The scene quieted down a bit.
Everyone stared at Li Huan, wondering what his intentions were.
Li Huan said, "With so many kinds of seafood, it would be too slow to taste them one by one! Besides, Master Wei and Master Duo like to give professional comments, which takes up a lot of time!"
Wu Sangui asked, "What suggestions does Lord Li have?"
Li Huan said, "In my opinion, Yuan Batian and Mai Renkuang's dishes are just seafood stews. Their cooking skills are actually about the same!"
"If the judges have already tasted Yuan Batian and Mai Renkuang's seafood, their stomachs will definitely be full. How will they then be able to taste the dishes of the other contestants?"
Wei Xiaobao quickly said, "Lord Li's words make perfect sense!"
Doron said, "Yes, if you're too full, your appetite will decrease, which is not good for us to critique the contestants' dishes."
Princess Jianning laughed and said, "I have a small appetite, so I'll be the first one to fill my stomach!"
Li Huan continued, "So, let's just have Yuan Batian and Mai Renkuang have a duel!"
"A martial arts contest is great!" Princess Jianning clapped her hands in agreement.
Li Huan said, "However, this time we won't be comparing hand-to-hand combat skills, but rather our culinary knife skills!"
Wu Sangui hurriedly asked, "Culinary knife skills? How will we compete?"
Li Huan said, "Bring two baskets of radishes onto the stage, and let Yuan Batian and Mai Renkuang cut the radishes together. Whoever cuts them the thinnest, most evenly, wins!"
Feng Xifan asked, "After winning, how do we vote?"
Li Huan said, "Judges, please vote based on Yuan Batian's and Mai Renkuang's cooking skills and knife skills! A minimum of three votes is guaranteed!"
"Good!" Wei Xiaobao exclaimed, "I agree!"
Doron said, "I agree!"
Wu Sangui and Wu Yingqi exchanged a few words in hushed tones.
"Lord Li's suggestion is excellent!" Wu Sangui said. "Sect Leader Yuan, Chief Mai, do you two agree?"
Yuan Batian said, "Agreed! The swordsmanship of my Hai Sha School is no joke; slicing radishes is a piece of cake!"
Mai Renkuang proudly raised his head: "The knife skills of my Giant Whale Gang are invincible at sea. Cutting a basket of radishes is as easy as turning one's hand!"
Wei Xiaobao said, "Alright, you two, stop bragging and get ready to chop the radish!"
Wu Yingxiong instructed his guards to bring over two baskets of radishes.
Two large baskets were full of green radishes.
Wu Yingxiong said, "Each basket contains one hundred radishes. Whoever finishes slicing them first, and slices them thinly and evenly, within the time limit of one incense stick's burning, wins!"
The guard lit an incense stick.
Wu Yingxiong raised his hand and announced, "The radish-cutting competition begins!"
Yuan Batian picked up a radish, grabbed a cleaver, and started slicing it quickly on the cutting board.
Mai Ren waved the cleaver wildly, pulled a trick, and quickly chopped the radish!
Click... Click...
Li Huan knew that the incense stick lit by the guard would take about half an hour to burn completely.
Cutting one hundred green radishes within half an hour requires not only superb knife skills but also exceptional culinary knife work.
It also tests wrist strength, eyesight, and endurance.
A moment later.
The incense stick had already burned down to half its original size.
In Yuan Batian's large basin, there were many thin slices of radish.
In Mai Renkuang's large basin, there were also many thin slices of radish.
The two were equally skilled at chopping vegetables, both in terms of speed and quality.
This shows that their knife skills are equally matched.
Princess Jianning found it boring and yawned.
Wei Xiaobao chuckled and teased, "Princess, are you sleepy?"
Princess Jianning said, "Watching them chop radishes nonstop is so boring. How can they not be sleepy?"
Duolong asked, "Lord Wei, is there anything interesting to liven things up?"
Wei Xiaobao said, "How about we place a bet and see who will win between Yuan Batian and Mai Renkuang?"
Duolong said, "We've already made a bet with Lord Feng, and we're just waiting for Lord Li to cook 'Yimeng Fried Chicken' in the third round. If we make another bet now, I'm afraid we won't have enough money."
Wei Xiaobao said, "If you have enough confidence in Lord Li, you won't be afraid of not having money."
Duolong said, "Does Lord Wei mean that we are sure to win the bet with Lord Feng?"
Wei Xiaobao said, "I'm not just sure I'll win, I've even figured out where to go drinking tomorrow night after I win the money!"
Duolong burst into laughter.
Wu Sangui said, "Enough with the small talk. While Master Yuan and Chief Mai are cutting radishes, let's taste the next contestant's dish!"
Princess Jianning said, "Very well, let's finish tasting the dishes of the six contestants as soon as possible. I'm looking forward to eating Lord Li's 'Loach Drilling into Tofu'!"
Wu Yingxiong called out, "Please welcome the next contestant! Zhang Rushan, the leader of the Wudang Sect!"
Zhang Rushan picked up a steamer, walked to the front of the judging panel, and placed the steamer on the Eight Immortals table.
Wu Sangui asked, "Sect Leader Zhang, what dishes are you making in your steamer?"
Zhang Rushan replied, "This dish is called—Jadeite Three Treasures Xiao Long Bao!"
"Jadeite Mountain Delicacies?" Princess Jianning asked. "Are they specialties from the mountains?"
Zhang Rushan said, "It is Sanzhen, the 'San' in 'one, two, three', not the 'Shan' in 'mountain'."
Li Huan smiled.
Zhang Rushan has a southern accent and cannot distinguish between "z" and "zhi".
Therefore, Princess Jianning misheard it as "mountain delicacies".
Princess Jianning asked, "What are the three treasures?"
Zhang Rushan said, "You'll know once you taste it, Princess."
After saying that, Zhang Rushan lifted the lid of the steamer.
Steaming hot, the xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) are a vibrant green.
Wu Sangui frowned slightly: "Green steamed buns, they look unappetizing."
Good heavens, Wu Sangui gave Zhang Rushan a bad review right from the start.
Because when Zhang Rushan went on stage to receive the award, he refused to submit to Wu Sangui, which aroused Wu Sangui's resentment.
At this moment, Zhang Rushan remained calm and smiling in the face of Wu Sangui's accusations.
It was obvious that Zhang Rushan no longer cared about winning or losing.
Princess Jianning asked, "What are these emerald green steamed buns made of?"
Zhang Rushan said, "We pick spinach from Wudang Mountain, squeeze out the green juice, mix it with flour, and make green steamed bun wrappers."
Wei Xiaobao said, "These steamed buns look not only emerald green, but also somewhat translucent. They must not be made from ordinary flour, right?"
Zhang Rushan said, "I added egg whites to the flour, so the dumpling skin looks crystal clear after steaming, hence the name Jadeite Three Treasures Dumplings!"
Princess Jianning said, "Quickly, bring it here so I can have a taste!"
Zhang Rushan picked up his chopsticks and took out the xiaolongbao from the steamer.
"Your Highness, if you have no appetite, why don't you try it?"
Zhang Rushang deliberately asked Wu Sangui a question.
To everyone's surprise, Wu Sangui said, "No, I want to taste it and see what three delicacies are inside your steamed buns!"
Zhang Rushan placed a "Jadeite Three Treasures Xiaolongbao" in front of Wu Sangui.
Then, he handed seven more xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) to Princess Jianning and the others.
Wu Sangui didn't use chopsticks; he used his hands directly to pick up the "Jadeite Three Treasures Xiao Long Bao"...
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