Since it's about teaching, Qin Huai plans to teach An Youyou sothing real.
But how do you teach sothing real? What exactly is real?
How about giving the Snack Encyclopedia to An Youyou and letting her take it back to study? Teach whichever one she likes?
But the Snack Encyclopedia is not in Hangzhou. Qin Huai didn't bring it this ti; the book is still at his ho in Shan City. Although Tan Wei'an hyped it up like the Nine Yang Divine Skill martial arts secret manual at Zhiwei Restaurant, Qin Huai, who had flipped through it so many tis as a child that the pages were worn, knew it was just a cookbook bought for a dollar at a flea market.
Having always been taught by others, Qin Huai realized for the first ti how difficult it is to teach soone. At this mont, he even felt a bit of empathy for Zheng Da.
Although Zheng Da was awkward with words, he at least knew what to teach and where to start, doing demonstration teaching particularly well. When Qin Huai looked up at An Youyou now, he felt utterly in the dark, not even knowing how to demonstrate what to teach.
Qin Huai pretended the resu was fascinating, looked at it for over ten minutes, and then slowly said: "Youyou, you wrote in your resu that you've been helping out with dough kneading at your family's breakfast shop since fifth grade, and occasionally responsible for making stead buns after graduating from middle school."
An Youyou nodded: "The stead buns in our shop are very cheap, four dis each for large quantities. Previously, there was a clothing factory in our town, and the boss would order stead buns from our breakfast shop. My mom wanted to work at that factory after I grew up, but before I was old enough, the factory closed down. I didn't want to work there anyway; the factory boss was too stingy, providing only two stead buns and a vegetarian bun for breakfast. You had to pay extra for eggs. At my family's shop, you could sneak-eat five or six at buns in the morning."
Qin Huai: ...You can tell, this kid has been good at sneaking food since childhood.
"How do you think your stead buns are?" Qin Huai asked.
An Youyou thought seriously for a few minutes, not quite sure: "I used to think my stead buns tasted pretty good."
"I'm strong, so the dough I knead is delicious, and steaming buns doesn't require adding any filling. As long as the flour is good, the stead buns are fragrant. So when I first ca to Shan City, I wanted to find a place where I could make stead buns. I have no education but I have the skill."
"But it was only at Yunzhong Restaurant that I realized making buns isn't just about being strong, nor is kneading dough just about brute force. I initially asked Master Chen, who told that strength is foundational; to be a breakfast shop master, you need to be strong and resilient. Kneading dough has techniques; I must learn how to make the dough elastic, how to make it fluffy, and how to judge the state of the dough."
"I could understand a bit of what Master Chen said. He taught a lot, but I struggled to learn. Later, Master Pei and Master Li ca along. They told kneading dough requires skill, and more importantly, learning to exert force properly, not just using brute strength which is counterproductive and could hurt your back. Master Pei taught dough kneading techniques, how to use finesse, where to exert force, but I didn't understand much."
"However, Master Pei did praise , saying my progress was noticeable, but I didn't know where I improved."
Qin Huai told An Youyou that day that he was assessing her, asking her to speak frankly to see if she had the courage, and An Youyou did.
Qin Huai could tell everything she said was genuinely straightforward, no exaggeration.
Based on what An Youyou said, Qin Huai felt she had so talent in making snacks. An Youyou's theoretical level lagged behind her practical skills; her vision wasn't broad, and she could accomplish things without understanding them, even though she was indeed making progress without knowing where.
She was the quintessential apprentice learning without a master.
An Youyou entirely relied on the experience accumulated from making basic breakfasts long-term at the breakfast shop, later enriched by sporadic guidance from Chen An, Pei Xing, and Li Hua at Yunzhong Restaurant. This raw growth environnt validated An Youyou's talent, while also revealing its limitations.
A bit of talent but not much.
Normally, An Youyou might spend her whole life reaching Chen An's level. Her skills would be slightly better than a typical breakfast shop master but far from a snack master. If she was willing to bear hardships, she could run her own breakfast shop soday—selling breakfast at dawn, building a clientele, making small profits and quick sales, living a stable life, saving up to buy her own house in middle age, owning her own shop before retiring, winding up a peaceful and secure life.
If not wanting a hard life, she could find a shop willing to pay high salaries to hire a breakfast shop master like Chen An and work for others. With her skills, she'd never starve; though earning less than running her own shop, at least she'd be content and wouldn't worry about managent affairs.
Now An Youyou had a plan C.
"I understand now." Qin Huai nods, "Becoming a snack master doesn't suit you. Being a breakfast shop master is your real path."
"Continue preparing the ingredients, and once I finish the morning eting, I'll guide you in making buns. Let's start with buns, then vegetarian buns, at buns, shumai, xiaolongbao, and rice rolls. A well-made breakfast makes a breakfast master no less than a snack master; follow step by step. We don't need excessive fundantal drills; the learning pace is swift."
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