Chapter 4: Open for business — You city people really know how to have fun.
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Tang Mi's mood felt completely different when she visited 『Sweet Dream』 this time round.
After she light-heartedly stepped into the store, she found that the decorations were a little different. The set of tableware had been swapped, and the tablecloths had been changed to a light yellow. Under the soft, hazy light were the words 『Sweet Dream』.
Inside the restaurant manager’s office, Tang Mi read the contract as she listened to the manager speak. "The trial period is three months. If you perform well, you'll be promoted to be a regular employee. A pastry chef's hours are from 10AM to 7PM, and if it gets busy, then it may be later. Every month, the second Monday is a fixed rest day. For the remainder of the time, your breaks get rotated with your colleagues. Any questions?"
Tang Mi shook her head, "None." With this salary, there definitely wouldn't be any questions.
"If there aren't any problems, sign here. The restaurant is open for business next week. You can start today, mainly to familiarise yourself with the job and how to clean up."
"Okay." Tang Mi picked up the pen and signed her name like the flying dragons and dancing phoenixes.
The restaurant manager examined the contract and was satisfied that there were no issues. "When the restaurant opens up, there will be an order for an engagement party. All of the other departments will be busy preparing, so you'll be responsible for the cake."
Tang Mi was stunned. Handing her such a huge assignment the moment she started..
"What, you don't think you can do it?
"No, it's just that a wedding cake is different from normal cakes. You need to discuss the design with the bride."
The manager laughed. "This, you don't have to worry about. The bride is my friend; she specifically came to us for service. Her cake has already been designed by herself, you just need to make it."
Tang Mi's stress level was immediately cut in half. "If that's the case, then it's no problem."
Once the contract was finalised, the restaurant manager rounded up all of the other employees and gave a brief introduction, "This is our new pastry chef, Tang Mi; let's all give a warm welcome."
Everyone gave a round of applause. A handsome man wearing a suit smiled at her and said, "Tang Mi, this name is really sweet." 1
Tang Mi said with some embarrassment, "That's what everyone says."
The restaurant manager pointed to the handsome man and said to Tang Mi, "His name is Zhang Xu and he is the lobby manager." 2
"Hello Manager Zhang," Tang Mi greeted politely.
Zhang Xu looked at her, a grin slowly spreading across his face, "With your looks, it would be such a waste to stay in the kitchen. Why not join our lobby instead?"
The chef didn't seem happy. "We haven't even opened yet, and you're already stealing our people?"
Everyone laughed loudly until the restaurant manager motioned for them to quiet down. She continued to introduce them to Tang Mi. "This is chef Chen Fang Zhou, and this one is the supervisor of the lobby, Yu Xiao Xiao."
After Tang Mi greeted everyone individually, the restaurant manager directed Supervisor Yu to take her around so she could familiarise herself with the restaurant environment.
Tang Mi followed Supervisor Yu around the restaurant for a while. When Supervisor Yu saw that there was no one around, she secretly whispered to her, " I heard it was you that day who smashed the cake into Director He's face?"
Tang Mi raised her brows. "Director He? That Human Resources director's surname is He?"
"Are Human Resources directors not allowed to have He as a surname?" countered Supervisor Yu.
"It's not that…" It's just that she might have realised why Director He had known about her 'plagiarism.'
"Anyway, Director He isn't important; what's more important is that afterwards, CEO Yu personally went to interview you? Tell me more about CEO Yu."
Tang Mi: "…"
So Supervisor Yu was also a fan of CEO Yu.
"Nothing much really, he only took a few bites of my desserts. He didn't really make any comments. He just hired me." Tang Mi recounted the entire truth, feeling that the whole experience had been rather mediocre. It didn't sound that amazing.
However, Supervisor Yu looked as if she had been carried away in rapture. "I would be willing to lose five more kilograms if CEO Yu ever ate the food I make."
Tang Mi: "…"
You really aren't greedy at all.
Since the restaurant hadn't officially opened for business yet, everyone finished work at 6 as per the schedule. When Tang Mi arrived home, Fu Xin was sitting on the floorboards in the living room reading a magazine. When she heard Tang Mi's footsteps, she hastily closed the magazine.
Even though Fu Xin's movements were quick, Tang Mi was still able to catch the words, 「King of Baking」 in huge print.
Fu Xin dropped the magazine on the floor and kicked it under the sofa before fumbling to change the topic. "Oh Tang Mi, you’re back~ How do you feel about your first day at work?"
Tang Mi nodded her head. "Mn, pretty good. Everyone was friendly."
Fu Xin breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her expression was normal. "Then that's good. That's good. I'll come visit you when the shop opens."
"There will be an engagement reception during the opening. I don't think they'll let you in," replied Tang Mi.
Fu Xin: "…"
The kind-hearted Fu Xin was hurt irrevocably.
Tang Mi returned to her room after eating dinner and studied the cake design given to her. Fu Xin also didn't bother her until midnight. When she was sure that Tang Mi had fallen asleep, she quietly tiptoed to the living room. Using her phone light as a guide, she searched under the sofa and retrieved the magazine from where she had kicked it.
Kneeling on the ground, she flipped through a few pages of the magazine before glancing over at Tang Mi's closed door and tiptoeing downstairs.
Tang Mi opened her eyes when she heard the door close. She stared at the ceiling for a while and then went back to sleep.
Fu Xin chucked the magazine into a bin outside and flew back indoors. If she had known that he would be in that magazine, even if she died, she never would have bought it.
She glanced at Tang Mi's room once more before returning to her room.
In the following days, Tang Mi worked hard at her new job in the pure white uniform given to her by the restaurant manager. The days that went by were eventful and busy. Even though there was the engagement reception scheduled at noon during the opening and she wouldn't be serving other customers, the restaurant manager still had her prepare some small snacks to serve as gifts to the other customers.
These snacks may have sounded easy, but they would influence the new customer's first impression of the store. Therefore, Tang Mi spent an exceptional amount of effort and sincerity on them——she even made heart-shaped macarons and small decorated cakes.
In the restaurant, everyone was preparing in full swing to open the restaurant that day. Tang Mi arrived early in the morning to prepare for the engagement cake, making sure that the final product had all the new alterations that had been discussed with the bride.
Since she had finished all her preparatory work, Tang Mi started to bake the cake, and it was as if what the heart wished, the hand accomplished. Even in the event that the bakery was left with her alone, she would not have her hands full and her feet fumbling. 3
The engagement party formally started at noon. Tang Mi let out a breath of relief when she saw the waiters push out her cake. She stood in the corner with Supervisor Yu, chatting. When the bride walked onto the platform, Tang Mi's eyes almost dropped out of her sockets.
"What kind of outfit is this?"
It may not have been a formal dress code, but it couldn't be okay with just a few pieces of cloth right? Even though, admittedly, it was a nice design, this was still an engagement party, not some beggar congregation!
Next to her, Supervisor Yu asked, "You've never played Three Swords? This is what the beggar character looks like."
Tang Mi: "…”
So it really was a beggar.
"I heard from the restaurant manager that they met in an online game; that's why they specifically chose to wear these outfits to their engagement party."
Tang Mi couldn't help but exclaim, "You city people really know how to have fun."
Supervisor Yu, "…"
After the bride and groom made a speech on stage, the waiters brought the cake into the room.
It was a three-tiered matcha cake frosted with a thin layer of light cream. The outer edge of each tier was decorated with different types of fruit. The top tier was a heart-shaped sponge cake, on top of which Tang Mi had created two human silhouettes with a delicate dusting of matcha powder while strawberries were used as embellishments.
"It turned out even more beautiful than I had imagined." The bride seemed super happy. She and the groom picked up the ribbon-tied knife and cut the cake to applause.
After the reception was over, Supervisor Yu became very busy. Tang Mi looked around for a while before returning back to the baking room to make more small snacks for customers.
When Yu Yi's car came to a stop outside the restaurant, Supervisor Yu instantly recognized it. She grabbed a serving plate and hurried over to the entrance to welcome him. Before she could even speak, Luo Hao hushed, "Supervisor Yu, return to your work. There is no need to worry about us."
Supervisor Yu: "…"
As soon as Yu Yi entered, he attracted the attention of many customers. Some even temporarily put their food aside. Ever since he had become Yu Yi's assistant, Luo Hao had gradually become accustomed to this type of treatment.
The restaurant manager was in the middle of talking to the bride when she saw Yu Yi walk over. She greeted him politely.
Yu Yi looked at the bride and asked, "What did you think of our meals today?"
The bride smiled happily and said, "It was wonderful! Every dish was extremely delicious, especially the cake. I really like your pastry chef! Can I hire her to come to my house to be my exclusive pastry chef?"
"Hey hey, we've only just opened, yet you already want to dig up our corners?" The restaurant manager wasn't speaking on behalf of Yu Yi, instead cracking a joke to her friend. 4
The bride laughed loudly. After Yu Yi wished her a pleasant meal, he took Luo Hao to patrol another area.
Seeing that he had walked far away, the bride elbowed the restaurant manager and exclaimed, "Your CEO is so handsome. Say, you've entered this pavilion near the water for such a long time; how come you still haven't obtained this moon?"5
The restaurant manager shrugged her shoulders, casually responding, "Not just anyone can pick a flower from atop the highest mountain ranges."
The bride blinked her eyes at her. "Don't you see how cold he is at the moment? After he marries, he will definitely be very attached to his wife."
The restaurant manager said nothing as her gaze unconsciously returned to Yu Yi's back.
Yu Yi asked a few more tables of guests about their satisfaction with their meals. Everyone evaluated the cake extremely high.
Luo Hao took one look at Yu Yi and chuckled. "It seems that hiring her was a wise decision."
Yu Yi didn't say anything and headed in the direction of the baking room.
Tang Mi was in the process of molding cookie batter into matcha green, flower-shaped cookies before placing each individual cookie into neat rows on the oven pan.
This was the first time Yu Yi had seen her wearing a chef's uniform. He felt the impression was very different to what he had seen during the interview.
After Tang Mi had placed all the cookies in a row, she lifted her head and saw Yu Yi standing in front of her. She was so startled that she almost chucked the pastry bag. "CEO, CEO Yu, hello!"
Yu Yi nodded at her and then walked a few steps forward. "Can you keep up?"
"Preparations for the cake had been made early, so it's okay," she responded.
"The customers all have positive comments about the cake. Keep up the hard work."
"Thank you! I will!"
The conversation ended abruptly. Yu Yi looked at her again and then began to leave. Tang Mi stared at his back. As if ghosts were at work, she called out, "CEO Yu!"
Yu Yi stopped and looked at her. "Was there something else?"
"Uh…." What something else? She couldn't really say that since she had wanted to call out to him, she did so, right…
Her eyes swept across the counter, spying a slice of the matcha cake. Tang Mi's eyes lit up, and she said to him, "This is a piece of cake the bride had left for me; would you like to try some?"
Yu Yi stared at the slice of cake. Without much emotion, he said, "I don't eat matcha cakes."
…..Uh. Tang Mi took another small plate out. "These are blueberry-flavoured macarons that I just finished making, would you like one?"
A normal macaron was already rather small, but when shaped into a heart-shaped design, it added to the cuteness factor.
Yu Yi walked over and picked up a macaron. He placed it between his lips and took a bite.
Tang Mi felt like she had returned back to her interview. She nervously asked, "How is it?"
Yu Yi ate the rest of the macaron. After he swallowed, he commented, "It's okay."
Tang Mi: "…Oh."
Seeing how disappointed she was, Luo Hao couldn't help but walk towards her and whisper, "I'll tell you a secret; if CEO Yu says it's okay, then he means that it's very delicious."
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Author has something she wants to say:
Especially thankful to:
Nan He Xun little angel throws a land mine
Lestat little angel throws a land mine
Cai Hua De Hu Li Ge Ge little angel throws a land mine
Thank you to all the little angels, I love you, muah muah! =33=
Tomorrow, the second male lead … will find the female lead ~(≧▽≦)/~
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Tang Mi's name means sugar honey, so it was an intended pun. ↩ Zhang Xu is a Tang Dynasty poet's name lol ↩ This basically means that she wouldn't be clueless on where everything is and would be able to find things without trouble. ↩ The digging corners bit refers to that her friend was taking away one of the foundations of their shop, aka Tang Mi. ↩ 'Pavilion near the water' (idiom) = using one's proximity to the powerful to obtain favor. Though the 'moon' in this case is Yu Yi, and the bride is asking the restaurant manager how come she hadn't seduced Yu Yi yet considering how close they work together. ↩