Chapter 46: Going All Out for a Bite to Eat (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

When Qin Luo heard Qin Huai tell Huang Xi to notify the supplier to send more materials for hand-shaken lemon tea tomorrow, she was still grinning foolishly, thinking that she would have hand-shaken lemon tea to drink every day in the future, not knowing what she was about to face.

When Qin Huai arrived at the cafeteria the next day, he found that Huang Xi had already arrived.

"Sister Xi, why did you come so early?" Qin Huai was extremely surprised.

This wasn't 6 o'clock; it was 4 o'clock. The sky wasn't even bright yet. Huang Xi's home was quite a distance from Cloud Cafeteria. Arriving so early, she must have gotten up at 3 o'clock. Anyone who didn't know would think Huang Xi was the new dim sum chef hired by the shop.

"There was a problem with the supplier; they were out of egg flowers and Hangzhou white chrysanthemum. Last night, I had to urgently contact the supplier of the restaurant where I worked before to get these two items. The quality should be good, but I had to go get them myself. Their warehouse ships at 3:30, so I came straight here after getting them." Huang Xi said, looking slightly exhausted.

Zhao Rong poked her head out and said loudly: "Xiao Xi, I think you should go back and rest. You don't need to come to work today; we'll give you a day off."

"Exactly." Qin Congwen echoed. "How many hours have you slept? Even an iron body can't take it."

Qin Huai didn't expect that he had just picked two herbal tea raw materials at random, and it had caused Huang Xi to toss and turn all night. He nodded hurriedly: "Yes, Sister Xi, go back and rest. I'll let my sister and An Youyou watch the morning delivery, and my mom and dad can temporarily fill in for the supplier side."

Huang Xi had been working for many years and had always been in the catering service industry. From a regular employee to a store manager and back to a regular employee, she had had harder times, but she rarely met a boss who advised her to work less.

Huang Xi blinked her eyes, which were slightly red from lack of sleep, and yawned, tears welling up again. She didn't decline and nodded readily: "Then thank you, bosses."

"By the way, Assistant Xiao Qin, Grandma Ding came by specially last night and sent two more jars of locust honey. She said it was the best quality she asked her in-laws for, good for the body, and told you to keep it to brew honey water."

"I put the locust honey on the second shelf on the left side of the warehouse. Assistant Xiao Qin, Chef Qin, Sister Rong, I'll go back first. You've worked hard." Huang Xi said with a smile and walked away with light steps, off work.

Huang Xi's words reminded Qin Huai that he seemed to have stood Grandma Ding up.

Coo coo coo coo coo.

The day Qin Huai gladly accepted the honey Grandma Ding sent, he had the idea of making locust flower buns the next day.

Admittedly, he absolutely couldn't make S-grade locust flower buns.

A-grade was of course also impossible.

Qin Huai wasn't very sure about B-grade either.

After all, Jiang Chengde's video tutorial was indeed not very good; it was too fast, too awesome. It felt like a top student solving a problem in their mind, going through the process, and only writing the simplest steps to get points on the test paper.

But the problem was that Qin Huai wasn't a top student like Jiang Chengde; he couldn't quite understand Jiang Chengde's steps.

And he couldn't contact Jiang Chengde on WeChat to ask for the detailed steps.

If the key to fermented rice buns was temperature, then there were many keys to locust flower buns.

Dough mixing, kneading, rolling, honey fermentation, exhausting, kneading, secondary fermentation, steaming—all were keys.

Simply put, in that whole video, anywhere the dough appeared was critical.

The hardest part was undoubtedly honey fermentation.

Qin Huai had a good plan at first: make fermented rice buns first, succeed once, then practice locust flower buns step by step, conquer the hardest honey fermentation first, and then solve the other steps that weren't simple one by one.

Then piece them together to see if he could piece together a B-grade locust flower bun.

As a result, Qin Huai didn't expect that his plan would flip over at the first step.

Not only did the fermented rice buns not succeed once, but they flipped over for two whole days, almost causing his mentality to collapse.

Qin Huai had spent these past few days flipping over, then doubting life, then striving for success, then suddenly realizing, then performing extraordinarily, and finally rewarding himself. He had lived too wonderfully, so wonderfully that he threw the locust honey and locust flower buns to the back of his mind.

He didn't know how Grandma Ding had spent these past few days either.

Besides a little grandson who loved locust honey buns, her family also had a second granddaughter who loved milk buckwheat buns and a granddaughter who loved honey goat milk buckwheat buns.

These past few days, let alone locust flower buns, Qin Huai hadn't even made buckwheat buns.

If the three children cried together......

Hope Grandma Ding was hard of hearing due to her age.

Qin Huai went to the warehouse and found the locust honey Huang Xi mentioned. The quality was very good, even better than the jar Grandma Ding had brought over two days ago.

It could be seen that with three children making a fuss together, the former kindergarten principal couldn't take it either.

Qin Huai began to knead the dough.

Locust flower buns had to be made, but not now. Morning was the time for Three-Treasure Buns and Five-Treasure Buns. Now that the fermented rice buns had been practiced, Qin Huai felt that fermented rice buns could also be added to the fixed morning drop combination; after all, the fermented rice bun buff was quite good.

Being able to taste the happiness of others' care early in the morning, one's mood should be a little better when facing work.

The only regret was that the quantity of buff buns was a bit small: 3 steamers a day, limited to 24 per steamer. Only the lucky customers who ate the first 72 buns every day could get the buff. If he encountered someone with a particularly big appetite who ate three or four......

Qin Huai could only say that luck was also an important factor in gaining happiness.

"Mom, help me wash the materials for Five-Flower Tea and Seven-Herb Dampness-Removing Tea. Dad, help me cut the tuckahoe into pieces. Remember to pick through them before cutting; don't use anything that isn't fresh."

"Tell me when Did Luo Luo comes later."

"Don't worry, Huaihuai, I'll have your dad watch it." Zhao Rong said, putting down the bun wrapper to wash her hands and pick through the materials.

Zhao Rong might not be professional at making buns, dumplings, wontons, or shumai, but she was very professional at boiling herbal tea. Setting aside the taste of the boiled herbal tea, Zhao Rong was quite good at controlling the amount of each material.

Zhao Rong picked through the materials deftly, asking while picking: "Huaihuai, how much are we boiling?"

"The biggest pot." Qin Huai said without raising his head.

Once these words were spoken, even Zhao Rong hesitated.

The biggest pot in the shop was quite big.

It was a cafeteria, after all, focusing on large quantities; the soup pot was big enough to boil a child.

"Huaihuai." Zhao Rong looked at Qin Huai, who was still mixing filling. "We're boiling so much herbal tea; will it sell?"

It wasn't that Zhao Rong wasn't confident in Qin Huai's craftsmanship; it was that she wasn't confident in herbal tea.

Fine, she admitted, she wasn't very confident in Qin Huai's herbal tea boiling craftsmanship either.

How should one put it about herbal tea......

It could be seen from the fact that Zhao Rong often used the phrase "bitter medicine is good for the illness" to persuade Qin Huai and Qin Luo to drink more herbal tea in the summer that this stuff really didn't taste very good.

"Not selling, giving it away." Qin Huai said. "Give it away if you spend 25. Just say it's hot now, and we're giving everyone some herbal tea to clear heat, relieve summer heat, remove dampness, and resolve phlegm."

"It's free for both dine-in and takeout. Tell Youyou and the others when they come to work, and let them pack a batch in advance so they won't be in a rush."

"Mom, you're responsible for washing the materials; I'll boil it when the time comes."

Although Zhao Rong felt that giving away herbal tea was a bit of a loss, she also felt that there was nothing wrong with what Qin Huai said.

Summer is the time to drink more herbal tea. Let Did Luo Luo drink two bowls when she comes later; she's been busy for a while and forgot to boil herbal tea.

Because he promised Grandpa Wang yesterday that the crab shell yellow would be out of the oven at 6 o'clock this morning, Qin Huai's task this morning was quite busy. Three-Treasure Buns, Five-Treasure Buns, crab shell yellow, fermented rice buns, herbal tea—multi-line operation; the cooking station, pots, and oven all had to be taken care of.

Qin Huai was so busy he wanted to message Chen Huihong to tell her that the resumes he looked at yesterday were okay and to let the chefs pack up and come to work.

The recruitment of dim sum chefs was far less smooth than before. Perhaps professional dim sum chefs were hard to recruit these days, or perhaps professional dim sum chefs looked down on community cafeterias. Qin Huai glanced at the resumes that were sent to Chen Huihong's company and screened by HR, and felt that none of them were very good.

Either they had no work experience and were clearly novices just muddling along, or their salary requirements were very high. No wonder Chen Huihong hadn't contacted him proactively; she only sent the resumes when Qin Huai asked.

Thinking that there would be victory cakes, lotus flower pastries, donkey-rolling-in-soy-flour, sticky rice cakes later, and he would have to try locust flower buns later, and fermented rice buns, Five-Treasure Buns, and Three-Treasure Buns might need another batch, and crab shell yellow would have to come out in several batches in the morning, Qin Huai sighed deeply.

Is this the price of slacking off?

Qin Huai glanced at the first-floor lobby.

Packed full.

Grandpas, grandmas, office workers, the owner of the convenience store across the street wearing a mask—all gathered together at this 5:55 time, waiting eagerly.

So......

Why are there office workers wanting to buy breakfast at this time!

Are there companies in the nearby office buildings that start work at 6 o'clock? Has this world become so competitive that I can't imagine it?

At 5:59, Grandpa Wang and Chen Juan stepped into the cafeteria together.

"Whoa, so many people today?" Grandpa Wang was startled and headed straight for Table 9. Sure enough, the thoughtful Grandpa Cao and Xu Tuqiang had left him a seat.

"What's the situation today?" Grandpa Wang asked as he sat down.

"It's all because of you." Grandpa Cao said.

"That's right, because you have a big face. Didn't Assistant Xiao Qin promise you yesterday at the kitchen door that it would be out of the oven at 6 o'clock this morning? Everyone is sponging off your light to eat some hot fresh shrimp crab shell yellow." Xu Tuqiang said, his tone inevitably carrying some sarcasm.

He just didn't understand. Clearly, he was the first to arrive, he was the first to discover this cafeteria, he was the first customer, and he was even a homeowner in Cloud Residential Complex and in the same homeowner group as Assistant Xiao Qin.

Why! Why did Assistant Xiao Qin only open a small stove for the one surnamed Wang?

What's so good about Wang Laogen? This dead accountant couldn't even say a nice word and still insisted that the buns made by Assistant Xiao Qin weren't as good as those in Suzhou.

Xu Tuqiang's teeth were about to break.

He was a loyal customer of Cloud Cafeteria, eating three meals a day here, not missing any kind of dim sum, but that didn't mean he didn't have anything he particularly loved.

The fresh shrimp crab shell yellow that Wang Laogen liked had only appeared twice in 21 days, and he had said nothing about the sticky rice cakes he liked.

Sticky rice cakes had only appeared once since Cloud Cafeteria opened!

Once!

Qin Huai's voice woke Xu Tuqiang from his sorrow.

"Crab shell yellow is ready!" Qin Huai shouted towards the window. "Our shop hasn't reached business hours yet, and the waiters haven't started work. The crab shell yellow is fresh out of the oven. Please line up to buy and scan the code to pay consciously."

The customers lined up consciously and bought in an orderly manner.

The first in line was an office worker wearing a work badge.

Qin Luo was guarding the herbal tea by the pot. Qin Huai glanced at the work badge: Luo Zijun.

Surname Luo, but unfortunately not Luo Jun.

Considering that this customer was surnamed Luo, Qin Huai decided to say a few more words: "Your company starts work so early."

Luo Zijun smiled weakly: "Start work at 9 o'clock. When I bought buns yesterday, I was squeezed to the side and happened to hear you, Assistant Xiao Qin, tell an old man to come over at 6 o'clock this morning to eat fresh crab shell yellow."

"It just so happened that our department was working on a project, so I volunteered to work overtime and take today off. I got off work at 4 o'clock, slept for more than an hour, and came over to buy breakfast before going home."

Qin Huai:......

Not brother, working so hard just to eat a bite of fresh crab shell yellow.

Qin Huai silently packed him an extra one and said: "It just so happens that our cafeteria is having an event recently. Spend 25 yuan and get a cup of herbal tea. If your surname is Luo, you also get one; just show your ID or relevant documents."

Luo Zijun was overjoyed and hurriedly raised his work badge: "My surname is Luo, my surname is Luo!"

"The herbal tea will take a few minutes to boil, and it will take time to cool down after boiling. Can you wait a moment? I see you need some time to eat too." Qin Huai glanced at the herbal tea pot; Qin Luo was abusing her power and dumping ice sugar into it.

Qin Huai could only cough twice to remind her not to go too far. Herbal tea was indeed disgusting without sugar, but it didn't taste good if too much sugar was added.

After speaking, Qin Huai felt that this event of giving herbal tea to those surnamed Luo was really good. Anyway, he was the boss; he decided what event to hold.

When the printing shop next door opened, he would let Qin Luo run an errand to get an event poster to stick on the door.

He didn't believe he still couldn't find Luo Jun like this.

If he still couldn't find him like this, then he could only post a missing person notice.

Qin Huai thought while packing the plates.

It was Xu Tuqiang's turn.

"Assistant Xiao Qin, four crab shell yellow. Please let me know when the buns are ready. By the way, what dim sum are you selling today?" Xu Tuqiang said.

"Victory cakes, lotus flower pastries, donkey-rolling-in-soy-flour, sticky rice cakes. If everything goes well in the afternoon, I'll try to make new buns, or maybe buckwheat buns." Qin Huai knew Xu Tuqiang was a resident of the complex, so he said a few more words.

Xu Tuqiang, who was strong all his life, almost had tears streaming down his face.

"Good, good, good." Xu Tuqiang decided to sit in the cafeteria today and not leave; he would just squat here.

Anyway, he wasn't working; he had plenty of time!

It was Grandpa Wang's turn. Qin Huai smiled and took the initiative to greet him: "Good morning, Grandpa Wang. Fermented rice buns might not be out of the oven until around 8 o'clock. Making buns takes some time; in the future, it will probably be around this time. You might not be able to eat buns after your morning jog. Sorry about that."

"It's okay, just run an extra trip." Grandpa Wang waved his hand, indicating it was a small matter; as long as there was crab shell yellow, it was fine.

"Assistant Xiao Qin, let me tell you something."

"You say."

"Didn't I tell you that the buns I ate in Suzhou when I was young were better? I really wasn't lying to you. I still have old colleagues living in Suzhou. I called them last night and asked them to help me find Master Jing's contact information."

"Let me tell you, Master Jing is a particularly good person who loves to mentor the younger generation. I'll give you the method once I get it. If you encounter any problems making buns, call Master Jing; he will definitely be willing to point... provide you with some useful help."

Speaking of which, Grandpa Wang felt a bit guilty: "What I said yesterday actually wasn't finished. I really don't speak very well. I apologize to you. I really like your craftsmanship. Assistant Xiao Qin, if you have anything in the future, or encounter accounts you can't calculate, just come to me directly. I've been an old accountant for more than 40 years and have never calculated a wrong account; I can still calculate now."

Qin Huai didn't expect Grandpa Wang to still be concerned about this matter, so he could only give Grandpa Wang an extra one and soothe him: "I really didn't take it to heart. As long as you grandpas can come to support our cafeteria's business, it's fine."

"I'll let Did Luo Luo bring you two cups of herbal tea later. Which one do you like? Five-Flower Tea, Seven-Herb Dampness-Removing Tea, Tangerine Peel Tea, and hand-shaken lemon tea."

Grandpa Wang:?

Hand-shaken lemon tea?

This chapter is a two-in-one~

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 47 =====