An Youyou joyfully went back to frying radish cake, not noticing Pei Xing and Li Hua exchanging a glance.
The underlying message in both their eyes was identical.
A formidable opponent.
So good at sucking up!
No promotion or raise, yet she can act so excited just about the tasks you assign her.
A rival not to be underestimated!
Qin Huai continued cutting radish, at home kneading dough in preparation for dumplings in the afternoon. Cao Guixiang teased, "Looks like Lady Radish Cake’s going to have more work tomorrow. Xiao Qin, you can’t exploit your employees, just assigning tasks without a pay raise for that little girl."
"How could I, Master Cao? Am I that kind of person?" Qin Huai adjusted his movements, continuing to cut radish, "Our restaurant has performance bonuses for chefs making snacks. An Youyou is responsible for frying the radish cakes, so naturally, she gets a share of the commission for frying them."
"Really? With such good perks, I’m tempted to go to your restaurant and fry radish cakes." Cao Guixiang laughed.
Just then, Zhang Chu came back from fishing, carrying an empty bucket, and overheard the last sentence. He asked, "What radish cakes? Gui Xiang, weren’t you making dumplings today? Changed to radish cakes now?"
"I’m supervising Xiao Qin practicing knife skills." Cao Guixiang looked at her husband with resignation, watched Qin Huai’s hand motions closely for a few seconds as he cut the radish, and continued kneading dough, "Perfect timing, Xiao Qin, my Old Zhang has finished preparing the molds you need. You should chat with him."
Zhang Chu stepped into the frame, exposing half of his face, and first complimented: "Xiao Qin, you’re cutting the radish quite nicely now, it’s spot on."
"The last few sets of molds are done, got a fresh coat of paint this morning, now we’re just waiting for it to dry. Xiao Qin, when do you want me to send them over? Are you in a hurry?" Zhang Chu asked cheerfully.
"Grandpa Zhang, I’m not in a hurry. In a few days, I have to go to City A for a catering event, you can send them later." Qin Huai said with a smile, suddenly remembering something, "Oh, right, Master Cao, I forgot to mention, I contacted President Han a couple of days ago to see if there’s anything we need to prep in advance."
"President Han said he’s confident with me handling the pastry section, and there’s nothing special to prep. Assistant Chen set up a group chat at noon today with the other two meat cooking chefs responsible for the birthday banquet."
Cao Guixiang nodded: "That’s good, although you’re a pastry chef and not skilled in meat cooking, in a banquet, the chefs mainly responsible need to communicate and coordinate with each other, setting up a group chat makes pre-event communication easier."
Qin Huai didn’t raise his head and said, "That’s true, I’ve inquired about these two chefs from my friends."
"Tong De Yan is the head chef at Beiping Eight Treasures House, and it’s rumored he has a bad temper, a well-informed friend of mine told me he’s not easy to get along with."
"Zang Mu is a renowned chef in Huaiyang cuisine, reportedly has a gentle temperament but is reticent, not very talkative."
"Since the group was created, only Assistant Chen has spoken in it, the other two chefs haven’t said a word, making me wonder if I should initiate a conversation."
Cao Guixiang finished kneading the dough, placed it on the cutting board to let it naturally ferment, and started preparing the filling.
Chives and egg filling, the vibrant green chives paired with yellow scrambled egg pieces, made for a visually appealing sight.
"Often, collaboration between chefs doesn’t necessarily require much verbal exchange; technical exchange can be achieved through craftsmanship."
"You all are going to City A on the 18th, surely there’ll be preparations ahead, and you’ll meet eventually. You can communicate then; it’s not too late."
Just as Cao Guixiang finished speaking, Qin Huai concluded cutting the last radish.
Qin Huai’s knife skills practice was completed for today; only seasoning practice and making radish cake remained.
"Thank you for your hard work today, Master Cao. I’ll hang up now."
"Alright." Cao Guixiang retracted her phone, glanced thoughtfully at Zhang Chu lurking at the TV cabinet trying to sneak listen but dared not enter the frame, "If you want to join the conversation, come over directly. It’ll be an extra person to help Xiao Qin concentrate."
Zhang Chu chuckled, "I just didn’t want to interrupt your conversation."
"How is Xiao Qin progressing these past days?"
Cao Guixiang rolled her eyes at Zhang Chu: "It’s only been a few days, how can there be significant progress? I chat with Xiao Qin daily, firstly to train his concentration so he doesn’t accidentally cut himself while daydreaming.
"Secondly, Xiao Qin loves talking naturally, which is strange because ordinarily, chatting while working distracts people, reducing efficiency. Contrary to that, Xiao Qin actually performs better while chatting. He always says he has a friend excelling at gossip; they must be exceptionally skilled to shape Xiao Qin into this habit."
Zhang Chu thought for a few seconds, then couldn’t figure it out.
"When might Xiao Qin visit us again?" Zhang Chu asked.
"At his current pace, mid-May." Cao Guixiang replied, "Once he’s proficient at cutting radish, he’ll move on to other things."
"After mastering white radish, it’s onto carrots and potatoes, once those are no issue, cucumbers come next. After that, add difficulty with bamboo shoots, though cutting tofu might take roughly a year."
"After cutting tofu for half a year, if progressing quickly, he can start handling meat within two years."
Zhang Chu exclaimed, "That’s quite a bit of cutting."
"What snacks use carrots and potatoes?"
"Potato pancakes and carrot pancakes." Cao Guixiang answered, "Why do you care about this?"
Zhang Chu chuckled, "Xiao Qin’s snack-making skills are quite good, I want to taste them."
In Qin Huai’s routine of going to work and practicing his knife skills on radish, March 18 arrived quickly.
Cheng Gong booked an A City flight for Qin Huai set for the morning, Qin Huai needed only pack clothes to change; the rest was arranged by Cheng Gong.
Due to Master Qin’s temporary three-day trip for catering, Yunzhong Restaurant will temporarily remove the Four Happiness Glutinous Rice for three days, leaving the preliminary task of radish cake production to Chen An and Li Hua.
An Youyou was already known as Lady Radish Cake among the children, if Master Qin’s trip meant no radish cake, there’d likely be many crying children near Yunzhong Restaurant.
Anyhow, radish cake’s production was simple enough that Chen An could manage alone, and Li Hua volunteered solely for the children’s happiness; Xiao Li unwaveringly served his duty.
At 11:17 a.m. on March 18, Qin Huai arrived in City A.
Cheng Gong said he’d arranged for someone to pick him up, claiming Qin Huai could spot them immediately upon leaving the terminal.
Qin Huai was surprised to see Cheng Gong holding a sign with his name once out.
Brother, aren’t you President Han’s personal assistant?
A lifestyle assistant serving the overbearing president, running errands ?
Dragging a small suitcase packed only with clothes, Qin Huai greeted him.
Welcoming Qin Huai was Cheng Gong’s radiant smile and enthusiastic voice.
"Master Qin traveled a long way; it’s been hard on you. Hungry? Our President Han arranged a casual meal at Imperial Restaurant, the most renowned restaurant in City A. We’ve booked your hotel near Imperial Kitchen, I’ll first take you to drop off your luggage, then we’ll head to Imperial Restaurant together."
"Tomorrow’s birthday banquet is also at Imperial Restaurant, President Han booked the entire restaurant, chefs from Imperial Kitchen will assist you then."
"After the meal, I’ll take you to meet the chefs in the kitchen for familiarity. If we have time and energy, ideally you make a dry run so there’s no mishap tomorrow. How’s that itinerary?"
Qin Huai only saw professionalism in Cheng Gong’s demeanor.
"Of course, that’s fine." Qin Huai agreed briskly, "Are we eating together at noon?"
"And Master Zang Mu; Master Tong De Yan’s flight arrives at 2 p.m. I noticed none of you chatted much in the group, maybe just shy, no worries, I’ll introduce you all."
Qin Huai just smiled, remaining silent, merely gazing at Cheng Gong.
Among all the spirit monster atlases he unlocked, Cheng Gong was undoubtedly the most mysterious.
Qin Huai had ample direct contact time with and channels to inquire about other spirits, but with Cheng Gong, only a mutual like on social media.
Cheng Gong, among the unawakened spirits, seemed the most normal, yet his assignments were least normal.
Qin Huai felt he must seize this time to converse with Cheng Gong thoroughly.
Ideally extracting the second side quest topic.
On seeing Qin Huai’s gaze, Cheng Gong curiously asked, "Master Qin, do you have any other questions?"
"No." Qin Huai shook his head, "I simply think President Han is extremely fortunate to have an assistant as capable as you."
Cheng Gong seemed quite pleased by Qin Huai’s comment: "No, no, meeting a boss like President Han is truly my own fortune."