Lu Rong and his entourage followed the etiquette lady to the center of the central square.
Looking around, the scene was already filled with hundreds of stools.
In front of the stool was a makeshift stage.
The vast majority of those attending the opening ceremony were participants in the competition, along with a number of media reporters.
Lu Rong and the others took their seats in their designated places.
A short while later, an elderly man, about sixty years old, walked onto the stage.
The old man was dressed in loose-fitting exercise clothes. Although he was over sixty years old, his eyes were sharp and his spirit was high.
It's clear that it has withstood the test of time.
He is said to be the organizer of this food festival and also a famous chef in the national culinary world – Wu Zhengchuan.
Legend has it that he single-handedly defeated a foreign chef who came to challenge him, letting the world know the charm of Chinese cuisine.
He is therefore deeply loved by people all over the country.
He is regarded as a role model by countless chefs.
When Wu Zhengchuan stepped onto the stage, the audience cheered.
Although Lu Rong hadn't been in the catering industry for very long, he had heard of Lu Rong's reputation.
I know that the person in front of me is not simple.
They listened very attentively.
Wu Zhengchuan's speech was not at all like someone his age; it was still powerful and inspiring.
The audience listened with great interest, nodding repeatedly.
In addition, his speech was concise and to the point, and he finished speaking quickly.
There was none of the usual rambling speech that some leaders give on stage, never getting to the point.
"Alright, I wish our Kyoto Food Festival a complete success. Thank you everyone!" After saying that, Wu Zhengchuan bowed deeply to the audience.
The audience applauded enthusiastically and cheered continuously.
After Wu Zhengchuan came down, the beautiful host began to announce the next segment.
"Next, please welcome Xie Wei, the champion of the previous Kyoto Food Festival competition, from the Kyoto International Hotel, to speak. Let's give him a round of applause."
As soon as he finished speaking, a chef dressed in a white chef's uniform, with a strong build and an age of about 30, walked onto the stage.
He walked with an arrogant and haughty air, looking extremely cocky.
When they heard that he was going to speak on stage, the people below all stirred up a commotion.
"He is Xie Wei, the champion of last year's food festival. It is said that he sold more than 8 million yuan in seven days, breaking the highest record of the Kyoto Food Festival in more than ten years."
"No wonder he was so arrogant, he turns out he's a real expert."
"I don't know what he sold last year, but I think I can take a look and follow his lead to try and make more money."
"I remember he used to sell spicy beef steak and cumin roasted lamb. I heard that a serving would cost seventy or eighty yuan, but there were still a lot of people buying it."
"The average order value is so high, no wonder you can make such a high turnover. Someone like me who sells chicken strips only makes two yuan a piece, I probably wouldn't make 8 million even if I sold them until I died."
"There's nothing I can do. Their skill level is there. If I were to sell it, and the taste wasn't good, they wouldn't buy it at this price."
"That's true. I'll stick to selling what I'm familiar with. If I were to switch to other product categories, I probably wouldn't be able to handle it."
.........
Xie Wei walked to the center of the stage, picked up the microphone, and began to speak:
"Hello everyone, I am Xie Wei, the champion of the previous Kyoto Food Festival."
There was a kind of arrogant pride in his eyes. Facing hundreds of people in the audience, he was not afraid at all and continued to speak.
"I'm very happy to be here to speak at the invitation of the organizers. Anyway, I won't say anything more. The champion of this food festival is still me. You can decide the rest of the rankings yourselves."
He acted like he was uneducated and thought he could get by on a dime, and started spouting nonsense right from the start.
Upon hearing this, the people below couldn't sit still any longer.
All her previous goodwill towards him vanished, and she couldn't help but curse him out.
"He's so arrogant. This bastard has become so cocky after winning just one championship. I even applauded him just now."
"I initially had a pretty good impression of him, but I didn't expect him to be such an arrogant bastard. I'm going to kill him."
"There are always people better than you, and there's always something beyond your understanding. This guy has gotten too cocky. I guarantee he won't be laughing when the competition ends."
"That's what they say, but his strength is undeniable, and with last year's experience, I estimate his chances of winning this year are still very high."
"I'm just here to make up the numbers. My strength is limited, so I can only hope that someone more powerful will defeat him."
"Yeah, yeah, it doesn't matter who it is, I just don't want this guy to win, it's so annoying."
...........
Xie Wei remained unperturbed by the numerous criticisms from the audience.
Holding the microphone, he stepped forward and continued:
"I know you'll be very unhappy to hear this, but I love seeing you all resentful but helpless." He then burst into laughter.
After he finished speaking, the crowd erupted in another round of spitting and cursing.
The female host standing to the side was completely at a loss. She wanted to ask the etiquette lady to invite Xie Wei down, but that didn't seem appropriate.
They have entered a dilemma.
Even Wu Zhengchuan, who had just gone up to speak, turned green with anger. He hadn't expected Xie Wei to be so arrogant. He had only asked Xie Wei to say a few words, but Xie Wei had turned it into a provocation.
The reporters below the stage kept recording him, trying to capture the whole scene, since such a scene could easily attract public attention.
If we use a few sensational headlines from UC News, the viewership will skyrocket in no time.
Even Su Tingyun, who is usually quiet, couldn't stand it anymore and cursed, "This kind of guy doesn't deserve to be a champion. He's just arrogant."
"Exactly! If it weren't for my limited cooking skills, I would have loved to go on stage and slap him in the face." Xu Fei clenched his fists, gritting his teeth in anger.
Seeing that no one in the audience dared to refute him, Xie Wei became even more arrogant: "If I were you, I wouldn't even be able to participate in this competition."
"I just want to ask, with so many people here, who dares to say they're better than me?"
Upon hearing this, the audience members exchanged bewildered glances.
They looked at each other, but no one dared to stand up.
Even if they were extremely dissatisfied, they still dared not say anything in the face of absolute strength.
Just as Xie Wei was about to successfully show off, a young man slowly stood up from the crowd.
In an instant, everyone present turned to look at him.
The person who stood up was Lu Rong.
"Who is this guy? I've never seen him before?"
"It looks like they were sent by Kyoto University."
"Kyoto University? They're not like Lanxiang Technical School, would they even know how to cook?"
"Don't speak yet, let's see how things go first."
Lu Rong, completely disregarding the stares of those around him, spoke loudly and directly to Xie Wei:
"Don't be so sure. I think the champion of this food festival will undoubtedly be Kyoto University."
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