The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 231 Seeing Zhou Qing Again
That's all for today.

At the entrance of the Royal Chef Association, Cao Dongdong waved to Qin Lang and Zhao Qian, "I still have some of the dough and puff pastry I've been proofing to process."

"I promised to let my parents try my current cooking skills, but I got wind of it halfway through and sneaked out." Cao Dongdong chuckled as he said this.

"You rascal," Qin Lang shook his head, both amused and exasperated. "If you're going to make desserts, just do it properly. You actually sneaked out halfway through."

"I was just worried you guys would do something without me again. Besides, it's good that you take a little longer to wake up." Cao Dongdong shrugged, then suddenly remembered something and looked at Qin Lang and Zhao Qian.

"Oh, by the way, before I left, my dad asked me to invite you to my house for a casual meal tomorrow."

"An invitation from Uncle?" Qin Lang was somewhat surprised.

Zhao Qian, standing to the side, seemed even more flustered. "Is this... appropriate?"

“Of course it’s suitable.” Cao Dongdong chuckled.

"Although I was eliminated in the second round and couldn't let my parents see my wonderful performance in the competition, my dad was very satisfied with my progress after seeing the three Food Recommender badges I received."

“He feels that this is all due to the influence you have brought, so he wants to thank you…” Cao Dongdong paused here, “If all else fails, you can just treat it as a free feast, that old Deng is very rich.”

Hearing Cao Dongdong address his father, Qin Lang and the other man couldn't help but smile.

"Tomorrow should be fine." Qin Lang pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"I'm fine," Zhao Qian nodded, then scratched her head nervously. "Should I prepare a gift?"

"Dongdong's father is very approachable," Qin Lang smiled. "If you're going to prepare anything, could you prepare some of your own homemade beef?"

"Great idea!" Zhao Qian's eyes lit up, and she gave Qin Lang a thumbs up. "Then I'll go prepare it in a bit."

"The beef will absorb more flavor if it sits overnight."

"Alright, I've delivered the message, I'm off." Cao Dongdong chuckled, waved to Qin Lang and the other man, and hailed a taxi to go home.

"I need to hurry and buy some beef to prepare," Zhao Qian said, sounding eager. "Qin Lang, do you have anything to do later?"

"I still have some things to take care of." Qin Lang smiled. "It seems we'll probably have to split up."

"Okay, fine." Zhao Qian nodded understandingly.

Watching Zhao Qian leave, Qin Lang stretched and looked at Danbao and Lala, "Let's go, I'll take you somewhere."

"If you're lucky, you might even meet an interesting senior."
-
On a walkway without railings along the Xiayun River, a gaunt old man wearing a straw hat sat on a folding stool.

He held the fishing rod in his hand, his eyes focused on the gently swaying float on the river ahead, a look of anticipation in his eyes.

Suddenly, the float seemed to move somewhat unusually, causing a sharp glint to flash in the old man's cloudy eyes.

Based on his years of fishing experience, he knew that a fish was approaching the bait.

The fish is about to bite!
The old man's breathing suddenly quickened. He silently gripped the fishing rod with both hands, tightening his grip. As soon as the float started to shake violently, he would strike immediately and use his skillful fishing technique to catch a silver carp.

That's right, it can only be a silver carp!
This reflects the old man's absolute confidence in his many years of experience in baiting. Before leaving home today, to prevent any backstabbing from his own son, he even checked the bait he used for baiting several times to ensure that there would be no mistakes.

Under the old man's tense gaze, the movement of the float seemed to become even more pronounced.

Soon, soon!

Suddenly, a flash of silver light streaked past the old man's eyes.

Immediately afterwards, another float appeared next to his float, and the fishing hook that entered the water splashed up ripples, causing the fish that was about to bite to flee in panic.

"Oh dear!" The old man slapped his thigh suddenly, then turned his head to look at the person beside him with a hint of anger.

However, upon recognizing the newcomer, the old man's face showed a hint of surprise. "Qin Lang?"

"Mr. Zhou Qing, it's been a long time." Qin Lang smiled. "Looks like I'm in luck today, I get to mooch off your place again."

Zhou Qing fell silent, looking at Qin Lang's handsome face full of smiles, barely suppressing the urge to throw the fishing rod at his face.

This kid is fine at other times, but he's a complete jerk when he's fishing!
Seemingly sensing Zhou Qing's displeasure, Qin Lang chuckled inwardly, "Don't worry, I'll make you a cooked fish later."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing suddenly stopped being angry.

Cooked fish...

This can be done.

Looking back at his float, Zhou Qing casually said, "The cooking competition was watched by all the food critics in Dongxia City."

"Your performance was even better than we expected."

Upon tasting Qin Lang's squirrel-shaped mandarin fish for the first time, Zhou Qing realized that this young man was no ordinary person.

However, he underestimated the boy. He didn't expect that in just one month, the boy would no longer be a novice chef, but the champion of the Tianhua Prefecture Youth Cooking Competition.

"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Zhou Qing," Qin Lang said with a smile. "I encountered many formidable opponents in the cooking competition."

"Winning the championship was partly due to luck."

“Luck is also part of strength.” Zhou Qing shook his head slightly, disagreeing with this statement. He then changed the subject, “Besides, based on my understanding of you, your championship didn’t have much of an element of luck.”

Hearing Zhou Qing say this, Qin Lang smiled and did not refute it.

Excessive modesty can also be off-putting.

Refocusing their attention on the buoy in front of them, the old man and the young man waited quietly.

Soon, Qin Lang's float started to move first, and before long, it began to shake violently up and down, splashing ripples.

A fish has taken the bait.

"It looks like a big one!" Feeling the power coming from the other end of the fishing rod, Qin Lang's eyes lit up, and he stood up to carefully play the fish.

As the force from the other end of the fishing rod gradually weakened, Qin Lang seized the opportunity and suddenly pulled it backward.

"Wow--"

With a splash, a large, slender grass carp leaped from the water and landed on the shore, thrashing about.

"Gulu!"

"Chapter!"

Danbao and Lala watched this scene with shining eyes, their eyes filled with longing for the delicious food.

With such a big fish, I wonder what kind of delicious food Qin Lang will make?

Qin Lang's eyes lit up. He pressed the grass carp down firmly, grabbed it, and threw it into the fish basket beside him. "Twelve catties of grass carp, what a great harvest! It seems that Mr. Zhou Qing used grass carp bait for your groundbait today?"

As he spoke, Qin Lang turned to look at Zhou Qing beside him, only to see Zhou Qing staring intently at the grass carp in the fish basket, looking completely puzzled.

This…

Doesn't make sense?

He clearly used bait meant for silver carp!
(End of this chapter)