AGN -Chapter 139 The Cafeteria Will Be in Your Hands for the Next Few Months!

Zheng Siyuan’s suggestion greatly moved Qin Huai.

He had been attending online classes with Huang Shengli for so long, yet had never actually met him in person. That was, admittedly, a bit inappropriate. Now that Teacher Huang had taken the initiative to propose it, and the timing and conditions were all perfectly aligned, if Qin Huai didn’t make the trip to Gusu, it would almost seem like he was showing disrespect.

Facing Zheng Siyuan’s proposal, Qin Huai had only one final question:

“Are the two pastry chefs Uncle Zheng recommended… reliable?”

If they weren’t, Xu Tuqiang and the others would be devastated.

The performances of the old men and women were no joke. Their everyday, emotionless yet skillful acting was already enough to overwhelm Zheng Siyuan. If both he and Zheng Siyuan left this time, leaving behind two undertrained pastry chefs, the elders’ performances would shift from “no emotion, all technique” to “all emotion, no technique.”

“They should be reliable,” Zheng Siyuan didn’t dare guarantee it. “They’ll arrive tomorrow. We’ll know after the interview.”

Qin Huai nodded. “That makes sense. Let’s wait until after the interview tomorrow.”

October 30th—a date that, years later, the loyal patrons of Yunzhi Cafeteria would remember with gritted teeth.

Zheng Da handled things reliably. On the evening of the 29th, he had already sent the contact information of the two pastry chefs to Qin Huai. It was clear both were genuinely looking for work—they greeted the boss immediately after adding him and sent over their impressive resumes.

Li Hua, male, 37 years old. Started culinary training at 16—somewhat late. Studied at Zhiwei Ju for 7 years but never formally apprenticed. After graduating at 24, he worked in restaurants in Hangzhou, Gusu, and Shanghai, accumulating extensive experience. At 32, by chance, he became a formal disciple of Master Chen, a renowned white-case (pastry) chef in Gusu. While not strictly “elite-trained” from the start, he was a model of perseverance, with a very polished resume.

Li Hua left Gusu and returned to his hometown mainly because his child was about to enter middle school, and the child’s household registration was in their hometown.

Shan City’s education resources were decent, and Li Hua felt there was no need for his child to continue studying away from home like in primary school. Combined with his own limited ceiling in terms of talent and career prospects in Gusu, and the high pressure of buying property in a big city, he preferred to return home, find a stable job, and live a steady life.

In simple terms, Li Hua was a “practical” person. As long as the salary was acceptable, he didn’t mind where he worked—cafeteria or restaurant, either was fine.

Moreover, Zheng Da was a friend of his master, so with a familiar recommendation, Li Hua felt it was more reliable and showed strong intent to accept the offer.

The other pastry chef was younger, named Pei Xing, 29 years old. He began training at age 6 with a solid foundation and apprenticed under a Master He from Zhiwei Ju. He had a standard formal training background.

He reportedly came from a culinary family, with a famous Huaiyang cuisine chef—Pei Shenghua, the current head chef of Chengfang Ju—as his paternal cousin. However, according to Zheng Da, the relationship wasn’t that close; the “cousin” connection was somewhat overstated.

This could be inferred from the fact that Pei Shenghua was from Jiangnan, while Pei Xing was from Shan City.

Still, Pei Xing’s talent was quite good. Leveraging his family connection, he apprenticed early under Master He at Zhiwei Ju. However, Zhiwei Ju, as a leading name in Jiangnan pastries, had many masters and even more disciples.

Master He was just an ordinary white-case chef there, and as his disciple, Pei Xing was even more unremarkable—essentially a background character in a protagonist’s story, only slightly better than a passerby NPC, occasionally appearing for a line or two.

Pei Xing felt that he couldn’t stand out in such a competitive environment, so he decided to switch paths, return home, and rely on his impressive resume to find a stable job for life.

Initially, he had looked down on Yunzhi Cafeteria’s offer—after all, comparing a community cafeteria to Zhiwei Ju was a huge gap in prestige. But after learning that he could take charge independently, receive decent pay, and most importantly, work close to home, he was tempted.

Coincidentally, Pei Xing lived in the same residential complex as Old Master Wang.

The proximity to home immediately won him over, and he submitted his resume.

Facing these two experienced pastry chefs, Qin Huai was very satisfied.

Not because they were formally trained, but because they had extensive experience, were hardworking, and had come from a highly competitive environment like Zhiwei Ju. They knew a wide variety of pastries—not just Su-style, but both northern and southern varieties—making them an excellent fit for Yunzhi Cafeteria.

As for the masters mentioned in their resumes, Qin Huai didn’t recognize any of them.

To be honest, he didn’t even know Pei Xing’s distant cousin, the famous Huaiyang cuisine chef Pei Shenghua. Only after checking online did he realize that Pei Shenghua even had an encyclopedia entry, which suggested he was truly impressive.

The interviews went very smoothly.

Qin Huai and Zheng Siyuan each interviewed one candidate, observing Li Hua and Pei Xing while they prepared pastries.

Their techniques were skilled, with no obvious weaknesses. Qin Huai specifically asked about their knife skills and heat control—both were up to standard for white-case chefs. Formal training really showed, as their skills were well-rounded.

The two also specialized in different types of pastries.

Li Hua excelled at steamed cakes such as furong cake and ding sheng cake. He was particularly skilled with steamed varieties like yunpian cake, bazhen cake, qianshi cake, osmanthus cake, plum blossom cake, and begonia cake—all of which he made daily at his previous restaurant. He had so much practice that he could make them with his eyes closed.

Pei Xing, on the other hand, specialized in puff pastries and oil-based pastries—such as crisp cakes, crab roe pastries, fresh meat mooncakes, crab shell yellow pastries, longan pastries, chrysanthemum pastries, walnut pastries, and matcha egg yolk pastries. He was also very skilled with hand techniques and presentation.

During the interview, Pei Xing was evaluated by Zheng Siyuan. Likely recognizing Zheng Siyuan, he showed off by making an elaborate batch of lotus-shaped pastries.

It was the first time Qin Huai realized that lotus pastries could actually be made to look like real lotus flowers.

Qin Huai had heard from Zheng Siyuan that because he had been running a pastry shop near the residential entrance, he hadn’t interacted much with pastry chefs in the field. However, his father Zheng Da was quite well-known, and often boasted about his son’s exceptional talent, which resulted in Zheng Siyuan being known in the circle only by reputation but rarely seen in person.

Qin Huai was very satisfied with both candidates’ skills.

Li Hua and Pei Xing were also very satisfied with Qin Huai—mainly because of the salary he offered.

In the afternoon tasting session, the elderly residents of Yunzhi Complex were also very satisfied with the two new pastry chefs.

Delicious—very delicious. Beautiful and tasty. Everything they made was better than Xiao Chen’s egg cakes!

“If there are no issues, we can sign the contract today. When can you start work?” Qin Huai asked.

Experienced worker Li Hua adopted a standard professional attitude. “I can start tomorrow.”

“Same here,” Pei Xing agreed, prioritizing proximity to home. He confirmed the schedule: “Master Xiao Qin, our working hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a two-hour lunch break in the middle, right?”

Qin Huai nodded.

Pei Xing nodded in satisfaction. Returning home really was good—this kind of schedule would have been unthinkable at Zhiwei Ju.

There, everyone voluntarily came early and left late—true “grinders.”

“If you both have no issues, you can start tomorrow. But I need to inform you of something in advance.”

“Before joining, Chef Zheng should have told you that I am also a pastry chef here.”

Both nodded.

“But recently, I may not be one.”

The two: ?

“Chef Zheng Siyuan won’t be either.”

The two: ??

“Since you’ve joined, starting tomorrow, Chef Zheng and I will be heading to Gusu for a study and exchange period lasting one to three months, with the exact duration uncertain.”

“For this period, Yunzhi Cafeteria’s pastry operations will be in your hands. I have full confidence in you.”

“If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask the store manager Huang Xi. If you still don’t understand, she’ll contact me via WeChat. If customers have issues, Huang Xi will handle them. If my sister has issues, you can ignore her.”

“Oh, one thing—please reserve a portion of special items daily. Huang Xi will tell you who they’re for.”

“Chef Zheng and I have already booked flights and train tickets for tomorrow. The cafeteria’s pastries for the coming months are now in your hands. Good luck!”

The two: ???

They exchanged glances, both reading the same thought from each other’s expressions:

The boss is leaving?

What kind of operation is this?

Do they trust us that much?

Li Hua: Does this cafeteria have a future? Any guarantees? Any stability?

Pei Xing: Is this what it feels like to be the protagonist? Taking on such responsibility on day one—this is great. Being close to home really is the top priority when choosing a job!