Chapter 64

After leaving the dream, for the first time, Qin Huai did not immediately click on the game panel, but instead took out his phone to search for what "Bai" was.

It was a type of plant from the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

"On Mount Lun, there is much gold and jade, and below it much green cinnabar. There is a tree there, its shape like a paper mulberry with red patterns, its sap like lacquer, its taste like syrup; those who eat it will not be hungry and can be relieved of fatigue. Its name is Bai, and it can be used to treat blood jade."

Roughly speaking, this tree is shaped like a paper mulberry, has red patterns, and its sap flows like lacquer. It tastes very sweet; eating it can satisfy hunger and also make one forget sorrow.

So...

Qin Huai was now truly scratching his head in confusion.

So Chen Huihong is not an ordinary monster; she is a divine tree from the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

Is the Classic of Mountains and Seas actually a documentary?

Qin Huai felt it was time to buy a copy of the Classic of Mountains and Seas to take home and study carefully.

Carrying a head full of question marks, Qin Huai clicked on the game panel, and the information related to Chen Huihong in the illustrated guide had been fully unlocked.

Name: Chen Huihong

Species: Bai

Status: Awakening

Dream: 3/3

Recipes: Tree Bark, Sweet Fermented Rice Mantou, Locust Flower Mantou, Longevity Noodles (click to view details)

Gift: None

A new status had appeared in the illustrated guide. Qin Huai tried poking "Awakening," but there was no reaction, so he could only view the newly acquired recipe, Longevity Noodles.

【Longevity Noodles A-grade】

Creator: Jiang Chengde

Dish Details: A rushed work by Jiang Chengde, the master chef of Taifeng Restaurant. Even though Shopkeeper Lu emphasized repeatedly that these longevity noodles were ordered by the Mad Young Lady for her maid and told the kitchen assistant to just make a bowl of plain water noodles, Jiang Chengde insisted that a coming-of-age ceremony deserved the best longevity noodles. He used chicken soup as the base, with cabbage and shiitake mushrooms as toppings, and a single noodle of appropriate thickness, symbolizing longevity and health, filled the bowl. It was a perfect bowl of noodles, but because he had to handle other dishes while cooking, he let the assistant watch the heat, leading to a mistake and a loss of flavor. Even though these noodles had traveled a long distance and were cold by the time they reached the Mad Young Lady, and the person who was supposed to eat them never got the chance, they remained the most delicious noodles in the Mad Young Lady's memory, unforgettable for a lifetime. Using this dish on your birthday allows you to feel the most sincere blessings from those who love you, wishing you health, longevity, and peace for this life.

Number of times can be made per day: (0/15)

(Warm reminder: Let Chen Huihong eat a bowl of these noodles, and you might just get a little surprise!)

Looking at the dish details, Qin Huai just wanted to slap the table and shout: Eat! Everyone can eat! Not only should Chen Huihong eat it, but Huihui should eat it too!

On a birthday, this bowl is called longevity noodles; when it's not a birthday, it's just chicken noodle soup!

Eat three bowls a day, every meal, so outsiders don't see it and think we can't afford it!

Tomorrow morning, he would go to the kitchen to boil chicken soup!

What, you say Qin Huai's soup-making level isn't good enough?

Qin Huai said it's fine; Zheng Da hadn't been idle after coming to the cafeteria in the afternoon and had boiled two pots of high-quality soup, so he could use Zheng Da's tomorrow.

Qin Huai opened WeChat and sent a message to Chen Huihong, inviting her and Chen Huihui to the shop tomorrow to eat chicken noodle soup.

Chen Huihong replied quickly, saying she could come at noon, but Huihui would probably have to wait until evening, as the child had to go play at her uncle's house tomorrow.

Qin Huai excitedly pulled up the video tutorial for longevity noodles, preparing to show off his skills tomorrow.

It was the same familiar hands and the same unfamiliar cutting board.

The production location this time must have been the kitchen of Taifeng Restaurant; the sound was very noisy, making the already poor teaching environment even worse.

Jiang Chengde's dough-kneading technique was still very superb.

Compared to making locust flower mantou, making longevity noodles was clearly much simpler. Hand-pulled noodles require the noodles to be chewy; Jiang Chengde added two eggs while kneading, his egg-beating motion very swift and even a bit sneaky, which counted as adding ingredients to the noodles.

The kneading motion was still very fluid, the movements very free and easy, every bit of force used just right, giving the impression that the dough only needed to roll a few times in his hands and it was done.

When it came to rolling the noodles, it went without saying.

The dough was rolled into a long strip, pulled and rolled at the same time, and in the blink of an eye, a beautiful, smooth, uniform, and appropriately thick noodle was perfectly born.

When boiling the noodles, Jiang Chengde didn't use the extravagant method of boiling them in high-quality soup, but boiled them in plain water and then dipped them into the high-quality soup.

If not for the fact that the person boiling the noodles changed, and the assistant never managed the noodles in the pot from start to finish—neither stirring nor controlling the time, but running back and forth to deliver things and going out to serve dishes several times—this bowl of longevity noodles could well be called a perfect handmade noodle. After watching the video, Qin Huai felt he could do it.

A-grade noodles were definitely impossible to make.

Qin Huai had made locust flower mantou and sweet fermented rice mantou, and had a very clear understanding of the game system's rating of food and his current cooking skills.

A-grade was completely impossible; even with a burst of luck, it was impossible; only in a dream was it possible.

B-grade was not a big problem if he performed normally.

But Qin Huai hadn't made noodles much; his family didn't eat noodles on weekdays, and the Qin family breakfast shop didn't sell noodles either.

Qin Huai had only made Zha Jiang Mian a few times when Qin Luo was in the first grade. At that time, Qin Luo had watched some TV show and really wanted to eat Old Beijing Zha Jiang Mian, so Qin Huai searched for a recipe online and tried making it a few times.

The result was he couldn't make the fried sauce.

The sauce he fried only succeeded once, and it was too salty. After eating it, Qin Luo realized she didn't actually want to eat Old Beijing Zha Jiang Mian that much and gave up, and Qin Huai gave up along with her.

So for longevity noodles, Qin Huai felt the ideal result should be to secure a C and strive for a B.

And the point now wasn't to make B-grade or A-grade longevity noodles.

It was to let Chen Huihong and Chen Huihui eat the noodles!

Eat, everyone can eat, eat big bowls!

Qin Huai watched the video tutorial a few more times, focused on studying the process of rolling the noodles, summarized a few key points, and went back to his room to sleep and rest.

The next morning, Qin Huai went to work at the cafeteria full of energy.

Qin Congwen and Zhao Rong were already making steamed buns as usual. Seeing Qin Huai arrive, Zhao Rong asked, "Huaihuai, we heard that Master Zheng and Master Xiao Zheng have both returned to Gusu; is that true?"

"They both went back last night." Qin Huai nodded. "The two of them originally came to exchange ideas with me about mantou; the locust flower mantou exchange is basically done, so naturally they went back."

As soon as Qin Huai woke up this morning, he saw the WeChat Moments post Zheng Siyuan made at 11:00 PM last night, saying the pastry shop would be open as usual tomorrow, and he decisively liked it.

Qin Huai didn't have the pastry shop customers as friends on WeChat, but he estimated that after this post went up last night, the comment section must have been full of cheers, gongs, drums, and firecrackers.

"Why did they go back so soon? The wontons Xiao Zheng made were really delicious; I haven't learned how to make them yet." Zhao Rong said with great regret.

Qin Huai didn't want to discourage Zhao Rong, so he didn't speak.

With Zhao Rong's skills, she probably wouldn't master Zheng Siyuan's wontons even if she studied them for 8 or 10 years. Not to mention the high-quality soup and filling, just that wonton skin as thin as a cicada's wing would be enough for Zhao Rong to practice for three to five years.

"Mom, Master Zheng boiled two pots of high-quality soup yesterday afternoon; is the soup being kept warm?" Qin Huai asked.

Zhao Rong pointed to the two large pots by the stove: "They are both being kept warm. Now that Xiao Zheng has gone back, we aren't selling wontons in the cafeteria in the morning, so these two pots of soup are left..."

"Keep them to make chicken noodle soup; don't waste them." Qin Huai said.

Qin Congwen immediately got excited, feeling it was time to bring out his handmade noodles to amaze everyone, and couldn't wait to volunteer: "Yes, I think Huaihuai is right; it's time for me to..."

"I plan to make chicken noodle soup for lunch and dinner. After going back last night, I searched for a recipe for handmade noodles online and want to try it today." Qin Huai said.

Qin Congwen muted himself.

Zhao Rong gave Qin Congwen a look that said, "Don't show off; just keep those handmade noodles of yours to boil in plain water, don't waste that excellent high-quality soup."

"Eating noodles is good." Zhao Rong happily supported him. "Your dad and I love eating noodles the most, right Old Qin?"

"Yes, we love chicken noodle soup the most." Qin Congwen nodded with tears in his eyes.

(End of chapter)