Transmigration: The Little Chef Calls The Shots-Chapter 1450 - 269, Bizarre (11)

Not only was the appearance deceptive, but the interior was as well. Although the tea house was a place of elegance, simply adding more green plants didn’t necessarily reflect its sophistication. The abundance of greenery, in fact, raised Lin Yuan’s suspicions. Indeed, as she strolled through the tea house, she discovered numerous scratches on the floor that hadn’t yet been cleaned up, likely left by workers too tired to care while arranging the plants.

Therefore, these green plants must have been recently purchased by Ling Fengfeng in an attempt to superficially exhibit the tea house’s elegance, because she thought Tian Hui was easy to deceive, and she had placed them haphazardly without proper planning.

Another flaw was the staff. Ling Fengfeng had claimed they were closed for a day, but Lin Yuan noticed dust in the corners that couldn’t have been from just a day or two of closure—it had been at least half a month.

Tian Hui listened in bewilderment—now everything Lin Yuan pointed out seemed exceedingly rational, yet when she had looked at the tea house herself earlier, why hadn’t she felt deceived?

"Ah, Yuanyuan, I think I’m not fit to run a shop. I’m so clumsy, I’d surely mess up the tea house completely. Maybe you should find Miss Yan to partner with instead; she’s smarter, more knowledgeable, and no one dares to deceive her."

Tian Hui felt somewhat disheartened, but Lin Yuan thought that mistakes were a part of learning. If it weren’t for today’s incident, Tian Hui wouldn’t have realized how easily she could be deceived. Now that she was aware, she just needed to be more cautious in the future. freēwēbnovel.com

After comforting Tian Hui thoroughly, her emotions gradually improved. When Lin Yuan spoke of making the tea house thrive, Tian Hui’s fighting spirit was immediately ignited.

"Right, they look down on me, don’t they? They think I’m easy to fool, don’t they? Well, I’m going to make the tea house incredibly successful, make them respect me, and show them that Tian Hui is not to be underestimated!"

Seeing Tian Hui’s spirited demeanor, Lin Yuan couldn’t help but smile, and she continued to advise her on what to consider when selecting a shop location before the two parted ways.

Tian Hui went off to scout for suitable locations based on Lin Yuan’s advice, while Lin Yuan planned to visit various tea houses in the Capital city. After all, knowing both oneself and one’s enemy ensures preparedness for any battle.

The Capital city was teeming with tea houses, many of which welcomed both male and female patrons.

Some tea houses were exquisitely and cleanly decorated, perfect for gatherings of ladies from affluent families. However, these tea houses did only average business as the ladies were meticulous about their demeanor, and even when together, they merely sipped tea and talked—seldom indulging in the delicious cakes and desserts prepared by the tea house.

In contrast, other tea houses were bustling with diverse groups of people gathered together, munching on peanuts and sipping tea, with an elderly man in a dark robe enthusiastically storytelling at a stage on the first floor.

As soon as Lin Yuan entered the tea house, an enthusiastic servant promptly guided her to a vacant spot on the second floor. She ordered a pot of flower tea and a plate of peanuts and started listening to the old man’s tale below. The story was mundane, revolving around various battles, and Lin Yuan soon found it dull as the old man’s narration lacked life and engagement, just like most of the tea drinkers who were largely ignoring his storytelling and chatting among themselves.

Not only was the story unengaging, but the tea was also subpar. After a sip, Lin Yuan decided not to stay any longer. She casually left some silver pieces and rose to leave.

Although such tea houses were lively, they mostly consisted of froth, with guests at each table barely changing throughout half a day; many were just idle people there to chat.

Other tea houses were much more elegant, as one couldn’t see anyone upon entering because all the guests were in separate elegant rooms. Such tea houses were suitable for businessmen or officials who discussed important matters, so those who came to drink tea there generally did not skimp on expenses and some even gave generous tips to ensure the staff’s discretion, naturally earning the tea house a substantial amount of silver.

However, such tea houses did not impress Lin Yuan as much as those bustling ones with storytellers; these were just too lofty, even though they earned plenty of silver.

After spending the day exploring the Capital city’s tea houses, Lin Yuan had grown quite familiar with them, and the concept for her own tea house had begun to take shape; now, all she had to do was to design these ideas and then find the right location to open her tea house.

Ever since Chen Leyao had declined the Third Prince’s proposal to enter his mansion first and then be named his consort, she had been uneasy for quite some time, fearing the Third Prince would despise her. Fortunately, the Third Prince did not mind and treated her even better than before, deepening Chen Leyao’s feelings for him and filling her with some guilt.

It might have been because of the recent harmonious days spent with the Third Prince that Chen Leyao had unexpectedly become more agreeable with the embroidery ladies of the Red Smoke Pavilion, even winning over Luo Sanniang, who was typically consumed with her embroidery. When they met again, Luo Sanniang no longer fled as if she had seen a little tiger.

Though Lin Wei had not known Chen Leyao for very long, she considered herself rather familiar with her and was puzzled by such a sudden change.

It wasn’t until one day when she met with Chen Ruochu that Lin Wei finally understood what was going on.

However, she became even more perplexed. She had heard from her elder sister that the Third Prince was not someone frivolous, so how could he let a matchmaker randomly find women for him?

The more Lin Wei thought about it, the stranger it seemed, and Chen Ruochu also furrowed her brows and carefully sorted through the events. Ever since the price war with the Wu Family, Chen Haigang had been disappointed with Lady Jiang and forbade her from meddling in the cloth shop’s affairs.

Lady Jiang was a proud person and could not stomach Chen Haigang’s severe scolding, so she never mentioned the matchmaking for Chen Leyao to Chen Haigang. Even Chen Ruochu only knew about it because she had accidentally heard from a maid.

"No, I must go and tell her about this to prevent her from being deceived!"

Although Lin Wei had some disagreements with Chen Leyao, they had been good friends in the past, and Chen Leyao was also Chen Ruochu’s sister. If Chen Leyao were truly tricked into losing her money or virtue, wouldn’t she regret it?

"What can you do by going there? Will she believe it?" Chen Ruochu grabbed Lin Wei’s arm, her expression unsettled, "I have reminded them more than once, but they always dismiss it as if it were nothing and claim I am just slandering them out of jealousy."