Chapter 129 Protest
"I see." Someone nodded in sudden realization.

Shopkeeper Li in the front row was very annoyed when he heard what Zheng Sanduo said. He wanted to refute him, but he felt that it was not appropriate for a senior to argue with a junior. While he was hesitating, he heard Lu Xiaotian laughing.

"Brother Sanduo, you underestimated him. I heard that the emperor ordered him to come to the palace to prepare the imperial meal yesterday. The eighteen dishes and one soup were stunning. The emperor also gave the names of the dishes and appointed him as the attendant of the imperial kitchen."

Everyone gasped.

"No way? What kind of official position is a person who works in the imperial kitchen?"

"The imperial chef is not an official, so what kind of official is the imperial kitchen attendant? He is just a servant in the palace." Zheng Sanduo was sour and didn't quite believe that Li Yao could actually become the imperial kitchen attendant.

Lu Xiaotian said: "It's true that being an imperial chef is nothing special. Only the first place winner of the cooking competition is qualified to enter the palace to be an imperial chef. The second place winner can only be a handyman in the imperial kitchen."

These words were obviously directed at Zheng Sanduo. Everyone present knew that Lu Yiming became the imperial chef because he won the first place in the cooking competition, and he was responsible for preparing meals for the emperor. As for Zheng Fugui, although he was also qualified to enter the imperial kitchen, his status was obviously not as good as Lu Yiming's.

Ye Jiayao thought to herself: This is a brilliant statement, it means to slap the face of this arrogant and ignorant guy.

Zheng Sanduo knew that he had said something wrong and was scolded by Lu Xiaotian. His face turned pale and he was very embarrassed.

"So, Li Yao does have some real skills." someone said.

"He is so powerful that he should be qualified to participate in today's parliament."

"Yes, why didn't Shopkeeper Li bring the person here so that we can get to know him?"

"Hmph!" someone snorted coldly.

Ye Jiayao looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Niu Baoshun who was sitting in the first seat in the second row.

"The level of your cooking skills will be revealed in the competition," Niu Bao said.

Zheng Sanduo finally found an ally and said, "That's right. Everyone has only heard about how powerful Li Yao is. Fame doesn't mean real ability. Cooking is not necessarily the only way to make the emperor happy. Li Yao is used to currying favor with the rich and powerful. I'm afraid he is also good at flattering people."

Fuck you, you little Sanduo kid, you haven't even had the chance to curry favor with the rich and powerful! Ye Jiayao stared at the back of Zheng Sanduo's head and really wanted to kick him to the ground.

Lu Xiaotian sneered twice: "I think Li Yao will definitely participate in this cooking competition. Then Brother Sanduo will be able to see whether Li Yao is worthy of the title or just a false reputation."

Sitting next to Shopkeeper Li, Jufulin's shopkeeper Lin Changchun said with a smile, "Shopkeeper Li, five years ago, your Tianshangju had Niu Baoshun, who won third place as a dark horse. This year, before the competition even started, your Tianshangju is already the hottest topic. Your chef is no ordinary chef!"

Shopkeeper Li smiled modestly and said, "No, no, I heard that your Jufulin's chef is a hidden talent."

Zheng Fugui, who was sitting in the upper seat, glanced at the hall and saw that it was full, so he said, "Now that everyone is here, let's start discussing matters!"

"First of all, the first topic is that several pastry shops in Jinling have protested."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes were gathered on Shopkeeper Li. Shopkeeper Li ignored them and drank his tea calmly.

Ye Jiayao's heart skipped a beat. Damn it, what's wrong with me making a few mooncakes? You're actually talking about it. You're obviously jealous.

Zheng Fugui continued, "Although the Chamber of Commerce has no explicit regulations, the rules of the industry are customary. Restaurants, pastry shops, teahouses, wine shops, and even vinegar shops all have their own clear business scopes and will not easily cross the line. I heard that Tianshangju recently launched snow skin mooncakes, which had a great impact on several pastry shops in Jinling, so they jointly protested. Shopkeeper Li, can you explain this matter?"

Shopkeeper Li put down his teacup and said calmly, "Since someone has protested, let me explain. The business scope of a restaurant is comprehensive, not just cooking. Restaurants also brew wine. For example, Fu Shouchun of your Fu Ji brews its own wine, and the business is very good. The winery did not protest because of this, right?"

Zheng Fugui's face didn't look good. He didn't expect that Manager Li would pull his Fu Ji in right away.

"Restaurants also serve drinks. For example, every restaurant will offer iced sour plum soup, lotus seed and black fungus soup, etc. in the summer. Restaurants also serve pastries, and some even make candied fruits. For example, the pastries of Xiangyilou and the candied fruits of Qilin Pavilion are very famous. Why hasn't anyone come out to protest? Speaking of selling moon cakes, which year did the restaurant owners here not sell moon cakes? Why is it that it is an eyesore for us to sell a few moon cakes in Tianshangju now?" said the shopkeeper Li.

Mei Xiuguang on the other side jumped out and said, "Other families' wine, cakes, and preserved fruits have not caused a devastating blow to others, but your family's snowy mooncakes have caused all our mooncakes to be unsalable and unsaleable."

Shopkeeper Li said with a smile, "Shopkeeper Mei, please be patient. The snowy mooncakes we sell in Tianshangju are targeted at wealthy families. There are many rich people in Jinling City, but no matter how many there are, there are not as many as ordinary people. Therefore, your pastry shops still have a lot of customers! Business is all about competition. Whoever has good products will naturally have good business. Otherwise, Xiangyilou would not come to poach people."

"There will be development only if there is competition. If you can't compete with others, then quickly find a way to change your business. If high-end mooncakes don't sell well, sell low-end ones. Shopkeeper Mei is also a veteran in business. You don't need me to teach you, right? If you insist on hitting the stone with an egg, who can you blame for the loss?" Ye Jiayao almost wanted to applaud Shopkeeper Li. Old Li is really eloquent! He said it very bluntly.

Mei Xiuguan was so angry at Manager Li that he was speechless.

"Manager Li, don't be so aggressive. Things will change. Will your chef be able to stay in your heavenly residence forever?" Some people couldn't stand Manager Li's arrogance.

Shopkeeper Li said, "Who knows what will happen in the future, it's good enough to take care of the present."

Zheng Fugui said, "Manager Li, we are all in the same business. We will see each other every day. Harmony brings wealth. I think it would be better if you reduce the quantity of Tianshangju by half, so as to leave a way out for others. How do you think?"

Most people in the hall nodded in agreement. Although Tianshangju was an old restaurant and its business had never been bad, it suddenly became so popular that it was inevitable that people would be jealous.

"I don't agree. Doing business depends on your ability. As long as you don't cheat or steal and your means are legitimate, it's fine." Duan Qilin said.

Ye Jiayao looked at the big man in surprise. She had thought he looked a bit fierce before, but now she felt that he was simply full of righteousness.

"Please forgive me for my bold words." Lu Xiaotian stood up and clasped his fists.

"Chefs have many specialties, some specializing in vegetarian dishes, some specializing in meat dishes, and some specializing in pastries. However, people have limited talent and energy and cannot do everything. Now, there is Li Yao, the head chef of Tianshangju. He not only makes exquisite and delicious dishes, but is also a master of pastries. I heard that he also has an exquisite carving skill. Such talents are rare. It is a blessing for Tianshangju to have such a head chef."

"To be honest, if your business is not as good as others, you can only complain that you can't hire such a versatile chef. As for the pastry shop, it specializes in pastries and noodles, but was defeated by a small chef from a restaurant. It's like two people fighting, and the opponent uses your tricks to defeat you. You can't ask your opponent to tie his hands and feet and fight you again just because you lost. This is cheating. You can only blame yourself for not being as skilled as others."

Mei Xiuguan's old face turned red, but he had no way to refute.

"What Lu Xiaotian said makes sense. Our Jufulin was once prosperous, but business is sluggish now. We don't blame others," Lin Changchun also said.

Lu Xiaotian's words were sharp. Even if the people present were dissatisfied, they did not dare to jump out to criticize. If they did, they would inevitably be accused of being inferior to others and cheating.

Seeing that the situation was at a stalemate, Zheng Fugui sought the opinion of the old president beside him and said, "You can discuss this matter privately! Now, the second item on the agenda is about the cooking competition."

"The Jinling City Cooking Competition is held every five years. It was originally held by our Chamber of Commerce to increase the popularity of major restaurants and promote innovation. However, this year, the official proposed that it would be more inclusive and not limited to major restaurants. Anyone who thinks they have outstanding cooking skills can participate."

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room was in an uproar. In this way, the level of this competition would be raised. It would no longer be a matter within one's own circle. By then, there would be so many people participating in the competition that even people from other towns would come, making the competition even more intense.

"Why? The funds are all provided by the Chamber of Commerce." Lian Xingwang of Xiangyilou objected.

Zheng Fugui said calmly: "Our Chamber of Commerce will only pay 30% of this year's expenses, and the rest will be borne by the government."

He also didn't want to expand the scope of the competition, as this would be disadvantageous to his son Sanduo. In Jinling City, Sanduo's chances of winning with his cooking skills were guaranteed, but once the competition was opened to the outside world, it would be hard to predict. There are always people better than you, and there are many masters among the people.

Well... since the government is paying the bulk of the money, they can't object even if they want to.

Ye Jiayao was thinking, when the time comes, she would ask Zhong Xiang and the others to participate in the competition.

"How should the awards be set up?" someone asked.

Zheng Fugui said: "Since the competition has expanded, the prizes will naturally increase. The government said that the top ten this year can enter the imperial kitchen. Moreover, this competition has added a noodle-making competition, and the top three will be selected."

There was another uproar when this was said. It was so unfair. The top ten people all went to the imperial kitchen. Did the imperial kitchen want to take this opportunity to recruit chefs?

Ye Jiayao could understand this official decision. It must be that the masters in the palace were tired of the dishes cooked by the current chefs and wanted to try something new.

This is how it is. A restaurant has to change its chef every few years because they are afraid that customers will get tired of the food and lose their appetite.

"So, everyone here should go back and prepare well. This competition is not just about winning fame for yourself, but also about winning face for the restaurants in Jinling City." Zheng Fugui obviously wanted to encourage everyone, but his words felt a bit heavy.

(End of this chapter)