Qin Huai spent a night researching video tutorials on potato dumplings and finally concluded—
This recipe is pretty bad.
The ingredients are too simple and poorly matched, copious potatoes with a few diced bacon, no seasoning, it's purely carbs wrapped in carbs, the taste and texture are indescribably awkward.
If he were to modify the recipe, Qin Huai didn't know where to start.
Potato dumplings aren't like Four Happiness Dumplings. Qin Huai managed to create a recipe that's unlike any traditional Four Happiness Dumplings because those only imposed restrictions on shape and four types of fillings. It seed limited but actually allowed Qin Huai to invent freely.
Yet, potato dumplings...
Firstly, before pulling this recipe from Zhao Cheng'an's mory, Qin Huai had no idea you could use potatoes for dumpling filling.
Secondly, potato dumplings are too strictly bound to their raw materials.
Wang Gen Sheng's recollections of potato dumplings may seem devoid of content, but there was one core piece of information—potato filling.
It must be potato filling, and it has to have a large proportion of potato filling. When Wang Gen Sheng ate potato dumplings back then, if they were potato pork dumplings or potato cabbage dumplings, he could definitely identify other ingredients.
Uncle Wang was so honest; if he couldn't na it, it ant it wasn't there.
Authentic potato filling dumplings...
Qin Huai studied a video tutorial all night but ca up with no leads. Nor could he think of a way to elevate these originally C-level potato dumplings to B-level, B level, or even A-level. After a night of pondering, he resolved to stuff a potato dumpling into Zhao Cheng'an's mouth tomorrow.
Stuffing them while saying, look at your crappy recipe! How should it be changed? Just tell how to and it!
That night, Qin Huai had a nightmare where he failed to stuff potato dumplings into Zhao Cheng'an's mouth. Instead, the Zhao Cheng'an in his first-world form, along with a young version of Xia Mubing, grabbed him and shoved potato dumplings into his mouth, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers laughing.
Zhao Cheng'an was stuffing dumplings into Qin Huai's mouth, shouting, "Qin Huai, my potato dumplings are really delicious, hurry up and eat them."
At 3:37 AM, Qin Huai was jolted awake by the nightmare.
With the principle of being awake already, Qin Huai got up and went to Yunzhong Restaurant, managing to arrive at his workstation before 4 AM, so early that even the diligent worker An Youyou was unnerved.
An Youyou thought she had been absent-minded yesterday and hadn't heard Qin Huai ntion he would co to the restaurant early today. As soon as she saw Qin Huai enter the kitchen, she imdiately apologized: "Master Qin, I'm sorry, I forgot you'd co so early today. I've just arrived at the restaurant by 3 AM, and the ingredients are not yet prepared, I..."
An Youyou's previous working hours were from 3 AM to 4 PM. Since the last tea party at Luo Jun's house, Qin Huai thought An Youyou's work hours were too lengthy and changed them to 3 AM to 3 PM, with a two-hour lunch break in between.
For normal people, these working hours might seem peculiar, but An Youyou was very satisfied.
As An Youyou puts it, sunlight after 3 PM is the best. It's not as cold as morning sunlight, nor as intense as midday sunlight, which if exposed for too long can make one sweat and easily tan.
Afternoon sunlight is the warst; its color and temperature make people feel cozy.
Now, An Youyou gets off work at three in the afternoon. After work, Gong Liang hands her a cup of tea, saying a few seemingly polite but truly polite encouraging words, telling An Youyou that Xiao An worked hard today.
An Youyou doesn't know how to taste tea, nor can she judge the quality of Gong Liang's tea. She can't discern the aftertaste or the aroma, only finding it slightly bitter but very refreshing and enjoying this cup of tea after work every day.
On WeChat with Qu Jing, An Youyou said she thought this after-work tea was like the warmth and care exclusive to the protagonist in the family sitcoms she loved as a child.
Regardless of the chaos in the protagonist's life, all problems as big as the sky could be solved within a 40-minute episode. No matter how unsatisfactory the protagonist's life was, they could live in a warm, cozy environnt with friendly neighbors, always receiving care and help from them or unfamiliar strangers, and enjoying the best sunshine at the best ti, pulling the curtain to reveal a sunny day outside.
An Youyou's working hours ant she couldn't see the bright sun upon waking but could at her off ti.
Though not wealthy and without any balance in her bank account, each month's salary spent as it arrives—even her savings are ant for better future spending—she really lives in a beautiful, welcoming environnt with friendly neighbors.
Even in an elevator building.
With a big sofa, she lies on it every day soaking up the sun.
An Youyou said that the cup of tea handed to her by Gong Liang daily was like a protagonist's pass; drinking it allowed her to return ho as the protagonist rather than a naless character in the protagonist's story.
Qu Jing truthfully shared all the chat records in the group, and after reading them, Gong Liang, like an NPC delivering welfare, brewed, poured, and set tea to cool at the appointed ti, ensuring An Youyou could drink it first thing after work at the most suitable temperature.
Gong Liang didn't care whether he was the protagonist or not, as a self-made successful Scamr, he'd been the protagonist for too long and was unbothered about playing an NPC in soone else's story.
Sorry for getting sidetracked, let's refocus on the kitchen.
Qin Huai interrupted An Youyou with a gentle smile: "Youyou, your work is excellent, I'm just early today."
"Have you prepared the ingredients?" Qin Huai asked.
An Youyou pointed to the already cut vegetables and a bit of chicken dice: "I usually start with vegetables; I haven't begun on the pork yet."
Pork is the most used ingredient in Yunzhong Restaurant's breakfast section. Most filled breakfast items made by Qin Huai require pork, Three at Buns, Five Fillings Bun, Four Happiness glutinous rice, big at buns... Even vegetable buns, like shiitake vegetable buns, have to contain a bit of minced at.
Pure vegetable buns aren't tasty; they need so at to taste good.
The most ordinary glutinous rice siu mai also needs a bit of diced at for flavor.
"That's perfect; we don't need to prepare much pork this morning. Do we have potatoes? Make so mashed potatoes; they need to be smooth, the smoother, the better."
"Yes, we do." An Youyou hurried to find potatoes, not forgetting to ask, "Master Qin, what snack are we using mashed potatoes for?"
These days, besides helping Qin Huai prepare ingredients, An Youyou stands next to him, watching him make snacks, developing a habit of asking questions boldly when unsure.
"Potato dumplings." Qin Huai said nonchalantly, a hint of clenched teeth revenge in his calm words, "Your Master Zhao particularly loves potato dumplings; let's make him so extra to have for breakfast."
An Youyou didn't understand, but since Qin Huai said so, she decided to prep the ingredients properly, making sure the mashed potatoes were smooth.
Qin Huai went to dice the bacon.
During the last ti in Beiping, Qin Huai did make a bowl of potato dumplings, but he didn't eat them himself, so he didn't know what they tasted like.
Definitely not good.
Qin Huai didn't want to cook C-level potato dumplings in Yunzhong Restaurant, as it might tarnish Master Qin's reputation. Even if he really wanted to stuff dumplings into Zhao Cheng'an's mouth, they'd have to be at least B-level.
Master Qin was just this ambitious and considerate.
The recipe was certainly going to be revised, but how it'd be altered, Qin Huai was unsure, leading him to two approaches: conservative and radical.
The conservative approach would retain potato as the main ingredient while slightly enriching other ingredients, with more focus on seasoning.
The radical approach was to add anything good for dumplings. Things like pineapple pizza, durian pizza; disregard foreigners' opinions—as long as they taste good, they're good pizzas.
Of course, chocolate dumplings and strawberry dumplings are absolutely not allowed.
As Qin Huai planned the general direction for several types of potato dumplings in his head, he mumbled, "I wonder what Zhao Cheng'an's appetite is like."
"I've known him for so long, and have never tested his appetite. The last ti witnessing two als at Fen Garden was only about dishes, not how well he handles dumplings in battle."
"Hopefully, he can eat several plates."
"If he can't, Old Shi will have to eat them; these potato dumplings are so bad I'm embarrassed to let Old Shi eat more."
An Youyou: ?
If they're bad, why make them?
An Youyou didn't understand but continued preparing the ingredients earnestly because Master Qin must have his reasoning for doing so.
This is the basic quality of an excellent employee at Yunzhong Restaurant.
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