Chapter Eighteen: Sword Drawn and Bowstring Taut

  In the arena, the head chefs of the three hotels also became chaotic, they all looked towards Zhuangyuan Pavilion, and naturally, they mainly looked at Chu Feng.

  "You say, is this young man really the secret weapon of the Zhuangyuan Pavilion?"

  "It should be, otherwise you see that expression, it's too calm, right?"

  "Alas, I thought that without Liu Yidao, the Zhuangyuan Pavilion would no longer be a threat, but unexpectedly, they had been hiding another expert all along. How treacherous!"

  On the judges' panel, the four judges also began to pay attention to Chu Feng, but the more they looked, the more they couldn't see through him.

  The youngest among the judges, named Shi Jianghui, was only thirty years old. He was a rich second-generation heir who didn't like doing business but loved food. The famous chef competition in Pinghai City was sponsored by him.

  He gazed at Chu Feng with interest, his fingers tapping lightly on the table: "Look at this young man, confident and composed. The other three people in the Zhuangyuan Pavilion are also skilled, yet they willingly serve as his assistants. This person must have extraordinary abilities."

  An old man beside him, also the oldest among the judges, was specially invited by Ye Qiu. His name was Xie Xuan, and he was a famous chef in the province back then. He smiled disapprovingly: "In my opinion, it's not necessarily so, perhaps it's just pretending to be mysterious."

  Shi Jianghui was taken aback, feeling a bit embarrassed, and slightly raised an eyebrow: "Xie Lao, how about we make a bet? I'll stake 500,000, betting on Shuangyuan Ge winning!"

  Xie Xuan heard that Jiang Hui's bid was 5 million yuan, and he was taken aback. His face suddenly turned bright red with anger, and he let out a hum of discontent, but ultimately did not dare to take on the bet.

  After all, 500,000 yuan was just pocket money for the rich second-generation Tie Jianghui, but for Xie Xuan, it was his retirement fund.

  The remaining two judges turned their heads away, ignoring him. After all, these two people are not easy to mess with. Shi Jianghui is a rich second generation, and Xie Xuan is not a simple person either. His temper is notorious, and seeing him being choked, they were overjoyed and wouldn't even think of persuading him.

  The stage was in chaos, and Gu Heng, the manager of Jinzun, was even more chaotic. He had heard every word that Ye Qiu had said, not missing a single one.

  He had invested a great deal in this victory, and he absolutely could not afford to lose. So he picked up the phone and dialed a number: "When did your Zhuangyuan Pavilion invite another top chef?"

  "No!" A bewildered voice came from the other end of the phone.

  "What's going on? What's with that young chef surnamed Chu?" Gu Heng's voice was somewhat urgent, with a hint of threat underlying it.

  "Is it Mr. Chu?" The voice on the other end of the phone repeated, then fell silent for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter, leaving Gu Heng, who was answering the phone, both annoyed and furious. Just as he was about to scold him, the voice on the other end stopped laughing: "That Mr. Chu is not even a chef, he's just a waiter."

  The person on the other end of the phone continued to talk, and Gu Heng's expression gradually calmed down. His slightly narrowed eyes and lightly raised corners of his mouth formed a cold smile.

  ……

  On stage, Chu Feng still had his hands clasped together and his expression was as calm as before, but his heart had already become chaotic.

  What he thought most about was the phrase "secret weapon". From this phrase, he thought of his ring space. Why hadn't he come up with a divine cuisine recipe?

  He thought anxiously, his hands clasped together in his lap suddenly pulled out, but as he did so, they bumped into a hard object. Chu Feng's heart skipped a beat as he reached into his lap and felt the object, which turned out to be the jade bottle containing the Purgatory Washing Marrow Dan.

  He recalled the note on the Pao Jing Xi Gan Dan: because it was already expired, the effect of washing the marrow and strengthening the brain was greatly discounted, while the side effects after taking the medicine increased by more than ten times. Moreover, you had to take at least three pills in a row to possibly trigger the effect of washing the marrow and strengthening the brain. Remember, it's just possible! In addition, although this thing has expired, if you only take a small amount of powder, it can still strengthen your body, cure diseases, and refresh your spirit.

  Chu Feng's attention fell on the last sentence, which can strengthen the body and mind, dispel diseases and consolidate the foundation, and refresh the spirit.

  Refreshing and invigorating! That's right, refreshing and invigorating!

  Chu Feng's eyes slowly lit up, he remembered the feeling when he smelled the fragrance of Fa Jing Xiu Mu Dan at that time, it was absolutely appetizing and refreshing.

  Thinking of this, Chu Feng's heart was greatly calmed.

  ……

  Two hours may seem like a long time, but when you're busy, it's actually very fast.

  As the bell rang, everyone stopped what they were doing and stood up straight beside their finished dishes.

  At this time, the four judges on the stage also came in spirit, because the next comment was the most exciting moment for them.

  The four dishes were placed in front of the four judges.

  They are the steamed eight-treasure pork of Jin Zhu Hotel, the sweet and sour carp of Kaiyue Hotel, the steamed crab roe of Shenglong Hotel, and the boiled white cabbage of Zhuangyuan Pavilion.

  The first three are easy to say, but the boiled water cabbage has basically never appeared in the competition, so the champion's boiled water cabbage is a bit of an eye-catcher for the four judges.

  Xie Xuan just took a glance at the boiled water cabbage in the champion pavilion, and slightly raised a disdainful smile, then turned his head to deliberately glance at Shi Jianghui, the meaning was self-evident.

  When Shi Jianghui saw that Zhuangyuan Ge actually dared to use boiled water cabbage in the competition, he was also shocked and secretly depressed. Although Xie Xuan didn't dare to accept his bet, it didn't mean that the two of them gave up on competing with each other. On the contrary, they put this competition underground instead.

  Xie Xuan only supported Jin Zhu, while Shi Jianghui became a supporter of Shuangyuan Pavilion because of what he had said before.

  "Now that the dishes are ready, let me invite the four food masters to taste them and give their answers!" Ye Qi's magnetic voice sounded again, and the entire venue became lively.

  "Then let's start with the Golden Jug first!" Xie Xuan noticed Shi Jianghui's depression and became even more pleased. He directly walked to the Golden Jug Hotel, where the steamed eight-treasure pig was made, and smiled as he put forward his opinion.

  He knew that although he didn't dare to accept Shi Jianghui's bet, in the culinary world, he had a huge influence, so his words were not opposed by others. At this time, Shi Jianghui had the ability to oppose him, but he was now depressed and didn't have the heart to argue about these things.

  Ye Qiu saw that no one was opposed, how could he disagree, so all the cameras focused on the Eight Treasures Pig made by Jinzun Hotel.

  The lid opened, and a strong fragrance immediately wafted up to his nose.

  Pork cubes with skin, colored golden red, arranged with lotus seeds and other ingredients in the shape of a flower, neatly placed on a fresh lotus leaf.

  Green leaves set off the golden red and juicy large diced meat, with bright colors, looking particularly gorgeous.

  "Good!" Xie Xuan looked at the Eight Treasures Steamed Pork made by Jin Zhu and immediately gave a thumbs up: "This dish has bright colors, beautiful shape, and its fragrance reveals its flavor. It's indeed a masterpiece of a renowned chef!"

  He said so, and turned back to glance at Shi Jianghui with a provocative smile.

  Shi Jianghui was not a good-tempered person either, his face changed, and he coldly hummed: "Dishes are not for looking at, they're for eating. If it tastes good, then it's really good!"

  Xie Xuan's face turned red with anger, just about to erupt, but was pulled back by Ye Qiu beside him: "Shi Gongzi is right, dishes are meant to be eaten, so please let the four judges taste this steamed eight-treasures pork."