The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 594 Wang Gensheng's Guilt
Zheng Siyuan's words were a wake-up call.

It can only be said that Zheng Siyuan truly deserves to be called a master of fresh meat mooncakes. His years of dedication to fresh meat mooncakes have been worthy of his keen perception.

Qin Huai's first reaction was that Zheng Siyuan had found the standard answer.

Because Zheng Siyuan's judgment not only matches Wang Gensheng's description, but also Qin Huai's understanding of the promise.

The reason Qin Huai initially thought Hongling cake was just flower cake was because he never believed Xu Nuo could obtain the recipe for Hongling cake. Admittedly, Xu Nuo, as the youngest son of Factory Director Xu, was spoiled by his wealthy family, knew Master Jing, and traveled extensively, managing to buy the recipe for double crab buns from Tan Weian's great-grandfather. However, this did not mean Xu Nuo could obtain the real recipe for Hongling cake.

To be honest, Qin Huai couldn't really analyze anything concrete, but his intuition and reason told him that given Xu Nuo's strength, wealth, and background, plus his cunning nature, it was impossible for him to obtain the real Red Silk Cake recipe.

Moreover, he felt that given Xu Nuo's carefree personality, he would definitely take advantage of Wang Gensheng's ignorance and make some delicious snacks that had nothing to do with red silk cakes to deceive his good friend.

It's hilarious to think that the magical beast was completely fooled and believed it wholeheartedly.

Zheng Siyuan's promise was actually based on the idea of ​​making fresh meat mooncakes, but he used it to make flower cakes. In the end, he lied and called this dessert "Red Silk Cake," which Qin Huai found very reasonable.

Even if Xu Nuo wasn't good at making fresh meat mooncakes in her previous lives, after living in Suzhou for so many years, she definitely knew how to make them, as fresh meat mooncakes are a famous and popular dessert in Suzhou.

From the results, this idea is reasonable; from the location, it is feasible; and considering the characters, it is practically the perfect answer.

"Siyuan, you're amazing!" Qin Huai exclaimed in praise. "You actually figured out the effect of the meat mooncake crust after a few days. I've made so many flower cakes these past few days and I didn't even realize it."

Zheng Siyuan's voice didn't fluctuate much, but you could clearly hear that he was very happy. He said lightly, "It's not that I'm particularly good. I just make a lot of fresh meat mooncakes. You make breakfast a lot and rarely make these kinds of snacks. You would never eat fresh meat mooncakes that have been sitting out for several days, so naturally you don't have any experience in this area."

“I used to eat a lot.”

"Eat a lot?" Qin Huai instantly grasped the key word.

Zheng Siyuan paused, then lowered his voice slightly: "When my skills weren't good before, I often couldn't sell all the fresh meat mooncakes I made. I couldn't keep them until the next day to sell to customers because they weren't fresh, so I kept them for myself."

"Sometimes there are leftovers. If we can't finish them in one day, we eat them for a few more days. It's normal for them to stay for three or four days."

It sounds heartbreaking, and it seems to be an inevitable path for every pastry chef. After all, no one can make delicious pastries from the very beginning, and everyone will face the problem of not being able to sell all the pastries they make.

Qin Huai pondered for a moment whether he had this experience.

No.

Qin Huai's cooking skills were at their worst when he was at the orphanage, but even then, his skills were still far superior to those of Director Qin, and every child enjoyed eating the steamed buns and mantou made by Qin Huai.

After Qin Huai was adopted by Qin Congwen and his wife and helped make steamed buns at the Qin family's breakfast shop, the demand far exceeded the supply.

Well, the not-so-approachable Master Qin doesn't have such a heartbreaking past.

Qin Huai could only change the subject: "Can a normal fresh meat mooncake be kept for one or two months?"

Qin Huai, of course, did not know how long Wang Gensheng originally planned to keep the red silk cakes, but since Wang Gensheng used the adjectives "originally planned to eat them before the New Year" and "couldn't resist sneaking a piece", he must have planned to keep them for a long time.

Given the attitude of people in that era towards pastries, it would have been quite normal to wrap them in oil paper and store them for several months.

Snacks are precious; these good things are meant to be saved for the Lunar New Year.

"Leave it for a month or two?" Zheng Siyuan's voice was tinged with surprise.

It's obvious that Zheng Siyuan has never experienced the misery of not being able to sell his fresh meat mooncakes and having to eat them himself for two months.

"Should we put it in the refrigerator?" Zheng Siyuan asked.

"I won't put it in the refrigerator," Qin Huai said.

Zheng Siyuan remained silent.

"If it's a shortbread, it's fine to keep it for 10 days to half a month. If you don't care about the taste or the risk of diarrhea after eating it, it might even last a month."

"But fresh meat mooncakes... Normally, fresh meat mooncakes should be eaten within three days. I have only ever eaten fresh meat mooncakes that have been stored for three days. After three days, especially after five days, the mooncakes will spoil."

Even if it is refrigerated, it is generally recommended to eat it within a week, and raw embryos are recommended to be consumed within 15 days.

"One month..."

"Don't even mention fresh meat mooncakes, even if the filling isn't meat but fresh flowers, it's still not acceptable."

"Absolutely not, not even pastries with fillings," Zheng Siyuan said with great certainty.

Since Zheng Siyuan had said so, Qin Huai naturally chose to believe him.

"I understand. I'll try making flower cakes using the crust from meat mooncakes first, and see if it will satisfy Grandpa Wang."

"Hmm," Zheng Siyuan said calmly. If Zheng Siyuan were on the opposite side of Qin Huai at this moment, he would have added a nod.

"Is there anything else?" Zheng Siyuan asked.

"No," Qin Huai said.

“Last time you came to Suzhou, I didn’t go to Huang’s to see you. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to help out at Huang’s, but the pastry shop was too busy at that time and I couldn’t find the time. I was afraid that if I went to Huang’s, the pastry shop would have to close down again.”

"My dad brought me the fermented rice buns you made."

"You've improved again."

"Sweet rice wine buns are indeed delicious. A while ago, I... to use Tan Weian's words, I had another big realization." Qin Huai had nothing to be modest about at this time. Zheng Siyuan had already eaten them, so being modest would seem fake.

“My fresh meat mooncakes have also improved. Next time you come to Suzhou, tell me and I’ll have my dad bring them for you,” Zheng Siyuan said.

"Really? That's great. The flower cakes I'm making now will use the crust from fresh meat mooncakes. Next time I go to Suzhou, I'll ask you for the recipe for fresh meat mooncakes. You're much more professional than me in this area."

"Okay." Zheng Siyuan hung up the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Qin Huai began to think and simulate in his mind how to make flower cakes using the method for making fresh meat mooncakes.

Is this approach feasible?
Of course it's feasible.

Because Qin Huai never intended to make fresh meat mooncakes or flower cakes; he wanted to make red silk mooncakes. And who says red silk mooncakes can't be a combination of fresh meat and flower cakes? However, fresh meat mooncakes are slightly more difficult, especially the flaky pastry process. Qin Huai might need to challenge himself a little.

Qin Huai didn't think it was a big problem.

After a period of failed attempts, Qin Huai has mastered the making of flower cakes and turned Yunzhong Canteen into a sea of ​​flower cakes. Passersby would think that the canteen was actually a flower cake specialty store just by smelling it.

Now all Qinhuai needs to do is transform its flower cake specialty store into a fresh meat mooncake specialty store.

Yes, Qin Huai wants to make fresh meat mooncakes first.

That's how textbooks work; to integrate them, you must thoroughly understand all the knowledge points before integration and complete all the relevant examples. Trying to tackle high-difficulty or bonus questions without a solid foundation will not end well.

After determining the new direction, Qin Huai started making fresh meat mooncakes.

So, are the fresh meat mooncakes made in Qinhuai delicious?
The answer is, of course, that it's delicious. With Qin Huai's current basic skills, anything she makes will taste good. Even just rolling out a sheet of dough, boiling it, and having customers dip it in sauce would be delicious.

So how do Qin Huai's fresh meat mooncakes compare to Zheng Siyuan's fresh meat mooncakes?

Loyal customers of Yunzhong Canteen, especially the older folks, would certainly like to lie and say that Chef Qin's cooking is definitely better. But facts speak louder than words; even the most loyal customers of Qinhuai think that Zheng Siyuan's fresh meat mooncakes are better.

Fresh meat mooncakes are Zheng Siyuan's signature dessert, his absolute specialty. However, for Qin Huai, fresh meat mooncakes are actually less of his forte. While Master Qin's fresh meat mooncakes are certainly delicious, there's a catch—they're already far superior, and Master Qin's flower cakes are clearly even better…

Everyone could only buy and eat like crazy, while feeling somewhat sad, painful, worried, confused, and bewildered.

Hey, what's wrong with Chef Qin? Why is he abandoning his perfectly good flower cakes and going on to make fresh meat mooncakes? Wasn't the flower cake a new year-end product that Chef Qin had been studying hard for months and then secluded himself for many days to launch?
Are we only making new year-end products in these few days?
Or is the year-end new product actually a fresh meat mooncake? The flower cake is just a passing fad.

No, Master Qin, don't abandon flower cakes! Fresh meat mooncakes really aren't for you!
Countless diners cried out in their hearts, but dared not say it, and could only silently eat their fresh meat mooncakes.

The huge difference that ordinary diners can taste is something that Wang Gensheng can certainly taste as well.

But Wang Gensheng didn't dare to say anything. He didn't dare to say a single word, and even when he did comment, he was very tactful.

Wang Gensheng didn't understand why Qin Huai thought that flower cakes were the same as red silk cakes, and after making flower cakes for a week, she thought that fresh meat mooncakes were the same as red silk cakes.

But Wang Gensheng felt that this was not Qin Huai's problem.

It's definitely his problem!
It's all his fault for being so clumsy and unable to express himself clearly. He didn't know how to make red silk cakes, yet he wanted to eat them, leading the perfectly good Master Qin astray.

Wang Gensheng desperately wanted to tell Qin Huai that this wasn't the case, that these weren't Red Silk Cakes, but he couldn't explain what Red Silk Cakes were like.

Because...because...

After making fresh meat mooncakes in Qinhuai for another week, Wang Gensheng, who was conflicted, finally couldn't hold back anymore.

In fact, over the course of this week, everyone noticed that Wang Gensheng had a problem, including Ouyang.

Basically every day after Qin Huai got off work, Ouyang would go to Qin Huai's house and whisper to him, asking if Wang Gensheng had secretly taken out online loans, why he was under so much mental pressure, and why he felt guilty.

Given Wang Gensheng's personality, job, qualifications, assets, and age, it's remarkable that Ouyang could deduce that Wang Gensheng had secretly taken out online loans. Qin Huai can only say that Ouyang has a great ability to make connections, making him very suitable for writing novels.

She's so good at making things up, even better than Tan Weian.

But no one asked Wang Gensheng why he felt guilty, because everyone knew that given Wang's personality, he couldn't hold back for more than a few days after he had clearly reached this point.

As it turned out, Wang Gensheng was quite good at holding back; he managed to hold it in for a whole week.

When Qin Huai placed the freshly baked, delicious, but not particularly delicious, meat mooncakes on the small table, Wang Gensheng finally couldn't resist.

He lowered his head, full of remorse, like a child who had done something wrong.

“Little…Master Qin, actually…I…I have something I want to tell you.” As he spoke, Wang Gensheng glanced at Ouyang and Shi Dadan on the small table.

Shi Dadan gave a look that said "I want to go out to eat," then immediately understood and pulled Ouyang out to eat with him.

Wang Gensheng whispered, "Master Qin, I actually lied to you."

Qin Huai: ? You magical beasts can lie? They've mutated?

"I actually... only ate that one bite of red silk cake."

Qin Huai: ? ? ?
"Huh?" Qin Huai didn't think Wang Gensheng had lied to him; he just didn't think it was a lie.

As a master liar, Qin Huai often felt that his lying skills were insufficient. He believed that the prerequisite for lying was to actually lie; even if it was nine parts truth and one part falsehood, there still had to be one part falsehood. Wang Gensheng's actions could at most be considered concealment, and Qin Huai had actually guessed that Wang Gensheng had not saved the red silk cakes for the New Year.

Because if red silk cakes are made this way and can be preserved for several months, then this dessert becomes contradictory.

First of all, red silk cakes are shortbreads with fillings, and the fact that they have fillings means they are difficult to preserve for a long time.

To preserve food for a long time, you must use plenty of oil, salt, and sugar; in other words, you have to use a lot of ingredients, treating seasonings as preservatives.

However, this method means that the red silk cakes will definitely not taste good.

Given Xu Nuo's skill, he certainly wouldn't deliberately make such a terrible dessert for his brother; the Red Silk Cake should be around grade B.

Unless they promise an exclusive recipe that makes food delicious and can be preserved for a long time without adding preservatives.

Furthermore, Qin Huai believed that Zheng Siyuan would not lie to him.

Zheng Siyuan believed that the filling of the fresh meat mooncake recipe couldn't possibly be preserved for several months, so it must be genuine.

Assuming that Wang Gensheng did not lie about the existence of this exclusive formula, there is only one truth.

Wang Gensheng wasn't lying, but he concealed part of the truth. He must have secretly eaten the red silk cakes three days after they were placed there, but he didn't mention that he ate them during the New Year. The taste he described was always the taste he experienced on the third day.

The red silk cakes might not last until the New Year, or to put it another way, Wang Gensheng only ate the red silk cakes once, and even if they were kept until the New Year, he wouldn't eat them.

Qin Huai's reaction made Wang Gensheng feel even more guilty.

“I know I should say it, but… there are some things I don’t want to say, so… I…”

"I only ate that one bite of the red silk cake, and I never touched it again after that. I also never opened the oil paper that wrapped the red silk cake."

“I know I shouldn’t hide it. Actually… I shouldn’t have told you about this, Master Qin. I really didn’t want to say it when you came to my house that day, but… I really wanted to eat the Red Silk Cake. I wanted to know what the Red Silk Cake tasted like.”

"So I still said it that day."

"But I lied to you, Master Qin, which is why you couldn't make the red silk cake, because I didn't actually know what the red silk cake tasted like when it was fresh out of the oven."

"But I still have a sliver of hope. I think maybe you, Master Qin, can make it. When I taste it, I'll know what it tastes like."

"I never expected to cause you so much trouble, Master Qin, with making flower cakes and meat mooncakes... I'm really... really sorry."

"I'm too ashamed to eat in the kitchen. I'll just... never mind, I'll just have my wife come and buy me snacks from now on." Wang Gensheng felt so guilty that he wanted to write a 5000-word self-criticism on the spot.

Given his writing style and expression skills, this self-criticism may take 2 to 3 years to write.

Qin Huai smiled and said, "Of course I know that you, Uncle Wang, don't actually know what the Red Silk Cake tastes like."

Wang Gensheng looked up in astonishment.

“But I know what kind of person you are, Uncle Wang. You would never lie, but you choose not to say it.”

"If you choose not to talk about something, it means it's really hard to say, and I don't need to ask."

"I will make flower cakes first and then meat mooncakes because I know that you, Uncle Wang, have no idea what red silk cakes taste like, so I'm making red silk cakes in my own way."

"You don't need to feel guilty. I know you've tried your best to express yourself, and I know you really want to eat it, so I really want to make it too."

“We did our best, and you didn’t lie to me.”

"Besides, I haven't even really started making the Red Silk Cakes yet. If you don't come to the Cloud Cafeteria anymore, who will I make these Red Silk Cakes for?"

"Huh?" Now it was Wang Gensheng's turn to be dumbfounded.

"I need to practice making fresh meat mooncakes for two more days. Only after I finish making fresh meat mooncakes can I start making red silk mooncakes. That's when you should start tasting them, so don't overthink it or feel guilty or sad. Your priority right now is to increase your appetite and eat a few more bites every day."

"what?"

(End of this chapter)