Tao Wanniang still has a high opinion of Luneng. Luneng has a wider range of options than her and is more reliable. If she wants to open a hot pot restaurant, she can cooperate with Luneng. Even if they can't cooperate, she can still discuss it with Luneng.

“When I was in Youzhou, the prince’s family treated me to the local popular antique hot pot. Based on that, I came up with some new recipes. Since this dish wasn’t available in the capital, I thought I’d open a shop for it.”

Tao Wanniang pulled Luneng aside and told him about her plan. As for the hot pot flavors, she also briefly mentioned a few.

"These tomatoes are quite useful." Lu Neng had heard about them, but he hadn't tried them, so he couldn't draw a conclusion. "How about Manager Tao shows off his skills at the restaurant later?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking. I've already found a shop, and I'd appreciate your feedback, Manager Lu," Tao Wanniang said. She owns several shops and had just found a suitable one. She didn't need a large shop; a place that could accommodate about ten tables would suffice.

Luneng looked at Tao Wanniang with great admiration. How did she come up with so many ideas?

"Then... if this hot pot restaurant opens, will Manager Tao go there?" Lu Neng couldn't help but ask, since Tao Wanniang still had to oversee the quality of the dishes at Zhaixinglou!

“No, I plan to have Ling Dahu and Wang Hongyu run the business then, but I don’t plan to mention it yet,” Tao Wanniang said. She was quite satisfied with her eldest son and his wife.

So, the restaurant will need to hire more staff again. Shandong Luneng knew exactly what to do.

In summer, desserts are all the rage, and Liu Yueniang and her family apprentices are busy every day.

"Manager Lu, we need to add more people, add more people! At this rate, I'm going to be exhausted!" Liu Yueniang complained to Lu Neng during the afternoon break.

"Add more, of course we'll add more. Our Zhaixinglou is a highly sought-after establishment in the capital. We have to be careful when hiring people, because everyone wants to come to Zhaixinglou to learn from us!" Lu Neng said.

The task of recruiting staff for the restaurant was naturally left to Luneng. While busy with kitchen work, Tao Wanniang also wanted to prepare for the hot pot restaurant, and occasionally she would go to the estate to check on how the vegetables were growing.

The dishes at Zhaixinglou are unique, and its business has always been booming.

It would be a lie to say that other restaurants weren't envious or jealous.

Ziyanglou spent one hundred taels of silver to get ten potatoes from Ling Dapeng. The chef at Ziyanglou didn't know how to cook them, so he boiled one first. The taste was acceptable, but those who had eaten it said it was far inferior to the potatoes at Zhaixinglou.

"Is this the peel? Zhaixinglou is peeled. Look at this thing, it's all pockmarked like little spots, how can anyone eat it?"

The speaker was a manager from Ziyang Tower. "The potatoes they're making over there seem to have something added to them. Some are crispy, some are soft and glutinous. In short, they're incredibly fragrant."

"Then pan-fry it." After listening to the steward's suggestion, the chef peeled another potato, sliced ​​it, and pan-fried it in oil.

"Yes, that's the taste!" The manager swallowed hard, smelling the aroma wafting out. "This tastes just like the dishes from Zhaixinglou!"

The fried potatoes were served quickly, and even the chef himself thought they smelled especially delicious.

"I just sprinkled a little salt, and the flavor came out. This stuff is easy to cook."

"Not bad, the taste is much better than before. How did Tao Wanniang from Zhaixing Tower discover this?" Zhao Changgui said jealously as he ate the fried potato slices.

"Their golden potato balls taste really good. I'll buy some later. Chef Liao, could you make some?" After eating the fried potato slices, the manager had a lot of confidence in his chef.

Zhao Changgui was too embarrassed to go to Zhaixinglou, and besides, he always felt that his own food was no worse than that of Zhaixinglou.

“Yes, go and buy a portion of all the potato dishes from over there. I’m sure our restaurant can make even better ones,” Zhao Changgui said. “And, um, tomatoes, go and get some too.”

“Ling Dapeng is no longer at the manor. That kid is more trouble than he's worth,” another person present said. “But I think we don’t need to take that risk. The imperial court has already started planting potatoes, so it’s likely that potatoes won’t be a rarity soon.”

"That's true, but it will probably take until next year for this plant to grow. That means Zhaixinglou will have gained a year's advantage for nothing. When our restaurant launches it later, I'm afraid it won't be able to compete."

Zhao Changgui, along with several managers and chefs from the restaurant, gathered to discuss how to get a share of the pie at Zhaixinglou, but they couldn't come up with a solution.

"Who exactly is that Tao Wan woman? She keeps using techniques that no one else can do. Her vegetables were different from ours before, and now even the ones she grows are different!" a manager said angrily. "Manager, where is our way out?"

In summer, people don't like to go out, and restaurants are mostly busy at night. But Zhaixinglou offers desserts and cold dishes, so even in the sweltering heat, there's a cool breeze there. How could their business not be good?

Zhao Changgui felt a bit choked up. Not to mention the Zhaixing Tower, there was also the Chaoyang Tower. It was said that the Princess had been its backer before. Although the Princess had gone to marry a foreign ruler, her influence remained, and some nobles in the capital still went to the Chaoyang Tower.

"If things continue like this at Zhaixinglou, I'm afraid the restaurants in the capital won't last long. No, we must think of a solution!"

"Shopkeeper, what can we do? That Taowan girl has powerful backers."

After some discussion, no one could come up with a solution.

A few days later, a manager from Ziyanglou, posing as an ordinary customer, bought back several dishes from Zhaixinglou. Among them were fish in tomato soup, golden potato balls, and French fries.

After tasting several potato dishes, the chef at Ziyanglou had a good idea of ​​what to make. Since the group was already full, he decided to cook the remaining potatoes as the second dish.

On the second night, Chef Liao discovered that two potatoes had sprouted. Without thinking much about it, he simply broke off the sprouts. Relying on his sense of taste and judgment, he peeled the potatoes, steamed them, flattened them, added salt and some minced meat, shaped them into balls, and fried them in oil. When he saw that they were almost as golden as the ones he bought from Zhaixinglou, he took them out.

It was late at night, and the kitchen was filled with delicious aromas. Several managers swallowed hard, knowing they were doing all this in secret.

Soon, the golden potato balls were ready, and the managers couldn't wait to start eating them.

"That's right, that's the texture. If Zhaixinglou can make it, we can make it too."

Zhao Changgui ate with great relish, but also felt a little jealous. Why wasn't he the first to discover this? There's a huge business opportunity here!

"The problem now is, we can cook potatoes well, but where do we get them?" Zhao Changgui said after finishing the meal. "Or should we go dig them up from her field?"

"That's theft! After what happened before, they're probably watching over there!"

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

Several people expressed their opinions, and in the end, they all started arguing.

"Ugh~" Suddenly, one of the managers clutched his stomach and started retching.