Chapter 624
Poria Cocos Cake
Chapter 624 Poria Cocos Cake
Qin Huai had already made a series of preparations, including palm reading, face reading, writing, reciting numbers, tossing coins, and tossing tortoise shells, but he didn't expect Zhou Hu to ask him to draw tarot cards.
Master Zhou is indeed incredibly well-rounded.
He was skilled in a variety of scams.
Qin Huai had initially thought Zhou Hu had a high chance of successfully overcoming his tribulation on his own, but now it seemed...
My friend is actually the most dangerous one; he genuinely can't afford not to work. Once he loses his job, he'll start researching metaphysical scams. Chinese methods aren't enough for Master Zhou anymore; now he's even starting to study Western methods.
“1、2、3、4、5、6、7、8、9。”秦淮随口报了9个数字，周虎也没有觉得他在糊弄自己，很是淡定认真地依次抽出前9张牌，摆成3×3的九宫格型。
Chen Huihong had already curiously moved closer to Qin Huai, even closer than Qin Huai himself.
Qin Huai looked closely and realized he didn't recognize any of the nine cards, so he could only wait for Zhou Hu to answer them.
If Qin Luo were in the kitchen, Qin Luo might recognize him. Qin Huai vaguely remembered that this unlucky kid liked to play this game in junior high school, often playing with cards in the classroom with his classmates, and eventually the teacher confiscated them. As for whether his predictions were accurate, Qin Huai never asked.
In Qin Huai's opinion, if he were accurate, Qin Luo should have been able to predict that her tarot cards would be confiscated by her teacher.
Zhou Hu squinted at the cards on the table for a while, then smiled, looking relaxed, with even the corners of his mouth slightly upturned: "Master Qin, you will get what you want."
Qin Huai couldn't help but look at Zhou Hu. He rarely heard such a good result from Zhou Hu. Usually, when Zhou Hu calculated for him, the result was not good.
"According to the cards, Master Qin, the problem you're thinking about will soon be resolved, and it will be a result that will satisfy both yourself and everyone else."
"However, this card is a little strange. Master Qin, do you know what your confusion is? It shows that you are actually in a state of confusion. It's the kind of confusion where you think you are very clear-headed, but in reality you don't know the truth, you are only very close to the truth."
“This matter was very important to you, and you needed the help of other people, but the outcome was good because you received help from many people.”
"Judging from the cards alone, you will have a pretty good result. That's great, Master Qin, you will get what you want, and the final result will exceed your expectations."
Qin Huai didn't care what Zhou Hu said in detail. He just silently looked at Zhou Hu, staring at him, trying to hint with his eyes that if that's the case, then give him a side quest.
Isn't that what you wanted? You're the one who issued the mission, give me some missions, Nine-Tailed Fox.
Stop studying tarot cards. You're a nine-tailed fox. Is it believable for a nine-tailed fox to wear a robe, carry a crystal ball, and draw tarot cards for others every day?
Zhou Hu: ?
What does Qin Huai mean by this? I don't believe what he says. I use my bright eyes to tell myself that he doesn't want such a good result. Little Master Qin is addicted to hearing bad results, and suddenly hearing such a good one feels strange.
Zhou Hu's confusion was destined to remain unanswered, because he hadn't had a moment's rest since drawing cards for Qin Huai. Compared to divination and traditional feudal superstitions like the I Ching, Tarot clearly appealed more to Chen Huihong and An Youyou.
Hearing that Tarot readings also cost 15 yuan per session, Chen Huihong immediately transferred 150 yuan to Zhou Hu, indicating she wanted 10 readings, starting with whether Huihui should continue attending violin lessons next year. Chen Huihong felt that the teacher was unreliable and seemed to be ripping her off, and Huihui didn't seem to particularly like the violin, so perhaps it would be better to cultivate some other interests.
After Chen Huihong performed the divination five times, An Youyou spent a large sum of money each time, transferring 15 yuan to Zhou Hu to calculate whether she would have good fortune in the next three months and whether she could make a fortune.
The calculations were incredibly auspicious, promising explosive wealth—not just a windfall, but a meteoric rise to riches. Judging by the results alone, it seemed An Youyou would win a hundred million in the lottery within three months, achieving instant financial freedom.
An Youyou was so excited that she almost cried tears of joy. She immediately transferred another 15 yuan to Zhou Hu, saying that she wanted to calculate it again.
Qin Huai witnessed all of this and felt that it was simply the birth of a living victim.
Who says you can't commit fraud for 15 yuan a time?
Qin Huai stood by the steamer, waiting for the fermented rice buns to come out of the pot, while watching An Youyou and Chen Huihong do a tarot reading. Perhaps the two shills were too cooperative, which made others who weren't very interested in tarot, such as Grandpa Wang, a little tempted. Judging from Grandpa Wang's attitude, Qin Huai estimated that Wang Gensheng would transfer 15 yuan to Zhou Hu within 5 minutes to draw a card and test the waters.
Qin Huai took out his phone from his pocket, took a picture, and planned to save it for Luo Jun to see a few years later when Luo Jun was reincarnated, to tell Luo Jun that this was the evidence that Chen Huihong had been cheated out of 150 yuan by Zhou Hu.
Speaking of Luo Jun... he's still being reincarnated.
Qin Huai felt for the first time that the efficiency of the underworld was so slow. Couldn't Bi Fang arrange for an expedited service? Everyone was really looking forward to Luo Jun's successful reincarnation. These days, everyone felt uneasy without free fruit.
Just as Qin Huai opened the game panel to double-check whether Luo Jun had successfully reincarnated, Factory Manager Xu happily transferred 15 yuan to Zhou Hu, indicating that he also wanted to have his fortune told first.
Qin Huai: ...
Okay, another victim added.
Qin Huai turned to look at Zhao Cheng'an, the only one who, like himself, hadn't joined the group. Zhao Cheng'an was standing, guarding the steamer as if he were protecting some treasure. Anyone who didn't know better would think the steamer was filled with gold, not steamed buns.
"Zhao Cheng'an, are you feeling dizzy and lightheaded because of motion sickness? Did you buy the wrong medicine when you went to buy medicine? Did you really take motion sickness medicine this afternoon?" Qin Huai asked, his question piercing to the core.
If Chen Huihong's abstract approach, Wang Gensheng's hesitation, Director Xu's involvement, and An Youyou's huge investment were all within reasonable limits, then Zhao Cheng'an's failure to join in was extremely unreasonable.
Chen Gong went to join in the fun!
Under normal circumstances, the first spirit to transfer money to Zhou Hu should be Zhao Cheng'an.
As a result, Zhao Cheng showed no interest whatsoever in Zhou Hu's exquisite tarot readings, nor in what anyone else wanted to divine; he simply stared at the dough. Even after the dough was shaped into steamed buns and placed in the steamer, he remained by the steamer, seemingly watching over something.
"You don't understand." Zhao Cheng'an was still staring at the steamer, reluctantly shifting his gaze slightly to Qin Huai's face, and looked at Qin Huai, "Don't you really think the fermented rice buns you made today are different from before?"
Qin Huai shook his head: "I don't think so, they're all S-level."
"What does your game system know about fermented rice wine buns? There are differences between S-rank and S-rank, can't you tell the difference at all?" Zhao Cheng'an blurted out.
"No." Qin Huai continued to shake his head.
“Zhao Cheng’an, just say what you have to say. Playing coy isn’t your style, and pretending to be profound isn’t your persona either. I can confirm that my fermented rice buns are unchanged and there’s nothing wrong with them. They’re the same as before. So, what do you think is different, or what do you think is wrong? You can just say it.”
"No one else can taste the difference, only you can. How do you know? I think you've really been carsick and vomited too much, which has affected your sense of taste. If you eat it again tomorrow, it will probably taste the same again."
Qin Huai silenced Zhao Cheng'an. Zhao Cheng'an stared at Qin Huai for a long time before stubbornly saying, "You don't understand."
"None of you understand." "No one understands fermented rice buns better than me."
"The fermented rice buns you're making now are different from before, you've definitely figured it out!"
Qin Huai: ...Fine, he'll just assume Zhao Cheng'an got carsick and threw up.
Qin Huai could only change the subject: "What do you want to eat tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow is Lunar New Year's Eve. My family's New Year's Eve dinner doesn't have many hot dishes; it's mostly snacks. This year's main dish will definitely be chicken noodle soup. My grandma has already ordered the chicken soup from the villagers. 50 free-range chickens and 20 pots of chicken soup. We'll try to deliver a pot to every household in the village."
“When you got off the bus today, I wanted to ask you if you could help make chicken soup tomorrow. The villagers’ skill in making soup is at the average level, definitely not as good as yours, but looking at your condition… wait until you are more sober and better tomorrow, and then you can do what you can.”
"You know my skills. You know better than my parents what kind of pastries I'm good at. If there's anything you particularly want to eat or specifically ask for, just tell me now. I've prepared a lot of ingredients in the last couple of days, and I can make most of these pastries."
"As for hot dishes... I definitely can't make fancy dishes. Old Shi went out to sea a couple of days ago and caught some grouper and yellow croaker. My grandma gave them to the neighbors next door to make steamed and braised fish for him tomorrow. That's about his skill level, but the fish Old Shi caught were of pretty good quality, so they should taste very fresh."
"What kind of vegetables would you like to eat? We have a lot of kinds of vegetables here, but we can only make simple stir-fries. As for meat dishes... you can go to the village tomorrow and ask around. Hongjie and the others have been asking around in the village these past few days and have ordered braised pork ribs, braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens, stewed pig's trotters with soybeans, and beer duck. You can go and ask around to see if they have any of your favorite dishes to order."
"We usually buy our braised food from the town, and the taste is generally just average. My grandpa told me that a new braised food shop opened in town, and the lotus root slices and braised edamame are pretty good. I've already bought some, but you probably won't have an appetite for it tomorrow night."
"What do you want to eat? Order now. It's the last day of the year. After New Year's Eve, I'll start making a lot of single-item desserts, so you won't have such a good opportunity to order again."
Qin Huai felt that the question he posed was not difficult. Under normal circumstances, if he asked someone what they wanted to eat, the other person could readily list a whole bunch of snacks.
As a result, Zhao Cheng'an fell into deep thought again.
Qin Huai is now certain that Zhao Cheng'an is suffering from severe motion sickness, which has made him nauseous and unable to express his cravings immediately.
Just when Qin Huai thought Zhao Cheng'an would think for a few minutes and then recite a list of dishes like Qin Luo, Zhao Cheng'an opened his mouth and slowly uttered four words: "Poria cocos sandwich".
"Fuling sandwich?" Qin Huai was stunned when he heard this snack. It took him seven or eight seconds to realize what it was. He asked, "It's the Fuling sandwich that the hotel served as a snack when we were in Beiping. It's two thin Fuling pancakes with a sweet filling. It's so sweet. You complained that the hotel's Fuling sandwich wasn't authentic at all, that the pancake wasn't thin enough, and that the sweet filling was too sweet. It looks like a pre-made Fuling sandwich?"
Zhao Chengan nodded.
"I don't know how to make it." Qin Huai suspected that Zhao Cheng'an was trying to make things difficult for him. It was the New Year, and he was being asked to make a dessert that he had never made before but that seemed relatively easy.
This pastry isn't listed in any pastry encyclopedia, nor does it frequently appear in palace dramas; Qin Luo never specifically requested it back then. Qin Huai, who had spent most of his time in Guangdong Province, rarely saw this kind of pastry. If Zhao Cheng'an hadn't mentioned it during his trip to Beiping, Qin Huai wouldn't have known it was a Poria cocos sandwich; he would have thought it was some cheap, random snack offered by the hotel.
"Why would you suddenly want to eat this? Do you like this?" Qin Huai was a little surprised. If Zhao Cheng'an liked it, he would definitely make it himself, given Zhao Cheng'an's personality. But Qin Huai had never seen Zhao Cheng'an make Fuling cakes during the long time he had been at Zhiweiju.
“I don’t like to eat it,” Zhao Cheng’an said. “It’s because Taifenglou used to give us helpers Fuling cakes as a New Year’s snack every New Year’s Eve. Back then, it was popular in Beiping to give Fuling cakes as a New Year’s gift. When you asked me what I wanted to eat next year, I suddenly remembered this and thought that we should eat it during the New Year.”
Hearing Zhao Cheng'an say that, Qin Huai suddenly felt that Poria cocos sandwiches and New Year's Eve were a perfect match.
It's the feeling of Chinese New Year.
“Okay, I’ll go back to my room and work on it later. Do you know how to do it? If you do, send me a message on WeChat. The ones you find online probably aren’t very reliable. I’ll try to do it tomorrow, but I can’t guarantee it will turn out well. If it does, I’ll make a lot before you go to Beiping, and you can take a copy with you to Master Xia as a New Year’s gift.”
Zhao Chengan nodded.
Before long, the fermented rice buns were ready.
Zhou Hu's tarot reading was also coming to an end.
Qin Huai glanced at the still-hot fermented rice buns in the steamer.
[Sweet Rice Wine Steamed Buns - Grade S]
The level remains the same, unchanged.
Previously, Zhao Cheng'an had spoken with such certainty that Qin Huai both thought Zhao Cheng'an was out of his mind and secretly hoped that he might have truly understood but was unaware of it. Now, after glancing at the steamer, he was certain that Zhao Cheng'an was the one with the problem.
Hmm, what exactly is he expecting?
Everyone had been waiting in the kitchen for so long, but in the end they didn't wait; instead, they joined a tarot reading session that cost 15 yuan per session. Adhering to the principle that since everyone was there, no one should be idle, Qin Huai gave everyone a steamed bun. Factory Director Xu gave half a bun (because the elderly couldn't eat too much at night), and then everyone dispersed.
Zhou Hu organized his tarot cards and went back to his room to continue his study. Before leaving, Chen Huihong transferred another 300 yuan to Zhou Hu, indicating that he needed to do 20 readings tomorrow. Master Zhou's task tomorrow was equally arduous.
Qin Huai went back to her room and first searched online for how to make Poria cocos cakes.
It's actually quite simple.
The Poria Cocos Cake consists of two parts: the cake and the filling.
The pancake is made from Poria cocos powder and wheat flour. It's a pancake that needs to be thin, ideally as thin as a cicada's wing and incredibly soft and delicate. This is why Zhao Cheng'an complained that the Poria cocos pancake served by the hotel in Beiping had a too thick crust. The most difficult part of making this snack is the crust; it must be thin, the thinner the better.
As for the filling, it's actually a very ordinary sweet filling.
There are many filling recipes online, some simple, some rich, some adding nuts, and some mixing osmanthus sugar and honey. The key is that the filling must be sweet, but not cloyingly so.
Qin Huai also stumbled upon a little story about Poria cocos sandwiches. This dessert looks ordinary and isn't difficult to make, but it's actually a genuine imperial pastry. Legend has it that once, Empress Dowager Cixi fell ill and had a poor appetite. The imperial chefs racked their brains to find Chinese herbs that could invigorate the spleen and stimulate appetite to make desserts, and finally chose Poria cocos. So they made Poria cocos sandwiches and presented them to her. Empress Dowager Cixi was very satisfied after eating the dessert and rewarded her ministers with it. From then on, the Poria cocos sandwiches became much more valuable, and after spreading to the common people, they became extremely popular.
Zhao Cheng'an said that eating Fuling cakes during the Spring Festival in Beiping at that time was probably for this reason.
When Qin Huai saw the third recipe online, Zhao Cheng'an sent her the recipe. It was a very standard recipe, with pine nuts, peach kernels, osmanthus flowers, and honey as the sweet filling ingredients.
Qin Huai mentally reviewed the recipe and practiced how to make it the next day before falling into a deep sleep. He planned to get up early the next day and make the Poria Cocos Cake first to avoid a failure on his first attempt.
Even if you crash on New Year's Eve, you have to do it secretly so no one else knows.
(End of this chapter)