As expected of someone who was once carefully groomed for years as Si Jing's successor, he truly had some skills.
The culinary world also had a sense of respecting strength.
Previously, when it came to the incident between him and his master, many people stood by idly.
They didn't want to offend the elder members of the circle for the sake of a young man.
But if he had this level of cooking skill, that would be a different story altogether.
Not only did Liu Chef approve, but the other 9 judges were also impressed.
This meant that no matter where Jiang Xun went,
He already had a bright future ahead of him. The second dish was decided by drawing lots.
Jiang Xun drew "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall," and then everyone brought over the prepared ingredients for him.
The ingredients provided by the TV station were certainly not as luxurious as what he might have prepared himself.
But the basic components of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall—small ham, fish maw, dried bamboo shoots, and pork belly—were all there.
There was only a two-hour time limit on site. This put considerable pressure on Jiang Xun.
The slow-cooking process was crucial for Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.
Due to the limitations of ingredients and time, this second round of competition was much more challenging than the first video round. This was the elimination round to narrow down from 50 to 40 contestants.
Some others drew simple home-style dishes.
Some drew specific dishes from the eight major Chinese cuisines, which made everyone even more nervous.
Jiang Xun picked up the knife skillfully and began to cut. His knife skills were impeccable, showcasing solid fundamentals.
The ingredients were neatly arranged.
Finally, he placed them one by one into the clay pot and started cooking on low heat. However, the cooking time for each ingredient varied, so he set his timer accordingly.
To create a golden, thick, and sweet broth, combined with the freshness of various ingredients,
And to remove any unpleasant odors,
Was inherently quite challenging.
Add to that the two-hour time limit,
And making Buddha Jumps Over the Wall became somewhat nerve-wracking.
It usually takes at least four hours to fully bring out the rich flavors.
Just an hour and a half had passed.
When the aroma began to playfully escape from the edges of the pot.
It spread wildly throughout the entire venue.
There were three people in total who had drawn Buddha Jumps Over the Wall this time.
The tantalizing aroma made many of the TV station staff's stomachs growl.
They truly experienced the power of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, understanding why it earned such a name.
A chef nearby whispered to Liu Chef, "Just smelling this, you know it's a sure thing."
"This young man is really impressive. Has he agreed to go to Starry Sky Kindergarten?" the person probed indirectly.
This competition was hosted by Starry Sky Kindergarten.
It was also to select chefs for the opening of their second branch.
This wasn't a secret in their circle.
If even they were impressed by someone like Jiang Xun, let alone Liu Chef.
Liu Chef knew this was his old friend testing him. He gave a vague reply, "Hmm, hmm."
Then quickly changed the subject.
While they were talking, others were listening intently. Hearing Liu Chef's response, they were slightly disappointed. They then turned their attention back to the other contestants, hoping to find some other promising talents.
Then they noticed the dessert girl.
Earlier, for the braised abalone dish, she had made sliced abalone in sauce. It was flavorful,
But the presentation wasn't traditional enough. So she didn't score very high.
This time she had drawn Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and everyone became curious. They wanted to know how she would approach it.
What happened next left everyone stunned.
She actually recreated Buddha Jumps Over the Wall as a cake.
Netizens were all bewildered: "Is this even allowed?"
"Isn't this exploiting a loophole in the rules?"
"Whatever you think, you have to admit it's impressive."
"Her Buddha Jumps Over the Wall looks exactly like the real thing, but it's actually a sweet cake. Somehow, I still feel like it would go well with a bowl of rice."
"Just how skilled is this girl? She's amazing!"
"If it were me, I would never have thought of such an idea."
"Didn't you all do your research before coming? This girl has been praised by world-renowned pastry masters and has participated in international competitions before."
"Wow, this is the first time I'm hearing about this."
Everyone was shocked by the dessert girl's bold move.
Then, when no one was paying attention, a staff member quietly called Shen Wei aside.
As Shen Wei stood up, Liu Chef noticed.
Shen Wei said, "It's nothing, I'll just go check it out."
Only then did Liu Chef relax.
When Shen Wei went over, she saw Little Mei.
Little Mei had a serious expression and said, "I'm sorry!" This matter was a bit difficult for her to bring up.
Shen Wei immediately said, "Is it about the title sponsor issue?"
Little Mei was surprised by Shen Wei's sharp intuition.
She had discovered the problem so quickly after it had just occurred.
Knowing it couldn't be hidden anymore, she said, "Yes!" Then she explained the situation with the deputy station director's unilateral decision.
"I'm not telling you this to seek your forgiveness, but to try and resolve this issue!"
Lin Rui had a fiery temper, and Little Mei feared the situation would be hard to control if she found out.
The current popularity had far exceeded their expectations.
The number of online fans had surged by 300,000, which was a significant force for an old-guard TV station that had fallen out of the top 10.
Many sister stations had started sending congratulatory messages.
This was exactly the goal she had hoped to achieve from the beginning.
The deputy station director's actions made it difficult for her to face her old friends.
As they were talking, Lin Rui's voice suddenly rose, "What do you mean? Our title sponsor has been changed?" Her voice was extremely cold.
Little Mei's surprised reaction confirmed Lin Rui's guess.
Then Lin Rui's anger erupted, "I was coming over to say hello when I overheard you talking. And what did I hear?"
The contract had been signed very carefully initially.
She could have done it herself.
She had freely given the TV station a boost in popularity. Now they were abandoning her after using her.
Little Mei said, "It's not like that!"
It was actually an internal matter that had affected external affairs.
Now that things had gone wrong, she had to come and clean up the mess.
Little Mei suggested, "Why don't we arrange a dinner with the deputy station director to resolve this issue?"
She still wanted to use a more gentle approach to solve the problem. She was at her wit's end now.
The old station director couldn't be reached, and the deputy director was arrogant and domineering. Now that Lin Rui was angry, her gaze became increasingly pleading. After all, they had grown up together since childhood. She had to give her some face.
Lin Rui was very angry, but seeing Little Mei's pleading look, she said, "Fine. I'll give him this one chance."
She then said to Shen Wei, "Don't worry about this." She had long since prepared for every contingency. If things went smoothly, that would be ideal. If not, she had ten thousand ways to deal with them.
Fortunately, she hadn't relied solely on goodwill when signing the contract. These days, anyone could potentially be a scammer.
When they initially signed the contract, it had been extremely detailed.
She never expected to actually encounter a situation where a big business would bully its customers. Since that was the case, she'd teach them a lesson.
