AGN -Chapter 447 The Mindset of Being the Boss

At a little past 5 a.m. the next morning, the refrigerated delivery truck arrived at the entrance of Zhiwei Residence right on time and hauled away all the pastries Qin Huai had stored there. The flashy delivery operation deeply shocked An Youyou, who had clearly never seen anything like it before.

“L-Little Master Qin… can Old Shi really finish that many pastries by himself?” Yesterday, An Youyou had only heard that Qin Huai had made a lot of pastries at home, but as just an apprentice, she hadn’t actually seen how much there was.

“You have to believe in Old Shi. Besides, he’s not fighting alone,” Qin Huai explained on Shi Dadan’s behalf before glancing at the remaining ingredients. “Youyou, go get two more bags of flour.”

“Okay!” An Youyou hurried off to the storage room.

During these nearly two months at Zhiwei Residence, An Youyou had completely transformed into the model apprentice.

Whenever Qin Huai was too busy grinding proficiency to pay attention to her, she would work normally alongside the other apprentices—helping out, making her own pastries, staying full of energy, and even learning tea-brewing skills on the side.

Because An Youyou had been personally brought in by Qin Huai, the master chefs all gave her a little guidance whenever they passed by her workstation. And although An Youyou’s talent was average, she made up for it with diligence and a genuine desire to improve.

It could be said that over this past month or so, Qin Huai himself might not have taught her much, but what she lacked least was guidance from master chefs.

Like a sponge, she absorbed knowledge frantically. No one knew exactly how much she had truly digested, but she had certainly absorbed a lot.

If An Youyou returned to Yunzhong Cafeteria now, it would truly be a “lightning-fast return,” enough to leave Pei Xing, Li Hua, and Chen An completely dumbfounded.

At this point, some people might wonder—had An Youyou mastered something?

Not at all.

She hadn’t even fully mastered kneading dough yet, nor had she learned any particularly difficult pastries. Forget advanced pastries—even simple steamed buns and vegetable buns made at her current level would still be considered unqualified at Zhiwei Residence.

Of course, that “unqualified” was relative.

If she went back to her family’s breakfast shop, her current skills would probably let her compete with her father for ownership of the store and fight over the family’s already meager inheritance.

Especially considering that her father liked cutting corners while making buns—using ingredients that weren’t especially fresh and masking the flavor with spices. Compared to that, someone like An Youyou, trained by Qin Huai and Zhiwei Residence to carefully select ingredients like a proper traditional breakfast chef, actually had pretty good odds of winning.

This was the normal process of learning pastry-making. Even “rapid progress” only amounted to this much.

As for someone like Qin Huai…

In Tan Weian’s words, either he was cheating, or he had never turned the cheat off in the first place, or he simply drank two fewer bowls of Meng Po soup before reincarnating and never truly forgot his past-life skills.

“Youyou, what do you think of Zhiwei Residence?” Qin Huai asked.

Recently, Qin Huai had been obsessed with grinding proficiency and hadn’t paid much attention to An Youyou’s situation. On top of that, after discovering that Zhao Cheng’an was actually a mayfly spirit, most of his focus had shifted toward Zhao Cheng’an, causing him to neglect An Youyou even more.

Thinking carefully about it, Qin Huai actually felt rather ashamed. They were both spirits, yet he had paid far less attention to An Youyou.

Maybe because the three-legged golden toad was considered an auspicious beast, and because he had already guessed part of the reason for An Youyou’s failed tribulation, Qin Huai subconsciously felt that her tribulation wasn’t particularly urgent.

“It’s been really great!” An Youyou thought the boss was asking about how well she was fitting in, so she immediately began reporting enthusiastically.

“Everyone at Zhiwei Residence is super nice. Recently Brother Wang has been teaching me tea brewing, and he teaches really carefully.”

“When I first started, I didn’t know how to use the machines in Zones 3, 4, and 5. Brother Li and Brother Chen taught me.”

“The apprentices mostly just watch and practice by themselves, but sometimes I couldn’t understand things and didn’t know how to ask. At first I didn’t dare knead too much dough because I was afraid of ruining it and wasting ingredients. Little Brother Li told me it was fine—even if I messed it up, we could still use it to make flatbread.”

“And Sister Chu, she…”

Once An Youyou started talking, she couldn’t stop. She rattled off everything she thought she could mention, and when she finished, she felt extremely satisfied with herself.

Excellent.

By praising others, she had indirectly highlighted how hardworking and diligent she’d been lately. Using indirect description to emphasize her own excellence while also avoiding making the boss think the staff had become arrogant and complacent.

Perfect score.

Haha. That Workplace Art guide she had snagged online last month for one yuan during a flash sale really hadn’t been a waste.

Qin Huai listened to An Youyou’s long speech but barely remembered any details. The only things that stuck were “Brother Zhao,” “Brother Wang,” “Brother Li,” and a whole series of supporting characters without full names.

After finishing this batch of steamed buns, Qin Huai went to the break room, grabbed his phone, and sent Tan Weian a voice message asking who exactly all these people were.

Although An Youyou had only mentioned surnames, the apprentices at Zhiwei Residence all had fixed workstations. Anyone who regularly helped her had to be working in the same area, so it wasn’t hard to identify them with a little investigation.

As Zhiwei Residence’s number one gossip mouth, Tan Weian compiled the entire list before work even started. Then, the moment work began, he immediately darted over to Qin Huai’s station to ask why Qin Huai was investigating these ordinary apprentices.

Was Qin Huai really planning to open a neighborhood cafeteria in his residential complex and establish himself as king?

Did he think poaching master chefs right away would look bad, so he planned to start by poaching apprentices and gradually erode Zhiwei Residence’s foundation step by step?

Qin Huai: …

Had Tan Weian been slacking off reading novels during work lately?

And what kind of garbage had he been reading? Brain-dead corporate warfare novels?

Qin Huai shoved a basin of filling at Tan Weian.

“If you’re this free, help me cook the filling for the five-diced buns. Read fewer novels.”

Then he clapped his hands and walked off.

The suddenly burdened Tan Weian stared blankly at the huge basin of filling. He remained frozen for a good five or six seconds before asking Zhao Cheng’an:

“Doesn’t Qin Huai only make those cheap, filling pastries in huge quantities? Why’s he making five-diced buns now?”

Zhao Cheng’an: “…Shouldn’t you be asking where Qin Huai went?”

“Then where did Qin Huai go?”

“No idea. Maybe the bathroom.”

“Then why is he making five-diced buns again?”

“How would I know? When I got here, he was already making this stuff.”

Tan Weian: …

Of course, Qin Huai hadn’t gone to the bathroom.

He had gone to the locker room to get his phone, then used the apprentice information and photos Tan Weian had sent him to personally identify everyone around An Youyou one by one.

The apprentices’ workstations were mostly tucked into corners, grouped in little clusters of three or five here and there.

According to Tan Weian, this arrangement had deeper meaning behind it. One reason was to prevent apprentices from forming cliques and bullying or isolating others. The other was to make it easier for the master chefs to recognize apprentices individually.

Zhiwei Residence had too many apprentices. If they all crowded together, any master chef with even slight face blindness would have no chance of remembering who was who.

When Qin Huai wandered over to An Youyou’s side, she was currently learning tea brewing from the “Brother Wang” she had mentioned earlier.

“Youyou, look here. Brewing temperature is extremely important. Always remember to warm the tea set with hot water first. Little Master Qin likes black tea, so you can use slightly more tea leaves for black tea, but not for green tea.”

“Black tea should be brewed with water above 90 degrees Celsius, while green tea only needs around 80-something degrees. And when pouring, you have to pour high and finish low. These are all critical techniques—you absolutely must learn them.”

“If your tea is good, won’t you be the one brewing tea for Little Master Qin every morning? How could you let that brat Chen Yang beat you to it? You have to learn this properly. Only when your tea is good will the master chefs remember you.”

“Though you don’t really have to worry about that. You were personally brought here by Little Master Qin. But because of that, your tea has to be even better. One day when Little Master Qin goes back home, you’ll be the one making all his tea!”

“I understand, Brother Wang! I’ll definitely work hard at learning tea brewing!” An Youyou nodded solemnly.

Qin Huai: …

What exactly had these apprentices been researching all day lately?

“Products of Zhiwei Residence—tea brewing guaranteed to be top quality.” Even if An Youyou was just an exchange apprentice, did she still have to master this craft first?

“Youyou.” Qin Huai couldn’t help but speak up.

“Little Chef Qin! Do you need me to help cut things? Or…” An Youyou’s eyes lit up when she saw the boss coming to check on the work.

“I just came around to take a look, and see how your pastries are doing.” Qin Huai glanced over the cooking stations. The apprentices were sharing workstations in groups of two or three, and it was hard to tell which lump of dough belonged to An Youyou, since they were all kneaded poorly anyway.

“Which one is yours…?”

“This one!” An Youyou pointed at a lump of dough that was destined to be turned into pan-fried cakes.

Qin Huai examined it carefully, pointed out several obvious problems that would be hard to fix in the short term, then looked at Brother Wang.

“Yours?”

“!!!”

Qin Huai, just as he had done when guiding apprentices at the Yunchu canteen, gave a few instructions. Following the list, he looked at the next person.

“Where’s yours?”

……

Half an hour later, Qin Huai left satisfied, leaving behind a group of Zhivei Residence apprentices in a state of ecstatic excitement.

Qin Huai’s guidance had always been extremely detailed—down to specific techniques and how to improve them. For these ordinary apprentices at Zhivei Residence, this level of instruction was basically equivalent to personal teaching from a master chef to an official disciple.

From the fact that An Youyou’s dough could only be used for pan-fried cakes, it was clear that the apprentices in her area were all those with little talent—ones already destined to be eliminated.

These were the lowest-tier apprentices at Zhivei Residence. They were the most competitive, yet also the least hopeful. Normally, they would never receive guidance from a master chef; even a few words from an ordinary apprentice or a direct disciple would count as luck. Because they had no hope, they could only compete desperately, and because they lacked talent, they often competed in the wrong direction.

And precisely because everyone could see they were heading in the wrong direction, no one valued this group of mediocre apprentices.

It was a tragic vicious cycle, but also the most straightforward form of survival of the fittest.

When An Youyou first came to Zhivei Residence, many apprentices thought she was brought in by Qin Huai and thus a sort of “half insider.” They tried to get close to her, hoping to gain favor from Qin Huai or other master chefs.

At first, Qin Huai did indeed take special care of her, and Tan Weian would occasionally check on her progress.

When An Youyou first arrived, her workstation wasn’t here.

Later, as Qin Huai began obsessively grinding his skill proficiency, even Tan Weian rarely saw him during working hours—let alone An Youyou. And since Tan Weian had a rather lazy, drifting personality, unless Qin Huai specifically told him to check on An Youyou, he would never do it on his own.

So An Youyou quickly became just an ordinary apprentice in Zhivei Residence—one whose progress was not even particularly good.

She was assigned to the workstation she actually belonged in. This wasn’t deliberate exclusion; it was simply the most suitable position for her. If she were placed next to faster apprentices, she couldn’t keep up anyway. It couldn’t be that everyone else was making their own pastries while she was still kneading dough, doing odd jobs, and only managing to turn dough into pan-fried cakes.

Even among apprentices, there were different roles.

And different roles could not be mixed together.

During this time, An Youyou got along well with her coworkers. Since she was a newcomer and quite young, everyone treated her like a younger sister or younger brother.

Until today.

“Y-Youyou!” Brother Wang grabbed An Youyou’s hand, almost in tears of excitement. “In all my years, I, Wang Tian, have finally experienced what it feels like when one person attains enlightenment and even chickens and dogs rise to heaven! I knew it—people like you ‘connections apprentices’ never disappoint us ordinary ‘chickens and dogs’!”

An Youyou: ?

“Brother Wang, what do you mean ‘chickens and dogs’? If you want to be a chicken or dog, don’t drag me into it. I personally prefer being a lapdog.”

“Exactly, exactly!”

“I finally understand why that group who went to the Yunchu canteen exchange program came back acting like they’d eaten immortal pills. Being taught by Little Chef Qin every day—I could do that too!”

“Little Chef Qin is really nice. No master chef ever teaches apprentices in such detail.”

“Youyou, you’re so kind! You actually asked Little Chef Qin to come and guide us!”

“Youyou, say no more. From now on, all your dirty work is on your Brother Li!”

An Youyou: “……”

Uh… did I even ask for this?

She didn’t understand, and didn’t know how to explain it. She just felt…

Wow. So this is what being a boss feels like?

So satisfying!

On the other side, Qin Huai returned to his workstation and found Tan Weian still there.

The filling for the Five-Ingredient Buns had already been prepared by Tan Weian. He was now being dragged by Zhao Cheng’an to help with odd jobs. Perhaps yesterday’s shared hardship made Zhao Cheng’an realize that although Tan Weian was lazy, he was actually quite skilled at assisting—an excellent helper.

As soon as Qin Huai returned, Tan Weian curiously asked, “Qin Huai, where did you go? Did you eat too much greasy food and get constipated? I’ve got some—”

“Stop.” Qin Huai raised his hand to interrupt him. “I just went over to An Youyou’s side and helped her become a boss.”

“Huh?” Tan Weian didn’t understand, but it didn’t matter. He could process that later. He had another question.

“Why are you making so many Five-Ingredient Buns today?”

“Old Shi requested them. This morning he received intel from his informant that his son and daughter both got last place again—and even broke their lowest score record. Old Shi felt yesterday’s pastries weren’t enough to calm his wife’s anger, so he asked me to make a more premium batch.”

“If you have time today, Zhao Cheng’an, you can also make some. Old Shi is paying twice the market price of Zhivei Residence.”

“The refrigerated truck arrives at 9 PM at the back door for pickup.”

“I also asked Master Zhou, Master Hua, and Master Zhao to help make some pastries.”

After Qin Huai finished speaking, he noticed Tan Weian was looking at him with expectant eyes.

After a moment of thought, Qin Huai said, “…Tan Weian, if you’re free today, please help us with some of the prep work.”

“Old Shi even rented a refrigerated truck. It wouldn’t look good if we only sent a small amount.”

Tan Weian: (–) I’m being discriminated against!