Said No to the Prince and Yes to the King novel Chapter 179

Chapter 179 Can You Cook?

Finished

Lisa smiled brightly, “It’s absolutely wonderful here. Everyone’s really friendly, the food and drinks are lovely every day, and the living quarters are so nice, too. I never even had a room of my own back home, but you had them give me a private chamber right away. I feel like I’m living a fairy–tale life now.”

Margaret let out a soft sigh. “It’s all perfect on the surface, at least.”

Lisa noticed the faint melancholy in her tone. “What’s wrong, Ms. Campbell?”

Margaret said quietly, “Nothing much. I was just thinking the feast hall’s business isn’t as prosperous as it

seems.”

Lisa shook her head quickly. “It’s busy all day long! Most of the guests are wealthy nobles and high–ranking folks. It’s not packed to the brim, but the flow of customers stays steady.”

“It’s still not enough,” Margaret replied. “There are regular guests each day, but the profits barely cover all the expenses.”

They still had to pay monthly wages to all the waiters, kitchen maids, and the steward.

Meals and lodging were provided for all staff, and even though most didn’t live on–site, they still had to keep spare rooms ready at all times.

Lisa tilted her head thoughtfully. “That can’t be right. The first and second floors are for dining and drinks, and the third floor has private guest chambers for overnight stays. The hall makes money from two different businesses–how could there be no profit?”

“The third floor does take in lodgers,” Margaret said, “but have you ever seen many guests staying there?”

Lisa looked embarrassed. “I guess there aren’t that many. Then… What will we do? Are you going to give up on the feast hall?”

“I’m thinking of ways to draw in more guests and grow the business,” Margaret said, resting her chin in her hand. “Most daytime guests come just for honey water and meals. Only the evening crowd stays on the second floor to drink and chat, Maybe we can start with fine wines and brand–new menu dishes to turn things around.”

Lisa blinked in confusion. “New dishes?”

A sudden idea came to Margaret. “I may not be good at cooking myself, but I have a whole collection of recipe menus. I’ll write them down for you later, and you can pass them to the kitchen maids. With fine wine and unique new dishes, business is bound to pick up.”

She suddenly remembered her storage space held stacks of recipe books, plus plenty of instant pastas and pre–made dishes from her modern life.

5

Back in her own time, she’d grown tired of takeout and planned to learn cooking, buying piles of recipe books–yet never found the time to practice, so she’d stored them all away.

In the end, she’d lived on instant pastas and pre–made meals until she grew sick of them.

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Chapter 179 Can You Cook?

She had no time to learn to cook herself, but the kitchen staff here certainly did.

Even Lisa could learn, too.

Finished

Margaret told Lisa to fetch paper and a dip pen. She secretly took a recipe book out of her storage space while Lisa was gone. Once Lisa returned, she carefully copied out the recipes one by one.

Lisa stared in amazement. “Where did this come from? I didn’t see you have it just now.”

Margaret asked calmly, “Can you cook?”

Lisa nodded blankly. “Yes, I can. I cooked all the meals for my family back home.”

“Then I’ll leave these recipes with you,” Margaret said. “You can practice making these new dishes yourself and teach the kitchen maids, too. Once we add these new dishes to the menu, business will definitely improve.”

The simplified modern characters were completely different from the ancient traditional script of this realm, so Margaret didn’t hand over the original recipe book directly.

Instead, she rewrote all the recipes in the local realm’s writing from memory.

She also substituted any modern seasonings that didn’t exist here with suitable local alternatives.

Margaret spent a long time copying most of the dishes, simply skipping over the overly complicated ones.

Lisa leaned in, staring curiously at the illustrated recipe book in Margaret’s hand, and whispered, “What are all these dishes, Ms. Campbell?”

Margaret smiled and pointed to the pictures on the page, “This is grilled butter prawns, this is braised pork ribs in red wine, then spiced herb soft cheese pot, pan–fried double–cooked pork, roasted eggplant–these are all simple, easy–to–make dishes.”

She flipped to the next page and went on, “And these are my favorites: spicy poached beef in broth, cold spiced chicken, and this giant herb meatball. Every dish has its name written down. This book is mostly home–style recipes, with plenty of even simpler ones, too–like tomato scrambled eggs. Once you master these, I’ll give you another recipe book.”

‘There’s another one?” Lisa’s mouth fell open in shock. “I’ve never even heard of most of these dishes you’re talking about.”

She’d wanted to ask if the recipes were reliable, but staring at the vivid, colorful illustrations, she could almost smell the aroma through the pages.

Just looking at the pictures made her certain the food must taste incredible.

If they could really make these dishes, the feast hall’s business would be set for good.

Lisa asked eagerly, “Can I keep this illustrated recipe book, too, Ms. Campbell?”

Margaret laughed softly. “You can’t even read the characters in it–what would you do with it?”

“I just love looking at the pictures,” Lisa said. “I want to try making the food look just like the ones drawn

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Rejected by the Crown Prince? I Married His Uncle