Father Jin had intended to mingle with the guests to ensure the banquet went smoothly, but it turned out he didn’t need to do much.

The guests were already lively on their own.

Everyone was enjoying the food so much that they didn’t even want to drink wine.

When a middle-aged guest met Father Jin’s greeting, he asked while picking up a thin slice of marinated pork leg: “Director Jin, when are we having rice?”

He had specifically chosen a fatty slice of pork leg, steamed to perfection, and the guest sitting nearby clearly had his eye on the same piece, but his hand wasn’t as quick.

The middle-aged guest laughed, “Haha!”

Those who were able to get news from him and come here to socialize were basically friends with a good relationship, so there was no need to be too particular.

He looked into the eyes of this friend and stuffed a piece of mostly transparent salted meat into his mouth, immediately being conquered by its salty and savory flavor.

His hometown was in the countryside, and although they occasionally cured their own food, he had never heard of such a taste.

The richness of the flavor was on par with aged ham, but the texture was moist and soft.

Delicious!

It was just a bit salty, making him want to eat rice with it.

Seeing him satisfied with the food, Jin’s father was happy as well.

He called the staff to serve rice to the guests and asked, “Shall we open some wine?”

The restaurant had prepared plenty of good wine for this banquet—after all, socializing required drinking.

However, the middle-aged man waved his hand, and the guests at the table also said, “No rush, no rush, let’s eat first, eat first.”

Such good dishes were best enjoyed while hot.

If they drank too much later, they wouldn’t be able to eat as much.

The waiter brought over freshly steamed rice.

The rice from Mingde was particularly special.

The new season rice was soaked before steaming, each grain shining and soft.

From a distance, the fragrant aroma of the rice was irresistible.

The middle-aged man, still savoring the taste of the salted meat, hurriedly took a bite of rice to balance out the flavor.

To his surprise, the fluffy rice was just as delicious as the dishes on the table, and he couldn’t help but take another bite.

“This rice,” he said, pointing at his bowl and speaking to a friend nearby, “doesn’t even need any side dishes. I could eat a bowl just with chili sauce.”

His friend picked up the last piece of braised beef brisket from the casserole, and the rich juice of the beef mixed with the rice, making it even more flavorful than his own.

---

Ye Baiqing’s husband couldn’t help but worry. “…No more eating, alright? Just one last bite.”

His wife had already eaten a full bowl of rice.

She had been vomiting earlier, and though she could now eat something, her appetite wasn’t as good as before she got pregnant.

On good days, she would eat a small bowl of porridge with Mingde’s pickled radish, but never like this, eating so much.

After finishing the pickles, Ye Baiqing realized that her appetite had really returned.

She ate two slices of meat and a duck’s foot, then followed up with pickled pork leg and squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, finishing a large bowl of rice.

Even so, she felt like she could still eat more.

It had been so long since she had eaten meat!

She wasn’t sure if it was because Mingde’s restaurant gave her a sense of security, but now that she was eating the salted pork leg, she didn’t feel like vomiting at all.

In that moment, she was certain that her pregnancy-related nausea was completely gone.

The sweet and sour sauce of the squirrel mandarin fish, combined with the rice, was absolutely refreshing.

The fish’s outer skin was crispy, while the inside remained tender and juicy, making it impossible to stop eating.

With her husband’s concerned gaze on her, she swallowed the fish, glanced at her bowl of rice, and then at the thick soup that had just arrived.

“I’ll eat a little more,” she said, scooping some thick soup over the rice, then adding a little bit of the ginger vinegar that came with it.

The rich soup quickly covered the fluffy, snowy-white rice.

With just a slight stir, they merged together intimately.

Ye Baiqing took a bite, and the complex, rich taste surprised her.

The thin ingredients inside seemed to be some kind of starch sheet, soaked with the sweetness of crab meat, making the crab soup even richer. “Is this crab roe? So fragrant!”

She had no idea how long it had been since she last ate crab.

A passing waiter smiled and said, “Yes, this is crab roe with silver skin. Since you’re pregnant, you shouldn’t eat too much.”

Ye Baiqing nodded and took another bite.

Her husband finally couldn’t stand it anymore.

He grabbed her bowl. “Be careful, you might hurt yourself eating so much.”

Ye Baiqing felt that she had eaten quite a bit today, but looking at the rice in her bowl, she was reluctant to stop. “What a pity, there’s still so much left.”

Her husband, helpless, said, “I’ll eat it, alright?”

Without further ado, he grabbed her half bowl of rice and ate it.

The crab roe, boosted by the vinegar, mixed with the soft, fluffy rice.

After one bite, he couldn’t help but say, “This is really a perfect match.”

Ye Baiqing pushed him angrily. “Are you doing this on purpose?”

Her husband wisely stopped talking and focused on eating.

After finishing this bowl, he even added another.

In the end, he ate three full bowls of rice, mixing it with the crab roe and silver skin.

At this moment, Ye Baiqing didn’t feel like vomiting at all.

She was just craving more.

But there was nothing she could do.

She was too afraid to overeat, so she watched her husband eat while she drank the pear soup that Jin Yaotiao had given her.

The pear soup was sweet and sour, and it indeed made her stomach feel a little better.

As she ate, she lifted the lid and fished out a dried plum from inside.

The dried plum had absorbed the pear soup, and its flavor was rich.

Holding it in her mouth felt like eating candy—its taste growing richer and more appetizing the longer she held it.

Ye Baiqing: “QAQ”

Jin Yaotiao continued to knead the buffalo milk dumplings, watching as the roasted goose, crispy from the oven, was taken out.

The hot, crispy skin of the goose was so tempting that people were hesitant to touch it.

She reminded a few of her apprentices, “Be careful, don’t burn your hands.”

The goose was dripping with oil, and once its skin was pierced, juices exploded out.

It was no joke.

Master Tu was hit by the splash, his dark face now speckled with glistening drops of oil, looking like a sweet potato roasted in syrup.

Leading a group of obedient apprentices, he carefully handled the goose.

The goose had been marinated in broth before being placed in the oven, with sugar brushed on its skin.

Now it was a golden-brown color, glistening and irresistible.

As they carved it, the skin cracked open to reveal that the bones had been removed, and the stuffing inside was visible.

The stuffing consisted of glutinous rice with diced ham, mushrooms, and a variety of other ingredients, all soaked in goose fat and broth.

The glutinous rice, hidden under the meat, had become translucent and sticky from the heat of the oven, releasing a tantalizing fragrance.

Many of the apprentices who had been working all morning couldn’t help but stare in awe.

Jin Yaotiao, with a satisfied expression, set down the dumplings she had finished kneading and clapped her hands. “I’ll join you all outside.”

The main dish was nearly ready.

The rest of the tasks were manageable for the others.

---

Outside, many guests had eaten to their fill.

A middle-aged man secretly loosened his belt by three notches, thinking to himself, “I can’t eat anymore.” But just then, a new aroma wafted in, and he found himself staring, unable to look away.

At Jin’s father’s table, when the roasted goose arrived, everyone was stunned.

The brown, roasted goose had its bones removed, and inside was the fragrant sticky rice.

Sixth Brother quietly asked, “Second brother, isn’t this the Eight-Treasure Glutinous Rice Goose that Master taught us?”

The second brother nodded, staring at the familiar-looking goose, memories flooding back.

His older brother had said that Jin Yaotiao was in charge today, so she must have learned this dish from him.

The Eight-Treasure Glutinous Rice Goose… was one of Master’s favorite dishes.

His older brother had learned it, and so had he.

But his learning was not perfect; something about it always felt off compared to what Master had taught.

He couldn’t quite pinpoint the flaw, but over time, he had lost interest in making it.

Yet today, looking at this goose, he felt a strong desire to taste it.

He picked up his chopsticks, gently poked at the skin, and it cracked crisply, just like in his memory.

The bones were gone, the skin was crispy, and the meat was tender.

With a quick flick of the chopsticks, he pulled off a juicy piece, enveloping the glutinous rice, and popped it into his mouth.

As the juice hit his tongue, the second brother’s eyes flashed.

Beside him, the sixth brother exclaimed, “Oh my God… this flavor, it’s just as good as Master’s!”

The second brother looked up and saw Jin Yaotiao talking to her father from the back kitchen.

He opened his mouth as if to call out to her but found himself momentarily speechless.

Could it be… that the one who truly inherited Master’s skill… isn’t from his family, nor the Shang family, but… here?

Jin Yaotiao, noticing his gaze from afar, froze for a moment before smiling and nodding.

---

The banquet was a huge success, with both guests and hosts enjoying themselves.

Even the media team left smiling, and Mingde prepared three more tables for them to enjoy after their work.

Several reporters with a sweet tooth made sure to finish the last bit of coconut milk dumplings, savoring the fresh, sweet taste of the coconut and glutinous rice-filled treats before they left.

One reason they worked hard when they returned was that they were grateful for the meal, but another reason was the taste.

The names “Yin Yan” and “Mingde” quickly became the talk of the town, gaining more attention than anyone expected.

For a new restaurant to get this level of attention was incredible, and even the Jin family was shocked.

Thanks to both online and media buzz, Mingde’s new restaurant became an instant hit without any transitional period.

The local restaurant owners were baffled.

They had heard rumors that the Shang family and Mingde weren’t on good terms, so how did it happen that several chefs from the Shang family were involved in Mingde’s opening?

Those who didn’t attend felt left out.

Looking at Mingde’s aggressive publicity campaign, it didn’t seem like a small company from Deep City.

How could they afford to offend the competition without suffering severe consequences?

Some people quietly blamed the Xia family for speaking out of turn, accusing them of causing unnecessary trouble.

The Xia family, now in the spotlight, was furious but didn’t know what to do.

They tried to talk to the second and other apprentices who had publicly appeared, but their responses were tepid.

At home, Sixth Brother hung up the phone after a heated argument with someone from the Xia family.

He felt refreshed and then went to find his second brother.

The second brother was opening a safe. When he saw Sixth Brother, he calmly asked, “Is it Xia Ren?”

“Yes, it’s him,” Sixth apprentice replied. “Don’t worry about him. What are you holding?”

The second brother didn’t answer.

He opened the safe, reached deep into the cabinet, and slowly took out an old recipe book.

The recipe book was very worn.

After staring at the yellowed cover for a while, the second brother slowly opened it.

Sixth Brother saw the writing on the cover and was stunned. “Isn’t this Master’s handwriting?”

The second brother nodded.

Some time later, Jin’s father received a phone call from his second Brother, asking him to bring his daughter over for a visit.

After hanging up, he said somewhat mysteriously to Jin Yaotiao, “I don’t know what this is about, but it seems serious.”

Jin Yaotiao didn’t think much of it and continued reviewing the financial reports prepared by Mingde’s company.

---

Meanwhile, a private plane soared through the sky, slowly descending at Deep City airport.

Ye Baiqing had received the news and arrived at the airport, calling Phoebe. “Have you all arrived?”

Phoebe’s voice came from behind her: “We’re here.”

Ye Baiqing turned around in surprise, only to see a large group of bodyguards surrounding Phoebe and a slender figure.

The bodyguards, dark-skinned and muscular, were serious as they kept Phoebe and the other figure tightly protected, ensuring no one disturbed them.

Ye Baiqing was taken aback by the scene, but when she saw the figure Phoebe was with, she was struck by the overwhelming feeling that the person looked familiar.

Her eyes narrowed as she tried to peer through the layers of protection.

In a flash, she thought of a name, causing her to stumble back in shock.

My God, it’s…