"What is the most important thing in making layered snacks? It’s temperature. Are you at the level where you can consider temperature now? How many tis do I have to tell you not to aim too high, to run before you learn to walk? Why didn’t I let you knead dough in the low-temperature room? Is there a need for that? Is your skill level such that you need to knead dough there specifically?"
"Look at the dough you kneaded, and then look at Lao San’s. Lao San is only a few years older than you. You are Little Su’s nephew and have been an apprentice at Zhiwei Restaurant since childhood. Have people praised you so much over the years that you’ve beco conceited? Do you rember what the dough Lao San kneaded looked like at your age?"
"Tell , what is this dough for? Is it for layered snacks, stead snacks, or just regular buns?"
"Haven’t I repeatedly emphasized that different snacks require different dough? During the apprenticeship stage, things have to be complex, refined, and you have to be ticulous about every detail. Have you done that?"
"I asked you to draw an orchid, and you added unnecessary details and even drew an extra grasshopper on it. Do you think you’re being funny? Not doing what you’re supposed to do, insisting on doing what you’re not supposed to do. I just praised you yesterday for showing progress recently, but today you’ve kneaded the dough like this. Did you get motion sick on the way here from ho, or has the sun outside given you heatstroke, and hasn’t your temperature cooled down yet?"
Under Master Zhou’s machine-gun-like verbal assault, Su Qian didn’t dare to breathe heavily or lift his head, and could only obediently take the scolding.
This was in sharp contrast to the high-spirited Su Qian at Yunzhong Restaurant.
Qin Huai stood at the side, watching from afar, not daring to make a sound. He instinctively took two steps towards Zhao Cheng’an, the closest to him, to stay away from the center of the conflict and took a glance at the dough Zhao Cheng’an was kneading.
To be fair, Qin Huai thought there wasn’t much wrong with the dough Su Qian had kneaded; it was at his skill level. Qin Huai could roughly tell what Su Qian intended to make with the dough, most likely buns, and highly likely Three at Buns.
At Yunzhong Restaurant, Su Qian practiced making Three at Buns the most because Qin Huai explained Three at Buns most thoroughly. Su Qian may have done it to please him or to learn as much as possible from Qin Huai, spending most of his ti making Three at Buns, even using spare ti for his most skilled layered snacks.
Qin Huai believed Master Zhou saw through this too, which is why he scolded so harshly because, for the dough of Three at Buns, Su Qian’s kneaded dough was not up to standard.
The standards for Three at Buns dough are very high. Su Qian still chose to make Three at Buns after returning to Zhiwei Restaurant, likely harboring so desire to showcase himself before Master Zhou. Yet, as Master Zhou’s scolding pointed out, wanting to show oneself before mastering the basics is unnecessary if the results aren’t up to par.
Qin Huai took another look at the dough Zhao Cheng’an was kneading.
Qin Huai wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt the dough Zhao Cheng’an was kneading was also intended for Three at Buns and kneaded so beautifully that it instantly overshadowed Su Qian’s dough beside it.
"Hi," Zhao Cheng’an greeted Qin Huai with a smile even amidst Master Zhou’s furious scolding. "I ate the Three at Buns you made yesterday. Pretty good craftsmanship, not too shabby compared to mine. I was in the low-temperature room then, wanted to co over to say hi, but couldn’t leave since my snacks were unfinished. By the ti I was done, you had already gone ho."
"Those Three at Buns were indeed impressive yesterday. No wonder Tan Wei’an kept bragging about you after returning from Huang Ji last ti, claiming he finally t a rival, soone even more of a freak than I am."
Qin Huai: ....
Tan Wei’an, you didn’t tell you were promoting so much at Zhiwei Restaurant yesterday.
"Master Zhao... Are you also good at making Three at Buns?" Qin Huai politely asked.
In truth, Qin Huai knew Zhao Cheng’an dabbled in many snacks. Tan Wei’an had ntioned this to him before, even casually remarked about how capricious geniuses like them were, while others hitting the limit by specializing in one thing.
Over the years, Zhao Cheng’an hadn’t been as astonishing as before, partly because he dabbled in everything, learning a bit of everything without specializing.
"I know a little," Zhao Cheng’an replied with a smile. "Of course, I’m best at making layered snacks. I made them so frequently as a kid I got sick of them, and haven’t enjoyed making them much these recent years. Tan Wei’an ntioned you excel in various snacks too. Are you good at Western pastries? Any interest in them? I’ve been thinking of studying Western pastries lately. Watching the master bake egg tarts daily makes want to bake so myself. I secretly baked a batch recently, and the master scolded for being unfocused."
"Was that baking egg tarts?" Zhou Yan, from the adjacent culinary station, couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him while continuing her work. "You tried using the layered technique the master uses for egg tarts, wanted to try it a little, but were too lazy to make egg tarts from scratch, so you went to the store and bought a bottle of egg tart filling."
"Are you still the snack master of Zhiwei Restaurant? Buying egg tart filling from the store to make egg tarts, why not buy the tart shells too? What part of the master’s scolding was wrong?" She said, handing the freshly prepared filling to Zhao Cheng’an, "Give it a taste, see if there’s any problem. The last batch was still a bit bland."
Zhao Cheng’an skillfully took it, picked up a bit with chopsticks, and tasted it, shaking his head: "I think it’s still bland."
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