The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 453 The Sound of a Heartbreaking Break

Ling Guangzhao simply moved a chair and sat down next to Qin Huai to watch her make pastries up close.

Qin Huai: ...? What kind of hobby is Boss Ling? Is the afternoon's exchange meeting canceled?
Tong Deyan: ...It's confirmed. Ling Guangzhao just got humiliated and went crazy after failing to find anyone.

Although Ling Guangzhao's behavior was strange, Qin Huai had been watched while making pastries before. On his first day at Zhiweiju, he made pastries in front of a group of master chefs, which he accepted well and calmly continued working.

Although Ling Guangzhao couldn't quite understand Qin Huai's skills, he could tell that Qin Huai was very calm, and his opinion of Qin Huai rose to a new level.

He remains calm under pressure, maintains a positive attitude, and seems to work quite efficiently. His base salary will be increased by another 10%!

Ling Guangzhao scooped up a spoonful of tangerine peel tea with satisfaction and continued eating. Mmm, it was warm and comforting.

Ling Guangzhao's smile grew even brighter.

Qin Huai didn't focus too much on Ling Guangzhao, and instead made the pastries in an orderly manner.

There are significant differences between apple-shaped steamed buns, five-ingredient buns, four-happiness flower rolls, and rice cakes. Making these four snacks ready around the same time and serving them all at once requires precise timing and rhythm. Rice cakes are undoubtedly the simplest. Qin Huai places the rice cakes last, kneading the dough for the first three snacks all at once before mixing the rice batter.

Then start making the meat filling for the Five Delicacies Buns: dice the ingredients, cook the filling, and let it cool.

While the filling was cooking, the whole kitchen was filled with the aroma of meat from the Five-Ingredient Buns. Ling Guangzhao was stunned by the smell, his face saying, "I thought the filling for the buns didn't smell this good. Is this stewed meat?"

The meat filling in the Five-Ingredient Bun was just the beginning of opening the eyes of Ling Guangzhao, a restaurant owner who didn't know much about traditional Chinese cooking.

The five-ingredient bun has a fancy meat filling, but its shape is very simple. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary big bun.

The Four Happiness Flower Rolls and Apple Noodle Rolls are quite fancy in terms of their shapes.

Ling Guangzhao was already quite surprised when he saw the Qinhuai Four Happiness Flower Roll, which had scallion and ham filling rolled into the flower roll. After a seemingly difficult and careful process of rolling, the flower roll was actually quite fancy.

He was dumbfounded when he saw Qin Huai knead and brush a dough ball, turning it into the shape of an apple in just over ten minutes. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have thought it was a real apple.

It can be said that the impact came one wave after another.

Compared to these three great figures, the rice cake that was finally cooked at the last minute seemed so normal and unremarkable.

Tong Deyan had stopped preparing the ingredients; like Ling Guangzhao, he had gathered around the Qin Huai River to watch her make pastries.

As a professional chef specializing in hot dishes, Tong Deyan could tell Qin Huai's skill level.

Even if Qin Huai is a genius, his rate of progress is a bit too outrageous. Tong Deyan clearly remembers that Qin Huai's level was not as good as it is now when they were in City A, and not just in one aspect, but in all aspects.

Whether it's kneading dough, preparing fillings, finger techniques, or even the aesthetic appreciation of pastry shapes, it wasn't as good as it is now.

Rapid progress in one area can be explained by innate talent or enlightenment, but what about progress across all aspects? Or enlightenment across all aspects?
Kind of outrageous.

Tong Deyan was even somewhat relieved that he always had a deadpan expression, no matter what he looked at, so Ling Guangzhao wouldn't be able to tell that he was shocked.

Tong Deyan almost gasped. He quietly shifted his gaze from the pastries Qin Huai had made to Ling Guangzhao's face and found that Ling Guangzhao was already full of admiration.

The admiration in his eyes was almost overflowing.

Tong Deyan took another closer look at Qin Huai, who was making pastries with great care. He was so serious and selective, even more so than when he was catering in City A last time. Could it be that he really wanted to work at Babaozhai?

What's the point? Isn't Qinhuai already flush with cash?
A Beijing residency permit? Ling Guangzhao can get him a Beijing residency permit? Does Ling Guangzhao really have that kind of ability?
That's true. I heard that Qin Huai's younger sister's academic performance isn't very good, and Ling Guangzhao seems to have some connections at school.

Or perhaps these two people aren't quite right in the head, which is why they inexplicably feel a sense of kinship and mutual appreciation.

Tong Deyan's thoughts gradually wandered, finally settling into one sentence: Damn it, could Ling Guangzhao really find some talent by holding this exchange? How come that kid is so lucky?
Just as Tong Deyan was mentally criticizing his boss, all four kinds of pastries made by Qin Huai were ready.

Lifelike, so realistic that it's hard to tell the difference from afar and even up close. Because the coloring process is very fast, the apple pastries are still warm and taste delicious.

Just out of the pot, steaming hot, each pleat so delicate it looks as if measured with calipers, a large, plump, and iconic five-ingredient bun.

Two or three minutes after it came out of the steamer, it was still steaming a little. Even though you could see that the cloud pattern wasn't quite perfect, it was still worthy of praise: it was a beautiful and delicate four-happiness flower roll that didn't look like a flower roll at all.

Even the rice cakes that were first cooked and cooled to the perfect temperature, and looked the most ordinary, were considered the most perfect and standard rice cakes in the public's mind, according to their aesthetics and perceptions.

For the first time, Ling Guangzhao felt that he might have decision-making difficulties, because he couldn't decide which one to eat first.

In the end, Ling Guangzhao chose rice cake from the bottom of his heart, because rice cake takes the longest to cool down, and he was afraid of getting burned.

Ling Guangzhao had no expectations for the rice cake; it was a snack that no one would expect from, and everyone knew what it tasted like.

Ling Guangzhao picked up a piece of rice cake and took a bite.

It tasted normal, nothing surprising, nothing disappointing, very standard, and it matched his imagination, perception, and even the taste in his memory.

Ling Guangzhao chews normally.

I don't know why, but he really liked this rice cake.

As the current owner of Babaozhai and the former young master, Ling Guangzhao grew up in Babaozhai. Back then, Babaozhai was a long-established brand in Beiping, but its revenue was not as high as it is now. There were many master chefs in the store. The first floor sold pastries, and the second floor was for dine-in hot dishes. Every time school let out, many children living nearby would come to the first floor with their pocket money to buy cheap pastries.

There are pea flour cakes, donkey rolls, and of course, rice cakes too.

When Ling Guangzhao was a child, he often ate snacks at Babaozhai. When he came back from school at noon, he would pick out two of his favorite snacks and put them in his schoolbag before going to school.

Later, Ling Guangzhao went abroad to study and lived abroad for many years. When he returned to China, Babaozhai had become an empty shell of a famous old brand, riddled with problems. The white food processing station on the first floor had also been removed long ago.

Ling Guangzhao had almost forgotten what the pastries on the first floor of the Babaozhai used to taste like.

Ling Guangzhao looked at the half-eaten rice cake in his hand and wondered, "Does this taste like this?"
It seems so. In his memory, the rice cakes on the first floor were quite delicious, especially when they were fresh out of the pot and still steaming hot. The rice cakes were very cheap, and many children in the neighborhood who were short of money would come to buy rice cakes when they were craving them.

No, the rice cakes I remember didn't taste as good as the ones I have now.

Ling Guangzhao was a smart man. He knew very well that memories could be embellished. If he felt that the rice cake he was eating now tasted as good as he remembered, it meant that the rice cake now tasted even better than he remembered. Almost subconsciously, Ling Guangzhao thought of the promotional points he should use after Qin Huai joined Babaozhai.

The Taste of Memories – Master Qin, featured on the cover of "Taste of Life," launches a series of nostalgic snacks that evoke childhood memories.

We are confident that we can completely restore the reputation that Babaozhai has recently lost. The answer is that we will never forget our original intention!

Ling Guangzhao got more and more into eating, chewing each mouthful of rice cake repeatedly in his mouth without swallowing it.

Qin Huai: ?
Did the rice cake I made today turn out badly? That shouldn't be the case. The game shows it's an A-grade rice cake, so why is Ling Guangzhao chewing it for so long but not swallowing it? Is his tooth really that bad?
Qin Huai never imagined that a rice cake without any buffs would trigger a wave of nostalgia in Ling Guangzhao.

Ling Guangzhao couldn't stop eating the rice cakes, one after another. When he was on the fourth piece, Qin Huai, considering that Ling Guangzhao might not have the same appetite as Ouyang or Shi Dadan, spoke up to stop him:

"Boss Ling, the five-ingredient bun should be ready to eat in four or five minutes now. Would you like to try it for me?"

Ling Guangzhao readily accepted Qin Huai's sales pitch, picked up a Wudingbao (a type of steamed bun), and took a bite.

Ling Guangzhao: !!!

Holy crap, there are actually steamed buns this delicious in the world! This is actually a steamed bun! How come our Babaozhai didn't sell such amazing steamed buns before? No wonder Babaozhai couldn't keep its pastry business afloat; it turns out that steamed buns from the South have already taken over to this extent.

Ling Guangzhao's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he ate.

Tong Deyan glanced at Ling Guangzhao with disdain, not really wanting to stand with such an unsophisticated boss while eating snacks.

is not it……

Alright, Qin Huai's pastries are indeed top-notch, absolutely first-rate. At his current level, he's no longer qualified to be ranked among the younger generation of pastry chefs; it's a bit unfair to the younger generation.

Tong Deyan chewed on his steamed bun, looking at Qin Huai with utter confusion.

What a promising junior! What a talented pastry chef! How could he be so foolish as to choose Ling Guangzhao and want to switch jobs to Babaozhai?

Ling Guangzhao very politely ate every single pastry, including the large apple pastry. Perhaps because he had made too many pastries, Qin Huai unconsciously made the apple pastry too large when he made it; one apple pastry weighed almost half a pound.

The portion of the Five-Ingredient Bun is also quite large.

In addition, Ling Guangzhao ate a bowl of tangerine peel tea, four pieces of rice cake, and a whole four-happiness flower roll. Originally, Qin Huai invited Ling Guangzhao to come and try some snacks, but Ling Guangzhao almost ate himself to death in the kitchen of his own restaurant.

He couldn't even burp; this time, he was really choking. Ling Guangzhao was afraid that if he burped, the scallions from the Four Happiness Flower Rolls would pop out from his throat.

The hidden quest is not yet complete.

Qin Huai was a little confused. Judging from Ling Guangzhao's performance just now, he was definitely very satisfied with today's snacks. Qin Huai was even afraid that Ling Guangzhao would throw up by the end of the four-happiness flower rolls, but Ling Guangzhao forced himself to finish the whole flower roll.

This spirit of enjoying snacks is evident to all.

The official mission for "[The Most Stylish Guy]" is to make Qin Huai shine at this exchange meeting and become the most stylish guy remembered by the organizers. Qin Huai's understanding is that he needs to leave a deep impression on Ling Guangzhao, make him feel good about him, and make him completely remember him to complete the mission.

What, is it that the impression isn't strong enough now, or is Ling Guangzhao actually just bad at remembering things?
Or perhaps Qin Huai misunderstood. The core of this task was to shine brightly, and he wanted every chef at the exchange meeting to remember him. He had put the cart before the horse.

Qin Huai felt a little like scratching his head.

The exchange meeting will end tomorrow. To make matters worse, according to the message from Zhao Cheng'an, many chefs who attended the morning meeting don't want to participate in the follow-up sessions. They've already run around a lot at the afternoon meeting, not to mention the outing tomorrow.

Many people do not like group tours.

Qin Huai: It seems like I messed up. What should I do if I can't complete the hidden quest?
Qin Huai's expression turned somewhat dejected.

Ling Guangzhao, who was keeping a close eye on Qin Huai, immediately noticed the change in Qin Huai's mood. He assumed that he had been so focused on eating that he hadn't offered any comments, which had made his beloved Master Qin feel down. Thinking this, Ling Guangzhao felt even more admiration for Qin Huai.

What a pure chef!

He's practically a pastry chef tailor-made for our Babaozhai!

"Master Qin, your pastries are especially delicious!" Ling Guangzhao praised sincerely. "Especially the rice cake. Actually, I don't know much about these pastries, but that rice cake reminded me of the old-fashioned pastries I ate on the first floor of Babaozhai when I was a child."

"Master Qin, you are from the South, so you may not know about our Babaozhai. We used to have both red and white dishes. The first floor was dedicated to white pastries, which is very similar to the Zhiweiju model."

"I know Huang Ji also sells pastry and dim sum now, but Huang Ji is definitely not as professional as Ba Bao Zhai in this area. Most importantly, Huang Ji certainly doesn't pay its pastry and dim sum chefs as much as Ba Bao Zhai. Moreover, after you come to Ba Bao Zhai, you can also go to Zhi Wei Ju for exchanges. I already said at the exchange meeting that I strongly encourage chefs from different restaurants to exchange ideas with each other. This is the only way to make progress!"

"You don't need to worry about accommodation. Babaozhai can provide staff dormitories for our master chefs. As for the difference between the North and the South, there is really no such difference now. It's the same everywhere."

"I'm just not sure what your expectations are for salary and benefits. My tentative base salary is 58,000 yuan, with commissions calculated separately. We can discuss commissions and such. You don't need to worry about social insurance and housing fund; we are a legitimate restaurant, and these things will definitely be arranged for our employees. If you don't believe me, you can ask Chef Tong. Chef Tong is the most upright and honest person; he would never lie about this."

"Then……"

Ling Guangzhao kept talking, but Qin Huai didn't listen at all.

Because when Ling Guangzhao mentioned the five social insurances and one housing fund, the game notification sound rang in Qin Huai's mind.

"Ding! Congratulations on completing the hidden quest [The Coolest Guy] and receiving the quest reward [A Memory of Zhao Cheng'an]."

It turns out that it wasn't that Ling Guangzhao didn't have a deep impression of Qin Huai; it was just that Boss Ling's perception was a bit delayed, and it would take a few words for him to have a lasting impression.

"Mr. Ling, you've misunderstood. I didn't come to Babaozhai to apply for a job," Qin Huai said with a smile. "I actually have my own businesses. I run a community canteen and have no plans to move."

"Moreover, even if I were to go to a restaurant for exchanges or work, Huang Ji would definitely be my first choice. Master Huang and Master Zheng from Huang Ji have helped me a lot and taught me a lot. I am here to attend the exchange meeting on a temporary behalf of Huang Ji. I really have no intention of coming to Beiping to work."

With a snap, Ling Guangzhao seemed to hear the sound of his own heart breaking.

Ling Guangzhao: QAQ
Waaaaaah, my dear Master Qin.

Huang Ji, I hate you!

(End of this chapter)