The Game of Life

Chapter 563: Chapter 561: Bole (Fifth Update, Request for Monthly Votes!) (Extra for Entomologist Alliance Hierarch!)

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“Mr. Siyuan’s boss, right? Siyuan often speaks of you to me, and he said you have a keen eye for talent, deciding to recruit Siyuan to your shop after just one bite of mooncake. I really appreciate that. Siyuan might be a bit stubborn and I’m sure he has caused you some inconvenience. I should have had Siyuan take me to visit you.”

Master Huang said with a smile.

Ling Guangzhao found the perfect excuse to dismount from his high horse, fading his yellowed smile and taking a seat along with the flow of conversation.

“Not at all, it’s Master Zheng who has helped me. Without him, our Eight-treasure House wouldn’t be as bustling as it is today. I should be the one thanking Master Zheng; there’s no trouble at all.” As the owner of Eight-treasure House, Ling Guangzhao was also very skilled in offering platitudes.

While Ling Guangzhao and Master Huang were busy exchanging compliments, Zheng Siyuan, bearing a grudge against the Longjing pastry, ordered a cup of Longjing tea for Ling Guangzhao.

The mutual flattery between Ling Guangzhao and Master Huang came to a halt when the waitress brought over the mung bean cakes and Longjing tea. Master Huang took a sip to moisten his throat before boasting to Jiang Weiguo and Jiang Weiming about his breathtaking debut in the state-owned restaurant, receiving unanimous praise and admiration from both diners and leaders.

Ling Guangzhao picked up a piece of mung bean cake and chewed it tastelessly, secretly observing the expressions and actions of everyone present.

Master Huang was energetically bragging.

Jiang Weiming and Jiang Weiguo listened leisurely to the stories, nodding their heads from time to time to show they were paying attention.

Jiang Jiankang was quietly cracking sunflower seeds, simply being an observer.

Zheng Siyuan pointed out ten minor flaws in the mung bean cake to Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng looked helplessly as Zheng Siyuan analyzed, his eyes full of resistance.

Ling Guangzhao felt slightly relieved; he thought that regardless of the relationship between the Jiang family members and his beloved Master Zheng, the current situation didn’t look at all like Siyuan had been poached by Taifeng Building.

“Siyuan, I didn’t quite understand what you said just now. Can you explain in detail what your relationship with the two Mr. Jiangs is?” Ling Guangzhao quietly asked.

Zheng Siyuan had no choice but to temporarily stop picking on the poor mung bean cake and explain to Ling Guangzhao his complex relationship with the Jiang family.

Jiang Feng even felt a bit relieved because he thought the mung bean cake made by this teahouse was quite delicious, pure in flavor and soft to the bite; he liked this kind of mung bean cake.

While Zheng Siyuan and Ling Guangzhao talked, Jiang Feng quickly finished the mung bean cake on his plate. After finishing, he still craved more and went to ask the waitress for another serving.

Time for chatting is always fleeting; Master Huang’s storytelling had only progressed to when his apprentice got married, and Jiang Weijin personally cooked the wedding banquet, when Jiang Feng and Jiang Jiankang had to leave and return to Taifeng Building to prepare for the evening’s business.

The two elder gentlemen could go back later, but Jiang Feng and Jiang Jiankang had to leave.

As someone who had also managed a restaurant, Master Huang was very clear about such matters. He got up, ready to escort Jiang Feng and Jiang Jiankang to the stairway. His story wasn’t finished, and he wanted to have more time to chat with the two gentlemen.

Seeing it was getting late, Ling Guangzhao also prepared to return to Eight-treasure House and got up to say goodbye to Master Huang.

“I really am sorry, Mr. Ling. You came all this way to see me, and I ought to have spent more time chatting with you. Instead, we ended up talking and I completely forgot, just focused on my own stories.” Master Huang felt a bit embarrassed; he had completely forgotten about Ling Guangzhao as he got caught up in his storytelling.

“No problem at all, your stories are fascinating. I was so engrossed I forgot about the time.” Ling Guangzhao replied smilingly, although in reality, he had been captivated by the stories Zheng Siyuan was telling him and lost track of time.

“Siyuan, you should go back with Mr. Ling, don’t delay your work for the evening.” Zheng Siyuan had told Master Huang earlier that he had taken half a day off specifically to visit him.

“Today Siyuan…” Ling Guangzhao was about to say that Zheng Siyuan had the day off and didn’t need to return with him, only to be interrupted by Zheng Siyuan.

“Then Uncle Master, I’ll be leaving now. When my father comes over in a couple of days, let’s all have a meal together.” Zheng Siyuan said.

“Sure, let’s have a meal together in a few days.” Master Huang replied with a smile.

Zheng Siyuan and the others left the teahouse and went their separate ways at the crossroads.

“Siyuan, do you need me to take you back to rest?” Ling Guangzhao asked.

“There’s no need to rest. Mr. Ling, let’s head back to the shop,” Zheng Siyuan replied with a smile.

“Are you sure you don’t need to rest?” As long as Zheng Siyuan didn’t jump ship, Ling Guangzhao didn’t mind him taking a few extra days off.

It’s okay if the turnover is a little low for a few days; that’s better than losing an employee.

“No need to rest. Let’s hurry back. If we’re late, we won’t catch the first batch coming out of the oven.” Zheng Siyuan was eager to return to the Eight-treasure House kitchen to knead his favorite dough and make his favorite pastries.

Ling Guangzhao felt somewhat moved and asked Zheng Siyuan to wait at the corner while he went to the parking lot to get his car.

Having been Zheng Siyuan’s boss for several months, Ling Guangzhao believed he understood him somewhat.

Master Huang was right; Zheng Siyuan was a stubborn person, sometimes obstinate, but his stubbornness was quite unique.

“`

He reveled in his love for work.

Although Ling Guangzhao was a capitalist boss, it didn’t mean he was a bloodsucking leech always preying on his employees. Like Jiang Feng, he never underpaid a cent of the overtime compensation; it was just that at Eight-treasure House, the overtime pay was lower compared to that of Taifeng Building.

Since working at Eight-treasure House, Zheng Siyuan rarely took a day off, averaging out to less than one day off per month. This wasn’t because Ling Guangzhao wouldn’t let him rest; it was Zheng Siyuan who didn’t want to take a break.

Zheng Siyuan was a white chef who took immense pleasure in the process of making pastries. He never considered pastry-making as a job, but rather as a form of entertainment.

Back when Zheng Siyuan used to run his pastry shop in Gusu, he would keep his shop open until the afternoon of New Year’s Eve. He would then close the shop to join his family for the New Year’s Eve dinner and reopen for business on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

He not only enjoyed the making process but also the selling process. He had to see with his own eyes all the pastries he made get bought by the customers before he could contentedly move on to making the next batch. Aside from making pastries, Zheng Siyuan’s greatest hobby was to read customer reviews. To satisfy this hobby, Ling Guangzhao insisted that the servers must give out comment cards to each customer who ordered pastries—offering a free juice for a completed card—just so Zheng Siyuan could read customer evaluations every day.

Ling Guangzhao even hired two extra helpers specifically for Zheng Siyuan to spare him from dealing with menial tasks.

While driving, Ling Guangzhao seriously reflected on his actions during the time he had been Zheng Siyuan’s boss. He concluded that other than offering a slightly lower base salary and a tad lower overtime pay, he had done a very good job in all other respects. Especially when it came to satisfying the spiritual needs of his employees, he was impeccable.

“Siyuan, do you know exactly when your dad is coming to Beijing?” Ling Guangzhao asked while waiting for the traffic light at an intersection.

“Not sure, he should be arriving in a couple of days. He hasn’t booked the flight yet as he’s waiting to see what works best with his schedule,” Zheng Siyuan answered.

“Let me know when he’s booked it, and I’ll give you a couple more days off. You should take the time to show your dad around Beiping properly. I’ll find someone to put together a travel guide for you. Follow the guide, and you’re guaranteed a great time,” Ling Guangzhao said.

Zheng Siyuan initially wanted to decline, but after thinking it over, he felt that Ling Guangzhao had a point. Having worked in Beiping for so long, it was time he showed his father around.

If possible, he’d bring his master along as well. That way, he wouldn’t have to talk much since his father and his master could chat nonstop.

“By the way, Siyuan, didn’t you tell me you spent this morning and noon at Taifeng Building’s kitchen? How do you think our Eight-treasure House compares?” Ling Guangzhao asked tentatively.

“They are both good, but Taifeng Building is busier,” Zheng Siyuan said.

Ling Guangzhao’s heart sank a little.

“But the white chefs are not as good; they can’t compare to ours,” Zheng Siyuan was actually praising himself, and indeed, he was.

Ling Guangzhao perked up once more.

“What do you think of me?” Ling Guangzhao glanced sideways at Zheng Siyuan, “I mean, how do you find the working conditions at Eight-treasure House? Since the New Year just ended, I’ve been doing some work reviews and reflections. As the boss, I always need to reflect, review, and improve myself constantly so that our Eight-treasure House can thrive and prosper, right?”

Zheng Siyuan instantly regarded him with respect, thinking to himself that Ling Guangzhao truly deserved to be a grand restaurant owner for conducting annual reviews.

No wonder his pastry shop in Gusu had always had a good reputation yet the business was lukewarm; he had been missing this crucial step.

“I think you’re doing very well, you’re very responsible, and I don’t see any flaws,” Zheng Siyuan said earnestly.

Hearing such praise, Ling Guangzhao was greatly relieved, “I’m not worthy of such high praise, Siyuan. You’re exaggerating, truly exaggerating.”

“It’s not an exaggeration. I sincerely believe that,” Zheng Siyuan said with a solemn face. “You are my ‘noble person’, and in my eyes, everything at Eight-treasure House is very good.”

Ling Guangzhao was taken aback because he suddenly realized that Zheng Siyuan was not just exchanging compliments as a business courtesy.

He even felt a bit ashamed, realizing that he had never told Zheng Siyuan that the commission he’d been giving him was far lower than what other restaurants offered.

He might be the ‘noble person’, but he’d skimped a bit on the sustenance he provided to his ‘maxima’.

“Siyuan, you’ve been working at Eight-treasure House for nearly half a year now, haven’t you?” Ling Guangzhao said.

“About that long,” Zheng Siyuan nodded.

“After a few days, I’ll have someone draft a new contract. You’ve been with us for half a year now; you can be considered a veteran employee, and your treatment should improve as well,” Ling Guangzhao began redefining the concept of a veteran employee.

“Oh,” Zheng Siyuan wasn’t particularly interested; he was only interested in making pastries and reading customer reviews.

“By the way, Mr. Ling, I noticed today at Taifeng Building that their ordering system and evaluation mechanism are different from ours. Their evaluations are done directly on a tablet, with both text and voice feedback, and they are specifically for individual dishes. Customers can write comments and also score them.”

“What do you think about us adopting this evaluation system at Eight-treasure House? I think it’s pretty good,” Zheng Siyuan suggested.

“Sure, I’ll ask Jiang Feng tonight about who set up their evaluation system, and I’ll get a similar one for us,” Ling Guangzhao nodded in agreement.