In calm Xiangchun Lane, Changsha, the Bach's Bakery witnessed a hand-over – from its former manager Wu Zhengrong to his successor He Mokai. Both are Germans.

A farewell party was held at the Bach's Bakery on May 25th, the eve of the returning trip of its former managers – Uwe Brutzer and his wife Dorothee, known by locals as Wu Zhengrong and Du Xuehui.

Liu Jianxin, the chef of the bakery, cooked several family dishes. Ha Na, the wife of the new manager He Mokai, made a fruit cake with the characters “We will miss you”. Some customers came specially to present picture books, hand-made soaps, and Hunan embroidery to this German couple to thank them for their two-decade persistence and devotion.

Ms. You, a Changsha resident, presented a picture book she created to Wu Zhengrong when he walked out of the kitchen. “I hope to take a photo with you before you return to Germany,” she added, “what you have done for the hearing-impaired people will be remembered. Thank you sincerely.”

The picture book created by Ms. You tells about Wu Zhengrong's deeds. (Photo/Huang Yaping)

The Bach's Bakery has been widely known for hiring hearing-impaired people since 2011. It offers fair-priced and healthy snacks and touches the public with its charity stories.

After the news of Wu's homing plan came out, many customers went to the bakery to bid farewell to this kind-hearted couple and filled their luggage cases with Chinese-style gifts, such as Hunan embroidery, tea, and hand-made soaps.

Over the past 11 years, 25 hearing-impaired bakers have been trained by the couple. Some of them pursued their dreams, while some still stay and work in the bakery.

 Liu Jianxin, a chef and baker of the bakery, cooked meat and potatoes, braised fish, mushroom and meat soup, smoked bean curd, and vegetable, which are family dishes preferred by Wu and his wife. “I hope these simple dishes will impress them about Changsha,” he said.

At that noon, with fruits brought by the employees and the cake made by Ha Na, Wu and his successor He toasted hand-over.

He Mokai, with his German name of Markus Hofmüller, is a Ph. D of Chinese culture graduated from Leipzig University in Germany. He and his wife once worked as primary teachers in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwestern China.

At the end of 2021, Ha Na heard of the news that the “silent bakery” in Changsha was seeking a new manager. “My husband is fond of doing handwork, and this bakery is special for helping the hearing-impaired people. So we were interested in it,” she said. They wrote to Wu right away.

Based on the consensus of “offering jobs for the hearing-impaired people”, He and his family moved to Changsha. The couple devoted themselves to hands-on learning, including making dough and understanding the fermentation time, so that they could work as soon as possible.

Two pieces of paper thickly dotted with German words are pasted in the kitchen. These are “secrets” that Wu Zhengrong passed on to He, covering raw material purchasing, employee management, order processing, and business license registration.

“I will first follow the former management mode to ensure the bakery's stable operation; and then, develop some new products to suit Chinese customers,” He added, “However, the original intention of offering jobs for the hearing-impaired people will never change.”    

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: Voice of Hunan