"Madam Su, that's not what I meant, please don't go!" Mr. Baker broke out in a sweat, secretly regretting not listening to his boss's advice.
Before Mr. Baker spoke with Lily Evans, his boss had warned him that this young lady was no ordinary person and that he shouldn’t look down on her just because she was a farmer.
At the time, Mr. Baker was a bit unconvinced, thinking he could use his glib tongue to bargain with Lily Evans and then boast about it to his boss.
But he hadn’t expected Lily Evans to be so tough—she’d turn to leave at the slightest disagreement.
Mr. Baker quickly stopped Lily Evans and said earnestly, "Madam Su, if you say fifty-fifty, then fifty-fifty it is. To be honest, our boss already agreed long ago! Look, the bill of sale is ready—just waiting for your signature!"
As he spoke, Mr. Baker produced the bill of sale that his boss had prepared.
Lily Evans was cautious; she read the bill of sale carefully, and once she was sure there were no issues, she signed and pressed her fingerprint—two copies in total.
Mr. Baker wiped the sweat from his brow, relieved that he’d finally completed the task his boss had given him.
"Madam Su, from now on, you’re the co-owner of Savory House. If you need anything, just let me know," Mr. Baker said respectfully.
Lily Evans smiled and replied, "Manager, I’m just a country woman—I don’t want to attract too much attention."
Mr. Baker immediately caught on and said, "Then I'll keep calling you Madam Su. Madam Su, take a look at these new private recipes..."
Knowing Mr. Baker was anxious—now that she’d signed the bill of sale, it was all about making money—Lily Evans headed straight to the kitchen. She asked Mr. Baker to bring in the most trustworthy chefs from Savory House and taught them how to make spicy rabbit heads, stir-fried chicken gizzards, braised duck tongues, and fish scale jelly.
At first, the head chefs looked down on Lily Evans for her youth and gender, but once she showed off her cooking skills, they were thoroughly convinced. One chef exclaimed, "I've been cooking half my life and never thought these unwanted fish scales could become such a delicacy!"
"Exactly! Now we’ll get more use out of our ingredients and save a bundle on costs."
"Wow, these dishes are so good—I bet Savory House’s business is about to boom again!"
Mr. Baker was beyond pleased with the new dishes and couldn’t stop praising Lily Evans’s culinary skills.
Lily Evans simply smiled, unfazed by praise or criticism—she’d heard it all in her previous life and was used to it by now.
Suddenly, Mr. Baker slapped his forehead and said, "Quick, serve these dishes to Mr. Lawrence!"
Alan hurriedly brought out the dishes, and then Mr. Baker vented to Lily Evans, "Madam Su, you have no idea—Mr. Lawrence has come to Savory House every day lately, demanding spicy rabbit heads and nearly tearing the place apart! I kept thinking that if Madam Su didn’t come back soon, Savory House would be ruined! Now we’ve got not only spicy rabbit heads but three new dishes. Let’s hope Mr. Lawrence eats his fill and stops causing trouble, or else we really can’t do business anymore!"
Lily Evans burst out laughing and winked at Mr. Baker. "Manager, since this is our grand debut for the new dishes, shouldn’t we set a premium tasting price?"
Mr. Baker instantly understood—Madam Su was truly sharp! After all the trouble Mr. Lawrence had caused Savory House, it was only fair to charge him extra for the new dishes!
Private dining room, Savory House.
Leonard Li sipped his tea and chatted with Harold Wei about the entertaining stone-gambling incident at the market earlier today.
Harold Wei stroked his beard and mused, "To be able to tell with a single touch whether a stone contains jade—I've heard that only General Alexander Hayes can do that."
Leonard Li waved his fan and laughed, "That fool at the market—I think he’s just lucky, picked a good stone by accident."
Harold Wei nodded. General Alexander Hayes was currently recuperating in the palace under imperial orders. Word from the capital was that the general’s health had worsened—he was bedridden and hadn’t been seen for months.