AGN -Chapter 389 Sugar-Coated Bullets

After dinner, Qin Huai slipped into the kitchen and took a look, only to find that Zheng Da was still making double-crab buns.

Qin Huai felt that his dear Chef Zheng was probably losing his mind.

Huang Anyao was sitting at the kitchen entrance. The stopwatch hadn’t been stopped yet—the time had already gone from 6 hours 39 minutes 41 seconds to 7 hours 39 minutes 11 seconds, just a little under 21 minutes away from the legendary 8-hour workday.

Even though Qin Huai had already been shocked more than once today, he felt this was still worth a small bit of additional shock.

“Chef Zheng hasn’t stopped at all? He didn’t even eat?” Qin Huai asked softly.

Huang Anyao nodded. “He hasn’t stopped. But he did eat—two buns.”

“What exactly triggered Chef Zheng? Does he really love making double-crab buns that much? Could it be that four years ago he overworked himself making them and ended up burning out, so he stopped completely, and only today realized his favorite pastry is still the double-crab bun—so once he started again, he couldn’t stop at all?”

Qin Huai couldn’t help voicing his guess.

Huang Anyao suddenly looked enlightened, as if that made perfect sense. Why hadn’t he thought of that?

Seeing how obsessed Zheng Da was with making double-crab buns, Qin Huai hesitated whether to step forward and ask when he could be taught how to make the Four Happiness Rolls.

It was rare to see Chef Zheng so passionate about a pastry—if he interrupted now, he might become a sinner for all eternity.

Qin Huai understood very well how difficult it was to ignite passion in that lazy Chef Zheng. After hesitating for two minutes, he decided not to disturb him and quietly got off work to go home.

He still had business to attend to later—he needed to call Su Qian and discuss the future arrangements for everyone at Zhiwei House.

In the short term, Qin Huai definitely wouldn’t be returning to Yunzhong Cafeteria. As for the Four Happiness Rolls, he had already obtained the “version answer.” Unlike the double-crab buns, this meant there wouldn’t be a situation where he knew the recipe but still couldn’t make it correctly.

But right now, the only person who could teach him the Four Happiness Rolls was Zheng Da. Shi Dadan could only eat—it was already his limit to describe ingredients. Asking him to fully explain the entire process would be too much.

Even if Shi Dadan could explain it, Qin Huai might not understand. The same cooking process looked completely different to an amateur and a professional. Qin Huai could only learn the Four Happiness Rolls from Zheng Da—there was no other place to learn it.

Just learning the Four Happiness Rolls would probably take at least a month. And now, he had also discovered a new A-grade dish: lotus root starch balls.

Of course, the lotus root balls had video tutorials, so learning would be easier. But self-study and having a master guide you were completely different experiences. Even though Zheng Da was a rather inarticulate master, he and Qin Huai were probably the two people in the world who understood each other’s clumsy way of speaking best.

“Huang Anyao, does Huang Ji have high-quality lotus root starch? Pure lotus starch,” Qin Huai asked.

“Lotus starch?” Huang Anyao thought for a moment, unsure. “I think we do. I remember we sold some lotus starch desserts last year, but I’m not sure if there’s any left in storage.”

“Qin Huai, do you need it?”

“Yes.” Qin Huai nodded firmly. “The best quality pure lotus root starch. It must be pure.”

“Alright, I’ll contact the supplier and have them deliver it tomorrow morning. I’ll ask them to send multiple types so we can choose.”

Qin Huai looked at Huang Anyao with satisfaction, feeling that the young boss had indeed grown.

He glanced at Zheng Siyuan, who was still making pastries, and Zang Liang, who was happily stir-frying nonstop, and asked, “Where’s Tan Wei’an?”

“He got off work and went home about half an hour ago.”

“Alright, I’ll head home too. I still have things to do later. If Zheng Siyuan or Zang Liang ask, just tell them I went home and they can come find me directly if anything comes up.”

“Oh, one more thing,” Qin Huai added. “Didn’t you hand all the accounts from last year up to last month to Uncle Wang? He said your bookkeeping method is too messy and prone to errors, and asked if you want him to redo all the accounts. It’ll take more than a week.”

Huang Anyao hadn’t expected such a pleasant surprise.

“He can redo them? Isn’t that too much trouble? Really? One week is enough?”

“Yes.”

“Then thank you so much! What fruit does Uncle Wang like? I’ll buy some for him tomorrow!”

“Don’t buy fruit,” Qin Huai said. “In a couple of days, ask your father to cook him a proper meal as thanks.”

“Oh right,” he added. “Tomorrow prepare ingredients for some gastrodia stewed pigeon. I’m going to make it.”

Qin Huai’s gastrodia stewed pigeon had a vision-restoring effect. He was worried Wang Gensheng would go blind from staring at the computer all day.

Huang Anyao said he had remembered everything. Only then did Qin Huai leave in peace.

But as soon as he walked out of Huang Ji, he found that Gong Liang was actually standing at the entrance waiting for him. Qin Huai immediately greeted him with a smile.

“Mr. Gong, why are you standing here? Do you need something?”

Gong Liang frowned, clearly thinking about something. That expression was rare on him—he was someone who didn’t often show his emotions.

“Chef Xiao Qin, I know it might be impolite to ask this, but… where did you hear that I like lotus root starch balls?”

It was already dark outside. The dim streetlights cast uneven shadows across Gong Liang’s face, making it hard for Qin Huai to read his expression.

Qin Huai hadn’t expected him to care about this.

The “liking lotus root starch balls” thing had just been something Qin Huai casually made up to complete Gong Liang’s side quest. There was no specific pastry requirement for that quest—only that it had to be something made specially for him. The word “specially” was crucial.

Gong Liang only cared about sincerity.

Right now, Qin Huai only had two options: Four Happiness Rolls and lotus root starch balls. The Four Happiness Rolls had already been mentioned earlier, so he could only use lotus root starch balls as a “gift borrowed to show respect.”

Compared to the Four Happiness Rolls, lotus root starch balls were definitely easier—at least Qin Huai thought so, even though he hadn’t actually watched the tutorial yet.

So in that moment, Qin Huai felt that staging a little performance using lotus root starch balls was perfect.

He knew that in this situation, he couldn’t see Gong Liang’s expression clearly—and Gong Liang probably couldn’t see his either.

So he put on an exaggerated thoughtful expression. Only when they were almost at the residential gate did he finally speak in a slightly uncertain tone:

“Maybe I heard it from some regular customer at Huang Ji.”

“Or maybe Director Dong mentioned it casually.”

“Sorry, Mr. Gong, it’s been a while so I don’t really remember. Anyway, I just recall someone telling me you like lotus root starch balls. When I heard it, I thought maybe I should learn it sometime and make it for you. I figured it shouldn’t be too hard—probably not more complicated than Four Happiness Tangyuan.”

“I got busy later and forgot about it. It just came back to me during dinner. So, do you not like lotus root starch balls?”

Qin Huai stepped under a streetlight and looked at Gong Liang with complete sincerity.

The light shone on his face, making his expression especially genuine.

But his performance was unnecessary—because Gong Liang wasn’t even looking at him. He was looking down at his phone, apparently replying to an important work message.

“No, no, I was just curious who said it. I was worried it might’ve been my wife who told you,” Gong Liang said somewhat embarrassedly. “I don’t actually like lotus root starch balls. I basically don’t like any purely sweet pastries like that—but my wife does.”

“When I first started working and was dating my wife, I often went to the state-run restaurant to buy a portion of lotus root starch balls, pack them in a lunchbox, and take them to the cinema for her to eat while watching movies.”

“Back then the cinema was pitch black. During screenings you couldn’t see anything except the screen. My wife would often eat and spill the sweet soup all over herself.”

“Thinking about it now really brings back memories.”

Qin Huai: “……”

So you deliberately waited for me at the entrance of Huang Ji just to lure me in and kill me with dog food?

Fine, fine. I get it—you and Guo Mingzhu have a loyal, enduring love that has stood the test of time. I’ve not only heard of your legendary love story, I’ve even “seen” it firsthand in your memories. Guo Mingzhu must have been a great beauty when she was young. You being able to marry her is your good fortune, alright?

“So, Mr. Gong, what exactly do you mean?” Qin Huai genuinely couldn’t figure out what Gong Liang wanted. Was he just showing off his love life? That didn’t seem necessary.

“I mainly just feel that Chef Xiao Qin has been going out of his way to remember what I like to eat and even thinking of making pastries for me—it’s really too much trouble for you,” Gong Liang said.

He lifted his phone and turned the screen toward Qin Huai, motioning for him to look.

Qin Huai took a closer look and saw a chat log with a well-known smart home appliance brand’s sales support. Gong Liang seemed to have ordered an entire set of brand-new smart home appliances.

“This is…”

“This is a full set of smart home appliances released earlier this year. I looked into it a bit—installation only takes six hours. I’ll have them arrange installation while you’re at work, so there’s enough time.”

Qin Huai: ?

“Chef Xiao Qin, please don’t feel embarrassed. Since you’re going out of your way to remember what pastries I like, I should also help upgrade your home appliances. I’ve already placed the order—it’ll be installed tomorrow. It’s the same brand as your current ones, so you won’t have any trouble adjusting.”

“Chef Zheng is too slow in action. When he bought this house, I already told him to quickly get renovation workers in while you were away in Suzhou to install floor heating and redo the interior.”

“I’ve already bought the apartment upstairs. Once we connect them, the space will be much bigger. It’s a pity the downstairs owner isn’t selling—otherwise I would’ve bought that too and connected it, so you wouldn’t even need to climb stairs.”

Qin Huai: ??

“When we renovate, I’ll have Chef Zheng send you the plans. You can take a look—if you’re not satisfied, we’ll change them.”

Qin Huai: ???

For some reason, at this moment Qin Huai suddenly had an intense urge to go back and study the lotus root starch ball video tutorial—he even felt like he wanted to make an A-grade version tomorrow and serve it to Gong Liang immediately.

In an instant, he understood the expression on Wang Gensheng’s face when he ate lotus root starch balls in memory.

Ah. So this is what “sugar-coated bullets” feel like.

Truly… hard to resist.

Qin Huai, who had been bombarded all the way home by these “sugar-coated bullets,” returned dizzy and confused.

Inside, Shi Dadan was there too, eating bananas while watching Wang Gensheng do accounting. Clearly, Shi Dadan didn’t understand a thing—but that didn’t stop him from enjoying watching.

Qin Huai greeted them briefly, said he had something to do, and went back to his room.

He called Su Qian to discuss how Zhiwei House would handle their people—whether they should end the exchange early and return, or reroute to Huang Ji instead.

Qin Huai knew this issue was partly his responsibility, so he was very cooperative. He also said that if they chose to return, he would cover any losses such as rental contract penalties. If they chose to come to Huang Ji, he would also cover extra rent and living expenses.

To his surprise, Su Qian said there was no need at all.

Their boss, upon hearing that Qin Huai had gone back to Huang Ji again, immediately decided that Zhiwei House and Huang Ji were friendly establishments. Although there was some… indescribable personal history between Boss Su and Zheng Da, he still admired Huang Shengli.

Since Huang Ji was a well-known high-end restaurant, it was clearly a better learning environment.

So Boss Su waved his hand and said: weren’t the current exchange students not enough? If they were going to Huang Ji, shouldn’t they send more?

“We have plenty of eager students here. Chef Qin, do you think we should send 3 more or 5 more?”

Qin Huai: “……”

How did this turn into this kind of development?

Can Huang Ji even handle so many pastry chefs?

Well… actually, it probably could. The kitchen really was huge.

Su Qian’s question left Qin Huai speechless, and he couldn’t help but ask back:

“Do you think 3 is better or 5?”

“Chef Qin, you don’t need to worry too much about our boss,” Su Qian replied. “He just heard that our previous trainees in Yunzhong Cafeteria improved a lot, so he got excited and wanted to send more promising students over. If it were up to me, I think 2 more is enough. Too many would also burden your guidance and affect your normal work.”

“Pick whatever type of students you like. I saw one who’s good at Cantonese dim sum—you sometimes like shrimp dumplings in the morning, right? But none of us are actually specialized in shrimp dumplings. Should we send him over?”

Qin Huai immediately felt tempted. “Yes.”

“There’s also one who’s good at kneading dough and could help you. The last spot we’ll give to him. How does that sound?”

“Fine. You decide, Su Qian. I trust your judgment.”

“Alright, then it’s decided. I’ll send you the list later. If you have anyone else in mind, just tell me. We might depart two days later due to work handover. Please coordinate with Huang Ji about arranging our placements.”

“I won’t disturb your rest. I’ll hang up now.”

After hanging up, Qin Huai sighed inwardly.

As expected of Master Zhou’s confirmed disciple—so considerate.

On the other side, Su Qian was also calling Boss Su.

“Two? Qin Huai agreed to send two more students?! That’s great! I originally thought getting even one more would be lucky!” Boss Su’s excited voice almost pierced through the phone.

“Xiao Qian, did you ask Qin Huai when he plans to come to Zhiwei House? Your Master Zhou is almost unable to wait anymore. Qin Huai’s Four Happiness Dumplings in City A were so delicious that even Mr. Xu wants to write another column about him. If he doesn’t come soon, I’m afraid your Master Zhou will go straight to Huang Ji to find him.”

“Didn’t Master Zhou already secretly go buy pastries from Huang Ji during New Year?” Su Qian asked.

“…That’s different.”

“I understand, Uncle. Don’t worry. Chef Qin has his own plans.”

“I’ll try to subtly ask him after arriving at Huang Ji. Let’s aim to get Chef Qin to Zhiwei House before June.”