The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 202 Yang Xingze's Visit
The losers in the semifinals will also compete in the finals to determine the third-place finisher, while the winners in the winners' bracket will determine the champion and runner-up.

At this moment, amidst the tense wait of countless spectators, Cao Feng, the food recommender responsible for calling a halt, shouted, "Stop!"

The scrolling entries came to an abrupt halt.

[Finals Losers' Bracket: Liu Jing vs. Ellie, Theme: Vegetables]

[Final Winners' Bracket: Qin Lang vs. Du Ziyan, Subject: Rice]

As the scrolling of the entries ended, gasps of surprise erupted from the audience.

"Rice?!" Cao Dongdong stared in astonishment, then turned to Qin Lang with delight, "This time it's fried rice with eggs, we've got it!"

"Gulu!"

Egg Baby couldn't help but show an excited expression.

"But is there really enough fried rice?" Zhao Qian asked worriedly. "Qin Lang's opponent is Du Ziyan!"

While the fried rice was impressive, both the cooking steps and the ingredients were too simple. Using it to compete against Du Ziyan was too hasty, wasn't it?

“That’s true…” Cao Dongdong scratched his head in distress, then suddenly thought of something and his eyes lit up, “That’s it, use premium eggs!”

"If we use premium eggs, even fried rice will taste absolutely delicious, and we'll definitely win!"

"If the quality of ingredients alone can determine the outcome of a cooking competition, then such a competition is far too frivolous." Qin Lang shook his head, both amused and exasperated. "I probably won't be using fried rice for the finals."

"As for what to do... I already have an idea."

There are only a few types of dishes made with rice as the main ingredient, and Qin Lang already had an idea almost the moment the subject matter was decided.

Fried rice with egg is obviously not enough to win.

But if it's an upgraded version of fried rice, that should be enough.
-
"Lomi, don't be sad."

Outside the arena, Liu Chuang, panting, caught up with Lomi, who had left without waiting for the match results to be announced. "Qin Lang's success this time was purely by chance!"

"If that food recommender hadn't voted for Qin Lang, you would have won!" Liu Chuang said angrily. "He didn't even give a reason for voting; he definitely had ulterior motives!"

"Right, that is it!"

"I heard he's in charge of the Fengshou Terraces. I'm going to blow them up to avenge you!"

Lomi stopped and turned to look at Liu Chuang. "Then you go."

"Ah..." Liu Chuang scratched his head awkwardly, "I was just saying, it wouldn't be good to bomb their terraced fields, would it..."

"Pfft!" Lomi couldn't help but laugh out loud, took off her wig, and threw it into Liu Chuang's arms. "Alright, I'm not sad."

"Huh? Really?" Liu Chuang's eyes widened. "I thought you'd come out before even announcing the results, I thought..."

"Idiot, keep your voice down." Lomi lowered her voice and glanced at the distance. "Look over there."

“…Huh?” Liu Chuang followed Luo Mi’s gaze, then his expression changed slightly. “It’s them?”

Standing not far away were Qiao Na and Hu Chong, members of the treasure hunting team who had met Liu Chuang and Luo Mi once before.

The two had also changed their clothes and were looking furtively in a certain direction, unaware of Lomi and her companion's presence.

Lomi had noticed the two earlier at the arena. Although she didn't know their purpose in sneaking into the arena, she followed them as soon as she saw them leave.

"What are they doing?" Liu Chuang blinked. Lomi snorted, "Who cares? They're unlucky to have run into me! I'm in a bad mood today, I'm going to sneak up on them and give them a good beating!"

"...Didn't you say you weren't sad?"

"...If you say another word, I'll beat you up too!"

"No, they've moved!" Liu Chuang quickly changed the subject. Just then, Qiao Na and the other two made a new move, and the two secretly followed behind.

When Qiao Na and the other person stopped, Liu Chuang and Luo Mi followed their gaze to another spot outside the arena and couldn't help but gasp.

"They're looking at Qin Lang?!"
-
"Qin Lang!"

A familiar voice called out to Qin Lang and his three companions, who were about to leave the stadium and return to their hotel.

Qin Lang turned his head and saw Yang Xingze running over, panting heavily, and immediately showed a surprised expression.

"How did you come?"

"I...I came to watch your match." Yang Xingze scratched his head. "Congratulations on advancing to the finals, you're really amazing!"

Although he was eliminated in the preliminary rounds, Yang Xingze had been following the progress of the cooking competition and had been watching Qin Lang's performance closely.

"Thank you." Qin Lang smiled, then asked, "How is Auntie's health?"

Yang Xingze paused for a moment, then quickly said, "It's a little better than before, but he still needs to rest in bed for a while."

"That's good." Qin Lang nodded in relief. "I haven't seen you for a while. I said I'd teach you how to cook, why didn't you come looking for me?"

“…Huh?” Yang Xingze was taken aback again upon hearing this.

The last time he found Zhenling in his own farmland, he told Qin Lang that he wanted to keep Zhenling, and he thought that Qin Lang would distance himself from him because of this.

To my utter surprise, Qin Lang didn't seem to care about this at all. Upon meeting her, he immediately inquired about her mother's condition and even mentioned teaching her how to cook again.

Yang Xingze was somewhat touched. After meeting Qin Lang's gaze, he scratched his head and said, "This period is crucial for the competition, and I'm afraid it will affect your performance..."

"No, not at all." Qin Lang smiled. "I just finished the semi-finals, and the finals are in four days. There's no time like the present, so let's do it now."

"Thank you...wait a minute!" Yang Xingze was touched, but he quickly remembered the purpose of his visit to Qin Lang.

"The reason I'm calling you this time is because my family's rice fields are about to be harvested." Yang Xingze paused slightly at this point, "You told me before that you wanted me to tell you in advance."

Upon hearing this, Qin Lang, Cao Dongdong, and Zhao Qian all widened their eyes. Yu Zaozao apologized to the live stream audience and promptly ended the broadcast.

Rice harvest!

The last time they went to Yang Xingze's house, they found a rare spirit in Yang Xingze's rice field. According to their guess, as long as the rice field is completely harvested, the rare spirit will have nowhere to hide.

Will we finally see that rare spirit again?
Everyone couldn't help but show expressions of anticipation.

"In that case, let's go to your house then," Qin Lang said with a smile. "Perfect timing, after we've seen that rare spirit, I'll teach you how to cook."

The ninth painting check-in is not yet complete. This time, the rare spirit has nowhere to hide, and Qin Lang is confident that he can successfully complete the check-in.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Cao Dongdong waved excitedly. "I didn't even get a good look at that rare spirit last time!"

"This time, I'm going to take a closer look at what it looks like!"

(End of this chapter)