Hearing what Manager Tong said, Han Yiyi was speechless. She rolled her eyes at him before saying that she had picked up the person in the back mountain and that he had a head injury.

Hearing Han Yiyi's words, Manager Tong turned his gaze to Nangong Yuan again. Seeing the other man grinning at him with his big teeth showing, he couldn't help but sigh, "Ah! What a pity about his looks..."

Han Yiyi didn't want to discuss whether it was a pity or not with Manager Tong. She had important business to attend to today, so she asked instead.

"Manager Tong, how's business at the restaurant these days...?"

Upon hearing Han Yiyi's words, Manager Tong finally turned his gaze away from Nangong Yuan and spoke.

"I'm not happy with Han Niangzi. Ever since she started selling barbecue, the business at the restaurant has been getting better and better, and the turnover is much higher than before. However, recently I've noticed that more and more customers are ordering barbecue, but fewer and fewer are ordering other dishes. Some even order and take it away without eating it in the restaurant..."

Seeing that Han Yiyi didn't quite understand what he meant, Manager Tong continued.

"Yunlai Restaurant has no fewer than twenty branches throughout Beichen. Although the prices of the food vary, the types of food are roughly the same. But now, this restaurant is all about barbecue, which makes it different from other Yunlai restaurants..."

Han Yiyi understood what Manager Tong meant. It was that the restaurant was originally a chain, but its barbecue had made it feel like a "street stall," and the overall style was completely different...

Thinking of this, Han Yiyi's expression became somewhat unnatural. However, Manager Tong did not notice the change in Han Yiyi's expression and instead sighed again.

"I'm really worried that if things continue like this, no one will come to the restaurant to eat anymore..."

When Han Yi saw that Manager Tong had a furrowed brow, she smiled slightly, but instead of responding to his words, she took a handful of chili peppers from her basket and placed them on the table.

"Shopkeeper Tong, have you seen what this is...?"

Manager Tong now regards Han Yiyi as his god of wealth. Originally, he said these words today to test whether Han Yiyi had any good way to make customers order more food while ensuring the store's turnover.

However, seeing that he didn't respond to her words, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. But when she saw what he took out, she looked at it curiously.

After examining it for a while and smelling it, he still couldn't figure it out. Thinking that Han Yiyi always brought food with her when she came over, his eyes flickered, and he quickly asked.

"Is this food?... "

"Yes, this is a dish I discovered by chance. It tastes great when stir-fried with meat or used as a side dish. I wonder if it would be convenient for me to use the kitchen staff in Manager Tong's kitchen for a while? I'll cook a few dishes for Manager Tong to try..."

"It's convenient, it's convenient..."

Now that Manager Tong had managed to concoct some food for Han Yiyi, he had no doubt whatsoever and readily agreed, personally leading her to the kitchen.

Worried that the two little ones—no, now there are three "little ones"—would affect Han Yiyi's performance, they quickly had a lot of snacks brought over for them to eat.

Looking at the ingredients in the kitchen, Han Yiyi decided to make a spicy chicken and a stir-fried pork intestine with chili peppers. The pork intestine was already braised, so it would be easy to stir-fry. Seeing that there was fish, she decided to stir-fry some fish pieces as well.

Actually, the spiciness of Erjintiao is not particularly spicy. It is much milder than that of long peppers, and naturally cannot be compared with millet peppers. Therefore, Han Yiyi did not plan to sell the millet peppers in her vegetable garden directly. Instead, she decided to keep some for herself and use the rest to make pickled peppers.

Without starch, Han Yiyi coated the fish pieces with flour, then deep-fried them before adding scallions, ginger, garlic, and chili peppers and stir-frying. The chicken pieces were also deep-fried first, and the large intestines, which were already braised, only needed a few stirs.

The three dishes were ready in less than 45 minutes. To make them look nicer, Han Yiyi added some red chilies. Regardless of whether they tasted good or not, the combination of green and red looked very appetizing.

As soon as the dishes were placed on the table, Manager Tong couldn't wait to pick up a piece of chicken and put it in his mouth. Because the chicken had been deep-fried by Han Yiyi, it was slightly crispy and fragrant. The spiciness hit Ye Lei right in the head, giving her a great experience that made her want to keep eating it.

Stir-fried large intestines perfectly blend the braised and spicy flavors, while stir-fried fish pieces are incredibly fragrant, spicy, and addictive—a must-have dish to accompany rice.

When Han Yi saw that Manager Tong was eating one bite at a time and was even about to tell the waiter to go to the kitchen to get him some rice, he quickly spoke up.

"Manager Tong, let's finish our business first, then we can eat..."

Han Yiyi remembered that the "three little guys" were still waiting for her. When Zicheng arrived, he kept asking for wontons. Since she also wanted some, she planned to negotiate the chili business with Manager Tong and then led them there. When she saw that the food was about to be served, she hurriedly interrupted.

Upon hearing Han Yiyi's words, Manager Tong realized that the dishes in front of him weren't just cooked for nothing. Reluctantly, he shifted his gaze from the dishes on the table, then, remembering his business, he hurriedly asked.

"I wonder how Madam Han plans to sell these chilies..."

He had initially worried that the restaurant's dishes would be affected by the barbecue and become increasingly difficult to sell. Now, with this chili pepper, he no longer had to worry, and his gaze towards Han Yiyi became even more admiring.

Han Yi felt uncomfortable under Manager Tong's gaze, so she coughed lightly before speaking.

"This stuff isn't expensive. I'll give it to you for fifty coins a pound. But I haven't grown much of it. It should only last you for two months. But don't worry, I have another kind of chili pepper after two months, but it's not ripe yet..."

When Manager Tong heard that it was only fifty coins per catty, he readily agreed, thinking to himself that this was much cheaper than the previous braising and barbecue seasoning. However, he forgot that no matter how good the chili peppers were, they were still just a vegetable and could not be compared with braising and barbecue seasoning.

Given the current weather, the chilies can usually be stored for three to five days after being picked, so the two agreed that Manager Tong would go to pick up the chilies every five days and also bring back some barbecue seasoning.

When the topic of barbecue came up, Han Yi glanced at the shopkeeper in front of him, who looked shrewd but was actually a straightforward person, and offered his suggestion.

"If Manager Tong doesn't want the barbecue to affect the restaurant's business, and doesn't want to reduce revenue, why not outsource the barbecue..."

When Manager Tong heard Han Yiyi's words, he didn't understand her meaning at first. But after a moment, his eyes lit up, as if the fog in his heart had been dispelled. He was so excited that he wanted to pat Han Yiyi on the shoulder.

"Lady Han, you are truly my lucky star..."

Just as he raised his hand, it was grasped by a large hand, followed by a slightly magnetic voice.

"Don't touch my mother..."