Chapter 60: Sophora Flower Steamed Buns (B-Grade)

After leaving Luo Jun's house, Qu Jing heard Chen Huihong say that the Su-style pastries newly sold at the Yunzhong Canteen tasted good, so she stopped by to buy some to take to the hospital.

In the canteen, Zheng Siyuan was still diligently making pastries.

The fresh meat mooncakes were about to come out of the oven.

Qin Luo was already squatting by the oven with a bowl, waiting.

Seeing Qin Huai, Chen Huihong, Ouyang, and Qu Jing enter, Qin Luo ran to the window with the bowl and greeted everyone through the glass. When Qin Luo greeted Qu Jing, she opened her eyes wide and looked for a few more seconds, confirming it was a sister before saying "Hello, sister."

As soon as Qu Jing went out, she wrapped herself up as if she were going to rob a bank, and her hair was tied in a ponytail pressed down by her hat. From the front, it was indeed difficult to distinguish her gender at first glance.

"Brother, you're back from the consolation visit. Does Elder Luo like the hand-smashed lemon tea I made?" Qin Luo asked.

Qin Huai didn't speak, lest Qin Luo hear the bad review and affect her enthusiasm for hand-smashing lemons.

"What pastries are left in the shop now?" Qin Huai asked.

"There are still the Donkey Rolling and Hibiscus Cake you made in the morning, the Qiaoguo, Victory Cake, Crispy Cake, and Lard Sticky Rice Cake made by Brother Zheng, and the fresh meat mooncakes will be out of the pot soon."

As soon as Qin Luo finished speaking, Zheng Siyuan said loudly: "Did Luo Luo, the mooncakes are ready."

"Coming, coming!" Qin Luo ran back with the bowl.

Qin Huai could only comment on Qin Luo's back: "My sister has this personality; she's not enthusiastic about eating, her thinking is problematic, but her thinking in this regard is very excellent."

Qu Jing nodded, seemingly smiling, but her face was wrapped too tightly to see her expression, and she praised: "Very good personality, very lively."

"Dr. Qu, do you want to have some of everything? If you can't finish it, you can put it in the refrigerator, but the fresh meat mooncakes must be eaten while hot," Qin Huai suggested.

"Okay."

The waiter began to pack and weigh for Qu Jing.

Qu Jing went to scan the code to pay, while Chen Huihong stood with her hands on her hips, looking at the pastries that hadn't been sold out, wondering if she was thinking about whether to buy them all to provide benefits for her colleagues at the neighborhood committee.

After all, some employees of the neighborhood committee worked hard today.

Little Luo and Little Qian were especially hard-working.

She had to buy some delicious, sweet pastries hand-made by Master Xiao Qin to reward their injured souls.

"Is there only this much Hibiscus Cake left? Pack it all. Weigh 5 jin of Donkey Rolling, 3 jin of Victory Cake, Qiaoguo... 1.5 jin. Weigh 8 jin of Crispy Cake for me; I'll take it to my younger brother as a snack in the afternoon. Give me 30 fresh meat mooncakes just out of the oven, packed in ten bags of three." Chen Huihong began to consume passionately, and even shared her experience of buying pastries with Qu Jing.

"Xiao Qu, you can buy two more jin of this Crispy Cake; Crispy Cake lasts a long time, so you can eat it as a snack when you go to work."

Qu Jing was obviously someone who listened to advice and bought two more jin.

After the consumption ended, seeing that Qin Huai still didn't have the posture of changing clothes to work in the kitchen, Chen Huihong grabbed a bag of fresh meat mooncakes that were still a bit hot and walked to Qin Huai's side, deciding to chat for a while.

"Xiao Qin, are you sure you're still hiring a pastry chef? It's not that I'm unwilling to help you with this favor, but mainly because my brother's side is a bit not good. His HR has interviewed a few people during this period, and I think none of them are as good as Xiao Zheng and Old Zheng. I think Xiao Zheng is quite good. Did you fail to negotiate the salary? Why is he unwilling to join?" It could be seen that Chen Huihong really liked Zheng Siyuan's skills.

Qin Huai felt that Chen Huihong's standard for hiring people was really a bit too high. If they hired a pastry chef based on the skills of Zheng Da and Zheng Siyuan, even if they were willing to come to his side, he probably couldn't afford the salary.

"Siyuan has his own pastry shop in Gusu," Qin Huai said. "Master Zheng's main job is not making pastries either; he has a specialized pastry factory and his own brand."

"The two of them are just here to help me during this period, exchanging ideas on how to make Sophora flower steamed buns."

And trying to take me as an apprentice by the way.

Qin Huai didn't say this sentence.

Hearing Qin Huai say this, Chen Huihong only felt a bit regretful: "Where is Xiao Zheng's pastry shop? I'll go buy some when I have time."

Qin Huai could only say that the consumption methods of you rich people are really a bit baffling.

The two chatted again about Qin Luo's high school.

Chen Huihong recommended that Qin Luo go directly to an international high school; after all, Qin Luo's scores were really limited, and her enthusiasm for studying was even more limited.

If Qin Huai could get into a first-tier university through tutoring, then if Qin Luo were beaten to death, she could probably only get into a second-tier university.

Chen Huihong had studied Qin Luo's high school entrance examination scores; Qin Luo could be said to be bad at everything—math, physics, chemistry, politics, history, and geography—only English was passable. Chen Huihong felt that since she was so biased in her subjects, it would be better to just spend money and take the route of going abroad.

"Shuanghai High School is not bad; the faculty is good, and the campus environment is also good. My brother's daughter, my niece Jia'ai, is in Shuanghai Junior High. Shuanghai's junior high and high school are neighbors. Jia'ai is playing abroad now and will be back next week. If Did Luo Luo goes to Shuanghai to study, when Jia'ai comes back, I'll let Jia'ai take her to visit the school and familiarize herself with the campus environment," Chen Huihong sincerely recommended.

Qin Huai knew that Chen Huihong was sincerely recommending, and also knew that Shuanghai High School couldn't be faulted for anything other than the 600,000 yuan annual tuition.

But the 600,000 yuan annual tuition was the biggest problem.

According to Qin Luo's dream of being a cleaner with a monthly salary of 3,000, she would have to work for 50 years to pay the tuition.

Thinking about it this way, Ouyang was really damnable; he actually lost 183 years of Qin Luo's wages in one year.

"I can't intervene in this; it still depends on my mother to pick, my mother decides," Qin Huai said vaguely.

Qin Huai knew why Chen Huihong would recommend Shuanghai High School; with the current turnover of the Yunzhong Canteen, 600,000 yuan in tuition a year wasn't particularly much.

But in the Qin family, wanting to persuade Qin Congwen and Zhao Rong to let Qin Huai pay this 600,000 yuan tuition a year was harder than letting Qin Luo get into a first-tier university.

There was still more than half a month left; Qin Huai felt it was time to find a time to discuss this matter with Zhao Rong properly.

This canteen couldn't do without Did Luo Luo...

...'s hand-smashed lemon tea!

For the remaining time, besides waiting for Grandma Ding to send the Sophora flower honey, Qin Huai was researching whether Tangerine Peel Tea could really be added with salt and brown sugar.

The internet told him it could.

The Qin family's ancestral teachings told him it couldn't.

According to their Qin family's ancestors, when boiling herbal tea, you could only add rock sugar.

If you wanted to ask when this ancestral teaching came from, Qin Huai could only say, probably from the day the Qin family could afford rock sugar.

After looking at recipes online for a while, Qin Huai felt a bit like boiling some.

Boiling herbal tea was very fast.

Tangerine Peel Tea was especially fast.

At most ten or twenty minutes, a pot of steaming, bitter-but-effective, cooling, heat-relieving, refreshing, and brain-awakening herbal tea could be out of the pot.

Now Qin Huai had tea, tangerine peel, traditional brown sugar, and salt.

Qin Huai was a bit eager to try.

"Did Luo Luo, is Mom at home?" Qin Huai first confirmed that Zhao Rong wouldn't raid the canteen.

"Didn't Mom go back to sleep an hour ago? Of course she's at home," Qin Luo felt her brother was stupid again.

Qin Huai let out a long sigh of relief, began to prepare the materials, put them into the pot one by one; only a little salt was needed.

Seeing Qin Huai was about to start boiling herbal tea again, Qin Luo didn't say anything and went directly to find lemons.

While looking in the warehouse, she muttered: "Could it be that Brother Yang was right, my brother wants Mom to send me to study at that ridiculously expensive international school, and since there's not enough money, he's making more herbal tea to boost performance."

Fifteen minutes later, the Tangerine Peel Tea was out of the pot.

Qin Luo had also counted the number of lemons in the warehouse; there were still 8 boxes, which should be enough.

Qin Huai scooped out a small bowl, blew on it, and tasted a little.

Qin Huai was silent.

Damn it, this Tangerine Peel Tea was actually a bit delicious.

Elder Luo had something; this taste was okay. Qin Huai felt it was time to find the bad reviews Elder Luo gave to various shops and study whether there were any hidden mysteries in these bad reviews.

There was a reason why their old Qin family's herbal tea couldn't be sold; this ancestral teaching was problematic.

Qin Huai suspected that his sense of taste had a problem, so he took another small sip and smacked his lips.

Oh my god, the taste was actually really okay.

Was this still the Tangerine Peel Tea he had drunk since he was a child?

Seeing the various expressions on Qin Huai's face, Zheng Siyuan couldn't help but lean closer and ask with concern: "Are you feeling unwell?"

"Do you want to drink some Tangerine Peel Tea?" Qin Huai invited.

Zheng Siyuan:?

I admit that my father has been hinting from time to time during this period that being his apprentice has many benefits, which is a bit annoying, but you don't have to take revenge on me.

He will be here in a while; you can take revenge on him directly.

"I just learned a new recipe, and the taste is really not bad," Qin Huai said sincerely.

Zheng Siyuan pondered for a moment and chose to believe Qin Huai once, drinking a small half-bowl.

One mouthful into his stomach.

The taste was not bad; another bowl.

The two drank herbal tea together.

Qin Luo, who came out of the warehouse and saw this scene: (д)

Oh my god, her brother and Brother Zheng are crazy!

Grandma Ding's arrival interrupted Qin Huai and Zheng Siyuan's herbal tea tasting meeting.

"Master Xiao Qin, Master Xiao Qin! The Sophora flower honey is here, I brought it to you!" Grandma Ding shouted all the way into the canteen, her head full of sweat; it could be seen that she had indeed rushed over as soon as she got it.

Qin Huai hurriedly welcomed her out.

Grandma Ding put the courier on the table, nimbly unpacked it, took out the two jars of Sophora flower honey, and placed them together to show Qin Huai.

"Absolutely pure natural good honey! No processing other than simple filtering; I specifically instructed, and I also brought half a bag of steamed buns for my in-laws, definitely pure natural!"

"My in-laws said they have wild honey there, but it's not Sophora flower honey. Master Xiao Qin, do you want it? If you want it, I'll go over now and bring it directly to you," Grandma Ding had an expression that said as long as you gave the order, her in-laws could bring it directly to you. "No need, no need. This is already very good," Qin Huai hurriedly said, waving to the waiter to quickly serve Grandma Ding a bowl of cooling and heat-relieving iced mung bean soup.

"Grandma Ding, sit down and rest for a while, drink a bowl of mung bean soup before leaving. I might not have time to entertain you; I haven't finished the work in the kitchen..."

"Master Xiao Qin, you go ahead and get busy, don't worry about me," Grandma Ding sat down with a smile, waved her hand, signaling that Qin Huai's work was still important.

Heaven and earth are big, making pastries is the biggest.

Qin Huai hugged the two jars of honey and entered the kitchen, studying the honey with Zheng Siyuan.

Compared to the honey processed through multiple procedures used before, these two jars of pure natural honey obviously had more impurities.

This also showed that Grandma Ding's in-laws didn't cheat her; these two jars were indeed pure natural.

Qin Huai and Zheng Siyuan were already ready.

From the moment Qin Huai discovered that the problem might lie with the honey, he and Zheng Siyuan had been looking forward to getting suitable honey to make Sophora flower steamed buns that met the standard.

"Do we need to wait for Uncle Zheng?" Qin Huai asked.

Zheng Da went on strike yesterday and was late today; he was still on the road.

"No need," Zheng Siyuan indicated that the honey had arrived, so whether his father came or not was no longer important. "My father hasn't made pastries for many years; he gets annoyed after making them for a while. He will definitely drag his feet until the afternoon to come and make Sophora flower steamed buns directly, no need to wait for him."

Since that was the case, Qin Huai and Zheng Siyuan started working.

The process was exactly the same as before; the two had been doing it for two weeks and were already very skilled.

Mixing dough.

Kneading dough.

Fermenting.

The movements were flowing like clouds and water, almost in one go.

Both were observing their own and the other's dough.

"Is your dough fermenting a bit slow?" Qin Huai quickly saw the difference between the two doughs; visibly, Zheng Siyuan's dough was fermenting much slower than his own.

The fermentation speed of Sophora flower steamed buns was already slower than normal steamed buns made with yeast, and Zheng Siyuan's dough was even ridiculously slow.

"Is it because there are too many miscellaneous bacteria in the unprocessed honey, affecting fermentation?" Zheng Siyuan guessed.

Qin Huai nodded: "It's possible."

"Then... shall we make a few more sets?"

"Okay."

The two got busy again.

By the time Zheng Da arrived late at the canteen, the dough kneaded by Qin Huai and Zheng Siyuan had already been lined up on the cutting board, focusing on winning by quantity.

Some were fermenting, some were secondary fermenting, and some had already entered the pot to steam.

The two also each had a lump of dough that hadn't taken shape yet.

Zheng Da was stunned, thinking that maybe a big order had come to the canteen today, and a big spender had ordered thousands of steamed buns.

These two children were really stubborn; for such a big order, use a dough mixer. How long would it take to knead the dough by hand? And the dough was kneaded into such a small lump; did they think they were making Sophora flower steamed buns and afraid of wasting?

Zheng Da changed his clothes and entered the kitchen. Before he could ask what was going on, Zheng Siyuan spoke.

"Dad, look at the fermentation of these doughs."

Zheng Da thought there was nothing to look at regarding fermentation, so he lowered his head and took a look.

Eh.

"What's going on?" Zheng Da asked. Why were the fermentation situations of these doughs different?

"Qin Huai and I discovered that making Sophora flower steamed buns might depend on luck," Zheng Siyuan said. "Pure natural honey contains a large number of miscellaneous bacteria, and there are too many uncertainties during fermentation."

"But the effect is indeed much better than processed honey," Qin Huai added. "It's just that the process is a bit like opening a blind box; it's quite exciting to make."

Zheng Da felt he couldn't understand what young people were saying.

"Is the one steaming in the pot the first batch?" Zheng Da asked.

"Steamed 6 portions at the same time," Zheng Siyuan said. "I did 2 portions, Qin Huai did 4 portions, and the first dough I kneaded failed fermentation."

After speaking, Zheng Siyuan handed Zheng Da a fragrant pancake: "I made a pancake with it."

Zheng Da:...

Gnawing on the pancake sprinkled with green onions and sesame seeds, Zheng Da stared at the steamer: "About when will it be out of the pot?"

"At most another minute or two, I set an alarm, it should..."

"It can be out of the pot," Qin Huai interrupted Zheng Siyuan's words.

He had already seen it.

【Sophora Flower Steamed Buns B- Grade】

【Sophora Flower Steamed Buns C+ Grade】

【Sophora Flower Steamed Buns B Grade】

【Sophora Flower Steamed Buns B Grade】

Even if it was opening a blind box, the quality of this batch of blind boxes was surprisingly good.

Yay, his Sophora flower steamed buns were finally B-grade!

Qin Huai put on gloves, couldn't wait to uncover the steamer, locked onto the B-grade Sophora flower steamed buns, and wanted to taste what a B-grade steamed bun with an S-grade upper limit tasted like.

The kitchen was filled with steam.

Qin Huai nimbly took out the steamed buns with tongs, gave Zheng Siyuan a B-grade one, one he made himself, and gave himself a B-grade one. Just as he was about to give Zheng Da a B-grade one, Zheng Da used tongs to take out a C+ grade one himself.

Qin Huai:...

Fine, with Zheng Da's stomach capacity, he should be able to eat another B-grade one in a while.

Only with comparison can there be deliciousness.

After the three waited for the steamed buns to cool for a few minutes, Zheng Da, who was least afraid of being burned, tentatively picked up the one he chose, felt the temperature was acceptable, and took a bite.

Chewing carefully.

"Feels like there's not much improvement, a little bit better than before, but the effect is not obvious," Zheng Da took another bite. "Honey shouldn't be the main reason."

Haha, his opportunity had come.

Zheng Da felt it was time to show off his skills again and let Qin Huai know his ability.

"That shouldn't be," Zheng Siyuan also picked up a steamed bun; he took the B-grade steamed bun made by Qin Huai and took a bite.

Chewing carefully.

Zheng Siyuan was silent and threw Zheng Da a look that said "do you even understand steamed buns?".

"The texture is delicate and chewy, and you can vaguely taste the faint fragrance of Sophora flower honey. The sweetness of the honey and the slight sweetness of the bun are combined very well. Dad, you call this not much improvement?"

Zheng Da:?

Zheng Da took another bite of his own steamed bun, his face full of confusion.

Qin Huai couldn't watch anymore and handed his steamed bun to Zheng Da: "Uncle Zheng, the uncertainty of honey fermentation is very large, and every batch of steamed buns made has differences. You taste this one."

Zheng Da took a bite and tilted his head slightly, because only in this way would his tears not fall.

Woo woo woo woo, his apprentice was gone.

Zheng Da's sadness was known to no one, while Qin Huai and Zheng Siyuan's joy was overflowing.

Zheng Siyuan had already started booking the flight back tonight.

Qin Huai decided to make a lot of Sophora flower steamed buns tomorrow to celebrate that his Sophora flower steamed buns had finally broken through the C-grade barrier and reached B-grade, only two major grades away from the true S-grade.

It was a pity that Qin Luo had gone to sleep because she saw no one buying hand-smashed lemon tea, otherwise Qin Luo could have eaten hot Sophora flower steamed buns.

Just as Qin Huai was feeling regretful, Chen Huihong led Chen Huihui in.

"Xiao Qin, are there any steamed buns?" Chen Huihong asked.

"Good afternoon, Brother Qin Huai," Chen Huihui greeted Qin Huai.

"Yes, just out of the pot. But it's not buckwheat steamed buns, it's Sophora flower steamed buns, also mixed with a little buckwheat flour. Do you think it's okay?" Qin Huai asked.

"What could be wrong with the steamed buns you make? Give me two. Huihui went to her uncle's house this morning, ate snacks all morning, and didn't eat lunch. She told me she was hungry on the way back just now."

Chen Huihui lowered her head embarrassedly.

"Huihui, it's okay to eat snacks, but you can't not eat meals," Qin Huai smiled and handed the steamed buns out from the window. "Be careful, it's hot."

Chen Huihui took a steamed bun from Chen Huihong's hand and took a small bite.

"Ding, congratulations to the player for completing the side quest 【Chen Huihui's Wish】, obtaining quest rewards 【Chen Huihui's Affirmation】, 【A Dream Segment of Chen Huihong】."

At the same time, Chen Huihui said to Chen Huihong with surprise: "Mom, this steamed bun is delicious! Super delicious!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 61 =====