Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 173 Chef Competition
The chef competition has begun. The head of the judging panel is a famous gourmet in Hong Kong Island, and everyone calls him Mr. Gu.

Mr. Gu was explaining the rules of the competition. The competition time was 40 minutes, which was based on the cooking time of Hong Kong Island's most famous signature dish, roast goose. Ten judges would score the contestants together, with five categories, color, aroma, taste, shape and taste, with each category scoring 10 points. The winner would be the one with the highest score.

Then Mr. Gu announced the start of the competition and started the timing.

Yan Jiekuang was looking for the kitchen of Tan's Restaurant to see if Lou Xiao'e had arrived. When he saw the poster of the first mate of Tan's Restaurant, Yan Jiekuang saw three people busy at work. At this time, someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder.

Yan Jiekuang turned around and saw that it was Lou Xiaoe. Yan Jiekuang said, "You are so old, but you are still so playful."

Lou Xiaoe rolled her eyes and said, "Just now, the head and deputy head of your delegation went out to discuss something with my father. I didn't see you. The head said you were here, and I looked for you for a long time."

"Well, let's go to the audience seats and watch." Yan Jiekuang said.

The two went to the audience seats, and Lou Xiao'e kept asking about the situation on the field, because she knew that Yan Jiekuang was the most professional and it would be right to ask him.

Yan Jiekuang asked Lou Xiaoe, "Why did your restaurant choose the dish of braised shark's fin?"

Lou Xiaoe said: "You don't know, this is the favorite dish of Hong Kong Islanders, it's just a little expensive, so it's very popular."

Yan Jiekuang said: "That must be your uncle, his technique is very sophisticated and authentic."

Lou Xiao'e was very proud and said, "My uncle and my mother have discussed this. My uncle's cooking skills are the most authentic among all the brothers. By the way, what kind of dishes will your chef Yu make?"

Yan Jiekuang took a look and said, "It seems that Chef Yu also wanted to come up with a surprise. He really put in a lot of effort. Knowing that Hong Kong Island loves sweets, he made squirrel mandarin fish."

Lou Xiao'e asked, "Why didn't you do it for me before? Were you hiding it from me?"

Yan Jiekuang said, "No way, I'll find mandarin fish for you somewhere else."

Lou Xiao'e watched the competition venue with great interest, asking questions here and there, and Yan Jiekuang answered them one by one.

Suddenly, an old lady next to him touched Yan Jiekuang. Yan Jiekuang turned around and asked, "Grandma, what's the matter?"

The old lady smiled and said, "You are from the inland area. You look very professional. Can you tell me which one will win?"

Lou Xiao'e also became interested and looked at Yan Jiekuang. Yan Jiekuang thought for a moment and said, "In fact, all the masters performed very well. They are all experienced masters with excellent skills. Who will win in the end?"

Yan Jiekuang paused for a moment, leaving the question in suspense. Lou Xiaoe couldn't stand it anymore and urged him, "Hurry up and tell me."

Yan Jiekuang said: "When the color, aroma, taste and shape are almost the same, in the end, the golden roc spreading its wings at Tan's Restaurant has a better meaning, which means that Hong Kong Island is soaring into the sky. This idea must have come from Uncle Lou."

Lou Xiao'e stared and said, "You can guess this, but I also think that Tan's Restaurant is better. Hey, where is the old lady?"

Yan Jiekuang then realized that the old lady was missing. He was very confused, but Lou Xiaoe's eyes lit up and she said, "I know where she went. Wait for me for a while." After that, she turned around and trotted away.

Yan Jiekuang became even more confused and couldn't figure it out, so he just continued watching the game.

The competition went smoothly. The most exciting moment came when all the dishes were placed on the long table in front of the jury. The ten judges tasted the dishes carefully and then returned to their seats to give scores to the chefs. The organizing committee was also very considerate and divided the extra dishes into small portions for the audience to taste.

At the last moment, Yan Jiekuang saw Lou Xiao'e and the old lady had returned, looking at the rostrum intently.

After a while, Mr. Gu walked to the center, picked up the microphone, and said, "All the chefs are top-notch. They have given full play to their abilities. It was really wonderful. You have tasted the dishes. What do you think?" The audience cheered unanimously. Mr. Gu said, "Since it is a competition, we have to see who is better. Now I declare that the winner is 'Yi Fei Chong Tian' from Tan's Restaurant."

There was warm applause and cheers from the audience, and Yan Jiekuang found that the two people on his left and right were working particularly hard.

The dishes at Tan's Restaurant are first-rate. What's more important is that Tan's cuisine coincides with Hong Kong Island's cuisine, both of which focus on health preservation. Besides, Chairman Lou has a lot of ideas, and he came up with the idea of ​​wishing Hong Kong Island to soar, which makes him one step ahead of others.

Yan Jiekuang was not surprised. The preparation of the broth was something that Lou Tan and himself had worked out after many years of thinking about. He did not believe that anyone could surpass the broth of Tan's dishes. He was just puzzled as to why Lou Xiao'e was so excited.

It was not until the end of the game that Lou Xiao'e dragged Yan Jiekuang to the nearby gambling house to exchange the odds. Yan Jiekuang then realized that these small gambling houses in Hong Kong had all offered odds. The odds of Tan's Restaurant were not high, but because there were top chefs from the mainland participating, they gave a three-to-one odds. This time, Lou Xiao'e won.

Lou Xiao'e took the money she won and went straight to the parking lot with Yan Jiekuang. While walking, Lou Xiao'e told Yan Jiekuang that the old lady had eavesdropped on their conversation and thought what he said was very professional, so she asked a question. When she heard Yan Jiekuang say that Tan's Restaurant would win, the old lady firmly believed Yan Jiekuang and went directly to the casino to place her bets.

Yan Jiekuang was at a loss whether to laugh or cry when he heard this, and said, "Tell me about this good news, I'll also take part in it."

Lou Xiao'e was so happy that she was laughing so hard that she was laughing. Yan Jiekuang asked, "How much did you bet?"

"Ten thousand Hong Kong dollars, and I earned twenty thousand." Lou Xiao'e said proudly.

Yan Jiekuang said: "If you bet 10 million, can't you earn 20 million?"

Lou Xiao'e looked at Yan Jiekuang as if he were an idiot and said, "If I really bet ten million, the champion will definitely not be from Tan's Restaurant. Are you stupid?"

Yan Jiekuang thought about it and understood it instantly. This idea was really stupid.

After the two got in the car, Lou Xiao'e asked, "Are you going back home?"

Yan Jiekuang said, "Not today. Chef Yu failed, and everyone in the group must be on high alert. I'd better stay in the hotel. We have strict management over there, and I can't let anyone find fault with me again."

Lou Xiao'e nodded and then said, "You must come home before you leave the day after tomorrow. My mother said so."

Yan Jiekuang agreed. When they arrived at the hotel, Yan Jiekuang said goodbye to Lou Xiaoe and walked straight into the hotel.

When he arrived at the room, he realized that he was the first one to return. No one else in the group had returned yet. Yan Jiekuang just stayed in the hotel obediently, waiting for instructions from the group.

Before he knew it, it was past eight in the evening. Yan Jiekuang had a simple dinner in the restaurant. At this time, Wang Qing came back first. He was surprised to see Yan Jiekuang and said, "I was thinking that someone was missing. Why did you come back first? Today, the wealthy group here invited us to dinner and chat."

Yan Jiekuang was stunned and said, "No one notified me. I watched the game and came back when I saw no one was around."

Wang Qing suddenly became excited again and started to talk to Yan Jiekuang about who the rich people were, what business they were in, where they ate, what dishes they had, etc.

Finally, Yan Jiekuang got a little annoyed and said, "You must be tired. Go take a shower first. You still have activities tomorrow. Go to bed early so that you will be energetic tomorrow."

Wang Qing suddenly realized and said, "Yes, there are important things to do tomorrow, so hurry up and rest. You go to sleep first, and I'll go take a shower."

Yan Jiekuang shook his head, turned over in bed, turned his back to Wang Qing's bed, and slowly closed his eyes.

(End of this chapter)