Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 286 Cake Shop Opening

The control panel is in the middle of the room, with the work area behind it and eight aluminum alloy glass cabinets placed against the two walls in front.

Master Li looked around and nodded, saying, "There's enough space. You can process the cream here from now on. This workbench is well-designed; people outside can see you working, so they won't be in a rush. It does take some time to make this. Don't open the middle door normally."

He was talking to Xiaowei when his two apprentices got to work, mixing colors, attaching nozzles, preparing fruit paste, wiping the workbench clean, and placing steel basins and buckets on it. They began making samples.

Making a sample involves creating a birthday cake based on the actual size and thickness of a real birthday cake, using foam board instead of a cake base, and displaying it in the counter for customers to view and choose from.

The apprentice was mixing cream to make decorative patterns when Master Li came outside, opened the back door of the counter, covered the glass partition with yellow paper, then looked around and said to Xiao Wei, "It would be better to change the back door to a mirror; it would look much better." Xiao Wei nodded and asked Liu Hongliang to make the arrangements.

The two apprentices worked together with Master Li, making one beautiful birthday cake after another and placing them on the counter.

Master Zhai and Sister Zhang came over one by one to look. Li Wen's mouth was watering. In the end, they took a small bowl and filled it with cream for her to take back and dip her steamed buns. This made Sister Zhang laugh out loud. Li Wen wasn't stingy and shared it with the other women.

Although cream birthday cakes were still rare in Northeast China at that time, they were often seen on television and in newspapers, and everyone knew they were delicious.

Once the design is finalized and the shop is cleaned and tidied up inside and out, the cake shop can open for business.

In the afternoon, Xiaowei held a farewell party for Han San and Master Li.

Master Li's apprentice will stay here until the end of the year, and then a replacement will come next year. The three-way cooperation in the pastry class, which is a baking school, is definitely not something that will be done in just one year.

Master Li's total annual fee was 30,000, which was really not cheap for that era, but it wasn't fair to say it was expensive either. After all, unlike later years when cake shop training courses were everywhere, skills were still worth something back then. As for how much Master Li paid his apprentices, Xiao Wei and Han San didn't ask, nor could they. It was his choice not to pay them; it had nothing to do with them.

The wages for the workers here are calculated separately.

As for Master Li himself, he taught Xiao Wei for about ten days, and Xiao Wei paid a price of 12,000 yuan, which Xiao Wei felt was worthwhile. This was because Master Li wanted to quickly open up the market here; otherwise, he might not have been able to hire him at that price. At this time, Master Li's reputation in China wasn't that great yet; he was still in the early stages of his business, although he had already published his first professional book.

His professional books and tool manuals will also serve as teaching materials for Xiaowei and his classmates.

After seeing Han San and Master Li off, Xiao Wei escorted Master Li's two apprentices, Li Wenhe and Li He, back to the courtyard. He then took a quick look around the food factory before running to the living room to page Chen Hui. They needed to finalize the chef and pastry instructor, as well as the teaching materials, and also purchase a batch of luggage.

Twenty minutes passed before Chen Hui returned the call. He asked breathlessly on the other end, "Why did you call me?"

Xiao Wei was taken aback for a moment and asked, "What's wrong with you? What are you doing?"

Chen Hui said, "Get to work. The storefront outside is being fixed too. I'm fixing the wiring myself. You called me earlier and I was hanging in mid-air, so I just came down. This job is a bit dangerous, so I feel bad asking others to do it, since they don't charge me. So, what's up?"

Xiao Wei said, "Be careful, it's better to spend some money than to take risks."

Chen Hui said, "I know. It just looks scary, but there's no danger. The safety rope is very strong."

Xiao Wei asked, "How's the carpentry work going? Will it be finished by the end of the month?"

Chen Hui coughed, took a sip of water, and said, "It should be finished around the end of the month. The clothes have been ordered in the last couple of days, and we're gradually ordering the supplies and equipment. We've almost finished finding people for Chen Xiao's side. Jin Jie and I even came over to take a look yesterday. An Laowu has arrived, and I'm helping him find a place to live these next couple of days. It seems like he's planning to move his whole family here."

Xiao Wei said, "Could you ask the chef and pastry chef about this, and also the teaching materials? We also need to order some luggage. Do you have time?"

Chen Hui said, "Wasn't it that Teacher Lan you were looking for?"

Xiao Wei said, "Back then, we didn't even know we could find Liu Jingxian. Why are we looking for Teacher Lan now? If he's willing to come, he can be a teacher, and we'll pay him for his classes. If he doesn't want to come, it doesn't matter. You should put in a good word for me; that would be more reliable."

Chen Hui asked, "Can it get better?"

Xiao Wei said, "He hasn't shown his face since he started this project last year. Lao Xia contacted him twice, but he was always busy. Either he's genuinely busy, or he just wants a kickback. Anyway, I don't really want to deal with this guy anymore. I don't owe him anything."

Chen Hui said, "Okay, if you've thought it through, then I'll have my dad ask Old Liu tonight. Getting an apprentice over is just a matter of him saying a word, it's not like he won't pay. Can't your cultural center use the textbook? If it's okay, I'll find the printing press downstairs to print some for you. The luggage is easy to handle too, we have connections here, we can just have them deliver it."

Xiao Wei said, "You need to buy luggage for your side too, let's do it together. As for the textbooks, those are fine too, just change the cover, go straight to color, just print them as the textbooks from the Longcheng Labor Bureau Technical Training Center, that'll do for now, I'll see if I can modify them and add some recipes and photos."

Chen Hui said, "Okay, no problem. How's it going on your end?"

Xiao Wei said, "The cake shop is all set up and will open tomorrow. After that, classes will start at the end of the month. I won't be able to go back for a few days at the end of the month, so call me if you need anything."

Chen Hui said, "I know, it's still early here. The opening won't be until after April. You can come back after you finish your classes. Is there anything else? Master Gong is calling me. I'm at a public phone here, it's cold standing outside."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, that's all. You can hang up now."

Chen Hui hung up the phone. Xiao Wei closed the phone, leaned back in his chair and stared blankly for a while. After thinking it over, he realized that he hadn't forgotten anything. He lit a cigarette and relaxed.

Just as I relaxed, I suddenly remembered something, so I straightened up, picked up the phone again, and dialed the number on the other end of the line at the restaurant.

(End of this chapter)