Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 49 Extra Rules! The production team is after me this time!
"So, that's it, you brought them all here?"

In the coffee shop, the graduate students at the banquet looked at the black horse following behind Xia Ming, Luo Luo hummed, and Xiao Hua was also stunned.

Xia Ming paused, glancing at the bald cook sitting next to the graduate student at the banquet.

Seeing Xia Ming's expression, the bald cook gave a sheepish grin.

"I happened to be buying coffee nearby when I saw the graduate student over there, so I said I'd come over and chat."

Okay, whether they were invited or not, the people have indeed arrived.
The graduate students in the banquet were also a bit confused at this moment. In the team competition and the hellish resurrection competition, only 7 contestants and 9 chefs advanced.

Now, all the contestants except Xia Yuxingye have arrived.

Xia Ming knew that Xia Yuxingye and Yang Yanbin had a classic love-hate relationship, so even if Xia Yuxingye was a little unconvinced, he would probably prioritize finding Yang Yanbin over others in team battles like this.

He was right about that. At this moment, Xia Yuxingye and Yang Yanbin had reached an agreement and were discussing whether to recruit Chen Xiaodong into the team.

Leaving aside the chef for now, the six people were crammed into two rows in the coffee shop, all five pairs of eyes looking at Xia Ming.
Xia Ming was also conflicted, as there was a significant difference between a food stall owner and a chef in some respects.

The most important thing for a food stall is its lively atmosphere, or popularity. No matter how the rules are ultimately judged, a bustling stall is always better than a deserted one.

Therefore, most food stall owners pay attention to the "wok hei" (the smoky aroma imparted by a hot wok), and steaming hot noodles, crispy fried chicken, and fragrant squid are the top choices for food stalls.

But precisely because of this, food stalls are never short of these elements, such as stinky tofu, fried skewers, boiled chicken, and fried pork chops.
Xia Ming won the previous match using the aroma of "Five-Road Mixed Soup," so the other contestants believed that he had the greatest advantage in the food street competition where aroma was the selling point, and now he was truly qualified to choose teammates from the six.

"Now that everyone's here, let's share our thoughts—starting with graduate school!"

Hearing Xia Ming's words, the graduate student nodded.

"Personally, I think fried skewers are the most suitable. The flavor is controllable, the types are optional, and the public's acceptance is high. The problem lies in the preparation of chili oil and sesame oil. If it is fragrant enough, it is easy to attract customers."

After the graduate student finished speaking, Xia Ming nodded slightly. It was a very safe answer, but often a safe answer means it is effective.

Seeing that the graduate student had spoken, the others also began to share their thoughts.

The bald cook wanted to make "street steak" because he often saw that very poor quality synthetic steaks at food stalls could be sold at high prices, so he thought that pairing steak with macaroni could create a market gap.

A dark horse wanted to make crispy chicken, but the specific reason was not given. However, Xia Ming knew in his heart that he was probably planning to conquer the taste buds of diners with his home-style cooking skills.

The idea is good, but the problem is how many of these "crispy chicken" will eventually sell.

Lolo hummed and blinked, then made a cute face.

"I think the graduate student sister is right. Fried skewers are perfect, and I know how to make a secret spice blend that can solve the aroma problem."

Xiao Hua heard Luo Luo's whining and glanced at her with a hint of disdain.

She knew that the graduate student had made an appointment with Xia Ming from the beginning, and they were probably already teaming up. Luo Luo's humming and hawing was clearly just going along with what the graduate student was saying.

Xiao Hua doesn't like this. Although she has now acknowledged Xia Ming's strength, she still won't completely relinquish control.

"If it were me, I would choose a refreshing drink. The weather in Hunan is too hot this month. After eating greasy, salty and spicy food, everyone will definitely want to drink something cold."

"Coincidentally, the difference between me and them is that I am not only a chef, but also a bartender. Of course, I am also good at non-alcoholic drinks."

Xia Ming raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this.

That's right, the best match for snacks is definitely iced drinks. Whether it's lemonade, sweet herbal tea, jasmine tea, or milk tea, as long as it tastes good and is reasonably priced, it will have a place in the snack street.

Although it may face direct competition from surrounding milk tea shops due to its location, as long as it can lower its prices, even Snow King can compete.

Moreover, the program only stated that it was a food street competition, without specifying that each stall could only sell one type of snack.

In other words, if Xiao Hua joins the team, Xia Ming could easily put her together with the graduate students and launch a fried skewer combo.

Thinking of this, Xia Ming glanced at the bald cook behind him. If he regarded the bald cook as a chef, he did need to grow. But if he regarded him as an obedient handyman, it would not be a bad choice.

As for the secret spices that Luo Luo kept humming about, Xia Ming said that as long as he had enough time to prepare, it was basically not difficult to make.

With that thought in mind, he had already made up his mind.

"Sorry, I think you two might not be suitable for our side, Lolo and you two are just a dark horse."

Upon hearing the rejection, Lolo immediately started whining and acting cute, putting on a crying expression, while the black horse looked slightly angry.

He never expected that even after he had self-destructed, Xia Ming would still reject him.

Gritting his teeth, he decided to go back to Yang Yanbin, believing that after revealing some of his trump cards, joining their side shouldn't be a problem. As for Luo Luo, after whimpering and pretending to cry for a while, she realized her cuteness attack was ineffective against Xia Ming, so she drew a few circles and left.

However, just as she stepped out the door, a ray of moonlight shone down, and whether it was an illusion or not, the corners of her mouth seemed to curve into a slight smile.

After the four-person team was finalized, the bald cook was the most excited.

This guy really didn't follow the graduate student on purpose; he just bumped into him by chance when he went downstairs to buy coffee.

After learning everything, Xia Ming had to admit that this guy really had a knack for luck.

Now that they had chosen their teams, they naturally wanted to discuss the dishes before the competition started. After the bald cook contacted the production team, the remaining three started chatting.

After chatting for about an hour, covering most of the details of the fried skewers, Xia Ming wrote down a list and handed it to the bald cook.

"Starting tomorrow, go to the spice section of the 'Ingredient Warehouse' and stock up on all these things, especially the last three items; make sure you get enough of them. Also, stock up on the other ingredients as well."

The bald cook accepted the order and nodded. He recognized most of the spices, but there were a few that looked like Chinese medicine, which he was not familiar with.

After arranging everything, Xia Ming returned to his room to rest.

Silent all night.

When the clock struck exactly 8 o'clock, all the contestants were already in the competition venue, ready to go.

After a night of team formation, Luo Luo Heng Heng Ji ended up with a bye and was taken by Shuai Xiao Jian's team, while the rest of the members successfully formed their own teams.

[Team One: Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef, Banquet Master, Bald Cook, Little Flower.]

[Team Two: Yang Yanbin, Xia Yuxingye, Wang Qingrui, a dark horse.]

[Team Three: Chen Xiaodong, Dong Jiaqi, Shao Denong, Lin Chao.]

[Team Four: Shuai Xiaojian, Zeng Huaijun, Li Zhian, Luo Luo Henghengji.]

The moment the team list was revealed, the viewers in the live stream exclaimed in surprise.

[A team composed entirely of professional players!]

[The four teams were incredibly strong, and Lolo, who was always complaining and no one wanted him, ended up benefiting from the situation!]

[I feel like the second team has the most potential. I can't believe how they could lose this match if Chef Wang brings out the "Husband and Wife Lung Slices" (a Sichuan dish).]

[The assignments were supposed to be randomized, but in the end everyone still chose the chefs they were more familiar with.]

[That's for sure. Even though it's a food street, it still requires chefs to work together, and even the head chefs have their own roles.]

After the group assignments were announced, everyone received the specific rules of the competition.

In short, each group can get a "mobile stall" (free of charge) that suits their needs, and then receive a startup fund of 1000 from the program team.

After purchasing materials from a supermarket specially set up by the program team using the startup fund, and after 4 hours of raw material preparation, everyone rushed to the designated location at noon to set up their stall, which operated until midnight.

Finally, the teams' net profits from these 12 hours are tallied and ranked.

The top three teams advance, while the rest are eliminated.

Xia Ming frowned slightly upon seeing the rule. He never expected that out of four teams, the production team would want three to advance.
Just as he sensed something was wrong, the incandescent lights in the arena suddenly went out, and then a glaring red light came on.

[Warning, warning! 】

[An additional rule is now being announced!]

There are 16 slips of paper in front of you. Each person should take one and write down the members you wish to remove from other groups on that slip.

The voting was conducted anonymously. The four members with the most votes left their original teams, while the three with the fewest votes formed a new fifth team.

The person with the most votes will lead the sixth team in the competition.

The moment Xia Ming heard the additional rules, he felt several gazes directed at him simultaneously, and his heart tightened slightly.

"Damn it, the production team is after me this time!"

(End of this chapter)