Yang Xiu said, “It’s arranged the same way as ours, with screens between the tables, but theirs are made of wood and look more exquisite.”

Jiang Yanyi didn’t want to say anything more; her gaze shifted to the copper pot beside her.

When it comes to hot pot, the key is in the broth.

She took a small bowl and ladled some soup to taste, wanting to see just how skilled the other party was at making the broth.

If the pot itself didn’t have good flavor, then all the fancy additions would be pointless.

The moment the broth entered her mouth, her first impression was that it was overly fresh, almost as if she had tasted melted chicken essence.

There’s a saying: “Excess is as bad as deficiency.”

Jiang Yanyi quickly drank a couple of sips of tea to suppress the flavor before dipping a slice of lamb to eat.

Because the broth was so overwhelmingly fresh, it didn’t stimulate her taste buds as much when she was dipping the meat, but the overall experience was quite pleasant.

Jiang Yanyi set down her chopsticks and said honestly, “The chef who made this broth is quite skilled.”

In a clear soup hot pot, the broth can be consumed before adding the meat.

Given how fresh the broth was, it was evident that they didn’t intend for diners to drink it; the focus was entirely on the flavor of the meat once it was cooked.

Upon hearing Jiang Yanyi’s evaluation, Yang Xiu said, “I heard that the chef making the broth there came from the capital. He used to work at Xiangyun Tower, and his ancestors were imperial chefs. The method for this broth is what they used in the palace.”

Xiangyun Tower is a famous restaurant in the capital, frequented by the rich and powerful.

Jiang Yanyi remarked, “No wonder, the owner of Laifu Restaurant is truly a shrewd businessman.”

Not to mention anything else, just the fact that the chef at their restaurant has the prestigious title of “imperial chef” is already eye-catching.

Even if some diners had no interest in their antique soup, once they heard that the emperor and the palace concubines also enjoyed this food, who wouldn’t want to give it a try?

Most importantly, with such a recruitment background, it would be difficult to undermine them based on taste alone.

Even if it were true, they could simply retort, “This is how the imperial kitchen does it,” and put everything back in its place.

Jiang Yanyi felt an overwhelming desire to have a vast field of chili peppers to create a red soup hot pot to show them what real flavor was like, but the issue was that the peppers she cultivated were still just seedlings.

Jiang Yanyi sulked all day.

Yang Xiu and the others were somewhat worried about her and contemplated informing Chu Changping.

However, when Jiang Yanyi woke up the next morning, she seemed to regain her spirit and was full of energy for whatever she did.

She even made a pot of sweet sausage clay pot rice with the sausages that had been smoked the night before.

The crispy rice at the bottom of the clay pot was quickly snatched up by Qui Kui, Yang Xiu, and Bing Shao.

Last night, Jiang Yanyi had been troubled for quite a while.

On one hand, she was angry that Laifu Antique Soup had blatantly copied her shop’s offerings, and on the other, she was eager to outdo them and reclaim her customer base.

Perhaps because of her day’s thoughts carried over into her dreams, she had never dreamt of her family from her past life since coming to this strange world, but last night she dreamt of her long-deceased grandfather.

In the dream, it was the scene where her grandfather first taught her how to make hot pot.

The leaves of the banyan tree outside the old house were green and yellow, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting sparkling golden flecks of light through the old carved wooden window into the room.

The old man taught her how to prepare red broth and clear broth, his wrinkled face calm and serene.

“Yiyi, a chef should strive for balance among the five flavors. Everything has its limits; if you grasp the right amount of ingredients, the dishes will taste good. The same goes for life—life has its flavors, and if you manage them well, you’ll live it fully and meaningfully. Cooking and living both require a calm mind.”

When she woke from the dream, the sun was already bright, and Jiang Yanyi cried for a while before calming down.

It was her nature to think of the worst when things went wrong.

Jiang Yanyi felt that her recent worries about her status and identity with Feng Shuo had made her overly eager to achieve success, causing her to become a bit restless.

During that difficult time, she hadn’t felt so troubled; now it was just that someone opened a shop identical to hers.

What was there to be anxious about?

She could create many unique features for her hot pot restaurant!

When Jiang Yanyi went to deliver medicinal food to Feng Shuo, he must have heard about the situation at Laifu Antique Soup from others.

Noticing her reddened eyes, his brows immediately furrowed. “Have you been crying?”

Jiang Yanyi was afraid of being laughed at by him, so she glared and said, “No way! It was when I was smoking the cured sausage that the smoke got to me!”

Today, in addition to the medicinal cuisine, Jiang Yanyi also sliced up a plate of cured sausages to bring over, including five-spice, spicy, and sweet varieties.

Because they were smoked with fruitwood charcoal, they had a hint of fruity sweetness when bitten into.

Feng Shuo didn’t expose her lie; he merely said, “I’ve tasted the pot from Laifu Antique Soup, but it’s not as delicious as yours.”

At first, the flavor was indeed stunning, but it maintained that level of freshness for too long.

After a few more bites, the taste buds would feel fatigued, making it hard to discern any flavors afterward.

Unlike the pots in Jiang Yanyi’s shop, where the flavor always stayed at just the right level, keeping the taste buds sensitive.

Jiang Yanyi said, “The other party is running a legitimate shop; I really don’t mind. It’s just that everything is copied from my shop; how shameless can they be?”

After saying this, she worried Feng Shuo might misunderstand and added, “I’m just talking to you about it. You’re not allowed to interfere; I can handle it myself.”

Since they were running a legitimate shop and hadn’t committed any offenses, if Feng Shuo directly ordered someone to shut it down, he would only tarnish his own reputation.

Feng Shuo asked her, “How do you plan to handle it?”

Jiang Yanyi raised her eyebrows, “I have my own methods.”

Seeing that Feng Shuo had finished the medicinal dish, Jiang Yanyi started to pack up the food box and was about to leave when Feng Shuo suddenly called out to her, “Don’t rush to leave; I have something for you.”

Confused, Jiang Yanyi turned back to see Feng Shuo dragging over a large wooden box. “Open it and take a look.”

Jiang Yanyi hesitantly approached and opened the lid of the box, finding it filled with various frostproof skincare ointments, unable to suppress a twitch at the corners of her mouth.

This gift-giving style… it looked so ostentatious.

Feng Shuo didn’t notice anything inappropriate and said, “I saw your lips were dry and cracked that day at the Han residence. I heard that using some lip balm can prevent cracking. I didn’t know what style you’d like, so I had someone gather these. Just take them home and pick what you like.”

In Xizhou, only wealthy families could afford frostproof skincare products.

Ordinary people typically smeared mutton fat on cracked skin, treating it as a remedy.

Thus, this entire box of skincare ointments was exquisitely crafted, and even before opening it, one could smell the fragrant aroma inside, clearly indicating it was expensive.

Jiang Yanyi said, “I think… I might not be able to use up so much.”

Feng Shuo assumed she was trying to refuse and directly replied, “If you can’t use it all, you can throw it away. In any case, this is from me to you; you can’t return it.”

In the end, the entire box of skincare ointments was sent to Jiang Yanyi’s home by the servants of the Feng residence.

Qiu Kui squatted beside the box, sniffing eagerly: “Wow, it smells so good.”

It wasn’t the smell of food, but rather the fragrance of cosmetics, much better than the low-quality powders she used to smell in the brothel.

Jiang Yanyi pondered that even if both she and Qiu Kui used the skincare ointments, they wouldn’t finish them in a few years.

However, she worried they might go bad if left too long, which would be such a waste.

How about… she could organize a winter event at her shop, offering free skincare for young girls or ladies who come in for hotpot?

After careful consideration, Jiang Yanyi ultimately decided to temporarily abandon the idea.

The reason was simple: regardless of customer acceptance, she didn’t have the time to individually assist female customers with their skincare.

Besides, everyone has their weaknesses, and Jiang Yanyi was indeed a novice in skincare; otherwise, she wouldn’t have let her lips become so chapped.

If she were to hire someone to specialize in skincare, she would not only have to provide the skincare cream for free but also pay an additional salary for that person, making it even less cost-effective.

Moreover, even though the box of skincare cream Feng Shuo sent her was excessively generous, he had noticed her chapped lips and thoughtfully prepared these for her.

Despite the unique manner of his gift, it was a genuine expression of care.

If she turned around and gave it to other women, wouldn’t that waste his heartfelt intention?

Jiang Yanyi recalled the business models from her past life and thought that if a cosmetic shop was willing to collaborate in the future, she could allocate a space for them to set up a counter.

She would charge rent while they offered reasonably priced skincare products for free to the ladies coming to enjoy hot pot, simultaneously promoting their own cosmetics or better-quality skincare products.

In this era, wealthy women would also wear makeup when going out, though the techniques for setting makeup were certainly not as refined as in later times.

Therefore, when dining out, one must be careful to avoid smudging their makeup.

If her shop had a makeup artist who could provide complimentary touch-ups and skincare for female customers, the number of ladies coming in for hot pot would surely double.

However, this idea would have to be postponed for now, as it wouldn’t be easy to find a makeup artist willing to collaborate who also had decent skills.