"Is the last batch already steaming?"
"Count, report the numbers!"
"How much longer until they’re done?"
"Customers 1102, 1103, 1104, 1105, and 1106, please pick up your meals."
In the kitchen of Huang Ji, Tan Wei’an felt like he had just plowed two acres. Although it seemed like he hadn’t done much heavy labor, just constantly cooking, mixing fillings, and wrapping baozi, he was exhausted.
He touched his back, covered in a thin layer of sweat.
"I’m really worn out. Even Zhiwei Restaurant only has such business around the New Year, I bet," Tan Wei’an sighed while cleaning up the culinary station and talking to Guli.
Guli silently and slowly cleaned, not responding.
Tan Wei’an was long used to his little junior brother’s taciturn nature and continued, "I heard from Dong Shi that when Qin Huai was in junior high, his uncle almost introduced him to our Zhiwei Restaurant as an apprentice. Which master do you think would have taken him as a disciple? Master Zhou? Master Li? Master Liu? I think it would definitely have been Master Zhou, the other masters couldn’t compete."
"His talent is undeniable. It’s like the heavens are asking him to dine with a bowl in hand. The other day, when making Four Happiness glutinous rice, with such complicated ingredients, he and Zheng Siyuan dared to try it out, even trying different methods."
"I think Yu Yang is almost desperate to catch Qin Huai’s eye and become his disciple," Tan Wei’an laughed.
Yu Yang is a chef at Zhiwei Restaurant who knows a bit about massage.
"Master Qin is impressive," Guli suddenly said, watching Qin Huai stretch lazily and chat with Zheng Siyuan behind the culinary station.
Tan Wei’an suddenly realized that he might have inadvertently touched a sore spot for his little junior brother. When it comes to talent, Guli and Qin Huai are worlds apart, one in the 18th layer of hell, the other directly in heaven.
"Little brother, what I mean is..."
"Master Qin said my fundamentals are strong, but I haven’t fully grasped them," Guli said.
Tan Wei’an didn’t expect Qin Huai to have told Guli that, and was taken aback: "Well... actually, several masters have said that, little brother, you’re willing to work hard, and your fundamentals are very solid."
"But talent... it’s lacking, you can’t comprehend it."
Being a chef depends on talent.
Diligence makes up for the lack of talent, the early bird catches the worm. These eight words seem simple, but to truly achieve that, the time and sweat invested are unimaginable.
"Master Qin told me to practice more," Guli said, "He said my techniques were wrong, I haven’t fully grasped them, and can’t apply them flexibly because I haven’t practiced enough."
"Once I truly reach a certain amount of practice, I’ll get it."
"I think Master Qin is right," Guli looked at Qin Huai, "Master Qin may seem a bit lazy, sometimes chatting with Dong Shi while making snacks, and doesn’t like making the same snacks all the time, always liking to try new things."
"But today I realized that Master Qin actually practices a lot in private."
"A lot of things have already become muscle memory to him, I think Master Qin just wanted to tell me that once you practice to his level, you can fully grasp things."
"Brother," Guli looked at Tan Wei’an with a burning gaze, "I want to practice an extra hour every day!"
Little brother, you already work an average of 14 hours a day, you’re already the most overworked in Zhiwei Restaurant, if you add more, can your body handle it?
Also, could Qin Huai really be an undercover hardworking master?
Tan Wei’an began to recall carefully Qin Huai’s status during work today.
Calm, composed, efficient.
At first, Tan Wei’an didn’t pay attention, because from the moment he saw "Taste" this morning, he’d already recognized Qin Huai as a big shot, the giant whose snacks graced the cover of "Taste’s" annual opening issue.
Tan Wei’an felt that if his snacks made it to the cover of "Taste," from then on, whenever he went out, he wouldn’t look down, his eyes would only float towards the sky.
Whatever a big shot does is justifiable. Being calm and composed is the basic standard of a big shot.
But with Guli’s reminder, Tan Wei’an belatedly realized that Qin Huai truly seemed very adept at working.
Qin Huai could keep up with the speed of the Zhiwei Restaurant helpers.
This is no simple task. Zhiwei Restaurant is known as a gathering place for hardworking masters, where everyone’s work efficiency is top-notch. It’s normal for Zheng Da to fall behind; it’s Qin Huai keeping up that’s unusual.
Thinking of this, Tan Wei’an was taken aback.
Could it be that Qin Huai has been secretly working hard behind the scenes?
He seemed to come to work at Huang Ji every morning, rest after lunch, practice a bit of unrelated things in the afternoon, then take the employee meal to the Bone Setting Shop to relax, and leisurely go home. But in reality, he was secretly working hard where no one could see, outworking everyone.
Tan Wei’an took a long, breathless gasp.
Qin Huai is truly terrifying.
Having talent is one thing, but working so hard too.
It’s truly admirable.
Qin Huai was stretching his neck.
"I heard the numbers outside have surpassed a thousand, how many buns and mantou did we make today? How many of your fresh meat mooncakes sold?" Qin Huai chatted while waiting for food, full of energy.
"I don’t know, didn’t count," Zheng Siyuan shook his head, "there should be many that missed their numbers, it’s impossible to have 1,000 customers in one afternoon."
Qin Huai finished stretching his neck and moved on to stretching his shoulders, almost ready to do a full set of radio gymnasics.
"Aren’t you tired?" Zheng Siyuan was puzzled.
He still remembered when Qin Huai first came to Huang Ji, back when customer flow seemed a lot, but compared to now, it was just that. Yet, even back then, that level of customer flow nearly wore Qin Huai out.
Now the number of helpers has increased, the workload has almost doubled, and Qin Huai not only isn’t worn out, but seems even more energetic.