Quick Transmigration: The Supporting Female Lead Stays Out of It - Chapter 30: Chef 29

Although Lin Dan left in a hurry, she handled everything appropriately. Not only did she transfer the shop to Qin Erniang, but she also sent a letter to Chef Qiu, explaining the whole story. After reading the letter, Chef Qiu’s fingertips were trembling with anger. He never expected the Yan family to be so despicable, bullying even a widowed mother and orphan and setting fire to the shop—this was simply against the law!

Seeing his grim expression, the old shopkeeper asked him what had happened, but he shook his head, unwilling to go into detail; this was, after all, Lin Dan’s personal matter, and not suitable to be publicized. As if remembering something, he frowned and said, “Are there any guests in the front hall? Go out and take a look.”

A moment later, the old shopkeeper returned to report: “Five or six tables of guests have already arrived, all waiting for Shopkeeper Lin.” Nowadays, Qiao Garden Restaurant had an unwritten rule: whoever came first would insert a numbered tag on their table and then wait quietly. The diners with the first five numbered tags were sure to taste the skills of that mysterious chef, and the diners with the next five numbered tags could occasionally get lucky, too. Even so, the diners who didn’t manage to get the first ten numbered tags were also reluctant to leave, just ordering some dishes and sitting in the shop, sniffing the fragrance of the dishes at other tables and looking at the appearance of the dishes at other tables—couldn’t they feast their eyes, too?

For this reason, a large group of people would come early to the shop, all scrambling for seats. Once they got a seat, they would stick their butts to the stools and not budge no matter who told them to leave.

Chef Qiu lowered his voice and asked, “Has the Duke Cheng been here?”

“He has. He’s been sitting in the shop since early this morning, and I’ve asked a few singers to serve him at the front.” Actually, it would be strange if Duke Cheng didn’t come. Ever since he tasted Lin Dan’s dishes, he had come to Qiao Garden Restaurant on time every day. Later, he discovered that Qiao Garden Restaurant was getting more and more popular. If he came on the dot, he might not be able to eat Lin Dan’s skills, so he specially sent a boy to live in the inn opposite the restaurant. As soon as the door opened on this side, the boy would rush in, grab the numbered tag first, and then firmly occupy the seat to wait for his duke to come and eat.

These gourmands in the capital were all very individualistic characters. It was not easy to please them, but if someone’s skills could hook their appetites, they would protect you like a treasure. Without mentioning those far away, just take Marquis Yongding. He heard that he had a favorite chef before, and he would take him wherever he went. Later, the chef died, and he lost his appetite for several months, becoming thin and gaunt. He was no longer staying in the capital, this place of sadness, and had gone to fight on the border.

Chef Qiu used to think this rumor was a bit exaggerated, but now, after learning that the chef was Lin Dan’s father, he suddenly understood Marquis Yongding. Lin Dan’s cooking skills were already so extraordinary, and what kind of extraordinary skill did Lin Baotian have as a master?

But the person was already dead, and it was in vain for him to yearn for it. It was now the right thing to do to seek justice for Lin Dan. Thinking of this, Chef Qiu whispered, “Go tell the diners that the great chef has already left, and she won’t be cooking in Qiao Garden Restaurant anymore. Let them all disperse.”

The old shopkeeper was immediately scared pale. Without Lin Dan, how could the business of Qiao Garden Restaurant continue?

Chef Qiu pushed the old shopkeeper and sighed, “Go, go, tell everyone, and tell them not to wait.”

The old shopkeeper went in a daze, and before his words were finished, he caused a lot of complaints from the crowd. The most intense reaction was naturally Duke Cheng, whose hand was trembling, and even his beard was trembling, and his old face was wrinkled, as if he had eaten arsenic. Ignoring the old shopkeeper and the waiter’s obstruction, he strode into the back kitchen, which he would never have set foot in before, and caught Chef Qiu, and asked, “Is that great chef really not coming? Where does she live? Tell me, I will go and invite her myself!”

In the past, he had not been without the thought of inviting Lin Dan back to be his private chef, and he had even had his butler go and persuade her, but he didn’t even see Lin Dan’s face. He especially respected people with good cooking skills. If she didn’t want to, she didn’t want to. If you cook where you cook, I’ll come and eat there, that’s always okay, right? But it turned out that it was not okay either. She said she was leaving, and just left without even saying hello! If he had known this, he should have directly kidnapped the person in the first place!

Duke Cheng was filled with remorse, and he grabbed Chef Qiu and insisted on finding out the whereabouts of the great chef. Only then did Chef Qiu pretend to be reluctant and told the story of Lin Dan’s entanglement with the Yan family.

But he didn’t expect Duke Cheng to widen his eyes and open his mouth, his expression as if he was in mourning for his parents, and even his voice trembled with unbearable weight: “You mean, the chef who cooks here is the Shopkeeper Lin from that Hometown Restaurant in the South City? They, they are the same person?”

Chef Qiu felt that Duke Cheng’s reaction was a bit strange, but he still nodded.

“They are the same person, and if the chef here is gone, then the Hometown Restaurant can’t open anymore?” Duke Cheng gradually revealed a pained expression.

It was also a coincidence that someone of the status of Duke Cheng would not usually go to South City, but his household servants often went to the South City wharf to get goods. Because of their greed for food, they would always bring back some of the braised food that Lin Dan made. On one occasion, they met Duke Cheng at the door, and the domineering fragrance instantly captivated Duke Cheng. After tasting the taste, he became infatuated and would have the servants buy some back every night for a late-night snack. If he didn’t eat a late-night snack, he couldn’t sleep, as if he was addicted.

Hearing that the great chef of Qiao Garden Restaurant wasn’t coming, he had originally thought that he still had the braised food in South City to eat. The skills of that Shopkeeper Lin were also very good, not inferior to this great chef. But what was the result? The two of them were actually the same person, which meant that the only two chefs who could satisfy Duke Cheng’s discerning palate had already left, and he would never be able to eat them again!

As a gourmand who would rather starve to death without delicious food, the thunder and lightning, the raging waves, in Duke Cheng’s heart were imaginable.

He gritted his teeth and said, “Imperial Chef Yan has such power, I have never heard that the dishes presented to the emperor are not for others to eat. Then isn’t this Duke disrespecting the emperor every day? Why don’t they drag this Duke out and execute his nine clans? Betraying the master and destroying the ancestors? Nonsense! In those disputes back then, this Duke saw it all from beginning to end. The Yan family turned black into white, and distorted the truth; there wasn’t a single good thing among them!” With his words, he stormed out.

Duke Cheng hadn’t even gotten tired of that Immortal Boneless Fish, and had been waiting all morning with high expectations only to receive such bad news. His temper was naturally very irritable, and then he thought: In the future, he wouldn’t be able to eat Shopkeeper Lin’s dishes anymore, and wouldn’t his days be difficult? So he was even more furious, and shouted, “Go, follow this Duke to the Yan Family Restaurant and take a look.”

The accompanying guards originally thought he was going to Yan Family Restaurant to eat, but they saw him walk a few steps to the door, without even looking at Lin Laoer squatting on the steps, pointing at the plaque on the beam and saying, “Smash this signboard for this Duke!”

The guards were stunned for a moment and then came back to their senses, and used bamboo poles to knock down the signboard and trampled it into pieces. Lin Laoer was bewildered, but didn’t dare to step forward to stop him, and could only cry pitifully, “Your Highness, why are you smashing the signboard of my house? We haven’t offended you! This lowly one kowtows to you and apologizes, please show mercy!”

First there was Marquis Weiyuan, then there was Prince of Dianqian, and now there was Duke Cheng, each with a higher title, and each with a bigger background. Who had the Yan Family Restaurant offended? Lin Laoer was confused and frightened at the same time, and his heart was like being fried in oil.

“Hmph, as long as Shopkeeper Lin doesn’t return to the capital for a day, this Duke will not allow you to hang the signboard for a day. If you don’t accept it, you can try!” Duke Cheng pointed at the broken plaque on the ground and spoke in a very sinister tone. He was the younger brother of the late Emperor, and he helped the other side seize power, and was also the uncle of the current Emperor, and assisted him in his ascension to the throne. He was in charge of the Court of Colonial Affairs and the Imperial Clan Court. He had the power and prestige. How could a small imperial chef dare to provoke him? He was personally standing up for Lin Dan. Even if the Emperor came, he would not dare to tell Yan Family Restaurant to put the signboard back. Yan Family Restaurant was doomed to lose.

The people of West City were the most opportunistic. Seeing several big figures coming one after another to step on Yan Family Restaurant, and also making a scandal of fake wine and poisonous soup, they had already completely negated Yan Family Restaurant’s reputation. They stood on the side of the road and watched the excitement for a while, and then gradually dispersed, whispering as they walked, “I don’t know what kind of things Yan Shouye has done to incur the wrath of the heavens and the resentment of the people that would cause several nobles to personally intervene in the management. This shop can’t be frequented in the future. Going there would be offending these three families, which is not worth it, not worth it!”

After hearing these words, Lin Laoer’s heart grew increasingly desperate. He never imagined that these people were actually standing up for Lin Dan. She had only returned to the capital for two or three months, and how could she have achieved this?

On the other hand, Yan Shouye was dragged into the yamen to file a lawsuit by the steward of the Prince of Dianqian. Although the one who died was only a dog, this dog died for the little princess, and the little princess would enter the palace to become a concubine in two months. The imperial edict had already come down, and the government naturally dared not neglect, and they seized the pleading Yan Shouye and gave him a beating.

Don’t look at how Yan Shouye was usually so imposing, but in front of the nobles like the Prince of Dianqian, he wasn’t even worth a fart. He was beaten to the point of crying, screaming for his father and mother, and begging for mercy. He almost died. In the end, he paid the prince 100,000 taels of silver, and was also dragged to the front of the mansion to kowtow to the little princess to admit his mistake before the matter was settled.

When he returned home half-dead, and learned that the signboard of Yan Family Restaurant had been smashed by Duke Cheng, and that he had also said—as long as Lin Dan didn’t come back, they would not be allowed to operate for a day, Yan Shouye finally couldn’t hold it in and spat out a mouthful of old bl00d.

Zhou Shi, who was swaggering and making trouble in the Hometown Restaurant yesterday, was today like an eggplant hit by frost, anxious and constantly asking, “What should we do? We’ve caused so much trouble, can our restaurant still open?” After living a life of wealth and glory for a long time, she was more afraid than anyone else of being returned to her original state.

“It can open, why can’t it open? Langqing is still working as an imperial chef in the palace; she can ask the Emperor for help. The Emperor has some interest in her, and as long as she speaks, not to mention being an imperial chef, she could even become a consort.” Yan Shouye said with gritted teeth, “Come here, go give Langqing a message, and tell her that the family is in trouble, and ask her to come back.”

The servant didn’t dare to delay and immediately took silver notes to the palace gate to deliver the message. It’s just a pity that the Yan family still underestimated Lin Dan’s connections. She was at peace with the world, but that didn’t mean that those who cared about her wouldn’t fight for her.