The Female Supporting Role Shows Out

Chapter 20: Lady Chef (19)

The old manager would not be able to keep Lin Dan as she had her own restaurant to run. After serving dishes for ten tables of diners, seeing that the peak hour was almost over, she got ready to leave after washing her hands and face. The dried goods that were soaked with the techniques she imparted were ready for use. Although young chef Qiu had only learned less than half of her skills, he was able to create delicious dishes perfectly and had received praise from the diners.

When Lin Dan left, he gave her two recipes and said gratefully, Manager Lin, these are the secret recipes of the Qiu family. Im giving them to you. He wanted to pay for Manager Lins signature dishes, but he thought she may not want to accept monetary payment and decided to do a barter trade as a sign of his sincerity.

Lin Dan thought he was handing her money notes and was about to refuse it, but she heard what he said and accepted his offer. She looked around hurriedly and spoke to him in a friendlier tone, Thank you very much. I will come here every day to teach you how to make the golden lionfish late in the afternoon and leave early in the evening until youve mastered this dish. If Yans restaurant introduces another new signature dish, I will teach you another dish until youve mastered it. Ill teach you any dish that can compete with theirs until youve mastered them all.

Chef Qiu was in disbelief and questioned, Manager Lin, could there be some animosity between you and the Yans restaurant?

I wanted to open my own Shandong cuisine opposite their restaurant, but they thwarted my plans. Do you think I can still be friendly with them?

Sigh, it counts as my blessing that they have thwarted your plans, or you will definitely be the most popular restaurant on the street! The young chef was a straightforward man and immediately regretted what he said. He looked at her with a please forgive me written all over his face.

Lin Dan pointed at him and said with a chuckle, Ill take that as a compliment! If anyone asks you, just tell them that youve gotten yourself a mentor. Do not reveal my name and identity. She left through the backdoor after she finished her speech.

Young chef Qiu quickly agreed to her request. He knew that the Yan family was unscrupulous enough to use dirty tricks on their competitors. But food quality was something nobody could lie about. As long as the diners were able to tell whether the dishes they served were delicious or not, he did not care whether he was being honest with who he learned the dishes from. He hid behind the screen while observing the dining hall and noticed the two princes leaving. They had even asked for takeaways for the food they did not manage to finish. As it was common for the royalties to waste food, it was rare to see that they did not even bear to waste any food today.

This wont do. I must meet this new chef and ask him how the lion manes mushroom was made. Im sure that young Qiu is unable to create this flavor. The prince walked to the entrance and turned around, calling for the old manager to introduce their new head chef.

Young Qiu had no choice but to apologize and said that his mentor had left but would be back tomorrow afternoon. He also said that his mentor would make dishes occasionally in Qiaoyuan Restaurant and it all depended on their luck whether they were able to try her food.

So, when will she come? Prince Cheng asked.

Shell come in the late afternoon and leave early in the evening.

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Wouldnt she miss the meal times, then?

Shes only here to teach me how to cook. Shes not the chef of this restaurant. Chef Qiu answered carefully.

Never mind, I dont mind pushing back my lunchtime. Did you say late afternoon? Ill be here again tomorrow! Prince Cheng walked away with his bulging belly while holding a food box in his hand. Other diners who were eavesdropping on their conversation had planned to visit the restaurant again the next day as well. They did not mind waiting for good food.

Chef Qiu respectfully saw the two princes off and noticed the manager of Yans restaurant sneakily peeking into their restaurant at a corner. The Yans restaurant was empty and there were few patrons.

Chef Qiu lifted his chin and gave him a hmph. He finally felt assured ever since his father had passed away.

-

It was already evening when Lin Dan and Tang Jiu returned to South District. As the red and orange sunset filled the skies, it also made their faces flushed with warmth and peacefulness. Both of them remained silent and walked behind each other. When they walked deep into the alley and arrived at the restaurant, they saw a middle-aged woman who was dressing scantily speaking to Xiao-zhu. She was making advances to Xiao-zhu and was acting promiscuously.

When Xiao-zhu saw Lin Dan, he heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, Our manager is here, why dont you speak to her instead? Xiao-zhu escaped immediately after finishing his sentence as if he saw a ghost.

The middle-aged woman chuckled as she watched him making his escape. She then turned around and said to Lin Dan, Sell this shop to me for ten silver taels. Without waiting for Lin Dans reply, she continued, I heard that you have spent twenty silver taels for this place and Im sure youre unwilling to sell it for ten taels. But think about it, since this shop is hidden deep in the alley, nobody would find it! If you sell it to me now, youd be able to minimize your losses, isnt it?

Arent you afraid of suffering losses, too? Lin Dan walked over to her at a steady pace.

Well, were selling bodies here, do you think you can compare your business to mine? As long as my girls open their legs, my customers will know where to enter. But this is not the same for you, do you think your customers will find you here? The middle-aged woman spoke crudely and even the mild-tempered Lin Dan was frowning at her speech.

Tang Jiu wanted to take a step forward and throw the woman out of the shop, but Lin Dan pulled his sleeve lightly to stop him. She said gently, Im sorry, were not selling this shop. You may have to look for other shops. It was important to keep calm when doing business and this was why Lin Dan never got angry no matter how nasty the other party was. Her emotions were seldom affected by external factors as if she was born with lesser emotions or desires than others.

The middle-aged woman seemed to be intimidated by Tang Jius eagle eyes and left the shop hurriedly. But as she went out, she turned around and said, I have a brothel at that corner of the street, its called the Crimson House. If you have changed your mind, you may find me there, my name is Qin Erniang. But Ill tell you this first, I may not offer to buy this shop at such a high price the next time! She had just gotten two new beautiful girls from Jiangnan and intended to keep them deep in the alley. In this way, they could be put up for long-term rental and bring in more profits. Lin Dans shop was located at one of the quietest places and Qin Erniang took a liking to her shop at once. It was a pity that Lin Dan had refused to sell the shop.

Forget it, Im sure youd suffer huge losses by opening a restaurant deep in the alley! Qin Erniang cursed in her mind. She felt better after cursing and eagerly waited for Lin Dan to approach her in the future.

Lin Dan did not take what she said to heart and carried on with what she was doing after a chuckle. But Tan Jiu said worriedly, Why dont you open a restaurant in the West District instead? I own a few shops there and can sell or even rent them to you. Im sure the Yan family would not dare to create trouble for you.

Thank you for your kind gesture. Lin Dan turned around and looked at him. She asked in a tender voice, Tang Jiu, what do you think is the best dish in the world?

This was a difficult question for the food connoisseur. He had tried all sorts of food around the world and fell in love with various types of flavors, but he was unable to compare each of them and select the best one among them. Each type of cuisine had its own characteristics and strengths, as well as the people who appreciated it. Even dishes that were made in the palace may not appeal to everyone, as there were some who liked it and others who did not. This was why it was difficult to satisfy everyones palate.

Lin Dan saw that he was unable to come up with an answer, she pointed to the signboard on the door and said, If Im able to make the most delicious cuisine in the world, why should I worry?

Tang Jiu raised his head and had a sudden realization. He saw that the signboard was written with two words Hometown Kitchen. There was no doubt that hometown cuisine was the most delicious food in the world. No matter where one went or whether they had tried any kinds of delicacies, in the middle of a cold and lonely night, they would be missing the most memorable taste of childhood or hometown. This is especially so in the South District where most of them were wanderers who came from elsewhere, the more they got used to the capital food, the more they would yearn for their hometown food.

Lin Dan spent ten years traveling all over the country of Great Chu and learned most local dishes. She doubted she would suffer from losses if she were to open a restaurant here. 

Seeing that Tang Jiu had figured it out, Lin Dan chuckled, "If were in West District, I will open a Shandong restaurant; if were in East District, I will open a Huaiyang restaurant; and if were in North District, I will open a noodle restaurant. No matter where my restaurant is located, Im not worried that my business would fail. As she had faith in her culinary skills, she was more confident and cool-headed than others in everything she did.

As there were more officials and nobles in the South District, she would open a Shandong restaurant which was well-liked by the officials. Most of the people in the East District were rich and knowledgeable and enjoyed having extravagant food. This was why serving Huaiyang cuisine was a good choice because the cuisine paid more attention to aesthetics and elegance and almost every famous Huaiyang dish had a story behind it, which would appeal to the liking of the rich. As most poor people resided in the North District, it would make sense to simply open a shop that serves Yangchun noodles or Zhajiang noodles. As for the South District, it also made perfect sense to open a restaurant that served local hometown dishes The dirty tricks of the Yan family would never be able to worry Lin Dan at all.

Tang Jiu had thought about these business strategies on his way home and realized he had got to know Lin Dan a little bit better.

"Looks like I have been worrying for nothing." He sighed with mixed emotion.

"But I must still thank you for your kindness." Lin Dan walked back into the kitchen and moved the three pots of soup into a large pot before continuing to cook them over a low fire. She took up a kitchen knife and started cutting the cabbage. She cut the cabbage using different knife techniques and carved it into different shapes, such as the centipede, peony, wheat flower, and so on. The cuts slowly spread out beautifully after being soaked in water.

Tang Jiu stared at her superb cutting skills for a long time before pointing to the wok filled with sand and asked, "Are you going to make sugar roasted chestnuts?"

Lin Dan shook her head and said, "After practicing my knife techniques, I need to practice stirring food in the wok with a spatula. How can I improve the strength of my wrist without having any weight in the wok? I would become less familiar with cutting if I dont practice daily, and this is the same for stirring food in the wok. If my wrist is not strong enough, I wont be able to create the original taste or the dish.

Tang Jiu could not help but sighed, Practicing cooking doesnt seem to be much easier than practicing martial arts."

"Its not surprising at all, since each craft is mastered by practicing." Lin Dan put down the kitchen knife and walked into the kitchen. She lifted the lid of the large earthen pot that was boiling the braised sauce and slowly stirred the sauce with a long spatula. She then removed the softened whole chicken, duck, pig's trotters, pork belly, and other food ingredients, before adding fresh whole chicken, duck, pig's trotters, pork belly, pork skin, and other ingredients. She kept cooking the sauce before covering the lid and wrapping a wet towel around the rim of the pot. A slate was also placed on the lid to prevent the flavor from escaping.

But Tan Jiu almost fainted the moment when the lid was lifted. It was not because it smelled bad, but it was because it smelled too good that his soul was almost taken away by it!