The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 493 Is this what you meant by "a little more customer traffic"?

At 6:37, He Cheng, who had been sleeping so soundly that his alarm clock went off for the seventh time, was wearing a wrinkled shirt and rushed into the Cloud Cafeteria with sleepy eyes and a flustered look on his face.

As soon as He Cheng entered the cafeteria, he wondered if he was still dreaming or not.

Otherwise, how can we explain the scene before us? It's only 6:37 a.m., so why is the Cloud Cafeteria so crowded, noisy, bustling, and packed with people?
Why are those familiar-looking elderly folks, who normally arrive at the cafeteria at 7 a.m., waving printed food reviews and showering Zheng Siyuan with compliments, sitting so peacefully and lovingly at the tables at this hour? The tables are filled with empty plates, and everyone's face is beaming with happiness and contentment. They look so kind, and even the air is filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Why are there such long queues at this window? Usually, only after 8 o'clock do hungry office workers appear in large numbers in the queues, looking both tired and excited. The dark circles under their eyes and their listless gazes show the hardship of their work, but the smiles they can't suppress and their beaming expressions show their happiness.

What a magical sight this is!
He Cheng said he had been taking extra classes in the city for more than a month and had never seen such a scene in the Yunzhong canteen.

He Cheng did not hesitate. Even if his brain failed him, his body knew what to do. He silently stood at the end of the line and started queuing.

No matter what the situation is, just queue up.

At the window, a young waiter shouted at the top of his lungs: "No need to queue for regular breakfast, you can buy directly at the rightmost window!"

No one paid any attention; everyone stood firmly in line.

Ahead of He Cheng were two formally dressed office workers in suits, with name tags around their necks. They looked tired but excited, typing away on their phones while talking in hushed tones.

"Although that bitch surnamed Wang is inhuman, making us both arrive at the company at 7 o'clock today to prepare for the meeting, if it weren't for this bitch, we wouldn't have been able to come to Yunzhong Cafeteria to buy breakfast so early. It just so happens that Chef Qin is back. That bitch surnamed Wang is actually a pretty nice person."

"Indeed, although he did all sorts of bad things, he still managed to do good things with bad intentions."

"I wonder if they still have rice cakes. I just heard Grandpa Wang at table number 9, who was stuffed, say that Chef Qin's rice cakes today were absolutely amazing. He specially came back from studying at Zhiweiju in Hangzhou. Chef Qin went away for several months just to learn how to make rice cakes at Zhiweiju. Just think about it, with Chef Qin's skills, he went away for several months just to learn how to make rice cakes, these rice cakes must be so delicious!"

The answer came from two sounds of swallowing, one from a colleague and the other from He Cheng.

He Cheng subconsciously looked at table number 9, which was some distance away from him. Table number 9 was already full, and Xu Tuqiang was talking animatedly, spitting as he spoke, looking like he was occupying the moral high ground.

“You all pretended to love Chef Qin’s pastries, but after only a few months away, you’ve all shown your true colors. You didn’t even know Chef Qin was back! His rice cakes and yam cakes went on sale at 6 a.m., and you didn’t arrive until 6:17 a.m. I had to remind you in the group chat before you came. Is this acceptable? Is this right? Does this match the original purpose of our morning running group having breakfast?” Xu Tuqiang said with great distress.

Grandpa Qian retorted indignantly, "It's not like you knew that Master Qin was coming back today."

"I don't know, but I stood guard at the Cloud Canteen! Without me, would you have been able to get the first batch of rice cakes? Look at this queue, I'm telling you the news has already spread, and the delivery guy will be here in 10 minutes at most. If I hadn't called you over immediately, you'd still be at the back of the line, especially you, Mr. Qian, who went home to take a shower. By the time you finished showering, the delivery guy would have already bought them." Xu Tuqiang, unusually assertive, retorted without holding back, his sharp words like bullets firing at Grandpa Qian, forcing him to retreat and remain silent.

"Moreover!" Xu Tuqiang raised his voice, "Don't you all know what kind of person Master Qin is? Just like Master Zheng, Master Qin's greatest passion is his pastry business. What Master Qin wants most every day is for his pastries to be snapped up as soon as they come out of the oven. What about you?"

“If we had always insisted on going to the Cloud Canteen at 6 a.m. every day, no matter when Chef Qin came back, his first batch of pastries at 6 a.m. would have sold out immediately. It’s because you’ve become lazy and complacent that you think the breakfast made by Chef Zheng at 7 a.m. is enough. You never expected that Chef Qin would suddenly come back.”

"How can you do this to Master Qin?"

"Master Qin came back from Hangzhou all the way here, Luo Luo told me this morning. Not only did Master Qin come back himself, but he also brought back a pastry chef from Zhiweiju in Hangzhou who is very good at making flaky pastries. Last night, around 8 pm, he was still showing the pastry chef around the Yunzhong Canteen to familiarize himself with the kitchen."

"Is this how you repay Chef Qin? You came out for a morning run, but instead of coming to sit in the Cloud Cafeteria right away, you went home to do laundry, take a shower, rest, watch TV, read the newspaper, and drink tea... Are these things really that important?"

"Is there anything more important than sitting in the Cloud Cafeteria and cheering on Chef Qin?"

Xu Tuqiang's resounding words made the elderly men and women who were jogging in the morning lower their heads in shame and begin to reflect on themselves.

I'm so sorry, I let Master Qin down.

Many elderly people felt remorse in their hearts.

He Cheng: ...Holy crap, is this the legendary restaurant speech?

Qin Huai, still kneading dough at the kitchen counter: ...

Qin Huai glanced at Zheng Siyuan, who was already eating chicken noodle soup, and couldn't help but ask, "Uncle Xu and the others... have they been like this for the past few months?"

Zheng Siyuan slurped down a mouthful of noodles and calmly said, "Pretty much. Their speech and tone are rather exaggerated, probably from reading too many books and magazines. They've all been studying how to write food reviews lately, and everyone has their own style. Grandpa Xu is especially diligent; he's read a lot of famous works, and his food reviews are the longest."

Qin Huai couldn't help but admire the elderly folks who truly loved what they did. They shone brightly in their jobs when they were young, and they continued to shine in the food review industry after retirement.

"What about Grandpa Wang's food review?" Qin Huai asked. "Grandpa Wang Gensheng, the one who went to Suzhou with me a while ago to settle accounts for Huang Ji."

Without hesitation, Zheng Siyuan replied, "His food reviews are the shortest and most down-to-earth. Knowing that you and Grandpa Wang are close, I usually cook special meals for him, and occasionally I will make a batch of crab shell pastries just for him."

“Uncle Wang…” Zheng Siyuan paused, “He always felt embarrassed, asking me if I needed help with the accounts, while bringing over the biggest takeout box in his house to pack everything up and take it home.”

Qin Huai: ...It's clear that after visiting Suzhou, the fair and upright Grandpa Wang learned about a new monetary system where accounts are exchanged for snacks.

"I plan to go back to Suzhou next month." Zheng Siyuan gulped down the soup in his bowl, put it down, and prepared to start working.

"Next month?" Qin Huai was taken aback. "It's already August 21st, so next month is September?"

“Yes.” Zheng Siyuan did not hire any helpers to assist him. He did everything himself, starting from chopping the meat filling. “My pastry shop has been closed for several months again. Many old customers thought I had stopped opening the shop. After being away for so long, I should go back and reopen it.”

"Yunzhong Canteen is very nice, the guests are very enthusiastic, and the food reviews are excellent. I have kept every dish as a keepsake. But this is your canteen, not my pastry shop. I am still a little uncomfortable with the large number of customers here."

“I used to think that coming to the Cloud Cafeteria would be a good opportunity to practice making pastries, but after talking with you just now, I think there’s no need to practice deliberately.”

"You originally went to Zhiweiju to practice your finger techniques, but you probably didn't practice them intentionally, did you?"

"How did you know?" Qin Huai was a little surprised. He hadn't had a chance to tell Zheng Siyuan the details of his training at Zhiweiju over the past few months. This was gossip he heard while making pastries that afternoon.

"Because you've improved in every way." Zheng Siyuan stopped looking at Qin Huai and buried himself in chopping the filling. "Even the chicken noodle soup has improved." "I was just thinking of having another bowl."

"Would you like some? I can make it for you."

"eat."
.
The more harmonious the kitchen is, the noisier the dining hall becomes.

It's important to know that the morning rush hour at Yunzhong Canteen isn't before 7 a.m. The morning rush hour usually starts after 8 a.m. and lasts until 8:45 a.m. And even after 8:45 a.m., the rush hour doesn't immediately subside; this period simply means there are no dine-in customers, but there are many delivery orders.

Orders placed in group buying often need to be delivered until 9:30 am, and there are also many errand orders in between. The morning rush hour is only considered over after all the delivery orders are delivered.

This is the difference between community canteens and traditional Chinese cuisine restaurants. The morning rush hour at Yunzhong Canteen is already over, while the first batch of dim sum at Zhiweiju in Hangzhou may have just started selling.

As Master Zhou's laziest disciple, Zhao Cheng'an not only learned his master's skills, but also his master's aversion to getting up early.

For Zhao Cheng'an, arriving at work at 8 a.m. is considered early, and arriving at 9 a.m. is normal. Occasionally being a little late is not a big deal as long as he arrives before 10 a.m.

Although Zhao Cheng'an was lazy, he still had the basic qualities of a working person. For example, he couldn't embarrass Zhiweiju when he was out communicating with others. Otherwise, when he returned, Master Zhou might let him know what it meant to receive loving education from his master.

In order to maintain the stereotype that Zhiweiju's occupants are all top-notch, Zhao Cheng'an entered the Cloud Canteen at 8:1 AM after failing to meet the deadline.

As for why the timing failed...

It took him a minute just to squeeze into the store.

Zhao Cheng'an was squeezed so tightly that he shouted that he was a pastry chef and asked to go in to work. However, a regular customer immediately exposed him, saying that Yunzhong Cafeteria only had three pastry chefs: Pei Xing, Li Hua, and Zheng Siyuan. This guy was definitely trying to cut in line because he was afraid of being late for the company's 8:25 clock-in time.

Zhao Cheng'an was almost subjected to a righteous act by a well-meaning customer at the entrance of the Cloud Canteen.

If Qin Luo, who was helping to clear the table, hadn't heard Zhao Cheng'an's shouts and come out to prove that Zhao Cheng'an was indeed a new dim sum chef from Zhiweiju who had come to exchange ideas, Zhao Cheng'an wouldn't have been able to enter the Yunzhong Canteen at 8:1.

Master Qin has returned like lightning after several months, launching rice cakes and yam cakes that are delicious, affordable, and taste even better than imagined, and more memorable than the taste in his memory.

This shocking news caused countless new and old customers to flock to the restaurant to buy breakfast. The four big characters "Cloud Canteen" once again flooded the WeChat Moments of nearby office workers in the shortest possible time.

The queues were ridiculously long.

It's fair to say that Huang Ji's peak popularity was nothing special. After all, Huang Ji is a high-end restaurant, and its customer traffic is nowhere near that of a community canteen. Within a 50-meter radius of Yunzhong Canteen, almost everyone is either eating breakfast or queuing to buy breakfast.

The servers who prepare and pack breakfast wear thick gloves to protect themselves from the heat, and they pack the freshly cooked breakfast into bags. The servers and customers at Yunzhong Canteen have all earned their jobs through hard work and are very experienced in these kinds of shopping sprees, paying quickly, preparing food quickly, and packing food quickly.

Sometimes you don't even need to say the whole thing; just saying "Mi Liu" or "Gao San" is enough for both of you to understand each other perfectly.

In the sweltering heat of August, guests carrying piping hot breakfasts emerged from the Cloud Canteen, all praising Chef Qin for being so thoughtful, preparing such a warm breakfast in case everyone caught a chill in the weather.

Zhao Cheng'an was led into the dressing room by Qin Luo, and when he changed his clothes and went into the kitchen, he was dumbfounded.

"Qin Huai, is this the Yunzhong Canteen you mentioned that has slightly more customers than Zhiweiju?" Zhao Cheng'an's scream almost pierced the sky.

"Today is a special case. Every time I come back and launch a new dim sum restaurant, business is always particularly good. It lasts for two or three days at most, and then it will return to normal soon," Qin Huai comforted. "I have already promoted it for you. Now the old customers of Yunzhong Diner know that there is another amazing dim sum chef who came from Zhiweiju with me. He is very good at making flaky pastries."

"That's your work station...the kitchen counter. Good luck! My sister has always admired you and is really looking forward to tasting your cooking." As she spoke, Qin Huai pointed to Qin Luo outside who was clearing away plates. "Our cafeteria usually only sells snacks around lunchtime. It's still early, why don't you make some breakfast first?"

Zhao Cheng'an was somewhat suspicious, but still chose to believe him: "Okay."

Ten minutes later, Ouyang squeezed in from outside, carrying seven or eight cups of hand-whipped lemon tea, and headed straight for the kitchen to deliver takeout to Qin Huai.

"Holy crap, what's going on in Qin Huai today? Why is your Yunzhong Cafeteria so busy? I almost couldn't squeeze in. This is the first time I've ever failed to get in!" Ouyang Yuanrun's face was full of shock.

Looking at Ouyang, who was already growing fatter and stronger, Qin Huai asked the question that struck him as profound: "Did you eat too many of Zheng Siyuan's snacks, or did you drink too much milk tea from your own family's milk tea shop?"

"Can't we have both?" Ouyang retorted, his tone both defiant and assertive. "But what exactly is going on here?"

"I don't know either." Qin Huai's face was completely blank. "This is the first time I've ever seen anything like this."

"I was just wondering if it was because I hadn't received the popularity rewards for completing many main and side quests, and now they've given them to me all at once."

"Luckily, I tricked Zhao Cheng'an into coming here to help me. He worked at Zhiweiju for a few months, and now that he's back, he's really having trouble adjusting to the high intensity here."

Ouyang: ...?
Was it because he hadn't seen his good brother for several months? Ouyang felt like he couldn't quite understand Qin Huai's words.

Qin Huai noticed the confusion on Ouyang's face and immediately realized that Ouyang hadn't been by his side for a long time and wasn't used to his current very direct and neurotic way of speaking.

Qin Huai took a sip of the hand-squeezed lemon tea; it still tasted like the familiar "miracle cure" flavor. He sighed.

"Sigh, it's been so long. There's already a barrier between us that we can't understand each other anymore."

Ouyang: ?
Did they save breakfast for me?

"Keep it here, come in and eat. After you finish eating, go out and help Luo Luo clear the plates, we're almost overwhelmed."

"I have two employees in my shop. How about I close the shop first and call them over to help you clear the plates?"

"Good brother, how could there be any rift between us? Let's not talk about it anymore. There's plenty of rice cake. I'll cook you red eggs for your wedding!"

Ouyang: ? ? ?
(End of this chapter)