Food always tastes better when shared with good company.
Before long, the loving lunch brought by CEO Lu for his set visit was devoured by everyone.
Fortunately, he had brought enough, so the most important person—Mrs. Lu—didn't go hungry.
After everyone was full and helped clean up the tableware, Xu Yanxia heard Ye Shu whisper to her, "Those people from Decui Restaurant keep looking over here. If I didn't know better, I'd think they were craving our food."
Xu Yanxia smiled. "Maybe they really are. After all, the boxed lunches today aren't very good."
Ye Shu's expression grew a bit more serious as she said, "They were trending online all day yesterday, and even Yayan's stock price dropped because of it. It wasn't until last night, when they bought another trending topic claiming they were here to challenge us and secretly released some behind-the-scenes footage to make themselves look amazing, that they finally managed to stabilize the stock price this morning. They must be under a lot of pressure today."
"Do you think they might make a mistake and end up losing even to Best Actor Yao, failing to make it to the finals?"
That's right. Since the Jingbei stop was the last city competition of this season's show, the upcoming match would directly determine the spots for the finals.
Two out of the three current participating teams would be chosen; only the top two could enter the ultimate finals to compete.
Xu Yanxia also turned serious and said, "That possibility is probably very small. After all, they really do know how to cook. They're veteran chefs with decades of experience; no matter how much pressure they're under, they shouldn't lose to amateurs."
"It's just that they made a strategic error. If they had focused their energy on the kitchen, none of this would be happening now."
"Exactly,"
Ye Shu nodded.
Just then, Suisui leaned over to join the discussion. "Did you guys see? The ingredients they just bought are all super expensive. I saw deer sinew, shark fin, abalone, sea cucumber, and stuff like that. They're probably going all out this time!"
Xu Yanxia hummed in agreement. "I saw that too."
Then, their newly joined local teammate, Bajin, spoke up. "Decui Restaurant's specialty is exactly these high-end dishes. They're usually made exclusively for VIPs and require a special reservation with a VIP card. Ordinary customers can't get them even if they go there."
Bajin was a local guy, about the same age as the rest of them, fair, chubby, and very fond of smiling.
Xu Yanxia had been drawn to him by the "quick-boiled tripe" he made in the amateur competition that morning. Even though he wasn't a professional in the food industry, he was very good at selecting ingredients, which showed he was also a seasoned foodie.
Hearing him say this, Xu Yanxia suddenly realized, "No wonder the sea cucumber we had that day was only a three-year one. It turns out you need a VIP card to get the good stuff at their place."
"I am so done with them,"
Ye Shu was also quite indignant. "In today's society, it's really rare to see a restaurant blatantly discriminating against customers like this."
"Tell me about it."
The team members nodded in agreement.
However, Xiaoxian asked with a bit of worry, "We only chose everyday ingredients today. Will we be at a disadvantage compared to them?"
Before Xu Yanxia could even open her mouth, the veteran foodie teammate Bajin immediately said, "A chef's skill isn't judged by how high-end the ingredients are. Being able to make ordinary ingredients like pork intestine and kidney taste delicious—that is true talent."
"Exactly,"
Xu Yanxia nodded in strong agreement. Besides, the more expensive the ingredients, the more time-consuming they usually are to prepare. With only half a day today, making so many dishes that require precise heat control will only put them under greater pressure.
True.
Her teammates all nodded in agreement.
Her husband, Lu Jingming, however, let out a soft scoff and said, The decision-makers have no brains. Take the wrong first step, and the rest of the path will only lead to more mistakes.
He then encouraged them, saying, Do not worry about them. Just focus on doing your own jobs well. After today's competition, you have tomorrow off. I will treat everyone to a fun day out.
Awesome!
The teammates agreed in unison.
...
Seeing that it was about time, the judges began to enter the venue one after another.
Xu Yanxia and her team politely greeted the judges as they walked past.
They saw Senior Uncle Chen intentionally stop in front of them. He looked at Lu Jingming and then asked Xu Yanxia, Why does this young man look a bit familiar? I think I have seen him on the news. Is he your boyfriend?
He is my husband,
Xu Yanxia introduced him with a smile. We have already gotten our marriage certificate and are planning to hold the wedding before the end of the year.
She then introduced the older man to Lu Jingming, This is Senior Uncle Chen, a personal disciple of Mr. Zhang Dingxin, who was my grandfather's senior fellow apprentice.
Hello, Senior Uncle Chen,
Lu Jingming politely took the initiative to reach out and shake his hand, adding, Thank you very much for looking after our Xiaxia.
You are too polite,
Senior Uncle Chen smiled and praised him in return, A very well-mannered young man, and quite handsome too. Congratulations to you both in advance.
He also did not forget to praise Xu Yanxia to him, You have a great eye as well. This martial niece of mine is extremely talented. The dishes she made yesterday were excellent. It is no exaggeration to say that her skill level is not inferior to us veteran chefs, and might even be above mine.
You flatter me, Senior Uncle.
Xu Yanxia quickly smiled again.
The older man then asked her, What dishes are you planning to make today? Surely they will not be the same as Decui Restaurant's?
Knowing that Senior Uncle Chen was a fair elder, Xu Yanxia spoke frankly, No, today I plan to make a few home-style dishes from our sect.
Senior Uncle Chen nodded. Home-style dishes are where true skill is shown. Very good. I look forward to an even better performance from you.
With that, he bid them farewell and walked over to the judges' seats with a chuckle.
Meanwhile, Xu Yanxia gathered her teammates for a brief pre-competition meeting to explain some important points.
Just then, the director also entered the venue. Catching sight of Lu Jingming from afar, he immediately hurried over to greet him, his face covered in a wide smile. Mr. Lu, you are here!
Lu Jingming, however, made a hush gesture at him and said, Director Xu is having a meeting. It is best not to disturb them.
Right, right.
The director immediately lowered his voice and carefully apologized to him, I am so sorry, Mr. Lu. I did not mean to bother Director Xu last night either. The main issue was that we had no choice regarding what happened yesterday morning. I am sure you know that in our industry, many things are actually decided by the higher-ups. It is very difficult for working grunts like us.
As his voice fell, Lu Jingming nodded and simply said, "I also hope you can understand our feelings. Our Director Xu and her teammates don't just sit around idly. Everyone traveled all the way to Jingbei despite their busy schedules just for a fair competition, yet you guys almost replaced the judges."
He let out a soft scoff, his expression turning cold. "I find it hard to imagine what the situation would be right now if that had actually happened."
"Uh..."
The director paused and had no choice but to hurriedly apologize to him again. "I am truly very sorry, President Lu. Actually, when we found out yesterday, we also found it unbelievable and immediately reported our feedback to the higher-ups. Fortunately, we managed to keep the judges in the end."
"You should be well aware of why the judges were kept."
Lu Jingming smiled again. "Right now, I only hope that you can broadcast the upcoming competition fairly and impartially. Otherwise, let alone our cooperation with your company next year, even whether the episodes you have already recorded can be broadcast smoothly might be uncertain."
His tone was already quite restrained, but as soon as he finished speaking, the director inevitably broke out in a cold sweat. He hurriedly nodded and said, "Understood, please rest assured! Going forward, we will definitely, earnestly and carefully, showcase Director Xu's talents in full."
"We will absolutely guarantee fairness and impartiality!"
...
The brief lunch break ended. As the lighting technicians, stagehands, cameramen, and other crew members returned to their posts, the recording of today's final round finally began.
After the host came on stage, delivered the opening lines, and reviewed the scores from the previous round, all the teams immediately began their cooking.
Just as everyone expected, Decui Restaurant brought out their trump cards today—braised shark fin, scallion-braised sea cucumber, abalone in its original shell, and red-braised deer tendon.
Every single one was a major dish, requiring a great deal of effort and precise control of the heat.
In contrast, Xu Yanxia and her teammates seemed much more relaxed.
When the host came to their workstation for an interview, she was chatting and laughing with her team members while assigning tasks—
"Xiaoman will handle the pork stomach and chicken gizzards. Make sure to clean all the fat off the stomach and score it with a lychee pattern."
"Understood."
"Suisui, you must turn the intestines inside out to wash them. Rub them with salt, flour, and vinegar to ensure there is absolutely no residue left."
"Got it!"
"Bajin will mince the chicken and fish into paste. After mincing, strain it through a sieve at least three times. Eels have a lot of bones, so you'll have to put in extra effort to ensure there isn't a single bone or piece of fascia left."
"No problem!"
"Sister Gao and Xiaoxian will handle the dough for the potstickers. Remember to use half-scalded dough. I'll prepare the filling later."
"Alright!!!"
