Tao Wanniang was truly amazed by Liu Yueniang's pastry-making skills. She was initially worried that Luneng might be extending their affection to Liu Yueniang, but after personally witnessing Liu Yueniang's skills, she was reassured.
Since no master chef is willing to partner with her, she'll just have to train one herself. Her eldest daughter-in-law is one, but it's unlikely she'll reach the level of a master chef.
Little Qiao'er is young, and she hopes that Little Qiao'er can do everything and then choose something she loves.
However, Shandong Luneng soon recruited some apprentices, and after screening, Tao Wanniang kept three. They were all young men and women around seventeen or eighteen years old. The two male apprentices were named Lu Jun and Zhang An, and the female apprentice was named Tang Ruyue. They were all inexperienced young people.
The man tending the fire was an older man with a leg disability named Yuan Wang, who was also introduced by Luneng. He said that Yuan Wang used to work on the farm.
With all the staff in place, Tao Wan Niang was ready to start preparing for the opening. To make a splash, she needed something special.
"Sister Tao, how about setting the restaurant's opening in a month and a half? Mother will draft the list of people to be invited, and she will also ask the people from the Imperial Workshop to put on a show for the opening." Xiao Yi said to Tao Wanniang after checking on the restaurant's progress.
"Sister Tao, all you need to do is arrange the dishes."
This was indeed something she excelled at. Tao Wanniang nodded. After finalizing the menu, they still needed to find a bookstore to print it into a book, so time was quite tight.
The grand restaurant was not her small eatery, so she couldn't advertise it using the same method as before—distributing flyers. However, since Princess Rui had gotten involved, she was happy to relax.
“Alright, Your Highness, if you have time, you might as well come and try my new dishes,” Tao Wanniang invited.
“My mother and father both love good food. I’ll tell them and ask them to come and try it when they have time,” Xiao Yi said with a smile. He looked at Tao Wanniang’s focused expression and became somewhat suspicious of the woman he had met that night, but he would never ask her.
“That’s true. If we can satisfy the Prince and Princess, then we can satisfy all the distinguished guests in the capital.” Tao Wanniang nodded, agreeing with Xiao Yi.
Xiao Yi opened his mouth, but held back and instead asked about the restaurant.
"Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"There isn't any yet, so please don't trouble yourself, Your Highness," Tao Wanniang said frankly. "Please do as you please, Your Highness. I'll go and think about some new dishes." With that, Tao Wanniang went straight to the kitchen.
"Young Master, Young Master!" Cheng Feng couldn't help but call out softly when he saw Xiao Yi looking at Tao Wanniang's back.
"Let's go too." Xiao Yi left the Star-Picking Tower, which had not yet opened for business.
All the staff at the restaurant had gone out. Now, besides Xiao Qiao'er and her female tutor, Zhou Xiaoyun, the three children, Gao Cuiniang, and Zhang Liang, the Tao family also had Zhang Liang.
There were naturally many household chores to do, but Zhou Xiaoyun, taking advantage of her pregnancy, thought she shouldn't do anything.
Zhang Liang also helped with the things in the front yard, such as chopping wood, carrying water, and feeding the chickens and ducks. As for the things in the back yard, Gao Cuiniang had to take care of the children and do some daily cleaning.
However, Zhou Xiaoyun was dissatisfied because lunch was prepared a little late.
"It's not like there's no one else in the family. Do some people think they're some kind of pampered princess?"
Xiao Qiao'er and Chen Lian were both at the dinner table. Xiao Qiao'er immediately understood what Zhou Xiaoyun meant. She bit her lip and obediently said, "Then... I'll cook from now on. Uncle Zhang will buy the groceries, and I'll cook lunch. I've been learning from my mother for a long time, and I know how to do it."
"Heh!" Zhou Xiaoyun scoffed lightly, "What's the point of a little girl learning so many things? She'll just have to get married someday anyway."
Since Chen Lian was Xiao Qiao'er's teacher, she was displeased after hearing Zhou Xiaoyun's words.
“Who says that a woman’s knowledge is useless?” Shen Lian’s expression was solemn, but her words remained gentle. “Even if Linglong is betrothed in the future, her knowledge and experience will be her skills to establish herself and her family.”
Zhou Xiaoyun was shocked that a female teacher like Chen Lian dared to speak to her like that. Didn't she know that she was the wife of the second son of this family?
"You must know a lot, but I haven't seen you get married yet," Zhou Xiaoyun said angrily.
Shen Lian's face flushed slightly, but she looked at Zhou Xiaoyun with a serious and firm gaze and said, "A woman's life is not about marriage to be considered useful. What's wrong with me making a living through my own talents?"
"Master," Xiao Qiao'er tugged at Chen Lian's sleeve and said weakly, "Second sister-in-law is pregnant. She didn't mean to make things difficult for me."
"Who made things difficult for you?" Zhou Xiaoyun asked Chen Lian, feeling inexplicably unsure. This woman from the capital was beautiful and spoke softly, like a porcelain doll, which made her feel inexplicably inferior.
But Xiao Qiao'er had been truly jealous for a long time. A brat she met on the road to escape famine was now living like a rich young lady, and her mother treated her even better than she, her daughter-in-law.
"Do you really think you're surnamed Tao? If you had any conscience, you should take the initiative to do something. Eating Tao's food and drinking Tao's drinks, you're shameless," Zhou Xiaoyun muttered.
Xiao Qiao'er blushed, and her eyes reddened.
“You yourself said that Qiao’er eats and drinks from the Tao family, aren’t you the same?” Zhang Liang said. “You’re not surnamed Tao, and neither is your husband’s family.”
“You…” Zhou Xiaoyun glared at Zhang Liang angrily. How dare a mere guard speak to her like that!
"Zhi'er, come on, we're not eating!" Zhou Xiaoyun didn't dare to argue with Zhang Liang, so she picked up her son and scurried towards her room.
"This child hasn't eaten enough yet!" Gao Cuiniang called out from behind, but she still had to feed Ling Xiaofeng and couldn't leave for the moment.
"Master, Uncle Gao, it's all because of me," Xiao Qiao'er said apologetically. "Don't tell Mother about what happened today. She's very tired outside, and I don't want her to worry about things at home."
“This Zhou family is really…” Zhang Liang shook his head speechlessly. Women are just troublesome and pretentious.
"Linglong, this kind of submissive behavior is not what I taught you," Chen Lian said disapprovingly. "It's not that I want you to never lift a finger, but you're only eleven years old. There are so many people in the family; how can I let you cook for the whole family?"
“That’s right, Xiao Qiao’er, you should just follow the teacher and learn skills. If I knew how to cook, I would do these chores myself,” Zhang Liang said casually.
"It's all my fault. I can do everything else well, but I get distracted when I'm cooking while taking care of the kids. Sigh!" Gao Cuiniang sighed. This second young mistress is really good at causing trouble.
“Well, I think we should wait until Sister Tao comes back before discussing this matter. I don’t think Sister Tao expects her second daughter-in-law to be waited on hand and foot,” Zhang Liang said. He wasn’t complaining; he was just stating the facts.
Shen Lian ignored these household matters, but she had a falling out with Zhou Xiaoyun during dinner today.
After everyone finished eating, Xiao Qiao'er took the initiative to get up and clear the dishes, but she still felt down.
"Miss, just leave it there, I'll take care of it," Gao Cuiniang said immediately, having already fed Ling Xiaofeng some delicious food.
“I’m watching my sister,” Ling Rui, who was always precocious, also spoke up.
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