Chapter 50 Success

Chapter 50: Success

The new product development ran into problems, and Xie Xinyi had a restless night last night.

Tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, she got up early and went to the kitchen to see if she could help Auntie Wang with anything.

"...Little Ying didn’t eat much last night, so I’m making her steamed eggs this morning to give her some extra nutrition."

Auntie Wang cracked an egg, beating it as she asked Xie Xinyi what she’d like for breakfast.

"Nothing in particular, just whatever you’re making. I’ll help you out."

Having been with the Gu family for nearly two years, she had grown accustomed to Auntie Wang’s cooking.

Since most of Auntie Wang’s family worked in the food industry, she had seen and tasted plenty, and with her own improvements, her dishes were even more delicious than those at state-run restaurants.

Xie Xinyi wasn't picky to begin with, and with Auntie Wang always coming up with new recipes, she had put on weight quickly over the past two years, now weighing ninety-eight pounds.

Fortunately, the weight went to all the right places—none of it hard to lose. Though she had gained over ten pounds, she didn’t look heavy at all. In fact, with a fuller figure in the right areas, she appeared even more curvaceous and proportionate.

Gu Yu said it all was thanks to Auntie Wang, and Xie Xinyi had also learned many cooking techniques from assisting her, though her own attempts still turned out a disaster.

Xie Xinyi handed the messily beaten egg to Auntie Wang. "Do you think this passes?" she said.

Auntie Wang didn’t answer, just silently started beating another egg.

"Go get me some rapeseed oil."

"What’s the rapeseed oil for?"

Xie Xinyi didn’t understand, but assuming the chef had her reasons, she briskly went to the storage room to fill an oil jug.

"Eggs have a strong eggy smell. You need something with a stronger aroma to mask it. Adding a little rapeseed oil over the egg not only covers the eggy smell but also adds fragrance."

Auntie Wang explained as she worked, as if Xie Xinyi were training to be a chef. She made sure to pass on everything she knew, and in the end, even ended up letting Xie Xinyi give it a try herself.

The result, as expected, was that Gu Ying’s "soft steamed egg" turned into a lumpy "honeycomb coal."

Xie Xinyi couldn’t figure out where she went wrong and spent her entire commute to the factory thinking about it.

"...First, beat the eggs, then add water and mix until smooth. Finally, drizzle rapeseed oil to add fragrance. Rapeseed oil can cover the eggy smell and add fragrance—it’s necessary. Yes, it’s necessary..."

Wait, rapeseed oil adds fragrance!

A thought flashed through her mind. Xie Xinyi suddenly realized what the new ice cream was missing.

She rode faster toward the factory and, just as she reached the workshop entrance, spotted Old Liu walking ahead.

"Old Liu," Xie Xinyi hurried to catch up. "I know what the egg roll is missing."

Liu Yinsheng had spent most of last night in the workshop trying to figure out what the new ice cream lacked.

Egg rolls are mainly made from low-gluten flour and egg whites, both of which have a somewhat eggy smell, especially the egg whites, which not only have a strong eggy smell but also reduce sweetness.

Yet, egg whites are essential for making egg rolls.

The only solution is to cover the odor with something more aromatic.

Old Liu first considered using sesame oil, but given its strong fragrance didn’t suit ice cream, he gave up on that.

He then tried peanut oil, walnut oil, rapeseed oil...

None worked well.

He felt that only something with a complementary aroma would work well with egg whites, so early this morning, before anyone else arrived, he went to look in the main storage room.

Having worked at the food factory for years, he knew every item in every storage room, whether the main one or the smaller team storerooms.

He didn’t expect to find anything, but then he noticed butter stacked in a corner.

Sweet in taste, it could add fragrance and cover the eggy smell.

He immediately pocketed a few blocks, planning to test them in the workshop. Before he could even reach the workshop entrance, the girl who arrived early stopped him.

Little Jing had always been more clever than others—Liu Yinsheng had known this since their first meeting. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have broken his principles for her time and again.

He admired people with ideas, especially those who were imaginative yet practical.

Xie Xinyi not only had creative ideas but also the ability to ground them in reality and refine them.

She surpassed even Little Jing in that regard.

Old Liu valued talent. Hearing that Xie Xinyi had pinpointed the egg roll issue, he stopped to listen carefully to her thoughts.

"...The egg rolls aren’t fragrant enough. Adding egg whites makes them more eggy. We could try adding butter."

Butter, typically made from milk and cream, has a mild, sweet taste. Unlike many vegetable oils, which carry the flavor of their raw ingredients, butter is rich and aromatic. It’s commonly used in later years for frying fish, searing steak, baking bread, and more.

The egg rolls lacked fragrance, and butter could perfectly compensate for that.

It not only masked the eggy smell of the egg whites but also made up for the missing aroma.

Xie Xinyi had thought of it instantly—she felt nothing suited egg rolls better than butter.

"We don’t need to add much butter. Let’s start by testing twenty grams."

She looked confidently at Old Liu, having not only identified the solution but also determined the quantity.

This was a detail Liu Yinsheng hadn’t considered.

He reached into his pocket, felt for the butter he’d grabbed, and handed it to her. "See if this is enough?"

Seeing the butter appear so suddenly in his hand, Xie Xinyi was taken aback.

Was this...

A case of great minds thinking alike?

She stared blankly at Old Liu. "When did you find this?"

Liu Yinsheng didn’t hide it. "Just before you stopped me, in the main storage room."

He’d even been to the main storage room.

That place took at least an hour or two to fully search.

It was still half an hour before work started—so Old Liu must have come to the factory before dawn?

Her surprise turned to admiration. Xie Xinyi looked respectfully at the gray-haired elder, took the butter from him, and followed the master craftsman into the workshop.

When Guo Xiufang and Zhang Chao arrived, the older and younger person had already prepared the ingredients for the egg cones. Neither of them mentioned what had been added to the mixture. Once the cones were baked and stuffed with ice cream, Old Liu, as usual, asked everyone to taste them first.

"...Hmm... hmm..."

Zhang Chao was excited and eager to be the first to share his thoughts, but after hemming and hawing for a while, all he could produce were vague "hmms" without saying anything else.

"Tastes great!" Sister Guo said, taking a big bite despite the cold weather. "The sweetness is just right, the texture is perfect, and it’s even more fragrant than the previous two batches."

This was a balanced assessment. Old Liu nodded and turned his gaze to Short Ruler.

Although this man was arrogant and often spoke harshly, he was known for being straightforward, unafraid of offending anyone, and always advocating for fairness and justice.

If Sister Guo and Zhang Chao’s comments were somewhat exaggerated, Short Ruler’s words were much more impartial.

From the day he joined the team, he had looked down on everyone present, especially Xie Xinyi.

After Old Liu decided to adopt the girl’s suggestion instead of his traffic light concept, Short Ruler became even more critical of Xie Xinyi.

The idea for the wafer ice cream came from Xie Xinyi. It was also Xie Xinyi who proposed improvements to the recipe when it wasn’t good enough. And early this morning, it was Xie Xinyi who assisted Old Liu in preparing the ingredients.

Adhering to his principle of treating everyone with equal disdain, Short Ruler took the new product from Old Liu and took a condescending bite.

"I knew this wouldn’t be good..."

Huh?

Why does it taste... actually pretty good?

Short Ruler’s eyes widened in surprise, and he took another disbelieving bite.

The sweetness was just right. The crispiness of the egg cone and the soft creaminess of the ice cream blended perfectly. With each bite, the fragrance came first, followed by the sweetness. Chewing slowly, there was both a crispy texture and a soft, smooth sensation...

It really was delicious.

Short Ruler ate while feeling puzzled.

What was the problem then?

Could it be, as Zhang Chao said, that Xie Xinyi truly was that capable—not only skilled but also full of ideas—making it a fact you had to believe, whether you wanted to or not?

He looked at the new ice cream in his hand.

Sometimes, admitting someone else’s excellence is indeed a really tough thing to do.

Just as Short Ruler was struggling to find the right words, Old Liu noticed his reaction and took charge.

"Alright, the new product is settled. Now, it’s time to think of a name for it."

So, it was a success?

Sister Guo glanced at Zhang Chao, Zhang Chao looked at Xie Xinyi, and amid Short Ruler’s uncertain look, cheers erupted.

"It’s a success!"

Zhang Chao cheered and danced his unique celebratory dance on the spot. Sister Guo clapped her hands, and Xie Xinyi joined in.

After working so much overtime these past few days, the team had finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel. With the new product finalized, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

As everyone celebrated joyfully, Old Liu also allowed himself a rare smile.

Watching the excited and enthusiastic people by the workbench, he didn’t interrupt their merriment. Only after Xie Xinyi and the others had enjoyed their moment did he return to the subject of naming the new product.

"How about calling it Wafer Ice Cream?"

Zhang Chao once again borrowed directly from Xie Xinyi’s earlier casual remark about what the new product should be, proudly presenting it as his answer to Old Liu’s question. "The name is descriptive and easy to remember," he explained.

That was his reasoning, but Sister Guo disagreed. "You can’t just name it after the ingredients. Xie Xinyi only said that earlier to keep things simple and clear, not for you to steal the idea."

Having rolled dough wrappers for the Sweet Rice Ball Team for so many years, Guo Xiufang had always placed great importance on appearances.

She believed that naming a new product was like making the skin of a sweet rice ball—it had to look good and be practical.

It needed to be memorable and roll off the tongue easily. She thought "Stuffed Ice Cream" was better.

"Stuffed Ice Cream? It doesn’t even have any filling that could leak—not descriptive at all," Short Ruler objected, as always. "If it’s going to be called Stuffed Ice Cream, I think 'Egg Cone Wrap' would be better."

The idea of an egg cone wrapped around ice cream could make anyone’s mouth water, even on a hot summer day.

Short Ruler was convinced that the name he came up with was the best. He looked proudly at Old Liu, who then turned his gaze to Xie Xinyi.

The girl thought for a moment, looking at the new product in front of her.

"How about..."

"Calling it Sandwich Ice Cream?"