Chapter 121 Rumors of Selling Secret Recipes

The renovation of the restaurant is nearing completion, and the training at the chefs' academy is also proving quite effective.

That day, Lin Yao was looking at the list of apprentices in her room, pondering how to select those who would accompany her to Lin'an City. She looked at the list three times over, but still couldn't make up her mind.

Suddenly, a sharp curse came from outside the courtyard gate, mixed with a woman's sobs and a man's attempts to mediate, abruptly interrupting Lin Yao's thoughts.

As soon as Lin Yao opened the wooden door, she saw that the open space outside the courtyard was in complete chaos.

Shen Juan was pointing her finger at Liu Min's nose and cursing her with spittle flying, her face full of meanness: "Stop spouting nonsense! You just learned a lousy drink recipe, do you really think it's something precious?"

"You, you heartless bastard!" Liu Min trembled with anger, her round cheeks flushed red, and her eyes were red-rimmed.

Wang Hu stood like an iron tower between the two, while Wang Xiaoyu and Su Niang stood on either side, one holding Liu Min's wrist and the other tugging at Shen Juan's sleeve, as if afraid the two would start fighting.

"Stop!" Lin Yao's voice wasn't loud, but after this period of instruction, everyone unconsciously obeyed her commands.

Shen Juan's curse words caught in her throat, and she subconsciously shrank back, her eyes flashing as she glanced at Lin Yao, a hint of guilt in them.

Liu Min, like a drowning person grabbing onto a piece of driftwood, broke free from Wang Xiaoyu's hand and quickly walked to Lin Yao. "Master! Shen Juan sold the herbal recipe you taught her to someone else!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Shen Juan retorted immediately, straightening her back and trying to appear calm. "When did I sell my children?!"

Although she spoke toughly, she dared not look Lin Yao in the eye.

"I'm not lying!" Liu Min raised her voice anxiously, "Yesterday, I went to Zhang's Tea House to buy tea, and I saw that the tea house suddenly started selling pear soup. I was curious, so I went around to the back of the tea house to see what was going on, but I didn't expect to see Shen Juan coming out of there!"

Seeing that Liu Min's words were quite detailed and the apprentices' discussions were getting louder, Shen Juan felt a little embarrassed. So she stubbornly retorted, "So what if I taught them? Zhang's Tea Shop is owned by the family of my betrothed! I'm going to marry into their family and become their mistress. What kind of breach of contract is it to give the recipe to my own shop?"

She raised her chin confidently, feeling more and more justified as she spoke, and her voice grew louder, "Besides, they're just recipes for boiling water, can they be eaten as food? Manager Lin wouldn't be so stingy, would he?"

Looking at the scene before her, Lin Yao already understood seven or eight parts of it.

Shen Juan wasn't foolish enough to knowingly break the contract; her actions certainly didn't constitute a breach of contract.

Just as Shen Juan said, she did not openly sell the secret recipe. After she married into the Zhang family, she would be considered a member of the Zhang family. She could then use the recipe in her own shop without any problems on the surface.

But when Lin Yao looked at Shen Juan's self-righteous appearance, a trace of regret swept through her heart.

This girl is indeed shrewd, knowing how to use her future husband's family as a pretext to circumvent contractual obligations, but she has misused this shrewdness.

She was so eager to use the recipe she had just learned to please her in-laws, didn't she think about the future?

Once she truly marries into the Zhang family, her skill in making drinks will become a means of livelihood for her in-laws. Without her unique trump card and the advantage of her skill that allows her to make a living, will the Zhang family still value her as much as they do now?

In conventional marriages, the ties of interest are always stronger than those of affection. Without the ability to create value, her life in her husband's family will probably not be as smooth as she expected.

Lin Yao sighed inwardly.

Hearing Shen Juan's words, Wang Hu couldn't help but speak up: "Madam Shen, what you're saying is wrong. Rules are rules. How can you spread rumors just because someone is a relative?"

Wang Xiaoyu nodded in agreement: "That's right! When we were learning to cook, our master specifically said that the recipes for signature dishes cannot be passed on randomly, and the recipes for drinks must be the same!"

Liu Min wiped away her tears and added, "I advised her yesterday that this is Master's prescription and shouldn't be taught carelessly, but she scolded me for meddling and said that I'm destined to be poor and never find a good marriage!"

Lin Yao looked at Shen Juan, her tone unreadable: "Shen Juan, let me ask you, is what Liu Min said true? Did you really teach me the recipe at Zhang's Teahouse?"

Shen Juan felt flustered under her gaze, but still stubbornly insisted, "So what if it is? I'm a member of the Zhang family now that I'm married into it. We should use our own things. What's wrong with that?"

She glanced at Liu Min and added, "Besides, she's just the daughter of a run-down bookstore owner. Does she know anything about the saying 'shared prosperity and shared ruin'? It's only natural for me to help my future in-laws!"

Lin Yao did not immediately lash out. She simply glanced calmly at the apprentices watching. There were quite a few women among them, and she did not want the apprentices she trained to end up as bloodsuckers.

Her gaze finally fell on Shen Juan: "You're right. If we're just talking about the contract, giving the recipe to your future in-laws doesn't count as a breach of contract."

Upon hearing this, Shen Juan immediately breathed a sigh of relief, glanced triumphantly at Liu Min, and was about to say something when Lin Yao interrupted her. "But I hope everyone understands."

Lin Yao's voice reached everyone's ears clearly, "The most unreliable thing in this world is always people. People will run away if you rely on them, mountains will crumble if you rely on them, and even your betrothed family—who can guarantee they'll never change their minds? People are worldly, they value profit. If you have a skill, an ability, and can earn money on your own, everyone will respect you. But if you rush to teach all your skills to others, revealing your hand too early..."

She looked meaningfully at Shen Juan's stiff face and continued, "Once you're truly married, this skill will become your husband's family's asset. Without your unique advantage, will you still be respected as a capable wife like you are now? Today, you used the recipe to please your husband's family, seemingly adding to your own family's strength, but in reality, you've cut off your own path."

These words were like a bucket of cold water, chilling Shen Juan to the bone. Her previous righteous indignation vanished, and her face turned pale and then red.

She opened her mouth to refute, but found that Lin Yao's words hit the nail on the head.

She never imagined that her eagerness to please her in-laws would actually be depleting her only advantage.

The apprentices around them nodded in agreement, and an older woman couldn't help but chime in, "Manager Lin is right. A woman needs to have her own skills to stand on her own two feet!"

Liu Min also stopped sobbing and looked at Lin Yao with sudden realization.

Lin Yao didn't press Shen Juan any further, but simply said, "I won't hold this against you today, but you still need to abide by the school rules from now on."

After saying that, she turned to Liu Min and handed her a clean handkerchief. "Don't cry, you did a good job."

Liu Min took the handkerchief, wiped away her tears, and nodded vigorously.

Shen Juan stood there, her face extremely pale. In the end, she didn't say a word, stomped her foot, and turned to leave.

As the onlookers gradually dispersed, Lin Yao watched Shen Juan's retreating figure, then looked down at the apprentice roster in her hand, and lightly drew a small checkmark next to Liu Min's name with her pen.

Su Niang stepped forward and said softly, "Shopkeeper, your words just now have probably enlightened many people."

Lin Yao sighed, "No matter how good your skills are, if you're not mentally stable and don't know how to protect yourself, you won't go far."

Lin Yao returned to the side room. She took out a pen and ink, circled the names of Liu Min, Wang Hu, and a few others, pondered the name list for a moment, got up and went to the door to instruct Su Niang: "Go and call Zhang Dashun and have him come to the side room."

Su Niang left as instructed, and a short while later, Zhang Dashun came in, rubbing his hands together, his face showing a mixture of restraint and anticipation: "Manager, you wanted to see me?"

Lin Yao gestured for him to sit down, poured him a cup of tea, and pushed it towards him: "Let me ask you, if I asked you to come with me to work at a restaurant in Lin'an Prefecture, where you could earn at least 30% more per month than here, would you be willing to go?"

Zhang Dashun's eyes lit up, then dimmed again: "The shopkeeper trusts me, so of course I'm willing! But my wife just had a baby, and it'll be too much for her to take care of the baby alone if I leave..."

He said with regret, "It would be great if I could bring my family, but I know that's against the rules."

Lin Yao nodded and drew an X next to his name: "I understand. Family comes first, so it's fine if you don't go." Zhang Dashun quickly stood up and thanked her.

Over the next half hour, the door to the side room opened and closed repeatedly as the apprentices were invited in one by one for a talk.

Kang Niangzi, who was learning to make liangpi (cold skin noodles), was a widow raising her ten-year-old son. Upon hearing that she could go to Lin'an Prefecture, she immediately said, "Shopkeeper, I'll go! I'll entrust my son to my sister-in-law's care. As long as I can earn more money so he can go to school in the future, I'm not afraid of hardship!"

Lin Yao looked at her face, which was flushed with excitement, and made a big checkmark on the roster.

Wang Hu, who was not yet married, patted his chest and assured Lin Yao, "Wherever the shopkeeper goes, I'll go! Lin'an Prefecture is the capital, I'll go and broaden my horizons!"

Several apprentices who were already married shook their heads after much hesitation, admitting that they couldn't bear to leave their families.

Lin Yao did not insist. After talking to each person, she would mark their name on the roster according to their wishes.

She didn't close the door when she called people to talk, nor did she instruct them to keep it a secret. The students in the school all knew that this was a selection process for people to go to Lin'an Prefecture, and they gathered in twos and threes in the courtyard to discuss it.

Shen Juan stood by the stove, pretending to wipe it with a rag, but didn't actually wipe it for a long time.

She kept glancing towards the side room. She believed she had a high aptitude for learning to make drinks, and she could master various pear soup recipes after practicing them a few times. There was no reason for Lin Yao not to choose her.

Lin'an Prefecture is the most prosperous area in Jiangnan. She had already announced that she would soon be working at a large restaurant in Lin'an Prefecture with Manager Lin, and that her monthly income would be very generous.

If she hadn't been chosen, who knows how others would have laughed at her!

The door to the side room opened and closed, but no one came to call her.

As the sun gradually set in the west, the apprentices were either joyfully preparing to follow Lin Yao to Lin'an Prefecture or packing their things with regret, but she remained frozen in place like an outsider.

The other apprentices who weren't chosen saw things clearly. "Madam Chen, don't wait any longer. I think we're not skilled enough yet. Maybe we'll have a chance if we practice for another six months."

The young man's dishes were often undercooked, so it was no surprise that he wasn't chosen, and he accepted it calmly.

But how could Chen Juan swallow this insult?

She glanced at the boy, feeling disdain. Her drink was clearly better than Liu Min's, so why was Liu Min chosen while she wasn't?

Just as he was holding back his anger, he saw Liu Min come out of the side room, her joy barely concealed, and she walked with a swagger.

Shen Juan's jealousy surged instantly. When Liu Min passed by, she deliberately turned to the side and bumped into her hard with her shoulder.

"Ouch!" Liu Min stumbled from the impact.

She steadied herself and, seeing Shen Juan's provocative expression, became angry as well. She raised her foot and stomped on Shen Juan's foot with considerable force.

"You did this on purpose!" Shen Juan screamed and lunged forward, but was stopped by Wang Xiaoyu beside her.

Liu Min patted the dust off her skirt and snorted, "You bumped into me first! You didn't get chosen, so you take it out on others. How rude!" After saying that, she walked towards the door without looking back, but when she reached the door, she turned back and made a face at Chen Juan.

The opening day of the restaurant in Lin'an Prefecture is drawing near, and the school has also started its holiday so that everyone can prepare for the work in a few days.

Instead of going to school, Lin Yao has been busy working at the restaurant these past few days.

As soon as she arrived at the restaurant, she saw her regular customer, Manager Li, beckoning to her: "Madam Lin."

As Lin Yao walked over, Manager Li lowered his voice and said, "Madam Lin, when I came here today, I heard people gossiping at the street corner, saying that your cooking school is a scam, that it doesn't teach anything real, and that it's just a way to trick poor kids into doing odd jobs!"

He quickly added, "I told him right away that he was talking nonsense! The money you make in a day at this restaurant is more than you make in a year teaching these apprentices. If it were just for money, would you bother to open this school?"

Lin Yao paused in her tea-serving hand, already understanding the situation.

She put down her teacup and thanked Manager Li, saying, "Thank you for speaking up for me, Manager Li. This meal is on me. Please order whatever you like."

Shopkeeper Li was so happy when he heard this that his eyes crinkled with laughter: "Then I won't be polite."

Lin Yao and Manager Li exchanged a few more pleasantries before Lin Yao called Ah Zhu, who was busy at work, to the backyard and instructed him to find out the whole story.

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Author's Note: Writing is hard work, please add this to your favorites! [starry eyes]