What?
Capital intervened and swapped out the challenger guest???
Hearing this, Ye Shu, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but widen her eyes.
Which idle capitalist had so much free time that they'd actually rig a food variety show???
Could it be another celebrity trying to snag some traffic?
However, after a brief moment of surprise, Xu Yanxia quickly caught on.
She said, "Then, could the new challenger guest be... Decui Restaurant?"
Best Actor Yao smiled and nodded, saying, "Miss Xu, you truly live up to your reputation as a top student. You are indeed smart! That's right, it's them."
No way...
Ye Shu, who had just recovered from her shock, couldn't help but shoot Xu Yanxia a look of sheer disbelief.
What exactly was Decui Restaurant plotting???
It should be known that they were currently trending online, being blasted by the entire internet for their terrible food!
Coming onto a food show with that level of cooking, weren't they just asking to be scolded even more???
Xu Yanxia, who came from the catering industry after all, said to Best Actor Yao, "If my guess is right, the chef participating in the show this time probably isn't the one who usually cooks at their restaurant, right?"
The other party nodded again. "You truly are a professional. That's right, the one coming this time is their executive chef, Zhao Yanting."
He then explained further, "If you are familiar with the Jingbei restaurant industry, you should have heard that Decui Restaurant has a legendary figure, Old Master Bao, Bao Deshun. The old man is nearly eighty years old this year and can be considered a leading authority in all of Jingbei."
"And this Zhao Yanting is Old Master Bao's eldest disciple. He usually only cooks for VIPs or high-level leaders. It's clear that they are determined to win this time."
That made sense.
Xu Yanxia nodded calmly. After all, the other party had thrown money around to parachute into the show. If they still performed at the level of the food they ate last night, wouldn't it be an obvious humiliation!
The ridiculous part was that they themselves knew perfectly well how terrible the food they usually served to most customers was.
She chuckled inwardly and asked the other party, "Since they are willing to invest so much capital, they must have other moves planned, right?"
"That's right,"
Yao Yi'an told her, "Besides this, there has also been a massive shake-up with the judges."
Xu Yanxia immediately asked, "What kind of shake-up?"
According to the rules of this show, every time they arrived in a new city, a local master chef would be invited to serve as a professional judge. Therefore, among the four judges' seats, one was naturally unfixed.
And after the previous family recognition incident, Feng Yiheng had also stepped down from the judging panel and no longer participated in the show's recording. She knew this as well.
So, given the current situation, could it be that Yayan Company, the force behind Decui Restaurant, had also tampered with these two judge positions?
"First of all, the master chef coming this time is surnamed Chen, named Chen Shouyi,"
Yao Yi'an told her, "His master and Master Bao Deshun are fellow disciples under the same sect, so he has an inseparable connection with Decui Restaurant."
...Wait?
Ye Shu, who was about to frown on the side, suddenly paused.
She remembered Grandpa Xu mentioning during dinner last night that he and this Master Bao Deshun were fellow disciples. In that case, wouldn't this professional judge surnamed Chen have to call Grandpa Xu his martial uncle?
...Then doesn't that mean he's also considered a fellow disciple of their Yanxia?
Huh, looking at it this way, Decui Restaurant might not necessarily gain an advantage here...
As she was silently pondering, she saw the calm-faced Xu Yanxia nod and ask Best Actor Yao again, "What else?"
The other party replied, "There is another one invited from the Jingbei Tourism Association. Although it hasn't been decided exactly who it will be yet, Decui Restaurant has been entrenched here for so many years, so it's highly likely to be an acquaintance of theirs as well."
Xu Yanxia nodded once more.
This wasn't an exaggeration at all.
After all, these local tourism associations were generally composed of various catering, hotel, and entertainment industries, and there might even be Decui Restaurant's own people inside.
However, immediately after, she heard Yao Yi'an mention another thing to her, "Besides these two, it's highly likely that even Judge Qiao will be replaced."
What?
Xu Yanxia frowned, and Ye Shu also grew a bit anxious.
It should be known that despite all the drama that had happened on this show so far, their Yanxia was still willing to participate because the judges were relatively fair. Among them, Judge Qiao was particularly notable for being knowledgeable, impartial, and eloquent.
If Judge Qiao was also swapped out this time, wouldn't the show's ulterior motives be too ugly?!!
She couldn't help but look at Xu Yanxia again.
But she saw Xu Yanxia pause before asking Best Actor Yao, "Thank you very much, Teacher Yao, for telling me so much important information today. I wonder what Teacher Yao wants me to do on my end?"
Of course, meeting by chance with no ties or relations, for the other party to suddenly tell her so many things, there must be a motive.
"Miss Xu, you're taking it too seriously. I just saw that you've had smooth sailing all the way until now, and suddenly facing such a huge pitfall, I just felt a bit of injustice on your behalf."
Best Actor Yao smiled and asked her, "If my guess is correct, the person in that review video currently trending online should be you, right?"
Heh, this guy was quite smart.
Ye Shu secretly raised an eyebrow.
Xu Yanxia, however, remained noncommittal, merely smiling as she asked the other party, "Does Teacher Yao think I will lose to them?"
Yao Yi'an smiled again and said, "It's obvious that Decui Restaurant is aiming for the final championship this time. They are currently facing a severe reputation crisis and desperately need a competition like this to salvage their image, which is why they didn't hesitate to spend so much. Under such circumstances, let alone you, it would be hard for anyone to fight against them. After all, this is Jingbei, and Shandong cuisine is their comfort zone. As the saying goes, even a mighty dragon struggles to crush a local snake!"
Saying this, he paused, picked up the coffee on the table and took a sip, before saying to Xu Yanxia again, "If I were you, I wouldn't clash with them head-on. Just find a random scheduling excuse to withdraw, and then take advantage of this current popularity to make a good profit."
???
Ye Shu finally realized what was going on. After all this time, this old man was trying to persuade their Yanxia to drop out of the competition?
What kind of international joke was this?
Would their dignified Culinary Goddess Yanxia be afraid of those pretenders?!!
Xu Yanxia also seemed to have heard a massive joke. She couldn't help but laugh and asked the other party, "Then in Teacher Yao's opinion, how should I take advantage of this popularity to make a good profit?"
Yao Yi'an said, "To be honest with Miss Xu, I happen to have a movie about food that is about to start filming. It's backed by a gold-medal screenwriter and an international big-name director. As long as you are willing, I can give you the lead actress role. With your image, you are fully qualified for it."
"Give it to me?"
Xu Yanxia seemed to have heard another massive joke. She couldn't help but laugh and said, "I'm just a chef, not an actress. How could I act?"
Exactly.
Ye Shu really couldn't hold back anymore and reminded the acclaimed actor, "Mr. Yao probably doesn't know this, but the first time our Director Xu appeared on a variety show, it was to be part of Miss Lu Jingxi's friends and family support group. Director Xu already has her own connections in the entertainment industry. If she wanted to step into show business, it would actually be incredibly easy for her."
That made a lot of sense...
The male assistant couldn't help but glance at his boss.
However, his boss, Best Actor Yao, maintained a highly confident smile and said, "You have to understand that the music industry and the film and television industry are quite different. The impact generated by the big screen isn't something ordinary entertainment resources can compare to."
Xu Yanxia didn't want to beat around the bush with him anymore. She stated bluntly, "I appreciate your advice, Mr. Yao, but I have absolutely no interest in the entertainment industry, and I will definitely finish recording the rest of this competition. To me, the most important part of a competition is what you learn from it. Even if I do lose, knowing exactly where I fell short is a rare and valuable takeaway. It's much better than giving up halfway without seeing it through to the end."
With a smile, she continued, "Actually, you really don't need to worry about being eliminated this time. Even if Decui Lou is a strong competitor, isn't there still another team dead last in the rankings? I'll be perfectly honest with you: that person's cooking skills aren't necessarily any better than yours. As long as you prepare well, the one getting kicked out will likely be someone else."
Pfft, what brutal honesty!
Even Ye Shu couldn't help but laugh.
