The Female Supporting Role Shows Out

Chapter 16: Lady Chef (15)

Lin Dan was indeed planning to fight against Yans restaurant head on this time around when she returned to the capital. She was not bothered at all to lose to Yan Langqing, but the predecessor of this Yan's restaurant was Lin's restaurant that was founded by Lin Baotian. Each of the signature dishes in this restaurant was painstakingly created by her own father. Lin Dan did not want to see the Yan family as well as her fathers two brothers taking away all his years of effort.

The Yan family did not even feel bad about taking over the restaurant, but Lin Dan, who had inherited the will of the owner of this body could not accept what had happened. Just as she said, she believed that she must take back what she deserves, and return what she owes.

As the saying goes, "Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories." To challenge Yans restaurant, Lin Dan had to try their dishes first. But her facial features had not changed much over the years and she was certain that her second and third uncles would put her in a spot if they had recognized her. She had no choice but to ask the handsome man to pick a few of their signature dishes and take them out for her to try.

After trying Yan's dishes, the two started discussing in a private room of a tea house. The handsome man asked, "How does it taste?"

"They are all very well done. As expected from the family of the imperial chef." Lin Dan gave a frank and honest judgment.

"When compared to your dishes?" The handsome man had not tried Lin Dan's Shandong cuisine and was having a strong desire to try it.

"You'll know when my store is opened." Lin Dan chuckled and pushed the door to leave. Although she did not answer his question directly, her composure was a sign of confidence.

The handsome man stared at her straight back, shook his head, and smiled.

The two continued to wander around the Qingyun Alley until they had reached a corner and saw another Shandong restaurant. Lin Dan waved at him and said, "Lets eat here." Since she was opening a store, it was natural for her to check out the restaurants nearby. It was not really to undermine their business but to learn their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.

It was called the Qiaoyuan Restaurant. The size was twice of Yans restaurant and the interior was very luxuriously decorated. There were pavilions and small ponds and bridges built within the restaurant which created a very elegant environment. High-ranking officials tend to show off their status when they eat out, and the service of this restaurant was far more luxurious than Yan's restaurant. She thought their business would be fairly good, but the two of them sat in the dining hall for a long time and only observed that they had only served with five or six groups of patrons. The number of patrons they had was far lesser than Yans restaurant.

But Lin Dan understood why after trying their dishes. It was simply because the chef of this restaurant was not skillful enough, and the Shandong dishes did not taste authentic.

"You can tell that the taste of this restaurant is worse than Yans restaurant. No wonder they were unable to keep attracting customers." Lin Dan put down her chopsticks and concluded.

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The handsome man did not express his opinions and only waved for the waiter to get the check. As soon as Lin Dan took out her purse, he pressed her hand down, and placed half a tael of silver in the waiters hand, paying the bill as fast as he could. His action was so fast that the waiter did not even catch how the money appeared on his palm. The waiter scratched his head for a while, looking all puzzled.

Lin Dan was amused and smiled slightly before starting a conversation with the waiter. "Is this restaurant interested in getting dry goods? I have some top-quality goods that I imported from Nanyang, including abalone, bird's nest, sea cucumber, scallops, and so on. I also have a wide variety of food that was harvested from the mountains and can provide a stable supply of goods for a long time."

In order to support her family, Lin Dan had to do some small business while learning how to cook. Over time, she had managed to set up a business fleet that specialized in distributing dry goods, such as importing seafood to the inland, and inland mountain food to the coastal areas. She was able to earn some decent money from these transactions.

Since this restaurant was targeted at patrons of status, they would have to buy top-quality food ingredients. The waiter did not dare to call the shots and quickly called for the manager to handle her offer. The manager was naturally happy to accept the additional source of goods, and Lin Dan asked her servant to bring the goods to the restaurant for inspection.

As the manager was not very familiar with the quality of the ingredients, he had to ask the chef for opinions. The chef seemed to be a young lad who had just turned twenty and was fair-skinned and good-looking. Although his culinary skills still had room for improvement, he had a good eye for food ingredients. He said firmly, "The abalones are all double abalones, bird's nests are premium imperial birds nest harvested during the rainy season, and the types of sharks fins include sea tiger sharks fins, whole-piece fins, and Tian Jiu fins, all of which are excellent products The fungi are non-ordinary fungi, they are black fungi that are picked from the cliffs and are top-quality ingredients from the mountains. These are all authentic and high-quality food ingredients."

He let out a long sigh of relief after he finished speaking, seemingly being relieved of a big burden. With these top-quality dry goods, he would not have to worry about not being able to make delicious Shandong dishes. He originally had two more years to officially become a chef, but his father suddenly fell ill and passed away. This restaurant was the fruit of his father's efforts and he wanted to perform well, but as his skills were still lacking and the restaurants business had been declining. The restaurant was even having issues sustaining ever since he took over as the head chef. If he had not been the chef and the owner of this restaurant, the manager would have fired him long ago.

"We want all these goods. Name me a price, Manager Lin." The chef said decisively.

Lin Dan gave him a reasonable price that was not too high nor too low. Seeing that he readily took out the money, she began speaking to him in a more casual manner. "Are there any other restaurants nearby? Please give me some directions to save me from making detours. Dont worry, I only have the second-tier ingredients left and will not affect your business by selling these ingredients to the other restaurants." After selling all the goods in her inventory, she was able to cover the costs she needed to buy her own shop.

The young chef shook his head and replied with hostility, "There are no other restaurants nearby except Qiaoyuan Restaurant and Yans Restaurant. You outsiders may not know that the head of this Yans Restaurant is an imperial chef, and they are so powerful that nobody else is allowed to open a Shandong restaurant nearby and compete with them."

"But arent you doing well here?" Lin Dan frowned slightly, while the handsome man put on a stern look.

"My family is not completely without backing. My grandfather served the Emperor, and my father served the Empress Dowager. They were all imperial chefs from the palace. The calligraphy that is hung in the dining hall was authentically written by the Emperor himself. This is why even though the Yan family is powerful, they wouldnt be able to lay a finger on me." The young chef looked proud of his ancestors achievements, but he also worried. Although his predecessors had done well, his skills were not good enough and business had been in decline. However, for Yan Langqing, she had become the head chef of the imperial kitchen at a young age. The Emperor was kind enough to spread her good reputation from within the palace to outside the palace.

This was why, even if those food connoisseurs in West Town did not like her food, they would not show it in order not to embarrass the Emperor. Eventually, Yans restaurant became more and more popular.

Lin Dan often sent her people back to the capital to understand more about the current affairs, and also knew about Yan Langqings success. After Yan Langqing left the Dukes residence, she worked as a head chef in Yan's restaurant. One day, the Emperor made a private visit to the capital and happened to have a meal in her restaurant. He took a liking to the dishes she made and had a good chat with her. He eventually decided to recruit her as a chef in the imperial kitchen where she gradually gained the Emperors favor.

However, Lin Dan did not follow what happened to Yan Langqing afterward and naturally did not know that she had gained so much power.

The chef then continued, "The head of the Yan family is Yan Langqing. Her signature dish is Wanfu meat. When the Emperor tried it for the first time, he liked it so much that he immediately hired her as an imperial chef. I heard that he could not stand not eating her dishes even for one day. Dont you think she has truly gained the favor of the Emperor?"

Lin Dan was not interested in whether Yan Langqing was favored by the Emperor or not, but she was interested in that Wanfu meat. She asked, "How is this Wanfu meat made? Is it really that delicious?"

"I have no idea. I heard that Imperial Chef Yan would ask everyone to retreat whenever she makes the Wanfu meat so that only she would know the recipe." The young chef shook his head regretfully.

Lin Dan put on her usual facial expression, but her eyes were cold and stiff. She left her address and bid the chef goodbye. When she left Qiaoyuan Restaurant, she immediately went back to the owner of the grocery store and said that she had brought the money and would be able to buy the shop immediately. However, the grocery store owner refused in every possible way and said that someone had paid a high price for the shop after she left.

Lin Dan observed at him carefully and saw that his eyes were full of pain from refusing a good deal. She understood immediately and knew that having many other interested buyers was just a ruse. The Yan family probably had warned all the nearby owners not to sell the shop to anyone who wants to open a Shandong cuisine restaurant.

Lin Dan said goodbye to the boss and had no interest in wandering around. She walked back without saying a word.

The handsome man stared at her from behind and spoke in a voice deeper than usual, "I used to work in the West and the North a few years ago, and only recently returned to the capital. But I didnt know that the Yan family is already acting so arrogantly."

"Arrogance?" Lin Dan looked back at him and smiled, with no telling what was the meaning behind her smile.

Soon, the handsome man knew why she smiled in that manner. He learned that Yan Shouye had found out from the grocery store owner that someone was going to open a Shandong restaurant right opposite his restaurant to challenge him head-on. Since Lin Dan had no power, it was easy for Yan Shouye to find out about Lin Dans intention. This was why there was no way Lin Dan could open a restaurant in the capital as the Yan family would find all ways to stop her. No one in the West Town dared to strike a deal with her, this was the same for owners in the East Town. And as soon as a shop owner in the North Town agreed to sell the shop, he would back out in the next moment and even took away the deposit that Lin Dan had paid. After looking around for a long time, Lin Dan finally found a shop in South Town that was located near a pier. However, the demographics were extremely complicated, and security was poor. Robbery and even murder often occurred there. It would not be easy to set up a business there, not to mention making money without incurring losses.

The Yan family was finally satisfied and felt that they had beaten Lin Dan down so hard that she would not stand a chance surviving there.

The handsome man had been traveling around with Lin Dan every day and watched her as she faced difficulties and was oppressed in every way. It was then he realized that the Yan family was not arrogant but despicable. No matter how disciplined and calm he was, he could not help but feel anger boiling within. However, Lin Dan had always maintained a positive and optimistic attitude. Although she would frown whenever she encountered difficulties, she would quickly recover, as if no one and nothing could break her.

On this day, Lin Dan brought her servants to South Town to tidy up the shop, while the handsome man stood by the door, scrutinizing passers-by with his eagle eyes and giving out his powerful aura. He would leave in the evening every day, and show up early the next morning to have breakfast at Lin Dan's house before traveling with her to places. Fortunately, with his protection, Lin Dan could travel freely in the chaotic South Town. She thought that she would have to hire strong and reliable bodyguards in the future if he was no longer around.

Lin Dan sighed at the thought of that and said, "Now that I have gotten everything settled down, you dont have to follow me around anymore."

The man refused and made another proposal, "The location of this stop is bad. I'll change one for you. It's in West Town.

"We met by coincidence and are not related to each other in any way. How can I accept the shop? I will remember your kindness and charge you at half price whenever you come by and have a meal at my restaurant." Lin Dan refused his offer as expected. She was a reasonable person who would never take people for granted.

The man pressed his lips slightly, not knowing how to persuade her. Seeing that the sky was getting dark, he turned around and left. When he reached the entrance of the alley, he looked back and was filled with worry. He felt that this was really not a good place to open a restaurant. It was not only hidden in a winding alleyway, there were also vice activities such as gambling, cockfighting, and prostitution happening nearby. He wondered how she would be able to set up a business here.

But Lin Dan was so stubborn that he did not know how to help her even if he wanted to.