The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 485 Return to Shanshi
On the second day, Qin Huai's banana and orange pasta dumplings showed a visible improvement.

Progress was still being made on the third day.

Continued progress on day 4.

There was still progress on the 5th day.

Zhao Cheng'an was completely dumbfounded. Although Qin Huai was taught by Master Zhou during work hours and then received one-on-one theoretical tutoring from Zhao Cheng'an after get off work, it was normal for him to make progress given his talent. But this progress was too persistent.

"Persistent progress"—does that sound like human language?
At this point, some people might ask why Qin Huai was able to improve every day. The answer is simple: he had so much room for improvement. Even after seven consecutive days of improvement, there was still plenty of room for further progress.

But Qin Huai can only progress this far for now. It's not that the progress bar is stuck, but that Qin Huai is finally about to end his exchange at Zhiweiju and return to Shanshi.

It's August 20th. Chen Gong is on annual leave, and everyone will be gathering at Luo Jun's house for a tea party with everyone present. Zhao Cheng'an's bad habit still occurs from time to time. He's eager to go to Shanshi to learn from the experienced elders who have already awakened, how to better integrate past and present lives, ideally taking the essence and discarding the dross.

Just thinking about boarding a plane to Shanshi soon made Zhao Cheng'an very excited. His excitement and joy were written all over his face. In Master Zhou's eyes, this excitement was interpreted as his good-for-nothing apprentice's excitement about the upcoming life of slacking off.

Master Zhou glared at Zhao Cheng'an with a hint of disappointment, shook his head and ignored him, then turned to Qin Huai and said earnestly, "Little Qin, although you've been at Zhiweiju for a few months now, you haven't really learned anything yet. You finally started to learn some proper skills, but you're going back after only a short time...sigh."

“You have businesses in Shanshi, so I can’t keep you here and delay your business and making money. Come to Zhiweiju often when you have time, and you can come and chat anytime. Xiao Su said that his house is vacant for you, so come and stay whenever you have time.”

Boss Su quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, yes, not only Master Qin, but Xiao An can also come to Zhiweiju whenever he has time. We at Zhiweiju really need an injection of fresh blood to motivate and inspire our ordinary apprentices. But why doesn't Xiao An travel with you by plane? Why does he insist on taking the high-speed rail?"

Qin Huai said, "An Youyou had too much luggage, and the plane's baggage allowance was overweight. She didn't want to spend the money to check her luggage, nor did she want to spend extra money to mail it back. So I booked her a high-speed rail ticket so she could take the high-speed rail back."

"When she came, she had three or four suitcases that she borrowed from her colleagues. It's true that it's easy to damage suitcases by mail. Since she brought it up herself, I didn't say anything. It's a bit troublesome to have a lot of luggage, but since she was able to bring so much luggage from Shanshi to Hangzhou by herself, it shouldn't be a big problem for her to bring so much luggage back now. I've arranged for someone to pick her up at the high-speed rail station."

Boss Su suddenly realized and exclaimed, "Xiao An is really good at enduring hardship."

No wonder he's a formidable asset that I always take with me when I go on exchange trips!
When Qin Huai visited Zhiweiju for an exchange, Boss Su couldn't pick him up at the high-speed rail station because he had a meeting. This time, when Qin Huai left, Boss Su even skipped the meeting to come to the airport to see him off, and volunteered to drive everyone to the airport.

When Zhao Cheng'an was waiting for Qin Huai to pick him up at the entrance of the community with his suitcase, he found that it was Boss Su driving. He was so frightened that he thought Boss Su had changed his mind and refused to approve his leave request, so he had specially driven over to tell him that he didn't need to go to Shanshi and should just stay at Zhiweiju and do his job.

"Little Qin, about that thing you mentioned last time..." Boss Su wanted to say something more, but was stopped by Master Zhou's dissatisfied look, and swallowed his words, giving Master Zhou a look that said, "You go first."

Master Zhou cleared his throat and continued, "I'm glad you want to learn how to make steamed buns and have the intention and willingness to develop in this direction. There aren't many chefs who are willing to spend the time and effort to make steamed buns these days. You can easily make a three-ingredient bun or a five-ingredient bun and sell it for tens of yuan. But the time it takes to make a steamed bun is enough to make several steamers of buns. No matter how amazing or luxurious the steamed bun is, it's impossible to sell it for several thousand or tens of thousands of yuan each."

"Without a genuine passion for this, very few people are willing to spend the time to delve into it."

"But practicing making dough figurines isn't something you can do overnight. Once you've mastered bananas, you can make oranges, and once you've mastered oranges, you can make peaches. There are so many kinds of fruits alone, not to mention nuts like walnuts and red dates. Going further up, there are pheasants, phoenixes, pandas, dragons, and cranes bringing longevity. These dough figurines that test not only skills and imagination but also the chef's personal aesthetic sense and artistry are endless and have no upper limit. At that level, it's not just about pursuing resemblance; after all, you can't make dough figurines taste like meat."

“When you were at Zhiweiju, I didn’t feel there was anything to rush, but now that you’re leaving, I’m a little anxious. I feel like there’s still so much I haven’t taught you. Although it’s not as difficult as it used to be when you went out, the distance between Shanshi and Hangzhou is so far. I think Xiao Tan’s suggestion is pretty good. It doesn’t matter where you open a community canteen. You can open it right across from Zhiweiju. Xiao Su definitely won’t have any objections, right, Xiao Su?” Chef Zhou looked at Boss Su.

Mr. Su, who was already somewhat lost in thought: Huh?

"No, no," Boss Su quickly replied. "Let alone opening a community canteen opposite Zhiweiju, what if Xiao Qin opens a white food restaurant opposite Zhiweiju? At that time, our two companies will be in healthy competition, encouraging each other and making progress together."

After saying that, Boss Su seized the opportunity to ask, "Xiao Qin, you said last time that Master Zhou and I have no experience, and it will definitely be difficult to develop a pastry recipe that is suitable for mass production and can be preserved for a long time. Why don't we take such big steps and try simple pastries with a shelf life of 7 to 15 days first, and sell them only in Hangzhou? I think that's a great idea."

"I don't know if you're interested, Xiao Qin. If you are, we can discuss it in detail after you return to Shanshi. It's okay if you're not in Hangzhou; we can have an online meeting."

"I'm not afraid to tell you, although I worked as a pastry chef for over ten years, I haven't done much pastry making in recent years and my skills have become rusty. Chef Zhou has been making mid-to-high-end and high-end pastries all these years, and rarely makes ordinary, simple, home-style pastries. Compared to you, neither of us has as much experience in this area as you."

Qin Huai never expected that Boss Su would specially drive him and Zhao Cheng'an to the airport today, because he really had something important to discuss, and it was something that involved Zhiweiju's big money-making business for the next few years.

Qin Huai thought for a moment, neither agreeing nor refusing, and gave an ambiguous answer: "If you have time and if you need my advice, Mr. Su, I may be able to offer some of my thoughts within my capabilities."

Hearing Qin Huai say this, Boss Su understood what Qin Huai meant and said no more, giving Master Zhou back the time to talk with Qin Huai.

Master Zhou went on and on about the precautions for making the noodles, repeatedly instructing Qin Huai on how to practice after returning to Shanshi, emphasizing that he shouldn't overwork himself, but also shouldn't slack off. He added that if Qin Huai still had any questions, he could ask Zhao Cheng'an. Although Zhao Cheng'an's illness hadn't fully healed, he had studied with Master Zhou for many years and possessed a wealth of theoretical knowledge, certainly knowing more than Qin Huai.

Unlike Cao Guixiang, who could video call Qin Huai for online teaching, Chef Zhou didn't like this model. He felt that he couldn't see the chef's specific techniques clearly just by watching videos, and he couldn't teach without the person in front of him.

Qin Huai expressed his understanding, saying that every chef has their own habits.

Master Zhou chatted with Qin Huai until Qin Huai had to board the plane, then watched him and Zhao Cheng'an go through security. His face was full of reluctance to see his apprentice off, but it was unclear which apprentice he was reluctant to see go...

Zhao Cheng'an, this legitimate direct disciple, didn't care.

While Master Zhou was rambling on about future precautions to Qin Huai, he tried all the snacks Master Zhou had made for them to take on the plane, picking out his favorites and eating them heartily.

We were almost full before we even went through security.

"Burp." Zhao Cheng'an let out a loud burp at the boarding gate, indicating that he had finished eating. He would be drinking beverages on the plane later and didn't have extra stomach room for snacks, so he handed the remaining snacks to Qin Huai.

"My master made some really delicious pear cakes today, so he specially saved two for you. Eat them quickly."

Qin Huai quietly began to eat.

“What were Boss Su and my master talking about with you just now? I didn’t listen carefully, but I heard Boss Su say that he wanted to get you to do business. Was it a pastry factory business? Do you think Boss Su can succeed in doing this?” Zhao Cheng’an asked.

Qin Huai continued eating her snacks silently, and only slowly answered after a while:
"I don't know, I have no experience in that area."

"All I know is that Mr. Su is indeed very interested in this business. He has encountered just as many obstacles with the pastry recipes as the two of us. Given his personality, I believe that as long as he wants to do it, he will succeed one day."

Zhao Cheng'an's eyes lit up.

Qin Huai: "What do you want to do?"

"Didn't Xia Murui give me several hundred thousand yuan in pocket money last time in Beiping? I kept that money without using it to replenish my inventory, but I feel uneasy just keeping it in my bank account. I want to take it out and do something with it." "You have intermediate management skills, so you're more reliable. If you think it's going to work out, I'll ask Boss Su if he could let me invest some money in the factory, for my master's sake. It would be so embarrassing to lose money if Xia Murui gave me this."

Qin Huai recalled Zhao Cheng'an's account, which was covered in green (indicating losses), and quipped, "So you have the nerve to show your face in public after using your own money to buy more shares?"

"Don't worry."

"By the way, how much have you improved your pastry skills lately?" Zhao Cheng'an asked.

"More than 7000."

Speaking of this, Qin Huai simply opened the game panel in the void and glanced at his proficiency: "I only need 2100 points to level up."

"That'll be quick. You'll reach the critical value after a few more days of grinding."

Indeed, it was very fast. On the first day, Qin Huai gained 93 points of proficiency in making noodles. After Zhao Cheng'an gave him extra help that day, Qin Huai made noodles for several more hours and gained another 78 points of proficiency.

Qin Huai initially thought this speed was already quite fast, but in the following days, his proficiency level increased more and more dramatically each day. Perhaps because he had gotten the hang of making noodles, Qin Huai gained a staggering 1400 proficiency points in a single day, an unprecedented efficiency that he couldn't replicate later.

This speed even made Qin Huai have an absurd suspicion—was he a bit of a deadline-chasing type? Although no one stipulated that he had to achieve a major breakthrough, reach the master level in a certain skill, or complete a side quest before August 20, he was actually under pressure.

Chen Gong's words during the video call that day inspired Qin Huai to set a small goal in his mind. August 20th was a very important day, a day when everyone would gather in Shanshi. Qin Huai felt that something worth celebrating should happen on this important day to match its significance.

Therefore, Qin Huai really wanted to achieve a small breakthrough in a certain area before August 20th.

Of course, it's already August 20th, and there's still no breakthrough.

I haven't upgraded my dough to Master level, I haven't made any progress on any side quests, and my relationship with An Youyou is just so-so—anyway, I haven't found any new side quests.

But it seems there's been a breakthrough.

Qin Huai was well aware that he was making progress every day. However, these days he had entrusted An Youyou to Zhao Cheng'an, letting Zhao Cheng'an take charge of An Youyou's teaching, while he devoted himself entirely to practicing making noodles. But he and An Youyou still had interactions.

The favorability rating also increased.

As Qin Huai was lost in thought, Zhao Cheng'an patted him on the shoulder, indicating that it was time to board the plane.

"What are you thinking about? You looked a little worried just now," Zhao Cheng'an asked.

"It's nothing, I just felt that something special should happen on such an important day. But it seems like today is a very ordinary day, so I'm a little disappointed."

Qin Huai had barely finished speaking when his phone rang.

It was Gong Liang calling.

Qin Huai was stunned when he saw the caller ID. He hadn't contacted Gong Liang for a while. It wasn't because Gong Liang had finished a certain number of tasks, or because Master Qin had forgotten about the generous red envelopes that Master Gong had given him.

The main problem is the lack of opportunity.

Gong Liang lived in Suzhou for most of the year. His family, friends, relationships, and business were all in Suzhou. Except for business trips, Gong Liang rarely left Suzhou.

When Qin Huai was in Suzhou, Gong Liang lived next door to him. Gong Liang regularly worked in the kitchen of Huang Ji Restaurant, so Qin Huai could see Gong Liang every day. Gong Liang always made sure that the two of them would have something to talk about whenever Qin Huai saw him.

To be precise, in Qin Huai's interpersonal relationship and interactions with Gong Liang, Gong Liang was always the more proactive party.

When Qin Huai was not in Suzhou, her communication with Gong Liang was limited to liking each other's posts on WeChat Moments and occasionally commenting, asking Gong Liang if he had any good tutor recommendations.

It's quite a strange thing that Gong Liang suddenly took the initiative to call Qin Huai.

"Hello, Mr. Gong." Qin Huai answered the phone.

"Master Qin, you haven't boarded the plane yet, have you? I was with Zheng Da just now, and he told me that you're going back to Shanshi today."

"Yes, I'm boarding the plane."

"Oh, what a coincidence. My daughter Baozhu is going to Shanshi to participate in some kind of design competition. My wife and I happened to be free, so we went with her. Her flight is this afternoon. I originally thought you would stay in Hangzhou for a while, so I didn't plan to tell you. I was even thinking of checking in at your Yunzhong Canteen, taking a picture, and posting it on my WeChat Moments to surprise you."

"What a coincidence! Master Qin, you're also returning to Shanshi today. My daughter's competition is going to last for more than a month, so I've rented an apartment in Yunzhong Community for a short period. I was wondering if you're free tonight, Master Qin? If you are, I'd love to treat you to dinner!"

Gong Liang's enthusiastic voice came from the other end of the phone, leaving Qin Huai completely stunned.

He felt that he was getting confused more and more often lately.

"Um... I might not have time tonight. I'm having dinner with some friends. I'm boarding a plane now, so let's talk after I land."

"Mr. Gong, are you planning to stay in Shanshi for more than a month this time?"

"Yes, to accompany Baozhu in the competition."

"Master Qin, I won't bother you anymore since you're boarding. I'll hang up now." Gong Liang hung up the phone.

Qin Huai met Zhao Cheng'an's probing gaze, paused for a moment, and said with some complicated feelings, "Things aren't peaceful anymore."

"Now all the spirits and monsters have truly gathered together."

(End of this chapter)