AGN -Chapter 210 The Release of Zhi Wei

January 2nd—this was a day destined to be remembered by all employees of Huang Ji.

Under normal circumstances, this ordinary New Year holiday would have been the fifth day of Qin Huai’s repeated failures in his hundred-fruit filling experiments, the second day of Huang Ji enjoying a surge in New Year holiday customer traffic, the fourth day of Chen Huihui’s holiday countdown, and a day when regular customers living nearby complained about the overwhelming crowds while sitting on stools, eating snacks, and eagerly watching quarrels unfold.

But a small twist changed everything.

Zhi Wei had been published!

The New Year’s flagship issue of Zhi Wei had been released on January 2nd!

As usual, when Qin Huai arrived at Huang Ji before 8 a.m., he found the place bustling with noise and excitement.

Not just in the kitchen—the moment he entered, the entire place was already packed with people.

At first, Qin Huai even thought he was seeing things. He subconsciously rubbed his eyes, wondering why customers who were supposed to be waiting outside were already inside the restaurant.

He knew the holiday would bring heavy traffic, but no matter how busy it got, customers shouldn’t be inside before the restaurant had even officially opened.

Just then, Dong Shi, like an enthusiastic golden retriever, rushed toward Qin Huai holding an unopened copy of Zhi Wei, slapping the magazine straight onto his face.

“Qin Huai, Zhi Wei! You’re in Zhi Wei! Master is in it too! Huang Ji made it in again—finally back in Zhi Wei! The latest issue! You have to look at the latest issue—four whole pages!” Dong Shi exclaimed incoherently, waving his arms excitedly as if that would help Qin Huai understand.

“I know,” Qin Huai nodded calmly. “Everyone already knew we were going to be featured in Zhi Wei from the day of the interview, right?”

That day, Xu Cheng had been inspired and wrote the article overnight, even posting about it online—there was no way to back out.

“It’s different! This is different!” Dong Shi clutched the magazine tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force. “This is Zhi Wei! Printed! The New Year flagship issue! On the cover! Four pages!”

Qin Huai acknowledged that he had seen the cover featuring Guo’er. The photo looked good—and quite appetizing.

Seeing Qin Huai remain so calm, Dong Shi looked like he was about to grab his arm and shout, “Why are you such a block of wood?!”

In the end, Dong Shi simply shoved the magazine into Qin Huai’s hands. “Just read it yourself.”

Then he rushed off toward another chef who was also excitedly running into the restaurant with a copy of Zhi Wei.

“Did you see it? The cover! Four pages! I missed it the last time Huang Ji was featured in Zhi Wei—this time I’m part of history! Hahaha!”

“I saw it! Four full pages!”

Qin Huai: ?

He genuinely didn’t understand why everyone was so excited.

This wasn’t a sudden surprise. They had already known Huang Ji would be featured in Zhi Wei, even on the cover.

Flipping open the magazine, the first article was Huang Ji’s feature—prominently placed.

Before he could start reading, Zheng Da’s booming voice came from outside. Rarely seen at the restaurant in the morning, Zheng Da arrived in a suit, looking like a sharp executive. He stood tall, directing several assistants who were carrying boxes into the restaurant.

“Hahaha! Everyone’s here! Have you seen Zhi Wei? I bought 300 copies. Everyone will get two or three copies to take home and give to relatives and friends after work. Is Qin Huai here? Ah, Xiao Qin is here!”

Zheng Da walked over cheerfully. Seeing that Qin Huai had only just opened the first page, he realized he hadn’t really read it yet.

“Take your time reading. Breakfast today is on me!”

“For such a big occasion, we’re having Four-Season Tangyuan for breakfast! Siyuan, Siyuan, are you in the kitchen? Stop making wontons and come make tangyuan with your father.”

Upon hearing the word “tangyuan,” several chefs who had bravely been tasting Qin Huai’s recent hundred-fruit fillings for days turned visibly pale.

Qin Huai, knowing Zheng Da had just come out of seclusion and was eager to show his skills, naturally didn’t compete for breakfast duties and instead began reading the article.

As it turned out, Qin Huai had never actually read Zhi Wei before.

Huang Anyao had told him quite a bit about it—about Xu Cheng’s writing style, how he filled articles with narrative padding, and his typical techniques.

The article began with Xu Cheng’s standard introduction:

(Summary of the opening)
Xu Cheng addresses readers who might assume the feature is about Chef Huang Shengli improving his skills or introducing new dishes. He clarifies that the focus is not on red-cooked dishes but on white pastry cuisine, which is less commonly featured in Zhi Wei.

He then discusses the prominence of Zhi Wei Residence as a leading establishment in Chinese pastry cuisine, often recommending it as the top choice.

After a brief “promotion” of Zhi Wei Residence, he introduces Huang Ji as an excellent alternative for readers seeking variety. He praises Qin Huai’s pastries, suggesting that visiting Huang Ji is worthwhile for dishes like fermented rice steamed buns and San Ding Bao, and possibly specialty items like “Guo’er.”

He describes Guo’er as unconventional in ingredients, name, and preparation, but astonishing in taste. He compares its appearance to something whimsical and unrefined, yet emphasizes that its flavor far exceeds its appearance.

He explains the filling: a combination of carrot puree and minced meat, enriched with broth and supplemented with bamboo shoots for texture. The carrot flavor is subtle, blending into a natural sweetness that complements the meat.

Xu Cheng praises the complexity of its preparation, noting that the filling requires stir-frying, oil extraction, stewing, and reduction. He even mentions the use of advanced techniques such as the “big ladle flip,” a skill associated with Shandong cuisine.

He highlights that the filling is prepared by Chef Huang Shengli, a highly ranked red-cooking chef, underscoring the collaboration between red-cooking and white-pastry chefs in creating this dish.

He further reflects on the unconventional collaboration between Qin Huai and Huang Shengli, describing it as “unorthodox” yet effective—breaking traditional boundaries in culinary practice.

He praises the creativity behind Guo’er’s concept and its bold departure from convention.

He then transitions into a storytelling section, using analogies and narrative techniques to describe the development of the dish and Qin Huai’s journey.

Qin Huai skimmed past the filler portions.

As Huang Anyao had described, Xu Cheng loved using storytelling, metaphors, and parallel structures to pad his articles—but Qin Huai had to admit the piece was clearly written with care.

It was long—very long.

Four full pages, with only three images (Guo’er, fermented rice steamed buns, and San Ding Bao). The text wasn’t artificially enlarged either—the volume was substantial.

In fact, Qin Huai suspected Xu Cheng’s claim that he wrote the entire article overnight was an exaggeration. He likely only wrote an outline that night and spent the previous days working on the full piece in secret.

Xu Cheng had written the origin of Guo’er and Qin Huai’s culinary journey in a style reminiscent of both romance novels and inspirational “protagonist growth” stories.

Readers who purchased this issue effectively got multiple genres in one: food review, storytelling, and even something akin to a novel.

During the interview, Qin Huai had politely suggested focusing more on Huang Ji rather than himself. Xu Cheng had complied—barely mentioning Qin Huai by name, instead referring to him as “Chef Qin.”

At the end of the article, Xu Cheng summarized:

He described Huang Ji as a traditional, mentorship-based restaurant that preserves classic apprenticeship traditions while also fostering innovation and mutual support between senior and junior chefs.

He praised Qin Huai as a young chef who, despite lacking formal mentorship initially, was fortunate to meet Huang Shengli and Zheng Da, both of whom provided guidance and support. In turn, they demonstrated respect for talent and openness to new ideas.

He framed this as a classic “talented individual meets mentors” narrative, where mentors may be few but can come from multiple sources.

He also noted that although Qin Huai has his own business and is only temporarily exchanging and learning at Huang Ji, this collaboration is likely to continue in the future, allowing readers to experience more joint creations between red- and white-cooking chefs.

Finally, he included a promotional note on behalf of Huang Shengli, stating that his injury had recovered and that he would soon resume his role as head chef, inviting customers to visit Huang Ji during the New Year period for special set meals with seasonal desserts.

After finishing the article, Qin Huai looked up—and heard Zheng Da’s voice booming from the kitchen: “Siyuan, see that? My name appears seven times in this article!”

“I’m not trying to brag, but I’ll show you my real skills later. That hundred-fruit filling—I may not know how to make it yet, but I’ve been studying at home. You’ll taste the results soon.”

“By the way, Siyuan, you’re not getting any younger. You’ve been too busy with desserts to go on blind dates. I’ve been talking to the owner of Zhi Wei Residence recently, and guess what? He has a daughter who also makes pastries. I think you two are a perfect match—when are you free? I’ll arrange a meeting.”

“While I’m at it, I’ll also visit those masters at Zhi Wei Residence. They said I’m unorthodox and not focused—but look, I’ve still trained an outstanding disciple!”

Zheng Siyuan: …

Dad, does taking on a disciple no longer require the disciple’s consent?

“Also—one more thing. I originally wanted to ask your senior uncle, but he hasn’t arrived yet. The article mentions New Year set meals with special desserts. If Qin Huai is going home for the holiday, when will he have time to prepare them? Are you going to make them? I remember you’ve been practicing that big ladle flip lately—did you learn new desserts already? It can’t be Four-Season Tangyuan, right?”

Zheng Da replied, “Dad, is it possible that the New Year special desserts are yours?”

Zheng Da: “Huh?!”

Just as Qin Huai was heading to the locker room to change, the floor manager, Cao, burst in from outside holding a copy of Zhi Wei, forgetting even to close the door.

“It’s exploded—completely exploded!”

“Since 7 a.m. this morning, the phones have been ringing nonstop!”

“Calls are coming in from within the province, outside the province, Southeast Asia, and even overseas—all asking about Guo’er!”

“They’re asking how to order it, whether it’s part of a set meal, whether membership is required, whether they can pre-order… Where’s Chef Qin—no, Chef Huang! Where is Chef Huang?!”

“Why isn’t he here at such an important time?!”

“Master’s phone is also being blown up—all long-time customers calling to ask if Guo’er can be reserved. Master and Anyao are still at home answering calls.”

Cao paced excitedly in circles. “We need to hold a meeting to discuss how to sell Guo’er. This dish must be limited. Yes, we need a meeting!”

“Xiao Dong, tell me when Chef Huang arrives—I’ll gather him and Chef Qin for a meeting!”

“This time, Huang Ji is about to restore its former glory!”