Chapter 287

Qin Huai didn't expect that his radish cutting would last for a whole week.

How did he spend this week?

It was probably roaming in an ocean of radish shreds, radish slices, and diced radishes. Every day when he opened his eyes, it was cutting radishes, and before going to sleep, what remained in his mind was still cutting radishes. Because of his good physical foundation, he didn't feel very tired, and there were no extreme situations like cutting his arm until it swelled.

It was just cutting, pure cutting, cutting all the time.

Cao Guixiang had no requirements for the radish shreds, radish slices, and diced radishes Qin Huai cut. Even if the radish shreds were of different lengths and thicknesses, the radish slices were thick and thin—the thinnest couldn't even let light through—and the diced radishes were irregular and didn't have the aesthetic of alignment at first glance, Cao Guixiang didn't care.

She didn't point out these problems at all.

She kept staring at problems with very detailed movements, such as the posture of exerting force, the gesture of holding the knife, and problems that would repeatedly appear after Qin Huai cut for a long time.

Once a problem appeared, she would go hands-on directly to correct it. After a few days of correcting, Qin Huai had developed a habit; as soon as Cao Guixiang made a move, he would stop in place, not daring to move.

The effect was also very significant.

The habit of holding the kitchen knife and the posture of cutting vegetables that Qin Huai had developed since he was at the welfare academy were all changed during the process of Cao Guixiang going hands-on to correct him time and time again.

Sometimes, just as Qin Huai had a problem, he didn't need to wait for Cao Guixiang to make a move; he could react to it himself.

The 300 jin of white radishes that were the baseline every day didn't cut out any slices, shreds, or dices worth mentioning; Qin Huai cut them almost basket by basket.

Zhang Chu specially prepared several large buckets to hold the white radishes. Every day, when several large buckets were filled, Qin Huai's radish-cutting work would come to an end.

Qin Huai indeed never got up early.

He was too tired to get up at all.

The tiredness of chopping and the tiredness of kneading dough were not the same kind of tiredness; to be precise, the feelings between the two were different.

During the New Year period and when Qin Huai was communicating at Huang's, no matter how high the work intensity was, he was still Master Qin.

What he made were all good things; the helpers at Does Zhi Wei Ju wanted to learn, and the guests wanted to eat. They were all anticipated.

But all the radishes he cut at Cao Guixiang's house were all pig feed.

No one cared about the process of cutting, and no one checked carefully after cutting; they were poured directly into large buckets and loaded away at night. The feeling of being an apprentice and being a master was completely different. Every time Master Qin kneaded a portion of dough, there was a visible sense of accomplishment; every time Apprentice Assistant Xiao Qin finished cutting a radish, all he saw when he looked up was a future he couldn't see.

The proficiency of his knife skills also grew very slowly, unprecedentedly slowly. On the day Qin Huai leveled up his filling-seasoning to master level, the proficiency of his knife skills was (671/1000). Qin Huai cut radishes at ultra-high intensity at Cao Guixiang's house for a whole week, and the proficiency of his knife skills only rose to (799/1000).

It can be seen that cutting pig feed doesn't increase proficiency.

Qin Huai also knew very well that his knife skills hadn't improved much. The reason he didn't check the game panel much was because he had self-knowledge about his level in most cases. Except for the period when he was dizzy from frantically practicing Four-Joy Tangyuan to brush up his filling-seasoning proficiency and didn't react when he leveled up to master level—only clicking to take a look because he simply felt something was wrong—at other times, he could roughly estimate the level of his various skills.

Qin Huai could also perceive Cao Guixiang's intention.

He knew Cao Guixiang was correcting his bad habits.

But just correcting bad habits took a whole week. How long would it take to officially start practicing chopping?

This question had an answer on March 6th, which was the 8th day Qin Huai stayed at Cao Guixiang's house to officially practice chopping.

As a famous chef taught by a very traditional master, when Cao Guixiang brought up disciples, even if they weren't her own apprentices, she used a very traditional mode.

Simply put, it was taking care of food, housing, and meals—taking care of everything.

After all, Cao Guixiang had even prepared towels, toothbrushes, and rinsing cups.

Cao Guixiang and Zhang Chu both agreed that providing meals was very important; eating was the first driving force for apprentices to work. When Cao Guixiang was bitterly practicing basic skills back then, her hope every day was the three meals a day.

It was the same when Zhang Chu was a carpenter. Carpentry was hard work, heavy physical labor; one had to be full and have nutrition. In Zhang Chu's words, after a day of carpentry work, when eating, if he found a piece of meat in his rice bowl, he felt it was worth it.

Under such a philosophy, Qin Huai's meals these days were very good.

Of course, it wasn't the kind of good where every meal was Braised Shark Fin or Oyster Sauce Abalone. In Zhang Zhiyun's words, he couldn't eat these big dishes and good dishes twice a year, and sometimes he might not even be able to eat Braised Shark Fin during the New Year.

As a chef who had been retired for many years, Cao Guixiang was not only good at making top-tier banquet dishes, but she was also excellent at making home-cooked dishes.

Qin Huai even felt that Cao Guixiang was actually better at home-cooked dishes. From the fried eggs for breakfast to the Braised Pork, Chestnut Braised Chicken, and Steamed Turbot for lunch and dinner, they were all delicious.

These dishes were basically made under Qin Huai's nose. Every day when it was time to cook, Qin Huai continued to cut radishes, and Cao Guixiang started to get busy cooking. From washing vegetables to cutting and preparing them to putting them into the pot, everything was completed by Cao Guixiang single-handedly. When she was busy, Cao Guixiang could also find time to stare at whether there were any problems with Qin Huai's chopping movements; it could be said that she was very relaxed and at ease.

And every day's dishes could be summarized in one word: fragrant.

The fragrance of the combination of the taste of home and the taste of a high-end restaurant.

There were no luxury ingredients, no flashy broth, just simple vegetables poured into the pot for a quick stir-fry; even if it was just stir-frying ordinary small green vegetables, they were top-notch delicious small green vegetables.

Every time it was mealtime, Zhang Chiyuan's family and Zhang Siyu's family would take turns coming to eat. This brother and sister seemed to have agreed: 1, 3, 5 you come, 2, 4, 6 I come, and they would gather on Sunday.

As long as Zhang Zhiyun and Chang Qingqing did well on their exams, the first sentence they shouted when rushing into Cao Guixiang's house was: Grandma, I got xx points on my xx exam!

The scores were so high that Qin Huai wanted to shed tears just hearing them, wishing he could record the sound and play it for Did Luo Luo, asking Did Luo Luo when she would be able to get such high scores.

March 6th, 6:17 PM, dinner time.

The one coming to eat today was Zhang Chiyuan's family. The dishes were very rich: Celery Stir-fried Beef, Stir-fried Spinach, Yun Chicken, Steamed Grouper, and Yam Pork Rib Soup.

Zhang Zhiyun sat next to Qin Huai, frantically promoting the Yun Chicken to Qin Huai, telling Qin Huai that this was a peerless good dish invented and created by his grandma specifically for him. The dish name was named after his name; it was the only one of its kind, and you couldn't eat it outside at all.

Qin Huai had been cutting radishes all day and was hungry enough to eat a person; he didn't speak, just nodded blindly and ate frantically.

Cao Guixiang smiled and moved the Yun Chicken toward Qin Huai and Zhang Zhiyun; the dish was too far from them.

"Assistant Xiao Qin, is the business at that community canteen of yours in Shancheng doing well recently?" Cao Guixiang asked suddenly.

Qin Huai had just shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth, and the rice was also wrapped with the sweet and sour Yun Chicken. The name of this dish sounded very strange, but eating it was actually a super combination version of Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin and Sweet and Sour Pork; the meat was coated with a sweet and sour sauce, and the taste of the sauce was very good. Eating too much would make one feel a bit greasy, but children must love it very much.

Qin Huai tried hard to chew and swallowed the rice, saying clearly: "It's always been quite good. Our canteen has a professional breakfast chef and two professional pastry chefs, and there are also two savory chefs. The manpower is very sufficient."

"My mom also sent me a message yesterday, telling me not to rush back and to learn the craft well here at your place, and that the business at the canteen is also very good, so I don't need to worry."

Qin Huai smiled very sincerely.

He wasn't lying either; Zhao Rong did indeed send him a message yesterday telling him to learn his craft well. However, Zhao Rong only sent one message, while Ouyang had sent 999+ in the past few days.

Chen Huihong sent 99+, asking if he had any plans to return to Shancheng in the near future. If not, she might have plans to buy a house in Guangdong Province.

Grandpa Wang sent 8 messages, beating around the bush.

Grandpa Qian, 17 messages.

Grandma Ding liked to show concern more, so there were more messages, 76 messages. Xu Tuqiang, 69 messages.

Even Qu Jing sent 6 messages—she had finished her exchange and returned to Shancheng.

Luo Jun was very calm and didn't send a single message, but he posted on his Moments.

He posted on his Moments to complain that the Tangerine Peel, Tremella, and Lotus Seed Soup Zhang Shumei cooked one day didn't taste good.

As for Qin Luo... the child had started school and didn't dare to send too many messages to Qin Huai, for fear of being discovered by Qin Huai that she might be secretly playing with a smart watch.

She also didn't dare to call Qin Huai to care about her brother's recent life, because Qin Huai had no time to make calls at all.

Qin Huai felt that among Ouyang's 999+, there should be a portion sent by Qin Luo. On Saturday and Sunday afternoons, the messages sent by Ouyang were particularly numerous. There were too many messages and they were all nonsense, so Qin Huai was too lazy to distinguish them and just glanced at them and moved on.

Qin Huai felt he should learn his craft for a while longer; this chopping hadn't even started yet, and a week's time was spent just correcting bad habits.

However, Zhang Chu's cutting boards were indeed made for him, and three sets of molds were also made. As a professional carpenter, Zhang Chu's craft was quite good. Sometimes he would show Qin Huai the wooden furniture in the house—

It was all mortise and tenon structure, the kind without a single nail. There were even carvings on the rocking chairs that Zhang Zhiyun and Chang Qingqing sat on when they were children.

In terms of craftsmanship, this couple could also be considered a strong combination.

"Then you can look at the flight back," Cao Guixiang said.

Qin Huai was stunned.

Could it be because his progress was too slow, so Master Cao didn't want to teach anymore?

Seeing Qin Huai stunned, Cao Guixiang knew he had misunderstood and explained: "Your first part has been learned almost enough. I remember you said you still have a catering event to go out for in mid-March."

"Learning a craft shouldn't delay serious business. You have been cutting vegetables for more than a week and haven't practiced pastry much. Don't let your skills get rusty and make the employer unhappy when the time comes."

"But Master Cao, can my current craft be considered learned?" Qin Huai asked not very surely.

He felt he hadn't learned anything, just forgotten everything.

He learned for a week and only learned the correct way to hold the knife and exert force; he had been writing in the error-correction notebook the whole time and hadn't refreshed any new questions.

"Of course," Cao Guixiang nodded. "Your progress is faster than I imagined. I originally thought you would need at least 10 days to correct all those bad habits before, but you should have discovered it this afternoon. I only went hands-on to correct you twice. You actually made 5 mistakes, but 3 times you didn't need me to go hands-on; you reacted yourself first."

"If you want to consolidate it again, you can buy a ticket for the day after tomorrow and practice for one more day tomorrow."

"At your current stage, you just need to cut radishes. After returning to Shancheng, continue to cut radishes. You don't need to cut 300 jin a day like now. After all, your main job is actually a pastry chef. 100 jin or 150 jin is fine, just ensure the training volume."

"Then... then how do I cut?" Qin Huai asked a very stupid question while eating blankly.

Cao Guixiang almost laughed out loud: "Just cut like this. You cut quite well, Assistant Xiao Qin. You know how to cut radish slices, radish shreds, and diced radishes, and you've also learned the rolling-cut, haven't you?"

Qin Huai:?

"I... know how to cut?"

In Qin Huai's mind, many of the pig feed he had cut these days flashed by.

Those things are also called knowing how to cut?

Radish slices of uneven thickness are also called knowing how to cut?

Those things that were poured directly into the bucket basket by basket without even looking—are they also called knowing how to cut?

Is the requirement for knowing how to cut in savory cooking so low?

"Of course you know. If you didn't know how to cut, what were those things cut these days?" Seeing that Zhang Zhiyun had silently eaten a plate of Yun Chicken until only a little was left while Qin Huai was confused, Cao Guixiang pushed the Celery Stir-fried Beef toward them again and reached out with her chopsticks to pick a piece of spinach for Zhang Zhiyun.

"Yunyun, don't just eat meat, eat some vegetables."

Zhang Zhiyun: qaq

Qin Huai glanced at the plate and silently and quickly collected the last piece of Yun Chicken into his bowl.

"Eat first, I'll tell you after you finish eating," Cao Guixiang said, upholding the principle that heaven and earth are big, but eating is the biggest, and let Qin Huai eat first.

If he didn't eat the vegetables, they would be finished by Zhang Zhiyun.

As a big boy in junior high school, Zhang Zhiyun was at the age of young eating; when he ate, it was like a whirlwind sweeping away clouds, and he was a rival on par with Qin Luo.

After eating, while others were washing dishes, Cao Guixiang stood by the window and explained to Qin Huai: "Assistant Xiao Qin, do you think the radishes you cut these days are not good?"

Qin Huai nodded honestly.

"Well, they are indeed not very good," Cao Guixiang also echoed honestly. "But this can't be blamed entirely on you. You only have this level right now, and you can't cut better radishes either, otherwise you wouldn't need to cut radishes."

"Then what progress do you think you have made these days?"

Qin Huai thought for a while: "I corrected many habits."

"For the first two days, I felt I couldn't hold the knife or cut vegetables. Now I know how to again, just like before, and I know how to do it very correctly."

"That's right," Cao Guixiang nodded. "That's enough."

"I just wanted to help you correct your previous bad habits. Knife skills are a very important basic skill. When I was apprenticing, the master wouldn't let a savory apprentice touch the pot without practicing knife skills for three or five years. Even the most talented chef has to be patient and cut steadily for a few years."

"Knife skills cannot be rushed. Of course, I believe you will learn faster than many chefs because you have a foundation; you can draw inferences about other cases from one instance and understand everything."

"But no matter how much of a foundation you have, you still have to honestly start practicing from cutting radishes in the early stages."

"I have helped you correct all your bad habits now, and you also know how the correct path should go. You are already on the road. What you need to do next is to practice massively day after day, just like you learned pastry at the beginning."

"I have nothing to teach you now. More flashy techniques and the processing of meat are not things you can learn at your current stage."

"What you need to do now is to cut radishes well. When you feel you have made great progress, or when you feel the radishes you cut are very beautiful, we can start the second stage of on-site teaching."

The meaning of Cao Guixiang's words was very clear: Qin Huai's first stage of learning had graduated.

The crash course was over; what Apprentice Assistant Xiao Qin needed to do next was to go home and take online classes.

"I remember you said before that there were six cutting boards, and every time one was chopped to pieces..."

"Don't care about that," Cao Guixiang waved her hand and glanced helplessly at Zhang Chu who was washing dishes in the kitchen. "I originally thought that for six cutting boards, according to your current practice volume, they would be chopped to pieces in three or four months at most."

"As a result, I don't know what's wrong with my Old Zhang; he used such good wood to make cutting boards. That wood isn't bad, it's just..."

"You'd better send me photos of the radishes you cut every day after you return to Shancheng; if you have time, video is also fine."

"Don't care too much about the cutting boards."

"And don't worry about the remaining molds that haven't been made. Once they are made, I'll have my Old Zhang mail them to you."

"Doesn't your friend want to open a hand-beaten lemon tea shop? I have a few recipes for fruit tea here; I'll write them for you later. I don't like drinking these things, but Qingqing loves them. I pondered for a while before, but the cost according to this recipe is a bit high; I don't know if opening a shop can make money."

(End of chapter)