Chapter 26 Unique Taste

Whether wild vegetables count as coarse grains, Qin Huai didn’t know, but he felt what Qin Luo said made some sense.

He had something even “wilder” than wild vegetables.

Elm bark.

After yesterday afternoon’s failed attempt at mixing tree bark into a salad, Qin Huai went back and seriously studied how to eat tree bark by watching short videos.

And surprisingly, there were quite a few methods.

Besides the conventional way of drying it, grinding it into powder, sifting it, and making noodles, it could also be stir-fried with seasonings, grilled, made into cold dishes, or boiled to extract its essence and used as the liquid to knead dough.

Since the boiled water could be used to knead dough, that suited his expertise perfectly.

Strictly adhering to his 12 o’clock clock-out rule, Qin Huai put the final batch of “crab shell yellow” pastries into the oven right at noon, reminded An Youyou to plate them on time, and clocked out at lightning speed.

At this time, it wasn’t yet the lunch rush. The first wave of customers—those whose workplaces were nearby and who moved fast—had already started getting their food. Among them, Ou Yang, who worked very close and could sneak out early, had already secured the best seat by the second-floor window and begun eating.

Qin Huai walked over with his tray and joined him.

He glanced at Ou Yang’s dishes.

Braised chicken leg, stir-fried pork with chili, sweet and sour pork tenderloin, and garlic stir-fried water spinach, plus an extra-paid bowl of kelp and pork rib soup.

Next to the soup was a small plate of mung bean cakes, and in front of the soup and cakes was a box of fresh lychees.

Three meat dishes, one vegetable, one soup, one dessert, and one fruit—he was eating better than Qin Huai himself.

Most importantly, the box of lychees looked very familiar. If nothing unexpected, it was the premium “Guan Lü” variety priced at 14 yuan per fruit that Qin Luo had stared at longingly during their supermarket trip two days ago.

“Aren’t you broke recently? Drinking iced tea in the biggest bottle only?” Qin Huai sat opposite Ou Yang.

Ou Yang grinned. “I called my mom this morning and complained about being poor. She was very moved by my commitment to supporting a classmate’s startup, so she agreed to reimburse my meals from now on.”

“And these…” Qin Huai pointed at the lychees.

Ou Yang pushed the box toward him. “I brought them from home. Didn’t Luo Luo want some last time? Take them back for her. Tell her her Brother Yang can still afford a box of lychees. If she wants more, just say the word—I’ll go home and get them.”

Qin Huai: “……”

“Did Luo Luo wake up late again? I didn’t see her just now—did she go back to catch up on sleep?”

“She didn’t wake up late,” Qin Huai said. “She stayed up on her phone until 3 a.m. last night and didn’t dare say anything. The 5:30 alarm still went off. Just now she almost fell into the pot while eating mung bean cakes, so I sent her back to sleep.”

“Also confiscated her phone. From now on, she’ll probably only be able to use a kids’ smart watch at night.”

Ou Yang fell silent briefly, then took a few bites of food before changing the topic. “Wanna watch a movie this afternoon? We can call Luo Luo when she wakes up. I happened to get two movie tickets from my mom this morning.”

Qin Huai felt Ou Yang was truly born in the wrong era—if he lived in ancient times as a bandit, he’d definitely be excellent at robbery.

“You’re not working this afternoon?” Qin Huai asked.

“Sister Hong is going out, so I can skip work.”

Qin Huai: “…Not today. I need to research new products. Maybe in a couple of days.”

Upon hearing that Qin Huai was developing new items, Ou Yang’s eyes lit up immediately, and he volunteered to sacrifice himself as a taste tester in the cafeteria.

Qin Huai felt that this time, he might really have to “sacrifice” him.

After lunch, Qin Huai took a short nap and returned to the cafeteria a little after two to begin developing new products.

Making steamed buns is different from making stuffed buns. Buns require higher standards for dough texture and need a second fermentation. During fermentation, more water must be added to maintain moisture. Additionally, ingredients like milk, eggs, sugar, and honey are often added during kneading to enhance flavor.

Today, Qin Huai would also be adding flavor to the dough.

Just that his flavor was somewhat unique.

Elm bark water.

The water boiled from elm bark didn’t look appealing—just like eating dried elm bark directly, it didn’t seem very edible.

There’s a reason tree bark isn’t included in the human daily food list.

Qin Huai began kneading the dough.

At this time, the staff of Yunzhong Cafeteria were all on break. Some servers had gone shopping nearby, two chefs were napping on the second floor, and the rest were in the first-floor lobby. Aside from Huang Xi, who was working on a proposal at her computer, An Youyou and another server were playing on their phones.

“Youyou, what are you looking at?” the other server, Zhao Jiahui, noticed An Youyou stretching her neck to peek into the kitchen. “Trying to learn secretly?”

“Cooking techniques require hands-on teaching. How could I learn from standing this far away?” An Youyou continued watching. “I just think the water the boss is using to knead dough looks kind of strange.”

Not only An Youyou outside felt it was strange—the person making it, Qin Huai, also felt something was off.

Using tree bark water to knead white flour buns… how should one put it?

Even parents who advocate hardship education would probably say: if that doesn’t work, why not try wild vegetable water at least?

At this point, elm-bark-flavored buns were fresh out of the steamer, slightly yellowish in color.

Qin Huai didn’t make many—just three.

He didn’t taste them first. Instead, he called Ou Yang and told him the new product was ready and to come to the cafeteria quickly.

More than ten minutes later, Ou Yang arrived late, accompanied by Chen Huihui.

“Huihui’s final exam is tomorrow, and school ended early today. Sister Hong couldn’t pick her up, so I helped,” Ou Yang explained with a smile. “Huihui, you’re in luck today—your Qin Huai brother made a new product this afternoon.”

Chen Huihui looked at Qin Huai expectantly.

Qin Huai: “……”

He silently brought out the buns. Still steaming, they looked soft and smooth—very presentable.

Ou Yang picked one up, sniffed it. “This smell… pretty fresh.”

Then he took a bite.

Ou Yang: “?”

Strange. It wasn’t bad enough to be inedible, but it reminded him of the failed salad from yesterday.

Chen Huihui also picked up a bun and took a small bite.

She chewed.

Chen Huihui: “?”

She looked at Qin Huai, her eyes filled with the disillusionment of a broken idol.

In her mind, Qin Huai was someone who could do anything when it came to pastries—whether buns, dumplings, or other snacks, everything was delicious. Yet the bun he made was so ordinary.

Ordinary—and even slightly strange, not very tasty.

Chen Huihui sniffled, feeling like crying.

Mom… Qin Huai’s buns aren’t good… 55555.

In the spirit of not wasting food, she took a second bite.

“Huihui, how does it taste?” Qin Huai asked.

After hesitating, she replied, “Weird.”

Then shook her head. “Brother Qin Huai, your buns aren’t as good as your buns and dumplings.”

Hearing her criticism, Qin Huai actually felt a little happy inside.

Great—Huihui simply prefers the taste of buckwheat, not strange foods.

That’s normal. He had been worried her taste might be too unusual to predict.

Now that it was confirmed she liked the flavor and texture of buckwheat, he could just develop buckwheat-based buns accordingly.

“If you don’t like it, don’t eat it. I’ll have Luo Luo take it back to feed the chickens,” Qin Huai said.

Early that morning, Zhao Rong had bought two live hens from the market and kept them in the kitchen to prepare for making soup. Feeding them some healthy green buns wouldn’t be bad.

Chen Huihui obediently put down the bun.

While they were talking, Ou Yang had already finished his bun.

Having not listened to their conversation at all, he smacked his lips, still savoring the taste. “Qin Huai, this new product of yours…”

“Although the taste is a bit strange, it has a unique flavor when chewed.”

“Not bad at all!”

Qin Huai: “?”

So the one with abnormal taste is you.

Brother, you should’ve said so earlier—you like this? There’s still a big bag in the warehouse. Take it all home and enjoy slowly, don’t be shy.

If this task were Ou Yang’s preference instead, Qin Huai felt it would have been completed long ago, given how tolerant Ou Yang was—someone who could even find the charm and delicacy in elm-bark-flavored buns.

What a pity.

Qin Huai sighed while looking at Ou Yang.

Ou Yang, confused by the sigh, pointed at the remaining buns. “Qin Huai, are you going to eat? If not, I will.”

Seeing Qin Huai nod, Ou Yang picked one up and took a big bite.

“This flavor…”

“Refreshing!”