Chapter 36 Two Recipes

After leaving the dream, Qin Huai immediately opened the game interface to check the illustrated index.

Name: Chen Huihong
Species: ??? (Locked)

Dreams: 2/3
Recipes: Tree Bark, Fermented Wine Mantou, Locust Blossom Mantou (click to view details)
Gifts: None

Although the species was still marked with three question marks, he had obtained two recipes!

[Fermented Wine Mantou — B Rank]

Creator: Qin Wan

Recipe Details:
A signature pastry from the renowned Qin Ji Bobo Shop, a centuries-old establishment famous beyond the frontier. As the child of the Qin family with the greatest talent for dough-based foods, Qin Wan had never been personally taught by her father due to the family rule that skills were passed down to sons rather than daughters. She could only rely on secretly learning and self-exploration to master this fermented wine mantou, unexpectedly preserving a family heirloom skill that might otherwise have been lost.

For Chen Huihong, this was the first truly “delicious” food she had ever eaten since coming into this world, and also the first time she experienced unconditional kindness from others. Upon consuming it, one can feel the happiness that comes from being cared for by others.

Friendly reminder: This dish is somewhat difficult; players have a chance of failure when making it.

Daily production limit: (0/3 steamer drawers) [Each drawer can contain up to 24 pieces]

[Locust Blossom Mantou — S Rank]

Creator: Jiang Chengde

Recipe Details:
An ingenious creation by the master Jiang Chengde, designed to allow his younger sister to eat breakfast quietly. Locust blossom honey is mixed with wheat flour and a small amount of buckwheat flour, using honey as a natural leavening agent to ferment the dough. This gives ordinary ingredients an extraordinary taste and texture. It was the most delicious food Huiniang had ever eaten in her lifetime, possessing the miraculous effect of making children aged 3–12 sit quietly and obediently while eating.

Warm reminder: This dish is extremely difficult; players have a 100% chance of failure when making it.

Daily production limit: (0/9 steamer drawers) [Each drawer can contain up to 24 pieces]

Qin Huai: “…?”

Who is Qin Wan?

And who is Jiang Chengde?

Why do these two seem so impressive—especially Jiang Chengde? The recipe description even calls him a master, and the S-rank locust blossom mantou comes with a “100% failure rate” friendly reminder.

Is the game balance this bad? Fresh out of the beginner village and already facing a boss.

Qin Huai scratched his head and analyzed carefully.

Qin Wan… most likely the woman who gave Chen Huihong the mantou. She casually produced something as advanced as the fermented wine mantou he had previously failed at—and it’s B rank. As expected, she was kind-hearted and highly skilled.

As for Jiang Chengde… could he be her husband?

Being called a master, he should have some level of fame, right?

Qin Huai took out his phone and searched the name “Jiang Chengde.” To his surprise, there were results. He turned out to be a master of Shandong cuisine from the Republican era, the head chef of Taifeng Building in Beiping. Later, due to war, his whereabouts became unknown. Because of the era, there wasn’t much information available. Qin Huai also looked up Taifeng Building and found that the restaurant had been closed for over half a century. Its original site still exists in Beijing’s Second Ring Road and has almost become a tourist attraction.

Seems quite interesting—Qin Huai decided to visit someday when he had the time.

Now… the identities match, the timeline matches, and the location matches.

Chen Huihong was indeed a reincarnated spirit—confirmed.

So now the question was: the younger brother of Chen Huihong, who had been scammed out of 200,000 yuan because he believed in reincarnation—was he dealing with a real fraud or a true master?

Qin Huai felt his mind becoming chaotic for a moment, all sorts of random thoughts popping up. He even opened a browser and searched whether there were any legends of a “mad young lady” in Beiping in the last century.

No results. Instead, he found quite a few ghost stories.

Qin Huai sighed. It seemed Chen Huihong didn’t do well in her past life—she didn’t even leave behind any legend.

After hesitating between the two seemingly ordinary yet subtly radiant recipes, Qin Huai finally double-clicked the locust blossom mantou and opened the video tutorial.

Good—there was a tutorial. Not a total scam.

Qin Huai decided to carefully study this legendary S-rank mantou’s preparation method.

A 100% failure rate meant he needed to see what was going on.

In the video, a pair of well-defined, standard chef’s hands appeared over a simple wooden workbench. Beside it were the ingredients needed for the locust blossom mantou: dull gray flour, dark buckwheat flour, steaming hot water, and a small jar of high-quality locust blossom honey.

Although the setting was simple, the chef’s technique was extremely refined. Every movement appeared casual, yet upon closer inspection, there were no flaws.

The gray flour and buckwheat flour were mixed together, and hot water was used to scald the flour for better blending.

Warm water was then added to form the dough more easily.

When the mixture reached a state between dough and batter, locust blossom honey was added. The honey quickly disappeared into the dough, followed by rapid kneading, then more water, more honey, and continued vigorous kneading.

A dough that theoretically shouldn’t have been this smooth miraculously took shape.

It was covered with a cloth and left to ferment.

The tutorial video did not stop during fermentation. The chef temporarily left the frame, seemingly to attend to other matters.

A creaking sound followed, as if an old wooden door had been pushed open.

“Bohe.” A gentle and familiar female voice.

It was Qin Wan!

Qin Huai, who had just exited the dream not long ago, immediately recognized her.

“Why did you wake up so early? Why not sleep a bit longer?”

“I got up early to make mantou for Huiqin. She’s been refusing to drink porridge these past few days and has been making a fuss in the mornings, dragging Wei Jin into it as well. It’s been tiring for you, hasn’t it?” a deep male voice replied apologetically.

The chef’s identity was naturally self-evident.

“Getting used to a new place takes time for Huiqin. Thankfully, you were thoughtful enough to bring her tiger-head hat along, otherwise I’d worry she’d cry herself hoarse.” Qin Wan said with a smile. She walked over to the dough and gently touched it through the cloth. “What made you think of making mantou?”

“The other day I saw you feeding honey water to Huiqin and Wei Jin, and it gave me an idea. I remember your family had another unique method besides using yeast to ferment mantou—using honey. I thought I’d give it a try.”

Qin Wan paused slightly. “That does sound familiar, but it seems it was lost by my father’s generation. I never heard anyone mention it when I was young. Will it work?”

“Worth a try. Huiqin likes honey water, so she might like honey mantou as well. If she eats more calmly, it’ll save you some trouble,” he said with a sigh. “You’ve really worked hard.”

“Nothing to call hardship.” Qin Wan’s voice gradually faded. “Huiqin and Wei Jin might already be awake at this time. If they don’t see anyone, they’ll start fussing. I’ll go check on them first.”

The kitchen returned to silence.

The rest of the video was simple: miraculous fermentation, masterful kneading, and almost divine steaming—resulting in locust blossom mantou that seemed impossible to replicate.

Watching the entire video, Qin Huai scratched his head and thought: Is this really something humans can make?

This technique, this level, this fermentation, this final product—and you’re telling me this was casually made just to soothe a child?

Do masters really put this much effort into something like that?

Qin Huai muttered: As expected of a master…