Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 774 - 392: Cloud Pattern (Part 2)

"When my master taught me, he said that the Ruyi-shaped Cloud Pattern itself is a display of skill. These kinds of snacks are mostly imperial snacks, and like imperial cuisine, they involve many flashy elements that are not very practical."

"They tend to make the snacks and dishes very complex, but in reality, there’s not much improvement to the base, yet these elements are crucial, which is why many historical recipes for snacks have been lost."

"It’s a reason many snack masters are unwilling to spend time restoring historical recipes, because the snacks made from them might not be particularly delicious or impressive, but they’re definitely troublesome to make."

"So if you want to start learning, an average apprentice... needs at least two years of foundational training."

"What about someone like me?" Qin Huai asked directly.

Guli looked at Qin Huai, clearly troubled, hesitating with his words for a long time before stammering out a question: "E... eighteen... months?"

Seeing Qin Huai’s silence, Guli reduced the time a bit: "Six months?"

Qin Huai could imagine that the Cloud Pattern for the Four Happiness Rolls could be complex, but he didn’t expect it to be this difficult.

Six months, if he were to stay at Huang Ji for six months, wouldn’t the old and new customers at Yunzhong Restaurant go mad?

"Do you know the Four Happiness Rolls?" Qin Huai asked.

Guli shook his head very honestly.

It seemed the Four Happiness Rolls were likely a niche, limited-time snack at the State owned Restaurant.

Qin Huai hadn’t expected Xu Nuo’s culinary skills to be even higher than he imagined. This guy truly kept a low profile, making such a high-difficulty snack casually at home.

Qin Huai roughly described the look and process of making the Four Happiness Rolls (Shi Dadan had seen Xu Nuo make them) and asked Guli how the difficulty of the Cloud Pattern for the Four Happiness Rolls compared to the Ruyi Roll.

Guli’s answer was that it was much simpler than the Ruyi Roll.

"So... are the Four Happiness Rolls some kind of imperial snack from a historical recipe? Are you studying this historical recipe recently, Master Qin?" Guli asked tentatively.

"Historical recipes? Imperial snacks? Why do you think so?" Qin Huai was quite curious.

Guli answered honestly: "Because this is a very standard way of making imperial snacks, as I just told you, it makes simple snacks overly complicated, but the complex parts don’t enhance the flavor much, yet they are crucial."

"The Four Happiness Rolls I described earlier are actually just fancy rolls, but the method is very imperial, and I’ve never heard of it, so I thought you might have seen this snack in some historical recipe and wanted to restore it."

"My master likes to study historical recipes, and I’ve been exposed to a lot of them before, so I got this feeling."

Qin Huai trusted Guli’s judgment; Tan Wei’an had previously told Qin Huai that Guli was very interested in this area, and Guli was definitely much more professional than Qin Huai in this matter.

Guli indeed offered a new direction and perspective for the Four Happiness Rolls that Qin Huai had never thought of before.

Qin Huai decided to come and ask Guli about the Cloud Pattern because Huang Shengli analyzed that Zheng Da would disappear for at least 6 days.

With these 6 days of free time, Qin Huai was initially planning to make Double Crab Buns and practice lotus root powder balls, but plans couldn’t keep up with changes, and the people from Zhiwei Restaurant arrived in an instant.

Qin Huai thought that since Guli made Ruyi Rolls every day, he must know more about the Cloud Pattern than himself. If three people walk together, one of them can be my teacher. Usually, Master Qin would guide Xiao Gu in cooking, but now it’s Master Gu’s turn to guide Xiao Qin in Cloud Pattern.

Before they got to the main topic, they unexpectedly stumbled upon something new, a pleasant surprise.

Qin Huai stared at Guli with expectant eyes and asked, "I have a presumptuous request."

"Do you have time recently to guide... no, to teach me how to make the Cloud Pattern for the Four Happiness Rolls?"

Guli had just resumed making snacks, but Qin Huai’s words startled him so much that he couldn’t hold his chopsticks properly to mix the filling, and they poked right into the bowl of filling.

Guli was in a daze and after a while, he managed to open his mouth and utter in a nearly ethereal tone: "Me... Me?"

"Yes!" Qin Huai nodded assuredly, "It’s you!"

.

As a man of action, Qin Huai said he wanted to learn the Cloud Pattern from Guli and wanted to start learning that very day.

During the lunch break, Qin Huai attempted making the Four Happiness Rolls for the first time.

Indeed, Qin Huai didn’t have a recipe for the Four Happiness Rolls and there were no video tutorials available. Zheng Da wasn’t around to teach him, and Zheng Siyuan couldn’t make this snack at all.

But that didn’t stop Qin Huai from trying for the first time.

Since Shi Dadan’s explanation was actually quite clear.

As Xu Nuo’s friend, Shi Dadan had seen Xu Nuo make the Four Happiness Rolls many times and could explain the process clearly enough for Qin Huai to thoroughly understand what he saw and understood.

Therefore, Qin Huai knew the rough process and prototype of the Four Happiness Rolls; in a way, it was like restoring a historical recipe — knowing the general process but not the specific techniques needed more pondering.

Qin Huai attempted to replicate it as closely as possible according to Shi Dadan’s description.

Making fancy rolls was simple, making filled fancy rolls was also simple, and making fancy rolls with a two-layer filling was simple too, but making rolls with a two-layer filling where one cut could reveal a Cloud Pattern was very hard.

This Cloud Pattern directly made the process of laying the filling, pressing it tightly, rolling, and re-rolling incredibly challenging.

Qin Huai had Guli stand by and watch, ready to point out any issues with his Cloud Pattern anytime.

Guli felt extremely pressured, but he usually spoke very little and didn’t show much expression, so it was hard to tell.

But that’s okay, Tan Wei’an could tell.

Not only could Tan Wei’an tell, but he was also very excited, and even stood excitedly beside Guli.

"Wow, isn’t this the scene in my dreams? I rarely dream of standing next to Qin Huai guiding him to make snacks — at most, I dream of Qin Huai respectfully calling me Master Tan and asking me questions, praising how delicious my snacks are, saying he really admires me."

"Junior Brother, you have something to boast about when you get back. If this were me, I’d be bragging about it for at least 10 years."

"If Qin Huai wasn’t against it, I would love to grab a camera and record this historic lesson."

In response to Tan Wei’an’s words, Guli uncharacteristically stammered a bit, saying, "Se... Senior Brother, stop it."

While saying this, Guli also tugged on Tan Wei’an’s sleeve to indicate that he shouldn’t get too excited.

But Tan Wei’an completely ignored his junior brother’s well-being and continued excitedly, "Had I known Qin Huai would want to learn Cloud Pattern snacks, I would have practiced hard a few years ago. Oh wait, I didn’t even know Qin Huai back then, but no matter. Little junior brother, quickly check if there’s any problem with Qin Huai’s Four Happiness Rolls, point it out as soon as possible, or you’ll miss the chance."

Guli almost wanted to dig a hole and bury himself, muttering while watching Qin Huai make the Ruyi Roll, "Senior Brother, Master Qin is still working on the filling, I can’t see it yet, I can’t make this Ruyi Roll at all."

Tan Wei’an was already lost in his own fantasy world, unable to stop his smile, "If it were me, I’d at least shout a few ’Xiao Qin’ at Qin Huai to satisfy myself."

Guli looked desperately at Tan Wei’an, feeling that his senior brother had gone mad.

His desire to mentor Qin Huai, to covet the feeling of teaching, had made him lose his mind.

Guli had no choice but to watch Qin Huai make snacks. He didn’t really understand the Four Happiness Rolls, but having studied the Ruyi Roll for so many years, he was knowledgeable about the Cloud Pattern.

When Qin Huai was layering the filling, Guli spoke up for the first time, "Master Qin, I think your filling might be a bit too thick. Your method for the Ruyi Roll is to roll forward then backward; if the filling is this thick, the Cloud Pattern won’t show up properly."

Qin Huai quickly corrected it.

When it came to the main roll, Guli spoke again, "Master Qin, your curve is too rigid, you need to exaggerate it a bit, otherwise the backward roll will be very troublesome."

Qin Huai quickly corrected it again.

Soon, Guli spoke again, "Master Qin, your..."

Qin Huai quickly corrected it.

...

Huang Shengli stood at a distance, silently took a photo, and sent it to Zheng Da.

Huang Shengli: Has your neighbor’s dog recovered from its gastritis? If so, come over when you have time. You’re not teaching Xiao Qin the Four Happiness Rolls, but someone else is, Guli is already on it.

Zheng Da, contemplating life and avoiding reality at home: ???

Who?

Guli ??

He’s teaching Qin Huai the Four Happiness Rolls??