Chapter 1746 - 1747: Instant Understanding

Seeing Tang Ping, Lin Xian was a bit surprised and asked curiously, "Didn't you go back?"

Tang Ping grinned naively and explained, "After I resigned, I carried forward with Ying Qi in

Yang City!"

"Not bad!"

Lin Xian nodded, immediately understanding.

Tang Ping slightly turned to the side, gesturing, "Mr. Lin, this way please, the banquet will start in half an hour!"

He remembered that the last two times Lin Xian came to Yang City, the woman beside him seemed not to be the one in front of him now, but he sensibly did not ask.

As a former private detective, he still had some sharpness.

The decoration of Jirui Building is quite retro, with a special touch of Yang City.

At this time, the hall had been rearranged.

The spacious hall had been completely transformed into a competition venue.

Several people wearing chef uniforms were seated in the audience seats on both sides.

And at the very front of the competition venue, there are five main seats.

At this moment, three elderly people were already seated at the main seats.

The two positions left empty in the middle were obviously reserved for Lin Xian and Yan Xiaoman.

As Lin Xian and Yan Xiaoman walked into the hall, everyone's gaze immediately turned towards them.

Seeing this scene, Yan Xiaoman seemed a bit nervous, her body slightly leaning towards Lin Xian.

Lin Xian held her hand, smiled slightly, and whispered in her ear, "Dear, don't be nervous. You must understand, tonight all of this is prepared for you, you are the true host."

Upon hearing this, Yan Xiaoman looked at Lin Xian affectionately, and her initial nervousness and restraint instantly vanished without a trace.

That's right, all of this tonight was prepared by Lin Xian for her, these people are just extras,

why should she be nervous?

Thinking of this, a smile appeared on Yan Xiaoman's face as she took the initiative to walk towards the main

seat.

In the audience seats, people gathered in threes and twos, whispering among themselves.

"Who are these two?"

"It's clearly Lin Shen, the true host of this Dragon Gate Banquet!"

"Did you know? They say this Dragon Gate Banquet cost 20 million!"

"Hiss! Where did you hear that?"

"Master Liao's son-in-law told me, and also said that this Lin Shen offered 1 million to get Master Liao Jie to make

stuffed soup yellow croaker!"

"Good heavens! It seems having money truly lets you do whatever you want!"

Everyone was surprised, but no one belittled or laughed at Lin Xian.

Because for a chef, a foodie like Lin Xian is their true soulmate.

Tang Ping followed behind Lin Xian, and after they sat down, began to introduce, "Mr. Lin, this

is Mr. Hou Cheng, the fifth-generation heir of Imperial Banquet Mansion."

"Hello, Mr. Hou!"

Lin Xian smiled slightly, reaching out to shake hands with Hou Cheng.

Imperial Banquet Mansion was started by royal chefs after leaving the palace, and has been passed down

to this day.

"Mr. Lin, thank you, such a scene might never happen again!"

Hou Cheng said with a smile, feeling.

Obviously, they had been informed in advance that Lin Xian was the true host of this Dragon Gate Banquet.

Tang Ping continued the introduction, "This is Mr. Lin Jianjun, president of the National Chef Association, and

also the editor-in-chief of Food Guide magazine."

Lin Jianjun was somewhat chubby, smiling warmly like a Maitreya Buddha, "Mr. Lin, what a coincidence, today

we meet a family member!"

"It really is a coincidence!" Lin Xian laughed.

"This is Mr. Shi Zhengliang, president of the National Cooking Association; he is also the founder of famous banquets like Taibai Poetry Wine Banquet,

China Wenchang Banquet, and others," Tang Ping introduced.

Shi Zhengliang looked thin and dark, not much like a chef, but more like an old farmer.

Sitting upright, he was solemn and didn't smile easily.

Seeing Lin Xian extend his hand, Shi Zhengliang squeezed out a smile and shook hands.

Seeing this, Lin Jianjun explained, "Mr. Lin, don't mind old Shi, he's of a rather wooden nature,

and not very good at socializing."

"It's no bother!"

Lin Xian waved his hand and smiled.

Impressive.

Being poor at socializing, yet able to become president of the National Cooking Association, shows his culinary skills truly are

so excellent that people are sincerely convinced.

It seems Uncle Zhong has extensive connections, and the judges invited are truly significant.

Lin Xian introduced, embracing Yan Xiaoman's shoulder, "This is my girlfriend, Yan Xiaoman.

The three all smiled and nodded, Hou Cheng chuckled, "Mr. Lin is fortunate!"

As they chatted and laughed, a middle-aged man in a suit approached the competition venue briskly.

Standing in front of the scoreboard, the middle-aged man held the microphone and began, "Hello everyone, I am Zhang Zhicheng, president of the Yang City

Eating Association. Everyone here is a top chef in the art of cooking, and we also have experienced elders, even some of my superiors. Today, we are all here together to witness

the competition between Sheng Sect and Zhao Sect."

"Here, I must first express my gratitude to Mr. Lin Xian for his great support; thank you very much!"

Lin Xian smiled and nodded.

Uncle Zhong did a great job organizing this competition; it's quite official and formal!

Yan Xiaoman, who had never seen such a scene, felt as if she was filming a movie, her expression both excited

and full of anticipation.

After a pause, Zhang Zhicheng continued, "Now, let's welcome the representatives of both sides of the competition:

Master Liao Jie from the Sheng Sect and Master Zhao Hui from the Zhao Sect!"

As soon as the words had fallen, only Liao Jie and Zhao Hui could be seen, both dressed in chef uniforms, swiftly proceeding to the center of the arena.

Both held a wooden box in their hands, sharing a look reminiscent of heavy medicine.

Zhang Zhicheng was also very excited, saying loudly, "Now, may the representatives of both sides place their stakes with the judges, to be temporarily safeguarded by Mr. Lin Xian."

I'm to safeguard?

Lin Xian was slightly taken aback, a bit surprised.

But soon, he understood.

The stakes on both sides are not small. Liao Jie's stake is the Niu Sect's ancestral recipe, whose real value amounts to at least several billion. And Zhao Hui's stake is the brand and the entire Jirui Building restaurant, again worth several billion when combined.

Entrusting them to anyone else might not ensure their peace of mind.

But Lin Xian was different.

First, he wasn't short of money.

In their view, someone who could casually spend 20 million to host an Imperial Banquet must be worth at least hundreds of billions. Secondly, he's not an insider, so neither a recipe nor a brand holds much allure for him.

Therefore, for these reasons, neither Liao Jie nor Zhao Hui felt entrusting the stakes to Lin Xian for safekeeping to be the best choice.

"Mr. Lin, we're counting on you!" Liao Jie placed the wooden box on the table and laughed.

Zhao Hui also nodded, smiling, "Hello, Mr. Lin!"

Lin Xian chuckled, "May you both give it your best, my girlfriend and I have been looking forward to this for a long time,

so don't let us down."

He didn't care who lost or won between the two.

What he was valuing was the enjoyment of food and completing the task.

Once both had set down their stakes, Zhang Zhicheng announced excitedly, "With the stakes exchanged, the Dragon Gate Banquet has

officially begun!"

With those words, two rows of waitresses dressed in cheongsams began to walk gracefully into the hall, each carrying a large

dinner plate.

The contents of these plates were the first round ingredients of Liao Jie and Zhao Hui.

At this moment, Zhang Zhicheng continued speaking, "The competition this time is the Dragon Gate Banquet, taking one dish each from Mountain and Sea, and Poultry Eight Treasures, with two rounds in total, the first round competing is Sea Eight Treasures. Each round is limited to 2 hours; exceeding the time limit results in failure. Both sides are asked to prepare, the official start is in ten minutes!"

With that, Liao Jie and Zhao Hui each pulled up to their workstation.

Meanwhile, in Lin Xian's mind, the long-awaited system prompt sounded.

"Ding"

"Congratulations Host for completing Task Third Round!"

[Imperial Banquet]

Task First Round completed! Evaluation: S

Task Second Round completed! Evaluation: A+

Task Third Round completed! Evaluation: S+

Task Fourth Round, Imperial Banquet held smoothly, next up, Host, please enjoy and savor

the six delicacies!

Task Progress: 81

Final Reward: ??? (dependent on task evaluation)

Finally, onto the last round!