Chapter 19 Chapter 19
“It turns out to be the head chef of Baolai Hotel!”
"I noticed he had an unusual aura, but I didn't expect he was actually a serious chef."
"I heard that the head chef of Baolai Restaurant is a great chef who came back from the capital. Isn't it more than qualified for such a great chef to review a pancake?"
"Yes, yes. No matter how delicious Old Wang's pancakes are, they can't compare to the ones from Baolai Restaurant. It's not an exaggeration for people to say a few words about them."
The surrounding public opinion suddenly changed, with everyone supporting Wang Yongwang.
After learning that he was the head chef of Baolai Restaurant, Wang Qi's brain started working rapidly, frantically trying to find a solution.
It is too late to stop Wang Yongwang from making comments now. He only has two choices.
First, admit your mistakes readily.
But this method was too embarrassing. He had just been provoking others for so long, and now he became so cowardly when he heard that the other person was Baolai's head chef. He would not be able to hold his head up in front of the surrounding stall owners from now on.
The second is to fight to the end.
Anyway, things have come to this, so even if Baolai’s chef criticizes him, it won’t be too bad for him.
He is the head chef of Baolai and a top figure in the city's catering industry.
Being guided and criticized by such a person is an opportunity that many people would wish for, but he got it easily and might even become famous because of it.
When the time comes, when he tells it out, no matter how he embellishes it, he can still say that it was Wang Yongwang who guided him.
Wang Qi had a beautiful idea and waited with his neck stretched out, waiting for Wang Yongwang's evaluation.
Unexpectedly, when Wang Yongwang spoke, he did not evaluate himself.
"I've tried your dad's mushroom and pork pie, and compared to him, you're definitely not as good."
Wang Yongwang also took only one bite and handed the pie to Han Yang.
"First, the mushrooms were poorly chosen, lacking in flavor. The meat filling was also crudely prepared, with too much oil. It was fragrant, but after eating half, it became greasy. The fishy smell of the meat also needs attention. It would have been better if more scallion and ginger water were added to reduce it."
"I won't talk about the crust. When your dad was teaching you, you probably didn't pay enough attention, which is why there's such a big difference."
"You have an older brother, right? He has a stall in another place. I once bought his cakes, and they are much better than yours."
The truth will break people's defenses.
After hearing what Wang Yongwang said, Wang Qi's face turned red and he couldn't say a word.
He forgot all the things he had imagined before, and all he could think about was the four words "I didn't study well".
When his father taught him, he was indeed nonchalant and didn't take it seriously.
Thinking that his father is taking care of him at home, and that he still has many years to learn, there is no need to rush.
He didn't expect his father would die so early, and he broke up with his elder brother. After all these years, he still didn't learn the key to making the crust.
Wang Qi usually lives in a muddle and doesn't think about these bad experiences.
Today, Wang Yongwang said something that exposed the truth, and all the embarrassment and shame that had accumulated over the years burst out in an instant.
Even a shameless person like him couldn't stand it anymore and left in disgrace.
"Tsk, I really thought this guy was so powerful."
"Old Wang's craftsmanship is a waste. Passing it on to a son like this, I guess it will be nothing by the fourth generation."
"Haven't you heard what Chef Wang said? He has an older brother. His legacy is probably more authentic."
Wang Qi felt even more ashamed and angry when he heard the comments from the people around him.
There were quite a few old customers inside who looked familiar to him, and even they thought so. After today, the reputation of his family that had been passed down for three generations would be ruined.
Wang Qi's mind was racing.
He knew how quickly such rumors spread. If he wanted people to ignore this matter, he would have to...
He paused slightly and looked straight at the square table in the middle.
After Wang Qi left, many of the onlookers dispersed.
Wang Yongwang glanced at He Tingting a few more times, patted Han Yang on the shoulder, and said, "Okay, it's still working time, come back with me."
"Master, I'm off duty today."
Wang Yongwang got angry when he thought about how he had taken a day off specifically to cause trouble.
"What do you mean by taking a break? Did I agree? Get back to the kitchen!"
Just wanted to take Han Yang away.
He Tingting called out to the master and disciple.
"Please wait a moment."
There are not as many people here as before, so Lili can help her with the food preparation for a few minutes.
He Tingting pulled her hand away and held Wang Yongwang.
"I have a request that I would like to discuss with you."
Wang Yongwang has come into contact with many street vendors, most of whom are uneducated and speak in a simple or vulgar manner.
It's rare to find someone as polite as He Tingting.
"What can I do for you?"
"I'd like you to be the referee for this competition and call out the votes for us."
This person must have a certain social status so that everyone can be convinced. He Tingting had never been able to find a suitable candidate before.
Until today I saw Wang Yongwang.
"I'll pay for it myself, it won't be much. I just need you to spare an hour or so after the game."
The head chef didn't need her money, so He Tingting wasn't sure whether he would agree to be a judge.
She could only try to be as earnest and sincere as possible in her words and invite him.
Unexpectedly, Wang Yongwang agreed immediately.
"I guess I won't be free until after 9pm. If that time is available, I'll come."
He was more approachable than He Tingting thought.
"thank you."
The day passed quickly in the busyness.
Before I knew it, the sun had slowly set.
The stack of voting papers prepared by He Tingting also moved from the initial hill to the plain.
After a busy day, everyone was exhausted.
But when He Tingting glanced over, she saw that everyone looked more energetic than usual, with irrepressible smiles on their faces.
Even Wang Qi, who was in a low mood at noon, looked very excited in the evening.
At nine o'clock, there were no more people at the door.
Guo Zhuang sat on the stall, covered himself with clothes, and secretly counted today's income.
After counting, I couldn't suppress the smile on my face.
"Tingting, this competition is so well organized. Can we hold more of them in the future?"
It seems that he made a lot of money today.
He Tingting touched her bulging waist bag and said with the same smile: "If there is a chance in the future."
The square table was still in the middle, and the ballot box in the middle was a little wrinkled and looked much more worn than it had been in the morning.
Now we just have to wait for Master Wang to count the votes so that we can know the results of today’s competition.
He Tingting's tense nerves relaxed, and she caught a glimpse of a few students coming out of the school gate.
Is there anyone selling food at this time?
Public security is not that good these days, and parents always teach their children not to wander around outside at night.
Even after going to college, the number of people hanging out on the streets after dark drops dramatically.
Generally, there is no business after 8:30.
It was a rare sight to see a group of people coming out at nine o'clock. Not only He Tingting, but many vendors also looked over curiously.
Jia Hui felt very uncomfortable being stared at by so many people.
He slowed down his pace, walked behind Xiaopang and complained softly.
"It's all your fault. Why did you have to come out to see the result? Wouldn't it be the same if you came tomorrow?"
"How can it be the same?"
The fat kid walked ahead with a swagger, not feeling embarrassed at all. "Now let's listen to the results so I can share my joy with the lunch sister. Maybe if she's happy, she'll even give me a free meal."
Jia Hui finally understood that the last sentence was Xiaopang’s real purpose.
He couldn't help but roll his eyes and looked at his roommates behind him.
"It's all your fault. Take care of him."
Sun Dongfang put his arm around his shoulders from behind and said, "This is such an interesting thing. It would be a shame not to join in the fun."
As soon as the dormitory head spoke, there was a burst of agreement behind him.
"Yeah, Huizi, it's boring to stay in the dormitory, why not come out and see what's going on."
It's not just their dormitory that has this idea.
When boys get together, there is always an atmosphere of being ready to go at the drop of a hat.
When Jia Hui came out of the dormitory, there were only his five roommates following him.
When I looked back after walking for a while, there were already more than a dozen people following me.
They walked to the gate in such a large crowd that they attracted so much attention.
Guo Zhuang spotted his cousin in the crowd, waved, and asked loudly, "Huizi, are you hungry and want to eat?"
When he called out, everyone's attention was focused on Jia Hui.
Jia Hui felt even more uncomfortable, but he couldn't scold his cousin in front of so many people, so he said, "No!"
He quickened his pace and walked closer to Guo Zhuang.
"We're here to see the results of the game."
Guo Zhuang didn't notice his little emotion at all and answered with a smile.
"Oh, the results? We have to wait for Chef Wang from Baolai Restaurant to come and announce them. He hasn't arrived yet."
Speak of Cao Cao and he will appear.
As soon as Guo Zhuang finished speaking, a flashlight appeared not far away.
A few minutes later, Wang Yongwang appeared with Han Yang.
He originally didn't want to bring an apprentice with him, but Han Yang was curious and insisted on coming along.
He was afraid that Han Yang would sneak over later and something might happen, so he simply brought him along.
"Sorry for the wait, everyone!"
The vendors present were all very willing to give Wang Yongwang face. Seeing how polite he was, they all smiled and said it was okay.
Only Wang Qi looked away uncomfortably.
Damn, I don’t know how He Tingting persuaded Wang Yongwang to be the referee.
Didn’t they just meet today?
Could it be that this man, who is nearly fifty years old, still has sexual intentions towards young girls and comes here specifically to support He Tingting?
He maliciously speculated about the concern of He Tingting and Wang Yongwang, and his eyes became nervous as he looked at the box.
If this is true, would Wang Yongwang help He Tingting cheat?
But it's no use for him to be anxious now.
The vendors at the scene were all very convinced of Wang Yongwang and did not seem to have any doubts at all.
Wang Qi could only suppress his emotions temporarily.
He Tingting handed the prepared oil pen to Wang Yongwang, and took another piece of cardboard to serve as a blackboard so that he could count the votes better.
This was also Wang Yongwang’s first time counting votes.
He appeared calm on the surface, but he was actually feeling a bit excited. When he opened the ballot box, he even signaled to the people around him.
"Okay, now let's officially start counting the votes."
He took out a stack of tickets from the cardboard box and began to read them out one by one.
"Stall number three, one ticket, stall number one, one ticket..."
Han Yang acted as a vote counter and wrote the correct numbers on the cardboard.
Wang Qi listened for a while and found that he had quite a few tickets, and he immediately felt relieved.
It seems that Wang Yongwang is not so shameless as to cheat in front of everyone.
Only half of the votes had been counted when Wang Qi could no longer draw the correct characters and even had to use the back of the cardboard.
The students watching were talking about it.
"No way, is this guy's pie so delicious? How could he beat Lunch Sister by so many votes?"
"I heard that the head chef scolded him in front of many people at noon. He shouldn't help him cheat now, right?"
"What's going on?"
Fatty's eyes widened in anxiety. "Is this vote really okay? Didn't you all say you were all voting for Lunch Sister?"
The people around were also very puzzled.
"Yeah, I voted."
"I voted too."
"I asked at noon, and everyone in our class who came to sell lunch at noon voted for the lunch lady."
Only Jia Hui was not in a hurry and just watched the fun from the sidelines without any hesitation.
"Maybe the pies he sells are just delicious, and the other customers just want to vote for him. By the way, Xiaopang, don't forget our bet."
He Tingting, the person involved, was not as anxious as they were.
She also noticed that the vote count was wrong, but she didn't know how Wang Qi cheated, so she just watched.
During this observation, another ten minutes passed.
There are not many tickets left in the box.
In the second half, He Tingting's votes obviously caught up, but she was still about 50 votes behind Wang Qi and could not catch up no matter what.
She frowned slightly and recalled it carefully.
Are there so many customers at Wang Qi’s stall today?
She was very busy today and had no time to pay attention to Wang Qi.
For a moment, I just wanted to recall, but there was no relevant picture in my mind.
Xiaopang was so anxious at this time that he went to He Tingting to comfort her.
"It's okay, sister. Even if you lose, you're still the champion in my heart. Your rice bowl is the best!"
Several classmates around also echoed.
"Yes, Lunch Sister, you are number one in my heart too!"
Jia Hui made a "tsk" sound and deliberately reminded Xiaopang.
"If you lose later, don't forget that you can't eat boxed lunches for a month."
This sentence made the already uncomfortable Xiaopang even more frustrated.
His rice bowl, his delicious rice bowl. Is God really so cruel to let him leave his precious rice bowl for so long?
Seeing that there were no tickets left in the box, Wang Qi felt that he had won and looked at He Tingting proudly.
"Young people should not be too arrogant, otherwise you will fall and not know how you fell."
His smug look is really annoying.
Even Jia Hui couldn't stand it anymore and turned his eyes away in disgust.
He Tingting's expression remained unchanged as she said meaningfully, "The counting of votes hasn't ended yet, and the results are still uncertain. Boss Wang, don't get too excited too soon."
Usually, when people open champagne at halftime, the final result is failure.
Unfortunately, Wang Qi didn't understand this principle.
Hearing He Tingting say this, he sneered.
"Okay, I'll let you struggle for a while longer."
After all the votes were read, Wang Qi was indeed in first place, and he was eighty votes ahead of the second place He Tingting.
Now not only He Tingting, but all the participating stall owners felt something was wrong.
The pancake stall owner rolled his eyes and guessed what was going on.
He laughed slyly and thought to himself that Old Wang was really brave.
Seeing that there were so many guests today, he didn't dare to tamper with the tickets.
Han Yang counted the correct characters for each person and read them in order.
"Number one, one thousand and thirty-two votes, number two, one hundred and fifty votes, number three, nine hundred and fifty votes..."
The moment Wang Qi read his words, he looked at He Tingting.
"Young people, losing isn't scary; refusing to admit defeat is. If you don't admit defeat, how can you make progress in the future?"
He laughed heartily, letting out all the depression of the day.
He Tingting, who was being ridiculed, also laughed.
She smiled, which scared the fat boy standing behind her.
Why did Sister Lunch laugh even when being scolded? Could it be that she was too upset?
Hearing her laugh, Wang Qi's smile froze on his lips, and he suddenly had a bad feeling.
He has already won, what is this girl laughing at?
He Tingting walked straight towards Wang Yongwang and stood in the middle of the crowd.
"I prepared the tickets for this game. I cut more than 2,000 in total. Now that the results are out, there are more than 3,000 tickets. Isn't this strange?"
After these words were spoken, those who had been doubting Wang Qi in their hearts were instantly furious.
"Old Wang, what do you mean!"
"Everyone's playing the game properly, but you're trying to do something tricky, right?"
Several stall owners who were also contestants stood up instantly and challenged him.
Wang Qi's heart sank when He Tingting spoke.
But he dared to do this because he had already thought about what to do if he was discovered.
As long as others can't find any substantial evidence, they can't say he cheated.
"She said 2,000, so it's 2,000? How can she prove it?"
Wang Qi's attitude remained tough, and he also accused the two people who stood up against him at the beginning.
"You just believe everything she says. Do you have a brain? She brought the tickets. If there was any cheating, she would have done it. How could I cheat?"
This righteous look is quite intimidating.
This made those who couldn't see the situation hesitate.
Could it be that he was really wronged?
But when I looked at He Tingting again, she also had a look of certainty on her face, as if this was really happening.
Wang Yongwang did not expect such a ticket-rigging incident to occur.
Of course, he would rather believe He Tingting, but with so many people present, if he wants to accuse Wang Qi of cheating, he really needs evidence.
He squatted down and looked carefully at the counted tickets.
It soon became clear that something was wrong.
Most of the tickets here have a red mark on the back, but most of the tickets that allow you to choose number one do not have a red mark on the back.
Wang Yongwang has been working outside for so many years, how could he not understand this?
His expression became more serious and he stood up to speak for He Tingting.
He didn't expect that the little girl would be one step ahead of him.
He Tingting stood in the middle of the crowd, holding up the ticket in her hand despite everyone's questioning or puzzled gazes.
"If you want to prove it, it's very simple. The back of the genuine tickets has the stamp my sister put on them one by one yesterday. Just check the back of your ticket to see if there is a stamp on it, which is enough to prove it's true."
Wang Qi immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
He never imagined that He Tingting had a trick up her sleeve for such a simple ticket and put an anti-counterfeiting mark on the back.
He Lili raised her hand. She was small but had a loud voice.
"Yes! I printed them one by one last night!"
The tickets have been counted and scattered outside, and everyone present can gather together to check the status of the tickets.
Jia Hui was not interested in watching it, but Xiaopang was.
Xiaopang squeezed into the crowd, picked up a ticket, and showed it to Jia Hui.
"After all, my lunch sister won!"
Jia Hui secretly felt unlucky.
He just randomly picked someone to support, and he was able to choose someone who cheated like this.
Even he couldn't stand this behavior and started to despise it.
"The opponent at that time was too rubbish. If it were a professional chef, your lunch sister would not have been able to hold up."
The attitude of these students was pretty good, they just cursed a few times.
The other vendors who were also participating in the competition did not tolerate Wang Qi.
After confirming that he had cheated, someone immediately grabbed his collar.
"Wang Qi, let's find a place to talk!"
The current situation is very unfavorable to Wang Qi.
He became the target of public criticism and was racking his brains to think of a solution.
Seeing that he was about to be slapped, Wang Qi finally thought of a way to get out of the predicament.
He raised his hands above his head in a gesture of surrender and shouted.
"I'm not the only one cheating!"
The pancake stall owner who was standing nearby with lingering fear suddenly felt his heart skip a beat and had a bad feeling.
The next second, Wang Qi raised his finger and pointed at him.
"Him! He cheated too."
Old Li's heart suddenly died.
"Wang Qi, fuck you!"
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