The next morning, Qin Xiaoyu woke up to find that the tables had been switched; Mrs. Fang was there, but Miranda was not.
But shouldn't Mrs. Fang be sleeping in this early?
"Little Fish, I have a friend coming over this afternoon. Could you prepare a couple of snacks?" Mrs. Fang said calmly.
"Snacks? I don't know how to make them." Qin Xiaoyu was a little flustered, and she asked timidly, "Are steamed buns considered snacks?"
Madam Fang did not answer, but what was with that murderous gaze?
Qin Xiaoyu had originally wanted to add some sesame paste or jam to the steamed buns, but now she had lost that interest.
After breakfast, Qin Xiaoyu was led into the kitchen by Madam Fang.
"Alex's fiancée will be making some snacks here, and we hope you can cooperate." Mrs. Fang gently pushed Qin Xiaoyu forward.
Qin Xiaoyu understood somewhat; this was an entrance exam. But it couldn't be closed-book; without Baidu (a Chinese search engine), she wouldn't know anything.
"Xiaoyu and I have something to discuss, so we can't make the desserts," A Lei said, coming to the rescue.
"Let's discuss your matter later," Madam Fang said bluntly, indicating that there was no way to refuse.
"I'll give it a try," Qin Xiaoyu comforted A Lei.
The head chef looked at Qin Xiaoyu with a mixture of fear and wariness. Qin Xiaoyu was puzzled; was he afraid she would blow up the kitchen?
When Fang Baobao arrived, she suddenly realized that the kitchen had been "baptized" by Fang Baobao.
The Fang family kitchen has a total of five people: two head chefs, one specializing in Chinese cuisine and one in Western cuisine, a noodle maker, and two general helpers.
Because Mrs. Fang prefers Western food, she cooks less Chinese food, and the cuisine is quite diverse. Overall, it leans towards Hangzhou style. Making pastries is mainly the job of the pastry chef.
Qin Xiaoyu glanced at the noodle maker, and the two looked into each other's eyes, both of them seemingly on the verge of tears.
"What kind of desserts should we have for afternoon tea?" Qin Xiaoyu asked hesitantly. Actually, she already had an answer in her mind. It would probably be those cloyingly sweet macarons or donuts, but she really wasn't confident she could make them well.
By lunchtime, she still hadn't produced a single finished piece. Qin Xiaoyu muttered to herself, "That's good enough. Can't I cheat on this?"
Judging from the head chef's meticulous manner, it's probably impossible.
Perhaps she made too much noise, because after lunch, apart from Madam Fang changing clothes upstairs and Hanhan being taken by Commander Zhou to see her old comrades, all the idle people in the Fang family came to watch the excitement.
The kitchen has never been so lively.
"Little Fish, don't try. You have no talent for making pastries." Third Sister took a bite of the hard thing and threw it back onto the plate. "You're not even as good as Baby."
That last cut hurt a bit.
The pastry chef nodded vigorously.
"Mom, you should take a rest." The younger sister looked at her sympathetically and scooped up a spoonful of ice jelly and put it to her lips.
"What is this? How come I didn't think of that!" Qin Xiaoyu jumped up.
"What are you thinking about? You're not going to give each of those ladies a bowl of ice jelly, are you? Grandma will go crazy." The eldest sister immediately denied it.
"No, it's not ice jelly, it's something else!" Qin Xiaoyu excitedly turned around, but couldn't find a pen and paper.
"You tell me, and I'll write it down." The head chef had already figured out that this was the future mistress of the Fang family, and he was determined to help her pass the exam no matter what.
Do you have jelly powder?
The head chef shook his head.
"Gelatin?"
He still shook his head.
"What did you use to make this ice jelly?" Qin Xiaoyu asked anxiously.
"It's ice jelly."
"That's it! Let's get started! Little sisters, go and collect some flower petals, small and brightly colored ones." Qin Xiaoyu had an idea and immediately got to work.
"You'd better hurry, they usually arrive around 1 p.m.," the third sister reminded her.
"No problem! Find me a small container, something that can be used as a mold, about this big." Qin Xiaoyu gestured with her hand.
The best thing about the Fang family is that their kitchen has everything; in just a short while, she had everything she needed.
"What are you going to do?" Are couldn't hold back any longer.
"Mizu Shingen Mochi"
"That thing is all show and no substance; the salted cherry blossoms inside are absolutely awful," Fang Baobao immediately said.
"Let's make an improved version, using ice jelly powder."
My younger sister and the others have already picked the flower petals and come back. The children used whatever was available, such as the little red flowers on the green vines outside. They were tiny and as red as a ball of fire.
"This stuff isn't poisonous, is it?" Are immediately asked.
Of all the people, only A Lei truly understands Qin Xiaoyu; she is not as reliable as she seems at all.
"It's alright, the medicine won't kill you." Qin Xiaoyu said, but then she was still worried. She picked up a flower and was about to put it in her mouth when A Lei snatched it away in fright.
Qin Xiaoyu refused to give up, but she wasn't as tall as him, so she had to jump to reach him.
"That's enough," the eldest sister suddenly said coldly.
Qin Xiaoyu then realized that more than a dozen people standing in the kitchen were all staring intently at her and A Lei's performance.
The head chef's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"I have some goji berries here," the head chef reminded him.
"Okay! Bring it here quickly."
A voice came from outside, and Fang Baobao ran back to report: "Four people have arrived, make five servings."
"Alright!" Qin Xiaoyu tried her best to recall the order in which her roommates made the pudding for them, and sure enough, she actually managed to cook the batter. She picked up the pot and poured the batter into six semi-circular small bowls, and then put a goji berry in each one.
"I think we need soybean powder and brown sugar syrup, right?" Fang Baobao reminded her.
"That stuff is really awful, let's use rose jam instead." Qin Xiaoyu decided to go all the way with the improvement.
The refrigerator speeds things up, and the molding process is quick, but unmolding has become a problem. Tea and snacks are already being served in the living room. The kitchen was prepared in advance; they can't just wait for Qin Xiaoyu's finished product.
Qin Xiaoyu was so anxious that beads of sweat appeared on the tip of her nose, but the crystal-clear little round cake just wouldn't come down.
"Third sister, go get the hair dryer," Qin Xiaoyu instructed. Third sister obeyed, and with her long legs, she returned in just a few minutes.
"What are you going to do?" A Lei was increasingly unsure, but he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Qin Xiaoyu taking one small pancake after another off the griddle.
It was my first time making it, and I didn't control the heat well. The first round cake almost melted, so it wasn't perfect.
"Luckily, I prepared six." Qin Xiaoyu said smugly.
The containers were personally selected by Qin Xiaoyu from the back warehouse: five jade-green shallow dishes, each shaped like a leaf. When the small cakes were poured onto them, they resembled glistening dewdrops. Added to this were the bright red dots of goji berries, making it a truly pleasing sight.
The head chef had already prepared the rose jam, and Qin Xiaoyu poured the sauce over it—perfect.
But when she carried the tray and brought the five jade dishes into the small living room, she froze.
There are five guests, not four. Fang Baobao miscounted.
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