Chapter 314: Pork and Vegetable Buns (Part 3)
Qin Huai thought he probably figured it out.
Qin Huai watched An Youyou placing the buns on the steamer; the first batch was almost ready.
Pei Xing and Li Hua, Qin Huai didn't let them leave, asking them to wait for the first batch to finish steaming and taste it before they go.
Luo Jun and Chen Huihong were already sitting by the window, the last warm cup of Dried Tangerine Peel Tea from the restaurant sitting in front of Luo Jun, next to a cold Coconut No. 1.
Watching Luo Jun switching between sips of warm Dried Tangerine Peel Tea and cold Coconut No. 1, Qin Huai felt that this old bird was going to have a stomach upset tonight.
But seeing Luo Jun with a look as if someone offended him, Qin Huai thought enjoying iced drinks with Dried Tangerine Peel Tea was not bad, cooling and calming.
The sky outside was already darkening.
No matter how you calculate, it was evening.
The first batch of customers dining at Yunzhong Restaurant for dinner had already finished and were preparing to leave.
Luo Jun was staring unhappily at Chen Huihong, who was sitting opposite him munching on sunflower seeds, and angrily gulped down his Coconut No. 1: "Chen Huihong, can you not sit opposite me and munch sunflower seeds?"
Chen Huihong calmly spat out the shells: "I can only sit opposite you, otherwise no one else dares to sit here. It's almost dinner time, and surely you can't occupy a table alone affecting Master Qin's business?"
After speaking, Chen Huihong pointed to the window: "Look at Youyou, working so diligently. If Master Qin hadn't told me, I wouldn't have guessed she's the Three-legged Golden Toad."
"Keep your voice down."
"Don't worry, no one around, even if they hear they'll think I'm narrating a novel plot."
"You..."
"Hey, the buns seem ready! I'm going to buy some, how many do you want?"
"Two."
Chen Huihong eagerly went to queue.
Apart from Chen Huihong, many others paying attention to the window noticed the buns were ready. Many saw Qin Huai making buns in the afternoon, and it's common knowledge at Yunzhong Restaurant that if the buns are made by Qin Huai, it means Qin Huai made them himself.
Since Qin Huai stopped being the breakfast master chef, the frequency and quantity of his bun making sharply decreased. Every time he made some, they would be snatched up within two batches, each less than 10 minutes, not only by office workers from nearby offices, but some residents of Yunzhong Restaurant hadn't eaten buns for several days.
Now that he made so many, everyone was absolutely ravenous.
The first aunt in the queue excitedly asked: "What buns are these? Are they Three Meat Buns? Give me 10!"
Such extravagance.
"These aren't Three Meat Buns, they're Master Qin's new vegetable buns, just three yuan each," the service staff at the window said with a smile, "Aunt Liu, please don't rush; the steamer hasn't come back yet."
Hearing that Qin Huai was making vegetable buns, Aunt Liu was even more thrilled; vegetable buns are great, inexpensive.
Master Qin makes snacks daily, and while variety is good, it also pushed up costs. The Four Happiness glutinous rice dish, while delicious, was too expensive at 68 yuan per bowl. Residents in Yunzhong District had money, but it didn't mean they weren't mindful of spending.
Many times, uncles and aunts lamented, ah, it's really too pricey, while fiercely chewing, hoping to chew back the money.
Green Bean Cake was also nice, cheap, but too scarce to grasp; 333 pounds a day was far from enough for the patrons to snag. Many office workers nearby, though not having lunch or dinner at Yunzhong Restaurant, would intentionally drop by to purchase a portion to take away.
In their words, not having Green Bean Cake in the afternoon tea during work made the day seem pointless.
Now that Qin Huai was selling affordable snacks, plain vegetable buns, Aunt Liu nearly shed tears of joy.
"Vegetable buns are excellent, give me 20!" Aunt Liu expressed her excitement.
"Aunt Liu, can your family consume 20 vegetable buns? Let's say just 10, there are quite a few people waiting behind," the service staff kindly reminded.
Only then did Aunt Liu realize she almost purchased excessively in her moment of excitement; what a narrow escape from being rightfully corrected.
"I misspoke earlier, 10, give me 10," Aunt Liu said with a smile.
Just as they were speaking, the buns arrived.
The freshly steamed buns were brought to the window, and all involved, including An Youyou, had already tasted the first bite during their break.
The freshly cooked buns were very hot.
But it didn't matter, An Youyou, having grown up selling breakfast at home, had experience. As long as one could grip them, continuously blowing on them meant you could eat them; vegetable buns weren't like red bean paste buns—bun filling wouldn't be scorching hot, just gently bite small bites to avoid burning your tongue.
An Youyou was the first to speak.
A small nibble.
This time, Qin Huai made the vegetable pork bun with thin skin.
In the dream, Jiang Weiguo made the vegetable pork buns with thin skin, not to emphasize a thin skin and ample filling, simply because An Youyou bought less dough while cabbage needed more.
If the dough wasn't smaller, the skin thinner, it wouldn't wrap everything.
The thin skin's advantage was, even if An Youyou took just a little bite, it reached the filling.
Quite straightforward, but not particularly bland, although not overly rich in taste, yet still decent filling.
An ordinary vegetable bun, yet tastier than regular ones.
The pork fat added a hint of greasiness and meat flavor to the plain cabbage filling.
An Youyou felt like this bun was truly delicious.
Clearly, it was just an ordinary vegetable bun; the taste didn't stand out much, far from as tasty as Qin Huai's Three Meat Buns, Five Fillings Buns, or red bean paste buns, but An Youyou simply found this vegetable bun delicious.
It carried a special sense of satisfaction, even a bit of happiness.
Eating it brought a feeling akin to having a salary without working, though such is absolutely impossible.
"Master Qin, this vegetable bun you made is incredibly delicious, I've never had such tasty vegetable buns! If my dad had this skill, even if my mom only gave me 100 yuan… no, 500 yuan a month, I'd happily get up at 2 in the morning to help my dad make buns!"
Pei Xing:!
What?! Such a way to flatter exists!
Qin Huai smiled and said, "Really? I'm truly honored then. But you chopped the filling for the bun, your contribution made it delicious."
"By the way, Youyou, I plan to promote you to assistant crew leader starting next month, with basic salary raised by 1,500, plus an extra 600 yuan bonus, and a 2% extra commission on the radish cake sales."
"Thank you, Master Qin, but what's an assistant crew leader?"
"Don't worry about it, just know your salary's up by 1,500."
"Thank you, Master Qin!!!"