirit."

How did you know I was about to undergo tribulation?

Qin Huai breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he could finally proceed with the procedures. Without giving An Youyou another chance to speak, he immediately began to follow the procedures.

An Youyou was completely stunned by what she heard.

For An Youyou, integrating into the "loving family" was easy. She even held a tea party at Luo Jun's house and was good friends with Qu Jing, whom she often chatted with on WeChat.

After listening to Qin Huai finish speaking, An Youyou processed the information for a while and asked, "So, according to the normal procedure, we should be giving gifts now, right?"

Qin Huai was touched. He never expected that An Youyou would still give him a gift even when she was so poor. She was truly a good employee of his!
"The house I live in now belongs to Sister Hong. Can you persuade her to give it to me? I really like that house." An Youyou's face clearly showed that we three-legged toads love to get something for nothing.

Qin Huai: ...

"A gift is something you give me, not something I give you."

"Oh, I see." An Youyou was a little disappointed. "But I have nothing to give you, boss. You pay my salary every month, and I use it every month."

An Youyou frowned and thought for several minutes, then suddenly remembered something and said excitedly, "Boss, I remember that before I died, Xiao Qi, Xiao Jiu, and Shisan were still alive. If they were still alive, they should have saved up quite a lot of retirement money by now. Why don't I try to contact them and ask them to give you their retirement money!"

Qin Huai: ...Are you even speaking human language?

If they were alive today, they would probably be in their 70s or 80s. You three-legged toad, you're even going to take away an old man's pension?!

Qin Huai suddenly realized that the most unruly spirit was not the mayfly, but the previously steady, normal, and hardworking employee in front of him.

Qin Huai took a deep breath and forced a smile: "I think they had it pretty tough too. Why don't we find a place to sit down, and you can tell me about the parts I didn't see and what happened after you went to Jinling?"

"Your memories are very important to me."

“I remember there was another spirit in your memory who also failed to transcend the tribulation, named Chen Shun.”

“Yes.” An Youyou nodded. “He’s doing much better than me.”

Qin Huai and An Youyou went straight to the second floor and found a seat by the window. An Youyou didn't know what was so important about her memories to Qin Huai, so she just said whatever came to mind.

Although An Youyou's ambitions were outrageous, as a spirit undergoing tribulation in the mortal world, she had received thorough basic training. She clearly knew that she had failed her tribulation the moment she agreed to go to Jinling to work as an accountant.

At the same time, An Youyou is also a spirit with great ambition and initiative. Even though she knew she had failed, she did not commit suicide to start over, but instead tried her best to save the situation.

An Youyou worked diligently in Jinling for six years, earning and saving money. She didn't squander the silver dollars Xiao Jiu sent her every six months, saving them all in the hope that one day she could return home in glory, go back to Shanghai, recruit 13 followers, and reclaim everything that belonged to the boss.

"Boss, you have no idea how hard I worked to get promoted and get a raise in my past life. Being an accountant has no future. I can only read but can't write, so I have no future either. In those six years, I not only worked hard to learn to read, but I also learned arithmetic and math formulas. Later, I couldn't understand calculus, so I also learned foreign languages, several foreign languages."

"My eyesight is getting worse!"

"Of course, my efforts paid off. My employer valued me highly, and my salary eventually rose to a full 12 yuan a month. I originally planned to work for my employer for ten or twenty years, save enough money to go back to Shanghai and pick up beggars."

“Through my studies, I know that Jiang Weiguo is right, but there are also problems with what he said. Begging can be the best job in the world, but only if the situation is stable. When the situation is unstable, you will definitely not be able to get food. But if everyone has food to eat, then begging can make you rich.”

"Our rice shop only gives out bonuses when it makes money; we don't give bonuses when it doesn't make money."

“I had been waiting for an opportunity, but I didn’t expect my body to be so fragile after failing to overcome the tribulation.”

"I was just being stingy and ate two meals of spoiled food, and I got dysentery. I was just trying to save money and didn't want to use those ridiculously expensive Western medicines, and I died of diarrhea."

At this point, An Youyou sighed deeply: "If I had known, I wouldn't have been so frugal. I should have saved up for a few more years and gone back to Shanghai to recruit followers. Given the situation later on, I might have been lucky enough to successfully transcend the tribulation in my first life."

Qin Huai: ...

Who would have thought that when An Youyou was a beggar, she didn't eat spoiled food and got diarrhea to death, but after getting a stable job, she was too stingy and ate spoiled food and died of dysentery.

“Before I died, I wrote a letter to Chen Shun, telling him where I hid all my money. He got off easy. His wages weren’t as high as mine back then. I had saved up money for so many years, and in the end, I didn’t even get to spend it all. It all went to him.”

"What's going on with Chen Shun? What kind of spirit is he?"

"I don't know what kind of spirit he is, but he's definitely not a three-legged toad. And he's really unlucky. He's only in his second life and remembers a lot of his first life's memories, but he's completely forgotten why he failed his tribulation."

Qin Huai was taken aback: "It's possible? You've forgotten everything? You don't remember anything at all? You don't even remember the type?"

“He doesn’t remember anything,” An Youyou said. “He remembers almost everything from his first life, except for what his obsession was. He can only follow his feelings. The reason he didn’t stay in Shanghai and went to work elsewhere was because he felt that he couldn’t successfully overcome his tribulation if he stayed in Shanghai.”

"As a result, his mother starved to death in Shanghai."

Qin Huai was taken aback.

"Starved to death?"

An Youyou sighed: "About six months after I went to Jinling, Jiang Weiguo wrote to me to tell me that Sister Chen had starved to death."

"During that period, Shanghai was experiencing a severe food shortage, and food prices were extremely high. Chen Shun could send money from Nanjing to Shanghai, but he couldn't send food back directly. It is said that Chen's wife ate very little every day in order to save food for her children, and she starved to death."

"That incident was a big blow to Chen Shun, and I haven't seen him much since then. I've already gained the favor of my employer, and I'm busy practicing calligraphy every day, so I don't have time to meet him."

"So Chen Shun really made a profit. I hadn't seen him for four years before I died, and he hadn't spent much money on me. In the end, all my inheritance went to him."

"I don't know if he has successfully transcended the tribulation. Can I post a missing person notice? If he happens to have successfully transcended the tribulation recently and sees the notice, could he contact me and give me all his property?"

"Reciprocity is reciprocated."

Qin Huai: ...

Qin Huai didn't know why, but ever since An Youyou woke up, he had been using a lot of ellipses.

I don't know what to say, so I'll just use an ellipsis.

(End of this chapter)