CHAPTER 497: CHAPTER 274: MASTER LEVEL FILLING (2)

"How’s it?" Qin Huai asked.

"Tasty, but not as good as the last one." Qin Luo chewed carefully, showing a pensive expression, "It feels less delicate in texture, and not as meaty."

"No, it’s not that it’s not meaty, it’s just not as fragrant as before, that one had such a fragrant meat flavor."

Qin Luo wasn’t very clear in her expression, but Qin Huai already understood.

Soaking in starch water can greatly enhance the meat filling itself, but this enhancement assumes the meat filling is already scoring sufficiently high.

For example, if the meat filling is 60 points, a 10% boost raises it to 66 points. But if the meat filling is 100 points, a 10% boost takes it to 110 points.

Cao Guixiang’s masterful knife skills give a very high base score to the meat filling, and after soaking in starch water, it undergoes a complete transformation.

Conclusion: Shortcuts are not advisable, just practice more cooking.

Cao Guixiang’s knife skills can give a base score boost to the meat filling, and Qin Huai believes that master-level filling can do the same.

He now knows what an A-level Four Happiness Glutinous Rice looks like, has a goal to strive for, motivation to work hard, and the pressure of deadlines.

March 19th is Han Youxin’s birthday, and now it’s already February 16th, there is only a month left until the birthday banquet.

Given the current progress of rapidly increasing filling skill level, Qin Huai is confident he can reach master-level filling before the Lantern Festival.

He’ll use half the remaining time to continue practicing the Four Happiness Glutinous Rice, consolidating, and the other half to hone his control of heat.

Cao Guixiang is undoubtedly a master of hot dishes, and much more impressive than Huang Shengli, with whom he’s already connected on WeChat, so Qin Huai figures it would be a shame to waste it.

He spent a few months learning under Master Huang and now can take a few days of online courses with Master Cao.

If he could do two days of offline courses, that would be even better.

Qin Huai says that with Li Hua and Pei Xing at Yunzhong Restaurant, he’s at ease; as their boss, he might not return to Yunzhong Restaurant on time for the Lantern Festival. The neighborhood folks will have to wait a few more days as he continues to improve himself.

Master Qin is too eager to make progress!

The overly eager Master Qin feels he can’t waste any more time; his previous efficiency was still too slow, and he can’t gossip anymore while making Four Happiness Glutinous Rice.

Listening to gossip would only slow down his making of rice balls.

Qin Huai looked at the big and small bowls on the cooking table with bright eyes, feeling a burning fighting spirit within him.

The flame inside him was kindled!

"Luoluo." Qin Huai glanced at Qin Luo, who was still staring eagerly at the only A-level Fourth Level Rice Dumpling, "Take the dumplings inside to eat."

"Huh?" Qin Luo immediately had a bad premonition.

"Finish eating and start your worksheets. It’s already the sixth day of the New Year, and you’ve only done two of the worksheets the teachers assigned. You have to at least finish one math worksheet today."

Qin Luo felt like the sky was falling.

She didn’t understand why her brother’s mood could shift faster than flipping a book, making snacks for her to sample one minute, and the next minute having her carry the snacks back to her room to do worksheets.

But Qin Luo knows her priorities and understands that delaying doesn’t benefit her and could lead to more serious consequences—like eating several more days of Four Happiness Glutinous Rice.

And she probably wouldn’t get anything as tasty as just now.

Qin Luo obediently took the dumplings back to her room to do her worksheets.

Qin Luo rolled up her sleeves and got into work mode, while also instructing her cousin He Cheng to relay a personnel change.

To tell Old Secretary that he’s out of a job, and doesn’t need to come to the kitchen to gossip anymore; Master Qin has no time to listen.

The corresponding point is that since Old Secretary introduced Zhang Chu’s family that made an indelible contribution to Master Qin’s Four Happiness Glutinous Rice endeavor, even if Old Secretary doesn’t come gossip, he can still get three bags of rice balls every day until full!

Taking a day off, after sending Zhang Chu’s family off, returning home happily to play mahjong, Old Secretary felt like the sky had fallen.

What good are three bags of Four Happiness Glutinous Rice, his staff meal is gone!

Qin Dali, oh Qin Dali, how could you overlook it? After sending Xiao Zhang and his family away, you should have quickly returned to the kitchen to tell Qin Huai more exciting gossip, is mahjong really that fun? Did you really have to play this mahjong today?

Who was it? Who whispered in Qin Huai’s ear leading to his layoff?

Old Secretary’s and Qin Luo’s thoughts are unknown to Qin Huai because he is completely immersed in the great endeavor of making Four Happiness Glutinous Rice.

On the seventh day of the New Year, visiting relatives left with their hands full of dumplings in big bags and bundles.

On the eighth day of the New Year, more dumplings than on the seventh day were taken by the visiting relatives with famous and named kin.

On the ninth day of the New Year, the relatives almost couldn’t carry them.

Qin Huai drowned in making dumplings in the kitchen, losing track of day and night. He stopped listening to gossip, avoided idle chatter, didn’t drink tea, skipped staff meals, and even delegated his sister’s studies to their parents.

When truly exhausted, he made simple chicken soup noodles to replenish himself.

Since chicken soup noodles were made so frequently, the task of cooking chicken soup was outsourced to several chicken farming households in the village. For a time, the village’s old hens met their demise, and households filled the air with chicken soup fragrance.

If a house emitted a slurping sound at noon or in the afternoon, it indicated their old hen had met its end.

If making chicken soup noodles got tiring, Qin Huai would click on the familiar screen to check his skill level.

Just a glance and he’d be revitalized.

Victory is within reach, everyone!

Friends who enjoy gaming all know, when on a winning streak, you don’t feel tired.

No one would say, when a boss is down to its last sliver of health, "Oh, today’s been too long, I’ll stop here and not take down that last sliver."

By the tenth day of the New Year, Granny Qin decided things couldn’t continue this way.

Not because she was worried about her grandson.