Two days later, Shen Danru went to find Liu Yishou at the address given by Jiang Jingxian.
Since leaving the Duke of Xingguo's mansion, Liu Yishou has been invited by many prominent families.
Liu Yishou's master was once a royal chef in the palace. After he grew old, he left the palace and took Liu Yishou as his apprentice.
Having received his master's true teachings, it is said that Liu Yishou's dishes are even more delicious than his master's.
Liu Yishou wouldn't even consider an ordinary family. In fact, with his qualifications, he could have easily become a royal chef. However, being in the palace was not a free choice; one had to live there and couldn't come and go as one pleased.
He's always been used to freedom, and he really couldn't stand being asked to work in the palace.
Many wealthy and powerful families had invited Liu Yishou to cook for them before, but he refused them all. The reason he agreed to cook for Madam Jiang was because Jiang Shuyou helped him by chance, and he agreed to go to Ningzhou with Madam Jiang out of gratitude.
Someone knocked on the door. Duan Dong opened the door and was about to shoo the person away when he saw Shen Danru. His anger immediately turned to joy.
His master had been talking about Miss Shen many times, saying that after coming to Shengjing, he would never see Miss Shen again, nor would he be able to ask her for cooking advice.
"Miss Shen, you've come to Shengjing too! That's wonderful!"
Upon seeing that it was Shen Danru, Duan Dong immediately took him to see his master.
"Chef Liu, it's been a long time."
"Master, it really is you."
Chef Liu had been thoroughly annoyed by people harassing him these days, so he casually agreed to work for one place.
Seeing Duan Dong bring people in again, he couldn't help but want to lose his temper. But when he saw it was Shen Danru, he was relieved that he hadn't lost his temper yet.
"Chef Liu, I don't deserve to be called your master. We are just discussing cooking techniques with each other."
"No, you truly deserve to be called Master. In this Shengjing, apart from my deceased master, the only one I can admire is your cooking skills, young lady. It seems I'll have to hand over my title of 'Master Liu' to someone else."
Shen Danru twitched the corners of her mouth. Her cooking was delicious, but that was all thanks to the system cheating, as well as the spiritual spring water and those seasonings that didn't exist in this era.
If it were simply a matter of skill, she might not be able to cook as well as Liu Yishou.
"Chef Liu is too modest. I heard that Chef Liu has left the Duke's Mansion. I came today to ask if Chef Liu has any plans to go."
"Master, what do you mean?"
"I want to open a restaurant. I wonder if Chef Liu would be willing to be the head chef. I can give you 20% of the restaurant's profits. Chef Liu only needs to arrange the cooking in the kitchen."
Liu Yishou was in a dilemma. If he had known that Miss Shen had come to Shengjing, he would never have agreed to the Marquis's request.
Shen Danru seemed to see through Chef Liu's predicament, so she smiled and said, "If Chef Liu already has somewhere else to go, then just pretend I didn't say anything."
After considering for a moment, Liu Yishou said, "Master, I will find a way to turn down the one I agreed to. I will work for you from now on."
For someone like Liu Yishou, money doesn't matter. He was obsessed with cooking all his life and never married. He only took Duan Dong as his apprentice, raising him like a son so he could take care of him in his old age and see him off in his final days.
It was only by chance that he received guidance from Shen Danru, and his cooking skills improved significantly. If he could see Miss Shen more often, would his cooking skills reach an even higher level?
After leaving the Duke's mansion, he was ridiculed quite a bit. If he were to work with Miss Shen in a restaurant and let more people taste his culinary skills, wouldn't his fame spread throughout the entire Great Shun Dynasty?
If he goes to the Marquis's mansion, his culinary skills will only be wasted.
With this in mind, he became even more determined to follow Shen Danru and make something of himself.
"Chef Liu, please don't be embarrassed. I was just saying it casually."
Liu Yishou quickly waved his hand: "No problem, no problem."
“Okay, then it’s settled. My older brother is looking for a shop. If we’re going to do it, we’ll open the biggest restaurant in Shengjing City.”
After Shen Danru left, Duan Dong couldn't help but ask Liu Yishou, "Master, what about the Xuanping Marquis's mansion? I heard that their eldest son has developed anorexia, and I'm afraid we can't refuse to help."
Liu Yishou snorted coldly, "What's the big deal? Just tell them we're going to do it ourselves. If they want to eat my cooking, they're welcome to come when our restaurant opens."
"Besides, what's wrong with the Marquis's mansion? No matter how big it is, it can't be bigger than the Duke's mansion. Go and give Young Master Jiang a heads-up, so that the Marquis's mansion won't find out and cause trouble for Miss Chen."
Duan Dong thought it was feasible after hearing his master's words, so he immediately did as his master said.
The servants relayed what Duan Dong had said to Madam Song.
Madam Song said angrily, "This Liu Yishou is really shameless. He has offended our Marquis's Mansion, and he still wants to open a restaurant in Shengjing?"
Granny Liu added fuel to the fire, saying, "Don't worry, Madam. He's just a cook. You're really giving him too much credit. I'll go and make the arrangements right away. If he offends our Marquis's Mansion, he'll have a hard time renting a shop in Shengjing City."
Madam Song nodded in agreement.
The next day, Jiang Shuyou visited Marquis Xuanping, Song Xun, and explained his purpose.
Song Xun would still give face to the eldest son of the Duke's mansion, and immediately said that it was a small matter and that Young Master Jiang did not need to take it to heart.
When Madam Song found out, she was quite surprised. Liu Yishou was just a cook. No matter how delicious his food was, he was just a cook. She never expected that he could persuade the eldest son of the Jiang family to help him after only cooking for Madam Jiang for a short period of time.
"Madam," said Granny Liu.
How could the Marquis of Xuanping's family afford to offend the Duke of Xingguo's family, especially Jiang Shuyou, the eldest son of the Duke of Xingguo's family who might inherit the title in the future?
It is said that Jiang Shuyou has been staying in the countryside of Ningzhou with his mother all these years. Even so, he has not given up his studies. It is said that he is very talented and that he will definitely pass the imperial examination if he wants to.
If her Yue'er could marry Jiang Shuyou, it would be a good match.
Over the years, her daughter Yue'er suffered greatly in the countryside, and the only thing she could do to make amends was to find her a good marriage.
Madam Song had met Jiang Shuyou several times. Jiang Shuyou was handsome and met her criteria for a son-in-law.
Song Yuqing has now changed her name to Song Shiyue and has been registered in the family genealogy under her new name. Under the careful upbringing of Madam Song, she is increasingly showing the grandeur of a noble family.
Because of her own negligence, Madam Song felt sorry for the suffering her daughter had endured in the countryside and showed great care for Song Shiyue, which was completely different from when she had raised Chen Danru.
"Granny Liu, we still have to give face to the Duke of Xingguo's mansion. Let's just let Liu Yishou's matter go. He's just a cook. There are plenty of cooks in the world. We can always find another one."
Granny Liu immediately agreed, saying that she also agreed with what the lady said.
It seems she needs to take the search for a cook to heart, otherwise their only legitimate young master will go hungry again.
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