Chapter 901: Chapter 900: Liu Clan Selection (Part 3)
Amidst the gradually spreading sounds, more attention was drawn to Cooking Station No. 7.
A Liu family staff member went on stage. Liu Ying, with a tense face, whispered a few words to the staff member, who then knowingly stepped down, clearly to fetch ingredients.
“So fast!”
“This little girl, deciding on her recipe so hastily, is it really okay?”
The audience worried about Liu Ying.
After all, considering Liu Ying’s age and her cute and delicate appearance, she naturally evoked concern among a group of audience members.
Ye Feizhou and Old Grand Duke Liu among other guests also glanced in surprise at the little girl at Cooking Station No. 7.
Liu Ying was bowing her head low in front of the workbench.
Those unfamiliar with her thought the little girl was deep in thought,
while those familiar with her, like her mother, her brother Liu Feng, and others like Xia Yu, Zhu Qing, and Lei Aoxue, slightly frowned.
Was she nervous, experiencing stage fright?
Zhu Qing frowned, “I told you before, the way of the chef, everything can be taught and adjusted, but character is difficult to fundamentally change!”
“You’ve managed to get her on stage, but I don’t think she has the guts or mental fortitude for a breakout performance.”
She gave her evaluation calmly.
Xia Yu chuckled.
His Aunt Qing, ever since learning that he accepted Liu Ying as a disciple, wasn’t fond of this “Demon King Junior.” Perhaps it was because of her last name Liu, or for other reasons, but Zhu Qing usually didn’t pay much attention to Liu Ying, and was even stingy with giving a few pointers.
“Aunt Qing, just watch!” Xia Yu had faith in Liu Ying.
Lei Aoxue chimed in, “I also believe Little Ying has already started to overcome her inner fears! She’s able to perform normally on stage now!”
Saying this, Xia Yu and Lei Aoxue exchanged a glance, both showing a bit of surprise in their eyes.
Neither expected their evaluations of Little Ying to be so similar.
Humph!
Zhu Qing snorted in displeasure.
“Aunt Qing, after all, you helped Little Ying stand on this challenging stage, just watch closely!” Xia Yu said with amusement.
About ten minutes later, Liu Ying started her cooking rhythm at Cooking Station No. 7.
Everyone was focusing on her.
Even Liu Lan was watching Liu Ying closely and was surprised to see that on her cooking station, there was only a mysterious ingredient box and a bag of glutinous rice provided by the Liu family. He exclaimed, “No filling?”
There was no trace of fillings like sesame, red bean paste, or peanuts!
“Could it be a filling-less pure glutinous rice yuanxiao?” Liu Lan’s pupils shrank slightly, then shook his head to dismiss the idea.
Impossible.
The theme of tonight’s selection is all about innovation!
Filling-less yuanxiao is by no means innovative, especially in Liu Lan’s eyes. If the filling is directly removed, yuanxiao kneaded from pure glutinous rice powder loses a lot of its creativity! Particularly in terms of fillings, directly cutting off the innovation of fillings like this is really foolish!
“Hmm, what did she add to the bowl?”
Suddenly, there was a faint golden glint in the field of vision, but the light flashed and disappeared quickly.
Liu Lan was sure he hadn’t seen wrong, so he looked up at the large broadcast screen high in the venue, having missed the scene where Liu Ying opened the mysterious snack box and took out the material. At this point, he only saw Little Ying closing the snack box and locking it.
Adding clean water.
Stirring with chopsticks.
Just a few simple moves, and the glutinous rice powder in the white ceramic basin turned into a cotton-like texture.
A wave of appreciative voices:
“This little contestant seems very strong!”
“Skillful technique!”
“No wonder she is ranked as the seventh contestant, now I’m willing to believe there’s no bias!”
Old Grand Duke Liu and some elders of the Liu family exchanged glances.
Sparkling!
Without exception, their eyes were lit up as if by a finely polished gem.
Without a doubt.
At this moment, Liu Ying’s performance was already recognized in the eyes of a group of professionals.
Even Ye Feizhou was nodding silently, “A very solid foundation!”
“Is this Liu Ying the new disciple of that Demon King Xia?”
Outside Feitian Pavilion, a parking lot.
About seven or eight luxury cars were gathered here, with a total of more than twenty industry people from Jing Chu, who would soon become guests of Feitian Pavilion to cheer for Wei Zhong.
In the first big car, three Lin Chefs were watching the car’s built-in television.
On the screen, the little girl had already started kneading the dough.
“No water sticking, no sticking to the bowl!”
Duan Hong praised, “Indeed, impressive!”
“Well, he is the disciple of the Demon King. Since that Demon King can let his apprentice step onto the selection stage, he’s bound to be quite remarkable,” another Lin Chef, Wang Qian, said.
Apart from the driver at the wheel, the third Lin Chef in the car, who holds the title of ‘Reserve Pastry King,’ Wei Zhong, sat with folded arms, resting with his eyes closed.
Half an hour later.
“The time is almost up!”
Wei Zhong suddenly opened his eyes.
Hearing this, Duan Hong glanced at his watch. It was half past eight at night, and the selection theme was ‘Lantern Festival,’ with a cooking time limited to one hour. Now halfway through, they were ready to make their grand entrance.
Boom!
One by one, the car doors opened, adding a group of authoritative industry figures to the parking lot.
Doo doo.
Before leaving, Wei Zhong’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He answered his first call of the night, unsurprised that it came from Huang He in Jing Chu, who opened with, “In this battle, only victory is allowed!”
“Victory!”
Wei Zhong raised an eyebrow, and coldly added, “Sinking the Xia Family ship starts tonight!”
“First, stab a big hole in it!”
“Ha, let’s hope so. If the ship is breached and takes on water, I wonder how Xia Qing, that old man, will vie for that seat!” Huang He mocked and hung up the phone.
This group was quite conspicuous amidst the crowded lantern park festivities. By coincidence, a TV program crew conducting a traditional festival street interview encountered them, and the female reporter recognized Wei Zhong at first glance, quickly approached and extended the microphone, excitedly saying, “Hello, Head Chef Wei Zhong, I am…”
Her introduction was interrupted by a menacing backward glance.
“Move aside!”
“I am going to a cooking showdown!”
Cooking showdown?
Stunned, the female reporter stood dumbfounded in the festival’s crowd for a long time.
The view returned to inside the venue.
“Clang!”
Qi Qingyan, serving both as a host and an emcee, personally gripped a mallet and struck the golden gong hanging on the frame, loudly announcing, “The cooking phase is officially over!”
“All seven contestants, please immediately cease all cooking and present your culinary creations to the review table in sequence!”
“This year’s selection continues to use a point-ranking system; the ultimate leader will be the highest scorer!”
Whew.
The rather jarring gong sound pulled Liu Ying completely out of her enchanting world.
Coming back to her senses, Liu Ying appeared flustered immediately.
“Ah!”
Looking at the cooking table again, a pot of Lantern Festival dumplings was already cooked, shrouded in white mist. Liu Ying suddenly felt her eyes heating up, as if a warm stream was about to burst through the gates, “I did it!”
Yet Liu Ying was truly unique; her character was quite complex, unlike Tanaka Hikari before her transformation in the countryside, nor Morioka Makoto who failed the selection exam at Yuan Yue Primary School.
She was herself.
At home, in familiar surroundings, strong-willed and assertive, and now, on this stage, Liu Ying seemed to grasp a thread of that strong-willed feeling!
“It seems… by immersing oneself in it, it naturally happens!” Liu Ying looked down at her hands in a daze.
Guest seats.
“How is it?”
Xia Yu’s lips curled into a gratifying smile, glancing at Zhu Qing next to him, “I told you Little Ying is exceptional!”
Zhu Qing’s face showed surprise as well.
“I didn’t expect she would become so absorbed in the world of food.”
Rarely speaking praise, Zhu Qing still skeptically watched Xia Yu’s smile, “Did you never plan to change her personality but instead taught her how to avoid stage fright and fear?”
Xia Yu commented ambiguously, “Aunt Qing, as you said, personality is hard to change. But, when on stage under everyone’s watch, cooking dishes, one just needs to fully focus on the world of food, immerse in it, with no distractions…”
“In that case, wouldn’t the external environment become almost void? Ha!”
Zhu Qing rolled her eyes sharply.
Sounds easy!
Complete focus and immersion, for ordinary chefs, is an almost nirvana-like state similar to epiphany, not something that can come by just wanting it. Chefs aren’t naturally adept at cultivating mindfulness like some monks.
However.
On another note, Xia Yu’s words also indirectly explained Liu Ying’s attitude towards the culinary arts.
“…exceptional talent!” Zhu Qing finally acknowledged Liu Ying’s potential.
She had to relent.
During this small incident, the ‘Lantern Festival’ dishes from 7 contestants were already arranged sequentially by number on a large table.
The venue echoed with exclamations, drawing everyone’s gaze to the large bowl of dishes at the end of the lineup.
“That is…”