Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Aura of an Expert

  I was also in charge of the food section for a few days, although separated by provinces, I also knew the names of these judges...

  Guan Wei glanced at the judges and said, "Gu Zhimi, Yun Cangming, Chang Aiguo, Sun Chenggang, these are all famous foodies in Lu Province. However, the most formidable one is still Gu Zhimi. This old man is the only one among the judges who has actually worked as a chef. It's said that thirty years ago, he was already a top-notch chef. He was once invited to enter the Imperial Palace's Nan Water Temple to cook for the central leaders and was known as a genius chef. He is proficient in all eight major cuisines, but his specialty is still Lu cuisine."

  However, the remaining three old men are not simple either. Yun Cangming and Sun Chenggang were wealthy before liberation, and their favorite thing in life is eating. After a lifetime of eating, they have become experts; Chang Aiguo is also impressive, this old man was a provincial-level high-ranking official before his retirement, and it is said that he even personally presided over the compilation of "Tianxia Caipu", which is still a textbook for many culinary schools today.

  Guan Wei looked at Yang Cai again: "Also, don't underestimate this woman. When it comes to eating, she's not much worse than these old guys. Gu Zhiwei, Old Master Gu, once said that she has a 'lingual fragrance tongue' that can distinguish the flavors of the world."

  "Hmm, this old man is quite interesting? Evaluating a young woman like that, isn't he afraid of being called 'unworthy of his age'? Zhou Yi chuckled and said that someone's tongue was so sharp, which meant that the old man was old enough to rely on his age and act arrogant. If it were someone else saying this, it would have a deeper meaning."

  However, as Gu Zhiwei, he unexpectedly evaluated Yang Cai like this, which made Zhou Yi take a few more glances at the woman.

  Distinguishing a hundred flavors is not just an exaggeration. The Book of Changes knows that ordinary people can distinguish between sour, sweet, bitter, and salty, but an excellent chef or gourmet can further subdivide the flavors, with sweetness alone being able to be divided into dozens of kinds. Distinguishing a hundred flavors refers to this kind of innate sensitivity to food, a gift from heaven; such a person will either become a famous chef or a discerning gourmand!

  The two brothers were facing several judges, evaluating and discussing, while Yang Cai and the four old men had already entered the temporary canopy set up for them. The old grass was paired with fresh flowers, and the fresh flowers shone brightly, instantly provoking a commotion among the male animals below. Is this little girl also a judge? She's dressed so seductively, in a red skirt and black stockings, wearing high-heeled sandals that expose her toes...

  Two silly sons finally caught the opportunity, holding a large box of mineral water and rushing over to give each old man a bottle. When he arrived at Yang Cai's place, he would occasionally hand out a bottle, just surrounding people and refusing to leave. In the end, it made the female strongman somewhat embarrassed, lightly glancing at him with a white eye, and the second silly son suddenly softened his bones and tendons, fortunately not falling down on the spot...

  The village chief of Liu Lilou Village, He Dayou, drove the Second Fool off the stage, picked up the microphone, and with the glory and dreams of being the champion of the previous banquet, began a long speech that lasted for over 20 minutes. In short, it was about cherishing history, looking to the future, starting from the banquet and climbing to new heights. This guy's eloquence is not bad at all, provoking Yunshui Village, this old rival, making Yunshui Village chief Wang Jingzi's face turn purple with rage, and Li Yuanfang's hair standing on end in anger.

  But there's no way, form is stronger than people. This time, the Doucai Yunshui Village couldn't even produce a decent chef, and had to let Master Hong go up and pretend to be one, Wang Jingzi and Li Yuanfang didn't have any confidence, except for scolding Liu Lilou Village in their hearts, there was nothing they could do.

  It's easy to get through the nonsense of He Dajun, and then Gu Zhimi took over the microphone. Perhaps Old Man Gu was also very dissatisfied with He Dajun's nonsense, so he said: "I don't like beating around the bush, let's start the cooking competition for each village's representative chef now. Since we're all from Shandong Province, today we'll be competing in Shandong cuisine, each village will present three dishes: 'Nine-turn large intestine', 'Double-crispy soup explosion', and 'Three-beauty tofu', two meat and one vegetarian dish, everyone can start preparing now."

  "You're really an expert, how did you manage to order these three dishes?"

  Among the representative chefs of the four villages, the most powerful one is Kong Jie's senior brother, Kong De Ming, known as "Little National Kitchen". The chef from Xia Guan Village may not have his reputation, but they are all third-level high-tech chefs who have studied Lu cuisine for half their lives. However, when they heard these three dishes, including Kong De Ming, several chefs slightly furrowed their brows.

  Jiuzhuan large intestine, soup explosion double crispy, this is the most test knife work fire, Sanmei tofu although simple ingredients, learned two years of Lu cuisine can do, but really want to do 'rotten into magic' realm, that difficulty is even greater.

  So even if it's Kong Deming, a top-notch master chef and king of the kitchen, he wouldn't dare say that he can make these three dishes to perfection. After all, at least four out of the five judges are true insiders, and Yang Cai is also considered half an insider, not someone who can be easily fooled.

  That's why Master Hong, a second-rate chef who graduated from culinary school, can be fearless and ignorant, with an expression as calm as an ancient well, exuding the aura of a top-notch master.

  Of course, there is also a handover of Zhou Yi, Master Hong has been practicing in his heart for half a day to be able to perform so calmly.

  "Junior brother, is that the chef from Yunshui Village?"

  Taking a glance at Master Hong, Kong Deming furrowed his brow: "No wonder he dared to say he'd heavily defeat me, indeed has the demeanor of a master... Younger brother, have you inquired about him? Whose famous disciple is he?"

  It's no wonder that Kong Deming overestimated Hong Shifu, knowing that he dared to utter such arrogant words under the name of "Xiaoguo Kitchen". Except for the old first-class masters, no one else has the guts to do so. But these old guys either went to the Imperial City Nan Water Palace or the People's Masses Hall, or were invited by top restaurants to be food consultants, how could they possibly come to Yunshui Village to support him and fight against a younger generation?

  So he was very curious, looking up and down at Master Hong, as if the powerful little old tiger from Guizhou had met that old donkey...

  "I've heard..."

  Kong Jie's face turned a bit strange after muttering to himself.

  "What? Could it be that his background is very powerful, or could he be from the Imperial City's Nan Water Palace? How can Yunshui Village have such a huge energy?"

  Kong Deming was taken aback, thinking that if it weren't for his father's past favors to the village of Liu Li Lou Zi and the fact that someone from Liu Li Lou Zi had dug up his past, he wouldn't have given him this face. Could it be that Yun Shui Village also has such connections, able to invite such a high-ranking expert?

  This is not scientific!

  "It's not that they have a big background, it's just that they don't have any background at all..."

  Kong Jie's mood was not good. After Zhou Yi had spoken harshly that day, he still reminded his senior brother with a serious tone, who would have thought that Yunshui Village would push out such a person? Isn't this slapping their own face?

  "This man is called Hong Tie Niu, also known as Old Six Hong. He...he graduated from a culinary school."

  "What? You're a graduate of culinary school, not some famous chef's apprentice?"

  Kong Deming was about to smile, but looking at Master Hong, he shook his head again: "Not right, looking at this person's expression and momentum, it's clear that he has the upper hand! Among the graduates of culinary school, there may not be no masters either. We still need to be careful in our response."

  "That makes sense, what you said is right..."

  Kong Jie bit his tongue and finally restrained himself from saying that Master Hong was the head chef of the nursing home's cafeteria.

  "A rare opponent... It seems I'll have to go all out today!"

  Kong Deming's face was extremely serious as he looked at Master Hong for a moment, and then nodded slightly.

  This is a courtesy and appreciation between masters.

  "Junior brother, you go ahead and boil the intestines first. I'll prepare the ingredients for the other two dishes. This time we've met a real master, can't let others do it, just us two brothers will take care of it personally."

  As Kong Deming, he must have brought his assistants, Erchu and Sanchu, to help with the cooking this time. However, the aura of a master chef emanating from Master Hong has put great pressure on him, and he no longer plans to let Erchu and Sanchu touch the dishes.

  PS: Thanks to 'Fang Tianyu' brother for the evaluation vote, reminder vote and reward; thanks to 'Jin Zuzi' and 'Pang Xiangwei' for their rewards (oh my, I just found out that both of them are high-quality food ingredients... this...)

  Hehe, also want to thank brothers and sisters who recommended clicking on the collection of this book, without you, there would be no achievements today:)