Cute Wife Gourmet

Chapter 68 Pay back the money
Ye Jiayao thought that as long as it was a competition, there was no such thing as friendship first and competition second. That was all empty talk. As long as it was a competition, there had to be a winner, and victory or defeat was related to fame and fortune. The reason why there was such a big gap between winning a gold medal and a silver medal in the Olympics was very telling.

If an individual participates in the competition, it only concerns personal fame and fortune, but this time the competition is participated by restaurants as a unit, so the impact on the restaurants is greater.

"This cooking competition was held once five years ago. At that time, it was Chef Niu from Tianshangju who took third place, which established Tianshangju's position in Jinling's catering industry. This time, it's in suspense!" Shopkeeper Li said with emotion.

Ye Jiayao asked curiously: "Who are the first and second?"

"The first one is Lu Yiming, the chef of Vegetarian Kitchen, who later joined the Imperial Kitchen. Vegetarian Kitchen only serves vegetarian banquets. Although it is very famous, its business is not as good as other restaurants. The second one is Zheng Fugui of Fuji. Therefore, no one has been able to shake Fuji's position in the past five years. It is said that the court also wanted to recruit him to the Imperial Kitchen, but Zheng Fugui refused. Being an imperial chef is just a name, and it is not as profitable as opening a restaurant."

"Xiangyilou has risen in the past two years with great momentum. This time they poached Chef Niu, it seems they are determined to win. There is also Qilin Pavilion and Jufulin, which have also developed well in the past few years. On the contrary, our Tianshangju has a downward trend." Shopkeeper Li felt more and more confused the more he thought about it.

Ye Jiayao was very interested: "Boss, no matter what, we at Tianshangju are going to participate, right?"

"You have to participate even if you don't want to. If Chef Niu was still here, people would be happy if you didn't participate. But now there are a lot of gossips. You can't find anyone in Tianshangju, right? You can't show up, right? But if you want to participate, I can only send you now." Shopkeeper Li looked at Ye Jiayao with a worried look on his face.

Ye Jiayao said with a smile: "Boss, don't worry about me. Maybe I can come out of nowhere and surprise everyone. Come on, tell me what special skills Zheng Fugui and Chef Niu from Fu Ji, the two chefs you think are the best, have."

Shopkeeper Li sneered, "Chef Niu is not the best. In Jinling City, he can only be ranked fifth. In fact, the real best is Madam Rong. Second Lady learned cooking from her. It's a pity that Madam Rong became a nun now."

Ye Jiayao was very surprised. The most powerful person was actually a woman, and she had become a nun. Why?
"Why did she become a nun?"

"This is their private matter, it's not appropriate to discuss it." Shopkeeper Li suppressed Ye Jiayao's curiosity with one sentence and continued, "The second one is Lu Yiming, the third one is Zheng Fugui, the fourth one is Qilin Pavilion's chef Duan Qilin, but he happened to be seriously ill during the competition that year and didn't make it, and the fifth one is Niu Shunbao."

Ye Jiayao said: "Lu Yiming has already entered the imperial kitchen, so he will naturally not come to participate again. Zheng Fugui has also won the second place, so he should be embarrassed to come again. In this case, we still have a chance to compete with Duan Qilin and Niu Shunbao."

Shopkeeper Li shook his head, "No, no, this time, Lu Yiming and Zheng Fugui will not participate, but their sons Lu Xiaotian and Zheng Sanduo will participate. They have inherited their family's cooking skills and are very good at cooking."

The competition is fierce, with both old guys and rising stars. Ye Jiayao suddenly felt that the situation was getting serious.

"Manager Li, you have no other choice anyway, so I have to do it. You should give it a try. Can you say something encouraging? Stop making me angry all the time." Ye Jiayao muttered.

Shopkeeper Li thought about it and decided that he could only try his best to save the situation, so he said, "Forget it, you are right. I asked you to come here today so that you can be prepared. When the date and rules of the cooking competition are decided, we can think of a solution together. Sigh..."

Ye Jiayao thought for a moment and smiled slyly, "Shopkeeper Li, no matter what rules they set, it is still a matter of cooking. I think that only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle. Do you think I should go to Fu Ji, Qilin Pavilion, or Xiang Yi Lou to try their cooking skills so that I can have a better idea?"

Shopkeeper Li laughed: "Go ahead and come back to settle the bill for how much you ate."

Ye Jiayao pretended to be serious and said, "As you wish, I promise that every meal will be rewarding and I will not waste a penny of the restaurant's money."

Shopkeeper Li was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and waved his hand and told her to leave quickly.

Shopkeeper Li continued to look gloomy, but Ye Jiayao became more energetic. She was just worried that she would have nothing to do. The cooking competition was a platform for display and a shortcut to fame. What a great opportunity. Oh, haha... She had to make her ice cream mooncakes and crystal mooncakes quickly.

In the evening, when Ye Jiayao returned to the inn, Shopkeeper Du waved at her with a smile: "Brother Li, come here."

"Brother, what's going on?"

Shopkeeper Du pointed to a silver note of 100 taels on the counter and said, "This is a gift from your friend. He wants to change you to a top-class room, and also provide you with breakfast and dinner, and some household items."

Ye Jiayao knew with her toes that the so-called friend was not that stupid donkey? Who asked him to meddle in other people's business? Can you buy peace of mind with a hundred taels of silver? It's not that cheap.

Ye Jiayao said, "Brother, don't pay attention to him. I live well, so there's no need to change. I'll return the banknote to him."

Shopkeeper Du nodded and said, "It's fine to return it to him, but I've thought about it. You live in my shop and help me with this and that every day. I feel bad for letting you live in the ground floor. How about this, you move to the second floor, and you can pay a little bit of rent a month."

Ye Jiayao was dumbfounded: "Brother, this is not necessary!" The Renzi Hotel costs 300 copper coins a night, which is more than 9 taels a month. Giving 1 tael as a token of appreciation is like staying here for free. This is not a matter of a few taels of silver. She felt bad when the Dizi Hotel gave her a 30% discount. How could she feel comfortable staying here now that the Renzi Hotel is offering a 10% discount?
"Okay, okay, it's settled. Your sister-in-law and I have discussed it." Shopkeeper Du said with a smile.

Ye Jiayao said seriously, "Brother, you have taken good care of me. I am embarrassed to stay here any longer. Please take it back quickly, or I will have to find another place to live."

Manager Du was a little angry: "Young man, you are being distant with me by saying this, right? You are called Big Brother for nothing, right? I opened an inn by myself, what is the most important thing? Isn't it just a house?"

"But your house is not left empty, it is used for business." Ye Jiayao reasoned with him.

The two were at a stalemate, and finally the second mother came to make the final decision. Both sides gave in, and Ye Jiayao moved to the Renzihao house, with a rent of three taels of silver per month.

Ye Jiayao thought that since her salary had increased, her quality of life should also improve accordingly, so she agreed.

In the end, it was all caused by the stupid donkey. After Ye Jiayao moved into the house, she went to find the stupid donkey with the banknotes in her pocket.

The Prince Jing'an's Mansion was easy to find. It was easy to find. Ye Jiayao arrived at the gate of the mansion and saw that the area in front of the gate was wide, with two large stone lions on the left and right, a row of lanterns hanging high, and guards guarding the door. It was very grand.

Just as Ye Jiayao was about to step onto the stairs, the guards came to chase her away: "Open your eyes and look carefully, this is the Marquis' Mansion, no one is allowed in."

Ye Jiayao looked down at her clothes. They were indeed a bit shabby, made of grey cloth, but she didn't look like a beggar! Her clothes were clean and not patched! It seemed that the guard dog of the Marquis of Jing'an Mansion was not very good. Judging a person by his appearance, he could further infer that like master, like servant. Therefore, the master here would not be a good person either.

"Did you hear me? Why don't you leave now?" the guard shouted.

Ye Jiayao took out a hundred taels of silver and slapped it on the guard's chest, saying arrogantly, "Brother, I'm here to pay you back. Please give the silver note to your prince. By the way, tell him that if he has nothing to do, he can go to the brothel and have a drink. He doesn't need to worry about my business. Be sure to tell him that if you dare to put it in your pocket, don't blame me for not warning you if the prince asks about it later!"

After saying that, Ye Jiayao patted her butt, put her hands behind her back, and walked away with a swagger.

The guards were frightened by her. What kind of person is this? He is dressed so poorly, and looks like a poor boy. But he is so arrogant that he dares to call himself the master and tease the prince. He is so bold.

However, he was really intimidated by this kid, so he didn't dare to delay and went in to find the prince immediately.

Xia Chunyu was in his mother's room listening to her talk about something that he was not interested in at all and that was giving him a headache.

"Chun'er ah..." Lady Xia Youshi, wife of Marquis Jing'an, smiled gently. The faint crow's feet at the corners of her eyes could not hide the joy in her heart, and they all gathered together happily.

Ever since Yaoyao gave him the nickname "Stupid Donkey", Xia Chunyu felt that his mother was calling him "Stupid" every time she heard him call Chun'er.

"Today, I went to the palace to see the Empress Dowager. She told me that the Queen Mother intends to marry Princess Liuli to you. This is a great thing. Everyone knows that the Seventh Prince is the Queen Mother's favorite son and the brother that the Emperor relies on the most. Unfortunately, he died young. Princess Liuli was raised in the palace by the Queen Mother and will be named a princess as soon as she gets married. Whoever marries her can inherit the Seventh Prince's fiefdom and become the king of a vassal state. All the princes and sons in the court are thinking about this, but the Queen Mother only chose you..."

Xia Chunyu said indifferently: "My son is not worthy of it."

He had heard about how unruly Princess Liuli was when he was on duty in the palace. If he married a daughter-in-law like this, the whole mansion would be turned upside down by her, and his mother would still be happy. She would not even have tears to cry at that time.

Xia Youshi sighed and said lightly, "Why are you talking like that? Don't be stupid. This is the Queen Mother's will. The Queen Mother's will is the Emperor's will. Do you want to disobey the imperial decree? Others beg for help but fail, and you still ignore them. Isn't this stupid?"

"Madam, there is someone outside looking for the prince." The maid came in to report.

Xia Chunyu thought to himself, it's good that you came! He quickly stood up and said, "Son, go out and take a look. It might be official business." He immediately ran away.

Xia Youshi sighed dejectedly. She was full of joy before, but now she was worried.

(End of this chapter)