From Afar, Qiao Jinniang saw a rabbit lantern hanging outside a shop. The appearance of the rabbit lantern was extremely cute.
She pulled Lu Chen’s hand and said, “Let’s go there.”
The rabbit lantern was only hung out to attract customers. Many tourists came and went, asking how the lantern should be sold, but the shopkeeper said that he shook his head and did not sell it.
However, when a new restaurant opened, the diners who entered would give this exquisite rabbit lantern.
Most of the people who came out to tour the lantern festival had already eaten at home, but this rabbit lantern was really exquisite. Some people walked around it and were a little hungry. Seeing that the lantern was really beautiful, they entered.
This place was only two miles away from hundred savory restaurant. Opening a restaurant here might affect hundred savory restaurant’s business.
However, Qiao Jinniang was not afraid. There were so many restaurants in Lin ‘an, and hundred savory restaurant’s business had been booming over the past 16 years. Naturally, there was no need to be afraid of the newly opened restaurant.
Qiao Jinniang, Lu Chen, Xie Yun, and a few others entered.
The waiter came forward and asked, “Dear guests, what would you like to order?”? The restaurant’s signature side dishes were dry-fried bell, braised spring bamboo shoots, fish ball soup, fish in oil tofu vinegar, crab stuffed orange, preserved chicken, preserved duck, preserved white goose, and so on. What would you like to order?”
Qiao Jinniang heard that although these dishes were the local dishes of Lin ‘an, they were also the signature dishes of Bai Wei restaurant.
With the intention of exchanging cooking skills with each other, Qiao Jinniang had people serve their signature dishes.
Lu Chen loved eating fish balls. He tasted a fish ball and said, “This three-dish soup tastes exactly the same as the fish balls of Bai Wei restaurant.”
Lan Xin also picked up a fish ball for Xie Yun and placed it in the bowl in front of Xie Yun. Xie Yun tasted it and said, “This skill is almost as good as manager Qiao’s.”
After a few signature dishes were served one by one, Qiao Jinniang also tasted them and felt that the taste was very familiar.
The same dishes were made with the same ingredients and different chefs made different tastes. The cooking skills of the chefs of the Hundred Savory restaurant were very different from those of the chefs of other restaurants, but this taste was clearly the taste of the Hundred Savory restaurant.
Qiao Jinniang’s expression became uglier and uglier. There was no one else besides him who could cook like this.
Qiao Jinniang said to Lu Chen, “I want to go back.”
Lu Chen nodded and took Qiao Jinniang’s hand, giving the waiter three taels of silver. “Miss Xie, Jin ‘er and I will take our leave first.”
However, before the two of them could walk out of the door, a woman who was six or seven months pregnant rushed forward and returned three taels of silver to Qiao Jinniang, “Jinniang, I’m really sorry. It’s enough that you can come to my restaurant for a meal. I don’t need this silver!”
When glutinous rice saw this person, she said angrily, “Mu Liuliu, how can you have the nerve to return to Lin ‘an? Back then, master Qiao kindly took in your cousins and gave them the ability to look after the house. He regarded them as his beloved disciples.
“However, when master was seriously ill, you slipped away, causing miss to have no choice but to leave the academy to take charge of the kitchen in the restaurant!”
Mu Liuliu said guiltily, “Sister Jin, I know we have let you down, but Feng Lang and I are truly in love. I know that your Qiao family has saved Feng Lang and me, and we will repay you well in the future.”
Qiao Jinniang felt extremely disgusted. “Lu Chen, let’s Go!”
After Lu Chen and Qiao Jinniang returned to the Qiao family’s small courtyard, they saw that Qiao Jinniang was still puffing her cheeks, so they poked her cheeks with their hands. “Do you know that you are now very much like the puffed-up little goldfish in the lotus pond outside?”
Qiao Jinniang shook off Lu Chen’s hands and rested her cheeks on her hands. “The person who gave us the silver just now came to Lin ‘an with her younger brother six years ago when they were cornered.
My parents saw that they were lonely, so they left them to do odd jobs. Her younger brother, Feng Jie, was a man who loved to make progress. He always sneaked into the kitchen to watch the cooks cook and also wanted to become a cook.
Later, when my father saw that he liked cooking so much, he passed on everything he had learned in his life to him.
At that time, I didn’t know that when my father passed on his cooking skills to him, he mentioned that if he didn’t have a younger brother by the time I got married in the future, he would marry into the Qiao family
“Until two years ago, when my father suddenly fell ill and couldn’t go to the kitchen anymore, he mentioned the matter of marrying into the family to Feng Jie. However, Feng Jie took his cousin to Yangzhou overnight. I heard that they got married in Yangzhou…”
Qiao jinniang said angrily, “At that time, he said in some restaurants in Yangzhou that I forced him to marry in, but he and his cousin fell in love and escaped from Lin ‘an.
“Yang Jie’s small eyes were like green beans. I still hated him. I only found out about my father’s intention after he ran away. If I had known earlier, I would have helped him and his cousin!”
Lu Chen gave Qiao Jinniang a cup of hot water and said, “Alright, be good. Don’t be angry. Now that you and I are married and we have a child, why bother with them?”
Qiao jinniang said, “If he had told the truth and said that he was having an affair with his cousin, my parents might have helped them arrange the marriage. My father really likes this disciple of his.”.
“After Feng Jie escaped, my father’s body was a lot weaker. There was a chef in the restaurant. At that time, Old Yang injured his hand. I had no choice but to come back from the academy to take charge of the kitchen. They are simply ungrateful!”!
“Now, the restaurant is located two miles away from our hundred savory restaurant. They are obviously here to snatch business from our hundred savory restaurant. It’s extremely disgusting!”
“They keep saying that they feel guilty. If they really feel guilty, why would they open the restaurant not far from Our Hundred Savory Restaurant?”
Lu Chen held Qiao Jinniang’s hand and said, “The heavens have eyes. The neighbors are also reasonable. The business will not be stolen. Don’t worry.”
Qiao Jinniang let out a breath of turbid air under Lu Chen’s comfort. She leaned on Lu Chen’s shoulder and said, “Father and mother just died not long ago, and they came back. This behavior is really disgusting.”
Lu Chen said, “It’s okay. They are so ungrateful. They will surely die if they do more ungrateful things.”
However, a few days later, Qiao Jinniang found that the business of Hundred Savory restaurant was not as good as before. There were even rumors in the neighborhood that after Father Qiao passed away, the taste of Hundred Savory restaurant was no longer as good as before.
As for the newly opened Feng family restaurant, the chef was Father Qiao’s eldest disciple, Feng Jie. Only then did he have father Qiao’s original skills.
When Feng Jie left that year, Father Qiao and mother Qiao gave him some face. They did not speak ill of Feng Jie’s ingratitude in the neighborhood.
Fennel brought in the rumors from outside and said to Qiao jinniang, “That Feng Jie and Mu are simply Shameless!
Today, Mu Liuliu is still telling the neighbors that you kept asking Feng Jie to marry into the family. Feng Jie was a good man who did not want to marry into the family, so he was chased away by the Hundred Savory Restaurant!
“Look, is that what you’re saying?”
Lu Chen glared at fennel and said to Qiao jinniang, “Don’t be angry. The child in your stomach is more important.”
Qiao Jinniang looked at the depressed restaurant. It was much worse than when her parents were there. She could not help but feel a little discouraged. “I also said that I wanted to promote the Hundred Savory restaurant, but as soon as my parents left, the business plummeted…”
