Chapter Twenty: The Sorrowful Blowing of Old Xie

  The fragrance was faint, as if it existed and then didn't, and before I knew it, it had floated out of the crystal plate with the boiled white vegetables.

  This fragrance is very light, but it's very stubborn, as if it can't be stopped. It floats gently and lightly, and even wafts through the high platform of the competition, drifting to the audience seats below.

  For a moment, everyone smelled this fragrance, faintly, it penetrated the heart and spleen, making people smell it once and couldn't help but be attracted to it, as if it had some kind of special attraction, and an irresistible temptation.

  If I had to use a word to describe it, the steamed eight-treasure pork made by Jinzhuang Hotel has a rich and savory aroma that is like a beautiful woman lying in bed waiting for you.

  The champion's water-boiled cabbage was a half-concealed woman, exuding an alluring charm. Her watery eyes poured out desire, her delicate red lips slightly upturned, and from time to time, she would lightly lick them with her tongue, making your heart itch.

  In short, the Eight Treasures Pig of Jin Zhu Hotel is a domineering and overbearing dish, while the Boiled Water Cabbage of Zhuangyuan Pavilion is a gentle and alluring temptation.

  This is a single theory of fragrance, if it's said to be within range, then the Jinzun Hotel can't compare at all. Their fragrance is limited to just a few people on the competition stage, while the champion pavilion's boiled water and cabbage can even be smelled clearly by the audience below the stage.

  "Wow, it smells so good!" The audience below the stage, indulging in the enchanting aroma, muttered to themselves, their eyes gazing longingly at the boiled white vegetables on the stage.

  "Is this really the boiled water cabbage?" Someone's eyes lit up, and in their heart, they secretly made a vow that if they had the chance, they would definitely go to Zhuangyuan Pavilion to try their boiled water cabbage.

  "Just this fragrance is enough, no need for comparison!" someone concluded directly.

  The noble guest looked at the stage, Gu Heng also smelled this faint fragrance, although it was very tempting and made people's spirits shake, but he was very worried and depressed.

  His face had long lost the smugness of before, and was instead furrowed in concern, with a hint of tension in his eyes, and tiny beads of cold sweat on his forehead: "How is it possible for the fragrance to drift so far? This... this isn't scientific!"

  "Yeh, are you going to comment on this?" Chu Feng saw the people on stage still indulging in the aroma of boiled water and cabbage mixed with Puhui washing marrow dan, and couldn't help but remind Ye Qiu.

  "Ah!" Ye Qiu was taken aback for a moment, then came back to his senses. He quietly sucked in the saliva that had almost dripped from his mouth, and awkwardly smiled at Chu Feng before quickly adjusting his expression.

  "The boiled water cabbage in Zhuangyuan Pavilion is really something to look forward to, smelling this aroma makes me want to take a bite first."

  He loudly made a joke, but instantly adjusted the atmosphere of the scene to a very warm degree.

  Ye Qiu looked at the audience below with satisfaction, then turned his head to look at the four judges, only to see that all four of them had expectant expressions on their faces, including Xie Yu, who was no exception.

  However, his expectation was that the boiled water cabbage at Zhuangyuan Pavilion would not live up to its reputation. Yet, deep down in his heart, he had another thought - hoping that the boiled water cabbage at Zhuangyuan Pavilion could bring out an extraordinary flavor, after all, he was also a foodie who had tried all sorts of delicacies and it had always been his dream.

  Boiled water cabbage is really hard to taste the best because its high soup requirements are too high.

  Shi Jianghui didn't need to be said, he had been supporting Zhuangyuan Pavilion from the start, so at this meeting, he was the most pleased, looking at Ye Qiu with a face full of expectation, meaning to let him try first, just short of saying it directly.

  Ye Qiu smiled and didn't dare to offend Shi Jianghui, so he announced without hesitation: "Now please ask Mr. Shi to taste the boiled white cabbage in the champion's pavilion first!"

  Shi Jianghui looked at Ye Qiu with a satisfied expression, then picked up a cup of clear water and took a sip. After rinsing his mouth, he put down the cup and picked up his chopsticks, elegantly plucking a piece of pale green cabbage leaf and placing it in his mouth.

  He slowly chewed, his face revealing a look of intoxication, and a piece of white vegetable was quickly eaten into his stomach. Only then did he open his eyes, take a breath, but instead of commenting, he picked up the chopsticks again and reached for the emerald green cabbage in the pot.

  "Ah!" At this, everyone suddenly froze, Nima, what's going on?

  Ye Qiu still held the microphone in his hand, and his voice came out of the loudspeaker, so that everyone present at the scene could hear it. The audience below was stunned, what's going on on stage?

  Shi Jianghui, however, had already picked up another piece of jade-white cabbage. He also heard the crowd's exclamation and turned his head to smile awkwardly at Ye Qiu and others: "Uh, I ate that last piece too quickly, so I didn't have time to savor the flavor. So I'll pick up another piece to taste it carefully."

  He said so, and everyone suddenly realized, but thinking about it again, no, he was eating very slowly just now, wasn't he?

  No, there must be something wrong. The other three judges quickly saw the door, especially the two except Xie Xuan, who glanced at each other and quickly licked their lips, then picked up their chopsticks: "Ah, it seems that this dish has some difficulty, let's taste it together."

  The two of them said that, and with swift movements, they reached into the crystal plate, each picking up a piece of jade-white cabbage and putting it in their mouths, savoring the taste.

  The enticing aroma, from the jade-white cabbage that the three of them had brought out, wafted even farther away, and when combined with the three people's intoxicated chewing, it instantly piqued everyone's appetite.

  Xie Xuan watched as the three people ate with gusto, and he too wanted to go up and grab a piece, but was blocked by the three people, who either intentionally or unintentionally stood in his way.

  He awkwardly turned around, wanting to find an opportunity or excuse to squeeze in.

  Actually Ye Qiu was even more anxious, Shi Jiang Hui and the others were only focused on eating, several pieces of jade white vegetables had already gone down their throats, yet not a single comment was made, what's going on here?

  Don't say he hasn't encountered it, but no one has ever encountered this situation. Ye Qiu was already a little tearful, looking at the crystal plate, where only a few pieces of jade white vegetables were left, and he had to stand up.

  "If we don't stand out now, it will really be out of control: 'Mr. Shi and the two judges, it seems that this dish of boiled water cabbage is too difficult, so the fermentation time for several people is also relatively long. Now please comment on this dish.'"

  Shi Jianghui, still chewing on a large piece of jade-white cabbage, nodded vaguely and said to Ye Qiu: "Xie Lao is the oldest in age and qualifications, so he should start commenting first. Please ask Xie Lao to comment first."

  He said so, and squeezed in again, actually sandwiching out a piece of jade white cabbage from the crystal plate and putting it into his mouth.

  Ye Qiu could only look at Xie Yuan with a helpless expression, waiting for his comment.

  Xie Xuan's old face turned red, and he cursed in his heart: "Nima, this is playing with me! I didn't even get a bite to eat, and yet you want me to comment? What am I supposed to comment on?"

  No way, I have to grab a piece too, otherwise these three guys won't leave any behind!

  Thinking of this, Xie Xuan also had an excuse. He rushed to Ye Qiu and said quickly: "I haven't tasted it yet, so I can't give a comment. Therefore, I want to taste this boiled water cabbage first before commenting."

  He said, no longer caring about his image, and directly squeezed into the circle surrounded by Shi Jianghui and two others, stretching his chopsticks into the crystal plate.

  But he soon discovered that he had blown it, and inside the crystal plate, only a two-finger-long residual leaf was left.

  He really wanted to get angry and not pick up this piece of residual leaves, but he found that Shi Jianghui and the other three were staring at the last piece of residual leaves in the crystal plate with a tiger's gaze, and suddenly they didn't care about anything else, directly picked it up and put it in their mouths.