The news of Song Yuqing's arranged marriage caused no stir among the Shen family, except for Zhou, who was overjoyed to hear it.

After two days of poor appetite, she finally started eating today.

Qing'er is truly blessed to have won the Crown Prince's favor.

The grain store is ready and awaiting opening.

The potatoes transported from Ningzhou, after being processed by Chen Danru, are now displayed in the grain store.

In addition, some rice was brought in from Ningzhou, and other staple grains were purchased by Shen Yu'an from various places. Now the grain store has sufficient reserves.

With the sound of firecrackers, Chenji Grain Store officially opened for business.

Because Shen Yu'an had already promoted the business, with advertisements plastered all over the capital, almost everyone knew that Shen's Grain Shop sold potatoes.

The powerful and wealthy in Shengjing were not short of money, but ordinary people also wanted to taste what this mysterious potato tasted like.

The advertisement said that potatoes were cheap, only three coins a pound, which was very cheap in Shengjing. Therefore, everyone wanted to try them and gathered at the entrance of Shenji Grain Store early in the morning.

The people were surprised to hear that the potatoes were grown by Shenji Grain Shop itself.

The crowd began to murmur, "Isn't this potato a crop developed by the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion? How come some people are saying it was grown by Shenji Grain Shop?"

"Could this grain shop be owned by the Marquis of Xuanping's residence?"

"How is that possible! The owner of Shenji Grain Shop must be surnamed Shen. Isn't Marquis Xuanping surnamed Song? How could someone surnamed Song open a Shenji Grain Shop?"

Upon hearing this, everyone expressed their agreement.

The people were full of curiosity about the grower of the potatoes. Just then, the caravan of the Azure Dragon Escort Agency arrived, and several carriages stopped in front of Shenji Grain Shop.

Shen Yu'an stepped forward: "All you bodyguards have come from Ningzhou. You must be tired. Please come inside and rest."

The bodyguards clasped their hands in greeting: "May Mr. Shen have a prosperous business opening."

The people suddenly realized that if the potatoes were indeed grown in Ningzhou, as rumored, they would naturally have to be transported from Ningzhou. It seemed that what this young man said was credible.

It turns out that this young man is the owner of Shenji Grain Shop.

Liu Yishou led his men to carry several specially made stoves, pots, pans and bowls onto the stage. The crowd was a little puzzled. Did this person want to cook here?

They don't know it's the opening day of the grain store, why are they causing trouble here?

The people thought these people would soon be ousted from power.

At this moment, someone recognized Liu Yishou.

"Look, isn't that Liu Yishou? The legendary chef of Shengjing, Liu Yishou."

Someone shouted loudly.

Someone nearby immediately chimed in, "I was wondering why this person looked familiar. It turns out to be Chef Liu. I heard his cooking is comparable to that of the imperial chefs."

However, most ordinary people do not know Liu Yishou, but they have heard of his name.

"Is this really Chef Liu? If I were lucky enough to taste his cooking, my life would be complete."

Shen Yu'an stood on the stage, cleared his throat, and shouted loudly, "Fellow villagers, please be quiet and listen to me."

The crowd below the stage stopped their discussions and turned their attention to Shen Yu'an.

"First of all, I would like to thank everyone for coming today. Chenji Grain Shop is officially opening today, and everyone is welcome to come and support us."

"As you all know, our grain store mainly sells potatoes, a novel ingredient. I know you all have some questions about the source of these potatoes."

"That's right, these potatoes are a crop developed by our Shenji family. Our Shen family has planted thousands of acres of potatoes in Ningzhou. Our Shenji Grain Shop firmly believes in honest and trustworthy business practices. The potatoes sold in our shop are absolutely grown by ourselves and are of superior quality."

"Potatoes are nutritious and delicious. They can be boiled, stir-fried, stewed, fried, and prepared in many ways. They can be eaten as a staple food or as a vegetable. To prove my point, we have invited Chef Liu to demonstrate various ways to cook potatoes. We hope you will enjoy them."

As soon as Shen Yu'an finished speaking, a murmur of discussion arose from the audience.

"It really is Chef Liu. It's quite remarkable that Shenji Grain Shop was able to hire him."

"That's right, Chef Liu doesn't even give face to the powerful and wealthy."

"That's right. Didn't the Marquis of Xuanping say that potatoes were invented by them and that they even received a reward from the Emperor? Now, Shen's Grain Shop claims that they grew them themselves. Who is lying?"

"Of course what Shenji Grain Shop said is true. Didn't you see that they grew thousands of acres of potatoes? The镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) from Qinglong镖行 (escort agency) came back from Ningzhou, and the potatoes on their cart were real. Besides, how could Marquis Xuanping know how to farm? I just don't believe it."

"That's true. Besides, in this world where the powerful and wealthy run rampant, I'm afraid the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion will try to steal the credit again."

"I think so too. The Marquis of Xuanping's mansion is truly shameless."

The audience was filled with murmurs and discussions.

Shen Yu'an waved to the crowd, and the audience immediately quieted down. He continued:

"In addition, we will select thirty lucky audience members from among the crowd to have the opportunity to taste Chef Liu's cooking and serve as judges for this potato feast, giving their honest evaluations of these potato dishes."

As soon as he finished speaking, cheers erupted again.

The shop assistant at Shenji Grain Shop brought out a wooden box, which was a lottery box. The winner could go up on stage to taste potato delicacies.

"I won."

"I won too."

"I actually won too."

...

People of all ages and genders, including men and women, went up on stage one after another.

This time, everyone witnessed the lottery process firsthand, ensuring fairness and impartiality. The lucky winners were overjoyed, finally able to taste Chef Liu's dishes.

Those who didn't win the lottery felt disappointed, but they could buy a few kilograms to cook at home, though their skills wouldn't be as good as Chef Liu's.

Shen Danru and Qingtan disguised themselves and mingled in the crowd.

They were somewhat surprised by the enthusiasm of the crowd. They had thought that people would not be so quick to accept new foods, but they were surprised by the positive response. It seemed that the publicity work had been done quite well.

Amidst everyone's anticipation, Liu Yishou began to demonstrate his potato cooking skills.

First, he made a dish of stewed potatoes and meat.

He skillfully peeled the potatoes, cut them into chunks, and added them to the pot of stewed pork. He then added ginger slices, scallions, and some special seasonings, and stewed them until they were incredibly fragrant. The pork fat and potato starch blended perfectly, making it irresistible.

Since stewing potatoes with meat takes a long time, Liu Yishou began preparing the second dish—stir-fried shredded potatoes.

He picked up a fresh potato and began to peel it with focused attention.

His knife skills were very skilled; he peeled the potato skin cleanly in an instant.

Next, he sliced ​​the potatoes into thin slices, then cut the slices into thin strips. His knife danced across the potatoes at a speed that was almost too fast for the eyes to follow.

Each potato shred is as thin as a hair, uniform in size, showcasing his profound knife skills.

"good."

The audience cheered, praising Liu Yishou's culinary skills as well as his reputation.

Even his rivals secretly admired him; his knife skills were truly profound.