Chapter 54: You Should Consider Taking a Master

When Zheng Da said he would help, he really helped.

There were basic ingredients for dim sum in the kitchen, and fillings like red bean paste, mung bean paste, and coconut paste that could be stored in advance were also in the freezer.

Zheng Da strolled around the kitchen, familiarized himself with the ingredients and kitchen utensils, and then rolled up his sleeves and started working.

The first thing he made was shortbread.

According to Zheng Da, the signature of his son Zheng Siyuan's pastry shop was shortbread. Sometimes when his son had something to do and needed his old father to fill in, Zheng Da would go over and make a little bit.

Of course, if Zheng Da asked Zheng Siyuan for something, such as encouraging him to skip work to go on a blind date, he would do it seriously. How serious it was depended on how likely Zheng Siyuan's blind date was to succeed.

Today, Zheng Da wasn't very serious.

Mainly because he couldn't be serious; he had to watch Qin Huai make locust flower buns while making his own dim sum, using one mind for two things; it was good enough not to be distracted.

Qin Luo held the plate with Four-Joy Dumplings and watched while eating.

There were actually two dim sum chefs making dim sum in the kitchen at the same time; this was really a fresh thing.

"Did Luo Luo, is this Four-Joy Dumpling you're eating?" Zheng Da could not only watch while working but also care about what Qin Luo was eating.

"Yes, my brother made it. Uncle Zheng, do you want to eat? I can share one with you." Qin Luo nodded.

Zheng Da shook his head to refuse; it wasn't like he hadn't eaten it before, no need to grab the little girl's food.

"But the ingredients for your Four-Joy Dumpling are very beautiful. Is this also your family's recipe?"

Zheng Da's eyes were fixed on Qin Huai's hands kneading the dough, his own hands didn't stop kneading, and his mouth could still chat with Qin Luo, bringing the use of one mind for three things to the extreme.

"It's my brother's recipe." Qin Luo said. "My brother said the recipes online don't taste good, so he researched it himself."

Zheng Da's hands kneading the dough paused, and he asked: "Xiao Qin, which school did you learn dim sum from?"

This time it was Qin Huai's turn to pause his kneading, asking a soul-searching question: "What schools are there for dim sum?"

Zheng Da:?

Zheng Da was stunned.

"There are... the big schools are Beijing-style, Suzhou-style, Cantonese-style, and the subdivisions are Ning-style, Sichuan-style, Tianjin-style, Shanghai-style, Yang......" Zheng Da said a string, and seeing Qin Huai still looking at him with a somewhat confused expression, his voice raised. "You don't even know?!"

"I know green bean cake has Beijing-style; I saw it when searching for recipes online." Qin Huai said.

This time Zheng Da was completely stunned, unable to say a word for a long time, and finally squeezed out a sentence: "Your dad is too careless."

"Teach a little bit."

Even if the family's craftsmanship had fallen and could only open a community cafeteria in a high-end residential complex, he couldn't teach nothing but the craftsmanship. Knowing nothing and being like a raw melon egg, he would be laughed at when he went out for chef exchanges.

Zheng Da looked around the kitchen and then at the decoration environment of the lobby.

No, this isn't fallen; this location, this area, this decoration.

Opening a restaurant would be more than enough.

"Uncle Zheng, this has nothing to do with my dad." Qin Luo spoke up for Qin Congwen. "My dad runs a breakfast shop and only knows how to make buns, shumai, and wontons. He can't even make buns well, so he can't teach my brother."

Zheng Da breathed a long sigh of relief. It seemed that the family craftsmanship had been lost and he had to go outside to apprentice: "Who is your master?"

Qin Huai was silent for a while and slowly spat out four words: "Dim Sum Encyclopedia?"

Zheng Da:?

Commentator Qin Luo spoke again: "My brother didn't apprentice. Before, when my brother was in high school, I said he could go to a place in Hangzhou to apprentice, but my dad felt that the college entrance exam was more important and didn't let my brother go."

"We have a Dim Sum Encyclopedia at home. My brother basically flips through the recipes on it to make dim sum. If it's not in the Dim Sum Encyclopedia, he searches online."

Zheng Da:......

Zheng Da took a deep breath, feeling he should calm down.

Haha, this kneading technique, this fermentation level, this pastry completion degree, this method, this force, this technique—it was actually a pure wild road!

No, this wasn't even a wild road. Under normal circumstances, wild road refers to not having a proper master, learning a little here and there. This one didn't even have that; it all relied on......

Dim Sum Encyclopedia?!

Since when did the chef world have martial arts secrets???

Whose good chef isn't taught hand-in-hand by a master, but learns to make pastry by flipping through cookbooks themselves!

What about basic skills? Do basic skills also rely on flipping through cookbooks?!

Zheng Da squeezed out a smile: "Did Luo Luo, can you tell me carefully how your brother learned to make dim sum all these years?" Qin Luo, looking at the dozens of boxes of snacks that hadn't arrived yet, nodded and started from before she was born, when Qin Huai was kneading dough in the welfare institute.

An hour later, Zheng Da was numb.

Although his movements didn't stop—finishing shortbread and making victory cakes, and then there was the schedule for fresh meat mooncakes—his heart had stopped.

Zheng Da especially wanted to ask Qin Huai, if your craftsmanship could be self-taught by kneading dough in the welfare institute and stepping onto the right track by buying a Dim Sum Encyclopedia at a flea market since childhood, then what about the basic skills he practiced, the oil scars he scalded, the sweat he shed, the bitterness he ate, and the beatings he took when he was young?

Zheng Da suddenly remembered that when his master was still there, he often told them that a true genius only needed a master to lead them through the door, and the rest relied entirely on hard practice and talent. They practiced hard, but their talent was slightly insufficient. They could be considered clever, but there was still a gap compared to true geniuses.

Zheng Da had always thought that was his master's oppressive education. He had lived for so many years and seen very few pastry chefs with better talent than himself. His son Zheng Siyuan was one, and there were a few good seedlings in Does Zhi Wei Ju, but the rest weren't good.

So unlike his senior brother who opened a restaurant and took many disciples, Zheng Da was very picky about people. He didn't like those who wanted to apprentice to him, and those he liked didn't like him, so his craftsmanship had only been passed down to his son for so many years.

Zheng Da looked at Qin Huai, feeling he could be that master who led him through the door.

What, you say Qin Huai had already entered the door?

It's okay, he can enter again.

Zheng Da rubbed his hands, his mind wasn't even on the locust flower buns, looking at Qin Huai.

"Xiao Qin." Zheng Da's voice was so intimate that even he felt he was a bit hypocritical.

"What do you think of me?"

Qin Huai:?

Zheng Da cleared his throat: "Your Uncle Zheng can also be considered to have a small amount of assets. I don't collect apprenticeship gifts for taking apprentices, and you don't need to send gifts to the master during the three festivals of the year. On the contrary, the master will definitely give a big red envelope every New Year, at least three times more than what I give to those fellow apprentices!"

"In terms of fame, before I went into business, I was also a famous pastry chef in Suzhou, and I was on 'Does Zhi Wei Ju,' so I made a name for myself."

"The most critical thing is that I haven't taken any apprentices; Siyuan is my son, so he doesn't count as an apprentice. Unlike my senior brother who took many disciples and could form a football team, I am very dedicated to apprentices; once I take one, I will cultivate them carefully and teach them everything I have, with all resources tilted!"

"Do you want to consider apprenticing to me? I think it's better to choose a day than to hit the day; why not this afternoon! I'll let my assistant prepare it, and I'll give you a big red envelope."

This time it was Qin Huai's turn to be stunned.

Qin Luo on the side was also stunned.

Because the promised dozens of boxes of snacks hadn't arrived yet, Qin Luo had reason to suspect that this Uncle Zheng Zheng Da in front of her might be an unconventional liar.

If it weren't for the fact that Zheng Da's assets could be checked online and the photo of the chairman on their company's official website was indeed him, Qin Huai would also suspect that the person in front of him was a liar.

The kitchen fell into a deathly silence.

To avoid being so awkward, Qin Huai coughed twice, looked at the dough that was still fermenting, and said with some difficulty: "Apprenticing... Master Zheng, I'm sorry, I haven't considered this."

"Do you have any clues about the locust flower buns here?"

The transition was very stiff, but Zheng Da felt it was good.

Also, taking apprentices nowadays can't just rely on words. The ability on the mouth isn't ability; what can be taken out is the real ability!

Zheng Da felt it was time to use locust flower buns to prove his technique!

Zheng Da began to study locust flower buns with full concentration, temporarily throwing shortbread, victory cakes, and fresh meat mooncakes aside.

The customers outside:???

No, why hasn't the dim sum come out of the oven all morning? Is the new dim sum chef not good?

An hour later, the locust flower buns were out of the oven.

Zheng Da chewed on the locust flower bun, his expression solemn.

His current thought was the same as Qin Huai's: he couldn't find any obvious technical problems, but the buns made were clearly not up to Qin Huai's level.

Simply put, he couldn't find the problem.

Zheng Da thought for 10 minutes and took out his phone.

"Hello, Siyuan. Have you finished making dim sum? You have? Not sold out yet? It doesn't matter, let your sister help you sell it. You book a flight now and come to the location I sent you."

"Not tricking you into going to another place for a blind date."

"It's about dim sum, related to your junior brother."

"Not your Huang... it's me! The apprentice I want to take!"

"Oh, I can't explain it in two or three sentences. Anyway, it's very critical. It's really not a blind date; it's

"Come quickly!"

(End of chapter)