Quick Transmigration: The Supporting Female Lead Stays Out of It - Chapter 28: Chef 27

Since a new chef came to Qiao Garden Restaurant, Yan Family Restaurant’s business has declined day by day. Although Yan Langqing worked hard to develop new dishes, she couldn’t match the skill of that chef. As soon as they launched a new dish, before its reputation could spread, the other side also launched a new dish. The ingredients were almost the same, but the cooking methods were extremely ingenious, quickly overshadowing their success.

Lin Laoer has been as anxious as an ant on a hot pan these days, and a string of blisters appeared at the corner of his mouth. Ever since Yan Langqing entered the palace to become an imperial chef, the Yan family members became arrogant, using various means to seize the other three-tenths of the shares in Lin Laoer’s hands. Now he only holds two-tenths of the shares in the shop, yet he still has to be the shopkeeper and the purchaser, and he needs to take care of all sorts of miscellaneous matters. He is as tired as a dog, but the silver he gets is less than one-tenth of what he originally had.

He also has to support a whole family. Due to being spoiled by Lin Baotian before, his family wants the best of everything: they want to live in a mansion, eat delicacies, and wear fine silks and satins. A month’s expenses are enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably for a year. Back then, he was still the owner of Yan Family Restaurant, and all the profits belonged to him, and Lin Baotian didn’t ask any questions, and occasionally even provided some assistance. Life was really comfortable. But what about now? He is taking the shopkeeper’s monthly salary but has to support a family like nobles; how can he make a living?

After ten years, his savings were long gone, and he had to rely on pawning his family property to make ends meet. If Yan Family Restaurant earned a lot, he would be rich. If Yan Family Restaurant’s business was sluggish, he would also live a sluggish life, so Qiao Garden Restaurant’s rise made him more anxious than anyone. Occasionally, when he thought about the past, he would also regret it, but what’s the use of regret? The wolves have already been let into the house; how can they be driven out!

Seeing that it was another day of few customers, Lin Laoer said with a grim face, “Go to Qiao Garden Restaurant and see if they’ve launched another new dish to compete with us.”

The shop assistant agreed and hurried away. After a moment, he returned, speaking with surprise: “Indeed, they’ve launched a new dish called Immortal Boneless Fish. The whole fish has no bones at all, and it’s stewed in a thick, milky white broth that’s thick and creamy. The taste is fresh and sweet, and it melts in your mouth. I saw the Old Madam of Yongding Marquis’s Mansion and her eldest grandson there too. The young master never eats fish, because he dislikes the bones, but today he ate enthusiastically, shouting for another one. The shop’s business is almost booming. The diners inside are reluctant to come out, and the diners outside are queuing, so their old shopkeeper had the staff put a lot of long benches at the door for the guests to rest, and also invited a storyteller to tell stories at the street corner. Eating inside and laughing outside, it’s so lively. I finally squeezed inside, and I even lost one shoe.”

Speaking of this, the shop assistant raised his foot to let Lin Laoer see his bare left foot, and hesitated: “Shopkeeper, will you compensate me with a pair of new shoes?”

“Compensate your ass, get lost!” Lin Laoer roared, his face flushed and his neck thick, feeling as if his lungs were about to explode. We make sea cucumber, and you also make sea cucumber; we make meatballs, and you also make meatballs; we cook boneless fish, and you also cook boneless fish, and you still do it better than us every time. This is clearly trying to ruin Yan Family Restaurant’s reputation! Yan Langqing is also a waste. As an imperial chef, she can’t even compare to a civilian chef, have they been eating for free all these years?

Lin Laoer was feeling anxious, and he couldn’t wait to take a knife and slaughter Qiao Garden Restaurant’s new chef.

Just then, Yan Shouye walked in, holding a birdcage in one hand and a smoking pipe in the other, and strolled in. Seeing that there were no customers in the hall, his face immediately darkened. Lin Laoer hurriedly told him about Qiao Garden Restaurant competing with their restaurant, and he immediately sneered, “Anyone who goes against my Yan family is asking to die! Is it a competition? Fine, without signature dishes, I’ll see what they have to compete with!” After speaking, he untied a token from his waist, and also took out ten silver notes, and asked his attendant to go to the palace gate to find someone—

On the other hand, because the Immortal Boneless Fish was highly praised by the diners, Lin Dan exceptionally made ten tables of dishes, and seeing that it was getting late, she washed her hands and prepared to go home. Just then, the old shopkeeper led a young man with a fair face and no beard, and walked in, looking as if he had lost a funeral.

As soon as the young man was seen, Chef Qiu’s smile on his face also quickly disappeared, and anger appeared in his eyes.

The young man said in a sharp voice, “Congratulations to Chef Qiu. Your shop’s Golden Lion Fish, Braised Sea Cucumber, Wealthy Meatballs, and Boneless Divine Fish have all been favored by the imperial kitchen and are prepared to be presented to the Emperor for inclusion in the royal cookbook. This is a reward, you must give thanks.” After speaking, he passed over a jade ruyi.

That jade ruyi was only the size of a palm, and it was not of good quality, and its color could not be called beautiful. If it weren’t for the words “made by imperial order” carved on it, it would truly be something that no one would want to pick up even if it were thrown on the street. But with just these two words, Chef Qiu had to kneel down and bow to give thanks, and no matter how humiliated he felt, he couldn’t say the word “no.”

Lin Dan knelt down as well, but a mocking smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. Ever since Yan Langqing became an imperial chef, she has often searched for delicious food among the common people for the emperor. Whichever restaurant made delicious dishes with an outstanding reputation, she would recommend the dishes to the emperor and then include them in the royal cookbook.

The chefs who were chosen by her were originally filled with trepidation and gratitude, but later they discovered that—since the dish was made for the emperor to eat, they could no longer sell it, otherwise it would be a crime of disrespect. Chefs develop new dishes, which often requires months or even years of hard work. But with a few words, she could strip away all of their hard work, and also cut off their livelihood, which was no different from a bandit.

Lin Dan knew what kind of people the Yan family were, so she was neither surprised nor angry. After standing up, she slowly said: “I will trouble this eunuch to bring a message to Imperial Chef Yan, and say that Lin Dan has returned and wants to compete with her again to resolve the past. She will understand.” After speaking, she handed over a large silver note.

The young man seemed to be very familiar with Yan Langqing, and he didn’t want the silver notes, but sneered: “I have heard her say about your past. You were not as good as her back then, and now you two are like clouds and mud, not to mention competing again?”

“Then tell her that these four dishes are all my creations, and have nothing to do with Qiao Garden Restaurant. If she wants to compete, come to the Southern City to find me. If she is afraid, then let this matter go.” Lin Dan naturally took back the silver notes, her voice calm and unhurried, neither humble nor overbearing.

“These four dishes were made by you?” The young man was also from the imperial kitchen, and his cooking skills and taste were not bad. He had tasted the four dishes in the front hall just now, and naturally knew how far Lin Dan’s cooking skills had reached. Her knife skills, heat control, and seasoning were all top-notch, not inferior to the chefs of the imperial kitchen. Just now, he dared to say the words “clouds and mud,” but now he couldn’t open his mouth.

“Of course,” Lin Dan nodded, “I will trouble the eunuch to pass on a message for Lin.”

The young man took a deep look at her and left, flicking his sleeves. Chef Qiu then came back to his senses and exclaimed: “Master, you really have a grudge against Imperial Chef Yan! You have gone all out to help Qiao Garden Restaurant develop new dishes, just to lure her out?”

Lin Dan took off her headscarf, which was covered in oil smoke, and smiled lightly: “Having a grudge is true, but I did not go all out. She makes a move, I respond, that’s all. There are thousands of delicious foods in the world, just four dishes, how can it be considered anything.”

Chef Qiu sent her to the carriage and said sincerely: “Master, I think you are better than Imperial Chef Yan. You are willing to teach your unique skills to others, but Imperial Chef Yan only knows how to plunder the hard work of others. Whether it’s cooking or being a person, she is not as good as you.”

Lin Dan tapped Chef Qiu’s forehead with her knuckles, then smiled and left. She arrived at the Southern City, but saw that the alley at the fork was surrounded by people, and a cry could be heard from inside, as well as whispers from onlookers: “I never expected that the owner of this restaurant would be such a person who betrays her master and destroys her ancestors, and even covets her master’s coffin money!”

“You can’t judge a person by their appearance. Don’t look at how that little shop owner is smiling all day long. Inside, you don’t know how ruthless she is! They were both widowed at a young age; this is retribution, isn’t it?”

“Yes, young widows can run a business like this; I don’t know what means they used. Dirty, so dirty!”

Hearing this, Lin Dan didn’t have to ask to know that the Yan family was definitely repeating their old tricks and coming to cause trouble. She quickly pushed through the crowd and saw that Qi Shi was sitting on the ground with her hair in a mess, and there were scratches on her cheeks and neck, which should be from fighting with others. The earthenware jars placed at the door were broken, and the brine was spilled all over the ground, while the marinated food was being snatched by the onlookers. The tables and chairs in the shop were also missing legs and arms, and Xiao Zhu and Shao Yao were cleaning, and they were all injured.

Ten years have passed, but the Yan family is still so arrogant and loves to force people onto a dead end. But Lin Dan was no longer the Lin Dan from ten years ago, who had no power to fight back. She ignored the pointing fingers of the crowd and the contemptuous and questioning gazes, and helped Qi Shi up and closed the door.

“From today on, we will close the shop,” she said unhurriedly, “While we have the time, you can go around and play. When this matter is over, we will go to the south of the Yangtze River.”

“When will we leave the capital?” Qi Shi didn’t want to stay in the capital for a moment longer, she was afraid of the Yan family.

“Soon, Mother, you can pack your things first.” Lin Dan’s return to the capital was not to earn money and open a shop, but to settle the past. The shop being smashed didn’t cause her any losses, and her reputation being tarnished couldn’t harm her.

“Okay, I’ll pack my luggage right away. I said at the beginning that we shouldn’t come back, but you didn’t listen. This time, we will never come back again, is that okay?” Qi Shi asked in fear.

“Alright, we’ll find a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters to live.” Lin Dan gently comforted Qi Shi. She naturally wouldn’t tell Qi Shi about the culinary competition, lest she be unable to sleep or eat in peace. In the eyes of the nobility, imperial chefs were just servants who served people, but in the eyes of ordinary people, they were existences they couldn’t afford to offend.

Everyone tidied up the shop and went to sleep, but they didn’t expect that the kitchen would actually catch fire in the second half of the night. If it weren’t for Lin Dan’s high alertness from traveling south and north, and quickly waking up, everyone would probably have been burned to death. After extinguishing the flames, Lin Dan found a pile of charred dry wood and a strong smell of kerosene at the base of the wall, and immediately understood that someone had deliberately set the fire, and there was no need to guess who the culprit was.