AGN -Chapter 453 The Sound of a Broken Heart

Ling Guangzhao directly pulled over a chair and sat beside Qin Huai, watching him make pastries up close.

Qin Huai: …? What kind of hobby does this boss have? Isn’t the afternoon exchange conference still going on?

Tong Deyan: …Confirmed. Ling Guangzhao must have gone crazy after failing to poach anyone.

Although Ling Guangzhao’s behavior was strange, Qin Huai wasn’t unfamiliar with being watched while making pastries. On his very first day at Zhiwei Residence, he had already worked under the close observation of a group of master chefs. He was well used to it and continued working calmly.

Ling Guangzhao couldn’t really understand Qin Huai’s craftsmanship, but he could tell that Qin Huai was very composed. His evaluation of Qin Huai quietly rose another level in his mind.

Unshaken in any situation, good mentality, and seemingly very efficient at work—base salary increased by another 10%!

Ling Guangzhao happily scooped another spoonful of chenpi tea and drank it. Mm, warm… a comforting taste.

The smile on his face grew even brighter.

Qin Huai didn’t pay too much attention to him and continued making pastries in an orderly manner.

Apple-shaped pastry, five-ingredient buns, “Four Joy” flower rolls, and rice cakes all had very different preparation times. Coordinating them to finish and be eaten together required precise timing. Among them, rice cake was undoubtedly the simplest, so Qin Huai left it for last. He finished kneading the doughs for the first three first, then prepared the rice batter.

Next, he started preparing the filling for the five-ingredient buns—dicing ingredients, cooking the filling, and letting it cool.

While the filling was being cooked, the entire kitchen was filled with the rich aroma of meat from the five-ingredient buns. Ling Guangzhao was stunned by the smell, his face showing disbelief—this smells like braised meat, not bun filling.

And this was only the beginning of what shocked Ling Guangzhao, a restaurant owner not deeply familiar with pastry cooking.

The five-ingredient bun had a flashy filling, but its appearance was extremely plain—at first glance, it just looked like an ordinary big bun.

The “Four Joy” flower roll and the apple-shaped pastry, however, were visually extravagant.

When Ling Guangzhao saw Qin Huai skillfully rolling the “Four Joy” flower roll, wrapping scallions and ham filling into it with careful, precise movements, he was already quite shocked.

Then, when he saw Qin Huai take a lump of dough, pinch and shape it repeatedly over more than ten minutes until it turned into an apple—so realistic that if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would have thought it was a real apple—he was completely stunned.

Wave after wave of impact hit him.

Compared to these three masterpieces, the rice cake that came out at the very end seemed so ordinary and unremarkable.

Tong Deyan had stopped cutting ingredients and, like Ling Guangzhao, moved closer to watch Qin Huai.

As a professional hot-kitchen chef, he could clearly understand Qin Huai’s level.

Even if Qin Huai was a genius, his rate of improvement was simply too absurd. Tong Deyan clearly remembered that when they were in A City before, Qin Huai wasn’t this good—not in one aspect, but in all aspects.

Whether it was kneading dough, mixing fillings, hand techniques, or even aesthetic sense in shaping pastries, everything had improved dramatically.

If one aspect improved rapidly, it could be explained by sudden enlightenment or talent. But all-round improvement? What, full enlightenment?

That was a bit too outrageous.

Tong Deyan even felt relieved that his face was naturally expressionless. No matter what he saw, his expression didn’t change, so Ling Guangzhao wouldn’t notice how shocked he actually was.

He wanted to gasp, but quietly shifted his gaze from Qin Huai’s pastries to Ling Guangzhao’s face—and saw pure admiration overflowing from his eyes.

Then he looked back at Qin Huai again.

So serious. So focused. Even more intense than last time in A City.

Is he really planning to come work at Baobao Zhai?

But why? Qin Huai doesn’t seem short on money.

For Beijing household registration? Can Ling Guangzhao even handle that? Does he have that kind of power?

Or… are both of them just a bit abnormal and oddly drawn to each other?

Tong Deyan’s thoughts drifted further and further, eventually condensing into one sentence:

Damn it, is Ling Guangzhao actually going to poach someone successfully at this exchange conference? Why is this guy so lucky?

Just as Tong Deyan was silently criticizing his boss in his mind, all four types of pastries were finished.

The apple pastry looked so lifelike that from afar it could be mistaken for a real apple, and even up close it was hard to distinguish. Freshly colored and still warm, it was tender and pleasant to eat.

The five-ingredient buns came out perfectly on time, steaming hot. Each pleat looked so precise it seemed measured with a ruler—large, plump, and perfectly shaped.

The “Four Joy” flower rolls had just come out a couple of minutes ago, still faintly steaming. Even though the cloud-like pattern wasn’t perfectly standard, it was still enough to make people admire its delicacy.

Even the rice cake—the simplest and least flashy of them all, already cooled to an ideal temperature—was exactly what people imagined a perfect, standard rice cake should look like.

For the first time, Ling Guangzhao felt like he might have choice paralysis, unable to decide which one to eat first.

In the end, he followed his instincts and chose the rice cake—it had been sitting the longest, and he was afraid it might be too hot otherwise.

He didn’t have high expectations for it. It was just rice cake—something no one really expected surprises from.

He took a bite.

A completely normal taste. No surprise, no disappointment. Standard, exactly as he imagined, recognized, and even remembered.

He chewed calmly.

For some reason, he really liked it.

As the current owner of Baobao Zhai and its former heir, Ling Guangzhao grew up there. Back then, it was a well-known old establishment in Beijing. It didn’t earn as much as it does now, but it had many veteran chefs. The first floor sold pastries, while the second floor served hot dishes.

After school, many neighborhood children would come with pocket money to buy cheap pastries.

Pea cake, fried dough twists—and of course, rice cakes.

Ling Guangzhao also often ate pastries there as a child. After school, he would pick two favorites to eat, and before school, he would put two in his bag.

Later, he studied abroad for many years. When he returned, Baobao Zhai had already become an empty shell of its former glory—famous in name only, with its foundation badly damaged. The pastry section on the first floor had long been removed.

He had almost forgotten what the original pastries from the first floor tasted like.

Looking at the half-eaten rice cake in his hand, he thought: is this the taste?

It seemed so. In his memory, the rice cakes from the first floor were quite good—especially freshly steamed ones, still steaming hot. They were cheap, and many poor kids nearby would come just to buy them when they were craving something sweet.

No… actually, the rice cake in his memory wasn’t as good as this one.

Ling Guangzhao was a smart man. He knew memories can be beautified. So when he felt that the rice cake now tasted just like his memory, it actually meant—

The current rice cake was better than the one in his memory.

Almost instinctively, Ling Guangzhao began thinking about the promotional angle he should use after Qin Huai officially joined Baobao Zhai.

“The taste of memory—Little Qin Master, who made it to the cover of Zhiwei, launches a nostalgic childhood-flavor pastry series.”

It would definitely help restore Baobao Zhai’s recently damaged reputation. Just say it’s about staying true to its original roots!

As he ate, Ling Guangzhao got more and more into it. He kept chewing a bite of rice cake in his mouth over and over, refusing to swallow it.

Qin Huai: ?

Did I mess up today’s rice cake? That shouldn’t be the case. The system shows it’s an A-grade rice cake. Why is Ling Guangzhao chewing so long without swallowing? Does he have bad teeth?

Qin Huai couldn’t possibly imagine that an unbuffed rice cake had just triggered a flood of childhood memories in Ling Guangzhao.

Ling Guangzhao couldn’t stop eating. One piece after another—by the fourth piece, Qin Huai finally spoke up, thinking Ling Guangzhao might not have the appetite of people like Ou Yang or Shi Dadan:

“Boss Ling, the five-ingredient buns have cooled for about four or five minutes now. Would you like to try one?”

Ling Guangzhao gladly accepted the recommendation and picked up a bun, taking a big bite.

Ling Guangzhao: !!!

Holy crap, there is actually a bun in this world that tastes this good?! This is a bun?! How come Baobao Zhai never sold something this incredible before? No wonder their pastry department declined—it turns out Southern-style buns have already evolved to this level.

His eyes nearly popped out as he ate.

Tong Deyan shot him a disgusted glance, clearly not wanting to stand next to such an uncultured boss while eating pastries.

Well… fine.

To be fair, Qin Huai’s pastry skills were genuinely top-tier now. He had already reached a level where he couldn’t even compete in rankings for young pastry chefs—it would be bullying.

Tong Deyan chewed his bun while staring at Qin Huai in confusion.

What a great junior. Such a talented pastry chef… so why does he have such poor judgment, wanting to switch jobs to Baobao Zhai because of Ling Guangzhao?

What is he even thinking?

Qin Huai clearly wasn’t short on money.

Is it for Beijing household registration? Does Ling Guangzhao even have that kind of ability?

Or… are both of them just weirdly compatible and mutually appreciating each other?

As Tong Deyan’s thoughts drifted further, he came to one conclusion:

Damn it, is Ling Guangzhao actually going to succeed in poaching talent at this exchange conference? Why is this guy so lucky?

Meanwhile, Ling Guangzhao politely finished every single pastry—including the oversized apple-shaped pastry. Probably because Qin Huai made a lot of fruit-shaped pastries, he had unconsciously made the apple pastry quite large—nearly half a pound each.

The five-ingredient buns were also not small.

Add in a bowl of chenpi tea, four pieces of rice cake, and an entire “Four Joy” flower roll, and Ling Guangzhao, who originally just wanted a tasting, nearly stuffed himself to death in his own restaurant’s kitchen.

The kind where he couldn’t even burp—he was so full it felt like it was stuck in his throat, afraid that if he did burp, scallions from the flower roll might come shooting out.

The hidden task still hadn’t been completed.

Qin Huai was starting to get confused.

From Ling Guangzhao’s reaction just now, he was clearly extremely satisfied with the pastries. He even forced himself to finish the flower roll, almost to the point of vomiting—but still ate it all.

That level of dedication to eating pastries was truly admirable.

The visible task “The Most Eye-Catching One” required Qin Huai to shine at this exchange conference and become the most memorable person to the organizers.

Qin Huai interpreted it as making a strong impression on Ling Guangzhao so that he would remember him deeply.

So what now? Was the impression not strong enough? Or was Ling Guangzhao just forgetful?

Or did he misunderstand—the key wasn’t impression at all, but making a big splash at the entire conference, ensuring every chef remembered him?

Had he focused on the wrong thing?

Qin Huai felt like scratching his head.

The exchange conference would end tomorrow. Worse still, according to Zhao Cheng’an, many chefs were already skipping afternoon sessions after attending the morning one. Some had even left today. Few people were interested in group travel, and tomorrow’s outing would likely see even fewer attendees.

Qin Huai: Did I mess this up? What happens if I can’t complete the hidden task?

His expression gradually turned disappointed.

Ling Guangzhao, who had been closely watching him, immediately noticed the change and assumed it was because he hadn’t offered enough feedback earlier and had only focused on eating, making his “Little Qin Master” feel discouraged.

Thinking of this, Ling Guangzhao’s admiration grew even stronger.

What a pure-hearted chef!

He is exactly the kind of pastry master Baobao Zhai needs!

“Chef Qin, your pastries are incredibly delicious!” Ling Guangzhao said sincerely. “Especially the rice cake. Honestly, I don’t understand pastries that well, but that rice cake reminded me of the old-fashioned snacks I used to eat as a child at Baobao Zhai.”

“You might not know, Chef Qin, but Baobao Zhai used to serve both hot kitchen and pastry items. The first floor sold pastries, very similar to Zhiwei Residence’s setup.”

“I know Huang Ji also sells pastries now, but they can’t compare to Baobao Zhai in this regard. Most importantly, Huang Ji definitely doesn’t pay pastry chefs as well as we do. And after you come to Baobao Zhai, you can still interact with Zhiwei Residence. I already said during the conference—I strongly encourage chefs from different restaurants to exchange ideas for mutual improvement!”

“Accommodation is also not a problem; we provide staff housing for master chefs. As for north-south differences, honestly, there’s no real gap anymore. It’s the same everywhere.”

“Now, regarding salary expectations—currently I’m thinking a base salary of 58,000, plus performance bonuses, which are negotiable. We also provide full social insurance and housing fund. We are a legitimate restaurant, everything is properly arranged. You can ask Chef Tong if you don’t believe me—he’s very upright and would never lie about this.”

“And then—”

Ling Guangzhao kept talking nonstop.

Qin Huai wasn’t listening at all.

Because at the moment Ling Guangzhao mentioned “social insurance and housing fund,” a system notification rang in his mind:

“Ding! Congratulations on completing hidden task 【The Most Eye-Catching One】. Reward obtained: 【A fragment of Zhao Cheng’an’s memory】.”

So it wasn’t that Ling Guangzhao didn’t have a deep impression of him—it was just that the boss had a delayed reaction and needed a bit of prompting before it kicked in.

“Boss Ling, you’ve misunderstood,” Qin Huai said with a smile. “I don’t have any intention of applying to Baobao Zhai. I already run my own business—a community cafeteria—and I don’t plan to change where I live.”

“And even if I were to work or exchange in a restaurant, I would definitely choose Huang Ji first. Chef Huang and Chef Zheng have helped and taught me a lot. I’m only here today as a temporary representative of Huang Ji—I really don’t plan to work in Beijing.”

Crack.

It felt as if Ling Guangzhao heard the sound of his heart breaking.

Ling Guangzhao: QAQ

Waaah, my dear Little Qin Master…

Huang Ji, I hate you!