As expected, for the next few days, the news of the Lu Group's CEO's high-profile proposal at his sister's concert once again dominated the top spots on the trending news charts.
However, the two people involved in the event had already plunged back into their busy lives.
After taking nearly a week off, the "One City, One Flavor" production team resumed filming for the new episode.
The first stop was set in Jincheng, a popular tourist city in the southwest region.
This was also a paradise for Xu Yanxia, an avid lover of spicy hotpot.
The first thing she did after her plane landed in the afternoon was to go out with her friends to eat the famous skewer hotpot.
After eating, they went shopping, and by the time she returned to the hotel, it was already quite late.
The competition would officially begin filming tomorrow, and with the schedule compressed into two days, the itinerary was quite tight.
She took a shower and was just about to look over some materials when she received a message from Lu Jingming.
He asked her, Have you finished eating hotpot?
She had posted a social media update while eating hotpot that afternoon; it seemed he had seen it.
She quickly replied with a yes, and immediately after, he sent a video call request.
Xu Yanxia answered with a smile, only to see Lu Jingming, who was also in a hotel on his end, looking at her with eyes full of smiles as he asked, Was the hotpot good, baby?
It was delicious.
Xu Yanxia immediately nodded and said, It tastes a bit different from Chongqing hotpot. It has more of a complex flavor profile, but it's just as delicious. Plus, I absolutely love the garlic and sesame oil dipping sauce!
Especially the tender beef we had at the place today, it was simply incredible.
On the other end of the video, Lu Jingming took a deep breath and said, You're making my mouth water. I'll have to go eat there next time too.
Sure,
Xu Yanxia immediately added, They have split pots here, and the restaurants always serve milk as a standard. You can eat without worrying.
Baby, you're getting naughty.
Lu Jingming feigned a frown while smiling and said, Are you teasing me? I'm already practicing eating spicy food. I'll be able to handle a mildly spicy broth soon, just you wait.
Alright, I'll be waiting.
Xu Yanxia said with a laugh. Catching a glimpse of him still wearing a dress shirt and sitting at his computer desk, she asked, Are you still working overtime?
Lu Jingming hummed in agreement and casually showed her his computer screen filled with English text, saying, A document just came in from Germany, and I need to review it.
It seemed it was about the German project again?
Xu Yanxia quickly told him, Oh right, I was just meaning to tell you. I looked up some information while waiting for my flight today and made a new discovery.
The old count of the Meyer consortium bought Chinese artifacts at an auction many years ago and donated them back to us. Logically speaking, he shouldn't be that hostile towards us.
That's right,
Lu Jingming nodded on his end and said, I've already found out about that too. The main problem right now is that the old count is getting very old, and his children and relatives are causing internal divisions. Their opinions are completely divided.
The most crucial part is that there's also the geopolitical game between our country and the US going on behind the scenes. To put it bluntly, they don't want us to cooperate with Europe to develop silicon carbide, so the situation is quite complicated.
I see,
Xu Yanxia nodded.
She had wondered why this project was suddenly so tricky, considering that the Lu Group, as a representative of domestic high-tech enterprises, was no stranger to such overseas cooperative development projects.
It's fine, we are trying to communicate with them from all angles. Besides, with the support of the state, we can still remain optimistic.
Lu Jingming smiled as he spoke, then asked her, How are things on your end? Are there new guests joining the show again?
Yes,
Xu Yanxia nodded and said, The production team has introduced a new challenger format this time. They've screened and brought in new guests through a registration process. If any of the original teams score a lower average than the new challengers, they will be eliminated.
Not bad,
Lu Jingming nodded and said, Hearing that, it sounds much more entertaining. The production team is quite smart.
He then offered her some encouragement, saying, Of course, our Director Xu definitely won't have any problems. I've already signed up for the audience seats for the finals. I'll go to Jingbei to watch you compete in the finals when the time comes.
It's a promise.
Xu Yanxia smiled and then earnestly reminded him, Get some rest early tonight, don't stay up too late.
Okay.
Lu Jingming waved at her. Good night, you go to sleep early too.
Xu Yanxia nodded, but then she saw him say, Wait.
Then, he told her with a touch of seriousness, I miss you.
I miss you too.
Xu Yanxia smiled, waved at him, and ended the video call.
The night passed.
Waking up early the next day, she got her hair and makeup done, then entered the studio to begin filming the first city debut competition of the Jincheng stop.
Just as Xu Yanxia had mentioned to Lu Jingming yesterday, the production team had changed the format to a challenger competition starting from this stop.
The challenger today was the head chef of Weiji, an internet-famous restaurant that had been highly popular locally in recent years. He was a man of about twenty-eight or twenty-nine, known as Brother Xiaoxie.
As for the competition content, the production team also made some adjustments. For example, in this first debut match, the guests were required to use a local specialty main ingredient specified by the production team to complete their main dish.
The other side dish could be freely paired, but of course, it also had to use local specialty ingredients.
The main ingredient for this match was rabbit meat, one of Jincheng's specialties.
The ingredients for the side dish were various specialty fruits from Jincheng and its surrounding areas, such as loquats, kiwi fruits, citrus, and so on.
Thanks to the production team's excellent secrecy, Xu Yanxia, like the other guests, only saw the ingredients after arriving at the venue today.
As the host announced the start of the competition, she quickly drafted a menu in her mind and immediately began preparing.
"The rabbit meat will be made into Kung Pao Diced Rabbit, which is also one of the unique flavor profiles of Sichuan cuisine."
As the team captain, she assigned tasks to her two teammates, Xiaoxian and Xiaoman, while prepping the food. "For the other dish, we'll use local fruits to make an innovative traditional Sichuan dish, Sweet Steamed Pork with Glutinous Rice."
"Xiaoman, you handle the pork belly. Xiaoxian, go steam the glutinous rice. I'll take care of the rabbit meat, the fruit jam, and the red bean paste."
"Got it!"
With her order, the two teammates immediately got to work.
It had to be said that after nearly a week of adjustments, both of their mindsets had improved significantly. Even when facing the lenses of multiple cameras, they remained calm and unhurried, meticulously doing the work at hand.
Not to mention Xu Yanxia. Just like before, she introduced the ingredients in her hands to the camera while cooking.
"Our local specialty, the premium red-hearted kiwi, has a high sweetness and low acidity. It is very suitable to be made into jam to replace some of the sugar in this dish."
As she spoke, she had already peeled and diced the kiwi to make the jam. A fresh and sweet aroma immediately rose in the air.
The host, who was interviewing nearby, couldn't help but let out a wow and said, "It looks like Director Xu is going to bring us another new surprise today! Speaking of which, the public's perception of Sichuan cuisine generally remains at the impression of being spicy and heavy-flavored. It turns out Sichuan cuisine also has sweet dishes!"
"Of course."
Taking the opportunity, Xu Yanxia gave a brief explanation to the camera. "Sichuan cuisine focuses on 'each dish has its own style, a hundred dishes have a hundred flavors.' Besides the prominent spicy flavor, there are many other complex flavor profiles, such as Yu-xiang, Kung Pao, pepper-hemp, Douban, and so on. It is one of the most abundant of the Eight Great Culinary Traditions, and it is very popular with the public, making it the most vital cuisine."
"Director Xu's professional explanation makes us look forward to her dishes even more. Then let's quietly wait for your finished product!"
After speaking, the host went to interview other guests.
Xu Yanxia also continued to cooperate methodically with her teammates.
The fried red bean paste was evenly sandwiched between the prepared slices of pork belly, neatly arranged one by one at the bottom of the bowl. It was covered with glutinous rice mixed with kiwi jam, and then put into the pot to steam.
Taking advantage of this time, she finally handled the ingredients for the main dish.
The fresh rabbit leg meat was de-veined, diced, and marinated to absorb the flavors. The peanuts were deep-fried until crispy and then peeled. Then, she prepared ingredients such as sliced scallion, ginger, and garlic, diced green and red peppers, dried chilies, and Sichuan peppercorns.
She briefly fried the rabbit meat in oil at medium-high heat, then stir-fried it quickly over high heat, adding the ingredients and thickening sauce. In less than half a minute, a colorful, glossy, and bright red Kung Pao Diced Rabbit was out of the wok.
Then, she took the steamed Sweet Steamed Pork with Glutinous Rice out of the pot and inverted the bowl. Her two dishes were successfully completed.
Along with the dishes from other groups, they were portioned by the staff and sent to the judges.
With the upgrade of the competition format, the judges for the Jincheng station were also adjusted.
In addition to the familiar food critic Judge Qiao and nutrition expert Dr. Hui, a local special chef, Chef Chang, and a food science expert, Dr. Feng, also joined.
It is worth mentioning that Chef Chang was a female chef, about fifty years old, with a rosy complexion, looking very festive.
The other food science expert, Dr. Feng, was a man in his late twenties, wearing a sharp suit and looking very refined.
Outside the venue, Ye Shu quietly muttered to Xiaozhen, "This Dr. Feng looks so emotionally stable. He's my ideal type!"
"Really?"
Xiaozhen was a bit surprised. "The last two times I saw you chatting pretty well with Assistant Wen, I thought you liked him."
Ye Shu replied, "...Assistant Wen looks okay, but he reeks of the corporate grind. It's bad enough that I work from morning to night; if I find someone from the same company, I'd lose the will to live."
"Alright then."
Xiaozhen quietly told her again, "However, this Dr. Feng is a foreign citizen of Chinese descent. He seems to be a senior consultant for some large foreign company, so he probably won't stay in the country for long."
As her voice fell, the judges inside the venue had tasted the dishes and were about to give their comments.
