"Gan Yingzi," Gan Li murmured slowly.
The sound wasn't loud, but it was deafening to the tense people present.
For a moment, no one could react, and there was a moment of silence in the room.
But it was only for a moment. Soon, when everyone realized who the last 'lucky one' was, many people hurriedly opened their mouths to say something.
A cacophony of noise arose, but it was all voices of doubt.
"Gan Yingzi? That little brat?"
"How could it be her? This girl is so young, what could she possibly do? Are they recruiting workers or looking for a daughter?"
"That's right, didn't this girl have a grudge against Ganli and her daughter? Ganli is being quite generous... Could it be that they're letting her in so they can torment her and get revenge?"
Besides these suspicious voices, there are also many doubts.
"Are you sure you're not mistaken? When I was learning to do housework, this little girl was still in her mother's belly! And she beat me? How come?"
"That's right, that's right, old ladies, your judgment is unfair! What's wrong with my food? It's not even as good as a young girl's!"
"Village chief, you have to give us an explanation. This is unfair!"
If they lost to others, they could barely accept it, but Gan Yingzi, a little girl who was just over ten years old, actually beat them. How could they accept that?
Once one of them started, the remaining contestants also began to complain, feeling that the competition was unfair.
Some people have even started to have ulterior motives. If they make a scene now, maybe everyone else will be disqualified and the competition will start again. Who knows, they might be the one selected?
Even if we can't do it all over again, even if we get rid of Gan Yingzi, we can still free up a spot, and it might just fall into our laps.
With this in mind, the cries of injustice grew louder and louder.
Seeing this, Gan Yingzi's palms were sweating with anxiety.
When she heard Ganli call her name, she could hardly believe it and thought she had misheard.
Before I could even react and feel happy, I heard these old women questioning me.
Gan Yingzi felt a little uneasy.
Although she was young, she could tell that her spot was chosen by the village chief and the others. She had a grudge against Gan Li, and if she took the opportunity to remove her spot in order to keep the peace, then probably no one else could say anything.
Would Ganli... do that?
Gan Yingzi clenched her fists and looked nervously at Gan Li, only to see the other woman's gaze sweep over her before she turned her head away indifferently.
Her heart sank, and she felt a sense of despair.
Gan Li had no idea what Gan Yingzi was thinking. She glanced at the crowd and saw the undisguised shrewdness on the faces of the shouting people, which annoyed her.
Although she didn't like Gan Yingzi, she disliked even more those who relied on their age and seniority.
So what if you're old? Aside from dying a few years earlier, it doesn't necessarily mean you're more capable than others.
"Fellow villagers," Gan Li cleared his throat and said loudly:
"When I proposed this competition, I had already told the village chief in advance that this competition was to select capable people, regardless of age or seniority. Whoever can do the job well will be selected."
The village chief has served as village chief for so many years, and his contributions to our village are evident to all. You question whether Gan Yingzi deserves this spot, but the village chief has no relation to her; why would he show favoritism for her?
Although Gan Li's words were defending the village chief, they also indirectly defended Gan Yingzi.
Gan Yingzi was already quite disheartened, but she didn't expect Gan Li to speak up for her, so she looked up at her in surprise.
When the others heard Gan Li's words, their voices of doubt dwindled a bit. After all, the village chief held considerable prestige, and no one wanted to question him.
But some people were still unconvinced and whispered, "The village chief is fair, but there are more people than just the village chief who make the selection."
These words immediately displeased some people.
Today's evaluators were not only the village chief, but also several elderly women, all of whom were quite senior.
Seeing that someone was now questioning their favoritism, the old ladies immediately started cursing.
"What do you mean by this? Are you accusing us of favoring Yingzi? If Gan Yingzi were my family, that would be one thing, but she's not related to my family at all. Why would I lower myself to favor her?"
"Absolutely! It's like a small knife pulling up a butt—it's eye-opening! You're incompetent yourself, yet you blame others for being unfair?"
"Yes, there's nothing wrong with the food you made, but the village chief said that this competition isn't just about taste, it's about overall presentation!"
"Zhou's wife, look at you! The food looks delicious, but what about your stove? It's a complete mess, like it's been ransacked by bandits! Just looking at it makes me lose my appetite!"
"And you, we were watching from upstairs just now, and you took a big spoon and tasted the flavor in the pot."
The person being criticized retorted, pouting, "How can a dish taste good if you don't taste it to see if it's salty enough?"
"Yes, you can try it, but you're going to throw the rest back into the pot! My goodness, I didn't even dare to taste your food, afraid of tasting your saliva!"
A burst of laughter erupted around them, and the person who had spoken earlier blushed with embarrassment and retreated, covering his face.
The old ladies, however, hadn't stopped talking. They pointed at the few people who had been shouting so enthusiastically and pointed out their problems one by one.
The peeled potato was chopped and put into the pot without being washed, and there were five finger marks on it.
The person who poked the food with their finger to taste the saltiness, with black dirt stuck in their fingernails...
He showed no mercy, explaining all the reasons why those people were not selected, and he presented them with reason and evidence.
The people around were disgusted by what they heard. They pointed and whispered about the women, saying they never expected that people who seemed so clean on the surface could be so unhygienic behind the scenes.
The old ladies silenced all the loudest voices who had been shouting the most.
Seeing that things had calmed down enough, the village chief stepped forward and pretended to mediate: "Come on, come on, they're just young and hot-blooded, don't stoop to their level."
Ganli seized the opportunity to shout:
"This cooking competition was just a name; I believe the villagers have all figured out what it was really about."
What our restaurant needs are people who are efficient and clean, not those who can only focus on the immediate task and not consider the long-term consequences. Gan Yingzi may be young, but she is meticulous about cleanliness. For example, the stove she uses is cleaner than many others. This is the kind of person our restaurant needs.”
Following Gan Li's words, everyone's gaze turned to the stove next to Gan Yingzi. When they saw the neat and clean countertop, they were immediately convinced.
Gan Yingzi was surprised that Gan Li would praise her. She bit her lip and looked at Gan Li with a complicated expression.
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