But how can one boost others' ambitions while destroying one's own prestige?
"There will definitely be no problem. Chef Zhang is very good. Look at his smooth movements and confident and calm expression. He will definitely win. It will definitely work." Jiang Shushu almost believed it himself.
Han Ri looked at the stage carefully again and found that every chef was doing the same thing as you and Jiang Shushu said: "..." Aren't they all the same? How could you tell?
As soon as the 40 minutes were up, all the chefs on the stage stopped cooking.
Host: "Please invite the three judges to come on stage."
Jiang Shushu and Han Ri looked at the stage nervously. When the judges tasted Zhang Yao's dishes, the two of them were even more excited and didn't dare to breathe, for fear that they would breathe away the stickers in the judges' hands.
A sticker
Two stickers
The two of them turned their gazes to the final judge, Jiang Jiayou. They saw everything clearly, from the moment he picked up the chopsticks, picked up the food, opened his mouth, put it in his mouth, and chewed it several times.
Jiang Jiayou was not as straightforward as the previous two judges. Instead, he stood at Zhang Yao's kitchen table for a long time without moving.
I only have the last four stickers left. Although this dish is eye-catching, it is not amazing enough. Would you like to try the next dish first?
Jiang Shushu was anxious. "Why don't you put the sticker on?" He said, "Didn't you enjoy the meal just now? It's such a delicious dish, why are you hesitating?"
Jiang Jiayou seemed to hear Jiang Shushu's voice. After hesitating for 30 seconds, he still put the sticker on Zhang Yao's kitchen seat.
Jiang Shushu and Han Ri smiled at each other. Zhang Yao had three stickers, so he was definitely in the top ten.
After the competition, the three judges gathered together.
Li Minghao: "This year's culinary competition is packed with talented chefs, and tomorrow's 30 chefs are among the best. It's incredibly difficult to pick the top three right away."
Zhao Daming: "Indeed, there were several players of similar skill today. I didn't know who to choose. I think it will be even harder to choose tomorrow."
Jiang Jiayou: "I feel the same way. Why not add another competition? First, select the top ten, then the top three. We can also make this year's questions a little more difficult to widen the gap between them, so that we can select the best chef."
The other two nodded in agreement, and then discussed together how to increase the difficulty of tomorrow's cooking competition.
Early the next morning, Jiang Shushu and the other two arrived at the competition venue again. The number of people inside had not decreased at all. The chefs who failed yesterday also showed up today.
Host: "Yesterday's competition was incredibly exciting, each with its own strengths... I expect today's will be even more exciting... We'll add another competition, starting with 30 to 10, and then finally selecting the top three from the ten chefs. Please invite all 30 chefs to the stage."
After the host saw the chefs were in their positions, he said, "Serve the food."
Then a staff member lifted the cloth-covered table next to it, revealing a variety of ingredients inside, which were packed in 20 boxes, each numbered from 1 to 20.
Host: "A good chef must be able to adapt to ever-changing circumstances, using local ingredients and turning waste into treasure. The seasonings and spices used by all chefs are the same, but it all depends on your luck which ingredients you get. There are 20 dishes in total, ten meat and ten vegetarian. The ingredients are given to each chef through a lottery, and each chef can draw five times. You must use the ingredients you draw to create a delicious dish that is both beautiful and fragrant. This is a great test of your culinary skills."
"Okay, to the raffle box?"
A small wooden box was brought onto the table.
"Chef number one, please come out and draw the ingredients."
Chef No. 1 strode forward, reached out, grabbed five balls, and handed them to the host.
"Number 8, pork belly, number 10, tofu, number 21, green pepper, number 24, eggplant, number 6, spare ribs."
…
"Chef No. 16, please come out for the draw."
Jiang Shushu saw Zhang Yao come out and immediately closed his eyes and prayed silently, "Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Tathagata Buddha, Taishang Laojun, please bless my chef Zhang to have his wish come true and draw the dish he wants. Please, please."
Han Ri's face was full of worry, and he also hoped that Chef Zhang would have better luck.
Zhang Yao looked calm and composed, but he was actually very nervous inside, fearing that his clumsy hands would pick up ingredients that were difficult to mix.
God bless you, I, Zhang, have never asked you for anything since I was a child. Now I only ask you to let me draw good ingredients. As long as you let me draw good ingredients, I will let my son eat vegetarian food for a month and burn incense for you.
Zhang Zhian, who was far away in Q City, sneezed violently, then said with a smile, "Today is the finals. My dad must be missing me. It must be a good omen."
Zhang Yao drew five numbers in a row, and when he saw the number he drew, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise.
Thank you, Buddha. I will let my son eat vegetarian food when I get back.
Zhang Yao gave his number to the host, then went forward to collect his own ingredients: a grass carp, half a pound of lean meat, a corn, half a cabbage, and two green peppers.
…
After all the chefs had drawn their dishes, some were happy and some were worried. There were two who were particularly unlucky. They drew vegetables five times in a row. The two of them were dejected and stared at the vegetables in a daze.
Although Jiang Shushu knew that he shouldn't kick someone when he's down, he still felt a little happy when he saw the person who drew the bad ingredients, because this way Chef Zhang had a greater chance of winning.
Host: "Dear chefs, within 60 minutes, use the ingredients you have to make delicious dishes that are both beautiful and fragrant. I look forward to your competition. Let the competition begin."
A new round of "dangdangdang" sounds of cutting vegetables rang out.
"Brother Han, Chef Zhang is chopping fish and meat. What dish is he planning to make?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen it yet."
It was not until halfway through the time that Jiang Shushu knew what dish Zhang Yao was going to make: fish fillets wrapped in meat.
Han Ri: "This must be Chef Zhang's new dish. I've never seen him make it before."
…
Jiang Shushu discovered that the chefs on the stage kept their mouths shut while cooking, while the chefs below opened their mouths to discuss, and many of them even wrote in their small notebooks from time to time.
Jiang Shushu immediately understood. It turned out that the person was not going home but studying here. As expected, we laymen are watching the fun here, while the experts are making progress all the time.
Zhang Yao had just finished pouring the hot oil when the host called out, "Time's up, please invite the three judges to come on stage and try the food."
No one in the audience spoke, quietly waiting for the judges' evaluation. After tasting the food, the three judges discussed and selected ten dishes that they thought were the best, and described their characteristics, including Zhang Yao's fish wrapped in meat.
Han Ri: "Xiao Jiang, Chef Zhang is in the top ten."
Jiang Shushu: "I knew Chef Zhang would be able to do it. Winning the championship is definitely not a dream."
Han Ri: "..." Xiao Jiang, can we not be so confident for now? There are so many people looking at us with dissatisfaction, let's keep a low profile for now.
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