The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 538 A Little Warm-up

Upon hearing Mr. Liu's words, Manager Zhang, who was also captivated by the beauty of the full moon over the western tower, quickly snapped out of his reverie and lightly patted Xiao Li beside him.

"Ah!" Completely immersed in the beauty of the full moon over the western tower, Xiao Li was startled. When he came to his senses and saw that everyone was staring at him, he gave an awkward smile.

"General Manager Liu asked the contestants how they would support him." Manager Zhang glared helplessly at Xiao Li, thinking to himself that the young man was indeed not composed enough, and was captivated by just one dish.

Thinking to himself, he couldn't help but smack his lips.

Hmm, the soup at Yue Man Xi Lou is really delicious. I wonder what the flowers taste like.

"Oh, oh!" Xiao Li turned around and quickly said, "It's like this, every participant in the food festival has a certification card. Today's indulgence moment requires them to get one hundred people to recognize their culinary skills and sign the certification card."

"In that case, what are we waiting for?" Mr. Liu pressed the service bell and spoke to the waiter after he came in.

"Give me the certification cards of the three participating chefs."
-
"awesome!"

In the kitchen, Zhao Qian took the authentication card that the waiter had helped her retrieve, and a look of surprise immediately appeared on her face. "We've got more than a dozen signatures!"

"The entire table where we ate earlier signed for us!"

"Really?" Cao Dongdong stared wide-eyed as he leaned closer, and a delighted smile immediately spread across his face when he saw the densely packed names on his verification card.

"This efficiency is just too high."

"Be more confident in your cooking." Qin Lang smiled, took his certification card, glanced at it, and his smile deepened.

Although the outcome was expected, seeing each diner's testimonials of approval so vividly was still a novel experience for Qin Lang.

"Let's get back to preparations." Qin Lang stuffed the authentication card back into his pocket and returned to his desk. "This is just the first table; we can't let our guard down yet."

"This guy is really calm." Cao Dongdong couldn't help but mutter to himself as he watched Qin Lang get busy again.

"Yes."

Zhao Qian nodded. "When Qin Lang told the waiter not to bring up the signing of the authentication card, I thought no one would sign it for us."

“However…” She looked at the signature on the certification card in her hand, and her smile grew even wider. “This kind of recognition seems to give me a greater sense of accomplishment.”

"Of course." Cao Dongdong laughed, then a look of curiosity appeared on his face. "I wonder how the other contestants are doing now?"
-
Meanwhile, on one of the busiest and most bustling streets in Guanling City, various stalls lined both sides of the street. Most of these stalls were doing quite well, and after each customer paid, they would take out a verification card and try to get the customer to leave their name.

These stall owners are all participants in the food festival.

However, obtaining a signature from a passerby is not easy; most diners will only leave their signature when they encounter the most satisfying dish.

Unfortunately, the certification cards of the food festival's finalists will be publicly displayed.

If someone with terrible cooking skills ends up with their name on the certification card, they might be laughed at by their friends and family.

In stark contrast to the bustling crowd around him, a bald man pushed a stall cart through the streets.

He didn't stop for any of the diners, but kept looking around as if searching for something.

The man walked from one end of the street to the other before finally stopping.

Where exactly is Qin Lang?

Du Ziyan couldn't help but mutter to himself.

He had even planned to set up a stall in the same spot as Qin Lang at the food festival and have a competition between them, but after searching all over the streets and alleys, he still couldn't find him.

Could it be that Qin Lang didn't participate in the food festival?
Upon considering this possibility, Du Ziyan couldn't help but widen his eyes.

Just then, a voice appeared behind Du Ziyan.

"Qin Lang is right, you did indeed participate in the food festival." Du Ziyan quickly turned his head and then saw a somewhat familiar figure.

Who... are you?

Veins bulged on Dylan's forehead, and her eyes quickly turned fierce. "Very well, after three years, have you forgotten the opponent you once defeated?"

Three years... defeated...

Upon hearing these keywords, Du Ziyan finally remembered the identity of the person in front of him.

"It's you, Dylan."

However, he immediately realized the key information in Dylan's first sentence: "You've met Qin Lang, so he must have also participated in the food festival, right?"

"Where is he? I've been looking for him all morning but I can't find him."

“He will participate, but I don’t know where he is,” Dylan said coldly. “But now, I want to have a culinary exchange with you.”

"You? Me?" Du Ziyan was slightly taken aback.

“Not bad!” Dylan snorted. “Three years ago, I lost to you by one vote and only won third place in that cooking competition.”

"And the final topic of you and that guy is the topic I'm best at."

At this point, Dylan couldn't help but clench her fist.

"If I were the one facing him, I definitely wouldn't have lost as badly as you. Maybe then, the championship would have been mine!"

"Unlike you, I don't have a second chance."

"That was my last competition, so this sense of resentment has remained buried in my heart ever since."

She looked at Du Ziyan and said in a deep voice, "This time, I will defeat you."

"Will!"

Du Ziyan paused for a moment.

His eyes shifted from initial surprise to burning with fervor.

It was a powerful excitement of encountering a formidable opponent.

“I like your unwillingness to accept defeat.” Du Ziyan grinned. “Just like I am unwilling to accept defeat, even though I could do it all over again, I still lost to Qin Lang.”

"This sense of dissatisfaction will become the driving force for my continued pursuit and efforts."

"I hope you feel the same way."

At this point, Du Ziyan paused slightly, "Since you want to compete, then I will prove with my strength that I could beat you three years ago, and I can do it now."

"This applies regardless of the method of comparison."

At this point, Du Ziyan looked at Dai Lan and asked, "How do you want to compete?"

“Let’s compare the number of signatures.” Dylan pulled out a clean authentication card. “You probably haven’t started setting up your stall yet, and so have I. Let’s set up our stalls in the same spot and see who gets more signatures. Are you in?”

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Du Ziyan also took out his clean and tidy certification card, showed it off, and then revealed a smug smile.

"On the contrary, this kind of competition suits my taste perfectly."

Now that it's confirmed Qin Lang is participating in the food festival, things will be much easier.

Before we meet him in the later stages, let's have a little warm-up!
(End of this chapter)