The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 404 Exchange Space
Su Qian's communication efficiency was very fast. That evening, Qin Huai received a text message from Su Qian, informing him that Zhiweiju could arrange a meeting as early as the day after tomorrow.

the day after tomorrow.

Qin Huai was stunned when he heard the specific time.

It's important to understand that this kind of exchange is not just an ordinary two or three months of training in another city.

Qin Huai wasn't an ordinary apprentice; he was a master chef. He would definitely receive the same treatment as a master chef at Zhiweiju. Zhiweiju would arrange a special cooking station for him, contact suppliers for the pastries he was good at, and also solve a series of miscellaneous problems and minor troubles that Qin Huai couldn't even imagine.

Most importantly, Zhiweiju thoughtfully arranged accommodation, so there was no need to rent a house. Boss Su had several vacant houses near Zhiweiju for Qin Huai to choose from.

Choose whichever apartment you want to stay in; Su Qian has already sent Qin Huai the pictures. They're absolutely straight from the camera, without a trace of Photoshop.

Their efficiency is so high that even Huang's can't match it.

Qin Huai received the message in the evening, meaning that Zhiweiju likely gave him a day to pack his luggage and depart. If he had received the message in the morning, he suspected that Zhiweiju might have told him that arrangements could be made the next day.

Qin Huai didn't give Su Qian a definite answer immediately. He only asked Su Qian if he wouldn't have time to go to Hangzhou the day after tomorrow and would need to postpone it for a few days, and whether Zhiweiju could accept that. After all, Qin Huai could tell from Su Qian's words that Zhiweiju was very busy with its business.

Qin Huai suspected that all the appointments at Zhiweiju were pre-booked, as the schedule was almost full. There were dates with no available slots, dates with available slots, and the day after tomorrow happened to be free, so Su Qian used his connections to expedite the process for him.

Twenty minutes later, Su Qian informed Qin Huai that it was okay, and the boss hoped Qin Huai could go to Zhiweiju as soon as possible. Next month, Zhiweiju will be very busy with its exchange activities, and Boss Su also wanted to give Qin Huai more time for the exchange.

Qin Huai was very moved and told Su Qian that he would discuss it with everyone the next day and be able to give an answer.

So, the next day, Qin Huai arrived at the kitchen early. First, he made a batch of pretty but cloud-patterned Four Happiness Rolls, then he made some lotus root starch balls, and then he kneaded chicken soup noodles according to the number of people. In the meantime, he also took a break to eat breakfast fed by the people from Zhiweiju and commented on each one. Finally, while Tan Weian and the others were slurping down their chicken soup noodles, he announced this big news.

"The day after tomorrow?!" Tan Wei'an's shocked voice almost pierced the sky, and he nearly spat out the noodles he was eating. "You mean I have to go back the day after tomorrow?"

Qin Huai thoughtfully pointed out the linguistic inconsistency in Tan Weian's statement: "To be precise, it's tomorrow, because I received the news last night."

Tan Wei'an was so frightened that he quickly swallowed the noodles he had just put in his mouth, afraid that he would accidentally spit them out. As a result, he swallowed too quickly and almost choked to death. He hurriedly gulped down several mouthfuls of noodle soup and coughed for a while before he recovered.

He performed a brilliant one-man show.

"I have to go back to work so soon?!" Tan Weian's face was filled with despair. In his grief and indignation, he took another big bite of chicken noodle soup and gulped down several mouthfuls of soup.

There was no joy in returning to a familiar place, only despair at the impending high-intensity work.

It's clear that Tan Weian can't slack off as freely at Zhiweiju as he does outside.

Qin Huai: ...

Qin Huai had to reflect on whether his decision to specifically request Tan Weian and Gu Li to come to the Yunzhong Cafeteria for an exchange had harmed Tan Weian. Although Qin Huai now understood that sometimes people shouldn't be too tense, and shouldn't blindly pile on practice to improve their proficiency, and that sometimes relaxing a little was good, he also couldn't be too relaxed.

It's meant to make you feel relaxed, not just to let you relax.

Tan Weian has been letting himself go a bit too much lately.

Qin Huai was still considering the feasibility of going to Zhiweiju for an exchange the next day. The sooner he returned, the sooner Tan Weian could end his vacation and get back on track.

However, at this moment, what Qin Huai really wanted to ask was not Tan Weian, but Zheng Siyuan.

Qin Huai looked at Zheng Siyuan, who was calmly eating his noodles with a nonchalant expression: "Siyuan, what are your plans? Are you planning to go to Zhiweiju with us, stay at Huangji, or go back to your pastry shop?"

Zheng Siyuan chose D from A, B, and C.

“I want to go back to the Cloud Cafeteria,” Zheng Siyuan said.

Qin Huai, Tan Weian, Zang Liang (who was joining in the fun), and Dong Shi (who was also observing the situation): "Huh?"

"Then what should I do?" Zang Liang was dumbfounded. "Qin Huai is going to Zhiweiju, Tan Weian will definitely go back too, Zheng Siyuan is going to Yunzhong Restaurant, my master hasn't returned yet, I... I should stay at Huangji?"

In the end, even Zang Liang himself hesitated.

Upon hearing Zang Liang's words, Dong Shi was completely dumbfounded. He wondered if he was still asleep, otherwise how could he have heard such absurd words?

Qin Huai went to Zhiweiju, Zang Liang stayed at Huangji, and Zheng Siyuan went to Yunzhong Restaurant. What kind of exchange space is this?

Oh wait, there's one person in the right place. Tan Weian is about to return to his loyal Zhiweiju, but this only person who's in the right place seems to be the one who wants to die the most.

Dong Shi's brain went blank.

Amidst this calm chaos, only Qin Huai managed to maintain his composure.

Qin Huai glanced at Dong Shi first, then realized he wasn't important, and then looked at Tan Weian, only to find he wasn't important either.

Then, turning his gaze to Zang Liang, who was clearly rambling incoherently, he asked, "Why hasn't Master Zang returned yet?"

When Zang Liang first came to Yunzhong Canteen, he said that Zang Mu was going abroad for a month of exchange, so he came to Yunzhong Canteen to help out. Now, a month has long passed, Wang Gensheng has returned to Shanshi, but Zang Liang is still engrossed in cooking at Huangji, living like his junior brother Huang Jia. Qin Huai always thought that Zang Liang felt he hadn't learned enough at Huangji, so he was reluctant to return.

In addition, once Zang Liang became engrossed in the Red Case, he became oblivious to everything else and was continuously offline during this period, with virtually no communication with Qin Huai and others. Qin Huai was not very clear about what was going on on his end.

"Hey, didn't I tell you?" Zang Liang was a little confused. After thinking for a moment, he realized he couldn't remember at all. "It's just that my master met Master Sun Maocai when he went abroad for an exchange. Do you know Master Sun Qin Huai? He's a Cantonese chef, a famous chef in Hong Kong. He invited my master to Hong Kong to participate in an exchange meeting. My master won't be back until next week."

Qin Huai suddenly realized: "You chefs specializing in red-cooked dishes have so many exchange meetings."

"These exchange meetings are mainly held overseas or in the port city. Many master chefs are unwilling to travel back and forth. My master is relatively easy to talk to, so if no one else goes to these exchange meetings, my master goes."

As he spoke, Zang Liang pointed in Huang Shengli's direction: "Master Huang is known for not liking to go to exchange meetings unless the meeting is held near Suzhou."

Qin Huailai expressed his understanding: "If that's the case, you can stay at Huang's until your master comes back. You are both Huaiyang cuisine chefs, so it's a good fit for your profession."

After speaking, Qin Huai turned his gaze to Zheng Siyuan, who had already finished his chicken noodle soup and put down his bowl to eat lotus root starch balls. Qin Huai had been making lotus root starch balls for so long that he no longer made them as small as he had at the beginning, out of fear of problems.

However, Zheng Siyuan seemed to have gotten used to eating two lotus root starch balls at a time, preferring to open his mouth wider to scoop two balls into his mouth at once. He chewed very carefully while eating, his cheeks puffing out, looking like a chipmunk eating earnestly. "Then why do you want to go back to the Cloud Cafeteria, Siyuan?" Qin Huai asked Zheng Siyuan.

Qin Huai really couldn't understand Zheng Siyuan's thought process. What was the point of going back to Yunzhong Cafeteria? Did he own Yunzhong Cafeteria or did Zheng Siyuan own it? He, the boss, hadn't even thought about going back, but Chef Zheng was actually thinking about returning.

“Go back and practice making Four Happiness Rolls,” Zheng Siyuan said calmly. “My pastry shop doesn’t have as many customers as your Yunzhong Canteen, and the feedback from customers isn’t as good as Yunzhong Canteen’s.”

“If I stay at Huang’s, my Four Happiness Rolls will have to be renamed Four Happiness Flower Rolls. But the shape of my Four Happiness Rolls is not quite the same as yours, so customers will easily notice the difference.”

"As for Zhiweiju, Zhiweiju has very strict quality control requirements for the dim sum it sells. Four Happiness Rolls would never be sold normally. Moreover, I went to Zhiweiju for an exchange a few years ago. It was only for a short time, only two or three days. As far as I know, Zhiweiju does not have any dim sum chefs who are particularly good at cloud pattern dim sum. Chef Zhou only happens to know a few relatively simple cloud pattern dim sum."

"However, it would be very suitable for you to go to Zhiweiju for an exchange. Chef Zhou is proficient in many kinds of pastries, including puff pastry, steamed pastries, imperial pastries, and pastries from both the north and south of China. However, Chef Zhou's specialty is actually boat-shaped pastries. 'Mianguo' is a type of boat-shaped pastry. Boat-shaped pastries are known for their extremely difficult finger techniques, and Chef Zhou himself is very skilled at them. If you want to go to Zhiweiju to learn finger techniques, and Chef Zhou is willing to teach you, it would be a good choice."

Qin Huai looked at Zheng Siyuan and felt that he hadn't told the whole story, so he just stared at him without saying anything.

Zheng Siyuan slowly said the last sentence: "The most important thing is that my dad's relationship with Boss Su has not been very good recently. If I go to Zhiweiju for a discussion, my dad might... make a scene."

Qinhuai: 6
Qin Huai was already clear about everyone's thoughts. Everyone had their own considerations, and everyone's reasons were reasonable. In that case, the Four Happiness Roll research team should split up temporarily, each working independently, and reunite when the time was right to do so, exchanging information about their specific progress on the Four Happiness Roll.

Qin Huai believed that by then, he would definitely not be last in the Four Joys Scroll Research Team.

Definitely Not!
Qin Huai is a decisive person. After a brief discussion and confirmation of everyone's itinerary, Qin Huai went directly to Su Qian and told him his plans.

Going to Zhiweiju tomorrow is a bit too hasty. Huangji's Four Happiness Flower Rolls have only been on the shelves for two days and they're already taking them off the shelves. This is very irresponsible to both Huangji and its customers.

However, Zhiweiju is unavailable next month, so it obviously can't be delayed for too long. Therefore, Qin Huai is tentatively scheduled to go there the day after tomorrow or the day after that. Qin Huai will inform Su Qian of the specific time no later than tonight.

Qin Huai needs to set aside two more days to deal with Huang Ji's affairs and, incidentally, persuade his beloved Chef Zheng to make Four Happiness Flower Rolls for him.

However, it seems that his beloved Master Zheng did not come to Huang's restaurant to provide guidance today.

Qin Huai spent the morning making dim sum as usual, including Four Happiness Flower Rolls interspersed with Three-Ingredient Buns, Five-Ingredient Buns, Mung Bean Cake, Hibiscus Cake, Osmanthus Cake, and Lotus Root Starch Balls. There weren't any particularly large quantities; even the Four Happiness Flower Rolls, the main dish, were only the usual amount a dim sum chef would make during business hours.

After closing time, Qin Huai did not work overtime. Instead, he followed Tan Weian's example and relaxed by playing on his phone, gossiping, eating snacks, and wandering around. Since Qin Huai had not relaxed for a long time, he was a little unaccustomed to it and did not even know how to relax. So he basically followed Tan Weian's approach.

This directly led to Gu Li looking at Tan Weian with the expression: "Senior brother, it's one thing for you to slack off, but how did you even corrupt Master Qin? Although you're my senior brother, I still want to say something to you with my eyes—"

You deserve to die.

Tan Wei'an could only cry out three times that he was wronged.

Of course, no one knew about Tan Wei'an's injustice, and Master Qin's fishing spree was forced to end.

After not seeing Zheng Da in the kitchen by 1:54 PM, Qin Huai basically confirmed that Zheng Da had most likely skipped work today as well.

Qin Huai chose to call Zheng Da directly.

The call was answered instantly.

"Hey, Xiao Qin, is there a problem with the Four Happiness Flower Rolls? Is it a problem when rolling them forward, or when rolling them backward, or is it a problem with both? Are you not getting the hang of it, or does the technique feel weird, or are you not satisfied with the shape you've made?" Zheng Da's cheerful voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Master Zheng, today's Four Happiness Steamed Buns went smoothly, and we haven't encountered too many problems yet. I called to ask how your neighbor's dog is doing? How was the follow-up visit? Has its gastroenteritis completely healed?" Qin Huai asked respectfully, mimicking Su Qian's tone when reporting to work.

"Ah, what dog? Oh, okay, okay, it's in great health now, eating and sleeping well, it was just running around in the yard."

“I just…I just brought it back from the vet. It’s so troublesome to check dogs at the vet these days. A follow-up visit takes two days, so I didn’t go to Huang’s this morning.”

"Do you need me to come over this afternoon? If not, I might have something else to do this afternoon, so I won't go today and will go tomorrow."

It's easy to tell from Zheng Da's words that his laziness has relapsed.

This is normal; this is the real Master Zheng.

Qin Huai continued respectfully, "If you have something to do, you don't need to come today. I called you today mainly to tell you something else. Yesterday, Su Qian told me..."

Qin Huai briefly explained to Zheng Da his plans to go to Zhiweiju and the group's arrangements, finally asking if Zheng Da could help him make at least a week's worth of Four Happiness Flower Rolls at Huang's. Given Zheng Da's skill level, imitating Qin Huai's Four Seasons Flower Rolls, making a batch of low-quality Four Happiness Rolls would certainly be no problem.

Qin Huai was met with Zheng Da's silence.

Qin Huai thought that Zheng Da was unwilling, which he could understand.

For someone as lazy as Master Zheng, making him work at Huang's for a week would be more painful than killing him. He could only think of Plan B in his mind, to see if he could let Zheng Siyuan stay at Huang's for another week to imitate his Four Happiness Flower Rolls.

I just don't know if Zheng Siyuan's imitation is accurate.

Just as Qin Huai was about to hang up the phone, Zheng Da on the other end screamed in an almost broken voice: "What? That Su guy from Zhiweiju is so shameless, urging you to go to Zhiweiju so quickly, he's telling you to go the day after tomorrow!"

"Where can Zhiweiju find a pastry chef who is good at cloud patterns now? Their signature Ruyi Roll has been lost! If there were even one master chef in Zhiweiju who was proficient in cloud patterns, Gu Li's cloud patterns wouldn't be as good as mine. Master Zhou's skills are better than mine, but he might not be better at making cloud patterns than me."

"In all these decades, every year before the New Year, I secretly practice cloud patterns at home. Has he practiced cloud patterns for as long as I have?"

"I thought he was a decent person because of his thick eyebrows and big eyes, but I didn't expect him to do such a thing as secretly poaching other people's partners."

"Xiao Qin, don't panic. I'm going to call that guy surnamed Su right now and ask him what he's up to!"

“Ding ding ding ding…”

Qin Huai: ...

Master Zheng, your focus is indeed extraordinary.

(End of this chapter)