The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 405 Boss Su's Level

After a heated conversation that Qin Huai was unaware of the specifics of, Zheng Da stormed into Huang Ji's kitchen at 4:18 to make dim sum.

Yes, family members, you read that right, it's making desserts.

Since there wasn't enough time to knead the dough, Zheng Da directly requisitioned the dough that Qin Huai and Zheng Siyuan had kneaded, regardless of what the two had originally intended to make, and just messed around with it.

The pastries that Qin Huai can recognize include: palace lantern buns with pincers, crab meat pastries, dragon beard pastries, lotus pastries, lychee pastries, apple pastries, red date pastries, four-happiness rolls, goldfish dumplings, several flower-shaped steamed buns of medium difficulty, and some pastries that Qin Huai doesn't recognize but have very beautiful shapes.

All of these snacks require a high level of finger dexterity.

Zheng Da worked from 4 pm to 9 pm, for more than five hours straight without stopping. He didn't talk to anyone or pay attention to anyone. Even when Huang Shengli asked him what was going on, Zheng Da pretended not to hear him.

He didn't make many of these snacks, just one or two of each, leaving everyone wondering what he was thinking.

Even if you take the wrong medicine, you still need to figure out which one it is.

Qin Huai and the others watched Zheng Da make all kinds of beautiful pastries in Huang Ji's kitchen until 9 o'clock. During this time, Qin Huai briefly left the kitchen to ask Su Qian about the situation of Zhiweiju.

Qin Huai has already booked a trip to Zhiweiju the day after tomorrow and has also picked out a place to stay.

Qin Huai suspected that it was because he had gotten used to living in two-bedroom apartments lately, whether in Yunzhong Community or Huangji, that he now felt that two-bedroom apartments were particularly nice.

A one-bedroom apartment is a bit small, a three-bedroom apartment is too spacious, a two-bedroom apartment is just right, and if friends or your sister come to visit, they can stay together, which is very convenient.

Boss Su was very efficient; he quickly booked a high-speed rail ticket for Qin Huai and also included a travel guide for Hangzhou.

Hangzhou, as a famous tourist destination, has many attractions worth visiting. Mr. Su stated that when people from Qinhuai come to Zhiweiju for exchanges, it's not just about exchanges; Zhiweiju recruits apprentices, not master chefs.

Take Chef Zhou as an example. He enjoys taking walks and enjoying the breeze by the lake during the midday and afternoon hours. Maintaining a good mood and a relaxed routine helps master chefs create even better pastries.

Qin Huai promptly saved the travel guide.

During his time at Huangji, he would sometimes stroll around Suzhou during his breaks, visiting gardens and such with Dong Shi. Dong Shi would deliberately schedule his breaks to coincide with Qin Huai's, so he could take Qin Huai to several famous Suzhou attractions and prevent him from being ripped off or confused.

Qin Huai was very touched by Dong Shi's thoughtfulness, but also said that it would be even better if Dong Shi didn't talk so much when he went out with him.

Compared to Dong Shi's thoughtfulness, Boss Su's thoughtfulness was more measured; he simply provided a travel guide without mentioning arranging for someone to take him sightseeing in Qinhuai.

This travel guide alone allowed Qin Huai to experience the difference between Zhiweiju and Huangji.

Although Huang's is a high-end restaurant, it is essentially a family-run business. No matter how incompetent the young owner is, he is still the young owner, and the restaurant is destined to be inherited by him in the future.

All the head chefs and future head chefs in the kitchen are Huang Shengli's apprentices. It can be said that there are basically no outsiders. Even the helpers are helpers who have worked for many years and are equivalent to half an apprentice.

This model makes Huang Ji very humane, but it also presents many problems—for example, when head chef Huang Shengli encounters unexpected situations, such as health issues preventing him from taking over as head chef. Furthermore, the young owner's management skills are extremely inadequate, and Huang Ji lacks many business professionals, not even a professional accountant. Under such circumstances, Huang Ji's business can suffer a devastating blow.

Zhiweiju operates on a completely opposite model to Huangji.

Although Zhiweiju uses a very traditional master-apprentice model, it has a large number of master chefs, which can be further subdivided into many categories.

With more people and more factions, conflicts and complex interpersonal relationships inevitably arise. Often, these conflicts don't require the one-dimensional villains found in novels and TV dramas; they simply involve mutual dislike or dissatisfaction with each other's skills.

For example, Master Zhou dislikes Zheng Da.

Is Master Zhou the villain? Obviously not. It would be too extravagant to make the top expert in Bai's case the villain.

Did Zheng Da do anything to offend Master Zhou? Of course not. Master Zhou stayed at Zhiweiju every day making pastries and teaching apprentices, while Zheng Da stayed in Suzhou most of the year and occasionally traveled all over the country to do business. The two had barely met, but that didn't stop Master Zhou from disliking Zheng Da.

Sometimes when they bumped into each other at exchange meetings, Master Zhou would turn his nose up at Zheng Da and secretly roll his eyes at him, playing the role of a one-dimensional villain.

Such a complex kitchen is theoretically very unsuitable for the long-term development of high-end restaurants. Restaurant management is complex, but cooking and making desserts are pure.

The reason why Zhiweiju has been able to stand strong for so many years is mainly due to the skillful management of its owner, Mr. Su.

Mr. Su and Huang Anyao are two extremes. Before taking over Zhiweiju, Mr. Su was also the young master. Zhiweiju is a famous time-honored brand in Hangzhou, founded by Mr. Su's great-grandfather.

Passed down through generations, the craft was essentially lost by the time it reached Boss Su. Boss Su's pastry-making skills were average, but his business acumen was exceptional. He transformed Zhiweiju, which was once a family workshop like Huangji, passed down through generations and where all the chefs in the kitchen were basically disciples of the same master, into the large restaurant with its many different styles that it is today.

As Boss Su's nephew, Su Qian was very familiar with the history of Zhiweiju's transformation and told Qin Huai all about it.

Even when Mr. Su was still the young master, he deeply realized that his own skills were simply not enough to support Zhiweiju. However, if his more skilled apprentices were to inherit or support Zhiweiju, conflicts of interest would inevitably arise over time, which was not a long-term solution.

History teaches future generations many lessons from their predecessors. Many time-honored restaurants closed down and disappeared into the river of time not because they had no successors, but because of some unspeakable reasons.

In this situation, Boss Su made a decision that went against his ancestors' wishes. He poached many master chefs through various means, such as offering high salaries, providing stock dividends, and leveraging his family's connections to play the emotional card.

Then, a large number of apprentices were recruited, which promoted exchanges between Zhiweiju and other restaurants with good pastry skills, causing Zhiweiju's reputation and strength to soar.

When Mr. Su was still the young master, Zhiweiju was undoubtedly the number one white-cooked food restaurant in Hangzhou. But after Mr. Su became the real boss, he managed Zhiweiju for decades and made it the number one white-cooked food restaurant in the country.

Many people only know the first one and not the second. When it comes to white dishes, the first one that comes to mind is Zhiweiju, and they can't remember the others.

These are the general steps Mr. Su took, but of course there are many unspeakable details and micromanagements involved.

For example, how to handle conflicts between master chefs when there are more people, how to manage relationships between different factions, how to resolve conflicts when several master chefs take a liking to the same apprentice and start vying for him, and how to maintain a stable atmosphere in the kitchen – these are all true skills of Boss Su.

As Boss Su's nephew, Su Qian is undoubtedly Master Zhou's future direct disciple. He not only learned pastry-making techniques from Master Zhou, but also gained insightful management skills from Boss Su.

Su Qian knew the master chefs of Zhiweiju very well, and introduced them to Qin Huai one by one their specialties in dim sum, their styles, temperaments, and interpersonal relationships.

It details the rivalries among these master chefs, who seemed to have a harmonious relationship but actually often cursed each other in private, secretly competing with each other in terms of skill, reputation of their pastries, and the skill level of their apprentices.

This was the first time Su Qian had discussed the Eight Trigrams with Qin Huai, in the true sense of the Eight Trigrams.

His speech is fluent and his words are clear and logical.

Qin Huai didn't even want to go back to the kitchen to see what beautiful pastries Zheng Da had made; he just wanted to grab Su Qian in a corner and ask him a few more questions about Zhiweiju.

Su Qian is too versatile; he can even tell gossip so well!
In closing, Su Qian told Qin Huai that these gossips were merely his personal opinions, and the actual situation might not be as described. Master Qin was truly shrewd and perceptive, with an excellent eye for people. As for the specifics, Qin Huai would likely find out after spending a few days at Zhiweiju.

In summary, although the relationships at Zhiweiju are complex and the head chefs sometimes dislike each other, thanks to Boss Su's excellent work and mediation skills, there are no irreconcilable conflicts among them, and the overall work atmosphere is still very harmonious and pleasant.

Qin Huai was so excited that he wished he could go to Zhiweiju the next day to see if it was really as Su Qian said: that this chef disliked that chef, that the two chefs had been secretly competing with each other, that this chef's son had pursued that chef's daughter but failed, and that the two chefs had fallen out.

Anyway, he packs his luggage super fast.

While watching Zheng Da make pastries in the kitchen, Qin Huai almost couldn't resist asking Tan Wei'an if the gossip Su Qian had mentioned was true, but he ultimately held back. Knowing Tan Wei'an as he did, Qin Huai knew that if there really was such exciting gossip in the kitchen, Tan Wei'an would definitely find an opportunity to tell him. The fact that Tan Wei'an hadn't told him meant that the gossip might not be true, or perhaps he simply hadn't noticed it—the latter being more likely.

Tan Weian is an employee and shareholder of Zhiweiju. Before Qin Huai actually went to Zhiweiju to communicate and find out what the situation was, he felt that it was better not to rashly tell the shareholder some things.

The price of not being able to talk about it was that Qin Huai could only silently savor these gossips in his heart, to the point that he was so engrossed in them that he didn't even notice when Zheng Da stopped making snacks at 9:26.

By the time Qin Huai noticed Zheng Da had stopped, Huang Shengli had already gone to ask Zheng Da what was going on.

Zheng Da didn't interfere with any of the pastries he made before. Since he didn't say what to do with them, no one else dared to touch or eat them. After all, they were all quite beautiful and exquisite. What if Zheng Da made these pastries just to display them in a row for comparison, or to show off on social media?

No one could guess what Master Zheng was thinking.

"What's wrong with you today? What's gotten into you again?" Huang Shengli, as the senior apprentice, spoke quite bluntly. As he spoke, he didn't forget to glance at Qin Huai, as if asking Zheng Da if he was upset because Qin Huai was going to Zhiweiju the day after tomorrow.

Zheng Da didn't even look up at Huang Shengli, nor did he listen much. After finishing making the pastries, he was still somewhat immersed in his own world.

Zheng Da picked up a crane-shaped steamed bun, which was relatively difficult to make, and asked Huang Shengli, "Senior brother, is there anything wrong with my crane-shaped longevity bun?"

As soon as the words "senior brother" were uttered, Huang Shengli realized that the situation today was not simple.

Huang Shengli frowned slightly, examined the steamed buns, and affirmed, "Very good."

Zheng Da then pointed to the lotus-shaped pastry, which could almost be described as exquisitely crafted: "Is there a problem with my lotus-shaped pastry?"

Huang Shengli said with great certainty, "Of course not."

"Where's the crab roe pastry?"

"very beautiful."

"Goldfish dumplings?"

"The design is impeccable."

"Lychee noodles".

"..."

……

Zheng Da asked about almost every dessert he had made, and finally pointed to the Four Happiness Roll and asked, "Then why didn't I roll the Four Happiness Roll properly? Is it because there's a problem with my basic finger technique?"

Huang Shengli did not answer the question.

Zheng Da was still muttering to himself in self-doubt: "I admit that his Zhou-surname pastry is better than mine. He is ranked the highest among pastry chefs in the list of famous chefs. I can't compare to him."

“I also admit that his finger technique is superb, and his boat point technique is so skillful that it’s almost to the point of showing off.”

"But doesn't he also not know how to make a Ruyi scroll?"

“His cloud pattern is not as good as Master Tan’s. He has never even seen me make the Four Happiness Roll. Why does he say that my reverse roll is bad because my basic finger technique is wrong?”

"Me? My basic skills are lacking?" Zheng Da's voice almost cracked at the last few words. "Even if he, surnamed Zhou, is the number one person in Bai'an, he can't be this arrogant, can he?"

"Furthermore, what do you mean by saying my finger technique has a problem? If I were to instruct Xiao Qin on his finger technique, his basic skills would also develop similar problems. After all, a master with weak basic skills cannot train a disciple with strong basic skills. What? Are his disciple's basic skills very good? Are Su Qian's basic skills very good? I think Su Qian's... his... steamed buns are also very average, not as good as Si Yuan's at all. His ability to train disciples is just so-so, not as good as my son at all."

Zheng Da has started indiscriminate area-of-effect (AOE) attacks.

After a long silence, Huang Shengli quietly uttered, "Do you remember that your master once said that your basic finger technique wasn't very solid?"

Zheng Da: ...

Upon hearing this, Zheng Da immediately deflated like a punctured balloon. He stopped being angry, stopped roaring, stopped screaming, and even stopped struggling.

Zheng Da looked up and saw who was beside him. He realized that no one was missing, and Qin Huai was standing not far away, silently watching him.

Zheng Da: ...

I'm tired. Let the world end.

What did he just do and say?

Is it too late for him to knock his head out on the kitchen counter and then claim he has amnesia?
Qin Huai saw through Zheng Da's thoughts and, after considering his words, said, "Master Zheng, I don't think your finger technique is not good enough, nor do I think you can't teach me well."

"My finger technique is too poor. I thought I would never be able to master the Four Happiness Roll in a short time. I might as well go to Zhiweiju to exchange ideas, broaden my horizons, and learn more new things by exchanging ideas with more master chefs."

"Once I've reached a certain level and can start practicing the Four Joys Scroll, I'll come back to ask you for guidance so you can help me improve further."

"I didn't mean to imply that you're not good at your job. If my words this afternoon caused you to misunderstand, I apologize."

"I'll talk to Mr. Su at Zhiweiju later. I need to learn finger techniques from you during this time, so I might not have time to go to Zhiweiju to exchange ideas. After all, I originally planned to go with Mr. Su in July or August."

Zheng Da was so moved by what he heard that he almost burst into tears.

Listen to these thoughtful words! Qin Huai said that going to Zhiweiju would broaden his horizons and lay a foundation, and that he could then study there further after he had a solid foundation.

What does this mean? It means that the people at Zhiweiju can only teach the basics; for truly advanced techniques, it has to be Zheng Da!

Zheng Da can handle it.

"What nonsense! Your Master Zheng was just so angry at that Su guy and Zhou... I was so angry at that Su guy that I was talking nonsense. Don't mind him, Xiao Qin. I came here today to tell you something."

“I really like the shape of the four-happiness flower rolls you made. It’s just making four-happiness flower rolls for you for a month, no problem.”

"That's what I was talking about. I hadn't made any desserts all day, and seeing the dough made me want to try it out, so I made some."

"You know me, I feel uncomfortable if I don't make desserts for a day."

Qin Huai: ...

When Zheng Da is really desperate, he'll say anything, even the most ridiculous things.

Qin Huai smiled and nodded: "I know Master Zheng."

(End of this chapter)