CHAPTER 787: CHAPTER 399: TAKING THE BLAME

"Burp."

"Burp."

"Burp."

After three loud burps, Dong Shi struggled to swallow the Four Happiness Rolls in his mouth, looking somewhat troubled as he glanced at the half-eaten roll in his hand, pleading silently for his elder brother’s help.

His eyes were full of: Save me, save me, brother, help me eat half of this!

Dong Li also had half of a Four Happiness Roll left uneaten in his hand. He ignored his brother’s plea for help and continued to gnaw on his own, with a blank stare and a numb expression, showing no appreciation for the delicious treat, just a sense of urgency to finish the snack in front of him.

In Huang’s Kitchen, everyone was eating Four Happiness Rolls, each person in a different state, but the feeling expressed by everyone was the same.

They couldn’t eat anymore.

But there was one exception.

That was Shi Dadan, sitting at the entrance of the kitchen, already with his exclusive little stool, a small table, and a dedicated seat.

As for why Shi Dadan received treatment that even Gong Liang, a shareholder, could not attain, it was of course due to his own ability—

Appetite.

It all started on that tearful morning with Zheng Da.

That day, Qin Huai realized the importance of Finger Skill, as well as the difficulty of the Cloud Pattern and the significance of the Four Happiness Rolls.

He finally understood why Zheng Da had murmured next to Guli that they had messed up the day before. Given the difficulty of the Four Happiness Rolls, if Guli really taught them the Cloud Pattern, Guli would surely lead them astray.

After all, Guli’s capabilities were limited; he might be a good commentator but not qualified as a teacher.

Whereas Master Zheng, paired with a commentator, was quite competent as a teacher.

Upon recognizing the difficulty of the Four Happiness Rolls, Qin Huai began to practice diligently and even enlisted a teammate—Guli.

Qin Huai shared his new understanding of the Cloud Pattern with Guli completely. Guli didn’t respond much after listening, but from the next day, he noticeably reduced his practice on other snacks, devoting more energy to learning and making the Four Happiness Rolls.

Tan Wei’an and Zheng Siyuan were not as extreme. For them, the Four Happiness Rolls weren’t their sole focus.

Zheng Siyuan’s interest in the Four Happiness Rolls was far less than in the Double Crab Buns. Qin Huai guessed it might be because the Double Crab Buns were genuinely high-difficulty snacks, challenging in all respects.

They were highly challenging and balanced in development, perfect for someone like Zheng Siyuan, a "hexagonal warrior." The Four Happiness Rolls concentrated all their difficulty on the Cloud Pattern, which leaned heavily on Finger Skill, overly specialized. Since Zheng Siyuan couldn’t master and wasn’t interested in the Cloud Pattern, his interest in the Four Happiness Rolls was limited as well.

As for Tan Wei’an, he was actually quite interested in the Four Happiness Rolls, but he was more self-aware. He knew clearly that he could never make them.

Laughable, having learned Cloud Pattern before to no avail, his own grandfather was an expert in brewing them, so practicing casually was enough. After all, he couldn’t learn the Four Happiness Rolls.

Zang Liang, on the other hand, after briefly observing how the Four Happiness Rolls were made, fully immersed himself in meat cooking and communication, completely integrating with Huang Ji’s chefs. If you didn’t know, you’d think he was one of their chefs.

As for our protagonist, Qin Huai.

He naturally entered a mode of dedicated practice on Four Happiness Rolls, starting each day at Huang Ji by making a batch of rolls, then shaking lotus root powder balls, and alternating between the Four Happiness Rolls and Double Crab Buns. To avoid boredom from making too many of these snacks, he threw in some simple pastries he wanted to make randomly.

Doesn’t it sound similar to how Qin Huai used to practice every snack at Huang Ji?

Wasn’t the Crab Dumplings and Four Happiness glutinous rice done the same way?

Not the same.

While the Crab Dumplings and Four Happiness glutinous rice initially had plenty of failures, these snacks were far more complex than the Four Happiness Rolls. Simply put, these snacks were time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Crab Dumplings required fresh crab roe, and extracting the roe was quite cumbersome. Qin Huai needed at least three helpers to extract crab roe, not to mention seasoning the roe afterwards, which was neither a step that could be skipped nor sped up.

The Four Happiness glutinous rice required no mention either, with four different fillings, some of which needed to be made ahead of time and others freshly prepared. Just making the fillings every day took a long time.

As for the Four Happiness Rolls, their essence was in their visually appealing appearance.

And the characteristic of rolls?

Large quantity and filling.

Previously, while practicing Double Crab Buns, Qin Huai intentionally controlled the amount of buns in each batch because the Double Crab Buns followed a boutique route. Qin Huai had to use multiple smaller batches to determine how to modify them and in which direction.

But the Four Happiness Rolls were different; Qin Huai needed to practice not the yeast or the Filling but the Finger Skill.

Finger Skill had to be accumulated through a lot of practice, essentially by repeatedly honing skill level.

With Qin Huai’s current Intermediate Finger Technique, he couldn’t create Cloud Pattern that met the requirements for Four Happiness Rolls; he knew this well.

And Qin Huai’s Finger Skill indeed needed an upgrade.

When he met Shi Dadan at Cao Guixiang’s house, his Finger Skill was just over 600 skill points away from reaching the Advanced level. Later, while Qin Huai consistently practiced Double Crab Buns, the Finger Skill’s development stagnated. Moreover, Qin Huai had never placed much emphasis on Finger Skill, causing his skill level to remain stuck just as it was about to advance, never quite reaching the Advanced level.