The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

The three of them finished all three dishes. It was the first time Li Xiaoyu had ever seen potatoes made into such delicious dishes.

Farmers eat potatoes all year round and are tired of them, but today's meal made her rediscover the value of potatoes.

Potatoes used to be used only as a staple food, but now they can also be made into a side dish.

She heard her master say that shredded potatoes taste better when they're cold, and they also taste good with cornbread.

She'll try it at home next time; these days, she and her grandmother eat almost every meal at Shen's Restaurant.

The kitchen at home hasn't been used for cooking in a long time.

As the three of them were carrying their finished plates to the kitchen, Wei Siyu walked in.

He looked at the empty plate and, without even saying hello, immediately ran to the group. He saw that the plate was completely empty and that the dishes looked like they were things he had never eaten before.

She looked at Shen Cao with a wronged expression, "Cao'er, you actually ate alone with Wanyue."

"I've been working so hard outside, and you're just eating alone with Wanyue."

With bowls and plates in her hands, Wanyue's imposing manner weakened for a moment.

After putting down what she was holding, she pulled Wei Siyu aside and said, "Explain yourself clearly, what do you mean by eating alone?"

"Didn't you see? The three of us are eating together. Can you call that eating alone?"

"Besides, what's wrong with Sister Cao'er making my favorite food? She's my sister."

"With your small frame, do you think Sister Cao'er would make it just for you instead of for me?"

"You think you're worthy?" she said, making a face at him.

"Sister Cao'er made it for me because she likes me."

Fearing the two would fight, Shen Cao quickly explained, "Wei Siyu, you've gone too far."

"We didn't eat alone, it's just that you weren't there when we ate."

"Besides, we're only eating vegetarian food today, which you don't like."

"Who said I don't like it?" Wei Siyu muttered softly.

"What did you say? Speak louder." Wanyue couldn't hear what he was muttering.

“I said, Cao’er, I’ve found the person you asked me to find. Shen Yu’an asked you when to start.”

Wei Siyu shouted it out in a voice eight octaves higher than usual to show her dissatisfaction.

Wanyue's voice was even louder than his, "Sister Cao'er knows, you may leave."

"I'll go with Sister Cao'er in a little while."

Wei Siyu had no choice but to flick her sleeves and leave.

"Sister Cao'er, don't pay attention to him, that's just how he is."

"Greedy cat!"

Shen Cao laughed and said, "Still a cowardly glutton."

Shen Yu'an and Wei Siyu, along with the people they had brought, sat in the main hall of the front room.

It's past lunchtime now, and there are hardly any people in the hall.

Shen Cao led them to the kitchen.

"These must be the chefs you've hired."

Shen Yu'an nodded, and Wei Siyu explained, "I found them with great difficulty. I personally went to find them."

"I'm so hungry from running."

After saying that, she looked at Shen Cao with a mournful expression. Wei Baobao felt wronged and was about to speak out.

Shen Cao ignored him; she was used to his occasional bouts of erratic behavior.

Instead, when Wanyue saw his expression, she first glared at him, and then made a throat-slitting gesture at him.

Wei Siyu immediately shut her mouth.

Shen Cao walked up to the three people, bowed to them, and then slowly said, "Please tell me about your best dishes."

From left to right, everyone described their specialty dish.

Next, Shen Cao prepared ingredients for them and asked them to cook their best dishes in the kitchen.

However, apart from the ingredients, they prepared all the seasonings themselves.

She had already made this clear to Shen Yu'an and Wei Siyu when they went to find the chef, and made sure they prepared the seasonings they needed.

Shen Cao looked at the three chefs busy in the kitchen. They did look very professional, whether they were chopping vegetables or stir-frying them.

After the three of them finished cooking, Shen Cao led Shen Yu'an and the others to taste each of their signature dishes.

The taste is average, neither particularly delicious nor unpalatable.

Next, Shen Cao asked them to replace the soy sauce they used for cooking with their own, and then changed a few other seasonings before asking them to cook their signature dishes again.

The group was a little confused, but since Wei Siyu had given them a lot of money, they didn't say anything more.

They cooked the dish again, following their original method.

The same dish was placed next to the freshly prepared dish.

Shen Yu'an didn't understand why the same dish had to be made twice, since the methods were exactly the same. He didn't know what the difference was.

However, after tasting the dish a second time, he seemed to understand.

The second dish I made tasted significantly better than the first one.

The dish that was originally rated five points was surprisingly rated seven points the second time.

Shen Cao also tasted the dishes she made a second time, and she had to admit that, as expected, the difference of thousands of years meant that the taste of the food could not be reversed by just one or two seasonings.

It's just a little tastier than before.

Cooking requires not only seasonings, but also precise control of heat and cooking methods.

Fortunately, she only needs to consider the seasonings.

"How is it?" Shen Cao asked them.

Wanyue spoke first, "The second dish was obviously much tastier, but it's still not as good as Sister Cao'er's." After saying that, she walked up to Shen Cao and took her hand.

The others nodded in agreement, "It's true that the second time is always tastier."

The three chefs all wore expressions of disbelief.

How could that be? It's clearly the same method, just with a few different seasonings.

Shen Cao handed them chopsticks and told them to try it themselves.

The three of them tasted two identical dishes that they had each made.

Although they looked exactly the same, the taste was definitely different; the second one was noticeably much tastier.

Everyone looked at Shen Cao, because she was the one who had just replaced their own seasonings with hers.

"Young lady, can you sell me your seasoning? I'll pay a high price." One of the chefs was the first to understand the secret and immediately asked Shen Cao to buy the seasoning.

With this seasoning, your dishes will taste at least 20% better.

The other two realized what was happening and immediately offered to pay a higher price as well.

Shen Cao smiled and waved her hand, "I'm not selling these seasonings for now."

The group was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this, but they all said that they should definitely let Shen Cao know once she started selling, and they would definitely buy from her.

After everyone left, Shen Yu'an asked, "Cao'er, why did the three of you make the same dishes, yet the taste improved so much?"

"Just changing a few seasonings has resulted in such an effect."

Suddenly, he realized what was happening.

"Could that be your 'secret seasoning'?"

Shen Cao smiled and nodded. "How about it? Is this 'secret seasoning' feasible?"