The white ones were Eight Treasures Pastries, with delicate leaf-like patterns carved onto their snow-white bodies, lifelike.
The green ones were Mung Bean Pastries, with a lustrous, shimmering color, and inscribed with various auspicious idioms like "may everything go smoothly" and "blessings and health."
The white and yellow ones were Egg Yolk Layer Cakes, soft and fluffy like cotton, making one's mouth water.
...
Looking at the exquisite pastries on the trays, everyone's eyes nearly popped out.
"They're truly too beautiful, Mr. Liu. Your culinary skills are truly amazing; to be able to make pastries to this extent, I wouldn't be able to do it."
Teacher Yamamoto clasped her hands, her beautiful large eyes looking at Liu Ming with admiration.
"Indeed, whether it's the color, appearance, or aroma, everything is top-notch. Teacher Yamamoto isn't exaggerating; Handsome Gege is truly amazing."
Xiao Dong once again transformed into a scholar, meticulously explaining the difficulty of making pastries to such a degree.
"As expected of the person I like, he's just amazing!" Xiao Anzu said happily, while quickly sitting on Liu Ming's lap, occasionally flashing a joyful smile.
Xiao Mei's eyes were already sparkling. Not only was he handsome, but he was also very brave (saving Xiao Anzu who was stuck in a tree), and now even his cooking skills were so impressive. He was truly a perfect man.
Originally, since Teacher Doma had gone to call someone, Liu Ming and the others should have politely waited for him to return before starting to eat. However, Liu Ming and the Doma family were too close, so these minor details didn't need to be worried about.
"Thank you, Handsome Gege."
"Thank you, Handsome Gege."
"Thank you, Handsome Uncle."
"Kanna, this is yours," Liu Ming handed one of the small bowls to Kanna.
"Thank you, Xiao Ming," Kanna's eyes immediately lit up.
"Uncle, what about me? Where's mine?" Xiao Hina anxiously asked.
"There is, there is for everyone." Liu Ming also gave a bowl to Xiao Hina, and she became happy.
Seeing this, Teacher Yamamoto also followed Liu Ming's example and began distributing the pastries.
Tohru and the others were not polite and began to taste them one by one.
Once everyone had received theirs, Teacher Yamamoto also tasted a mung bean pastry herself.
The texture was crisp yet not loose, sweet with a hint of bitterness but not cloyingly sweet. It melted in the mouth, leaving a refreshing trace of sweetness. It seemed to tell everyone that in this hot summer, with it present, nothing else mattered.
Just as everyone was enjoying the delicious food, a rapid sound of footsteps came from outside the door.
"Xiao Ming Gege, save some for us!" The one speaking was none other than O Tama, and trailing behind her were three other people: her younger sister Anko, and her classmates and friends, Midori and Xiao Nai.
"Xiao Ming Gege, we weren't too late, were we?" O Tama asked, panting, with a somewhat nervous expression.
Liu Ming looked at O Tama, then at the people behind her, and couldn't help but ask helplessly, "How did you know there was delicious food here?"
"Deng deng deng deng!" O Tama, after doing her own sound effects, pulled out her phone and said proudly, "Sora and I exchanged phone numbers."
Liu Ming was speechless. So, there was a traitor on his side. He turned around and glared at Sora and Miyu, annoyed.
Sora turned her head away, a little embarrassed.
Miyu, however, was not afraid and said righteously, "Anko and her friends have always helped us so much. Since there's delicious food, of course I have to tell them."
Liu Ming was speechless.
"Midori, Xiao Nai, you're here too. Find an empty seat and sit down," Liu Ming didn't really say anything, after all, they were all acquaintances.
To satisfy the foodies at home, every time he made something delicious, he would prepare extra, just in case. Therefore, even with a few more people, there were enough pastries for everyone to enjoy.
"You child, really, do you need to be in such a hurry? The food isn't going to run away." At this moment, Grandma Doma also arrived, her scolding voice accompanying her.
"Grandma, I was just worried about my student," Teacher Doma argued.
"Grandma Doma, you're here." Liu Ming stepped forward to help her to a chair, then returned to the kitchen to bring out the remaining pastries.
Those who knew Grandma Doma, like O Tama, greeted her, while those who didn't, like Xiao Anzu, curiously observed the kind-faced old woman.
"Grandma, delicious," Xiao Hina trotted over to Grandma Doma, holding out her small bowl to her.
"Xiao Hina, still so well-behaved," Grandma Doma didn't take the bowl, but dotingly pulled Xiao Hina onto her lap.
"Grandma Doma? Teacher Doma?" Xiao Anzu tilted her head.
"Hehe, are you all, like Xiao Hina, Naotsumi's students? You're a group of lovely children. I'm Naotsumi's grandma," Grandma Doma explained with a chuckle.
"Lovely, what?!" Xiao Dong, still unaccustomed to being praised, started doing her panda gymnastics.
"So lively," Grandma Doma praised again after seeing her.
This made Xiao Dong jump even more energetically.
Amidst everyone's laughter, Liu Ming once again emerged with two large trays.
However, the pastries on this tray were distinctly different from the previous ones.
They were individual pastries shaped exactly like flower buds.
Everyone's expressions immediately turned to astonishment. Although these pastries resembled lotus flower buds, compared to the previous pastries, the difference was quite significant, and everyone felt a little disappointed.
Liu Ming saw their expressions clearly, but he didn't explain anything. Instead, he said mysteriously, "Hehe, you'll know soon enough. Remember not to blink."
He had created this dish by referencing the principle of rising dragon dumplings, utilizing the reaction of different dough skins to temperature differences to construct it.
"Oh~" Hearing this, everyone grew curious.
Liu Ming said no more and began to count down softly.
"Three."
"One"
The moment the words fell, cracks appeared on the green flower bud, and then the outermost green petals spread open like a blooming flower, revealing the pink inner petals.
Finally, to everyone's astonished gaze, the petals, one after another, slowly spread outwards, transforming into a fully bloomed pink lotus.
This was Liu Ming's specially made lotus pastry, shaped exactly like a lotus. The layers of pastry inside were distinct and clearly visible. Coupled with decorations of different colors, it looked just like a real lotus at first glance, blooming before everyone like a red lotus.
This craftsmanship was simply divine.
"It's too beautiful. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have thought I was looking at a real lotus. Such a lifelike culinary skill is simply incredible and unheard of."
Such culinary skill has already risen to the height of art, hasn't it?