Chapter 249

Huang Anyao and Gong Baozhu are both efficiency-driven workers; the work might not be done perfectly, but the speed is definitely fast.

If one ignores the insignificant matter of two small river shrimp falling out of the plate containing the stir-fried river shrimp, the two can be described as nimble.

As Qin Huai placed a large basin of Four-Joy Tangyuan on the table, the dishes were basically all set.

As for why it was "basically," it's because Zheng Da's Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Buns were still in the steamer, and he simply wouldn't bring them out. In Zheng Da's words, the Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Buns are different from the Four-Joy Tangyuan; the Four-Joy Tangyuan can be served with the dishes and eaten during the meal.

The Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Buns must make a grand appearance as the final dessert and be eaten last. If served too early and left to cool, the texture wouldn't be good; it's better to keep them warm in the steamer—he knows what he's doing.

Huang Shengli said Zheng Da is just being unnecessarily particular.

Huang Anyao doesn't care about being particular or not; as long as there is something to eat, it's fine. He not only served the dishes but also took bowls, preparing to actively scoop tangyuan for everyone.

As a result, as soon as Huang Anyao picked up a bowl, he was troubled and asked his father for help: "Dad, how many Four-Joy Tangyuan should I scoop for each person?"

Under normal circumstances, Four-Joy Tangyuan would definitely be four per bowl. Zheng Da's bowls are large enough, so four is no problem, and there's room for some soup, but what Qin Huai made is not normal Four-Joy Tangyuan.

The tangyuan in this large basin are not sorted by shape; they are blind-box tangyuan.

Not to mention that the Four-Joy Tangyuan are large, and there is a table full of good home-style dishes. After eating four tangyuan, those with smaller appetites would be 60-70% full, and after eating two more bites of dishes, they would finish the battle.

Sometimes scooping tangyuan is also a science; if you don't scoop them well, you offend people.

Huang Anyao can't even buy fruit properly, let alone tangyuan.

Huang Shengli said calmly: "Just scoop for yourself; why are you hiding the bowls in front of you like treasures? Hurry up and distribute them to everyone."

Huang Anyao understood instantly and distributed the bowls to everyone.

Eight people sat around the small round table: Zheng Da and Zheng Siyuan sat next to each other, Huang Anyao and Huang Shengli sat next to each other, Gong Liang's family of three sat next to each other, and Qin Huai sat between Zheng Siyuan and Gong Liang.

Gong Liang looked at the scene and sighed: "It's been a long time since we've gathered together to eat a meal like this."

Gong Baozhu ruthlessly exposed her father's nonsense: "Forget it, Dad, which year of the Spring Festival haven't we eaten together like this? The year Sister Siqin got married, we ate at our house; there weren't enough bowls, so we were missing one for Sister Siqin's husband, and my brother and I ran to the neighbor's house to borrow a bowl during the New Year. The next day, a rumor spread that our family had gone bankrupt, and my brother and I were running on the street begging for food during the New Year."

Gong Liang:...

Gong Liang stood up and scooped Four-Joy Tangyuan for his daughter, scooping a full four.

Gong Baozhu was overjoyed: "Thank you, Dad, I love eating tangyuan the most!"

Gong Baozhu is probably the only one at this table who doesn't eat Four-Joy Tangyuan every day; living far away and eating less also has its advantages—there's a sense of freshness.

Qin Huai chose to eat the dishes first.

Stir-fried river shrimp, fresh small river shrimp stir-fried in one go, without too many condiments, eating for the original fresh taste. Qin Huai ate one after another, enjoying himself immensely.

Huang Anyao sat opposite Qin Huai, focusing on the eel segments; he scooped two tangyuan into his bowl but didn't touch them, and the eel bones on the side of his bowl piled up into a small mountain.

Zheng Siyuan ate relatively evenly, trying every dish, taking a light bite, and then went into the kitchen to get another bowl and scooped himself half a bowl of steamed egg custard.

Qin Huai tilted his head slightly in surprise. He thought it was strange when he saw Huang Shengli making such ordinary steamed egg custard in the kitchen; even if it was home-style cooking, it shouldn't be to this extent, and steaming such a large basin—it turned out there was someone at the table who loved to eat it.

Everyone was happily eating dishes, only Gong Baozhu was eating tangyuan fiercely.

Four blind-box tangyuan: one pure meat, one peanut-melon seed, one almond-walnut, one almond-peanut; Gong Baozhu was enjoying herself immensely.

When Qin Huai made Four-Joy Sweet Rice Balls for the first time, Guo Mingzhu had revealed that Gong Baozhu loved hundred-fruit filling sweet rice balls and loved anything that was deathly sweet.

Qin Huai felt that the situation on the field was somewhat beyond his expectations; did he come here to eat today?

Yes.

But besides eating, there were other tasks. If things continued like this, the Four-Joy Tangyuan would almost become a background character; how could that be?

Qin Huai ate another river shrimp.

Sigh, Huang Shengli's craftsmanship is really too good.

These home-style dishes are really too home-style.

Qin Huai silently ate the two tangyuan in his bowl—both were meat-filled—and then stood up and scooped two more.

While scooping, Qin Huai smiled and said: "My craftsmanship is indeed far behind Master Zheng's. If I had known I didn't have the diamond drill, I wouldn't have taken on the porcelain work; I've wronged everyone by having you eat the tangyuan I made today."

Hearing this, Gong Baozhu opened her eyes wide in surprise: "This tangyuan is far behind? This tangyuan is much better than the tangyuan at the entrance of my elementary school!"

"Uncle Zheng, did you make tangyuan a few days ago? Why didn't you tell me? I love eating tangyuan the most!"

Hearing this, Zheng Da smiled from ear to ear, thinking, "I haven't even started showing off, and I'm already showing off." He said repeatedly: "Baozhu loves eating tangyuan, right? There is plenty; the refrigerator is full of them. Later, Uncle Zheng will pack two big bags for you; they are all yours, all made by Uncle Zheng in the last two days."

"Thank you, Uncle Zheng!"

"The ones my dad gave you are peanut-melon seed filling; I have some almond-walnut filling here, and I'll pack two bags for you later too." Zheng Siyuan said.

Gong Baozhu didn't understand, thinking, "When did Four-Joy Tangyuan have these two fillings?" But as long as there was something to eat, it was fine, so she nodded repeatedly, indicating she would eat whatever was given.

Huang Anyao was still burying his head in eating eel segments.

Gong Liang was originally eating dishes too, but hearing Qin Huai say this, he suddenly realized that he had been blinded by the home-style dishes in front of him and had neglected Master Xiao Qin.

He really deserved to die; Master Xiao Qin had been working himself to the bone making Four-Joy Tangyuan for him these days, and now that the Four-Joy Tangyuan was in front of him, he actually didn't cherish it.

To prove that he still had Four-Joy Tangyuan in his heart, Gong Liang immediately scooped six, a full bowl.

When scooping the tangyuan, Gong Liang didn't feel anything; Gong Liang had eaten a lot of blind-box tangyuan these days and was used to it. After Gong Liang finished scooping a bowl, Huang Shengli followed suit and scooped a bowl.

Zheng Da saw that he was lagging behind; how could that be? He hurriedly scooped a bowl for himself, not forgetting to scoop one for Zheng Siyuan.

In an instant, more than half of the tangyuan in the basin were gone.

Guo Mingzhu hadn't originally wanted to eat sweet rice balls that much, but seeing everyone eating, she also followed with a bowl, although the amount in her bowl was relatively small, only two.

Guo Mingzhu took the first bite.

It was almond-peanut.

"Eh, the first one is hundred-fruit filling." Guo Mingzhu smiled and said to Gong Liang, "Old Gong, do you remember? The last time we gathered together to eat this kind of Four-Joy Sweet Rice Balls was on your birthday that year."

"You craved meat and wanted meat-filled ones, Zheng Da wanted hundred-fruit filling ones. You two ate three big bowls each, and as a result, you ate a pile of hundred-fruit filling ones and he ate a pile of meat-filled ones, laughing so hard that Huang Shengli almost choked on a tangyuan and had to be sent to the hospital."

"In a blink of an eye, so many years have passed, and the children of our families have grown so big; it's just that except for Siqin, none of them are married." Guo Mingzhu said, looking at Gong Baozhu.

Gong Baozhu:...?

Mom, on an occasion like this, are you also going to learn from Uncle Zheng and urge marriage?

A miscalculation; if I had known, I would have told my brother not to take time off work to come over for dinner.

Gong Liang smiled and didn't speak, scooped up a tangyuan and took a bite; it was meat-filled.

Gong Liang was stunned.

He hadn't thought that much originally, but when he took this bite of tangyuan and his tongue touched the salty meat filling, he seemed to suddenly remember a lot.

Memories, bonds, youth, seemed to be attached to the tangyuan again, rushing and shouting as they slid down his esophagus into his stomach, spreading to his whole body, and finally gathering in his mind in the form of memory fragments. Gong Liang felt that he had been a bit too sentimental recently; could it be because he met Wang Gensheng? Why did he also start wanting to reminisce about the past at every turn?

Qin Huai saw Gong Liang's expression stall and knew there was a play, so he hurriedly leaned over to Zheng Siyuan's side and whispered, asking Zheng Siyuan to convey his words to Zheng Da.

Zheng Siyuan turned his head and whispered to his father: "Dad, Qin Huai asked me to ask you when the Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Buns will be served? He just ate two tangyuan and is almost full."

Zheng Da was stunned.

It's over, a miscalculation; he only thought about letting the Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Buns make a shining appearance at the end and forgot that everyone's appetite was limited.

Zheng Da looked at everyone at the table who was eating tangyuan except for Huang Anyao and instantly realized the severity of the situation.

Tangyuan is something that doesn't feel like much when eating, but it is actually very filling; eating one or two, one becomes full without realizing it.

Zheng Da hurriedly shouted: "There is still one dessert that hasn't been served; I almost forgot, I'll go check now."

Huang Shengli:?

Zheng Da rushed into the kitchen; there was no time to plate, so he brought the steamer out directly. It was fortunate that the dining table was large enough to move things around to put the steamer in the very center.

Lift the lid.

Only to see a flash of white light, a golden light shot out from the steamer, dazzling everyone so they couldn't open their eyes, and a familiar yet impassioned accompaniment came to their ears. Listening carefully, it was actually the bgm of "Chinese Little Master," "The Great Wall"!

At the same time, a line of black bold subtitles popped up under the steamer.

Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Diced Baozi!

The above is the scene in Zheng Da's imagination.

Back in the day, our Master Zheng had also watched "Chinese Little Master," watching it with his son and daughter.

The actual scene was that as soon as Zheng Da lifted the lid, Huang Anyao and Gong Baozhu immediately cooperated and made "wow" sounds of people who had never seen the world.

The sound was super loud.

The Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Buns in the steamer were indeed worthy of such praise.

The Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Diced Baozi is inherently a skill-showing dish; it's hard to come up with new tricks in terms of taste, but in terms of styling, one can really come up with new tricks.

The styling of the Pincer-Flower Diced Baozi is relatively uniform and fixed, but that doesn't mean it can't be changed at all.

As long as one is bored enough, as long as the chef has enough time, and as long as the chef himself wants to show off enough, the patterns on the lace can be numerous and complex, and the candied fruit used for extra decoration can be carved before being used as a garnish.

The Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Diced Baozi has eight lace edges; this cannot be moved. But extra small patterns can be added to the edges of the lace, as long as they are the kind that can't be seen from a distance but are shocking when seen up close.

Zheng Da added them all.

He spent his entire morning meticulously carving the Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Buns; it can be said that he added everything he could, and adding any more would mean it's no longer a Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Diced Baozi.

Therefore, the Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Buns, which should have looked ordinary at first glance and only revealed their complexity upon close inspection, already looked very complex at first glance.

Huang Shengli was stunned.

He had been cooking all morning and only knew that Zheng Da was tinkering with Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Buns on the side; he didn't know what Zheng Da had specifically tinkered with.

The look Huang Shengli gave Zheng Da was full of: "Are you going to participate in the selection for the next edition of the Famous Chef Record?"

"Are you going to practice hard at making dough fruits and boat dim sum, so you're using the Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Diced Baozi to practice first?"

Zheng Da simply raised the Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Diced Baozi to a height that didn't belong to it.

Huang Shengli was stunned, Gong Liang was dumbfounded, and even Qin Huai was a bit stunned.

Qin Huai had seen the previous version of the Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Diced Baozi.

How should I put it, the version update is a bit big.

So big that Qin Huai was a little worried that Zheng Da would use too much force and mess up the task that could have been completed.

Wouldn't Gong Liang recognize this Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Diced Baozi?

Qin Huai quietly glanced at Gong Liang and found that Gong Liang was completely stunned, as if he had seen something incredible.

Zheng Da was very satisfied with everyone's reaction; this is the feedback that Master Zheng should receive!

Zheng Da said with a hint of pride: "It's been a long time since I've styled snacks; it's rare for everyone to gather together today, and it's Xiao Qin's first time eating at my house. A small test of my skills, everyone come and taste how I made this Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Diced Baozi."

"Don't be reluctant to eat; I tell you, those snacks that only look good are fake. To have good styling and taste good—that is a good snack."

Zheng Da's words brought the stunned Gong Liang back to his senses, and he subconsciously supported him: "If this is a small test of skills, then there are no snacks worth eating these days. Zheng Da, you kid have been hiding things all these years; you don't make such good snacks. Why, are you afraid I'll pester you every day to make you cook?"

Zheng Da almost couldn't help laughing out loud: "No, no, I know too much, and I didn't think of it in the past few years."

Zheng Siyuan:...

Zheng Siyuan looked speechless as he picked up a Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Diced Baozi and examined it carefully in his hand, finding that there were indeed no technical problems to pick on, and no problems with the styling either.

Took a bite.

The sesame sugar filling is fragrant and sweet without being greasy; it's all sesame sugar filling, but the filling of the Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Diced Baozi is different from the filling of the Four-Joy Tangyuan, the sweetness is slightly reduced, which matches the soft dough better.

Not to mention the bun skin, it's soft and full of wheat fragrance, unlike the slightly hard dough skin of normal snacks with complex styling; it's a very normal and delicious bun skin.

This is the embodiment of a pastry chef's craftsmanship.

Many times, for the sake of styling, some pastry chefs will choose to sacrifice the texture to achieve perfection in styling, which is the so-called "good-looking but not delicious."

The Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Buns that Zheng Da made today are undoubtedly both good-looking and delicious.

"Qin Huai, what do you think my dad is thinking? If he had made snacks like this earlier, he would have become a master of white-case snacks long ago. If he could spend half of the effort he spent on the Pincer-Flower Palace Lantern Diced Baozi today on the hundred-fruit filling, he wouldn't be making hundred-fruit filling with melon seeds and peanuts." Zheng Siyuan complained while eating.

Qin Huai indicated that it was different; showing off once is pure showing off, but showing off every day requires practice.

Qin Huai opened his mouth and was about to make up some lies when the game prompt sounded in his mind.

"Ding, congratulations to the player for completing the side quest 【Gong Liang's Longing】, and receiving the quest reward: 【A Segment of Gong Liang's Memory】, 【Gong Liang's Affirmation】."

Qin Huai looked at Gong Liang.

Gong Liang had already taken the first bite of the bun.

Looking at his posture, tears were almost coming out from eating.

Our Mr. Gong is also a man of sentiment.

One touch, and he lets anyone drill through any loophole.

There will be an update later.

(End of chapter)