The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 270 The Results of the Food Exhibition
"Can you really pinpoint the exact location?"

Bai Qi showed a delighted expression. Although she wasn't particularly interested in Fatima's research, she was genuinely happy for her, seeing Fatima working tirelessly on her research and finally achieving results.

Immediately afterwards, Bai Qi snapped her fingers and revealed a smug expression, "See, I told you that going out more often is good for you!"

“Indeed.” Fatima nodded seriously.

If Bai Qi hadn't pulled her out to taste Qin Lang's braised chicken legs, her research might have always been missing the final step.

As the two were talking, Qin Lang walked over and looked at Fatima. "Zoge told me that you're almost able to deduce the coordinates, and the condition for sharing the coordinates is that we take you with us into the hidden place?"

“That’s right.” Fatima pushed up her glasses. “I’m just one last clue away from figuring out the location of the Silver Oriole’s ancient ruins.”

“Zoger has already told me about your experience in Rosemary City. With this clue, I can determine the specific coordinates within two days.”

“But the ancient ruins of the Azure Silver Nightingale are also my target, so…” Fatima paused for a moment, “you must take me in with you.”

“No problem!” Qin Lang nodded without hesitation. “Your research on the Silver Oriole is very in-depth. Even if you hadn’t mentioned it, we would have invited you to come in with us.”

Fatima glanced at Qin Lang with some surprise, then nodded. "Wait for my news in two days."

With that, Fatima pulled Bai Qi along and turned to leave.

"I didn't expect the Silver Oriole to make such a breakthrough so quickly." Zuo Ge stroked his chin. "In comparison, our research on the Leaping Fish is still stagnant."

It's important to know that Zog's initial purpose in boarding the "Leaping Fish" was not the Silver Nightingale, but the Leaping Fish, a creature of legend.

"I'm sure you'll see results soon." Qin Lang smiled and patted Zuo Ge on the shoulder. "Don't forget the painting I showed you."

The thirteenth painting in the Traveler's Book is a gate to an ancient ruin.

According to Zuo Ge's analysis, the ancient ruins are related to the Leaping Fish, and there must be important clues about the Leaping Fish inside.

Qin Lang hadn't forgotten about this during this time; it's just that, according to Zuo Ge's speculation, the ancient ruins were most likely located near Yueyu Lake, and since they hadn't actually reached Yueyu Lake yet, they had to put it aside for the time being.

"After the food exhibition ends, the 'Leap Fish' cruise ship will temporarily dock at the next stop, Fish Mouth, which is the entrance where the Xiayun River flows into Leap Fish Lake, and is already considered to be in the vicinity of Leap Fish Lake."

"Then, research on the leaping fish can begin."
-
"ladies and gentlemen!"

"Over the past three days, the Leapfish Food Exhibition has been successfully held, attracting tens of thousands of visitors who have given high praise to the food they tasted."

"Now, we've reached the most exciting part of this Leapfish Food Exhibition: revealing the vote count for each dish!"

On the top deck of the Leapfish, a crew member temporarily acting as the host held a microphone and spoke in an enthusiastic voice.

The chefs participating in the food exhibition below the stage looked on with anticipation.

They all wanted to see how many tourists would like the food they had put their all into cooking.

"There are a total of forty-seven chefs participating in this food exhibition. Now let's announce them one by one, from the last to the first, according to their ranking!"

"First up is the dish ranked forty-seventh, the extra spicy razor clams, cooked by Liu Xiao, which received 16 votes!"

As the host finished speaking, amidst rounds of applause, a somewhat thin boy excitedly waved his arms.

Although he received the last number of votes, from another perspective, 16 tourists thought his food was the best of all the dishes. Isn't that something to be happy about?

Perhaps inspired by Liu Xiao's optimism, none of the chefs whose names were called afterward were discouraged by their rankings; instead, they all seemed quite happy.

Cao Dongdong, who sped up the process of making the snow-white red bean paste by using an egg beater, ultimately achieved a commendable seventh place with over 300 votes.

Soon, only the top three remained to be announced.

All eyes turned to Qin Lang, Di You, and Dai Lan, who had not yet been called upon.

It is obvious that the top three will be among these three.

"Idol, I won't give up easily this time!" Di You chuckled, his face beaming with excitement. "Me too, first place is mine." Dai Lan said calmly, but deep in her eyes, there was a surge of tension and anticipation.

"Then let's wait and see." Qin Lang smiled.

"The third-ranked dish, spicy braised goose liver, was cooked by chef Di You and received 527 votes!"

“Oh, third…” Di You scratched his head. “Okay, it seems I need to work harder to catch up with my idol.”

Dylan, who was standing to the side, did not speak, but quietly clenched her fist in her sleeve.

The announcement of Di You's ranking means that either she or Qin Lang will be in first place.

Could it be her?

Dylan stared intently at the host announcing the results.

"The second-ranked dish is Crispy Bone Fish, cooked by Dylan, and received 2014 votes!"

"The most popular dish, the Bang Bang Chicken Leg, was cooked by Qin Lang and received 2203 votes!"

"Phew~" Qin Lang breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he appeared calm, he was actually quite nervous inside.

After all, Dylan's crispy fish is really amazing.

The vote count also shows that this number of votes is almost four times that of Di You, and the difference between it and his own vote count is not significant.

This is a very formidable opponent.

"Gulu!"

Egg Baby waved its chubby tail and cheered excitedly.

Qin Lang won! Yay!
But the next moment, its expression suddenly froze, and it turned its head to look at Spicy behind it, who was excitedly biting its own tail.

Lala, please don't do this, I'm scared...

"Just over a hundred votes short..."

Dai Lan paused, a hint of disappointment in her eyes, but quickly recovered and looked up at Qin Lang. "I lost. You are indeed very good."

"But if we meet again in the future, I will definitely challenge you again."

“Du Ziyan said the same thing to me.” Qin Lang smiled. “My answer to you is the same as my answer to him.”

"welcome any time."

Amidst enthusiastic applause, Li Yuantu, Zhuo Hong, and Sang Ran strode towards Qin Lang.

"Now, please let our three food critics present awards to our most popular dishes!"

"There's another reward?" Qin Lang was somewhat surprised.

He had assumed there would be no prizes at this food expo, since none of them had been mentioned beforehand.

"How can a competition be without a reward?" Li Yuantu smiled and took out a box. "Here, it's yours."

Qin Lang curiously reached out and took it, then opened it.

Inside the box, a clear star stone lay quietly.

(End of this chapter)