AGN -Chapter 328 Su Qian

If Xu Tuqiang’s unwavering love for glutinous rice cakes made Qin Huai realize that he had become somewhat obsessed lately—so focused on completing side quests and main quests that he had forgotten his true role as a pastry chef and allowed himself to be driven by the game’s tasks—then the new batch of helpers from Zhiweiju provided a solid material foundation for him to return to his proper craft.

When Qin Huai spoke with Boss Su, he didn’t directly state how many people he needed. Instead, he subtly hinted that the kitchen at Yunzhi Canteen was very large and could easily accommodate more staff.

Boss Su wasn’t like Huang Anyao, the incompetent young heir. He immediately understood Qin Huai’s implication and sent a full nine people this time.

Tan Weian led the group, along with Su Qian, a registered disciple of Master Zhou, the leading figure at Zhiweiju. Gu Li was also forcibly added to the team by Tan Weian because Qin Huai had specifically requested him. These three could be considered the core members. The remaining six had no masters yet, but they were highly motivated, talented elite apprentices with strong potential to be taken in by a master.

The ordinary apprentices who had gone to Huang Ji for the previous exchange weren’t selected this time, which showed that, in the eyes of Zhiweiju’s staff, that earlier assignment hadn’t been considered particularly valuable—none of the top talents had volunteered for it.

Since Su Qian had a name and was a registered disciple of Master Zhou, Tan Weian gave him a brief introduction upon arriving at Yunzhi Canteen.

In simple terms: a well-connected individual with decent talent.

It wasn’t hard to guess from his surname—Su Qian was related to Boss Su. He was the son of Boss Su’s second cousin, making them fairly close relatives. Compared to someone like Pei Xing, who was only half a “connected insider,” Su Qian had much stronger backing.

As Boss Su’s relative, Su Qian was almost guaranteed to become Master Zhou’s direct disciple in the future. The reason he was still only a registered disciple was that Master Zhou had extremely high standards—not only for talent but also for character.

Recognized as the top white-dough (pastry) chef in the country and the highest-ranked one at Zhiweiju, Master Zhou was actually quite fond of taking in apprentices. He had five direct disciples and countless registered ones. Becoming a registered disciple was already a significant hurdle—it meant Master Zhou acknowledged your talent and current skill level and granted you the qualification to learn under him.

Whether one could advance further and become a direct disciple depended on future effort and whether they could achieve results under Master Zhou’s guidance.

Among all of Master Zhou’s registered disciples, Su Qian was currently the most likely to become the sixth direct disciple. At the same time, he was also one of the most notoriously hardworking “grinders” (workaholics) at Zhiweiju.

Master Zhou was a very traditional, old-school pastry master. Aside from talent, the quality he valued most in his apprentices was diligence. Because of his own early experiences, he firmly believed that hard work could make up for lack of talent.

Perhaps in other fields talent could be decisive, but in Master Zhou’s view—at least in the world of pastry chefs—effort, sweat, and reward were directly proportional. Talent only determined how efficiently effort turned into results, but without effort, even the highest efficiency was meaningless.

He had praised Gu Li’s diligence more than once at Zhiweiju, while also lamenting his limited natural talent.

Previously at Huang Ji, Tan Weian had mentioned to Qin Huai that his grandfather, Master Tan, had been closest to Master Zhou during his lifetime. After Master Tan passed away, Master Zhou had taken care of both Tan Weian and Gu Li. That was also why Tan Weian possessed Master Zhou’s recipe for mixed fruit filling.

Even so, although Master Zhou often gave Gu Li guidance, he had many direct disciples and numerous registered disciples competing fiercely for advancement, leaving him with little time to personally mentor Gu Li.

With all this context, once Tan Weian introduced Su Qian, Qin Huai immediately knew that Su Qian must be the second most hardworking person in the group, right after Gu Li.

Moreover, from people’s tone of voice and the way they looked at him, Qin Huai could tell that although Su Qian was only the deputy leader, he clearly held more authority and influence than Tan Weian—and most likely had higher pastry skills as well.

In the culinary world, skill speaks louder than anything else.

“Master Qin, this is the list of the nine of us. Boss Su has arranged accommodations for us. Since there were no available rentals in Yunzhi Community, we’re staying in the neighboring complex—it’s about an eight-minute walk.”

“Before coming, Tan Weian already explained that your Yunzhi Canteen operates differently from typical restaurants—it serves three meals a day, with breakfast being the priority.”

“This is the work schedule I’ve drafted. Please take a look. At Zhiweiju, pastries are usually sold after 10 a.m., and some specialty items only go on sale at noon, so I’m not very familiar with breakfast preparation times.”

“For now, the schedule assumes we start at 3:40 a.m. Does that work for you?”

The moment Su Qian spoke, his workaholic nature was on full display.

Qin Huai glanced at the schedule and noticed that Su Qian had three early shifts per week, while the remaining four early shifts were assigned to Gu Li. Clearly, those two were the leaders of the morning shift, while Tan Weian had none.

Qin Huai glanced at Tan Weian and thought to himself—no wonder the deputy leader commanded more respect. It turned out his skills and work ethic both fell short.

Only one fewer early shift than Gu Li—definitely a workaholic.

“You don’t need to start that early,” Qin Huai said after a quick review. “You’re all pastry chefs, not responsible for breakfast. Even our breakfast chefs only start at 4 a.m., though prep assistants may come a bit earlier.”

“Of course, if anyone here specializes in breakfast items—like buns, mantou, steamed dumplings, or noodles—you can come a bit earlier, say around 6 a.m.”

“I usually arrive between 7:00 and 7:15 a.m. to make crab roe noodles. It’s not very busy at that time, so if you come at 6 to make breakfast or your specialty pastries, I’ll have time to taste them and give feedback.”

“At noon or in the afternoon, I might not be as available. As Tan Weian probably told you, I usually practice and research pastries in the afternoon. Recently I’ve also been training my knife skills, so I can’t afford distractions. Mornings are more flexible if you want my input.”

Qin Huai meant every word sincerely.

He understood why this group from Zhiweiju had come all this way to work without pay. They had traveled a long distance at their own expense, maintained such a positive attitude, and even volunteered to start work before 4 a.m., already bringing a schedule with them. Naturally, as “Master Qin,” he needed to show his own sincerity and make it clear he could offer what they sought.

Hearing this, a glint of determination flashed across Su Qian’s otherwise ordinary face. After a few seconds of thought, he said directly:

“Understood, Master Qin. I’ll talk to the others shortly to better understand the types of breakfast your canteen serves and revise the schedule accordingly.”

“Everyone just came by high-speed rail and plane, so they’re quite tired and may not be able to start work immediately. Would you have some time this afternoon? I’d like each person to prepare a few of their specialty pastries for you to taste. That way, you can get a sense of our skill levels and assign tasks more efficiently later.”

Qin Huai felt this made sense. With his current ability, he could judge a typical apprentice’s level with just one bite—it would indeed be convenient.

“Alright. Once you’re done, go back early and rest. The journey must have been exhausting.”

Su Qian nodded and began instructing everyone to prepare their best dishes. Upon hearing that Qin Huai would personally taste everyone’s pastries, all the apprentices grew excited. For them, having a master taste even one bite of their work was already a great honor—if they could also receive a few words of feedback, they’d be too excited to sleep that night.

In an instant, everyone rushed to the changing room to switch into work mode.

Out of Qin Huai’s sight, Pei Xing revealed an almost despairing expression.

“Am I crazy, or is this world crazy? Isn’t Su Qian practically guaranteed to become Master Zhou’s direct disciple? Why is he the one leading the team?!”

“That guy isn’t human! He joined Zhiweiju just three years after me, and in less than a year he surpassed me. Every morning when I arrive at the kitchen, he’s already steaming a full basket of pastries. When I’m ready to leave, he’s still kneading dough at the workbench!”

“One glance from Master Zhou and he knows what tea he wants. One frown and he knows what went wrong with his pastries. Even when Master Zhou looks in a certain direction, he can guess what he’s about to say next!”

“I can accept Tan Weian coming—he spends about as much time at Zhiweiju as I do. But why is Su Qian here too?!”

“He even makes better tea than I do!”

Li Hua quietly looked at the despairing Pei Xing and asked: “So… you used to leave work early every day?”

Pei Xing: “? Is that really the point?”

Li Hua ignored him. “No wonder you’re related to Master Pei, yet no master has taken you in as a disciple.”

Pei Xing: …

At that moment, Pei Xing just wanted to spit out a mouthful of blood onto Li Hua’s face and scream at him—why would you say something so cutting at a time like this?

If he weren’t unable to keep up with the grind, this half-connected insider like him wouldn’t have left Zhiweiju so early.

“I think you’re overthinking it,” Li Hua said. “Even if Su Qian is leading the team, he’s still Master Zhou’s registered disciple. He won’t stay here long—sooner or later he’ll go back.”

“We’re the actual employees. Master Qin pays our salaries. What are you worried about?”

Pei Xing suddenly understood. The blood that had risen to his throat was swallowed back down.

“Then what should we do now?” Pei Xing had completely forgotten how just yesterday he tried to secretly outwork Li Hua—only for Li Hua to outwork him in return and nearly grind him to death.

“Didn’t you hear the key point just now?” Li Hua asked. “They’re going to handle breakfast.”

“We handle it too. Right now, the shop has no shortage of pastry chefs. I’m going to apply to Master Qin—starting tomorrow, I’ll come in at 5 a.m. every day.”

“Master Qin likes hot, freshly made breakfast. Recently, I’ve made some progress with frying youtiao.”

Pei Xing: ???

Wait, aren’t we official employees? Why do we have to compete like this too?

Starting at 6 a.m. is already early enough—now it’s escalated to 5 a.m.?

Sensing Pei Xing’s reluctance to “grind,” Li Hua calmly reminded him, “If ordinary apprentices at Zhiweiju fail to become disciples of a master, sooner or later they have to leave.”

“Now think—if those people gain exchange experience here and then apply to Master Qin, do you think he’ll take them?”

Pei Xing: !!!!

SOS!!!

“I’m going to apply too!”

“Same as you—starting tomorrow, I’ll be at work at 5 a.m.! To be honest, I know a bit about breakfast too. My siu mai is insanely good!”

Meanwhile, Tan Weian didn’t participate in the pastry-making with the others from Zhiweiju. After all, what he was good at was something Qin Huai knew all too well.

Instead, Qin Huai directly dragged him into researching crab roe sauce—the method of research being: eating bowl after bowl of crab roe noodles.

That afternoon, Zheng Siyuan had prepared five different versions of crab roe sauce that he and Qin Huai considered acceptable. Each was mixed with noodles, and Tan Weian was asked to taste them one by one. If he couldn’t finish, he just had to take a bite of each; if he could, he could pick his favorite and finish the whole bowl.

In the end, Tan Weian performed beyond expectations—he finished three entire large bowls.

He devoured them ravenously, slurping loudly, with crab roe sauce smeared all over his mouth. Even tissues couldn’t clean it properly—he had to use wet wipes. Anyone who didn’t know better would think he had snuck in alone just to eat noodles, rather than coming for an exchange with Zhiweiju.

“Burp.”

After three bowls of crab roe noodles, Tan Weian let out a loud, satisfied burp.

“How did you guys know I love crab roe noodles? Let me tell you—crab roe sauce isn’t just great with noodles, it’s even better with rice. Next time you should try it with rice—it’s amazing. When I was a kid, I could eat a whole basin of rice mixed with crab roe sauce.”

“When my grandfather was still around, every November he’d make a lot of crab roe sauce. Two kinds—one that could only last two or three months, basically until around the New Year.”

“The other kind could last until August the next year. But usually it never made it that far—I’d finish it by around April.”

Thus spoke Tan Weian, an expert in mixing crab roe sauce with noodles and rice.

Then he noticed Qin Huai and Zheng Siyuan staring at him intently.

Having already worked with them on the recipe for Four Joy Tangyuan, Tan Weian immediately understood what they were thinking. He rummaged through his mental “treasure bag” for a few dozen seconds.

“I remember the recipe, though not very clearly. I’ll check my phone notes tonight and send it to you later.”

Qin Huai and Zheng Siyuan nodded in unison. “Alright.”

If nothing else, Tan Weian really had a huge collection of recipes in his “treasure bag.” If one day he fell on hard times and decided to go against his ancestors’ teachings, he could probably make a living selling recipes—though he’d likely be cursed as an outrageous prodigal, even worse than Huang Anyao.

Smacking his lips as he savored the lingering taste of the crab roe noodles, Tan Weian, still in a carb-induced daze, asked in confusion:

“Weren’t you guys supposed to be researching double crab buns? Why are you making crab roe noodles now?”

Qin Huai then repeated to him the same “crooked logic” he had explained earlier to Zheng Siyuan.

Tan Weian: ?

He stared at Zheng Siyuan in shock, his face practically saying: Aren’t you professionally trained like me? You can actually accept this kind of theory? Is this right? Is this reasonable? Is this normal?

What’s wrong with you, Zheng Siyuan?!

Zheng Siyuan looked at him calmly. “Think about the Four Joy Tangyuan.”

“Oh right—you haven’t tried Qin Huai’s current version yet. And you probably can’t eat any more now.”

“Tomorrow morning, have a bowl. Then you’ll understand—this idea actually works pretty well.”

“I’ve gained quite a bit these past few days too. How’s your Four Joy Tangyuan coming along?”

Tan Weian: …

Alright, that’s enough. Stop roasting me.