Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 352 Miss Shen, your idea is good

At this time, a group of craftsmen were recruited and they were busy repainting the pillars and fences of the main hall and renovating the floor and roof of the temple.

We strive to ensure that when the blessing ceremony is held, the temple is bright and clean everywhere, and the Dharma is solemn.

Wen Yuan and his colleagues were not only responsible for the meals of the monks in the temple, but also for the food of these craftsmen. Their workload more than doubled.

Wen Yuan and Yan Xin were so busy that they had no time to relax for the whole morning, let alone sit down and practice making pastries.

After finally finishing lunch, Wen Yuan and his friends were able to take a break and finish their vegetarian meals.

They had just finished their meal and had not yet had time to clear the dishes when they saw Shen Yu and Chef Xu coming over.

When Wen Yuan saw the two people coming into the kitchen, he quickly put down the bowl and chopsticks in his hands and stood up to greet them.

He smiled bitterly and said, "I'm sorry that we were too busy. Miss Shen laughed at me."

"I thought that after preparing the daily vegetarian meals, I would have plenty of free time to practice."

“I didn’t expect that the master was determined to do well this year and recruited many more craftsmen than in previous years.”

"They were busy doing their work, and we were busy serving food and tea in the back."

"Now, from the moment I opened my eyes in the morning till now, I have to cook and boil water, but I haven't even touched the dough for making the pastries. What should I do?"

When Shen Yu and Xu Chu came over, they saw that high scaffolding had indeed been erected in several places in the temple, and groups of craftsmen were busy working, and it seemed that there were indeed quite a lot of people.

Chef Xu said worriedly, "That won't work. We'll have to make seven or eight hundred cakes a day."

"The deep-frying step is easy. You'll be able to do it after practicing two or three times."

"But it's not something you can learn by just looking at the fillings and carving the patterns."

"Yesterday, I saw Miss Shen doing it easily, but once I tried, I knew it wasn't the same. She didn't listen to me at all. I need to practice more."

Shen Yu saw Wen Yuan's worried look, then looked at Yan Xin and the others who had collected the dishes and were about to wash the several large basins of dishes over there.

There was also a pile of radishes and cabbages piled on the side, waiting to be cleaned.

Knowing that this afternoon, it would be difficult for them to find time to practice.

By the time the temple is renovated and the ceremony is about to begin, there will be no time for them to slowly practice how to make it.

Shen Yu thought about it and said, "Master Wen Yuan, it seems that it is not possible to make it with just you guys. Let me tell you what I have in mind."

"If you don't want to use some fillings from outside, you can fry them in advance."

"Then you and Master Yanxin will just need to mix the flour, water, and pastry for daily use when making cakes."

"When frying the dough, you all should be able to control the temperature and ensure that there are several pans frying at the same time."

"As for the rest of the stuffing and carving, I'll bring the people from my restaurant to help. Do you think this will work?"

After listening to this, Wen Yuan silently recalled the process of Shen Yu making cakes yesterday. He felt that if this was the case, the difficulty of the part they had to practice would be much easier.

It’s not difficult to knead the dough. As long as you master the proportions, you can knead it quickly.

He and Yan Xin all know how to fry fried cakes. Yesterday, when the dough of the flower cakes was made and fried, Shen Yu was watching by the side while Yan Xin and the others took turns frying them.

Just keep the heat low throughout the process, and when you see the frying is done, take it out and drain the oil, and don't overfry it.

Wen Yuan thought about it, and his brows relaxed unconsciously.

He smiled and nodded, and said to Shen Yu: "Miss Shen, your idea is good."

"Just do as you say, so I don't have to worry about not being able to make so many cakes at once."

He no longer had any worries and began to complain: "You don't know, making the stuffing looks easy, but it's actually very difficult."

"After you left yesterday, we also mixed some dough and tried it out."

"I don't feel it when I see you doing it, but when I do it myself, my hands become uncontrollable and either the filling leaks out and I can't wrap it, or I use too much force and break the skin."

"It's the same with flower cutting knives. They never look good."

"Guess what was the vegetarian meal last night?"

Wen Yuan had a sly smile on his face: "Everyone in the temple ate the flower cakes and pastries."

"They said it was delicious, but it looked a little ugly."

"I just pretended not to hear them. How could I dare to tell them that these were all pastries that we made badly?"

After Wen Yuan finished speaking, he looked outside the kitchen guiltily and chuckled awkwardly.

Shen Yu and Xu Chu couldn't help laughing when they thought about the scene.

Shen Yu and Chef Xu stayed in the dining hall for the entire afternoon, helping Wen Yuan and others wash vegetables and prepare vegetarian meals in the evening.

Whenever I found some free time, I watched a few people frying the fillings and kneading the dough.

Shen Yu was there alone, making some simple and fancy cake doughs, while Wen Yuan and the others practiced frying them.

As it gets closer to evening, the temple begins preparing the evening vegetarian meal.

Shen Yu saw that they had already mastered the basic skills, and all that was left was to take some time to review them so as not to forget how to do them when the time came.

Shen Yu packed up and was about to leave.

He also told Wen Yuan that he would not come over for the next few days and that he could just stay at home and let his family practice wrapping the stuffing and carving with the knife.

The day before the Dharma Assembly, I brought them directly to the dining hall to help.

There are many craftsmen and a lot of work to do in the temple.

Now that Shen Yu had arrived, they had no way to practice with him, so Wen Yuan immediately agreed and made an appointment for Shen Yu to bring people over to help in the evening of October 25th.

The flower-shaped cakes are fried in the evening and can be displayed when the ceremony begins on the 26th.

Xu Chu said, "I will talk to the county magistrate when I get home today, and I will come to help you tomorrow morning."

"If nothing else, I can still help with lighting the fire and washing the vegetables."

"There are too many meals to be prepared in the vegetarian hall these past two days, so it would be good to have more people to help."

Wen Yuan was very grateful and personally sent the two of them to the temple gate. Then he ran back as if his butt was on fire to prepare dinner for the evening.

Chu Xu and Shen Yu walked back together.

Shen Yu saw this as an opportunity, so he asked Xu Chu, "The county magistrate must have been very busy these days preparing for the birthday celebration, right?"

"Does he have dinner at the county government office tonight?"

Chef Xu sighed and said, "The county magistrate is not very busy, but the fourth master and the two lawyers are very busy."

"I'm just a cook. I don't know what they are busy with. I haven't seen them in the mansion for several days."

"The county magistrate is still the same as before. He eats on time, reads books and writes in his spare time, and recites scriptures in the small Buddhist temple. He looks very relaxed."