AGN -Chapter 427 A Carbohydrate Feast

Qin Huai racked his brains but still couldn’t understand how what was originally supposed to be an ordinary holiday gathering over dumplings had somehow evolved into this.

Master Zhou sat in the living room waiting for the last batch of pastries to come out of the kitchen.

Zhao Cheng’an was hiding in the kitchen like a middle-aged man unwilling to go home after work, lingering in the garage just to smoke a cigarette, dawdling around who knew doing what.

An Youyou was doing her best to apply her workplace social skills, unpacking all the fruit from the fruit basket she and Shi Dadan had brought, washing and cutting everything into fruit platters.

Incidentally, because An Youyou’s knife skills were truly terrible, the fruit platters looked rather ugly and wasted a lot of scraps and trimmings. Unwilling to waste anything, she ate while cutting. Qin Huai watched from the side, worried she’d fill herself up on fruit before the meal even started.

Shi Dadan was the most relaxed person there. He sat by the dining table chatting with Master Zhou, crazily praising Master Zhou’s egg tarts and saying he lined up at Zhiwei Ju every afternoon to buy them. He worked hard to express, in the simplest and most sincere way possible, the humble wish of an ordinary customer who just wanted to eat more pastries.

Although Master Zhou usually enjoyed making sarcastic remarks, he was still very kind and gentle toward customers—especially customers who genuinely loved his pastries. Shi Dadan’s simple words paired with his honest smile made Master Zhou feel refreshed and comfortable. When chatting with Shi Dadan, the smile on his face was almost as warm as when he talked to Qin Huai.

As for Qin Huai, he and Zhao Cheng’an huddled together in the kitchen escaping reality while quietly trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a normal gathering?

Then why had the kingpin of Zhiwei Ju been summoned here?

Qin Huai had every reason to suspect Zhao Cheng’an had set him up.

“I’m innocent! More wronged than Dou E herself!” Facing Qin Huai’s accusation, Zhao Cheng’an could only cry injustice in a mosquito-like yet emotionally charged whisper. “Before my master called me last night, I had no idea today would turn out like this!”

Qin Huai raised an eyebrow and looked over the pastries visibly filling the kitchen.

Already finished and ready to eat were walnut crisps, lotus pastries, jujube paste pastries, peach blossom pastries, auspicious cloud pastries, and salted egg yolk pastries. Among these flaky pastries, the hardest were the lotus pastries and peach blossom pastries, mainly because of their complicated shapes.

Whenever Master Zhou made flaky pastries, he always went all out on presentation. Whether lotus pastries or peach blossom pastries, at first glance they looked layered, vivid, elegant, and almost lifelike—beautiful enough that any random plating could justify selling two pieces for 188 or even 288 yuan.

And yet in this kitchen, there were simply too many peach blossom pastries and lotus pastries, so they could only be stacked together on plain white porcelain plates with no decorative patterns whatsoever.

Because flaky pastries weren’t the only thing in the kitchen.

Qin Huai also saw five plates of crab-shell pastries, two plates of small baked flatbreads sprinkled with white sesame seeds and roasted to a fragrant golden brown, two plates of already-steamed buns whose fillings couldn’t be identified, and one plate of dough fruits—or more accurately, assorted fruit pastries—which was one of Master Zhou’s signature desserts at Zhiwei Ju.

A small plate held six different kinds of fruit-shaped pastries, each tiny and exquisite, realistic enough to pass for the real thing. And these weren’t beginner-level apple pastries either.

For example, the plate currently sitting in the kitchen had two bunches of grape pastries in the center: one green grape cluster and one purple grape cluster. Not only were the grapes themselves incredibly lifelike, even the stems and grape leaves were detailed, with visible veins on the leaves.

Arranged around the grapes were individual fruits: sliced watermelon, loquats, oranges, strawberries, and persimmons. From a distance, it really looked like a fruit platter—except the watermelon seemed oddly small.

This was the most expensive and high-end dessert an ordinary but wealthy lucky customer could possibly buy at Zhiwei Ju, and only when Master Zhou happened to be in an exceptionally good mood and the customer’s luck was off the charts.

At the same time, it was also the appetizer Master Zhou served during banquet pastry courses.

And yet in this kitchen, the plate could only barely avoid suffering the same fate as the other pastries—stacked on top of one another because the plates were too small. It merely managed to preserve its full shape while sitting in a relatively stable corner of the kitchen counter.

Qin Huai carefully scanned the kitchen again. In one corner he spotted Zhao Cheng’an’s wrapped dumplings and fried frozen pumpkin cakes. On a rack that should have been holding vegetables, he saw sugar triangle buns and thousand-layer oil cakes. After opening the refrigerator, he even found chilled mung bean cakes and butterfly cold rolls resting inside.

Qin Huai recalled what Master Zhou had casually said earlier:

“Just made a few things for practice.”

“Practice.”

A complete redefinition of the word.

Qin Huai finally pulled his eyes away from the dazzling array of pastries, suppressing the urge to sneak one, and lowered his voice.

“So what exactly is going on? There’s no way all this was made in a single day.”

“I really don’t know! I’m truly innocent!” Zhao Cheng’an continued crying injustice. “My master stayed at my place last night. Of course these pastries weren’t made in one day—I started helping him yesterday evening!”

“From getting off work at seven all the way until one in the morning. Then I got up after six today and kept working until now. Do you know how difficult these pastries are? Do you know how long that assorted fruit platter normally takes? Do you know why I didn’t answer your call earlier? Because I was working nonstop! I didn’t even dare turn my phone volume on! If Master hadn’t suddenly asked me what time you were arriving, I almost would’ve forgotten today was supposed to be a meal with you guys. I thought today was just another training session at home!”

The more Zhao Cheng’an spoke, the more teary-eyed he became.

“Isn’t today supposed to be a holiday? Why does it feel even more exhausting than going to work?”

Hearing Zhao Cheng’an sound so miserable, Qin Huai suddenly found it hard to keep interrogating him. Thinking about it that way, Zhao Cheng’an really was pitiful.

“So you genuinely don’t know the reason?” Qin Huai asked.

Hearing that, Zhao Cheng’an became uncertain again. He glanced at the dumplings boiling in the pot, thinking about how much longer he could stall, then hesitated before saying:

“I can probably guess a little.”

“Maybe because you, me, and An Youyou all had the day off today, and Tan Wei’an also wanted a break, so my master guessed we were probably planning some kind of gathering.”

“I’m only telling you this quietly right now. Once we go back out there, you have to pretend you know nothing.”

“My master has actually always wanted to show off his real skills in front of you.”

Qin Huai: ?

“Seriously, don’t give me that look.” Zhao Cheng’an cautiously glanced toward the kitchen door. “You know how much my master likes you, right? Anyone in Zhiwei Ju with functioning eyes can tell. To put it bluntly, my master likes people who are talented and hardworking, and preferably emotionally intelligent enough to read the room and speak well.”

“Don’t you think it’s strange? My master likes you so much, specifically said he wanted you learning under him, but it feels like he hasn’t actually taught you anything himself and has just been having me guide you instead.”

Qin Huai nodded slightly.

“I did find it a little strange, but I could understand it. Master Zhou has been very busy lately and doesn’t have time to teach me personally. You guiding me has already been more than enough, and I’ve learned a lot. The only thing I really don’t understand is… why Master Zhou never lets me actually make pastries myself. I feel like letting me try a little wouldn’t be a big deal.”

Seeing Qin Huai hit the key point, Zhao Cheng’an covered his mouth, lowered his brows, even bent at the waist like a secret agent exchanging intel. His voice became so quiet Qin Huai had to lean in close to hear him.

“Because that raises your sense of anticipation.”

Qin Huai: ?

“Anticipation?”

“This is my master’s old trick. Think about it—my master is the number one white-dough chef. Normally, if someone got the chance to be personally guided by him, wouldn’t they be super excited and full of expectations?”

“The moment my master told you that you’d follow him from now on, weren’t you already imagining what you’d learn from him? How he’d teach you? Whether he’d scold you? Whether training would be really hard?”

Qin Huai nodded in agreement.

“And then, right at that moment, my master deliberately doesn’t guide you personally. Instead, he casually assigns someone else to take care of you. He doesn’t even let you make pastries yourself—only lets you watch from the side, making you anxious. So naturally you’d start feeling nervous and uneasy, wondering if maybe you did something wrong and Master Zhou actually didn’t think highly of you, which is why he refused to teach you personally and handed you over to me instead.”

Qin Huai shook his head.

“Not really. I just thought Master Zhou had been busy lately.”

“And Master Zhou must have his reasons for not letting me make pastries yet.”

Zhao Cheng’an: …

Even though he himself was already a once-in-a-generation prodigy, at this moment he still wanted to fight someone like Qin Huai—a true genius.

Damn it, why was he so confident? Back then, he had been full of anxiety and insecurity, yet Qin Huai wasn’t nervous at all.

Ridiculous.

Zhao Cheng’an choked for a moment, pretending not to hear what Qin Huai had just said as he continued:

“At times like this, my master carefully picks the perfect day, makes a whole table of his signature pastries, and fully displays his skills. After you nervously finish the meal, wondering what exactly my master thinks of you, he then kindly tells you he thinks highly of you and has decided to officially teach you pastry-making starting tomorrow.”

“Wouldn’t you be deeply moved?”

“Wouldn’t you want to kneel on the spot and acknowledge him as your master?”

Qin Huai: …?

Had Zhao Cheng’an read too many power fantasy web novels or something? What kind of bizarre analysis was this?

“No,” Qin Huai answered decisively.

Zhao Cheng’an: …

“I get it now.” Qin Huai straightened up and stared directly at Zhao Cheng’an. “This was your own emotional journey back when you became his disciple. My situation is different from yours, so just tell me what you actually know.”

Zhao Cheng’an: “…As far as I know, my master likes showing off a little.”

“Ever since you arrived at Zhiwei Ju, my master has wanted to impress you. But the first pastry you ate happened to be egg tarts, and since you’ve always loved egg tarts, my master never made anything else. He’s been waiting for a chance to really show off.”

“And today he finally got his opportunity to flex in front of you.”

Qin Huai: (*￣(エ)￣)

Zhao Cheng’an really was his master’s true disciple—actually saying straight to someone’s face that his master loved showing off.

Qin Huai didn’t know what to say. He glanced at the dumplings in the pot.

“The dumplings are done. Let’s serve the food.”

Zhao Cheng’an hurriedly scooped the dumplings out of the pot while silently muttering to himself. Qin Huai didn’t bother trying to read his lips or pay attention to what he was saying. Instead, he walked to the kitchen door, opened it, and began carrying the pastries out one by one.

At the dining table, Shi Dadan was still chatting with Master Zhou, while An Youyou sat in the corner eating fruit scraps beside two rather ugly-looking fruit platters.

When the kitchen door opened, both of them looked toward Qin Huai. Qin Huai smiled at Master Zhou and asked:

“Master Zhou, should we bring out all the pastries from the kitchen?”

Master Zhou nodded slightly. An Youyou immediately jumped up and ran into the kitchen to help carry the pastries out, only to gasp in shock when she saw how many there were.

“Wow, there’s actually this much food? I thought there were only dumplings, buns, and rolls! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have eaten so much fruit just now!”

An Youyou cried out in regret.

This was where professionalism really showed. To An Youyou, intricately crafted palace lantern buns and four-happiness rolls were simply “buns and rolls.”

“What were Old Shi and Master Zhou talking about just now?” Qin Huai asked casually.

“Mr. Shi asked about your recent situation at Zhiwei Ju. Master Zhou thought Mr. Shi was your relative, so he gave him a detailed introduction to the salary and benefits at Zhiwei Ju.”

“Chef Qin, are you planning to switch jobs and join Zhiwei Ju?”

Qin Huai: ?

He was the owner of Yunzhong Cafeteria. How exactly was he supposed to “switch jobs” to Zhiwei Ju?

An Youyou, did you even read the workplace handbook I sent you that day?

Oh right, that handbook probably didn’t cover situations this ridiculous. Even Shi Dadan wouldn’t ask something so absurd.

“Let’s serve the dishes,” Qin Huai could only say.

Two minutes later, Zhao Cheng’an’s eight-person dining table was completely covered with pastries.

The exquisite assorted fruit pastries sat in the very center. The lotus pastries and peach blossom pastries were arranged beside them. The other flaky pastries were interspersed among the mung bean cakes, buns, sugar triangle buns, and other desserts. Crab-shell pastries were stacked atop the flaky pastries. Zhao Cheng’an’s dumplings barely managed to squeeze onto the edge of the table, while the pumpkin cakes didn’t even qualify for a spot and had been left on top of the shoe cabinet.

Anyone seeing such a table would have to sigh and say:

What an absolute carbohydrate feast.

Shi Dadan’s paradise.

Meanwhile, the utterly inexperienced An Youyou was already stunned speechless.

She had completely forgotten that she’d originally come to Zhao Cheng’an’s house to eat dumplings today. Pork dumplings, pickled cabbage dumplings, pork-and-celery dumplings, beef-and-scallion dumplings—none of them mattered anymore.

Today, An Youyou felt much closer to the lotus flowers, peach blossoms, pastries, buns, and that pretty plate of fake fruit.

Qin Huai looked at Master Zhou.

Master Zhou wore a calm, detached smile. Sitting upright at the table with his back perfectly straight, he appeared completely relaxed, carrying the air of a hidden master living beyond the mortal world.

“Since I happened to have time off today, I casually made a few pastries. I’ve also been rather busy these past few days and haven’t had much time to interact with you, Xiao Qin, so I don’t really know your tastes.”

“Take a look and see which pastries you like best. Starting tomorrow, you won’t need to keep watching Old Third make pastries anymore—you can start learning hands-on with me.”

“And you don’t need to come so early in the mornings either. Nine o’clock is too early. As long as you arrive before ten, that’s fine.”

“Before this, I was too busy, so I could only make simple things like soup dumplings for you. Try these pastries today and see if there’s anything you especially like. If there is, I can make them for you in the mornings from now on.”

“And everyone, don’t just sit there. Go ahead and eat.”

For some reason, at this exact moment, only Zhao Cheng’an’s earlier words echoed in Qin Huai’s mind:

“My master really likes showing off.”

Qin Huai looked at Master Zhou, and only two thoughts remained in his heart:

Holy crap, Master Zhou is really putting on a show now.

What incredible swagger. Is this the confidence of the number one white-dough chef? When I reach the top someday, I’m absolutely going to act like this too.