"Qin... Master Qin, I have an uninvited request."

When Qin Huai was packing dinner after work, Guli suddenly approached him and quietly helped pass the lunch box.

Due to the increasing amount of food he needed to pack every day, Qin Huai specially purchased three extra-large lunch boxes for packing dinner.

"What's up?" Qin Huai asked.

Guli was someone who rarely made demands or requests.

Most of the time, he was the silent backdrop in Huang's Kitchen, arriving the earliest and leaving the latest, without speaking, slowly making snacks.

If not for Tan Wei'an having a soft spot for this junior brother, occasionally mentioning him in conversations or deliberately seeking him out to talk, Guli's presence would be even less felt.

"If your Yunzhong Restaurant needs someone for learning and exchange, could you consider me first?"

"I really want to learn and exchange at the restaurant you're in."

Hearing Guli's words, Qin Huai was initially stunned and asked, "Didn't you hear what I said to Tan Wei'an this afternoon?"

Guli was Tan Wei'an's junior brother, and Tan Wei'an had clearly suggested that if Qin Huai needed someone, he should look for him. Tan Wei'an surely wouldn't forget Guli for good things.

"I heard it, but that was between my senior brother and you. I think I need to fight for my own opportunities," Guli said.

Qin Huai suddenly saw Guli in a different light.

He realized that this always silent and often overlooked individual, often ridiculed and regarded as a counter-example of a disciple, yet never retorting, wasn't actually cowardly.

He just didn't care about those remarks.

"I've always been curious," Qin Huai said. "Ever since you and Tan Wei'an came to Huang Ji for exchange, there have been rumors that you brothers were ostracized at Zhiwei Restaurant after Master Tan passed away, and that's why this seemingly hard exchange fell on you."

"I never really believed those rumors. Tan Wei'an has so many recipes that he could publish a book. If that's what being ostracized means, I'm sure 99% of pastry chefs would love to be ostracized."

"But if you feel unhappy at Zhiwei Restaurant, I think you might consider our Yunzhong Restaurant as well. The salary won't be lower than Zhiwei, and we really need a pastry chef." Qin Huai waved the poaching hoe.

If Qin Huai had a recruitment list in mind, Guli would certainly be at the top.

A workaholic, hardworking, with solid fundamentals, professionally connected.

Makes good tea too.

Qin Huai hadn't swung the hoe before because it was unethical. Guli was a genuine pastry chef from Zhiwei, not yet a master. But now Qin Huai felt Guli might be leaning towards a job change, so he swung the hoe.

Now it was Guli's turn to be stunned, and unlike Qin Huai's moment of disbelief, Guli couldn't speak for a long time, seemingly pondering how to respond to Qin Huai's poaching.

After a long while, Guli resolutely said, "Master Qin, I will definitely stay at Zhiwei Restaurant in the future."

"Even though I'm not sure if I'll get the chance, I hope to one day become a master at Zhiwei like my teacher, to pass on knowledge and restore ancient recipes."

Qin Huai smiled, indicating Guli should not feel too pressured. Even if he didn't want to switch jobs, he was still welcome to exchange at Yunzhong Restaurant.

"Looks like the rumors are false."

Guli nodded, "The masters at Zhiwei have been good to my senior brother and me, just that both of us have been taught by our master, so Master Zhou and the others can't teach us hand-in-hand like Master did, mostly guiding us through words."

"Besides, I'm indeed not very talented. Many masters just mention a few words and see no improvement, so they'd rather not say more. Over time, perhaps those rumors started."

"As for why my senior brother and I came to Huang Ji for an exchange, I kind of know the reason. After our master passed, I was very uneasy, fearing I would become an ordinary pastry chef and disappoint him. I didn't know whether to stick to the path of restoring ancient recipes my master laid out or to study pastries ordinarily like others."

"I was lost and didn't know what was right, so I just spent more time making more. Maybe it was a bit obsessive. Last New Year, I didn't rest, working on snacks year-round. My senior brother was worried I was under too much pressure and suggested to Boss Su to take me for the exchange at Huang Ji."

"He thought a change of place, a different environment might lift my mood so I wouldn't bury myself in making snacks every day as before."

Qin Huai silently criticized in his heart, it indeed turned different, even more obsessive, spending more time making snacks than before.

"I think you might understand," Guli looked at Qin Huai, his eyes full of longing, "I can't be like you, tirelessly studying snacks, but I always wanted to find the state you are in."

"You should understand this feeling, the kind of feeling where you want to make one snack so well that nothing else matters, having only snacks in your heart."

Qin Huai: ?

Who is spreading rumors about him out there?

When did he work tirelessly?

Defamation, pure defamation!

Qin Huai expressed that he enjoyed taking breaks, and he definitely didn't focus on making just one snack perfectly. There were just too many snacks he wanted to master, and he wished he could wake up tomorrow and have mastered every snack in the Snack Encyclopedia.

In terms of diligence, he and Guli were not even in the same league.

No matter how exhausting work was, Qin Huai still insisted on playing on his phone for half an hour before bed every night.

If he hadn't played on his phone for that half hour, he wouldn't be able to sleep.

Qin Huai could only nod slightly dumbly, "Somewhat... can understand a bit."

"How about this, are you free after the New Year?"

Guli didn't quite get it.

Qin Huai continued, "There's no time like the present; learning exchanges should happen sooner rather than later. Since you took the initiative, I think that Yunzhong Restaurant truly needs chefs for learning exchanges after the New Year, to inject fresh blood and encourage the old staff to strive forward. It's quite a coincidence, our Yunzhong Restaurant's two snack masters are also from Zhiwei."

"How about a month and a half? Join us at Yunzhong Restaurant for exchange on the 16th of the first month, with salary and bonuses according to our restaurant's rates."

"Rest assured, our restaurant covers five social insurances and one housing fund."

Actually, even if Guli hadn't volunteered, Qin Huai had planned to discuss it separately with Tan Wei'an in a few days, to see if he could persuade some people to come to Yunzhong Restaurant for exchange on the 16th of the first month.

They needed people who were quick and had solid basics, or at least one skill, like being good at making tea or knowing a bit about shoulder and neck massage.

By the way, after returning to Huishan City, Qin Huai thought his real concern shouldn't be about finding help but rather how to live without the bone-setting shop next door after work.

Does Gong Liang mind opening a bone-setting shop next to Yunzhong Restaurant?

He could top up a card, twenty thousand!

"Thank you, Master Qin, I'll talk to our Boss Su later," Guli said, a bit excited.

Qin Huai nodded guiltily and continued packing.

On the way home, Qin Huai couldn't resist and called Zheng Siyuan.

"Hey, Zheng Siyuan, not asleep yet, right? I have a question for you."

"Go ahead."

"Do you know the Boss Su from Zhiwei Restaurant?"

Zheng Siyuan paused for two seconds, then said, "Never met, but we've crossed paths a bit. My dad is pretty familiar with him."

"Are you... planning to exchange at Zhiwei?"

Qin Huai hurriedly denied, "No, no. I just want to ask, is he good-tempered?"

Zheng Siyuan: ?

"If their Zhiwei chefs just finished exchanging at Huang Ji a couple of months ago, didn't return during the busy New Year period, and then went to Shan City for exchange right after...would it affect their normal business?"

Zheng Siyuan calmly replied, "As long as it's not all of Master Tan's direct disciples going over, with the number of chefs at Zhiwei, it couldn't possibly affect their normal operations."

"Zhiwei has many apprentice chefs, and most of these apprentices are doing odd jobs. If they're not taken as disciples by the masters, their progress is slow. Going to your place for exchange is a great opportunity for them to improve, and for Zhiwei, it's a win-win situation."

"After all, you're covering their wages during the exchange."

"Don't worry, Boss Su isn't a narrow-minded person. Even if a direct disciple really went, at most he'd vent on social media."

"Boss Su often vents on social media. Everyone's used to it. This month, he's posted three times venting about my dad."

Qin Huai: ?

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