Chapter 405: The Derailed Scene

Chapter 405: Chapter 405: The Derailed Scene

No one knew what was in all those bottles, jars, and packages, but Ji Huan’s suddenly confident demeanor piqued the onlookers’ curiosity.

"Are those the seasonings she was talking about? So if your cooking is bad, these can make it taste good?"

"Who knows? I think her shop sells seasonings. They invited me to take a look last time, but I didn’t go in..."

"Oh! Now that’s the good stuff!"

A round-faced woman, who had just painstakingly squeezed her way through the crowd, saw what was happening on the stage. When she heard everyone talking about seasonings, she became instantly excited.

"On her shop’s opening day, I bought some thirteen-spice and five-spice powder. When I got home, my husband gave me an earful, saying I’m always falling for scams.

But I refused to believe him, so I followed the shop owner’s instructions and stewed a pot of meat. Oh, the aroma was incredible! Before the pot was even off the stove, my kids were all crowding into the kitchen. And in the end, my husband was the one who ate the most!

Oh! And they gave me half a packet of Numbing and Spicy Seasoning for free. It’s delicious in stir-fries, too—perfectly tingly and hot. My kids love it. They used to complain every day that my cooking was awful, but now they start clamoring that they’re hungry before it’s even mealtime, rushing me to cook."

"Sounds like you’re just a good cook!"

The round-faced woman scoffed. "You can laugh if you want, but my cooking is the worst. But the owner said it’s not like we’re opening restaurants. We don’t need profound skills. As long as you have the basics and know how to use a few clever shortcuts, anyone can make delicious home-cooked meals."

"Really?"

The crowd around her was mostly women. For them, spending their days in the kitchen and entertaining guests, being able to cook well was incredibly important.

Yet, just like the round-faced woman, some people could spend decades in the kitchen and their food would still be terrible, as if they were born without the knack for it.

If this shop’s seasonings were truly that magical... the women who weren’t skilled cooks were suddenly tempted.

Even the skilled cooks felt a stir of curiosity. After all, who wouldn’t want to make their good cooking even better?

The round-faced woman’s eyes widened. "Why would I lie about that? I live right on Chunliu Lane; you can go and ask around. Besides, she’s about to use them now. If you don’t believe me, you can just taste the result for yourselves!"

"Quiet, quiet!" someone shushed them. "It’s starting on stage."

The second dish was Pot-Roasted Pork, and the preparation was also very simple.

The pork was boiled with the skin on, then briefly seared in a hot wok with sesame oil. Afterward, it was cut into pieces the size of mahjong tiles. Too large, and it wouldn’t cook through or absorb flavor well. Too small, and it would shrink and fall apart, ruining the presentation.

After that, the only seasoning needed was salt.

In ancient times, when seasonings were scarce, this was the most common way of preparing it.

Anyone could make this dish. The difference lay in the chef’s knife skills, their control over the heat, and one other critical element: the dipping sauce.

The dipping sauce prepared by the chef was a small dish of homemade light sauce.

Ji Huan, in contrast, took a very different approach to both the cooking method and the dipping sauce.

First, she skipped the searing step entirely, simply retrieving the pork, which had been boiled before the competition, from a basin.

But this pork hadn’t just been boiled through. It had been cooked until it was about eighty percent done, then soaked in its own broth for a full two-hour period.

Next, she abandoned the traditional mahjong tile-sized chunks, opting instead for thin slices.

The streaky pork belly was cut into large, paper-thin slices that were practically translucent, yet soft, springy, and moist. Served at room temperature, it was meant to be eaten with a dip of soy sauce and minced garlic for a unique flavor.

That’s right. Instead of the light sauce, Ji Huan had prepared a dipping dish of soy sauce mixed with salt and minced garlic.

She also prepared a second dip with aged vinegar, sesame oil, and minced garlic, offering another flavor option.

Strictly speaking, her method had gone completely off-topic. This wasn’t Pot-Roasted Pork; it was White-Cut Pork.

’But... well, they’re more or less the same, right?’

After the dishes were taken down to the crowd for tasting, the chef’s expression grew grave, a stark contrast to Ji Huan’s calm and unbothered air.

’He knew that according to the plan, he was supposed to lose this round.’

He had even asked Ji Huan beforehand if he should go easy on her.

Not only had Ji Huan said no, but she’d also told him to perform at his absolute best.

Her certainty left a bad taste in his mouth.

’The seasonings were certainly a powerful aid, but to believe he’d actually be defeated by a little girl...’

But believe it or not, the results from the crowd below were already making it clear.

At first, when the Pot-Roasted Pork was brought down, it was quite popular.

The crispy pork skin wasn’t greasy at all; it was tender, springy, and smooth. Dipped in the light sauce, it was full of flavor.

’But he knew that any meat dish would be popular as long as it wasn’t terrible.’

This was especially true when his dish was compared to Ji Huan’s.

Because Ji Huan’s White-Cut Pork, with its soy and vinegar dips, wasn’t just popular—it caused an outright scramble.

There was a gourmand in the crowd, a man who had eaten his way through every restaurant and tavern in Yeyang and had an exceptionally picky palate.

He had only been passing by and hadn’t intended to join the hubbub, but the crowd was so thick he found himself stuck in the middle.

When the first dish was brought before him, he didn’t care if it was Ji Huan’s or the chef’s. A single glance was enough for his brow to furrow so deeply you could kill a fly in the crease.

He didn’t even bother to taste it and lost all interest in seeing the second dish.

To his surprise, however, the people around him who tried the second dish all exclaimed how delicious it was. They took one bite and immediately went for a second, so fast that the server carrying the tray couldn’t stop them.

His curiosity piqued, he couldn’t resist picking up a slice for himself.

Between the two dipping saucers, he chose the darker one.

The pale meat was coated in the dark sauce. He popped it into his mouth, chewed once, and his eyes flew wide open.

’Salty, savory, a hint of spice, and a rich garlic aroma... Delicious!’

’It wasn’t just delicious, it was made with incredible skill!’

He dropped all pretense. Like a starving tiger pouncing on its prey, he rolled up his sleeves and lunged forward to join the scramble.

In the end, he only managed to snatch one more thin slice. He placed it in his mouth reverently, almost unwilling to chew.

It was self-evident who had won this round.

The chef was already convinced of his defeat, but the show had to go on.

"AHEM!" He coughed loudly to draw everyone’s attention, then put on a look of extreme displeasure and pointed an accusing finger at Ji Huan. "You won this round unfairly!"

Before Ji Huan could even speak, people in the crowd started shouting.

"Hey, what kind of person are you? Can’t you admit it when you lose? Her food was simply more delicious than yours."

"Exactly! And you call yourself a master chef? Where’s your sense of sportsmanship?"

A chorus of agreement rose from the crowd, with the gourmand being the most vocal of all.

So many people were speaking up for Ji Huan, likely out of an instinct to side with the underdog. Plus, she was just a young girl; people would have been reluctant to criticize her even if she had done poorly, let alone when her White-Cut Pork was so stunningly good.

The chef instantly became the target of public scorn. His face flushed red as he retorted, struggling to maintain his composure, "We agreed beforehand to compete on culinary skill! Her own technique is lacking. She only won this round by using an external aid, a cheap trick! If that’s not an unfair victory, what is?"

"She didn’t get help from anyone! What external aid are you talking about?"

"The seasonings! She used the seasonings from her own shop!" the chef shouted, angrily pointing at the array of bottles and jars at Ji Huan’s station.

Aside from the round-faced woman and those around her, most people had no idea what these "seasonings" were.

Even the round-faced woman herself wasn’t sure what was in the soy and vinegar dips, since she hadn’t bought those particular items on her last visit.

"Hey! Who cares if it’s a white cat or a black cat; if it catches mice, it’s a good cat! What does it matter what she used? If you’re so great, why don’t you use them too!"

"Exactly! An old man like you, acting with no grace! A loss is a loss, stop trying to blame Zhang San and Li Si..."

The person who said this seemed to have forgotten that when Ji Huan lost the first round, she had also made excuses for herself.

Watching the uproarious crowd, Manager Hong broke out in an anxious sweat.

’This is getting out of control! It’s not going according to plan at all.’

According to their plan, the chef was supposed to taunt Ji Huan, she would "fall into the trap," and then it would be a natural transition for both of them to use the seasonings in the third round.

The crowd wasn’t supposed to get this involved.

’Even if they did, shouldn’t they be siding with the chef and questioning her? After all, Ji Huan’s performance in the first round was so poor, and now she’s suddenly made this huge comeback...’

’As things stood, if he couldn’t get the situation under control, or if something went wrong in the next round, their chef—and perhaps the entire Hongfu Restaurant—would be ruined!’