Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 776 - 394: Could Be Four Happiness Rolls or Could Be Flower Rolls
"Master Qin, you’re wrong, the curvature needs to be bigger when rolling forward but shouldn’t press on the dough, otherwise it’ll deform when rolling backward."
"Master Zheng, you’re wrong too, when rolling forward, keep the front flat and roll the back, but your front isn’t flat enough."
"Senior, you’re right, but somehow I still feel your roll looks a bit strange?"
The Four Happiness Rolls research squad has evidently formed a 1-on-3 trend. Guli, with less technical prowess but rich experience in making cloud patterns and an abundance of failed attempts, is dragging along two pure novices and one semi-novice.
The two pure novices are naturally Qin Huai and Zheng Siyuan. Although Zheng Siyuan is a hexagonal warrior, he doesn’t know all the snacks and techniques. Like Zheng Da, who is very bad at things like Four Happiness Rolls, which he only makes secretly at home during New Year, Zheng Siyuan can’t do them.
As for Qin Huai, snacks not listed in the Snack Encyclopedia are basically beyond his reach.
Despite being Master Tan’s direct grandson, Tan Wei’an did not practice Ruyi Roll due to technical problems back then, but he did grasp some theoretical knowledge, so his foundation is better than Qin Huai’s and Zheng Siyuan’s.
But not by much.
Tan Wei’an always gets things right but never perfectly right, with something always feeling off, yet Master Gu, due to limited skills, couldn’t identify the exact issues.
After a day of making Four Happiness Rolls, Tan Wei’an ended up being the most bewildered one.
In half an afternoon, the Four Level Rolls research team managed a variety of shapes that are hard to describe, yet the flavor of the Four Happiness Rolls was undoubtedly quite delightful. Obviously, these rolls couldn’t be sold; otherwise, once the real Four Happiness Rolls came out, it would be very difficult to explain to customers what had been sold before.
Not for sale, hence the only option was internal consumption.
When Qin Huai returned from work, he packed three large boxes full of Four Happiness Rolls and took them home for Shi Dadan.
Shi Dadan came to Huang Ji at noon and evening today to eat on his own expense. Qin Huai arranged for the server to deliver some snacks to Shi Dadan without meeting him.
Wang Gen Sheng, on the other hand, stayed home all day after his morning run, working on account reconciliation. Shi Dadan packed Wang Gen Sheng’s lunch and dinner after eating.
Since Shi Dadan ate in the hall at night, Qin Huai couldn’t serve those unattractive Four Happiness Rolls for fear of other customers noticing; hence he could only take them home after work for a private treat.
When Qin Huai came in, Shi Dadan was chatting with Gong Liang in the living room, while Wang Gen Sheng was still accounting at the dining table, with a fruit platter containing washed grapes and sliced apples, pears, and dragon fruit ready to eat.
Seeing Gong Liang at home, Qin Huai quickly smiled and greeted, "Mr. Gong, you’re here! I was considering sending you some newly made snacks on my way back. They don’t look that good, but the taste is quite nice."
"About the lotus root powder balls, I have to mention, I made some today but the results weren’t satisfactory, so I didn’t bring any back and I didn’t ask you over for a taste test. Recently, the lotus root powder balls might not turn out well; if you have the urge, you can try some at Huang Ji or ask your assistant to pack some. No need to go specifically for them."
"Rest assured, the progress on lotus root powder balls won’t be slow, definitely within a month you’ll have ones that delight both you and your wife."
After hearing Qin Huai, Gong Liang felt like he had tasted the sweetness of the lotus root powder balls without actually eating them; it was so sweet in his heart, tears of emotion almost overflowed from the corners of his eyes.
Gong Liang laughed and responded, "Master Xiao Qin, you’re too modest. How could your craftsmanship yield unsatisfactory lotus root powder balls? Even the imperfect ones would be top-notch in the shops. But I do have some business tomorrow; how about I send my assistant to Huang Ji to pack them at noon?"
"I just arrived, and while Mingzhu was juicing at home, she sliced some fruits to send over to you. Didn’t expect Brother Shi here as well; I figured you, Master Xiao Qin, would be back soon at this point, so I’m sitting down for a chat with Brother Shi."
Shi Dadan nodded joyfully, "Xiao Qin, what do you have in your hand?"
Ignoring idle chit-chat, only focusing on snacks.
Qin Huai put the bag on the coffee table and opened it, lining up the three large packed boxes and revealing the somewhat misshaped and visually unappealing Four Happiness Rolls inside.
Before Qin Huai could speak, Gong Liang had already recognized what snack it was.
"Four Happiness Rolls!"
A definitive exclamation, not a question.
Qin Huai never expected the Four Happiness Rolls, made looking like this and squeezed into boxes, would still be recognized by Gong Liang after the journey, so he asked, "Mr. Gong, how did you recognize them?"
"These Four Happiness Rolls, I’m a bit embarrassed to even call them that."
On the way back, Qin Huai was already planning that if Wang Gen Sheng asked him what they were, he’d tell him they’re flower rolls with filling.
"Certainly recognize them." Gong Liang gazed at the Four Happiness Rolls, face full of nostalgia and sentiment, "I actually haven’t seen these rolls in many years. When I said earlier that I hadn’t eaten something for years, those were lies, mere excuses; I actually had them all, except for these..."
"After Zheng Da ventured into business, I never saw these snacks again. I even asked someone to inquire at Zhiwei Restaurant, but no one there knows how to make Four Happiness Rolls."
"Later, I had people search all over the country, even outside the border where some old snack shops had similar-looking rolls also named Four Happiness Rolls, but the taste and appearance were vastly different from the ones Master Jing made."
Listening to Gong Liang, Wang Gen Sheng stopped accounting, took off his glasses, saved the form, closed his computer, and walked over to the dining table, stared at Four Happiness Rolls for a while, with a puzzled expression, "Is this... Four Happiness Rolls?"
"Why do I recall Master Jing’s Four Happiness Rolls looking different?"
With Wang Gen Sheng’s comment, Qin Huai realized that of the four people in the room today, the other three apart from him had tasted Master Jing’s version of the Four Happiness Rolls. Though he knew Wang Gen Sheng’s background well, he always somehow overlooked him, forgetting that Uncle Wang had enjoyed good food back during his days at the textile factory.
While Wang Gen Sheng and Gong Liang were in awe, Shi Dadan was already eating, perhaps due to his recent habit of assisting, he couldn’t help but act as a golden assistant, asking while eating, "Four Happiness Rolls, what are they? What did they look like before?"
"Are they made by the State owned Restaurant’s Master Jing? They taste good, though."
Meanwhile, Shi Dadan had finished one roll and started on a second, showing that his eating speed wasn’t affected by conversing.
"Mr. Gong, how did you recognize these as Four Happiness Rolls?" Qin Huai posed his question.
With too many questions, Gong Liang couldn’t answer one by one, so he first appeased Shi Dadan, "Brother Shi, I’ll explain the Four Happiness Rolls to you when there’s more time later."
Then Gong Liang turned to Qin Huai, saying, "Master Xiao Qin, your Four Happiness Rolls indeed don’t look much like them but... they distinctly resemble the ones Zheng Da initially made."
"I remember that year Master Jing had to retire early due to health reasons, leaving Zheng Da as the only full-time pastry chef at the restaurant. Every snack he made received harsh criticism; fermented buns, vegetables stuffed buns, meat buns, shumai, green balls, all fell short compared to Master Jing’s creations."
"Sometimes they were downright displeasing, his performance was genuinely inconsistent."
"But these are trivial matters; when the Four Happiness Rolls were sold is something you should know, Master Xiao Qin?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Qin Huai nodded, "I know, I’m familiar with the Four Happiness Rolls’ story."
"Back then, the pressure Zheng Da faced was greatest over the Four Happiness Rolls for the New Year. Regular snacks getting scorned could be tolerated, but if he messed up the Four Happiness Rolls, the festivity would truly be ruined."
"During that period, Zheng Da would secretly practice the rolls at home as soon as he got off work. The salary of a full-time restaurant chef wasn’t low; most of his pay that year went into experimenting with the rolls."
"Although the rolls he made that year weren’t great, his secret practices were even worse. These appearances are unmistakable; I vividly recall being stunned when I first saw the rolls he made and asked him why he suddenly wanted to make stuffed flower rolls."
"And then?"
"Then Zheng Da said it was stuffed flower rolls; I ate them for a while, and only when he slightly grasped the appearance did I realize he was actually making Four Happiness Rolls."
Qin Huai: ...
He suddenly felt he understood why Zheng Da disliked making Four Happiness Rolls; alongside all pastries being harshly criticized, these rolls bore a uniquely severe backlash, leaving an indelible psychological shadow.
Oh, poor Master Zheng.
Qin Huai solemnly asked, "Mr. Gong, how many would you like to take home for your wife to taste?"
"If she asks what they are, just tell her they’re stuffed flower rolls."
