The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 595 Mission Completed
Qin Huai wasn't lying; Wang Gensheng's top priority right now was indeed to increase his appetite.

Because Qin Huai was already very confident that his plan was sound, and since he himself was very confident in his ideas, the only problem was the people who were tasting the food.

I didn't eat enough.

If each piece of cake is eaten in one bite, given the speed at which Qin Huai makes pastries, Wang Gensheng's appetite might not be able to finish it.

Three days later, Wang Gensheng began a routine of eating one bite of each pancake, eating pancakes the moment he opened his eyes, falling asleep with burps, and eating pancakes again as soon as he woke up.

Of course, considering Wang Gensheng's age and the fact that he has not yet successfully transcended his tribulation, Qin Huai was also afraid of forcing Wang Gensheng to grow too fast and causing him to be reincarnated prematurely, so he controlled the amount of food he was given.

However, when making desserts, especially themed desserts, large quantities are unavoidable.

Even though Qin Huai had already determined the method for making the pastry and knew the general direction of the filling, there were still many details to work out.

Of course, Wang Gensheng was very cooperative and ate very diligently.

It's clear that Wang Gensheng really wants to taste the red silk cake he remembers, even if he himself may not know exactly what the red silk cake tastes like in his memory.

I ate red silk cakes for six days straight.

December 31st, New Year's Eve.

This isn't a holiday; the real holiday is January 1st, New Year's Day, which is a public holiday. However, due to the gimmicks created by businesses in recent years, New Year's Eve has become more important than the actual New Year's Day holiday.

Traffic jams, restaurants full, KTVs, cinemas, board game arcades and other entertainment venues have all raised their prices. Even Qin Luo's school has started letting out early (at the normal school dismissal time, Qin Luo would probably be stuck in traffic until eight or nine o'clock before he got home).

So what was Qin Huai doing on such a seemingly important but actually just so-so day?

Making red silk cakes.

What are Ouyang, Shi Dadan, and Wang Gensheng, the three-person group eating in the kitchen, doing?

Eating red silk cake.

What are Xu Tuqiang and his group of elderly men and women doing?

They stayed at home. The Cloud Canteen was so busy on New Year's Eve that many companies in nearby office buildings closed an hour or two early (of course, some still had to work overtime on New Year's Eve).

For ordinary office workers, getting off work an hour or two earlier doesn't make much difference, but for those working near the Yunzhong Canteen, it means they can rush in to grab some snacks.

This directly led to the Cloud Cafeteria being packed on New Year's Eve. In addition, Qin Luo rarely got out of school early, so Qin Huai decided to cook a big meal for her, extending the time for making desserts. In addition to making Qin Luo's favorite desserts, he also made sure to produce a stable batch of Red Silk Cakes.

This led many office workers to mistakenly believe that this was a New Year's Eve surprise from Chef Qin, who was trying his best to ensure that every office worker could have a piece of red silk cake before going home on December 31st.

What else is there to say? Buy it!

One piece for everyone, no more. This is not just an ordinary snack, but a New Year's gift from Chef Qin, a surprise and heartfelt gift from Chef Qin on this important day.

Qin Huai was completely unaware of the above situation. He simply thought that business was booming, as expected of the New Year's Eve celebration. The Cloud Canteen was almost packed like a sardine can, and there were still many sardines trying to squeeze in from outside.

Qin Huai was a little worried that Qin Luo might not be able to squeeze into the kitchen.

With the restaurant packed today, the small table in the kitchen, which wasn't originally a very nice place, suddenly felt like a VIP spot.

Qin Luo only attended two classes this afternoon and went home early. Qin Huai told Qin Luo not to come to the cafeteria for snacks too early, but to do two worksheets at home first and come back around 6 o'clock.

Because he had made many of his signature desserts for dinner, Qin Huai had specifically told Wang Gensheng in the afternoon not to eat too many red silk cakes, and to save room for a good meal together at 6 pm.

Wang Gensheng certainly wouldn't listen to Qin Huai's instructions, but didn't Qin Huai have two supervisors, Ouyang and Shi Dadan? Under Ouyang and Shi Dadan's supervision, Wang Gensheng ate only 11 bites of red silk cakes and drank two cups of tea in the afternoon.

As a strict supervisor, Ouyang wouldn't even let Wang Gensheng drink much tea, fearing that if he drank too much tea, he wouldn't be able to eat anything at 6 o'clock.

At 6:15, Qin Luo successfully squeezed into the kitchen, her ponytail slightly disheveled, and exclaimed cheerfully, "Brother, what are we having for dinner tonight? I'm starving! I really wanted to eat potato chips this afternoon while I was doing my test, but I resisted eating them because you told me there would be a big meal tonight!"

As Qin Luo spoke, she re-tied her hair into a bun instead of a ponytail, indicating that she was going to have a proper meal tonight.

This is a signal that Qin Luo is going all out tonight.

"What's the rush? The red silk cakes won't be ready for another two minutes. Let's eat them together once all the pastries are ready," Qin Huai said, placing four bowls of chicken noodle soup on the table.

These four bowls of chicken noodle soup are all Grade A, with the broth prepared by Wang Jun. Although Wang Jun hasn't appeared in public recently, he has been working quietly in the kitchen of Yunzhong Canteen as the head chef and Qin Huai's number one assistant, practicing his broth-making skills every day.

In Wang Jun's words, he didn't have so many opportunities to make stock at Huangji Restaurant, but after joining Yunzhong Restaurant, he was constantly making stock every day, and his stock-making skills improved dramatically. Those who knew him knew he was there to exchange ideas at a community restaurant famous for its pastry dishes; those who didn't might have thought he was studying at a top-tier restaurant specializing in red dishes.

The steaming hot chicken noodle soup made Qin Luo's eyes light up, and she obediently sat down. Even if she couldn't eat it, holding her chopsticks and smelling it a few more times was good enough.

Qin Huai then served the other prepared snacks to the table.

Others wanted to help, but none of them were chefs and could only stay near the small table; they couldn't actually go into the kitchen.

Qin Huai really prepared a feast tonight, all of which were Qin Luo's favorite dishes.

Five-ingredient buns, mutton shumai, Yuanmeng sesame cakes, beef pancakes, hibiscus cakes, and fermented rice balls.

Of course, Qin Huai's signature fermented rice buns are indispensable, but these fermented rice buns are leftovers from lunch and cannot be considered as Qin Huai making them especially for Qin Luo.

Just as Qin Huai was serving these pastries, the red silk cakes were also ready. Like the fresh meat mooncakes and flower cakes, the red silk cakes are best eaten hot. As long as you're not afraid of getting burned, you can eat them however you like right out of the oven.

When the aroma of red silk cakes wafted from the oven, Qin Luo's chopsticks were already almost touching the dough.

She was already prepared. She brought the red silk cakes to the table and immediately lowered her head to eat the chicken soup noodles. She ate the chicken soup noodles first and then the other snacks.

As for such a lavish carbohydrate feast, with beef, pork, lamb, and dessert all together, won't it be too much to eat...?

All the regulars at Cloud Cafeteria will tell you with certainty: Tired? Absolutely not! Tired of Master Qin's pastries? Who do you think you are? Master Qin's pastries will leave you stuffed, you'll never get tired of them!

Qin Luo stared intently at the chicken noodle soup in front of her.

Then they watched for two minutes, until Qin Luo's hand holding the chopsticks got sore, but Qin Huai still didn't bring out the red silk cake.

Qin Luo: ? Does her brother not trust her tongue, esophagus, and stomach? It's just a simple red silk cake, does it really need to cool down for two minutes?

Qin Luo could only put down her chopsticks and continue staring at the noodles for another three minutes.

Qin Luo: ? ? ?
Red silk cakes need to cool for 5 minutes?

Qin Luo had been waiting anxiously, even wondering if something had happened to her brother by the oven, like he had suddenly fainted or lost consciousness. She craned her neck to look in that direction and found that her brother was indeed alive, and not only alive but also moving, though she couldn't tell what he was fiddling with.

"Brother!" Qin Luo called out. Qin Huai did not respond.

Qin Luo: QAQ, her brother doesn't love her anymore, he's giving her the silent treatment, and he won't let her eat noodles.

Two minutes later, Qin Huai finally arrived late, carrying the red silk cakes wrapped in red silk, and placed them steadily on the table.

Yes, Qin Huai spent those two minutes wrapping red silk cakes and even arranging them in a decorative way.

However, Qin Huai wasn't very good at plating and had never styled pastries like this before, so his wrapping wasn't very good. Besides, Qin Huai didn't know how Tang Dynasty red silk cakes were wrapped; he just tied a bow.

Who cares, as long as I have the red ribbon.

If there is red silk, it means red silk cake.

All eyes were on the red silk cake. Qin Luo was puzzled, Wang Gensheng was shocked, Ouyang was like, "Dude, why did you do this?", and Shi Dadan was pondering which pastry to eat first.

Qin Huai explained with a smile, "Weren't we making a big meal for Luo Luo today? These red silk cakes we made earlier, though they're called red silk cakes, actually don't even have any red silk in them."

"Uncle Wang, I may not be able to make the red silk cake you're craving right now, but I can find some red silk to make it for you. The ones I made before were all cut-down versions without the red silk; this is the real, complete red silk cake."

Wang Gensheng was still in shock, but his shocked expression gradually turned into emotion, then nostalgia, and finally Qin Huai watched as Wang Gensheng's eyes reddened.

Qin Huai: ? ? ?
Is he really that moved? He hasn't even started playing the emotional card yet.

In Qinhuai, the emotional appeal is always saved for last. When they run out of desserts to make, they resort to underhanded tricks to overwhelm their target with emotion, hoping to move them to complete any task.

As a pastry chef, Qin Huai actually wanted to complete the task in a more orthodox way, such as making pastries that would satisfy the client.

However, the tasks issued by this game are usually quite abstract. They don't explain the specific content, and Qin Huai doesn't know what to do, so he often has no choice but to lie and play the emotional card.

Master Qin, a master of lies, actually wanted to be an upright, kind, sincere, and honest person who never lied.

However, you have to consider the situation when you want to be a good person.

As Qin Huai sat down, he pondered whether to take advantage of this opportune moment to play the emotional card and get Wang Gensheng to reveal some details he was unwilling to disclose, thus facilitating the completion of his mission. Meanwhile, Wang Gensheng began to eat his noodles with his head down.

A qualified dim sum chef will not disturb customers who are eating, so Qin Huai chose to keep his head down and eat his noodles.

Slip.

His chicken noodle soup is really delicious now.

Slip.

Hey, I didn't think of Zheng Siyuan when I went to Suzhou last time. Why didn't I think of making some hand-pulled noodles for him and having Zheng Da take them over to cook chicken noodle soup for Zheng Siyuan?

Qin Huai decided that next time he went to Suzhou, he would not only make sweet fermented rice buns for Zheng Siyuan, but also his favorite chicken noodle soup.

While Qin Huai was eating his noodles with a heavy heart, Qin Luo had already finished his bowl of chicken soup noodles with lightning speed, and gulped down the chicken soup in one go, showing a satisfied expression, without burping at all.

Making Qin Luo burp from such a small amount of food is indeed a test of her acting skills.

The second thing Qin Luo wanted to eat was the Red Silk Cake. There was no particular reason; it was simply because the cake was wrapped in red silk, and Qin Luo wanted to unwrap the red silk from it.

"Brother, can we take this red ribbon off now?" Qin Luo asked, pointing to the red silk cake.

Qin Huai looked at Wang Gensheng and asked with a smile, "Uncle Wang, why don't you take over the demolition?"

Wang Gensheng swallowed the noodles in his mouth, his voice a little hoarse: "Me...me?"

"These red silk cakes were originally made for you. This batch is the best we made today. If Luo Luo can't finish them, you can take them back and share them with your family. Of course, you'll have to open them yourself."

Qin Luo gave Qin Huai a look that said, "Brother, I can finish this." Qin Huai returned the look to Qin Luo, "You can't finish this."

Qin Luo instantly understood, then looked expectantly at Wang Gensheng, waiting for him to untie the red silk ribbon.

Wang Gensheng's hand trembled slightly as he reached for the red ribbon and pulled it outwards with force.

Qin Huai's not-so-pretty bow came undone in an instant. Qin Luo quickly reached out with her chopsticks to pick up a piece, but because she used too much force, a lot of the pancake fell off as she picked it up.

Wang Gensheng also picked up a piece and took a small bite.

Given Wang Gensheng's appetite, a small bowl of chicken noodle soup and a red silk cake would probably be enough for his dinner tonight.

After all, I ate some red silk cakes in the afternoon.

As Wang Gensheng took a light bite, crumbs of the red silk cake he was holding fell into the chicken soup noodles. Wang Gensheng was completely unaware and just kept chewing.

He chewed very slowly, making it seem as if he was already full and couldn't eat anymore.

Qin Luo finished a piece of red silk cake, while Wang Gensheng was still chewing his first bite.

Qin Huai realized that things weren't so simple. Even if Wang Gensheng was full, he wouldn't take so long to eat a single red silk cake. He wasn't the type to eat so slowly.

Qin Huai turned his gaze to Wang Gensheng and carefully observed his expression. He found that Wang Gensheng was spacing out and in a daze. He had long since swallowed the red silk cake in his mouth, and what he was actually chewing was air.

His eyes reddened again, whether from the steam of the chicken soup noodles, the steam of the red silk cake, or the surge of emotions within him.

Wang Gensheng's cloudy eyes began to be covered with a thin layer of tears.

Wang Gensheng continued chewing air, then, as if realizing something, subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of air. He stared blankly at the red silk cake in front of him.

"Xiao Qin..."

Qin Huai didn't hear what Wang Gensheng said, because at the same time Wang Gensheng spoke, the game notification sounded in his mind.

"Ding! Congratulations to the player for completing the side quest [Wang Gensheng's Touching Moment] and receiving the quest reward [A Memory of Wang Gensheng]."

Qin Huai met Wang Gensheng's gaze. He didn't hear what Wang Gensheng said clearly, but he could roughly guess what Wang Gensheng was going to say.

"Uncle Wang, do you like this flavor?"

Wang Gensheng nodded emphatically.

"Although it's a little different from what I imagined, I like the taste; this is the taste of red silk mochi."

(End of this chapter)