Chapter 260: Chapter 260: Lucky Three Treasures
At the thought, Ming Lingyi’s face suddenly flushed slightly.
Feng Shuyu thought it was because of the large crowd of onlookers at the entrance. "Are you not feeling well? Let’s go in through the back."
After all, she was hosting today. She had already given the silver to the various shopkeepers and told them to bring their staff to the restaurant themselves, so she didn’t need to organize everything personally.
Feeling a bit guilty, Ming Lingyi nodded and followed Feng Shuyu out of the crowd.
After entering the restaurant through the back door, Ming Lingyi didn’t occupy one of the private rooms meant for today’s customers. Instead, she led Feng Shuyu to the rooftop.
They climbed up a short ladder, and the view suddenly opened up.
Speaking of which, this idea was something Ming Lingyi had learned from Liufang Bookstore.
When she had first met Feng Shuyu, the latter had taken her up to the roof.
Ming Family Restaurant was three stories tall, and the whole building had high ceilings, making it look half a story taller than Liufang Bookstore. Once on the roof, the view was even more expansive.
"This is a nice spot." It was Feng Shuyu’s first time up here as well. Seeing a layout so similar to her own bookstore, she couldn’t help but smile and praise it. "I like it up here. It’s peaceful."
Ming Lingyi said, "The last time I went to the bookstore, you took me to the roof for tea. I thought it was a wonderful spot, so when the restaurant was being renovated, I made sure to leave a place like this to entertain friends like you."
This was just a place for her to eat and enjoy the scenery with close friends and family. Customers wouldn’t be coming up here.
Feng Shuyu nodded repeatedly. "Then I’ll have to come find you for meals more often in the future." After a thought, she added, "Put it all on my tab."
Ming Lingyi laughed out loud.
"Enough about that, let’s talk about Hu Tuchao," Feng Shuyu said. "The man behind that guy, Hu Jin, who came to cause trouble at the restaurant yesterday was definitely Hu Tuchao. You must have figured that out, right?"
"Mhm."
"Then why did you only have Hu Jin taken away while Hu Tuchao got to leave?" Feng Shuyu frowned. "Don’t tell me it was because of me. I can’t even stand the sight of him now."
She had loved him once. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have so decisively cast aside class prejudice to marry down to him.
Ming Lingyi shook her head. "Of course not. It’s just that some things can’t be rushed."
Ming Lingyi wasn’t in the habit of covering for others. Without embellishing or omitting anything, she told Feng Shuyu about her confrontation with Hu Tuchao yesterday in full detail.
After hearing the story, Feng Shuyu’s expression turned ugly. "He really is blinded by profit, to even think of something like that!"
The Hu family was large and influential, with many businesses in Shangjing City. It was true that many people would give them face. Wasn’t yesterday’s Hu Jin the best example?
Feng Shuyu had no doubt that if he wanted to mess with Ming Family Restaurant’s suppliers, there would be plenty of people eager to suck up to him by doing his dirty work.
"I’m going to find him today!" Feng Shuyu declared.
Ming Lingyi asked, "What are you going to find him for?"
"He’s not targeting you, he’s targeting me. He doesn’t want this property to fall into someone else’s hands. Even though the deed to the restaurant is in my name, in his eyes, it’s still the Hu family’s property. He’s just too embarrassed to seize it outright. Well, I’m not so concerned about embarrassment!" said Feng Shuyu. Having gone from the daughter of a minor official who rarely showed her face in public to a female boss managing several shops—even personally overseeing the bookstore at times—she was clearly no longer the young lady of the past who valued face above all else. "He thinks this restaurant still belongs to the Hu family, does he? Fine! I’ll go right to their door and cause a scene and post the list of the betrothal gifts the Old Hu Family gave me as compensation for everyone to see! I’ve been considerate of his reputation all these years and haven’t told anyone, which is why people think I, Feng Shuyu, am a pushover and that they can just keep occupying the restaurant. The Hu family has been running a restaurant here for years without paying me any rent, have they? This time, I’m going to get it all back! We’ll see if they can afford to lose this much face!"
The more Feng Shuyu spoke, the angrier she became. She looked like she wanted to stand up and go cause trouble for Hu Tuchao that very second.
Hearing this, Ming Lingyi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
She quickly reached out and refilled the tea for the woman across from her. "Please, don’t be reckless." Ming Lingyi added, "Calm down first. It’s not a big deal, not worth getting so angry over."
As she said this, Ming Lingyi reached out and shook a small bell beside her.
Soon, a waiter came running up.
Ming Lingyi had noted the hour and was planning to eat later, but seeing the current situation, she was afraid that if she didn’t do something to distract Feng Shuyu, her friend really would go downstairs immediately to confront Hu Tuchao.
"Bring up an order of the Lucky Three Treasures first," Ming Lingyi said.
The Lucky Three Treasures was one of the new signature dishes the restaurant was launching today.
The name alone sounded very festive.
Ming Lingyi was certain that none of the customers coming today would dislike it.
Just as Ming Lingyi ordered the dish, an even greater clamor rose from downstairs.
She and Feng Shuyu both instinctively leaned over to look at the scene below the restaurant, and both of them smiled.
It turned out the performance had ended. Down below, Manager Qian was lighting firecrackers. Ming Family Restaurant was officially open for business!
And at that moment, nearly all the people who had been watching from the outside began pouring into the restaurant.
"Looks like no one came just to watch the show!" Feng Shuyu said with a laugh upon seeing the scene, momentarily forgetting her earlier anger toward Hu Tuchao.
Ming Lingyi replied, "Isn’t that a good thing?"
"I’m just worried you didn’t prepare enough ingredients for today, hahaha," Feng Shuyu teased.
Ming Lingyi said, "I’d rather hope they really do eat the kitchen empty."
"So, what is this Lucky Three Treasures you mentioned earlier?" Feng Shuyu was getting curious.
It wasn’t just Feng Shuyu who was curious. The first customers to surge into the restaurant also saw one of the main featured dishes—the Lucky Three Treasures.
Manager Qian stood in the center of the main hall. He had probably anticipated that the customers would be curious; after all, their boss’s naming choices were often rather inscrutable, which naturally piqued people’s curiosity.
"This Lucky Three Treasures was named by our boss herself. It’s actually what we usually call ’Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity.’ It might sound like a single dish, but it’s actually three separate dishes." Manager Qian spoke with eloquent confidence, and if one looked closely, they could see a hint of pride in his expression.
Who in the entire Capital City was better at naming things than their boss?
"It’s a total of three dishes." Upstairs, Ming Lingyi was also introducing the delicacy in front of them to Feng Shuyu.
"This first dish, I’ve named it the Qilin Jade Book. It’s also the main course of the Lucky Three Treasures.
The main ingredient is lamb shoulder, symbolizing the auspicious Qilin beast. It’s slow-braised over a low flame with red yeast rice, yellow wine, and a secret sauce until tender and flavorful, giving it a bright red color like the scales of a Qilin.
As for the ’Jade Book’ part, it’s made from minced chicken paste mixed with egg whites, shaped into thin rectangular slices, and simmered in a clear broth. It resembles a scroll or a jade slip, symbolizing wisdom and heritage."
The plated Qilin Jade Book featured the vibrantly colored and extremely appetizing "Qilin meat" placed in the center of the dish, flanked by the snow-white "Jade Book." The entire dish had a striking color contrast and an elegant presentation.
As Ming Lingyi was describing it, Feng Shuyu couldn’t help but swallow.
’I’m not usually this gluttonous,’ she thought. ’I don’t know why, but every time I come to Ming’s Restaurant, it’s as if I haven’t eaten in days.’
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