"You’ve indeed been mimicking all along, I can tell," Master Zhou affird. "And you’ve done it well, capturing the essence."
Just when Qin Huai thought Master Zhou would next ask him about his understanding of egg tarts, Master Zhou shifted the topic elsewhere.
"So, have you noticed any issues with my three apprentices in these past few days?"
Qin Huai: ?
Is this even sothing he should be critiquing?
Among Master Zhou’s three apprentices, aside from Zhao Cheng’an, whose level might be slightly below Qin Huai’s, both Zhou Yan and Wang Jiayi surpass Qin Huai in culinary skills. Especially Wang Jiayi, whose culinary skills and personal style are exceedingly strong—a model master chef.
Except for not eting Master Zhou’s standards to graduate, he has perfectly t all the standards of a master chef at Zhiwei Restaurant.
"Uh..." Qin Huai hesitated a bit, but still said, "Zhao Cheng’an is a little rigid."
"Just looking at him making snacks, you can’t find any fault. But he’s a bit too by-the-book; sotis it even feels like a machine’s making the snacks, not a person."
"Lacks any bit of personal style."
"Sister Yan... is slightly lacking in confidence. Both her culinary skills and palate are quite good, and I believe her intuition is as well, but she just doesn’t trust herself. The White Jade Shrimp Roll is her creation, but when she encounters difficulties in snack developnt, her first reaction isn’t to trust her intuition but to ask others for advice. Whether it’s asking Brother Jia Yi or Zhao Cheng’an, she trusts them over herself."
"She’d even trust my taste buds over her own judgnt."
"As for Brother Jia Yi, I think he doesn’t have any problems; at least from my level, I can’t see any issues with him."
Master Zhou nodded more contentedly, remaining silent.
Now Qin Huai was even more perplexed.
Whether Master Zhou was giving him sarcastic or outright critical feedback, Qin Huai could take it.
But what kind of tactic is ’no feedback’?
"Master Zhou, then I..."
Master Zhou interrupted Qin Huai again: "Do you rember when you first ca here, I told you that your snacks always had shadows of others?"
Qin Huai nodded.
"That’s a reflection of your talent, but also the reason for your bottleneck."
"Lao San’s situation is almost identical to yours, but Lao San doesn’t have your talent, so you can see the rigidity in his snacks, but he’s been unable to change it for years."
"I believe observation is a crucial process. If a chef can see a lot just with their eyes, grasping more intuitive knowledge becos simpler for them."
"You could pinpoint the core just by watching, without ever having made egg tarts."
"And you have fird up your basic skills without a master guiding you hand-in-hand."
"What I can teach you isn’t technical; it’s about awareness."
"Xiao Tan told that you encountered major issues while making the Four Happiness Rolls. Your Finger Skills have actually improved significantly recently, but you suddenly realized that at your current level, you couldn’t make the rolls."
"It’s not that your skill level is lacking; your hands are stable, you have a foundation. It’s in terms of awareness that you’ve not caught up."
"I actually don’t like teaching awareness, not even to my own apprentices. Take Lao San for example; he’s considered smart and talented, but his stubborn mind just can’t get around it these years, stubborn as a mule. Beating or scolding doesn’t work either. Letting him travel every year, hoping to broaden his horizons, relax, gain so insights... but every year he just brings back a bunch of souvenirs."
"So I’ve been hesitating these past few days about putting in the effort."
"But now, it seems, Xiao Qin, you’re worth my effort."
"You’re much better than Lao San; it’s not that you can’t open up or lack the talent. You just need soone to lead you on the right path."
"I’m very willing to be that guide."
Just as Master Zhou’s voice fell, Tan Wei’an ca back with a tray of tea. It was the Liu’an Guapian tea he drank himself. Considering neither Qin Huai nor Master Zhou had Liu’an Guapian today, and Tan Wei’an had been away for so long, he must have brewed himself a pot.
Tan Wei’an ca back to continue having egg tarts.
Master Zhou glanced at Tan Wei’an, slightly annoyed at his timing.
"Only brought tea for yourself? What about for and Xiao Qin? You didn’t pour us so Liu’an Guapian. Xiao Tan, have you been spending too much ti on your phone lately, with declining vision and lack of insight?"
Tan Wei’an hadn’t expected such a fierce rebuke upon returning, and was montarily dumbfounded, instinctively responding, "Sorry, Master Zhou, I’ll go back and pour so tea right away."
He turned to leave, but after a couple of steps he stopped.
Wait a minute, aren’t I a Direct Disciple, no less a super well-connected one?
Master Zhou, didn’t I eat spicy strips in front of you when I was a kid? And when I failed elentary school math, wasn’t it my grandpa who smacked right before you?
I am a Direct Disciple, after all; isn’t brewing and serving tea what ordinary apprentices do?
How did I go from a Direct Disciple to doing the work of an ordinary apprentice in the ti it took to eat three egg tarts?
Master Zhou, Master Zhou, do you still rember ? I’m Xiao Tan, Tan Wei’an!
In these past few days, you kept asking plenty of questions about Qin Huai, and I’ve been nothing but open and forthcoming!
Master Zhou, Master Zhou, you can’t slap with no warning, Master Zhou!
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