Chapter 60 Locust Blossom Steamed Buns (B-Grade)

After leaving Luo Jun’s home, Qu Jing heard from Chen Huihong that the Su-style pastries newly sold at Yunzhong Canteen tasted quite good these days, so she decided to stop by and buy some to bring to the hospital.

Inside the canteen, Zheng Siyuan was still diligently making pastries.

The fresh meat mooncakes were about to come out of the oven.

Qin Luo was already squatting by the oven with a bowl in her arms, waiting.

When Qin Huai, Chen Huihong, Ou Yang, and Qu Jing walked in, Qin Luo ran to the window with her bowl, greeting everyone through the glass. When greeting Qu Jing, she stared a few extra seconds, confirming she was a woman before politely saying hello.

Qu Jing had wrapped herself up like someone about to rob a bank. Her hair was tied into a ponytail and pressed under a hat. From the front, it was genuinely hard to tell her gender at first glance.

“Brother, you’re back from your visit? Did Grandpa Luo like the hand-shaken lemon tea I made?” Qin Luo asked.

Qin Huai said nothing, not wanting any negative feedback to affect Qin Luo’s enthusiasm.

“What pastries do we still have in the shop?” Qin Huai asked.

“There are the donkey rolls and hibiscus cakes you made this morning, and the qiaoguo, ding-sheng cakes, crisp pastries, lard rice cakes made by Brother Zheng. The fresh meat mooncakes are about to come out,” Qin Luo replied.

Just as she finished speaking, Zheng Siyuan called out loudly, “Luo Luo, the mooncakes are ready.”

“Coming!” Qin Luo ran back with her bowl.

Qin Huai could only look at her back and explain, “That’s just her personality. She’s not very motivated when it comes to eating, but mentally she’s very outstanding in that regard.”

Qu Jing nodded. It seemed like she was smiling, but her face was too tightly wrapped to tell. She praised, “She has a very nice personality—lively and cheerful.”

“Doctor Qu, would you like to try a bit of everything? If you can’t finish it, you can put it in the fridge. But the fresh meat mooncakes should be eaten while hot,” Qin Huai suggested.

“Alright.”

The staff began packing and weighing Qu Jing’s selections.

Qu Jing went to scan and pay, while Chen Huihong stood with her hands on her hips, inspecting the remaining pastries. It seemed she was considering buying everything to share with her community committee colleagues as a benefit.

After all, some staff members at the committee had worked hard today.

Xiao Luo and Xiao Qian in particular had been especially busy.

They deserved something delicious—sweet treats personally made by Chef Xiao Qin—to comfort their spirits.

“Are there only this many hibiscus cakes left? Pack them all. Five jin of donkey rolls, three jin of ding-sheng cakes, qiaoguo… one and a half jin. Eight jin of crisp pastries—I’ll take them as snacks for my younger brother this afternoon. As for the freshly baked meat mooncakes, 30 pieces, packed in bags of three, ten bags total,” Chen Huihong began her enthusiastic shopping spree, even sharing her purchasing experience with Qu Jing.

“Xiao Qu, you might want to buy a couple more jin of crisp pastries. They keep well and make good snacks at work.”

Qu Jing clearly took advice seriously and added two more jin.

After finishing their purchases, Chen Huihong noticed Qin Huai still hadn’t gone to change into work clothes and head into the kitchen. She grabbed a still-warm bag of meat mooncakes and walked over to chat.

“Xiao Qin, are you still hiring pastry chefs? It’s not that I don’t want to help you—it’s just that things on my brother’s side aren’t going well. Their HR has interviewed several candidates recently, and I feel none of them compare to Xiao Zheng and Old Zheng. I think Xiao Zheng is quite good. Did salary negotiations fail? Why didn’t he join?”

It was clear Chen Huihong really admired Zheng Siyuan’s skills.

Qin Huai felt her hiring standards were a bit too high. If he used Zheng Da and Zheng Siyuan as benchmarks, even if others were willing to come, he likely couldn’t afford their salaries.

“Siyuan has his own pastry shop in Suzhou,” Qin Huai said. “Master Zheng’s main profession isn’t pastry-making either. He runs a dedicated pastry factory and has his own brand.”

“They’ve just been helping me recently, discussing how to make locust blossom steamed buns.”

“…and also trying to take me as an apprentice,” Qin Huai didn’t add.

Hearing this, Chen Huihong felt slightly regretful. “Where is Xiao Zheng’s pastry shop? I’ll go buy some when I have time.”

Qin Huai could only think that the spending habits of wealthy people were truly hard to understand.

The two then chatted about Qin Luo’s high school plans.

Chen Huihong recommended that Qin Luo attend an international high school. After all, her academic performance was limited, and her enthusiasm for studying was even more limited.

If Qin Huai could push himself through tutoring to reach a top university, Qin Luo, even if pushed to death, might only reach an average one.

After looking into Qin Luo’s exam scores, Chen Huihong concluded she was weak across most subjects—math, physics, chemistry, politics, history, geography—only English was acceptable. Since she was so uneven, she might as well “pay her way out” and pursue studying abroad.

“Shuanghai High School is quite good. The teachers are strong and the campus environment is nice. My niece Jia’ai is currently attending Shuanghai Junior High. The middle and high school campuses are adjacent. She’s abroad now but will return next week. If Luo Luo goes there, I’ll have Jia’ai take her around the campus and get familiar with it.”

Qin Huai knew she was sincerely recommending it. He also knew that aside from the 600,000 yuan annual tuition, Shuanghai High School had no real downsides.

But that tuition fee itself was the biggest issue.

With Qin Luo’s dream of earning 3,000 yuan a month as a cleaner, she would need to work for 50 years just to afford one year of tuition.

Thinking about it this way, Ou Yang was truly outrageous—he lost Qin Luo’s 18 years of wages in just one year.

“This isn’t something I can decide. My mother will have to choose,” Qin Huai said vaguely.

He understood why Chen Huihong recommended Shuanghai High School. With the current revenue of Yunzhong Canteen, 600,000 a year wasn’t too much.

But in the Qin family, convincing Qin Congwen and Zhao Rong to let Qin Huai pay that tuition would be harder than getting Qin Luo into a top university.

With more than half a month left, Qin Huai felt it was time to discuss this seriously with Zhao Rong.

This canteen couldn’t be without Luo Luo…or her hand-shaken lemon tea!

The rest of the time, aside from waiting for Granny Ding to deliver the locust blossom honey, Qin Huai was studying whether citrus peel tea could be made with salt and brown sugar.

The internet said yes.

His family’s ancestral rules said no.

According to their ancestors, herbal teas could only be made with rock sugar.

As for when this rule was established, Qin Huai could only guess: probably when the Qin family could finally afford rock sugar.

After browsing recipes online for a while, Qin Huai felt like making some.

Herbal tea was quick to prepare.

Citrus peel tea, in particular, was very fast.

In at most ten to twenty minutes, a pot of steaming, slightly bitter yet refreshing tea could be ready.

Now he had tea leaves, dried citrus peel, traditional brown sugar, and salt.

He felt a bit tempted.

“Luo Luo, is Mom at home?” Qin Huai asked to confirm Zhao Rong wouldn’t suddenly appear at the canteen.

“She went home to sleep an hour ago. Of course she’s at home,” Qin Luo replied, thinking her brother was acting strange again.

Qin Huai let out a sigh of relief and began preparing the ingredients, adding them to the pot in sequence. Only a small amount of salt was needed.

Seeing him start brewing tea again, Qin Luo said nothing and went to look for lemons.

While searching in the storage room, she muttered, “Could Brother Yang have been right? Is my brother planning to send Mom to that expensive international school, and making more tea sales to cover costs?”

Fifteen minutes later, the citrus peel tea was ready.

Qin Luo had also finished counting the lemons in storage—eight boxes left, which should be enough.

Qin Huai poured a small bowl, blew on it, and took a sip.

He fell silent.

Damn, this citrus peel tea actually tasted pretty good.

Old Master Luo had taste—this was refined. Qin Huai even felt it was time to look into the bad reviews Luo Da had left for various shops to see if there were hidden insights.

There was a reason their family’s herbal teas weren’t selling well—those ancestral rules might be flawed.

Qin Huai suspected his own taste buds were off, so he took another sip and smacked his lips.

Oh my goodness, it really did taste good.

Was this even the citrus peel tea he had grown up drinking?

Seeing the varied expressions on Qin Huai’s face, Zheng Siyuan approached with concern. “Are you feeling unwell?”

“Want some citrus peel tea?” Qin Huai offered.

Zheng Siyuan: ?

I admit my father has been hinting lately about the benefits of becoming his apprentice, which is annoying—but you don’t have to take revenge on me for that.

“He’ll be here soon. You can take it out on him directly.”

“I just discovered a new recipe. It really tastes good,” Qin Huai said sincerely.

After a moment of thought, Zheng Siyuan decided to trust him and drank half a small bowl.

After one sip, he immediately asked for another bowl.

The two of them ended up drinking tea enthusiastically.

Qin Luo, coming out of the storage room and seeing this scene, froze:

(°Д°)

“Oh no… my brother and Brother Zheng have lost it!”

Granny Ding’s arrival interrupted their tea-tasting session.

“Chef Xiao Qin! Chef Xiao Qin! The locust blossom honey has arrived!” Granny Ding shouted as she entered, sweat covering her forehead, clearly having rushed over immediately upon receiving it.

Qin Huai hurried out to greet her.

Granny Ding placed the package on the table and quickly opened it, displaying two jars of honey.

“Absolutely pure natural honey! Only lightly filtered, no processing at all. I specifically instructed them. I even brought half a bag of steamed buns for my in-laws—completely natural!” she said proudly.

“My in-laws said they also have wild honey, though not locust blossom honey. Do you want it? I can go get it right now,” she added, as if ready to fetch it on command.

“No need, this is already great,” Qin Huai quickly replied, signaling the staff to bring Granny Ding a bowl of cool mung bean soup.

“Granny Ding, please sit and rest. Have some mung bean soup before you go. I still have work to do in the kitchen…”

“You go ahead and work, don’t mind me,” Granny Ding said with a smile, waving him off.

Heaven and earth may be great, but making pastries is greater.

Qin Huai carried the two jars of honey into the kitchen and began examining them with Zheng Siyuan.

Compared to the processed honey they had used before, these natural ones contained more impurities.

This also confirmed that Granny Ding’s in-laws hadn’t deceived her—these were indeed pure natural products.

They were ready.

From the moment Qin Huai suspected the issue lay with the honey, both he and Zheng Siyuan had been looking forward to obtaining suitable honey to make properly balanced locust blossom steamed buns.

“Should we wait for Uncle Zheng?” Qin Huai asked.

Zheng Da had been on strike yesterday, was late today, and was still on the way.

“No need,” Zheng Siyuan replied. “Now that the honey is here, whether my father comes or not doesn’t matter. He hasn’t made pastries for years and always drags his feet. He’ll probably arrive this afternoon and start directly. No need to wait.”

So the two of them got to work.

Using the same process as before, which they had practiced for two weeks, they were already very familiar with it.

Kneading.

Mixing.

Fermentation.

Their movements were smooth and seamless.

Both observed their own dough and each other’s.

“Is your dough fermenting a bit slowly?” Qin Huai quickly noticed the difference. Zheng Siyuan’s dough was visibly fermenting much slower than his.

Locust blossom steamed buns already fermented more slowly than regular yeast buns, and Zheng Siyuan’s dough was even slower—unusually so.

“Maybe the unprocessed honey contains too many microorganisms affecting fermentation?” Zheng Siyuan speculated.

Qin Huai nodded. “Possible.”

“Then… should we make more batches?”

“Alright.”

They continued working.

By the time Zheng Da finally arrived at the canteen, the doughs prepared by Qin Huai and Zheng Siyuan were already lined up on the counter—quantity over everything.

Some were fermenting, some in secondary fermentation, and some already steaming in the pot.

Each of them still had a piece of unfinished dough in hand.

Zheng Da was stunned. He thought the canteen had landed a huge order—thousands of buns.

These two kids were too stubborn. For such a big order, you should use a dough mixer! How long would it take to knead by hand? And why make such small batches—did they think they were being frugal with locust blossom buns?

Zheng Da changed clothes and entered the kitchen, just about to ask what was going on when Zheng Siyuan spoke first.

“Dad, look at these doughs’ fermentation.”

Zheng Da looked down.

“Huh?”

“What’s going on?” he asked. Why were the fermentation results all different?

“Qin Huai and I discovered that making locust blossom steamed buns might depend on luck,” Zheng Siyuan said. “Natural honey contains a lot of microorganisms, so fermentation is unpredictable.”

“However, the results are indeed much better than processed honey,” Qin Huai added. “It’s just a bit like opening blind boxes—quite exciting.”

Zheng Da felt he couldn’t understand the younger generation’s way of speaking.

“Are the ones steaming in the pot the first batch?” he asked.

“We steamed six batches at once,” Zheng Siyuan replied. “Two from me, four from Qin Huai. My first dough failed fermentation.”

After speaking, Zheng Siyuan handed Zheng Da a freshly baked scallion sesame flatbread made from the failed dough.

Zheng Da: …

Chewing the flatbread, he stared at the steamer. “How long until they’re done?”

“About one or two minutes. I set a timer…”

“They’re ready,” Qin Huai interrupted.

He had already seen it.

[Locust Blossom Steamed Buns B-Grade]
[Locust Blossom Steamed Buns C+ Grade]
[Locust Blossom Steamed Buns B-Grade]
[Locust Blossom Steamed Buns B-Grade]

Even if it was like opening blind boxes, this batch had surprisingly good quality.

Great—his locust blossom steamed buns had finally reached B-grade!

Wearing gloves, Qin Huai eagerly opened the steamer, selecting a B-grade bun to taste what a B-grade version of something with an S-grade potential would be like.

Steam filled the kitchen.

He quickly picked out buns with tongs—handing Zheng Siyuan one B-grade bun and taking one for himself. Just as he was about to give Zheng Da another B-grade bun, Zheng Da had already picked out a C+ one himself.

Qin Huai: …

Well, with his appetite, Zheng Da could probably still eat another B-grade one later.

After a few minutes of cooling, Zheng Da—least afraid of heat—took a bite of his bun.

He chewed carefully.

“Not much improvement. Slightly better, but the effect isn’t obvious. The honey probably isn’t the main factor.”

Ha, his chance had come.

Zheng Da felt it was time to demonstrate his expertise again.

“Doesn’t make sense,” Zheng Siyuan said, taking a bite of Qin Huai’s B-grade bun. After chewing, he looked at Zheng Da skeptically.

“Soft texture with good chewiness, a subtle locust blossom honey aroma, and the sweetness blends well with the bun’s natural sweetness. And you call this no significant improvement?”

Zheng Da: ?

He took another bite of his own bun, looking confused.

Qin Huai couldn’t watch any longer and handed him his bun. “Uncle Zheng, fermentation varies with each batch. Try this one.”

Zheng Da took a bite, then slowly raised his head, trying to hold back tears.

Ugh… his apprentice was gone.

His sorrow went unnoticed. Qin Huai and Zheng Siyuan were visibly delighted.

Zheng Siyuan had already booked a flight home for that evening.

Qin Huai decided to make a big batch of locust blossom steamed buns the next day to celebrate breaking into B-grade and moving closer to S-grade.

Unfortunately, Qin Luo had gone to sleep after seeing no one buying her hand-shaken lemon tea, missing out on fresh buns.

Just as Qin Huai felt a bit regretful, Chen Huihong entered, holding Chen Huihui’s hand.

“Xiao Qin, do you have any buns?” she asked.

“Good afternoon, Brother Qin Huai,” Chen Huihui greeted.

“Yes, freshly made. Though they’re not buckwheat buns—they’re locust blossom buns with a bit of buckwheat flour mixed in. Is that okay?” Qin Huai asked.

“Your buns? Of course they’re fine. Two, please. Huihui didn’t eat lunch after snacking all morning at her uncle’s house, and she’s been hungry since we came back,” Chen Huihong said.

Chen Huihui lowered her head shyly.

“Huihui, snacks are fine, but you still need to eat meals,” Qin Huai smiled as he handed the buns out. “Careful, they’re hot.”

Chen Huihui took one from her mother and took a small bite.

“Ding! Congratulations, player, on completing the side quest [Chen Huihui’s Wish]. Reward: [Chen Huihui’s Approval], [A Dream Segment of Chen Huihong].”

At the same time, Chen Huihui happily said to Chen Huihong:

“Mom, this bun is delicious! Super delicious!”