If Xu Milu weren't Ren Honghe, but just a small-time chef with no connections, she would probably be crying on stage right now.

"That's disgusting."

Zhang Cang cursed as he walked out, casually dialing a phone number:

His eldest son may not hold a grudge, but that doesn't mean he doesn't hold grudges. Just you wait, cooperation? Cooperation my foot!

...

...

Xu Milu also discovered that the three of them were ganging up on her. She took the chestnuts, and Andrei took the chicken. She took the rice wine, and Jack Brown took the cooking oil. Not to mention, Mishima Sayuri took the salt.

So when it came to the fourth round of ingredient selection, Xu Milu decisively took the pork belly that no one had been interested in. Only then did people start to figure out what she was planning to do.

"Are you planning to make braised pork with Shaoxing wine?"

Guan Wenyan was somewhat surprised. He thought Xu Milu would choose fish or chicken/duck dishes that would better showcase the Cui family's knife skills. He glanced at the three foreign contestants from the obvious alliance, suddenly understood, and immediately made a decision:

“We form an alliance. Today I’m going to make ‘Caviar Crispy Roast Duck.’ In the next round, you take the ingredients I need, and I’ll take the ingredients you need. Then we’ll exchange them. That way, they won’t be able to guess what you’re going to make, and at least you can be guaranteed to get the important side dishes first.”

Don't get me wrong, a normal sparring match is one thing, but a coordinated attack is another. Although I'm definitely the champion today, if I just stand by and watch them bully you like this, my old man will chop me up when I get home."

Xu Milu was somewhat surprised. She didn't expect Guan Wenyan to take the initiative to help her, especially since the two of them had been making sarcastic remarks about each other before the competition.

Even Bai Bao'er, who hadn't said much until now, joined the conversation:

“I can help too. I’m planning to make a new kind of thick fish lip soup, and the ingredients I’m using might be things they don’t need. So I can get the ingredients you need first. It might be better if there’s another person to help.”

Thank you.

Time was of the essence, and Xu Milu didn't have time for polite words of thanks or anything like that. She quickly exchanged her menu with the two of them.

"I plan to make braised pork with chestnuts in Shaoxing wine. I might need star anise, scallions, and rock sugar. I need to get at least one of these three ingredients."

Just now, Mishima Sayuri tried to talk to Xu Milu several times, but Xu Milu ignored her. She could guess why the other party was targeting her, most likely because of the whereabouts of "Ren Honghe".

—But there was one thing Xu Milu couldn't understand: in this situation, shouldn't the other party be trying to befriend her? Why would they go out of their way to offend her?