Chen Keming looked at Dong Mingcheng nervously. Given the current situation, he was certain to lose.

However, if Dong Mingcheng gives him a high score, or if he uses the veto power of the question setter, then he still has a chance to win.

Dong Mingcheng's gaze lingered on the two of them for a few seconds before he finally spoke slowly: "I like this egg fried rice."

Everyone looked at the bowl in front of him. Goodness, although the bowl was small, he actually ate the whole bowl of fried rice. It was clear that he was telling the truth.

Well, it's what everyone wants, and it's the trend of the times.

Wang Jianbin had already received a high score from the judges, so the outcome of the competition was pretty much a foregone conclusion.

He and Liu Yihang exchanged a smile.

"I hereby declare that the champion of this round of the Chef King Competition is..." Just as the host was about to announce the results with great enthusiasm, Chen Keming shouted excitedly, "This is unfair! I don't accept it!"

It startled everyone.

The host was at a loss for words for a moment, but fortunately the director was on set giving him instructions to keep his composure and continue hosting, which prevented him from losing his composure.

Actually, if this point is used well, it can be a great selling point, since their production team did not cheat at all and is not afraid of Chen Keming causing trouble.

"Does Chef Chen have any further objections to this result?"

"I would like to ask Mr. Dong a question."

Chen Keming had nothing to say about the judges' opinions, after all, it's impossible to please everyone.

But Dong Mingcheng knew why he should side with Wang Jianbin.

Dong Mingcheng looked at Chen Keming with a puzzled expression: "Please speak?"

"Since your topic is the taste of home, and I remember that Mr. Dong is from northern Shaanxi, I'm sure your memories must include the taste of noodles. Why...?"

Before Chen Keming could finish speaking, Dong Mingcheng burst out laughing: "Hahahaha, please allow me to laugh, you only know one side of the story, not the other."

Although my ancestral home is in northern Shaanxi, I grew up in Tianzhou, so I don't really like wheat-based foods. You've made the wrong bet.

Since you feel it's unfair, I'll give you a brief commentary so you can accept your defeat wholeheartedly.

Undeniably, your sour soup noodles with minced meat sauce are indeed delicious, with chewy noodles and a unique flavor. However, overall, it's too localized. People who aren't from northern Shaanxi would find it hard to appreciate its flavor. This actually goes against the taste of home that I'm looking for.

You deliberately made it in the Shaanxi style to cater to my tastes, and the judges still gave you such a high score, which is already a sign of leniency.

As for myself, the reason I like Mr. Wang's fried rice is because it truly tastes like home.

I remember when I was a child, eating rice was a luxury. I could only eat my mother's fried rice during the Chinese New Year. I still remember that taste vividly.

The aroma of lard, the fragrance of eggs, and the taste of scallions are all identical.

This is a memory of our generation, a taste of home, so Mr. Wang's victory is well-deserved.

Dong Mingcheng had already given Chen Keming face.

Chen Keming then realized he had misunderstood. Dong Mingcheng's words were like an invisible slap in the face, making him feel ashamed.

He didn't even attend the awards ceremony, claiming he was sick and needed to treat his injury, and left first, unable to face his failure.

Suddenly, people at the scene began to have a very bad opinion of him.

"How could this person be like this? He deliberately tried to please the person who set the question, but his flattery backfired, and he can't accept defeat."

"Exactly. I thought Chen Keming was pretty good in the first few episodes, but I didn't expect that you can't judge a book by its cover."

"If you're afraid of losing, don't participate in the competition."

…

Chen Keming's matter was ultimately just a side story, and the program soon came to an end.

Dong Mingcheng presented the award to Wang Jianbin and bestowed upon him the title of Chef King.

At the end of the program, Dong Mingcheng gave away a surprise: the opportunity to personally observe and learn from the master chefs of state banquets.

Wang Jianbin is not as capable as Liu Yihang knew in his previous life. Although he is already capable of working independently and can support a first-class chef in a large hotel, he is still far from being a head chef for state banquets. Such an opportunity is rare and hard to come by.

Moreover, he himself enjoys studying and improving his culinary skills and doesn't care much about money and fame; otherwise, he wouldn't have remained at Hongyunlou for so long.

Therefore, he naturally accepted the opportunity gladly and sincerely thanked Dong Mingcheng for giving him the chance.

Liu Yihang suddenly thought that perhaps in his previous life, even without his help, Wang Jianbin might have had a benefactor. He was destined to walk a lonely path because he was a pure person.

That's fine too.

"Mission to help Wang Jianbin win the competition is complete, and the reward has been issued." The system notification sounded at the right time.

After the show ended, the production team invited Wang Jianbin to be the defending champion chef in the next round of the Chef King competition, but he declined.

This competition was against his will; he was forced into it and had no choice.

He doesn't like these fancy things; he prefers to get things done.

The production team didn't make things difficult for him.

Finally, everything came to an end, and the three of them gathered again at Liu Yihang's small shop that night for beer and barbecue, having a wonderful time.

"Congratulations, Uncle Wang. This is a rare opportunity. I wish you all the best and a bright future," Liu Yihang said, raising his glass in a toast.

"I have to thank you, Yihang. Yesterday's barbecue and today's fried rice are all thanks to you. It's thanks to you that I was able to save face."

When I made fried rice today, I felt like I had divine assistance and it turned out really well. It wasn't until later that I realized how good it was.

Although I was the one operating the whole process, you were the one who controlled the pace of each step for me; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to make this kind of fried rice.

"Thanks all to you, Uncle Wang, I'd like to raise a glass to you."

"Uncle Wang, you're overreacting. It was nothing." Liu Yihang picked up his wine glass, drank it all in one gulp, and said nothing more.

"By the way, Uncle Wang, what about what I mentioned to you yesterday? What have you thought about it?"

"I was just about to say it, but I was a little embarrassed. You've helped me so much, it would be a shame to refuse you. But I'm really not cut out for business, and I can't really help you much." Wang Jianbin blushed awkwardly.

“It’s okay, I understand. You have your own direction, which is good, and I support you.” Liu Yihang understood.

From the learning opportunity that Dong Mingcheng gave Wang Jianbin during the day—the opportunity to learn from a state banquet chef—he knew he couldn't win over Wang Jianbin as a partner.

To be honest, apart from his culinary skills, Wang Jianbin is not a good business partner; he doesn't understand business.

“My second uncle isn’t good enough, do you think I’m good enough?” Wang Donghai suddenly said.

The two initially thought he was joking, but he turned out to be quite serious.

"Donghai, don't do anything reckless. You should focus on your studies, or your father will be furious with me." Wang Jianbin was startled. His nephew was the family's darling. They only had one precious son at Tianzhou University. If he were to be taken away to do business and his studies were delayed, his family would definitely scold him to death.

"If Liu Yihang can study and do business at the same time, why can't I?"