Chapter 215 You took all the oil
Before the voting controversy had subsided, a last-minute notice from the production team suddenly broke the rhythm of Su Yingxue's group's preparations.
With a troubled look on his face, Hu Xiaoguang held the new rules notice and explained in a muffled voice, "Um... everyone, due to the schedule adjustment, the rules for selecting ingredients in the next round of the competition have been temporarily changed. To ensure balance among the groups, Zhu Lili's group will have priority in selecting ingredients this time."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yu immediately frowned, a sense of unease washing over her: "Director Hu, we clearly agreed before that the group with the most votes would have priority in selecting ingredients, why did you suddenly change that?"
Hu Xiaoguang avoided eye contact, stammering for a long time without being able to give a reasonable explanation, only apologizing repeatedly: "I'm really sorry, this is a decision made by the higher-ups, I have no choice."
Su Yingxue instantly understood. She still vividly remembered Zhu Lili frequently contacting the production team after the competition.
The sudden shift in the rules at this moment must be because she used her connections to pressure her agency and then used her network to force the production team to change the rules.
She gently traced the edge of the cutting board with her fingertips, her face remaining calm, but her mind was already racing with calculations.
Shen Yu's face flushed with anger, and she was about to step forward to argue when Su Yingxue gently pulled her back.
Su Yingxue shook her head, signaling her to calm down. Arguing about right and wrong now wouldn't change the established facts.
Let's see what Zhu Lili's group is up to first.
Soon, the door to the ingredients area opened, and Zhu Lili, arm in arm with Chef Wang, along with Chen Chen and Chen Mo, walked at the front, her face beaming with undisguised pride.
Her gaze swept over the dazzling array of ingredients, and her eyes immediately locked onto the cooking oil in the corner, a calculating smile playing on her lips.
"We want these four barrels of oil."
Zhu Lili raised her chin, her tone arrogant, giving no one else a chance to react.
Chen Chen and Chen Mo immediately stepped forward, each carrying a bucket of oil, and moved all the cooking oil to their group's work area, instantly clearing out the oil-based ingredients.
"I'm using so much oil, how much stuff does your group need to fry?"
Seeing this, Xia Paopao immediately exploded, rolled up her sleeves, and was about to rush over, her tone urgent and angry: "Zhu Lili! You've gone too far! You've taken all four buckets of oil, how are other people supposed to cook? Who's going to be so domineering!"
She became more and more agitated as she spoke, her chest heaving violently, her eyes filled with anger, as if she wanted to have a fight with Zhu Lili on the spot.
Shen Yu clenched her fists in anger and was about to speak up when she saw Su Yingxue raise her hand and press down on Xia Paopao's shoulder.
Su Yingxue's gaze fell on the empty food shelves, then swept over the tall oil drums piled up in Zhu Lili's work area. She frowned slightly but did not speak immediately.
Her brain was racing, her fingertips tapping unconsciously on the table, her mind quickly processing all sorts of dishes that could be made without oil.
Stir-frying and deep-frying are definitely out of the question, so what about steaming, boiling, stewing, and cold dishes? Which ingredients don't require a lot of oil but can still produce amazing flavors?
Hearing Xia Paopao's angry rebuke, Zhu Lili not only showed no remorse, but instead turned around and looked at him provocatively, her tone light but full of malice.
“Our group’s dishes need this much oil, is there a problem? The rule is that we get to choose first, we can take whatever we want. If you don’t have oil, it’s just your bad luck.”
After saying that, she deliberately glanced at Su Yingxue and saw that the other was deep in thought, so she assumed that Su Yingxue had panicked and felt even more smug.
Without oil, let's see how they make dishes that beat their own!
Shen Yu's brows furrowed, her fingers gripping the hem of her clothes tightly, her eyes scanning the field rapidly, her heart burning with anxiety.
Seeing that Zhu Lili's group had protected the four barrels of oil so tightly that conventional methods were useless, her gaze suddenly fixed on Huang Yifei on the stage, and her heart skipped a beat.
During the filming of "Chang'an Banquet", she had a few scenes with Huang Yifei. Although they were not close friends, they had met once.
At this moment, Huang Yifei, as a judge, might be able to help. Shen Yu pursed her lips and gave Huang Yifei a pleading look.
Huang Yifei was already shocked by Zhu Lili's domineering act of snatching oil. She raised an eyebrow slightly, and a hint of dissatisfaction flashed in her eyes.
She naturally saw through the trickery behind the rules and knew even more clearly that Zhu Lili was deliberately targeting Su Yingxue's group.
Meeting Shen Yu's gaze, Huang Yifei immediately picked up the microphone and spoke in a calm but undeniable tone: "This way of selecting ingredients seems a bit unfair."
She paused, then changed the subject, adding meaningfully, "How about this, Shen Yu, your group should also go to Zhu Lili's group and get another set of ingredients to supplement our supplies. We can't let one group be too short of ingredients, which would affect our performance in the competition."
The subtext of these words couldn't be clearer: Su Yingxue's group should go and get the oil back directly.
Shen Yu's eyes lit up, and she immediately stepped forward. Just as she was about to speak, Zhu Lili, who was already on guard, suddenly raised her hand to direct Chen Chen, Chen Mo, and Chef Wang beside her.
Along with two temporary helpers, they surrounded the oil drum, the four of them clinging tightly to it, elbow to elbow, forming a solid human wall.
"Why should we give it to them?" Zhu Lili raised her chin, her tone arrogant and domineering. "The rule is that we choose first, and the ingredients we choose are ours. If they want oil, they'll have to find their own way!"
She deliberately straightened her body, looking confident and fearless, certain that Su Yingxue and the others wouldn't dare to forcibly take it.
Shen Yu and Lin Qiao tried to take two steps forward, but just as they were about to reach out, they were pushed away by the other party. Forcibly taking the money would not only easily lead to conflict, but might also be judged as a violation by the program team, so they were in a stalemate for a moment.
Xia Paopao stood to the side, her cheeks flushed with anger, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth, but her eyes were not idle, staring intently at Zhu Lili's team's operating area, looking for an opportunity to retaliate.
Suddenly, her gaze fell on the corner of Zhu Lili's table, and her eyes instantly lit up as if they held stars—there sat a lone bag of table salt.
The packaging was still unopened, clearly indicating that it was casually placed there by Zhu Lili's group when they were selecting ingredients.
Xia Paopao looked at the ingredients area; there was only this last bag of salt left in the entire place!
"Sister Su! Sister Shen Yu! Look over there!" Xia Paopao called out in a low voice, and before anyone could react, she had already rushed over.
Zhu Lili was smugly instructing Chen Chen on something and didn't notice Xia Paopao's actions at all. By the time she realized what was happening, Xia Paopao had already grabbed the bag of salt and turned to run back.
"Hey! What are you doing! That's our salt!" Zhu Lili was both angry and anxious. She reached out to grab it but was a step too slow and could only watch helplessly as Xia Paopao ran back to Su Yingxue's side.
Xia Paopao clutched the salt tightly to her chest, made a face at Zhu Lili, and said with a hint of smugness, "Who said it's yours? It's just lying in the corner of the table, nobody cares. Whoever gets it first gets it! This bag of salt is ours now!"
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