He guessed that the young man learning to make pastries might not be very skilled, otherwise he wouldn't be out looking for work; it would be much better to stay where he's learning.
He might have failed the assessment and been eliminated.
Suzhou-style pastries require extremely high skill, it's difficult to pass on, passed down through generations, each shop only has one or two successors per generation, and nowadays so few young people are willing to learn.
Generally, highly skilled master chefs adhere to the principle of "better to have none than to have mediocre," they would rather sweep someone out the door than let an unskilled apprentice stay and work in the shop, to prevent damaging their own reputation.
But it's not a big deal; it's still better than him, who is a complete outsider.
He can make Western desserts, but he's truly unfamiliar with Chinese pastries, limited to things like buns, dumplings, and noodles; he's never made dessert-type pastries.
