AGN -Chapter 317 The Difficulty of Seasoning

When Qin Huai left Zheng Siyuan’s home, he was also carrying half a jar of crab roe sauce made by Zheng Da.

In Zheng Siyuan’s words, Qin Huai definitely wouldn’t be able to eat the truly authentic “double-crab buns” anymore, so trying some relatively authentic crab roe sauce would also do.

Zheng Da only made a few jars of crab roe sauce every year, and the one Zheng Siyuan had was something he had practically snatched from Zheng Da’s hands. Half a jar for research, half a jar for Qin Huai to eat—that was a very reasonable distribution.

Qin Huai happily carried the half-jar of crab roe sauce home, forgetting to tell Zheng Siyuan that there were snacks at the entrance he had brought.

This directly led to Zheng Siyuan spending the entire afternoon simmering sauce in the kitchen until past 8 p.m. When he finally finished cleaning up and walked to the entrance, he discovered something had been left there.

Two familiar snacks, and one unfamiliar one.

The pan-fried radish cake and mung bean cake were things Zheng Siyuan had already eaten that afternoon, and he had given them very high praise. Both were extremely common home-style pastries—easy to make, but difficult to make well.

Zheng Siyuan really admired Qin Huai’s idea of selling expensive pastries at high prices and ordinary pastries at lower prices, because he himself had always done business that way.

The pastry shop he ran at the entrance of his residential community sold mostly affordable items, just slightly more expensive than other shops by twenty to thirty percent. His customers were mostly nearby residents and students, with only a few of Zheng Da’s friends and regular patrons of Huang Ji.

While selling inexpensive pastries most of the time, Zheng Siyuan would occasionally guest at Huang Ji, making high-end pastries. Although there was no real difference in essence, the price changed depending on where they were sold.

Zheng Siyuan enjoyed hearing customers’ reviews of his pastries and watching their expressions while eating. In his view, price itself was also a way of satisfying customers.

Previously, when Qin Huai and Tan Wei’an were researching Si Xi Tangyuan at Huang Ji, they had even asked Zheng Siyuan whether he planned to keep running a small pastry shop at the entrance of the community in obscurity, or if he would one day go to a major restaurant and make a name for himself in the pastry world.

Zheng Siyuan’s answer at the time was: “We’ll see.”

He felt his current level wasn’t enough to independently handle a major restaurant or overpower savory chefs to make pastry the dominant branch. Not to mention dominating—it was already difficult to achieve even parity; pastry chefs losing to savory chefs was evident from the rankings in the Famous Chef List.

But he was certain that he would eventually go to a renowned restaurant and make a breakthrough, just like Qin Huai did at Huang Ji—quietly working for years, then suddenly becoming famous overnight.

Tan Wei’an even privately complained to Qin Huai that Zheng Siyuan liked to show off.

How was he “quietly unknown”? He wasn’t a nobody in the pastry chef circle at all. He just stayed home too much, didn’t compete, didn’t attend exchange events, and didn’t work in major restaurants. People didn’t even have the chance to seek him out.

Then Qin Huai asked Tan Wei’an, “Don’t you want to do the same?”

That question left Tan Wei’an speechless.

Tan Wei’an equally despised everyone who showed off, was good at showing off, or had the ability to show off.

Anyway, back to Zheng Siyuan.

After discovering that the snack bag only contained a plain bun he hadn’t seen before, he immediately took it out and re-steamed it.

Re-steamed buns were not as good in flavor or texture as freshly made ones, but Zheng Siyuan was an excellent pastry chef, and he could minimize the difference very well.

At 8:47 p.m., Zheng Siyuan sat at the dining table with the freshly steamed, still steaming buns and answered a video call from Zheng Da.

Zheng Da was still on vacation in Sanya. Having enjoyed himself so much, he even bought a house there and now basked on the beach every day, tanned several shades darker.

“Siyuan, eating buns this late?” Zheng Da was surprised and looked concerned. “Didn’t you eat dinner?”

“You should eat at regular mealtimes, or it’s bad for your stomach. Did Xiao Qin practice knife skills with his teacher this afternoon via video class? Were you eavesdropping? Who exactly is that teacher? What’s his background? What’s his name and what does he look like?”

“I checked around today. There aren’t many famous retired chefs near Quxian. It doesn’t match. Who is this person? Where did he come from?” Zheng Da’s face was full of confusion.

Zheng Siyuan: …

He didn’t even want to respond to his father. He expressionlessly stuffed a bun into his mouth and took a big bite.

Mm. A tasty vegetable bun.

Very ordinary, very plain, very pure—but delicious.

Zheng Siyuan glanced at the mung bean cake still at the entrance and got up to bring it over, eating a piece.

Zheng Da was still rambling endlessly, saying how the world was getting dangerous and how talented young chefs were being poached everywhere. Qin Huai coming home for New Year’s could even run into a retired chef—it was impossible to guard against.

To those who knew, Qin Huai was a pastry chef; to those who didn’t, he might as well be Tang Monk.

Zheng Siyuan ignored him again and took another bite of the bun.

Mm. The taste of happiness.

He realized Qin Huai not only excelled at sophisticated pastries, but was even better at simple home-style foods.

He hadn’t paid attention when Qin Huai made cabbage buns that afternoon and had left early after work. Now he somewhat regretted it.

To make something so ordinary taste this good—there must be something worth learning.

Qin Huai’s progress during the New Year period was even greater than he had imagined.

“Siyuan! Zheng Siyuan! Are you listening to me?” Zheng Da said anxiously. “This is a critical issue—you must investigate properly. Things are different nowadays compared to back then…”

Zheng Siyuan swallowed the last bite of bun and said helplessly, “Dad, stop overthinking.”

“I didn’t get to observe closely this afternoon, but I still heard a bit.”

“This teacher must be very skilled, and willing to personally spend time and effort teaching. He’s definitely not a fraud.”

“If this teacher wants to take Qin Huai as a disciple, you don’t stand a chance.”

Zheng Da: …

“So stop thinking about it and stop investigating randomly. This teacher didn’t just retire recently—she retired decades ago. Back then, information wasn’t developed; you couldn’t possibly know every retired master chef.”

Zheng Da was shocked. “What? She retired decades ago after making enough money?! What cuisine is she from? How did she make that much money? Is Cantonese cuisine that profitable?!”

Zheng Siyuan: …

“Please enjoy your vacation. Don’t contact me if there’s nothing important.”

“If there is, I’ll contact you. Most likely starting tomorrow, Qin Huai and I will begin researching double-crab buns. I’ll call if there are problems. I’m going to sleep. Hanging up.”

With that, Zheng Siyuan ended the call without hesitation.

On the other end, Zheng Da: …

“That unfilial son!” Zheng Da shouted. “When he has something, he calls me; when I have something, I can’t call him—ridiculous!”

Zheng Da’s wife, applying a face mask, glanced at him helplessly. “You know exactly what our son is like. If you ask him to be a spy, he’d ignore you completely.”

“He’s right. Stop overthinking things. I’ve tried Qin Huai’s Si Xi Tangyuan too—his skills are very good, not worse than yours. Most importantly, he’s smart.”

“It’s already hopeless if you want to take him as a disciple. Go to bed early. Instead of worrying, you should help our son find a few suitable girls. The ones you introduced before weren’t appropriate.”

“Our son likes people in the same profession, right? There are plenty of female pastry chefs. Think of a way to introduce some.”

After saying that, Zheng Da’s wife went off to remove her face mask.

Zheng Da: …

There’s nothing that easy. Last time he tried to set up a blind date with the daughter of the Su family (the daughter of the owner of Zhiwei Ju), that unlucky son Zheng Siyuan actually looked down on her because her pastry skills weren’t good enough. The Su family almost tore him apart.

How did he, Zheng Da, end up with such an unlucky son? His life was truly unbearable!

Fuming, Zheng Da opened a food delivery app on his phone and ordered a bowl of qingbuliang to cool himself down.

The next morning, when Qin Huai arrived at Yunzhong Canteen, Zheng Siyuan had already finished making wontons.

The early-morning joggers—elderly men and women—were already eating.

They were very happy, full of praise, and kept saying that coming early was worth it after all. Even if Xiao Qin probably wouldn’t show up in the mornings anymore, Xiao Zheng had appeared instead!

With Xiao Zheng here, breakfast was still something to look forward to.

The elderly customers had even organized themselves: they would take turns praising him. The compliments had to be professional, high-quality, and not repetitive—the repetition rate had to be low. They absolutely had to keep Xiao Zheng in charge of breakfast duty.

“Why did you come so early again? Didn’t I tell you yesterday that Chen An is in charge of breakfast now at the canteen? You don’t need to come this early,” Qin Huai said while boiling wontons.

Zheng Siyuan replied, “Habit.”

“I don’t know why. Every time I come here, every time I sleep in that place, I can’t help but wake up early and come here to make wontons.”

Qin Huai: …

Sorry, Zheng Siyuan. Your brother has turned you into a wage slave—triggered into automatic work mode whenever you enter a fixed environment.

The wontons went into the pot. Qin Huai asked An Youyou to watch them and scoop them out when ready. Cooking wontons didn’t require much skill—just don’t overcook them.

Qin Huai went to knead dough.

Dough for chicken soup noodles didn’t need to be proofed, so it was very quick to make. The broth had been simmering since yesterday afternoon under Zheng Siyuan’s supervision and was still on the stove, ready to use anytime.

Qin Huai felt that noodle dough was relatively basic compared to bun or steamed bun dough, since it didn’t require fermentation. The margin for error was high, but both the ceiling and floor were low. Many households that liked pasta even made noodles themselves.

“Yunyou, I remember you said yesterday that you can knead dough, but you’re not very good at it,” Qin Huai said deliberately.

He wanted to nurture An Youyou, give her extra guidance, and help her improve her skills so she could climb the career ladder, get a raise, reach the peak of life, and maybe even awaken something within herself.

An Youyou was still standing by the wonton pot and nodded.

“Yes. My dad usually doesn’t let me knead dough. He only lets me help wrap buns or cut vegetables. I can knead it, but not as well as my dad. And my dad isn’t as good as Old Qin Master.”

A very clear hierarchy.

“Kneading dough requires strength. You have enough strength, but you haven’t learned how to use it properly,” Qin Huai said slowly as he demonstrated. “Watch—kneading dough looks fast, just forcefully rubbing the dough, but it’s actually a slow process that can be broken into several steps.”

“From your palm to the center of your hand, different contact points produce different forces and directions. Just like knife skills start with grip, pastry skills start with kneading dough—and kneading starts with learning how to apply force correctly.”

“Are the wontons ready? If they are, scoop them out and let them cool a bit. Then come watch how I knead dough.”

With Qin Huai saying it like that, An Youyou immediately understood this was deliberate teaching. She quickly scooped out the wontons and almost ran over, eyes wide open, focusing intently.

Her face basically said: I want to improve so badly.

Not far away, Pei Xing’s face said: I’m so jealous.

His teeth were practically going to break from clenching.

What used to be an exaggerated expression now felt literal—his jaw actually ached.

“Why?! What exactly did that sycophant An Youyou say to Chef Qin yesterday? What makes her so special? Isn’t she just good at flattery? Her tea isn’t even as good as mine!”

Jealousy made Pei Xing feel like his whole body was splitting apart.

His voice turned sharp with envy: “Why is it that when Chef Qin teaches me kneading dough, I have to figure it out myself, but An Youyou can just stand there and watch?!”

Li Hua: …

Maybe it’s because she’s so bad at it that just talking wouldn’t make sense, so she has to watch?

“Just focus on kneading,” Li Hua could only say. “You don’t want to still not understand when Chef Qin explains it to you later, right?”

Pei Xing continued kneading bitterly.

Qin Huai finished kneading the dough at a slow pace, then quickly started hand-rolling it. He asked expectantly, “Did you understand?”

An Youyou shook her head blankly.

Right now, she was at kindergarten level—being taught high school material was just too much for her.

Qin Huai was a bit disappointed, but also expected it. It seemed the Three-Legged Golden Toad didn’t have much talent invested in pastry work.

The hand-rolled noodles went into the pot. Zheng Siyuan would monitor the heat himself.

Qin Huai picked up his now-warm wontons and ate while asking, “How did the crab roe sauce turn out later yesterday?”

Zheng Siyuan shook his head. “Same. Still not what I want.”

“What exactly do you want?” Qin Huai asked.

“I tried yours when I got home. Took several spoonfuls. It has a lot of seasonings—salt, cooking wine, light soy sauce, scallion, ginger, garlic, oyster sauce, sugar, star anise… maybe even cinnamon and Sichuan pepper. You also said it needs starch to thicken at the end.”

“After all that, you can barely taste the crab roe itself anymore. But the flavor is still good—rich and layered. It would be great for noodles. For buns… I can’t quite imagine it yet.”

“Perfect for mixing with noodles,” Zheng Siyuan said.

“Come this afternoon and you’ll understand. The double-crab bun is a very unique type of bun.”

“My seasoning isn’t as good as my father’s or Uncle Huang’s. I can only barely manage it. If they did it, it would be more authentic.”

“Is seasoning really that difficult?” Qin Huai asked.

“Very difficult,” Zheng Siyuan nodded seriously. “One tiny difference changes everything.”

“If your crab roe dumplings were difficulty level 5, then double-crab buns are at least 8.”

“If using crab roe sauce, it can even reach level 9.”

“Using fresh crab roe and sea cucumber to make buns is truly both challenging and highly creative.”

“And the fact that my master could think of turning crab roe into a sauce to make double-crab buns—I think that’s also very creative.”