By the time the lunch rush ended, Qin Huai was completely exhausted.
Not so much physically tired, but mentally drained.
He just watched trays of buns, dumplings, and more come out of the steamer, and batches of Crab Shell Cakes and Baked Buns emerge from the oven. Like a magic trick, one moment they were all there, and the next, they vanished.
Qin Huai felt like a worker on an assembly line, uncertain when his shift would end or how much more work awaited him, seeing only an unending line of snacks waiting to be made.
By the time Qin Huai punched out, he had completely forgotten he had offered to take care of the staff meal that morning.
Couldn’t handle it, not a chance.
Watching Wang Jun still tidying up, Qin Huai honestly asked, "Do Huang Ji’s snacks always sell this well?"
No wonder the previous pastry chef retired three years ago, probably out of exhaustion.
Wang Jun replied honestly, "Today was probably an exception."
"Our shop hasn’t had snacks on the menu for ages. Many regulars thought Junior Master Zheng came back to help out temporarily and would only sell for one lunch, so they bought more."
"If Master were here, it would be much better if he could explain the situation to everyone. But Master went to therapy this morning, and when Senior Brother explained, nobody believed him, hence the misunderstanding."
"Once Master is here in the afternoon and explains the situation at night to the customers, selling them continuously for a few days to reassure everyone, this situation won’t happen again."
Qin Huai reluctantly accepted Wang Jun’s explanation, "And it’s been tough on you guys too. I really didn’t realize snacks would sell this well. If I had made only two or three kinds, maybe it would have been okay. Had I known, I should have called Zheng Siyuan before listing the items last night and just listed two."
Wang Jun sincerely said, "It’s not that the snacks sell well; it’s that your skills are great, Qin Huai."
Qin Huai was taken aback.
Throughout his life, Qin Huai had heard many similar compliments, but none were really meaningful.
When selling buns near Sanmalu District, the nearby folks were ordinary street neighbors, and the competition was just average breakfast shops. Qin Huai’s skills were far ahead, and it was no big deal. No matter how good the skills, you couldn’t charge two yuan when others sold the same size buns at one and a half; that’d bring criticism.
Later, in Yunzhong District, he received compliments from another neighborhood. Qin Huai genuinely appreciated it. But the neighbors didn’t just praise Qin Huai; they praised Zheng Siyuan, they praised Zheng Da, equivalently praising every skilled pastry chef.
Now at Huang Ji, a different group praises him again.
This group is more professional than the neighbors, as they are all peers after all.
However, praise from peers can differ.
When Huang Shengli praised, Qin Huai felt it was Huang Shengli’s daily encouraging education.
When Huang An Yao praised, Qin Huai felt it was because Huang An Yao hadn’t tasted his father’s cooking for months, lacking Young Master flare.
When Huang Jia praised, Qin Huai felt it was consistent with encouraging education.
When Dong Shi praised, Qin Huai felt it was just his chatty nature talking nonsense.
But Wang Jun was different.
It’s not that Wang Jun possesses exceptionally high skills or offers exceptionally valuable praise. On the contrary, Wang Jun’s skills among Huang Shengli’s disciples are considered the poorest, not even comparable to Dong Shi, the closed-door disciple.
But Wang Jun is an honest person.
A person who cannot lie, and even if he doesn’t want to answer directly, would still give a tactful response that’s evidently an effort in tactfulness.
"Are my skills... really that good?" Qin Huai asked.
Since coming to Gusu, everyone told him he had great skills. The strong response from today’s lunch customers opened Qin Huai’s eyes, and now even a universally recognized honest person said so, Qin Huai began to believe it a little.
"Of course," Wang Jun nodded without hesitation, "If your skills don’t count as good, then there may not be many pastry chefs nationwide whose skills could be considered good."
Qin Huai was so startled by what seemed like flattery, but was actually sincere from Wang Jun, that he widened his eyes and quietly pulled Wang Jun aside, lest others hear and he comes off as narcissistic.
"Can you broadly describe to me, to what extent are my skills good?" Qin Huai asked in a lowered voice, "No, first tell me what level Zheng Siyuan is."
Qin Huai thought it more reliable to ask about Zheng Siyuan’s level since he was familiar with it and could estimate his own based on it.
"Brother Zheng is the No. 1 pastry chef among the younger generation," Wang Jun said.
What?! Zheng Siyuan is that amazing!
If he’s so amazing, why would he open a pastry shop at the entrance of a neighborhood?
He actually let such an amazing person work like a bull at Yunzhong Restaurant for a month, selling Zhou Sha Wonton for only 10 yuan a bowl.
No wonder Yunzhong Restaurant, which used to have few patrons in the morning, suddenly had more eat-in than noon after Zheng Siyuan arrived. People eating wontons from seven to nine, even without seats, would stand at the door with a bowl.
He thought it was because people in that area hadn’t eaten Zhou Sha Wonton before and they were the only ones selling, so business boomed.
Swallowing hard in shock, Qin Huai asked, "Is that... generally acknowledged?"
Wang Jun thought for a moment, "Not generally acknowledged, but we all think so."
"Brother Zheng is actually quite famous among the southern pastry chef circle, but he doesn’t work in restaurants, doesn’t like networking with peers, nor participates in culinary exchanges, so his fame is limited to our circle."
"Many people don’t even know Brother Zheng’s name, only knowing Junior Master Zheng has an incredible son."
"The community where Brother Zheng’s pastry shop is located in Gusu is actually quite famous too. Many loyal customers of Huang Ji specially bought houses in that area just for the convenience of buying snacks."