The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 157 Astonishing Scale

Ah~ I'm full!

Zhao Qian leaned back lazily in her chair, one hand patting her slightly protruding belly. "I told you there was good food at Qin Lang's place..."

She suddenly realized something halfway through her sentence and shut her mouth.

Ok?
Qin Lang raised an eyebrow, his gaze towards Zhao Qian now tinged with a hint of mockery.

"Someone even said I'm shameless, but this is called the thief crying 'stop thief!'" Cao Dongdong chuckled, exposing Zhao Qian's pretense. "This morning, you were the one who dragged me here to wait outside Qin Lang's room."

Having her truth exposed, Zhao Qian blushed, then snorted and turned her head to the side.

"Let's rest for a bit, then we should head to the Spirit Chef Association." Qin Lang smiled and changed the subject. "We agreed yesterday that we'd register for travel today and also sign up for the cooking competition."

“Speaking of which, I made a special inquiry.” Cao Dongdong’s expression turned serious. “I heard that the number of people who signed up for this cooking competition is very large, conservatively estimated to be over 20,000.”

"Twenty thousand?!" Qin Lang and Zhao Qian couldn't help but widen their eyes.

It's important to know that anyone who can participate in a cooking competition must at least be quite confident in their culinary skills.

How could 20,000 people register for the competition when the age limit for registration was 20 years old?
"It seems this competition is on a larger scale than I imagined," Qin Lang murmured to himself. "No wonder they've brought out such rare ingredients."

"What I'm more curious about is what kind of competition format will be used to allow more than 20,000 contestants to advance," Zhao Qian said with a curious expression.

"We should need to go through a preliminary round first," Qin Lang said casually. "We should be able to find out the specific competition rules when we register."

“That’s true.” Zhao Qian nodded.

"Oh, right." Qin Lang suddenly remembered something, casually pulled out the ninth hand-drawn picture from his pocket, and handed it to Cao Dongdong. "Any clues?"

"Another new painting?" Cao Dongdong exclaimed. "And this time there are living creatures in the painting!"

"A living creature?!" Zhao Qian's eyes widened as she curiously approached, then looked at Qin Lang. "Could this be another rare spirit?"

Qin Lang shrugged, indicating that he didn't know either.

"If it really is a rare spirit, I won't miss it this time!" Cao Dongdong's face showed anticipation and excitement.

He wasn't there when Qin Lang won the little chubby chicken last time.

"It might not even be a rare spirit; it could be a food spirit," Qin Lang said, half-laughing and half-crying. "The key is the environment!"

“Oh right!” Cao Dongdong nodded, carefully looking at the background environment in the painting, and stroked his chin. “Judging from the picture, this is a rice field.”

"This is the season when rice ripens. Rice fields like the one in the painting can be found in many places in Tianhua Prefecture. If you look at the entire Dongyun region, there are countless examples."

"What if we target Danju City?" Qin Lang asked.

He has just completed a check-in in Danju City, and according to the usual pattern of the Traveler's Book, the next painting will basically be within the Danju City area.

“Danju City…” Cao Dongdong stroked his chin, then suddenly remembered something, “If it’s Danju City, then I do know a place.”

"Although it is not the only rice paddy in Danju City, it is the largest rice-growing area."

"Where is it?" Qin Lang's eyes lit up.

From a probabilistic perspective, the largest rice paddy is naturally the most likely spot for taking photos.

“That place is called Fengshou Terraces,” Cao Dongdong smiled. “It’s one of the well-known grain supply points in Tianhua Prefecture.”

“I visited it during my last trip.”

"It's spectacular!"

Terraced fields yielding bountiful harvests…

Qin Lang memorized the name, his eyes shining with anticipation.

Will the fairy in the painting be there?
"In that case, let's go there and take a look after we sign up!" Zhao Qian glanced at Qin Lang's expression and knew what he was thinking, so she smiled and offered. Qin Lang took a deep breath and stood up.

"Let's go now!"
-

"Your travel registration is complete. Welcome to Danju City."

"This is your Spirit Chef badge, please keep it safe~"

"Thank you." Qin Lang said his thanks and put away the badge that symbolized his identity as a Spirit Chef.

"Let's go to the registration point now!" Cao Dongdong, who had already completed his travel registration, quickly said, "I just found out that the registration for the competition closes tomorrow."

“We’ve come at just the right time.”

"Then let's hurry up." Qin Lang nodded and followed Cao Dongdong and Zhao Qian, hurrying towards the registration point.

As the three arrived, a short figure walked out of the registration point and bumped into Cao Dongdong, who was walking in front.

"Oh!"

The other person instinctively gasped and fell to the ground.

She was a little girl with golden curly hair, her bangs covering one eye, wearing a fluffy blue dress, looking like a delicate porcelain doll.

"Sorry, sorry!" Cao Dongdong quickly apologized, extending his hand to the other person, "Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself anywhere?"

"It's okay!" The girl spoke quickly, without taking Cao Dongdong's hand, and got up on her own, then glared at Cao Dongdong.

Be more careful when you walk next time!

After saying that, she quickly walked past Qin Lang and the other two.

Zhao Qian turned her head and looked thoughtfully at the other person's departing figure.

"Zhao Qian, what's wrong?" Qin Lang asked.

“No…” Zhao Qian shook her head, “I just felt that the girl’s voice sounded a little familiar.”

"It must be my imagination," Cao Dongdong shrugged. "Let's go, let's go register."

On the other side, the doll-like girl quickly passed through the gate of the Spirit Chef Association and soon circled around to a secluded corner.

"So, did you successfully register?" Liu Chuang couldn't help but ask.

"Kukuuku~"

Lomi grinned, took off her golden wig to reveal a head of pink and blue highlighted hair, "It's just a fake identity as a spirit chef."

"With this beautiful girl taking action, it's naturally a piece of cake!"

"Amazing!" Liu Chuang gave Luo Mi a thumbs up. "As long as Qin Lang and the others don't recognize us, we've succeeded!"

“Speaking of which,” Luo Mi suddenly remembered something after hearing Liu Chuang’s words, “I just saw them when I was registering.”

"Huh?" Liu Chuang exclaimed in surprise, "They didn't recognize you, did they?"

"Of course not." Lomi put her hands on her hips. "This beautiful girl's makeup skills are the best in the world!"

"That's good." Liu Chuang breathed a sigh of relief.

“But speaking of which…” Lomi’s tone shifted, a thoughtful glint appearing in her eyes, “Qin Lang is also participating in the competition, so would I have a chance to compete with him in cooking?”

"Kukuuku~"

"As the number one genius beauty in the universe, I will never lose!"

(End of this chapter)