Chapter 98: Reaction and Frenzy. (First update)...
"It's really unexpected!"
"That means the fruit we just had was made by Linzhi?" Chef You raised her hand and pressed her temples, her tone full of surprise.
Just now, on the way to the main hall, everyone had discussed it. Although flower-shaped cakes and pastries were very common, and puff pastries with cracked fillings were also very common, this was the first time everyone had seen such an effect after being fried in a pan.
After much deliberation, several deputy heads of the guild all agreed that the winner should be one of the contestants from venue A who came from well-educated families. They even speculated that the recipe might have been researched by several generations and was not created by one person.
I never thought that the producer was from venue B!
Cook You turned to look at Lin Zhi, repeating her name over and over again. Suddenly, she was startled: "Huh? Lin Zhi?"
Wasn’t that what Chef Tang recommended?
When Chef You thought of this, she couldn't help but look at Chef Cui with a strange expression.
Even the vice-chiefs were stunned, let alone the contestants. Li Ji was stunned when he heard that 19 votes had passed. He froze for a moment, then strode forward, his voice tense, "Master chefs, let me see Chef Lin's work!"
"Do you still suspect there's an inside story?" Chef You came back to her senses from her shock, and looked at Li Ji with eyes full of dissatisfaction and impatience.
Li Ji shook his head violently. If Lin Zhi only got fifth place, he would think there was a conspiracy, but now Lin Zhi got 19 votes to pass!
Nineteen votes passed! Nineteen votes passed!
How many people were approved unanimously at the New Year's Party? Li Ji had never heard of such a thing since he was a child, listening to his parents and teachers talk about it.
Li Jicheng's eyes were filled with enthusiasm, and a faint blush appeared on his face. His voice was loud enough to drown out all the other sounds in the room: "Please, please, everyone, please, and please, Chef Lin, please allow me to see it!"
After the words were spoken, there was a moment of silence in the room.
In just three breaths, the other contestants also began to echo his words.
Chef You was stunned by the scene before her. After coming to her senses, she hurried to look at her colleagues. Everyone looked at each other, and finally their eyes turned to the oldest chef with a beard.
The old cook stroked his beard, took a half step forward, and asked with a bow, "Mrs. Lin, are you willing?"
Linzhi didn't care and agreed happily.
The bearded old cook smiled and nodded, then turned aside to give a few instructions to the official nearby. Soon, several servants came forward with trays. Lin Zhi glanced at them and couldn't help but curl her lips. She hadn't expected the servants to be so attentive, even adding some flower crisps to the basket. The flowers looked just as beautiful as the ones she had sent earlier.
She found it funny, but the contestants' eyes were all glued to the small flower basket.
This flower basket is not eye-catching at first. If it were not placed on a silver plate and served together with four other works, others would probably overlook it at first glance.
But, it just so happens that this is actually a fruit!
Almost everyone gathered around the flower basket, gazing down at the various colorful flower cakes placed within. Looking at the appearance of the fruit, then at their own and others' work, many fell silent.
At the same time, the officer came forward.
Amidst the shocked and heartbroken gazes of the crowd, he took out the flower pastry and cut it open with a knife.
As the blade fell on the puff pastry, a crackling sound like broken porcelain rang in everyone's ears, and the puff pastry layers fell apart, revealing the filling.
The aroma of oil and wheat from the puff pastry, the sweet and salty aroma from the filling, all these aromas spread out, making people's Adam's apple move.
Soon, someone came forward to pick it up and taste it.
As soon as they took a bite, some people were shocked by the crispy crust, their voices full of surprise: "Wait? This isn't baked... but fried?"
While everyone's attention was focused on her own flower cake, Lin Zhi's eyes fell on her competitor's work. She took a light step, glanced around, and finally came to the eye-catching flower-folded goose cake.
She picked up a piece and tasted it, frowning slightly. It turned out that the outer pink petals were made of dough, perhaps to make it more solid, so the taste was a bit dry. The meatballs inside were exposed and baked to a crispy surface. Even though there was still soup inside, the taste was dry and hard.
Just as Lin Zhi was lost in thought, a voice called out from behind: "Chef Lin."
Lin Zhi turned around and saw the man, a tall, muscular man in his early thirties, with a grin that revealed a mouthful of white teeth. She paused, then bowed and said, "Hello? Are you—"
The man's smile froze for a moment, then quickly relaxed again. He bowed and returned the greeting, "I'm Wang Wen from Tongfulou. This flower-shaped goose cake in front of Chef Lin is made by me."
After a pause, he said, "Did you taste it? There's something wrong with this fruit."
Lin Zhi nodded and said frankly: "The outer layer is a little dry, and the meatballs are baked a little cheaply, so the taste is a little dry."
Goose meat is firm to begin with, and after being roasted it becomes even firmer and has less juice. When you bite it, you feel like you are exercising your oral muscles.
Chef Wang smiled wryly, "Actually, this dish was passed down from my ancestors, but I lost the recipe unexpectedly. After much research, I've only gotten this far. If it were Chef Lin..."
Before he finished speaking, a charming voice rang in Lin Zhi's ears again: "Wang Wen, you are talking nonsense again."
Lin Zhi turned around to look and saw that the person who spoke was a round-faced, rosy-cheeked cook in her twenties. "Chef Lin, I'm Jiang Wan from Pinxianlou. Don't listen to Wang Wen's nonsense. This is clearly a recipe left over from the previous dynasty. He changed it a bit and claimed it was his own. How shameless!"
"You!" Chef Wang didn't expect that his secret would be exposed so soon. He pointed at Jiang Wan but couldn't say anything else.
"Chef Jiang is telling the truth, why is Chef Wang so anxious?" Chef Wei also came in and said with a smile, "Chef Lin, don't listen to Chef Wang. He's known for taking advantage of others."
Chef Wang's face was as livid as a cooked shrimp, and after a moment he suddenly flicked his sleeves and left. As he left, Jiang Xianjie from the Jiang's Restaurant came forward and greeted Lin Zhi.
The four of them gathered together, chatting happily. Unexpectedly, Chef Wang walked a few steps and then came back reluctantly. After a few words, he tried to lead the conversation to the flower pastry made by Linzhi.
Jiang Wan and the other two looked at each other, and quickly changed the subject by talking to Lin Zhi about something else.
After this tasting, everyone was convinced of their defeat. So when Chef You asked for any opinions, everyone present shook their heads.
Upon seeing this, the official said loudly, "Please allow the five selected candidates to stay. The rest of you may leave first."
Over thirty people streamed out of the restaurant, and the scene outside suddenly became bustling. Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang, who had been dozing off in the car, perked up immediately upon hearing the commotion. They quickly lifted the car curtain and peered toward the restaurant's entrance, their eyes filled with worry.
Just now they found a tea stall nearby and sat down to eat two pieces of fruit. But when they came back, they ran into Chef Xia coming out angrily, and people were surrounding him and talking about him.
After that, no one came out for a long time, but screams were heard from inside from time to time. The people waiting outside the door frowned, and some of them couldn't help but step forward to inquire about the situation, but they didn't get any useful information.
Until this moment, the contestants came out in twos and threes, but there was no sign of their daughter. Lin Sen and his wife were so anxious that they could not sit still in the car and wanted to get out to ask her.
The driver who was in charge of picking them up laughed out loud when he saw this, and quickly lifted the curtain to persuade them, "Don't worry, you two! It's a good thing that they haven't come out yet! It means your daughter has been selected!"
"Ah!" Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang were both dizzy, their mouths hanging open wide, their jaws almost hitting the ground, their voices trembling, "Really?"
"How could it be false?" The driver smiled so hard that his eyes wrinkled. Although they were just ordinary drivers, they knew the ins and outs between venue A and venue B very well.
In previous years, the drivers who were responsible for welcoming the top contestants to Venue A would receive a lot of rewards, so everyone was scrambling for those jobs.
Unexpectedly, he was so lucky this year that a real phoenix appeared in Venue B.
Seeing that Lin Sen and his wife hadn't fully recovered, the driver continued, "Honestly, for a shop of your size to participate in the New Year's party, it would take ten years? No, I'm afraid it wouldn't even be twenty years! Your family's future is bound to be bright!"
"Is it their family?"
"What strange faces... Could it be Linzhiji?"
"It's Linzhiji..."
"Wow? Linzhiji actually made it through the pre-selection?" Someone nearby, who was just watching the show, was shocked. "Don't I remember they make roast goose?"
A regular customer nearby casually said, "Actually, they also make Chongyang cakes. They're delicious and cheap!"
“It’s still a little unbelievable.”
"That's incredible!" The people who heard the shocking news from the departing cook couldn't help but say, "Let me tell you, Linzhiji is number one this time!"
"Ah? First?"
Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang listened, their mouths almost stretched to their ears. The glances and whispers from the people around them made them unconsciously straighten their backs, craning their necks even more to peer towards the restaurant's entrance.
About two cups of tea later, there was movement at the restaurant's main entrance. Lin Zhi, Jiang Wan, and the others slowly emerged, and cheers erupted from outside.
"It wasn't this lively in previous years." Jiang Wan smiled softly, covering her lips with her hands and winking at Lin Zhi: "Everyone is here just for you."
Just as the vice-chief and the contestants had been surprised, the New Year's party was held every year, but those who passed the preliminary selection were always chefs trained by large shops. For ordinary small shops or stall owners to be selected was enough to make the neighborhood legend for a while.
A small shop like Linzhiji actually won first place and passed the preliminary selection. When the news spread, the people were shocked and rushed to watch the fun.
Once the news spread that a small shop like Linzhiji had passed the preliminary selection as the first place, the people were shocked and rushed to see its true appearance.
Lin Zhi's ears turned red. After saying goodbye to Jiang Wan and the other two, she quickly walked towards the carriage. After getting on, she urged the coachman to go home quickly.
She could evade the questioning of the people outside, but she couldn't evade the cross-examination of Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang. The two had heard a lot from the driver and others, and they had a lot to say. As soon as the carriage started moving, they started asking questions one after another.
Linzhi had no choice but to patiently answer each question one by one. By the time she was exhausted from talking, the carriage had arrived at the door of Linzhiji.
The news spread faster than she thought.
When Madam Yu and Madam Xue saw her get off the car, they quickly stopped talking and walked towards her, their voices filled with excitement: "Ji Jie'er! I heard you won first place?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the people working in the surrounding shops and even the passers-by stopped and looked towards Lin Zhi.
Lin Zhi: “…”
Is this a bit too exaggerated?
She explained dryly, "It's just the preliminaries. There's another competition later."
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