AGN -Chapter 257 Gu Li’s Request

“Master Qin… I have a favor to ask.”

Qin Huai was packing up dinner after work when Gu Li suddenly appeared in front of him, quietly handing him lunch boxes as he spoke.

Since the number of meals he needed to pack each day kept increasing, Qin Huai had specially bought three extra-large containers just for dinner.

“What is it?” Qin Huai asked.

Gu Li was not someone who often made requests.

Most of the time, he was like a silent backdrop in Huang Ji’s kitchen—arriving first every day, leaving last, speaking little, and steadily making pastries at his own unhurried pace.

If Tan Wei’an didn’t always keep this junior apprentice in mind—bringing him into conversations or deliberately seeking him out—Gu Li’s presence would probably be even easier to overlook.

“If your Yunzhong Cafeteria ever needs an assistant for learning and exchange, could you please consider me first?”

“I really want to study and train at your restaurant.”

Qin Huai was momentarily stunned. “Didn’t you hear what Tan Wei’an and I were talking about this afternoon?”

Gu Li was Tan Wei’an’s junior apprentice. Tan Wei’an had already made it very clear that if Qin Huai ever needed help, he should come to him. And if there were a good opportunity, Tan Wei’an certainly wouldn’t forget Gu Li.

“I did hear it,” Gu Li replied, “but that was a conversation between my senior brother and you. I believe opportunities should be fought for personally.”

Qin Huai suddenly saw Gu Li in a new light.

He realized that this quiet man—so often overlooked, frequently mocked, and widely regarded as the famous negative example among disciples of great masters—wasn’t weak at all, despite never defending himself.

He simply didn’t care about what others said.

“I’ve actually always been curious,” Qin Huai said. “Ever since you and Tan Wei’an came to Huang Ji for this exchange, there have been rumors everywhere that after Master Tan passed away, you two were being sidelined at Zhìwèijū. That’s why this seemingly thankless exchange assignment fell to you.”

“I never really believed those rumors. Tan Wei’an has so many recipes in his head he could publish a book. If that’s what being ‘sidelined’ looks like, then I think 99% of pastry chefs would be thrilled to be treated that way.”

“But if you’re unhappy working at Zhìwèijū, you could also consider joining our Yunzhong Cafeteria. The pay and benefits wouldn’t be any worse, and we could definitely use a skilled pastry chef.”

Qin Huai shamelessly swung his recruitment hoe.

If he had a list of people he most wanted to poach, Gu Li would absolutely be number one.

A workaholic, hardworking, solid fundamentals, perfectly suited to the job.

And he made excellent tea, too.

Previously, Qin Huai hadn’t tried recruiting him because it would’ve been improper. Gu Li was a true Zhìwèijū-trained pastry chef, and he hadn’t even formally completed his apprenticeship yet. But now, Qin Huai sensed the slightest hint that Gu Li might be open to changing jobs, so naturally, he struck immediately.

This time, it was Gu Li’s turn to be stunned.

Unlike Qin Huai’s brief surprise, Gu Li stood there speechless for a long while, seemingly trying to figure out how to respond to Qin Huai’s offer.

Finally, he said firmly, “Master Qin, in the future, I definitely intend to stay at Zhìwèijū.”

“Although I don’t know whether I’ll ever get the chance, I hope that one day I can become one of Zhìwèijū’s master chefs, just like my master was—teaching others and restoring ancient recipes.”

Qin Huai smiled and gestured for him not to feel pressured. Even if Gu Li didn’t want to switch jobs, Qin Huai would still gladly welcome him to Yunzhong Cafeteria for further exchanges.

“So the rumors were false.”

Gu Li nodded.

“The masters at Zhìwèijū have all been very kind to my senior brother and me. It’s just that since we already have our own lineage, masters like Chef Zhou can’t really teach us hand-in-hand the way my own master once did. Most of their guidance comes verbally.”

“And honestly, I’m not particularly gifted. Sometimes a master will offer me a pointer or two, but when they see I haven’t improved, they gradually stop saying more. Over time, I suppose those rumors started.”

“As for why my senior brother and I came to Huang Ji this time, I actually know part of the reason. After my master passed away, I became extremely anxious. I was afraid that I would become nothing more than an ordinary pastry chef and disappoint him. I didn’t know whether I should continue down the path he set for me—restoring ancient recipes—or whether I should, like everyone else, simply focus on developing pastries in the usual way.”

“I was lost. I didn’t know what the right thing to do was, so all I could do was spend more time and make more pastries. I may have become a little obsessed. Last year, I didn’t even take a break during the New Year—I worked on pastries every single day.”

“My senior brother was worried that the pressure had gotten to me, so he took the initiative to ask Boss Su to bring me here to Huang Ji for this exchange.”

“He thought that if I changed places and environments, my mindset might change too—that I wouldn’t keep burying myself in pastry-making every day like before.”

Qin Huai silently commented to himself: It certainly changed—he’s become even more of a workaholic. He spends even more time making pastries now than before.

“I think you can understand this feeling,” Gu Li said, looking at Qin Huai with admiration shining in his eyes. “Although I could never devote myself to pastry the way you do—forgetting food and sleep in your pursuit of perfection—I’ve always wanted to find that same state.”

“You should understand this feeling—the feeling of wanting to perfect a single pastry so much that nothing else matters, when your whole mind is filled with nothing but that pastry.”

Qin Huai: ?

Who on earth has been spreading rumors about me again?

When had he ever worked himself to the point of forgetting food and sleep?

Slander—pure slander!

Qin Huai firmly believed that, deep down, he was someone who loved slacking off. And there was no way he could focus on perfecting just one pastry. There were far too many pastries he wanted to master. In fact, he wished he could wake up tomorrow already capable of making every single item in the entire pastry encyclopedia.

When it came to being obsessive, he and Gu Li weren’t even in the same league.

No matter how tired he was from work, Qin Huai always insisted on spending at least half an hour on his phone before going to sleep each night.

If he didn’t get that half hour of screen time, he couldn’t even fall asleep.

So Qin Huai could only nod somewhat blankly.

“I… sort of understand.”

“How about this—are you free after the New Year?”

Gu Li looked a little confused.

Qin Huai continued, “Why wait for another day when today will do? Learning and exchange should happen sooner rather than later. Since you’ve brought it up yourself, I do think Yunzhong Cafeteria could use an exchange chef after the New Year. Fresh blood can motivate the old staff to keep improving.”

“Speaking of which, the two pastry chefs at our cafeteria might actually be familiar to you—they both came from Zhìwèijū as well.”

“How does a month and a half sound? Come to Yunzhong Cafeteria on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month for an exchange. Your salary and bonuses will be based on our cafeteria’s pay scale.”

“And don’t worry—we provide full social insurance and housing fund contributions.”

In truth, even if Gu Li hadn’t volunteered, Qin Huai had already planned to talk privately with Tan Wei’an in a couple of days and ask whether he could persuade a few people to come to Yunzhong Cafeteria for an exchange starting on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month.

He wanted people who were efficient, had solid fundamentals, and, at the very least, possessed some special skill.

For example, being good at making tea.

Or perhaps knowing a bit about shoulder and neck massage.

Come to think of it, after returning to Shanshi, Qin Huai felt that his real concern wasn’t whether he’d have enough assistants.

It was how he would survive after work without the bone-setting clinic next door.

Would Gong Liang consider opening a bone-setting clinic next to Yunzhong Cafeteria?

He’d happily prepay for services.

Twenty thousand yuan upfront!

“Thank you, Master Qin. I’ll speak with Boss Su later,” Gu Li said, clearly excited.

Qin Huai nodded, feeling slightly guilty, and continued packing.

On the way home, he couldn’t resist calling Zheng Siyuan.

“Hey, Zheng Siyuan, you’re not asleep yet, are you? I want to ask you something.”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you know Boss Su from Zhìwèijū?”

Zheng Siyuan was silent for two seconds before replying, “I’ve never met him personally, but we do have some connections. My father knows him quite well.”

“You… are you planning to go to Zhìwèijū for an exchange?”

Qin Huai hurriedly denied it.

“No, no. I just wanted to ask—does he have a good temper?”

Zheng Siyuan: ?

“If some of Zhìwèijū’s chefs only came to Huang Ji for an exchange two months ago, then stayed through the busy New Year season instead of returning, and right after the New Year went to Shanshi for another exchange… would that affect their normal business operations?”

Zheng Siyuan answered calmly, “As long as it’s not all of Master Tan Wei’an’s direct disciples going over, there’s no way it would affect Zhìwèijū’s normal operations given how many chefs they have.”

“Zhìwèijū has plenty of apprentices. Most of them mainly handle miscellaneous tasks. Unless they’re formally taken on as disciples by a master, their progress tends to be slow. Going to your place for an exchange would be a great opportunity for them, and for Zhìwèijū, it’s a golden deal.”

“After all, you’ll be the one paying their salaries during the exchange.”

“Don’t worry. Boss Su isn’t narrow-minded. Even if a direct disciple really did go over, at most he’d complain about you on his social media feed.”

“Boss Su posts complaints all the time. Everyone’s used to it. Just this month, he made three posts complaining about my dad.”

Qin Huai: ?