After returning to the capital to farm, the abandoned concubine made a comeback.

"Your Highness, I want to expand our vegetable garden and chicken coop!" Lin Qin enthusiastically described her grand plan. "Look, we have so many orders now, this amount of production is far from enough! We need to increase production!"

Zhu Ling affectionately pinched the tip of her nose: "Okay, whatever you say." He paused, then added, "However, expanding production is not an easy task. It requires manpower, materials, and..." He looked at her meaningfully, "...sufficient funds."

Lin Qin waved her hand dismissively: "Don't worry about the money! This princess has a brilliant plan!" She smiled mysteriously, then pulled Zhu Ling out, saying, "Come on, let's go to the village to recruit people first!"

The recruitment process was much more difficult than Lin Qin had imagined.

Most villagers were busy working in their own fields, and very few were willing to come and help.

They finally managed to recruit a few, but they were all elderly women, and their work speed was really not impressive.

"This won't do!" Lin Qin exclaimed, stamping her feet in frustration as she watched the elderly women slowly picking vegetables. "At this rate, when will we ever finish the orders?"

Zhu Ling comforted her, saying, "Take your time, don't rush."

But how could Lin Qin not be anxious?

With the delivery date of the order drawing ever closer, she felt as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

In order to meet the deadline, Lin Qin had to personally take charge and work overtime with several older women.

However, misfortunes never come singly.

Just when Lin Qin was at her wit's end, a new restaurant opened in town and started selling similar food, and the prices were even lower than Lin Qin's!

This is undoubtedly a huge challenge for Lin Qin.

To make matters worse, the demand for ingredients has also increased dramatically due to the expansion of production.

The original supplier could no longer meet Lin Qin's needs, and a new supplier could not be found for a long time.

"What should we do?" Lin Qin looked at the mountain of orders and then at the empty warehouse, her face full of worry.

Just then, Matchmaker Wu rushed over: "Madam Lin, something bad has happened! That newly opened restaurant in town, they..." She took a breath, her tone mysterious, "...they seem to be asking about your recipes!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Qin flew into a rage.

"They're asking for my recipes? They're shameless!" She rolled up her sleeves. "Let's go, let's go and have a word with them!"

However, Zhu Ling stopped her.

"Don't be impulsive. The most important thing now is to stabilize production and not lose our composure." He calmly analyzed, "Their prices are lower than ours, which may mean they are using inferior ingredients. We can't engage in a price war with them; that would only damage our reputation."

"What should we do? We can't let them steal our business, can we?" Lin Qin stamped her feet anxiously.

Zhu Ling smiled slightly: "Don't worry, I have a way."

The next day, Lin Qin followed Zhu Ling to the town's market.

She thought Zhu Ling was looking for a new supplier, but he walked straight towards a group of men who were chatting.

"Brothers, I have a favor to ask of you," Zhu Ling said, cupping his hands in greeting.

These men were known as "idlers" in town, who usually loafed around and did nothing productive.

Lin Qin didn't understand why Zhu Ling wanted their help.

Zhu Ling told the group of men about his plan and promised them a generous reward.

Upon hearing this, the men immediately became interested and readily agreed.

In the following days, Lin Qin was surprised to find that the number of people applying for helpers at her place had suddenly increased, and they were all strong and healthy young men.

"Your Highness, did you find all these people?" Lin Qin asked curiously.

Zhu Ling smiled and nodded: "These people are all skilled craftsmen in the town, but they lack an opportunity to showcase their talents."

With the addition of these helpers, Lin Qin's food production increased rapidly, and orders also increased.

Seeing her business booming, Lin Qin was overjoyed.

"It seems our business is getting better and better," Lin Qin said to Zhu Ling while counting the money.

Zhu Ling shook his head, his expression grave: "Things are probably not that simple..." He walked to the door, gazing into the distance, "Someone's coming..."

A magnificent carriage stopped in front of Lin Qin's farmhouse. The curtain was lifted, and a man dressed in brocade robes stepped out.

He had a fair complexion, a hint of disdain in his eyes, and was holding a folding fan in his hand; he was clearly not someone to be trifled with.

"Oh, so this is the farmhouse restaurant run by that abandoned concubine from the capital? It doesn't look very good."

Lin Qin, hands on her hips, retorted without any politeness: "Young master, come in if you're going to eat, otherwise please leave. Don't block my business."

The man in brocade chuckled, "I am Chef Qian, the head chef of Zuixianlou Restaurant. I've heard that the dishes at your farmhouse restaurant are quite famous, so I came here to try them." With that, he swaggered inside.

Chef Qian ordered a table full of signature dishes, shaking his head as he ate: "Tsk tsk tsk, the taste is just so-so, far inferior to the dishes at our Zuixianlou."

"You!" Lin Qin was so angry that she wanted to step forward to argue, but Zhu Ling stopped her.

"Chef Qian, if you don't like it, why waste money?" Zhu Ling said coldly.

"Your Highness, you're here too," Chef Qian said sarcastically. "How could the food made by this abandoned concubine possibly be to your liking? Why don't you come to our Drunken Immortal Pavilion? I'll cook for you myself and guarantee you'll be satisfied."

Zhu Ling sneered: "I just love the dishes made by the Princess Consort. Chef Qian should mind his own business at Zuixianlou."

Chef Qian was rebuffed and left with a sour expression.

After he left, the matchmaker, Wu, came over and said mysteriously, "Madam Lin, I heard that Chef Qian is no pushover. He has someone backing him up."

Butcher Zhou also said in a muffled voice, "That's right. I heard he's sworn brothers with the county magistrate's son. We'd better be careful."

Lin Qin's heart skipped a beat; it seemed that Chef Qian was deliberately trying to cause trouble.

As she was thinking of a solution, she suddenly saw a cold smile curl up at the corner of Zhu Ling's mouth.

"Your Highness, our real show has only just begun."

Lin Qin would not sit idly by and wait to die!

She is not a vegetarian!

She first sent someone to "inspect" the newly opened restaurant and brought back some "samples".

When I looked at it, good heavens, this wasn't a delicacy, it was downright culinary monstrosity!

Not only were the ingredients not fresh, but the workmanship was also rough. No wonder the price was so low!

Lin Qin had a sudden inspiration and immediately came up with a brilliant idea.

She asked Zhu Ling for help and set up a stall at the village entrance. On the left were her homemade food items, and on the right were "samples" of her competitors' products. Then she shouted loudly, "Don't miss out! Free samples! Compare prices before you buy!"

When the villagers heard that there was a free lunch, they swarmed over.

After tasting Lin Qin's cooking, everyone gave her a thumbs up: "Mmm! It smells so good! As expected of Lin Qin's cooking, it's delicious!" Then, after tasting their competitors' food, they all showed expressions of disgust: "What is this? It has a weird taste!"

Matchmaker Wu took a bite of her competitor's dish and immediately spat it out: "Ptooey! This is awful! It's practically pig swill!" Butcher Zhou chimed in: "Exactly! Even my dog ​​wouldn't eat this stuff!"

Now, the newly opened restaurant was completely infamous, and its business plummeted.

Chef Qian was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

Having dealt with her competitors, Lin Qin did not let her guard down.

She knew that competition would never stop on the path of culinary arts.

To maintain her leading position, she began to think about innovative dishes, such as making various kinds of desserts with pumpkin and refreshing cold dishes with cucumber...

That night, Lin Qin was busy until late before returning to her room.

She saw Zhu Ling sitting on the bed reading a book, and she collapsed wearily into his arms: "Your Highness, I'm so tired today..."

Zhu Ling gently hugged her and whispered, "I know you've worked hard. But you should also take care to rest and not overwork yourself."

Lin Qin raised her head and looked into Zhu Ling's deep eyes, a sudden unease rising in her heart: "Your Highness, do you think I'm too busy and neglecting you?"

Zhu Ling smiled and gently pinched the tip of her nose: "Silly girl, how could that be? I love seeing you full of energy and enthusiasm." He paused, a subtle, deeper meaning flashing in his eyes, "However..."

"But what?" Lin Qin asked curiously.

Zhu Ling smiled mysteriously: "However, I also have a surprise for you..." He took out a delicate little box from under his pillow, "Open it and take a look."