Quick Transmigration: The Supporting Female Lead Stays Out of It - Chapter 20: Chef 19

Lin Dan had her own shop to open, so of course she couldn’t stay. After making ten tables of dishes in a row, she washed her hands and face when the mealtime was almost over, and prepared to leave. The dried goods that she had prepared using her secret methods were already usable. Although Qiu the young chef had only learned three out of ten of her cooking skills, he had also made ten-out-of-ten deliciousness, which had won everyone’s unanimous praise.

When Lin Dan left, he handed over two recipe books and said gratefully, “Manager Lin, these are the secret recipes of our Qiu family. Please accept them.” He originally wanted to buy Lin the shopkeeper’s signature dishes with money, but he felt that the other party might not care for them. It would be better to exchange them with goods, which would seem more sincere.

Lin Dan originally thought that the two pieces of paper were bank notes and wanted to push them away. After hearing clearly, she immediately accepted them and quickly scanned them a few times, her attitude becoming softer, “Thank you. I will come over every day at the hour of *wei* (1:00-3:00 p.m.) to teach you how to make Golden Lion Fish, and leave at the hour of *shen* (3:00-5:00 p.m.), until you have mastered it. If the Yan Family Restaurant comes up with new signature dishes again, I will teach you another dish, also until you have mastered it. Whatever they come up with, I will teach you, and you will learn it perfectly.”

Qiu the young chef revealed an expression of disbelief and guessed, “Manager Lin, do you have a feud with the Yan Family Restaurant?”

“I originally wanted to open a Shandong cuisine restaurant opposite the Yan Family Restaurant, but they maliciously ruined my plan. Do you think there’s a feud or not?”

“Hey, fortunately they ruined your plan. Otherwise, the business of the entire street would be snatched away by you!” Qiu the young chef was straightforward, and as soon as he finished speaking, he shouted “bad” in his heart, his eyes full of pleading.

Lin Dan tapped him with her finger and said with a smile, “I’ll take it that you’re praising me. If others ask, you just say that you’ve recognized a teacher, and don’t say my name.” After speaking, she walked out the back door.

Qiu the young chef quickly agreed. He also knew that the Yan family were very despicable and were used to using some improper means of competition. But what could they do, no matter how despicable they were? Cooking skills were not a pretense, delicious was delicious, and not delicious was not delicious. The diners themselves could tell, and it was not something that could be easily fooled. He hid behind the screen to observe the situation in the front hall and found that the two princes were already preparing to leave, and also asked their attendants to pack up the unfinished dishes. The imperial family loved ostentation and waste, so a scene like this, where every grain of rice was treasured, was very rare.

“No, I have to see this new chef and ask her how she made that Monkey Head Mushroom. Qiu can’t make this taste.” At the door, Prince Cheng changed his mind again and asked the old shopkeeper to call out the chef.

Qiu the young chef had no choice but to run out and apologize, saying that the teacher had already left and would only come tomorrow afternoon, and that she wouldn’t be cooking at Qiaoyuan Restaurant permanently, and that it depended on luck.

“Then when will she come?” Prince Cheng asked persistently.

“She will come at the hour of *wei*, and leave at the hour of *shen*.”

“It’s already past the mealtime at the hour of *wei*!”

“She’s just here to teach me how to cook, and she’s not the head chef at Qiaoyuan Restaurant,” Qiu the young chef replied cautiously.

“Forget it, forget it, it doesn’t matter if it’s past the mealtime. At most, I’ll postpone my lunch. The hour of *wei*, right? I’ll come again tomorrow!” Prince Cheng carried a food box and patted his belly and left. The rest of the diners perked up their ears to eavesdrop on the two people’s conversation, and they were all figuring out to come again at the hour of *wei* tomorrow. Delicious things were worth waiting for, so it was okay to be a little late.

Qiu the young chef respectfully sent the two princes away. By chance, he caught a glimpse of the Yan Family Restaurant’s shopkeeper secretly hiding in the corner to check out the situation in his own shop, while his own shop was deserted and business was very slow.

Qiu the young chef raised his head and snorted coldly. The heart that had been hanging since his father’s death finally landed firmly.

……

It was already evening when Lin Dan and Tang Jiu returned to South City. The fiery clouds were continuous in the sky, and they made people’s faces red, giving a warm and peaceful feeling. Neither of them spoke, and they walked one after the other, walking into the depths of the alley and arriving at the door of their own shop. They saw a middle-aged woman who was quite flamboyantly dressed was pestering Xiao Zhu to talk, occasionally making gestures, and her attitude was frivolous.

Seeing Lin Dan, Xiao Zhuzi finally breathed a sigh of relief and said anxiously, “Our manager is here, you can talk to her!” After speaking, he ran away like a wisp of smoke, as if there was a ghost chasing after him.

The middle-aged woman stared at his back and giggled, then looked at Lin Dan and said, “I’ll give you ten taels of silver, and you sell this shop to me.” Before Lin Dan could answer, she continued on her own, “I’ve heard that you spent twenty taels of silver when you bought this shop. You won’t be happy to sell it to me for ten taels of silver, but you have to think about it. Your shop is hidden in such a deep alley, who can find it? Now, if you sell it, you can at least keep some of your assets. You’ll suffer a great loss if you sell it later.”

“If I sell it to you, aren’t you afraid of losing money?” Lin Dan walked over unhurriedly.

“I’m in the flesh trade, can you compare with me? As long as my girls spread their legs, my customers will know where to go. Unlike you, your shop is opened here, can customers find the door?” The middle-aged woman spoke very rudely. Even if Lin Dan had a good temper, she couldn’t help but frown.

Tang Jiu stepped forward and wanted to throw the other party out of the alley, but was gently pulled by Lin Dan’s sleeve. She said gently, “I’m sorry, I’m not selling this shop. Please go to another shop.” Doing business emphasizes harmony and wealth. No matter how bad the other party’s attitude was or how unpleasant the words were, Lin Dan wouldn’t get angry. Her mood rarely fluctuated because of certain people or certain things, as if she was born with fewer of the seven emotions and six desires than others.

The middle-aged woman seemed to be frightened by Tang Jiu’s eagle eyes and quickly walked away. After walking out a few steps, she turned her head and said, “I have a brothel at the street corner of the street in front, called Cuihong Residence. If you regret it, come find me. My name is Qin Erniang. But I’ll tell you in advance, I won’t offer such a high price when it’s time to sell!” She had two flower girls from Jiangnan, who were very beautiful, and she planned to keep them in a deep alley and long-term lease them to others as outside wives. Lin Dan’s place was the most secluded, and she immediately took a fancy to it. It was a pity that the person wouldn’t sell.

If you don’t sell, then don’t sell. Opening a restaurant in a deep alley, it would be a loss to death! Thinking like this, the middle-aged woman finally felt relieved and was happily waiting for Lin Dan to come and ask for help.

Lin Dan wouldn’t take her words to heart and just smiled lightly. Tang Jiu, however, was worried, “Why don’t you go to West City to open a shop? I have a few shops in my hands, which can be sold to you or rented to you, and the Yan family absolutely dare not make trouble.”

“Thank you for your kindness,” Lin Dan turned her face to look at him, her voice soft, “Brother Tang Jiu, what is the most delicious dish in the world?”

This question stumped the old gourmet Tang Jiu. He had eaten all over the world, and he loved all kinds of flavors, but if he had to rank them in order, he couldn’t do it. Each cuisine had its own characteristics and strengths, and each had its own supporters. Even the imperial dishes were not loved by everyone. Some people said it was good, while others said it was bad, which was said to be difficult to satisfy everyone.

Seeing that he hadn’t answered for a long time, Lin Dan pointed to the sign on the door beam and said, “Since I can make the most delicious dishes in the world, why should I worry about others?”

Tang Jiu looked up and suddenly understood. He saw three big characters written in regular script on the brand new plaque—Hometown cuisine. There was no doubt that this was the most delicious dish in the world. No matter where you went, no matter what kind of delicacies you had eaten, when you woke up from a dream at midnight, and in a lonely place, what you missed most and what you couldn’t forget most was still the taste of childhood, still the nostalgia in your bones. Especially in this South City, everyone was a stranger, everyone was a wanderer. The more you were used to the Beijing taste, the more you longed for the hometown cuisine.

Lin Dan had spent ten years traveling all over the Great Chu Kingdom, learning the most authentic folk cuisine. How could she lose money by opening such a restaurant?

Seeing that Tang Jiu had figured it out, Lin Dan smiled lightly, “If I was in West City, I would open a Shandong cuisine restaurant. If I was in East City, I would open a Huaiyang cuisine restaurant. If I was in North City, I would open a small noodle shop. No matter where the shop was opened, I would never be without business.” Because she believed in her own skills, she was always more confident and at ease when she did things than others.

West City was all dignitaries, so she would make Shandong cuisine, which was known as official cuisine. East City was all wealthy people, with broad knowledge, a love for luxury, and a penchant for following the trend, so she would make Huaiyang cuisine. Huaiyang cuisine emphasized artistic conception, harmony of tastes, elegance, and interest. Almost every famous dish had a story, which was most in line with the temperament of the rich. North City was mostly local poor people, so she would only open a small noodle shop and sell a few bowls of spring noodles and mixed sauce noodles every day, and there would be money to be made. The hometown cuisine restaurant in South City was even more unnecessary to mention… The Yan family’s insidious tricks, how could they cause Lin Dan any trouble?

Tang Jiu was thinking about these business strategies as he walked along the way, and he couldn’t help but understand Lin Dan more.

“It seems that I was worried for nothing.” He sighed with a complex tone.

“But I still have to thank you for your kindness.” Lin Dan walked into the back kitchen, moved the three pots of soup that had been boiled into the large earthenware pots, and continued to simmer them over low heat. Then, she picked up a kitchen knife and cut the white cabbage leaves. She used different knife skills to cut the white cabbage leaves into different shapes, such as centipede flower cuts, peony flower cuts, wheat ear flower cuts, etc. After they were put into the water, they slowly unfolded, with different flowers blooming.

Tang Jiu stared at her superb knife skills for a long time before pointing to the frying pan filled with sand and asking, “Are you preparing to make candied chestnuts?”

Lin Dan shook her head, “After practicing knife skills, I have to practice tossing the wok and turning the pot. If there’s no weight in the pot, how can I train the strength of my wrist? If I don’t practice for a day, the knife skills will become rusty, and my strength will also decline. If I’m on the stove, I won’t be able to make the original taste.”

Tang Jiu couldn’t help but sigh, “Your practice of cooking skills is not easier than our practice of martial arts.”

“Every craft is practiced like this, it’s nothing unusual.” Lin Dan put down the cleaver, walked into the kitchen, and lifted the lid of the large earthenware crockpot containing the braising liquid. She slowly stirred with a long spoon, then fished out the whole chickens, whole ducks, pig trotters, pork belly, and other items that had already been stewed soft. After that, she added newly slaughtered whole chickens, whole ducks, pig trotters, pork belly, pig skin, and other ingredients, and continued to stew. Finally, she put the lid back on, and used wet towels to seal the gaps around the edges. A stone slab was placed on top to prevent the flavors from escaping.

The moment the lid was lifted, Tang Jiu almost fainted from the fumes. It wasn’t because of a bad smell, but because of the aroma. It was too fragrant, incredibly fragrant, simply soul-stirring!

TL notes: Happy birthday to me (⸝⸝⸝>﹏<⸝⸝⸝)

Free extra 10 chapter instead of daily 1 (づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ♡

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