Hearing her say that, the faces of the various branch shopkeepers lit up with excitement. One could only imagine how rare and precious a new dish was to a restaurant.
As long as their establishments had tofu dishes that other stores did not, what need would they have to worry about their business not picking up?
Among them, the most excited was Shopkeeper Wu of Yecheng, who had managed the Fragrant Full Building for many years. He had always been outperformed by the Drunken Immortal Residence and had endured much frustration. Now all that would change; with tofu dishes on the menu at Fragrant Full Building, he had no fear of customers not coming to dine, nor of being unable to surpass the Drunken Immortal Residence!
Since Lin Yuan had agreed to teach every branch the process of making tofu, she asked each branch to send a steward to learn the techniques at the tofu workshop for a period. Moreover, besides being smart and capable, the most important requirement for this steward was loyalty. She certainly did not want the unique craft she had worked so hard to create to be stolen by others.
In addition to this, of course, chefs who could cook tofu dishes were needed. Thus, Lin Yuan asked the shopkeepers of several branches to select a capable and reliable chef to come to Fuman Building to learn cooking from the head chef.
Because Lin Yuan used to provide Fuman Building with new dishes each month, the tofu menu at Fuman Building was already quite extensive. However, having just tried them, she always felt that the taste was slightly off.
Lin Yuan immediately decided to personally take action, teaching the chefs how to cook, hands-on.
Upon hearing this, the others were alright, but Shopkeeper Liu was so excited that he rubbed his hands together. The previous Boss had always complained that the dishes made by the chefs did not taste as authentic as those made by Lin Yuan, but now, that was about to change. He had seen Lin Yuan’s cooking skills himself, and with her personally taking charge, how could these chefs not learn well?
Xia Zheng, however, immediately objected, "Teach those chefs hands-on? Wishful thinking. Lin Yuan’s delicate hands are for me alone to touch!"
Lin Yuan thought Xia Zheng was worried about her getting tired, and said softly, "It’s only for two hours a day, it won’t be tiring."
"Then I will join too."
Lin Yuan was speechless and could only nod in agreement.
Shopkeeper Wu and the others exchanged glances. The Young Master was really too clingy to Lin Dongjia, even insisting on being present while she was cooking. Who was it that used to say so sanctimoniously that a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen?
After the meal, Lin Yuan pulled Shopkeeper Wu aside to inquire about the Drunken Immortal Residence.
Shopkeeper Wu naturally guessed Lin Yuan’s intention, so when she asked, he told her everything without holding back.
"The Drunken Immortal Residence doesn’t just have an incredibly powerful backing. If that were all, I would have accepted our place," Shopkeeper Wu said with a dejected face. Lin Yuan quite agreed; if the Drunken Immortal Residence only had strong backing but mediocre food, it probably wouldn’t attract so many customers.
"Furthermore, their head chef is said to be a very impressive figure, making dishes with unique flavors that no one else can match," added Shopkeeper Wu with some embarrassment. "Boss, to be honest, I’ve sent some new faces from our staff to pack up some of the specialty dishes from the Drunken Immortal Residence, and the taste, tsk tsk, truly isn’t something we can compare with! No wonder their business is so good!"
Even Shopkeeper Wu had to admit defeat to the superior culinary skills.
Lin Yuan’s heart began to itch again, like a martial arts master encountering another expert. If she did not make a comparison, she would regret it for the rest of her life.
"Have you ever seen that chef?" Lin Yuan was very curious about the chef.
Shopkeeper Wu shook his head regretfully: "No, not just me, but hardly anyone in the Drunken Immortal Residence has seen him either. Not to hide anything from you, Boss, I’ve placed a spy there too. That kid’s been at the Drunken Immortal Residence for four years, and he’s not once seen the chef’s true face."