Chapter 39: The Sound of a Sword within the Fabric Enclosure

  "Do we still need to use a cloth to cover it up, otherwise we will be disqualified from the competition?"

  Gu's hand trembled, and the few remaining strands of his goatee fell out, as he was so angry that smoke was coming out of his seven orifices on top and fire was spouting from the two below. If someone had added fuel to the fire at this moment, Gu would have transformed into a heavenly ape and flown up to the sky in an instant.

  Too arrogant! Such a naked threat to the judges, it's unprecedented and never seen before. I really want to throw a mineral water bottle at him, let this guy wake up.

  But as a judge, his reserve and curiosity got the better of him.

  Using Sanmei tofu to challenge 'Little Country Kitchen' Kong Deming? This is too exciting. It's just like a village girl putting on what she thinks is her best floral dress, smearing some lip balm on her face and going to challenge Xiang Jiang Xiao Jie. If she wins, it's called 'turning rot into magic', if she loses, it's just being ignorant of the heights of heaven and earth!

  The main ingredients of Sanmei Tofu are only cabbage and tofu, which should be no match for Jiuzhuan Dachang and Tangbao Shuangcuo. How dare this guy speak so boldly, does he really have the goods?

  Nowadays, the culinary world is changing rapidly. The Lu cuisine, which once dominated the eight major cuisines, has long been left behind by Cantonese and Sichuan cuisines. Gu Zhiwei really wants to see someone who can revive Lu cuisine emerge, and this expectation also makes his tolerance, which should be zero, rise sharply.

  The old man curled his lip, glared at Master Hong fiercely, and swallowed this breath: "Alright, I'll agree to it! Let you use a cloth to block the stove. Hong Tie Niu, you mustn't let me down, or else... heh heh... heh heh..."

  The last two sentences were coldly laughed, as if a gust of cold wind had suddenly passed through the hot summer day, making the folks below the stage involuntarily shrink their necks. This old man was really angry, Hong Lao Liu, you can do it...

  ***

  Many people have great power. Fellow villagers, my family contributed a piece of cloth, and another family contributed a block, and then found some skilled needlework women to embroider the red flag, and soon a 20-meter-long fabric enclosure was set up. Then find some bamboo poles and branches to stand on the ground, Master Hong and his stove were suddenly surrounded inside, from a distance, it looks like a rural outdoor theater troupe.

  Kong Deming glanced at the cloth-wrapped object, let out a slight hum of disdain, reached down beside his foot and pulled out a wild rooster from a bamboo cage, cut off its head with one swift motion, then quickly plucked its feathers and opened it up, his hands moving with incredible dexterity.

  It's just to get a chicken liver, if it were an ordinary day, this rough job wouldn't even be done by his second chef. But today, Kong Deming is doing it personally, and he wants every step of the "oil explosion double crisp" to be perfect.

  "Just you wait and see, with just cabbage and tofu, how dare you challenge me!"

  Kong Deming wielded a knife with the skill of a clever housewife threading a needle, slicing and dicing with ease. He played with the kitchen knife as if it were snowflakes dancing in the air, and instantly, thin slices of chicken breast appeared on the chopping board.

  "Wow! It's really a descendant of Lu cuisine, just looking at this knife work and we're no match!"

  The two special third and second-grade chefs invited from Shangxiazhai Village were stunned. To make this dish of crispy fried chicken gizzards, the first step is to slice the chicken gizzards extremely thinly, with a thickness difference of only 2-3 micrometers between each piece, in order to achieve perfection; otherwise, even if the chef has mastered the temperature and heat control, it would be difficult to make this dish perfect.

  Watching Kong Deming's knife skills, it's no longer just a matter of hard work, but requires top-notch talent.

  These two chefs also originated from learning Lu cuisine, and naturally they have worked hard on this dish. At a glance, they knew that there was no need to compare, as they were not even worthy of being Kong Deming's opponent.

  "Xiao Guo Chuan is just Xiao Guo Chuan, that Hong Tie Niu guy, even if he has some skills, it's impossible for him to win. San Mei Tofu is inherently inferior, how can it compete with dishes like Jiu Zhuan Da Chang and Tang Bao Shuang Cui? Old Gu, I think you've made a mistake this time, actually being deceived by a junior in front of so many people."

  Chang Aiguo, this old official, twirled his mustache and chuckled to himself. Since he took charge of compiling "Tian Xia Menu", he had always regarded himself as the number one foodie in the world, but every time he was still robbed of the spotlight by Gu Zhimi, his heart had long been unhappy. This time, he finally caught the opportunity to mock Gu Zhimi mercilessly.

  "Hmph, Hong Tie Niu isn't a fool either, daring to utter such arrogant words in front of us. He must have something backing him up. Old Chang, aren't you curious?"

  He smiled faintly with a hint of sadness.

  "What's going on? If he has any backing, why hasn't he made a move yet? My old man isn't deaf, if he makes a move with his knife I'll be able to hear it."

  "Could it be that this kid is really a madman?" Gu Zhiwei glanced at the cloth wrapper and frowned.

  At this moment, some villagers who couldn't help but feel a little anxious also came closer, one group surrounded Kong Deming, praising his exquisite craftsmanship; another group stood outside the fabric enclosure and discussed it in an uproar. This Hong Lao Liu's war drum shook the sky with its loud beat, how did it lose steam when it was time to see the real thing?

  The more people surrounded them, the more anxious Zhou Yi became, and he hastily shouted for Zhu Xiaohua and the others to move outside the cloth enclosure and observe from a distance...

  "I'm telling you, Zhang Jiaolao, don't squeeze my wife too hard! Watch out or I'll beat you up!"

  "Osmanthus flower, you widow, what are you doing here joining the commotion? Be careful of those second-rate guys taking advantage of you. Quick, come over to Fourth Brother's side..."

  "What's wrong with you?"

  The more people there are, the more things happen. When you bump into each other, arguments start. The village officials from several villages were busy maintaining order, but the more they maintained it, the more chaotic it became.

  Zhu Xiaohua was afraid that 'Huatou' would be taken advantage of, so she hurriedly protected her and squeezed outwards. But where could they still go? Turning around, neither Guan Wei nor Zhou Yi were in sight.

  At the most chaotic moment, Zhou Yi suddenly slipped down and squeezed out a gap between people. He lowered his body and sneaked into the cloth enclosure without anyone noticing. Those who were squeezed by him turned their heads to scold, but they couldn't find the culprit.

  "Hey, stop pushing, Old Hong Liu has started cooking!"

  A sudden, urgent knife sound suddenly came from inside the cloth wrapper. Upon hearing this knife sound, the people surrounding outside immediately fell silent, each and every one of them displaying an intent-to-listen expression.

  Sounds amazing!

  The sound of the knife is not only swift, but also seems to have a rhythm, even better than Wang Lao Hu's erhu performance. Is this chopping vegetables or playing music? The villagers don't have much musical appreciation, and can't compare to those judges on TV talent shows who can expound a whole theory just from a contestant's sneeze, but they just feel that the sound is nice and enjoyable to listen to.

  But when this voice reached the ears of several judges, the feeling was completely different.

  Yang Cai was originally smiling and watching the chaotic mountain people operating the village scolding top cow, thinking about how to express this rural culture in literary form; the knife sound suddenly entered her ears, and she immediately stunned, with a look of surprise and incredulity on her face.

  The rich rhythm of the knife sound suddenly reminded her of the symphony she heard in Vienna last year.

  Several elderly judges also petrified in an instant. After a while, Gu Zhiwei murmured: "With the sound of the knife entering the music... this, isn't this the knife technique that only Piao Ding, the ancient kitchen god, had? I...I didn't hear it wrong, did I?"

  "Old Gu, you didn't hear wrong, you didn't hear wrong!"

  It's worth mentioning that Lao Gan is an old revolutionary and veteran, who fought bravely on the battlefield back in the day. He suddenly jumped up with excitement, grabbing Gu Zhiwei's arm: "It's this kind of voice, I'm absolutely sure, absolutely sure! Old Gu, your eyes are not bad, almost as good as my bird-raising skills..."

  PS: Almost there, the number one flavor in the world is about to appear, just in the next chapter! Originally I wanted to write this chapter together, but after hyping it up for so long, I have to come up with something new and fresh, let me think again...

  Brothers, the big aunt of Dian's is coming again. The first place on our list was supposed to be removed at 3 pm this afternoon, but it still hasn't moved...

  The brother below is urgently seeking a recommendation vote, what should we do? You understand:)

  Thanks for the light and darkness:)