Chapter 625
Countdown
Chapter 625 Countdown
At 4:17 a.m. on the second day, the hardworking Master Qin got up early to wash up and met Director Xu, who was also up early and dressed neatly, in the front yard.
Upon seeing the radiant Director Xu, Qin Huai's first thought was that the old man's wisdom was indeed true.
But Qin Huai felt that he wouldn't need less sleep when he got older. When he was young, he had to get up early every day, and when he retired, he would definitely sleep until after 9 a.m. Even if he woke up and couldn't fall back asleep, he would insist on staying in bed until 9 a.m. before getting up!
"Good morning, Director Xu." Qin Huai greeted Director Xu with a smile.
"Happy New Year, Master Qin!" Factory Director Xu greeted Qin Huai with a smile. "I've boiled some water, would you like some tea?"
Qin Huai felt embarrassed to ask Factory Director Xu to make him tea. After asking where the hot water was, he immediately said that he would definitely make it for Factory Director Xu and invited him into the kitchen.
It was still dark outside, and a bit chilly, but the kitchen was slightly warmer than the indoor area. Furthermore, the poria cocos cakes used in the poria cocos sandwiches are essentially pancakes, so Qin Huai would turn on the stove after preparing the batter, which would also warm the kitchen.
Factory Director Xu gladly accepted Qin Huai's invitation to chat in the kitchen early in the morning. He went into the kitchen, skillfully found a small stool, sat down, and watched Qin Huai make Poria cocos cakes.
According to the recipe Zhao Cheng'an sent yesterday and the information Qin Huai found online, the poria cocos cakes for the poria cocos sandwich should be thin, crispy, and very fragrant when freshly fried. The effect is similar to the meatballs that every household fries during the Lunar New Year; they're not particularly appealing on their own, even less so as a side dish, and get greasy after a while. The only truly delicious thing about them is watching others prepare them, and eating them while they're still hot.
Qin Huai quickly made the batter and then started making the pancakes.
Soon, thin, cicada-wing-like, and seemingly very fragrant but actually tasteless Poria cocos cakes were ready.
Qin Huai extended a tasting invitation to Factory Director Xu: "Factory Director Xu, would you like to try some? Although this pancake doesn't taste very flavorful, it's especially delicious when it's fresh out of the pan."
Qin Huai had a piece of Poria cocos cake stuffed in his mouth, making his speech somewhat unclear.
Factory Director Xu gladly accepted Qin Huai's invitation once again, walked to the edge of Qin Huai's river, and began to fry and eat one dish at a time.
"How is it?" Qin Huai asked.
Factory Director Xu nodded with a smile: "It does smell quite good."
Qin Huai continued making pancakes, while pondering how to prepare the sweet filling. He had briefly reviewed the recipe Zhao Cheng'an had sent him yesterday; the recipe seemed normal and without any problems, but Qin Huai felt that the amount of honey seemed a bit insufficient.
As a seemingly ordinary snack, Qin Huai felt that the Poria Cocos Pancake should be made a little sweeter. During the Lunar New Year, children always need to eat something sweet, but too much sweetness would make the snack too cloying, while not sweet enough would lack the festive atmosphere.
Thinking this, Qin Huai stuffed another pancake into his mouth, feeling that his idea was excellent. The Poria cocos cake itself had little flavor, so it naturally needed a sweet filling to complement it.
"Director Xu, what did you all have read about with Zhou Hu's tarot yesterday?" Qin Huai asked.
"It's nothing. The eldest brother calculated that his financial luck is good, so we all calculated our own financial luck. I also calculated my interpersonal relationships. At this age, I'm wondering if I still have the chance to meet new friends or reunite with old friends."
"Xiao Chen did a lot of calculations, he calculated everything, even whether or not to buy Huihui a cat as a pet in the spring."
"It's quite interesting."
This is Director Xu's complete summary of Zhou Hu's tarot reading yesterday.
Qin Huai realized that the results Master Zhou calculated yesterday during his general amnesty were all quite good, which might also mean that Master Zhou's tarot readings were never bad.
No wonder Chen Huihong transferred 300 yuan to Zhou Hu in the end, asking him to calculate 20 more times today.
"Xiao Qin, what are you making? Poria cocos sandwiches?" Factory Director Xu asked.
Qin Huai was surprised that Director Xu knew about Fuling cakes. He had never seen any pastry shops selling this snack when he was in Suzhou, so he asked curiously, "Director Xu, have you tried it?"
"I've eaten it before, but it's been many years since I've had it," said Director Xu. "Xiao Nuo used to love making this pastry during the Spring Festival, saying it was festive. Plus, this pastry is easy to carry and give as a gift, so every year my eldest son would ask Xiao Nuo to make a lot so he could give it to his superiors and friends."
"After Xiao Nuo passed away, no one made it anymore, and we never saw Fuling cakes in the house again."
Qin Huai hadn't expected that Xu Nuo could also make Poria Cocos Cakes; it seemed he was quite ignorant.
That's true. The pastries at Qinhuai Club are basically all from the Complete Collection of Pastries. If a pastry is listed in the collection, Qinhuai knows how to make it; if it's not, he doesn't. It's normal for him to be ignorant.
"Was the Poria cocos cake you ate earlier sweet?" Qin Huai asked.
Factory Director Xu hadn't expected Qin Huai to pay attention to the taste of the Poria Cocos Cake. After thinking for a moment, he said with certainty, "Sweet."
"It's a sweet treat, so it's definitely sweet. Sometimes my eldest son even complains that Xiao Nuo's poria cocos cakes aren't sweet enough."
"Back then, all the pastries were sweet; nobody would eat them if they weren't sweet."
Hearing what Director Xu said, Qin Huai understood and became even more determined to modify the recipe given by Zhao Cheng'an and increase the amount of honey.
After eating five or six Poria cocos cakes and drinking a couple of sips of tea while standing by the Qinhuai River, Director Xu returned to his seat.
Qin Huai also made more than 200 Poria cocos cakes, thinking that the quantity should be enough to eat. If it wasn't enough, she could just fry some more later, since Poria cocos cakes are quick to fry anyway. She then started making the sweet filling.
Given Qin Huai's current skill level in preparing fillings, modifying Zhao Cheng'an's recipe wouldn't require much effort; she could simply add honey based on her intuition.
It should be sweet, but not too sweet. After all, times have changed. We are no longer in an era where we blindly pursue sweets.
At 4:57 a.m., the sky outside was already beginning to lighten, and the roosters in the village started crowing one after another. In about ten minutes, Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin would get up. The elderly people in the village who were used to waking up early should also be awake by now. They would linger in their rooms for a while, scrolling through their phones, and then come out to wash up and make breakfast when it was fully light outside.
Mornings in Qin Family Village are just like any other day.
Qin Huai tasted a bite of the sweet filling he had made.
Mmm, it's delicious, even on its own. But sandwiching it between two Poria cocos cakes, pressing it thinly, would probably give it an even more unique flavor.
The proper way to make Poria cocos sandwiches is so simple that even a 7-year-old child in the village can do it.
You can even DIY it. As long as you control the amount of sweet filling, this kind of Poria cocos cake with this kind of sweet filling will make any kind of sandwich taste good.
Qin Huai takes an appropriate amount of sweet filling, spreads it evenly on the dough, sandwiches two doughs together, and a Poria cocos sandwich is born.
Qin Huai smiled and handed the Poria cocos sandwich to Factory Director Xu: "Factory Director Xu, this is the first Poria cocos sandwich I made. Could you please taste it and tell me how it tastes?"
Factory Director Xu stood up, took the Poria cocos sandwich, and asked in surprise, "Little Qin, you've never made this before?" He took a bite as he spoke.
"I've never made it. I didn't even know this snack existed before I went to Beiping last year. We don't eat this here."
"If you don't believe me, ask my parents and grandparents later. They definitely haven't tried it either."
Factory Director Xu was chewing slowly. He was getting old and his teeth weren't very good. The sweet filling of the Poria cocos cake was a little sticky, making it much more difficult for him to eat than eating the Poria cocos cake alone.
After chewing for about a minute, Director Xu swallowed the first bite and said, "It's quite sweet, very delicious."
After saying that, Director Xu gave a wry smile: "It's just too much trouble to eat, I'm afraid I'm not worthy of enjoying it."
While Director Xu was speaking, Qin Huai had already prepared the second Poria cocos cake and was holding it in his hand, ready to take a bite: "This kind of snack is like this. If you like Poria cocos cakes, I can make some for you separately. You can keep them in your room as a snack."
After saying that, Qin Huai took a bite of the Poria cocos sandwich.
Before eating the Poria Cocos Cake, Qin Huai had already tried the Poria Cocos Cake and the sweet filling separately. Qin Huai didn't think highly of either of these ingredients. The Poria Cocos Cake had little flavor and texture; the main appeal was its freshness and its thin, crisp texture.
The sweet filling does have flavor, but it's very monotonous. It's not a rich or sophisticated sweet filling; it's just a very ordinary pastry filling.
However, when the two are combined, the taste is surprisingly good, and it has a unique flavor.
Poria cocos cakes originally had little flavor, but when paired with a sweet filling, they surprisingly acquired a unique taste. Of course, this extra flavor could also be Qin Huai's illusion, since poria cocos itself is tasteless.
The slightly sticky sweet filling that Factory Director Xu lamented was not to be enjoyed, surprisingly, when paired with the Poria cocos cake, gave Qin Huai a pleasant chewiness. It was a strange feeling; it didn't feel like eating sticky candy, nor like eating a chewy steamed bun, but rather like eating a simple, festive snack.
It's sweet, not particularly amazing, but not cloying either. It's quite filling; you can hold it in your hand and take a bite whenever you feel like it or your mouth is empty, or just put it aside if you don't want to eat it anymore.
Whether it's kids playing with their friends or adults sitting in their rooms watching TV, drinking tea, and chatting, it goes perfectly with everything during the Chinese New Year.
Qin Huai suddenly understood why Zhao Cheng'an said he wanted to eat this during the Chinese New Year, because it was really suitable for the holiday.
Originally, the pastry was just an ordinary 60 points, barely passing, but with the Lunar New Year bonus, it suddenly jumped to 80 points.
Not to mention that today is Lunar New Year's Eve, the buff effect is even better, Qin Huai feels that the Poria Cocos Sandwich in his hand is 85 points.
Qin Huai couldn't stop chewing.
Qin Huai quickly finished a Poria cocos cake, but he wasn't quite satisfied and decided to make another one. Just as he picked up the Poria cocos cake to spread the sweet filling on it, a game notification sound suddenly rang in his mind.
"Ding! Congratulations to the player for discovering... sizzle... sizzle..."
"Congratulations to the player for obtaining [A Dream of ?]".
Qin Huai: ? ? ?
Are they not even going to act anymore?
They don't even give you a quest, they just give you a dream?
Did Zhou Hu's tarot reading yesterday really work? The result came so quickly, skipping the intermediate steps and giving the answer directly?
Master Zhou, you are a diviner! Indeed, the combination of Chinese and Western medicine is more effective. Your previous development direction has been wrong. What suits you best is not the I Ching divination, but Tarot!
Qin Huai glanced subconsciously at Factory Director Xu, who was still struggling with the poria cocos sandwich in his hands. Qin Huai then looked out the window; it was still barely dawn, and Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin could get up at any moment.
Today is Lunar New Year's Eve, and Qin Huai has many things to do, including preparing a lot of desserts. Qin Luo had previously given a long list of dishes. Today is also the most lively Lunar New Year's Eve dinner in the Qin family, with all the spirits who could come gathered together. Qin Huai also wants to show off his skills by making a sumptuous feast to entertain everyone.
Grandpa Qin and Grandma Qin also ordered hot dishes and soup from many families in the village. Tonight, Qin Huai and Qin Luo will deliver chicken soup noodles to each household. Just now, Qin Huai also decided to make some more poria cocos cakes and have Qin Luo deliver them to the villagers this afternoon.
Qin Huai is destined to be very busy today.
Looking at memories is a highly unpredictable thing. Sometimes Qin Huai stays in a memory for half a day and then comes out, sometimes for several days, and sometimes for several months. Like Luo Jun's memories before, although time was accelerated, he still looked at them for several years.
In real life, time doesn't flow too quickly, but for Qin Huai, viewing such a long stretch of memories would definitely be a mental burden. This is why Qin Huai never viewed two memories consecutively before; his mind couldn't handle it—it was too tiring.
Theoretically speaking, Qin Huai is too busy to be looking at memories at this time.
Moreover, the name of this memory is quite strange. It's a memory of ? ? The last time the game system didn't display names, it was the spirit that made glutinous rice cakes that Qu Jing encountered in her first life.
Theoretically, the only memory Qin Huai can currently retrieve is Zhou Hu's, but this memory is clearly not Zhou Hu's.
And there is indeed still one spot in Qin Huai's illustrated guide.
A mysterious spirit.
Qin Huai really wants to see it, she wants to see it right now.
After hesitating for only a second, Qin Huai decided to watch.
Watch it whenever you want!
"Director Xu, could you please close the door for me and also keep an eye out outside to make sure my parents won't come into the kitchen in the next few minutes?"
Factory Director Xu was a little slow to react when Qin Huai had already opened the game panel little by little in the void and found the [? ? segment of a dream].
"I just suddenly received a dream from an anonymous person, and I want to see it now. In real life, it should only last a few minutes. During these few minutes, I will be in a state of blankness and stillness. Don't be surprised, it will be over soon."
While Director Xu was still in a daze, before he could react, Qin Huai had already clicked on [a dream sequence].
The answer is yes.
[Dream loading—]
Before entering the dream, Qin Huai heard Factory Director Xu say, "Little Qin, how do you lock the kitchen door in your house?"
Qin Huai: !!!
Oh no, I miscalculated. I forgot that the kitchen door was a secondhand door that Grandma Qin bought cheaply in town, and it's really hard to lock from the inside.
Qin Huai wanted to quickly tell Factory Director Xu the trick to locking the kitchen door from the inside, but it was too late as soon as he opened his mouth.
Qin Huai entered a dream.
.
Friendly reminder: I know many readers don't like dream sequences, but this dream sequence is the final main plot point of the book and should not be skipped. (And the main text will be almost finished once the dream sequence ends.)
(End of this chapter)