Manager Sun gathered the people from the bakery.

Gu Taohua sat in front with a composed and elegant demeanor.

As the Young Master, Gu Taohua had visited the city to eat at Taohua Dessert multiple times, so the bakery was not unfamiliar with her.

However, this was the first time everyone had experienced such a serious meeting called together.

Everyone felt a bit anxious.

Don’t be fooled by the Young Master’s sweet and festive appearance as a young girl; last time when accounts were checked, and a clerk was found to be betraying inside affairs, her means made everyone realize that her sweet demeanor was a facade.

Her methods were much more ruthless than Gu Dashu, the other Young Master who seemed more carefree.

"...Since Master Song left the city, the bakery has been without a leader. Sometimes, when things happen at the bakery, we don’t know whom to instruct, and if something goes wrong, we don’t know who is responsible. Manager Sun has many responsibilities, and we need to promote someone to be the manager of the bakery."

"I am well aware of your work capabilities; if they weren’t good, you wouldn’t be here. When you joined Taohua Dessert, we told you, if you work with heart, there’s room for growth, and now an opportunity presents itself."

Gu Taohua paused, her gaze sweeping over the faces of the bakers.

Everyone’s faces lit up with joy.

Who wouldn’t want to be the manager of the bakery?

Taohua Dessert is different from other pastry shops; once you enter the management, you receive dividends.

Although the responsibility is greater, the rewards are higher too.

When Taohua Dessert opens new shops, they may promote from the current management to be the shopkeeper, eventually moving out of the clerk category and being respected everywhere.

Gu Taohua slowly said, "Deciding who to promote is not up to Manager Sun, or me. It’s up to us. Everyone has a chance to become the bakery manager."

The crowd was surprised; did this mean self-recommendation?

What if everyone self-recommended and each voted for themselves, what would be the point? 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

You could try voting till the end of time and still not decide.

"What kind of calculation is this?" asked Master Ji, who was slightly older.

Master Ji was poached from the old established pastry shop Jin Fengxiang by He Chao at double the price and is skilled with traditional pastries.

Since Master Song left the city, Master Ji was subtly seen as the next manager, due to his background.

One could say the biggest obstacle Master Wen faced in becoming the manager was Master Ji.

Gu Taohua gave Master Ji a cordial smile and spoke softly, in the manner of Tong Huaqiong: "Master Ji asked well. All bakers in the bakery make a living from their skills. To become the bakery manager, you first need to have the skills, to grasp customer preferences, understand market dynamics, and continue to innovate. The pastries made by the bakery must be competitive in the market. So, let’s have a fair competition. Everyone will have two days to come up with two new pastry ideas that the store doesn’t have, or innovate on the basis of new pastries. Whoever’s ideas are preferred by customers will become the bakery manager."

"To ensure fairness, all materials and baking must be from specified types, and the sale price will be the same."

Master Ji said, "This method is good."

Having been in the pastry industry for over a decade, he knew the preferences of city dwellers; he was confident if he could freely brainstorm, he would definitely capture the customers’ taste.

Some other bakers also thought this method was good. Although they hadn’t been in the industry as long as Master Ji, they didn’t think they couldn’t win. Master Ji was better at traditional pastries, but ever since Taohua Dessert opened in the city, it has stood firm relying on novel pastries.

Every month, the owner would send new pastry ideas to the bakery, each time sparking a queue.

If they could freely brainstorm, perhaps they could also start a new trend of popular pastries in the city.

Master Wen raised her head and asked, "Young Master, is it okay if it’s not the taste of the pastry that convinces the customers to buy, but something else?"

Gu Taohua nodded and said, "That’s fine, as long as it makes customers willing to buy, provided it’s done with the baking materials I provided."

Master Wen’s eyes sparkled brightly as she nodded.

Originally, she had thought it didn’t matter who became the manager. However, ever since Master Song recommended her before he left, these male bakers have been forming cliques to prevent a woman from taking the position. She felt defiant.

Now the Young Master has said it’s a fair competition, which gave her confidence in securing the position.

"From now on, everyone start preparing, and we’ll see the results in two days," Gu Taohua said.

The crowd was eager and enthusiastic.

Everyone wanted the position of bakery manager.

Tong Huaqiong and Gu Baishuang stood behind the screen, listening to Gu Taohua’s meeting.

"My sister is really amazing now, I don’t think anyone would dare to defy her."

Gu Baishuang looked enviously, wishing someday she could openly give tasks to her own shop clerks.

Tong Huaqiong was very satisfied with Gu Taohua’s performance and also understood Gu Baishuang’s envy, so she said, "You can try to build your own network of contacts in your family’s business. Think about it, can those two stepsons of yours truly be united? They’re united in opposing you, but each has their own family and interests; they’re not a monolith. As long as they have disagreements, you have the opportunity to insert your own people."

Gu Baishuang’s eyes flickered.

...

The bakery was bustling, with everyone actively developing new pastry ideas.

Tong Huaqiong went to inspect the bakery and found that the only female baker, Master Wen, was absent.

Manager Sun informed Tong Huaqiong that Master Wen had taken leave for the past two days.

Tong Huaqiong was puzzled, unable to understand why Master Wen took leave during these two days. This fair competition was structured with Master Wen in mind; she hoped Master Wen would win in this way.

Unexpectedly, she took leave.

"Owner, Master Wen’s husband is ill, and there’s a young daughter at home. She needs to attend to family matters as well as the shop. As a regular baker, she can manage, but if she really becomes the bakery manager, I’m afraid she’ll be overwhelmed with more responsibilities. That’s my concern," Manager Sun explained.

If he didn’t explain, the owner might think he’d given Master Wen a hard time, forcing her to take leave.

Tong Huaqiong thought, "Come on."

Don’t those male bakers have family issues? Why don’t they seem overwhelmed?"

But to be fair, Manager Sun was quite a good manager; he usually treated Manager Wen and female clerks as equals. If they had any family issues, he would send his regards first and even help solve them.

However, when the shop needed a steward, he never thought to promote them.

"What if Master Wen really wins this time?" Tong Huaqiong asked with a smile.

Manager Sun replied, "Then according to your request, she’ll be promoted to bakery manager, and she’ll be in charge of the bakery’s matters. I absolutely won’t interfere, and if anyone disobeys, I’ll ensure they comply."

But Master Wen couldn’t possibly win, right?

With urgency looming and she took leave, how could she win?

Tong Huaqiong nodded and said, "That’s what Manager Sun said."

For some reason, Tong Huaqiong felt that Master Wen taking leave wasn’t simple.

Because when Taohua called everyone to the meeting, Tong Huaqiong saw a different look in Master Wen’s eyes from behind the screen.

That look was filled with ambition and determination.

It was the look Tong Huaqiong liked.