Chapter 97 Chapter 97 ranks first. (Second update)...
As the vice-chiefs entered the main hall, their faces beamed with smiles and their tones were exceptionally kind. The contestants' previously tense hearts instantly relaxed, and they quietly breathed a sigh of relief, their eyes gleaming with anticipation.
But when the official picked up the list and began to read out the results, and the servants next to him brought out the works at the same time, everyone's hearts suddenly became nervous again.
"Contestant Lin Yan passed with zero votes."
"Contestant Shi Songgui passed with zero votes."
"Contestant Pan Xiujie passed with zero votes."
…
Seven people in a row, all from Session B, each received zero votes. Their faces were so gloomy they could drip water, yet they gritted their teeth and said nothing.
It was not until the servants brought the burnt and rough-looking fruits that the other contestants in venue B suddenly realized that they had not tested the oven temperature in advance, which led to the baking failure.
Everyone thought the zero vote count was over, but unexpectedly, the official's voice rang out again: "Contestant Miao Rong, passed with zero votes."
"Contestant Gong Jianiang passed with zero votes."
"Contestant Chen Yue passed with zero votes."
…
Until the voice of "Contestant Xia Chengyi passed with zero votes" was heard, the main room suddenly exploded.
The originally depressed contestants from Venue B finally forgot their disappointment and looked at Chef Xia: "Why did this guy also get zero votes?"
“I remember he opened a fruit shop!”
"Is it because I was too anxious and did something wrong?"
Chef Xia's face turned pale as he took a step forward in disbelief. "Masters, why do I get zero votes?"
Just at this moment, the crab roe pastry made by Chef Xia was also brought over by the servants.
As soon as everyone saw the appearance of the crab roe pastry, they threw away the idea that Chef Xia had made a mistake. They saw that the crab roe pastry had layers of curled crust, like blooming chrysanthemum petals. The surface was brushed with a thin layer of egg liquid, baked to a golden red and shiny, and dotted with a few snow-white sesame seeds. Just looking at it made people's mouths water.
Not to mention the tempting aroma that hits your face, the aroma of wheat mixed with the aroma of lard hits you directly, and several inexperienced chefs are eager to try it.
“Smells so good!”
"Wow, I'm drooling just looking at this!"
"This one looks much better than the previous one!"
Upon hearing the chatter, Chef Xia straightened his back a little and spoke even more forcefully, "This is my shop's signature crab roe pastry. I've made it a thousand times and there's no way I'm going to make a mistake!"
"Your crab roe pastry is indeed well made." Cook You, who was sitting at the head table, glanced at him and said calmly, "The pastry has distinct layers, the filling is smooth and dense, and the aroma of the lard and the freshness of the crab meat are perfectly blended."
"Just as they said, it's completely different from those zero-score works!"
"Then why—" Chef Xia asked anxiously.
"But." Before he could finish, Chef You changed the subject and said in a grave tone, "It's exactly the same as the one you sell in your shop. It's even the same as what your grandfather made decades ago."
Chef Xia stood there in a daze, his mouth open but unable to speak.
It was Lin Zhi who was standing in the crowd who raised her eyebrows and understood the reason: when the topic was announced earlier, she learned about Chef Xia from the fish ball shop owner and Chef Wei, and then learned that Chef Xia's grandfather was one of the best pastry chefs in Bianjing City, and his fruit was second to none.
After completing his training and returning to Lingnan, he opened his own restaurant there. His reputation spread far and wide, and even officials and merchants from Bian Jing would make a special trip to his restaurant to taste the food when they visited Lingnan.
Because of this, after Xia Chu came to Bianjing City and opened a branch, he was immediately sought after by officials and wealthy families, and was naturally invited to participate in the New Year's party for newlyweds.
Linzhi bought some crab roe pastries, a specialty of hers, to try. Even after cooling, the crust remained crispy, and the crab meat and roe inside were rich and sweet. If her own butter hadn't run out and crabs were incredibly expensive around New Year's, she would have wanted to make them herself twice.
But just as she said last time, for contestants like herself who did not run a fruit shop, the leaders might require 80 points, but for contestants like Xia Chu, they required 120 points.
And obviously, Xia Chu did not achieve that at all.
Chef Wei beside Lin Zhi also realized what was happening. He took a deep breath, his eyes filled with disbelief, "He won't change at all?"
"Everyone's already tired of this flavor." Chef You's voice turned a bit colder. "You're entering a competition with a recipe from decades ago. Do you think we're unworthy of trying new things?"
As Chef You finished speaking, more than a dozen eyes fell on Chef Xia. The color drained from his face completely, and after a while he muttered, "This is just the preliminaries..."
But no one listened to his explanation. The official continued to read out the results. Chu Xia blushed and walked out of the hall with a sudden flick of his sleeves.
When half of the results were announced, the chefs who were not selected looked unhappy, but they also learned from the lesson of Chef Xia, and with a correct attitude, they seriously stepped forward to ask the opinions of the leaders, and then respectfully stepped aside, waiting for the final result, thus retaining some dignity for themselves.
They gathered together and discussed the last ten people, but as they talked, they found that there was something wrong with the number of people.
"One, two, three, four... eleven?"
"...Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen!?"
"What are you counting?"
"The number of people isn't right." The cook looked puzzled. "There are twenty people in each of the A and B venues, forty in total. They're reporting thirty people now. We should have ten here and twenty over there, right?"
"yes."
"But I counted, and the results have already been announced for eleven people in Venue A, and nineteen in Venue B."
As soon as the words fell, everyone around him fell silent.
The contestant in venue A's expression changed drastically, while the contestant in venue B's eyes suddenly lit up.
With just a few simple inquiries, or following the gazes of the people in Venue B, the contestants in Venue A also set their sights on Lin Zhi: she made it into the top ten.
The chef from venue A, who had been eliminated, looked at Lin Zhi with a look that seemed to be about to burst into flames.
Chef Wei, who was standing next to Linzhi, felt goose bumps on his arms. When he turned around, he saw that Linzhi still had a calm expression and no reaction at all.
He secretly admired her and touched Lin Zhi's arm quietly: "Madam Lin, don't you think there are too many eyes around you?"
"And then? Just a bunch of defeated soldiers."
"..." Chef Wei opened his mouth, wanting to say something but stopping himself. After a while, he gave a thumbs up: "Sister, you are awesome."
Linzhi withdrew his gaze and swallowed the rest of the sentence back into his stomach - You too, little brother.
If the people in Venue A were annoyed, those in Venue B were incredibly excited. They'd just wished someone would pop up and give them a good slap in the face, and now they were secretly praying that Linzhi's results would be announced later, hoping that as many people as possible would be defeated.
Tenth place, no.
Ninth place, no.
Eighth place, not yet!
Seventh place, still not!!
Sixth place, shit!
The nineteen contestants in Venue B were very excited. Before Linzhi was even happy, they were already as jubilant as if it were a holiday, making the five people whose results were reported look as dark as the bottom of a pot.
Especially the sixth place, they were almost going crazy!
His eyes were as sharp as knives, falling on Lin Zhi. He couldn't believe that his skills would lose to a contestant from the B venue - there must be something shady going on!
The official stopped reading the sixth name. The old cook with a beard took the file, glanced at it, looked up at Lin Zhi, and said in a loud voice: "Jiang Xianjie of Jiang's Restaurant, Wang Wen of Tongfulou, Jiang Wan of Pinxianlou, Wei Langxing of Haoweizhai, Lin Zhi of Linzhiji, congratulations on passing the preliminary selection!"
As soon as the words fell, a voice erupted in the venue: "I don't accept it!!!"
The smile on the bearded old chef's face froze instantly. His gaze gradually shifted to the man who had spoken, his eyes as cold as an ice blade. "Are you Li Ji from Fengshizhai? What are you dissatisfied with?"
Li Ji was stared at by the leaders, and his hot-blooded mind instantly calmed down a lot, and he wanted to retreat.
After all, unlike the contestants in Venue B who are completely half-baked, the contestants in Venue A are all those who have learned skills from a master since childhood, or inherited the family business. They have been listening to the guidance of their parents and masters since childhood. Among the leaders sitting above are their own parents and masters, and they have to respectfully call them seniors and masters when they come.
Li Ji wanted to back down, but someone else stood up and said, "I don't accept it either."
"The rest are fine, but what's going on with Lin Zhiji? She's a contestant from venue B, how could she possibly be in the top five?" The one who stepped forward was the eighth-ranked one. He no longer even had any vested interests with Lin Zhi, but he simply couldn't accept being suppressed by a half-baked person.
When Li Ji heard this, his anger flared up again, and he said without hesitation, "That's right!"
"I think there's something wrong, there's something shady going on!"
"A conspiracy? Don't say you're shocked. I couldn't help but be shocked when I heard that someone was from Venue B."
Before the bearded chef could say anything, Madam Yu sneered, "We're only responsible for tasting and grading. The order in which the dishes are served and the names are hidden are all decided by the officials. Are you saying we're partial, or are you saying the officials accepted bribes?"
Li Ji and the others who were causing the commotion froze in place.
All the leaders turned their eyes to Linzhi; some were inquiring, some were curious, and some were shocked.
Among them, Chef Cui's look was the most complicated. She knew two of the five people who passed by, and both of them had entanglements with her. It was good enough that they didn't make trouble for her, let alone win them over.
As for Li Ji and his companions, they were even more hesitant and speechless. No matter which of the two paths they chose, they would seriously offend the dead.
Mrs. Yu looked at their hesitant and cowardly appearance and snorted softly. She turned around to signal her colleagues to continue, but she saw the heads of the team gathered together, staring at the list with eyes full of disbelief, and occasionally making low discussions.
Chef Yu:?
Cook Yu was furious and said with a dark face: "Hey, I'm teaching someone a lesson here, what are you doing over there?"
Chef Cui looked up and motioned for her to come over and check. Chef Yu came forward with a confused look on her face and took the list with a muttered, "What are you looking at? Aren't the top five dishes the same ones... huh?"
Cook Yu's eyes gradually widened, almost popping out: "Huh? Wait, isn't it? Linzhi... the next one passed is nineteen?"
In other words - everyone passed?
In this competition, only one person passed the test!
When Cook Yu was shocked, she didn't expect that the other people in the hall were even more shocked.
In an instant, the whole audience was in an uproar.
Everyone, including Chef Wei, turned their gazes to Lin Zhi at the same time: Pass the Count Nineteen! ?
Surprisingly, all members of Linzhi passed - Linzhi did not pass by luck with the fifth place, but was the real first!
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