Chapter 100: Another Match of So Beautiful
Contestant No. 2's choked voice surprised many, and even some viewers were a bit skeptical. How could someone who simply cooked bok choy and tofu receive such high praise?
"Why don't you dare to say it? Do you think there is something fishy going on?" Contestant No. 2's eyes were red and his voice was hoarse. He turned to face the other contestants, wishing he could get a few people to support him.
Gradually, a few contestants did tentatively step forward, but they kept their heads down and remained silent. However, by stepping forward, they clearly supported Contestant No. 2 and believed the competition was unfair. However, the few who did step forward had previously received lower scores.
The judges and host were momentarily stunned; they had never encountered such a situation before. The organizers, however, had experience with emergency situations and immediately convened to discuss the matter.
The audience at the scene saw what was happening and began to whisper.
"Is there really a conspiracy going on? Look at No. 19, she's so good-looking and looks like she's going to be in the entertainment industry. Can her cooking really be as delicious as the judges say?"
"We didn't taste it anyway!"
"I mean, who knows if there's any shady dealings going on?"
"The public judges also gave it high scores!"
One of the judges sitting in the audience couldn't help but turn around and say, "Don't talk nonsense, everyone. We judges were chosen by lottery and don't know any of the contestants personally. And number 19's dish is indeed excellent. She can't possibly bribe all 20 of us, right?"
The audience members who were talking curled their lips and kept silent.
At this moment, the director called the host to the judges' table and whispered something to him. The host nodded and walked back to the stage.
"Dear audience members and contestants, some contestants have just raised some questions, but we, the organizers, can say with certainty that the competition is completely fair and just. At the beginning of the competition, we announced the rules and said that contestants could hand in their dishes early after finishing them, but only Contestant No. 19 finished her dish early. In order to confirm the condition of the dish as soon as possible, it was reasonable for the judges to taste Contestant No. 19's dish in advance. The camera also recorded her dish and the entire tasting process. Of course, we really have no way to let the contestants who have objections taste it again." The host expressed the organizer's point of view.
"However, we would also like to ask the contestants who have doubts: What is your basis for not trusting the professional judgment of the judges and the public votes?"
Contestant No. 2 gritted his teeth, seemingly determined. "I haven't tasted the other contestants' dishes, so I can't compare them, but I'm confident in mine. It shouldn't have received such a low score. I'm asking for another match, where we can sample each other's dishes."
The director whispered to the host, "Promise him, let him come up with the questions!"
The distributors at the scene thought the show was a bit simple, bland, and not eye-catching enough. Now that this situation has arisen, they thought they might as well capitalize on it and run another round. Splitting the show into two parts would surely attract more viewers.
The audience was also in an uproar.
"A rematch? It sounds very interesting. Is there really something wrong with the organizers?"
"Not necessarily. Think about it, if the organizers don't agree, they'll be more likely to be accused of problems. If there's no significant change in the rankings during another competition, wouldn't that prove the previous competition was fair?"
"You have a point."
"Anyway, let's just wait and see. I didn't expect this competition to become more and more interesting. Let's see what the final result will be."
…
Next, the host said, as requested by the organizers: "After careful consideration by the organizers and judges, and to ensure the fairness of the competition, we have carefully decided to add another round. We need to invite 20 more contestants to each prepare a dish. As for the topic, this time we have decided to ask contestant number 2 to come up with the dish."
"Me?" Player No. 2 didn't expect this to happen.
"You go ahead!" Several contestants who stood up together encouraged him.
Contestant No. 2 thought for a moment and said, "Well, I really did come up with this, and it was something I came up with on the spur of the moment. So, everyone, please choose a line of poetry, use it as the name of a dish, and cook a dish based on your own understanding of it."
"Why should we compete just because he says so? Why does he make the questions?" Some other contestants were also dissatisfied, but no one said it out loud, just talked in low voices.
"He couldn't have thought of this title himself, right? And he even used poetry as the name of the dish. That's too difficult. I just remember hoeing the field at noon, sweat dripping down to the soil!"
"Yeah, I'm not much better either. I can only think of the bright moonlight before my bed, thinking it was frost on the ground!"
Xiaozheng also looked a little nervous.
…
A few minutes later, the host announced again, "We agree with contestant #2's topic, but it's already lunchtime, and the judges and audience need to eat and rest. We'll give you 10 minutes to write down the ingredients you need. The organizers will use the lunch break to prepare them, and we'll continue the competition at 3:00 PM."
None of the contestants spoke anymore, and each of them lowered their heads to think.
Despite being questioned, Ye Tian didn't feel any pressure. She was frustrated that she could only cook cabbage and tofu, but she wasn't convinced: "Although my cabbage and tofu are delicious, I'm also very good at other things. Wait until I make a big dish and show you who doesn't use expensive ingredients!"
As for poetry, when she heard the topic, she had a flash of inspiration and thought of a line of poetry. She wanted to use this line of poetry to make a dish.
Ye Tian took the pen and paper handed to her by the staff and wrote down the following: one lobster, one snakehead fish, two free-range chickens, one old duck, one pound of dragon bones, 200 grams of Jinhua ham, dried scallops, mushrooms, green bamboo shoots, bamboo shoots...
When the host collected Ye Tian's order, he took a second look: "What beautiful handwriting!" But was she asking for ingredients in retaliation? What kind of dish was she going to make that required so many ingredients?
Chef Luo and his friends had been unable to sit still in the audience for a long time. When they saw the contestants leaving, they hurried over to pick up Ye Tian and Xiao Zheng.
The master's wife was even more worried. She had never expected so many problems to happen today. It was unimaginable that a cooking competition would turn out like this.
"Tiantian, let's go eat first and then have a good rest!" Master's wife took Ye Tian's arm.
"Master's wife, and Master, you don't have to worry. I know what I'm doing and I won't be bullied!" Ye Tian gave everyone an affirmative look.
Chef Luo and Chef Yu were more concerned about what ingredients Ye Tian and Xiao Zheng had chosen and which poem they were going to use as the dish title. They had never tried such an elegant approach before.
"Master, I was a little nervous just now and forgot all the poems I learned, so I didn't plan everything very well. But the ingredients have already been submitted, so there's no way to change them!" Xiao Zheng said first. "I chose 'To see a thousand miles, climb to a higher level.' I plan to make a building shape, with different ingredients on each floor."
Chef Yu nodded. "That's great! I definitely wouldn't have thought of that!"
Chef Luo also looked at his apprentice.
Ye Tian looked at the master's anxious eyes and said: "Master, don't worry, I have already thought about it. I will use the line [The country is so beautiful]..."
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