The Sweet-and-Savory Debate Over Small Fried Dough Twists

Xiao Cheng began preparing the newly acquired ingredients and some tools in the back kitchen.

"I never expected the pastry I drew this time to be fried dough twists. That's quite a surprise."

Fried dough twists were all handmade pastries. There were regular ones and flaky ones, both made through repeated stretching and folding. They were tempting in color, aroma, and taste, suitable as a staple food or as an everyday snack.

There were also many varieties of fried dough twists: large ones, small ones, sweet ones, savory ones, scallion-flavored ones, sesame-flavored ones, and more.

Generally speaking, large fried dough twists were easier to make, but Xiao Cheng planned to make Small Fried Dough Twists first this time. He would start with two flavors: savory and sweet.

Before making the Small Fried Dough Twists, he took a moment to check the front of the shop. Seeing that no one had come to buy pastries, he hurried back to the kitchen to prepare them.

Making fried dough twists was somewhat simpler than the pastries he had made before and did not require much effort.

He prepared flour, a little oil, and a small amount of salt.

He kneaded the flour and oil together until thoroughly combined, then added water to form a dough. However, the dough could not be too firm. After covering it with a damp cloth, he only needed to let it rest for twenty minutes.

While the dough rested, Xiao Cheng returned to the Glass Counter in the front and stayed there for a while, selling some pastries.

After seeing off the customers, he checked the time and found that the dough had rested enough. He returned to the kitchen, took out the dough, kneaded it smooth on the cutting board, rolled it into a thin strip, cut it into small portions, and covered them with a damp cloth for another ten minutes before stretching them into fried dough twists.

Ten minutes passed quickly.

He rolled each small portion into a long strip, twisted the two ends in opposite directions, then brought the ends together and pinched them tight.

Repeating this step was enough to make the raw fried dough twists.

After shaping all the small portions into raw twists, he poured oil into the pot. Once the oil was about thirty percent hot, he put the twists in to fry.

When they turned golden, he took them out to drain off the excess oil. Once they cooled, they were ready to eat.

The steps for making sweet fried dough twists might differ somewhat from those for savory ones, but there was not much change. He simply replaced the salt with sugar.

The recipe Xiao Cheng had received actually included several other types of fried dough twists, but he was a little lazy and did not want to make anything too troublesome.

He chose the simplest, easiest twists to make first.

Besides, the pastries in the shop would need to be improved or innovated on in the future, so there was no need to fuss over making them high-end in the early stages.

Xiao Cheng's ultimate motto was: Who cares whether it looks good or not? As long as it can be eaten, it's fine.

Once both the sweet and savory fried dough twists were done, he had two large Iron Trays filled to the brim. He carried the twists into the Glass Cover one batch at a time.

Only then did Xiao Cheng let out a breath. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he asked Xiao Dian.

"How much should these fried dough twists be priced at?"

Small Fried Dough Twists: 60 Gold Coins per jin

"Sixty Gold Coins per jin for Small Fried Dough Twists is acceptable. It's not too expensive."

Just then, Xiao Yan happened to arrive again.

This time, he had come to buy more Honeyed Shortbread to strengthen his body in preparation for learning Eight Extremes Collapse.

As soon as Xiao Yan entered the shop, he saw Xiao Cheng writing something on the wooden board and asked curiously.

"Shop Owner, what are you writing on the board this time? Don't tell me you have another new pastry?"

Xiao Cheng had just added the Small Fried Dough Twists. When he turned around, he saw that Xiao Yan had come again.

"Yes, there's a new pastry. Sweet and savory Small Fried Dough Twists. Would you like to buy some and give them a try?"

He asked Xiao Yan with a smile.

"I'll take a look first."

Xiao Yan planned to check the price of the Small Fried Dough Twists before deciding whether to buy any.

Leaning closer to look down the board, he saw the words: Small Fried Dough Twists, savory and sweet, 60 Gold Coins per jin.

Though the price was not too high, none of the pastries at Ruyi Zhai were cheap. This could be considered Ruyi Zhai's most affordable price.

"Sixty Gold Coins per jin. Then give me two jin of Small Fried Dough Twists, one jin savory and one jin sweet. And give me another five jin of Honeyed Shortbread."

Xiao Yan took a deep breath before finally asking for five jin of Honeyed Shortbread instead of ten.

His Gold Coins were getting a little tight right now. It seemed he would have to disguise himself and sell Spiritual Liquid at the Mittel Auction House again.

"No problem. Please wait a moment."

As usual, Xiao Cheng wrapped up the pastries and handed them to Xiao Yan.

After paying, Xiao Yan suddenly wondered whether he should invite the shop owner over to his home for a visit.

"Shop Owner, would you like to come visit the Xiao Clan?"

"Uh, oh, visit the Xiao Clan? Sure. I'll come over tomorrow."

He thought about it and realized he was quite curious about the Xiao Clan, so he simply accepted Xiao Yan's invitation. Besides, two members of the Xiao Clan had ordered Cream Cakes, so he could bring them along on the way.

After saying goodbye to Xiao Yan, Xiao Cheng sat down on a chair to rest. At that moment, the system's notification sounded.

"Damn, a new task came so quickly?"

He hurriedly checked the new task.

Side Quest: Sell 100 jin of Small Fried Dough Twists, any flavor. (0/100)

Quest Reward: One Mysterious Scratch Card. (Note: There's a mysterious grand prize!)

Quest Failure: The host will turn into a cute fried dough twist for seven days, dear.

Quest Time: Seven days

After reading the task details, there was only one thing he wanted to say right then.

Xiao Dian, I want to beat you up.

"Why does this Mysterious Scratch Card feel like one of those fifty-cent lottery tickets? And making me turn into a fried dough twist as punishment? You're ruthless."

The punishment was truly bizarre, but it was effective.

Just imagine it: a slender fried dough twist, golden and gleaming on the surface, constantly giving off a fragrant aroma with a faint sesame scent.

Slurp!

Ahem, why was he drooling?

"Check my Personal Panel."

Host: Xiao Cheng
Identity: Shopkeeper of Ruyi Zhai in Xiao Family Market

Shopkeeper Level: Level One Shopkeeper (71/300)

Realm: One-Star Dou Zhe
Martial Skill: None
Items: None

Evaluation: You are merely a rookie who has just started out. You could be wiped out by a big shot at any time. Develop carefully, for the happiness of you, me, and everyone.

Main Quest: The host must sell 100 jin of Honeyed Shortbread. (15/100)

Quest Reward: One recipe for God-tier Mung Bean Cakes.
Quest Failure: The host will wear the Baby Three-Piece Set for seven days.
Quest Time: Seven days

Side Quest: Sell 100 jin of Small Fried Dough Twists, any flavor. (0/100)

Quest Reward: One Mysterious Scratch Card. (Note: There's a mysterious grand prize!)

Quest Failure: The host will turn into a cute fried dough twist for seven days, dear.

Quest Time: Seven days

There was still no end in sight for the Honeyed Shortbread Main Quest, and now another one for Small Fried Dough Twists had arrived. He had no idea whether he could complete this damn task early.

Xiao Yan carried the Honeyed Shortbread and Small Fried Dough Twists back to the Xiao Clan and went directly to see his father.

He thought his father should try the Small Fried Dough Twists. Perhaps there would be some unexpected gains.

When he arrived at his father's study, Xiao Yan opened the door and called out with a smile.

"Father, I came to see you."

"Oh, Yan."

Xiao Zhan looked at Xiao Yan with a loving expression.

"Father, this is a new pastry from Shop Owner Xiao's shop. It's called Small Fried Dough Twists, and there are sweet and savory flavors. Give them a try."

Without waiting for a response, Xiao Yan opened the two paper packages containing the Small Fried Dough Twists and had his father taste them.

"A new pastry from Ruyi Zhai? Then I must try it."

Xiao Zhan picked up a small savory fried dough twist. Crunch!

The Small Fried Dough Twist snapped, followed by a crisp chewing sound.

Xiao Zhan's mouth filled with the fragrance of the fried dough twist and its faint savory flavor, making him nod in satisfaction.

"Father, try the sweet one too."

Xiao Yan said impatiently.

"Alright, I'll try the sweet one."

After trying the sweet Small Fried Dough Twist, Xiao Zhan felt that he preferred the savory flavor and said,

"The savory one is better."

Xiao Yan had just finished tasting both flavors himself. He preferred the sweet one, and when he heard his father say he liked the savory one, he frowned.

"The sweet Small Fried Dough Twists are the best."

"No, no, Yan. Savory Small Fried Dough Twists are the best. Their rich fragrance is incomparable."

"Father, the flavor of sweet Small Fried Dough Twists is something savory ones can't compare to."

And so, father and son began arguing over whether Small Fried Dough Twists were better sweet or savory.

If Xiao Cheng found out that Small Fried Dough Twists had sparked a debate between sweet lovers and savory lovers, he would probably roll his eyes.