That’s right, Lin Dan had indeed planned to return to the capital this time to challenge the Yan Family’s Restaurant. She held no grudge against losing to Yan Langqing, but the restaurant’s predecessor, Lin’s Restaurant, was founded by Lin Baotian himself. Every signature dish in the restaurant was the result of his hard work, yet it was eventually taken away by the second and third branches of the family, along with the Yan family. How could such an injustice be tolerated?

The Yan family might not feel guilty, but Lin Dan, who had inherited the other Lin Dan’s wishes, could never get over it. What was hers must be reclaimed, and what wasn’t hers, she wouldn’t accept even if given for free.

As the saying goes, ‘know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated’. To prepare for her challenge against the Yan Family’s Restaurant, Lin Dan knew she needed to taste their dishes to assess their quality. However, her appearance had not changed much over the years, and if the second and third branches of the Lin family recognized her, they would certainly cause trouble for her. Thus, she entrusted the handsome man to order a few signature dishes for takeout and bring them elsewhere to eat.

After finishing the meal, the two sat in a private room at a teahouse and chatted. The handsome man asked in a low voice, “How was the food at the Yan Family’s Restaurant?”

“The craftsmanship is excellent, worthy of a royal culinary family.” Lin Dan commented fairly.

“And how does it compare to yours?” The man had never tasted Lin Dan’s Shandong cuisine yet and was eager to try it.

“When I open my restaurant, you’ll know.” Lin Dan replied with a faint smile as she pushed the door open and left. Though she hadn’t answered directly, her calm and confident demeanor spoke volumes.

The handsome man watched her upright posture and shook his head with a smile.

They continued wandering through Qingyun Lane, and when they reached a corner, they spotted another Shandong cuisine restaurant. Lin Dan gestured and said, “Let’s go in and have a look.” Since she was planning to open her own restaurant, she naturally had to investigate the nearby competition, not necessarily to steal their business, but at least to learn from their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.

This restaurant was named Qiaoyuan Restaurant. It was twice the size of the Yan Family’s Restaurant and luxuriously decorated, with pavilions, terraces, small bridges, and flowing water, creating an elegant environment. Nobles loved grand displays of wealth and the grandeur of Qiaoyuan Restaurant far surpassed that of the Yan Family’s Restaurant. By all rights, business should have been booming, but after sitting in the main hall for quite some time, Lin Dan and the man noticed that only five or six tables were occupied, a stark contrast to the bustling Yan Family’s Restaurant.

It wasn’t until Lin Dan tasted the dishes that she found the reason. The cooks at Qiaoyuan Restaurant lacked skill and the Shandong cuisine they served was inauthentic.

“After tasting the Yan Family’s Restaurant’s dishes, the food here falls short by a grade or two. No wonder they can’t retain customers.” Lin Dan sighed, setting down her chopsticks.

The handsome man didn’t respond, merely gesturing for the waiter to come over and settle the bill. Just as Lin Dan was about to take out her purse, he pressed her hand down, and with a flick of his wrist, a small silver ingot landed in the waiter’s palm and the transaction was completed in an instant. The waiter was left scratching his head, bewildered as to how the silver had appeared so quickly.

Lin Dan chuckled at the sight, her lips curving slightly as she struck up a conversation with the waiter, “Does your restaurant need any dried goods? I have top-quality items from the South Seas— abalone, bird’s nest, sea cucumber, scallops, and more. I also have a wide variety of mountain delicacies that I can supply regularly.”

To make ends meet, Lin Dan had to engage in small businesses while learning her craft, eventually establishing a trading team specializing in dried goods. They transported seafood from the coast to the inland areas and brought mountain delicacies from inland to the coast, making a considerable profit from the trade.

The restaurant catered to wealthy patrons, so the ingredients had to be top-notch. The waiter, not daring to make a decision, quickly fetched the shopkeeper, who was eager to secure a steady supply of high-quality goods and gladly agreed to inspect the merchandise.

The shopkeeper himself wasn’t well-versed in evaluating ingredients, so he called in the head cook. The cook, just turned twenty years old, was fair and handsome, looking somewhat immature. And although his culinary skills were lacking, his discerning eye was exceptional. He confirmed, “This abalone is double-headed, the bird’s nest is early season guanyan^[1]best-quality swallow’s nest, and the shark fins are top-quality haihu fin, qun fin, and tianjiu fin^[2]different grades of shark fin…… The black fungus isn’t ordinary but harvested from the steep cliffs, known as rock tripe and considered the best among mountain delicacies. All the ingredients were genuine, with no fakes.”

The cook let out a long breath as if a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders. With such exceptional dried goods, he was confident he could produce exquisite Shandong cuisine. Although he was still two years away from completing his apprenticeship, the sudden death of his father had forced him to take over the family business. The restaurant had been his father’s labor of love and it couldn’t be allowed to fail. However, his skills were still lacking, and since he had taken over as head cook, business had steadily declined, leaving the restaurant struggling to stay afloat. If not for the fact that he was both the head cook and the owner, the shopkeeper would have dismissed him long ago.

“We’ll take the whole lot. Name your price, Shopkeeper Lin.” The cook decisively agreed.

Lin Dan offered a middling price, neither too high nor too low, and upon seeing the cook readily hand over the silver notes, she relaxed. “Are there any other restaurants nearby? Could you kindly point them out to me so I don’t waste time running around? Rest assured, I’ve already sold out of top-quality goods and what I have left are inferior items that won’t affect your business.” She was hoping to cover her financial shortfall by selling off all her remaining stock.

The cook shook his head, his tone somewhat grim, “There are no other restaurants nearby. In these few streets, only Qiaoyuan Restaurant and Yan Family’s Restaurant exist. You may not be aware, but the head of Yan Family’s Restaurant is from a line of imperial cooks and had significant influence. They forbid the opening of any other Shandong cuisine restaurants nearby to prevent competition.”

“But aren’t you operating just fine?” Lin Dan frowned slightly and the handsome man beside her also showed a hint of sharpness in his expression.

The cook, with a proud expression, said, “My family isn’t without a background. My grandfather served the late emperor and my father served the empress dowager. Both of them were also imperial cooks in the palace. The calligraphy hanging in my hall is an authentic piece by the late emperor himself. No matter how arrogant the Yan family is, they wouldn’t dare to bully me.” Despite his pride, anxiety lingered in his heart. Although his family had a rich heritage, his skills were lacking, and in recent years, there had been a decline. Meanwhile, Yan Langqing, young as she was, had already become the head cook of the imperial kitchen and was a favorite of the emperor. Her reputation had long spread beyond the palace walls.

In the Western District, even if the old gourmets didn’t give her face, they still had to give the emperor face, which was why the Yan family’s restaurant grew larger and larger.

Lin Dan often sent people back to the capital to gather information and knew how Yan Langqing had risen to prominence. After leaving the Marquis’s residence, she became the head cook at the Yan Family’s Restaurant. One day, the emperor, disguised in plain clothes, visited the restaurant and dined there. He was greatly impressed by Yan Langqing’s cooking and enjoyed conversing with her, eventually bringing her into the palace to cook, where she gradually gained favor.

Lin Dan hadn’t paid much attention to what happened to Yan Langqing afterward, but she hadn’t expected her to have gained such influence.

The cook continued, “The head of the Yan family is Yan Langqing. Her most famous signature dish is ‘Wanfu Meat^[3]meat dish shaped in the symbol of good fortune and blessings’. The emperor was so taken with it the first time he tasted it that he immediately kept her in the palace as an imperial cook. It was said that if the emperor didn’t eat her cooking for a day, he feels unsettled. Do you think she’s favored or not?”

Lin Dan wasn’t interested in how favored Yan Langqing was, but she was curious about thisWanfu Meat. She couldn’t help but ask, “How is her Wanfu Meat made? Is it really that delicious?”

“I don’t know either. It’s said that whenever Imperial Cook Yan prepares Wanfu Meat, she makes everyone else leave the room, so only she knows the recipe.” The cook replied with a regretful shake of his head.

Lin Dan’s expression remained unchanged, but her eyes were cold. After leaving her address, she took her leave. Upon exiting Qiaoyuan Restaurant, she immediately returned to find the owner of the grocery shop, deceiving him by saying that she had gathered enough silver and was ready to transfer the ownership. The owner, however, repeatedly refused, explaining that someone had offered him a higher price after Lin Dan left and had already sold the shop to the other person.

Lin Dan scrutinized him closely and saw the pained look in his eyes, typical of someone who had missed out on a good deal. What more was there to understand? The competitive bidding was all a ruse. The Yan family must have warned him not to sell the shop to anyone who intended to open a Shandong cuisine restaurant.

After bidding farewell to the owner, Lin Dan lost interest in strolling around and walked back in silence.

The handsome man watching her from behind spoke in a slightly somber tone, “I spent years traveling in the Northwest and only recently returned to the capital. I often have to leave the city, so I didn’t realize that the Yan family had become so biased in their dealings.”

“Biased?” Lin Dan turned to look at him and gave an inexplicable smile.

It wasn’t long before the handsome man understood why she had smiled like that. Upon learning from the grocery shop’s owner that someone planned to open a Shandong cuisine restaurant across the street to compete with their own, Yan Shouye had someone investigate. It didn’t take long for him to find out that Lin Dan, who had no power or influence, was the one behind it. As a result, no matter where Lin Dan tried to open a restaurant, the Yan family would sabotage her efforts. No one in the Western District dared to sell her a shop and the same was true in the Eastern District. When she finally bought a shop in the Northern District, the seller reneged on the deal, swindling Lin Dan out of a deposit. After circling around, Lin Dan eventually found a shop in the South of the city, located at a pier with a chaotic mix of people and terrible security, where theft, robbery, and even murder were common occurrences. Doing business there, not to mention making a profit, it was already considered good if she avoided total ruin.

Only then was the Yan family satisfied, thinking they had crushed Lin Dan so thoroughly that she couldn’t rise again.

The handsome man followed Lin Dan around every day, watching her being bullied, ostracized, and squeezed out, realizing that the Yan family’s behavior couldn’t be described as merely ‘biased’— it was downright despicable. Even with his strong self-control and steady temperament, he couldn’t suppress the burning anger in his chest. Yet, Lin Dan maintained a positive and optimistic attitude, frowning slightly at challenges but quickly relaxing, as if nothing and no one could defeat her.

One day, Lin Dan brought her servants to the south of the city to arrange the shop, while the handsome man stood guard at the door, his sharp eyes scanning the passersby with an imposing presence. He would leave every evening and return the next morning, having breakfast at Lin Dan’s home before accompanying her on her errands. Thanks to his protection, Lin Dan was able to come and go freely in the chaotic area. When he was no longer around, she would have to hire some strong, honest, and reliable workers to guard her shop.

Thinking about this, Lin Dan sighed and said, “My affairs are settled, so you don’t need to follow me anymore.”

The man didn’t respond, instead suggesting once again, “This shop’s location isn’t good. I’ll get you a better one in the Western District.”

“We’ve only met by chance, with no deep connections between us. How could I accept your shop? I’m grateful for your care these past days, and if you ever come to dine at my place in the future, I’ll give you a fifty percent discount.” Lin Dan politely declined as usual. She wasn’t ungrateful, but neither was she someone who would take advantage of others.

The man pressed his lips together, unsure of how to persuade her. But as the sky darkened, he could only turn and leave. At the alley’s entrance, he glanced back, his heart full of worry. This really wasn’t a good place to open a restaurant. The shop was hidden in a maze of alleys, surrounded by gambling dens, cockfighting arenas, piers, and brothels— hardly ideal for business.

However, Lin Dan was so stubborn that even if the man wanted to help her, he didn’t know where to start.