At this moment, in Li Shangui's eyes, Lu Rong was closer than his own son.
He was overjoyed to be able to personally present the award to Lu Rong. After all, he was the most senior person present, and he was second to none in terms of both age and achievements, so he was naturally granted the authority to present the award to the champion.
He knew that his old friend and rival Wu Zhengchuan was very unhappy, because he also wanted to present the award to Lu Rong.
But that's the reality, and with so many viewers watching, Wu Zhengchuan couldn't say anything, so he could only obediently go and present the award to the runner-up.
Upon seeing Li Shangui rush onto the stage, the unprepared etiquette lady hurriedly followed behind, holding a gold medal and a thick certificate of merit.
It was less of an award and more of a certificate, proving that Lu Rong had won the championship in this national culinary competition.
Of course, the certificate is just on paper.
In fact, nowadays, not only people across the country, but also countless people all over the world know that the protagonist won the championship.
Seeing Lu Rong standing straight in the center of the stage, Li Shangui was overjoyed. Although Lu Rong winning the championship seemed to have little to do with him, there was nothing he could do, since Lu Rong was the one who introduced him.
Now that Lu Rong has received such great honor, he naturally benefits from it as well.
"Haha, Lu Rong, congratulations! You've lived up to everyone's expectations." He said to Lu Rong in a friendly manner, completely losing his usual seriousness.
"This wouldn't have been possible without the guidance of you, Elder Li," Lu Rong said, praising him profusely as he looked at him.
Upon hearing this, Li Shangui's expression changed rapidly, and his originally smiling face broke into uncontrollable laughter.
Lu Rong knew very well that these older generations valued reputation, and that he was indeed introduced by them to participate in this national culinary competition.
At first, I didn't want to come, but after their persuasion, I decided to come.
So, in that sense, they deserve some credit too.
Without a doubt, Lu Rong's business achievements will be substantial after this competition, and his reputation has grown significantly, making future business ventures much easier.
As the cafeteria business gradually hit a bottleneck, he knew it was time to expand off-campus.
After all, no matter how well the food is served in the Kyoto University cafeteria, the entire customer base is limited to the 10,000-plus faculty and students of Kyoto University. There is a limit to how delicious it is. So, to achieve something bigger and stronger, the goal must be broadened to the whole country or even the world.
After all, China has a population of over one billion, and the world has a total population of over seven billion.
This number is simply enormous.
Even if he can't get everyone in the world to eat his food, if even one in ten thousand people chooses to eat at his restaurant, his business will be enormous.
Soon, Li Shangui personally handed the medal to Lu Rong.
This is a gold medal made of pure gold, which shines brightly in the sunlight.
The image engraved on it is of a chef cooking.
Lu Rong also imitated the athletes at the sports meet, picking up the medal and biting it in his mouth.
Upon seeing this, the photographers all swarmed around him, snapping photos incessantly, trying to capture this beautiful moment.
At this moment, everyone present couldn't help but applaud.
Seeing Lu win the award, they felt no jealousy or dissatisfaction whatsoever; on the contrary, they were very satisfied and excited.
Viewers, especially those watching on screen, applauded the result.
"Lu Rong is indeed the most amazing. Every dish he has made these past few days has broken previous records."
"Thanks to his existence in China, I estimate that the quality of Chinese cuisine will be elevated to a higher level in the future."
"Yes, look at his Kyoto University cafeteria, he has made the food taste like a high-end hotel, but he has also driven down the price."
"I really envy the students at Kyoto University. I wish the cafeteria food was that good when I was a student. But back then, the food in our cafeteria was so bad that it was hard to swallow. We always ordered takeout."
"Several school cafeterias in Kyoto saw this and followed suit by upgrading their menus, which benefited many students."
"Absolutely. This market is all about competition. If everyone's cafeteria food isn't very good, then the cafeteria owners won't think about improving the quality of the food. But now that they see that the Kyoto University cafeteria is like this and the students are complaining, they will be forced to improve the quality of their cafeteria food."
"Although their cafeteria can never compare to Lu Rong's, it's better than nothing. At least the students benefit."
"After watching for so long, Lu Rong was the person I supported the most. Now that he has won the championship, it can be said that our wish has come true."
"Without a doubt, Lu Rong won the championship based on his strength. He consistently ranked first in every dish and every competition, never even having a chance to come in second. In terms of strength, he deserved the championship in this competition without any controversy."
"Yes, there were some controversies in previous competitions, but this time it's completely different. Whether it's the champion, runner-up, or third place, everyone's strength is very obvious."
"What controversy could there be? Not only are we bystanders very satisfied with the result, but even their opponents, Shen Lanxin and Yuan Hua, are very happy with it."
"From now on, the National Culinary Competition is over. The next one will be three years from now, but we really enjoyed watching the competition these past few days."
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