Chapter 79: The Heiress’s Craft (Second Update)

What was Wen Mai Xue doing here? Su Ziceng had just put on a pink apron that symbolized she was a student, then she looked at Wen Mai Xue, who was in a blue apron signifying a teacher, and felt something was a bit off. "Aren’t baking classes supposed to be taught by those hearty, cheerful pastry chefs with big smiles and beards resembling sugar figures?" Su Ziceng muttered to herself. She liked eating all sorts of desserts, but this was her first time officially attending a baking class. "Welcome everyone to my baking class again." When Mai Xue greeted everyone with a beaming smile, nodding towards the group of excited female students, "Today we have two new faces in our class. New students, please rest assured, the content of this class is very simple." Su Ziceng had not paid much attention to the campus rules and regulations. Kelly Women’s College encouraged students with special talents to teach, and since Wen Mai Xue held an Intermediate Pastry Chef certificate, she was asked by the school to start teaching a beginner’s baking class at the start of the term. In the class, students were grouped into pairs or trios, and instead of the usual wooden desks found in ordinary classrooms, considering cleanliness and durability, stone workbenches made of feldspar were chosen. On each workbench, there was a small oven, flour, scales, water, cheese, eggs, and mixing utensils, as well as simple ingredients and decorations. After waiting a little longer and hearing Wen Mai Xue finish explaining the quantities and uses of various materials, she did not immediately start a demonstration. Instead, she wrote the ingredients, proportions, and the corresponding processing order and timing for today’s pastry on a little whiteboard serving as a blackboard. Su Ziceng and Yan Wuxu had already taken their place behind a workbench, looking at the recipe with simple ingredients and clear steps. Yan Wuxu glanced at Su Ziceng. "I have some experience with mixing flour at home, so I’ll take care of the dough part." That was the only option. Su Ziceng looked at Wen Mai Xue, who had finished writing and was now making herself a cup of coffee, sitting at the podium without much care. The situation was seriously out of control. It was a loss that she had purposely stood at the first workbench of the first row, thinking that she could clearly see the teacher’s actions and gestures, take proper notes, and manage to make pastries that were perfect in color, fragrance, and taste. "Kelly values hands-on ability; a thousand hands can produce a thousand different flavors of pastries. I am very much looking forward to everyone’s performance. You can start now and stop half an hour before the end of the class." Wen Mai Xue sipped her coffee, her gentle words just finished, her eyes already falling on the clock. "Annie, you handle the flour. Pella, you separate the eggs. I’ll squeeze the lemon juice." Behind her, every workbench was buzzing with activity; the sounds of clanging pots and smashing plates emerged. Su Ziceng slightly turned her head, only to see the usually gentle female students now seemed to have entered a state of combat readiness. "We need to speed up." Influenced by the surrounding atmosphere, Yan Wuxu also became somewhat anxious. She started to adjust the scales in a fluster; according to the proportions on the blackboard, she grabbed flour, took out some cheese, and pondered how to combine the cheese with the flour. "What am I supposed to be doing again... cracking eggs, squeezing lemon juice. Hey, where’s the juicer?" Su Ziceng no longer had the mind to look at Wen Mai Xue. "Use your hands to squeeze; forget the lemon for now. Separate the eggs; put the egg whites and yolks apart." Yan Wuxu pushed the small basket of eggs towards her, then suddenly remembered to ask, "Have you ever cracked an egg before?" "It’s just an egg; I can handle it," Su Ziceng confidently replied. The first egg came apart messily, the second egg cracked and splattered all over the workbench, and the third egg was mishandled with yolk and white mingled together. Yan Wuxu, herself not managing any better, could only let Su Ziceng continue her "egg destruction project." It wasn’t until the tenth egg that she successfully separated her first egg yolk, and after that, it went much more smoothly. After beating the egg yolks, she was ready to proceed with squeezing the lemon. But Yan Wuxu had already finished the dough. Her gestures were fairly smooth, the cheese had been thoroughly mixed into the flour, and it had taken on some shape. Su Ziceng glanced behind her and saw that the female students who had started a few lessons before them were working together efficiently, far outperforming them. Their cake molds had already been put in the oven. "No time for squeezing anymore," Su Ziceng said as she looked at the bumpy-skinned lemon in her hand; they were already behind everyone else. She searched through the condiments for a moment before grabbing a bottle of lemon flavoring and pouring it directly into the flour. "It’s all the same, as long as it tastes like lemon." Then there were those weirdly named jelly puddings, with nowhere to set the light cream. The two of them, willy-nilly, finally tossed the "crippled" cake mold into the oven and breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at each other, one with flour on her face and the other’s hands sticky with egg yolk and lemon, their plight was somewhat comical in its embarrassment. This beginner baking class instantly dispelled the drowsiness of the morning’s math class. Who says baking class is just surrounding the teacher, taking adorable notes, and fervently jotting down secret recipes? A baking class at Kelly's is like a miniature battle. The oven bell "dinged" to a stop, and they eagerly pulled out the cake base, only to be dumbfounded. Yan Wuxu looked at the finished product in disbelief. "We might as well follow the process and sprinkle some cocoa powder on top." They then turned to look behind them, where the other girls were already cheering, and the rich fragrance of eggs and butter began wafting throughout the entire classroom. "Time’s up," at Senior Wen Mai Xue’s call, everyone stopped what they were doing. Su Ziceng’s group hadn’t had the chance to plate their dessert and could only pile the finished product on top of the mold. The two glanced at their final product and then at Wen Mai Xue’s critical eyes, feeling somewhat apprehensive inside. "Everyone has done very well." Wen Mai Xue explicitly skipped over Su Ziceng’s side, nodding in approval. "Class should be about trying something new, so for today’s pastry evaluation segment, we’ve also made some innovations. We will conduct the final assessment through tasting by others." Typically, the baking class assessment would be done through self-tasting and teacher tasting. Su Ziceng thought that even if it tasted bad, one had to eat what they made, so passing the class wouldn’t be a big issue. But now, with others tasting it, things seemed a bit iffy. "Today, we have a special guest, our school’s most senior and eagerly awaited dessert taster, Teacher Pei Luo, to make the selection." Wen Mai Xue really knew how to win people’s hearts. After each baking class, the number of treats Teacher Pei Luo received could be counted in double digits, but he never mentioned how those treats tasted. Upon hearing that Teacher Pei Luo would be tasting, the majority of the female students started clapping. Teacher Pei Luo didn’t easily accept desserts, and today, to receive his personal critique was a testament to Senior Wen Mai Xue’s thoughtfulness. Su Ziceng and Yan Wuxu’s faces were quite uneasy. Now, it seemed they were about to lose face all the way to the Pacific. "Everyone knows the rules of the Kelly baking class, which focus on hands-on practice and sharing with others. After the tasting, you can take home the leftovers." Wen Mai Xue then distributed some beautifully designed bags to each group of students. "Moreover, I will base the performance of a standard bake again on each student’s mistakes during the baking process." "Why can’t you demonstrate before baking?" Su Ziceng and Yan Wuxu silently shouted in unison. "Now, let’s welcome Teacher Pei Luo to come taste." Applause and screams rose and fell. Su Ziceng looked at the few pieces of cake remaining in the molds, then at the leftover bottles of fruit liquor beside her, with only one goal in mind—to get herself drunk or to knock out Pei Luo.