Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 92 Am I 44 or You? Nicholas Tse's Kindness (First Update of 3K)
Ningqu, Lukou International Airport

Xia Ming stepped off the plane and glanced at the time on his phone.

As agreed, Nicholas Tse would have the production team send someone to pick him up at the airport.

Before coming, Nicholas Tse told Xia Ming that this variety show was a joint production of his company and Jiangsu TV.

The title is "The Taste of Life".
Essentially, it's a "travel, lifestyle, and food documentary variety show," with Nicholas Tse serving as the "life observer," taking viewers through various industries to experience the country's landscape and appreciate the lives of ordinary people.

The variety show format is quite different from the previous "One Meal to Fame". There is basically no competition. It's just about eating, drinking, having fun, and chatting about everyday life.

Nicholas Tse invited him here mainly because he hoped Xia Ming could replicate a certain ingredient.
He kept the details a secret, saying he'd tell Xia Ming when he arrived.

Xia Ming had no opportunity to participate in variety shows, so he naturally wouldn't miss out on something like this.
Moreover, Nicholas Tse repeatedly emphasized that this trip would be a little easier.

"Consider it a favor that I didn't treat you to a meal last time; this time, I'll show you around the beautiful landscapes of our country!"

As Xia Ming walked into the airport parking area, he saw a large sign from afar that read "Experience the taste of life~".

As he got closer, he discovered that there were three people who had come to pick him up. After exchanging greetings, he learned their nicknames.

The only girl among the three has the nickname "Dongdongdong," and Xia Ming feels that this nickname sounds like she can make voice messages.

One of the boys was named "Life is Bitter" and the other "Life is Busy." During their casual conversation, they mentioned that there were also "Life is Sweet" and "Life is Leisurely" on the filming crew.
After all, they are all from the production team of "The Taste of Life," so it's understandable that there's more "life" in it.

After arriving at the film set by car, Xia Ming was taken to the dressing room.

After seeing Xia Ming's appearance, the makeup artist raised an eyebrow slightly, and in the end, she only applied some powder and made slight adjustments to his eyebrows before declaring the job done.

Afterwards, Xia Ming was taken by car to a quiet bar in the inner ring of Daning District that had a sign that read "Closed Today". After entering the bar, he found that the lighting was dim.

Just as he was observing his surroundings, he heard Xie Tingfeng's voice coming from above.

"Xia Ming, over here~"

Looking up, Xia Ming saw Xie Tingfeng on a high platform. He glanced to the side, found a step, and went up to it.

At this moment, Nicholas Tse was wearing a very casual T-shirt and sitting in front of a large sound control panel, with camera crew members next to him.

Just as Xia Ming was about to greet them, the stage curtain on his left suddenly opened, and purple-red lights shone on the stage, while a refreshing melody entered his ears.

Seeing this, Nicholas Tse smiled and made a "shh" gesture, then turned his head to look at the stage and quietly enjoyed the music.

Seeing this, Xia Ming found a stool and sat down, then looked towards the stage.

Amidst the flashing lights, a band of four girls was performing energetically on stage.

"What's playing over the loudspeaker? It sounds like they're deliberately making fun of us."

What more could I expect? The ending was already set.

"."

Xia Ming wasn't an expert in music appreciation and thought it sounded alright, but Xie Tingfeng, who was standing next to him, frowned.

As the song ended, he pointed out the shortcomings of the four girls. It was at this moment that Xia Ming, who was standing to the side, realized that the four girls in the band all looked extremely similar.

"Could they be quadruplets?"

Just as he was pondering this, Nicholas Tse came over and patted him on the shoulder.

"Sorry, I was just giving them pointers on how to walk the runway."

"These four people in the audience are members of the 'Sensitive Band': Zhu Yibing, Zhu Yiqing, Zhu Yiyu, and Zhu Yijie."

"They are quadruplets, and they are a band signed to my label."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the four girls below also waved in Xia Ming's direction.

"Okay, let's go down."

After saying that, the two walked down from the sound control area and came to the front of the stage. After introducing themselves to each other, Tse Ting-fung suggested that the "Induction Band" go to the reserved location first, and he and Xia Ming would talk alone.

After the four women left, Xie Tingfeng explained the current situation to Xia Ming.

"The variety show live broadcast later is just about talking about situations that everyone encounters in their daily lives, so there's no need to be too reserved, and there's no specific purpose behind it."

"It's like getting off work and meeting up with a few friends for drinks, chatting about the interesting things that happened that day, do you understand?"

Xia Ming paused upon hearing this.
friend?

Given the living conditions in the Blood Blade Sect's kitchen, the word "friend" was a bit too much of a luxury for him.

Most of the time, Xia Ming spends his time with a group of mentors, whether learning to cook, cultivating, or going out to buy supplies.
However, I do have memories of going out with my college roommates.
It should be similar to that.

Thinking it over, Xia Ming nodded.

Seeing Xia Ming nod, Xie Tingfeng continued.

"Bing Qing and Yu Jie have already gone to arrange the food. We'll just go directly to the designated location later. You can rest for a while now, or could you mix me a drink?"

"By the way, do you know how to mix drinks?"

As he spoke, Xie Tingfeng walked to the counter of the bar and pulled out a cocktail glass from behind his back. Xia Ming shook his head. There were indeed many varieties of alcohol in the Nine Provinces Continent, but most of the wines in the Blood Blade Sect's kitchen were spirit wines or immortal brews.

I recall seeing this kind of mixing of several drinks in a bar before, but he himself wasn't very familiar with drinks other than a few basic ones, so he couldn't really mix drinks.

Seeing this, Nicholas Tse said it was alright, turned around and took a few bottles of wine from the side, then took out limes from the refrigerator and started juicing them.

Then invert the cup onto the fine salt, rotate it once, and set it aside.

With the addition of "silver tequila," "lime juice," and "orange liqueur," Xie Tingfeng quickly prepared a Margarita and then pushed it in front of Xia Ming.

"Margarita, have a taste!"

Xia Ming picked it up and took a sip. He found the taste to be sweet, sour, and refreshing. He thought the salt at the rim of the cup was a clever idea.

"This seems like it would go really well with spicy dishes."

After thinking for a moment, Xia Ming smiled and asked Xie Tingfeng if he could give it a try.

Seeing this, Xie Tingfeng gave up his seat. Xia Ming walked to the cocktail shaker, recalled the actions he had just witnessed, and then took a deep sniff.

Just as Xie Tingfeng thought he didn't know how to start and was about to give him some pointers, he saw Xia Ming quickly pick up the plate of fine salt, shake it, then wipe the rim of the Margaret cup with a lime wedge, and then start salting the rim of the cup.

Then he followed suit, adding ice cubes and then pouring in several different kinds of liquor in turn. His movements were so fast that he didn't look like a novice at all.

Then, he tightened the lid, shook the pot quickly with one hand, and after 20 seconds, Xia Ming poured the wine into a glass and added a slice of lime.

“Marg.”

Margaret

"Hmm, try it~"

Looking at the wine in front of him, Xie Tingfeng picked it up, took a sip, paused for a moment, and then smiled helplessly.

"Xia Ming, you are truly a culinary genius. Although Margarita isn't particularly difficult to make, you managed to successfully prepare it after only seeing it once, without a clear recipe or dosage instructions."

Xia Ming remained calm.

"It's just luck."

Xie Tingfeng sighed silently as he looked at Xia Ming's current state.

"During the competition, I kept thinking, am I 44 years old, or are you 44 years old?"

"I know that a genius like you only has cooking on your mind, but life is actually very colorful. I always feel that you are too calm, so calm that it makes people feel a bit indifferent."

"Just like this variety show, I think life doesn't have so many whys. Working hard when you should work hard and stopping when you should stop is also a kind of wisdom."

Looking at Xie Tingfeng in front of him, Xia Ming silently gave him a half-good guy card in his mind.

But this doesn't mean he agrees with his views. After all, others will never experience his life, so it's understandable that they don't understand his resistance and caution.

Seeing Xia Ming's expression, Xie Tingfeng paused.

He had no intention of being a preachy mentor, nor did he like to interfere in other people's lives. He simply wanted to offer Xia Ming some advice from the perspective of someone who might be a friend.

After the show ended, Nicholas Tse reflected on the entire competition process and discovered many points that he had previously overlooked.

It was only then that he realized how meticulous Xia Ming's mind was.
So meticulous it's almost crooked.
Nicholas Tse finds it hard to imagine what kind of upbringing could have shaped him into this kind of person.
However, he was certain that Xia Ming would shine brightly on his path as a chef.

As an artist and studio owner deeply connected to the "culinary" world, he decided to place his bet on Xia Ming in advance.
At least, let's become friends first.
This is why they chose Xia Ming, who wasn't very well-known.
It's worth noting that while "One Meal Makes You Famous" has impressive viewership numbers, it hasn't garnered much attention from the general public.

Although Xia Ming won the title of "King of Chefs", he still used the name "Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef" and did not subsequently receive the title of "Kangaroo Spokesperson".

In the eyes of the audience, "The King of Chefs" is the Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef, not Xia Ming.

Nicholas Tse hopes that the audience will gradually equate the two.

Despite its unassuming name, "The Taste of Life," the show has garnered immense attention since its very first live broadcast.

Unlike pure cooking variety shows, this kind of variety show, which is more focused on daily life, has a wider audience.

Furthermore, the local TV station in Jiangsu Province invested heavily in promotion on television and the internet.

After airing, the first two episodes received very positive reviews, and the TV ratings soared to number one.

Even though Nicholas Tse's studio had invested in the variety show and he was backed by "The King of Music," it still took two rounds of negotiation with the local TV station in Jiangsu to approve the choice of "Xia Ming."

Of course, Xie Tingfeng didn't intend to tell Xia Ming any of this. He just hoped that Xia Ming could behave normally like most ordinary people.

As for the so-called "imitation cuisine," although it was very difficult, he inexplicably had a lot of confidence in Xia Ming.

Xia Ming could sense the goodwill Xie Tingfeng was conveying, but he was used to being cautious and would likely find it difficult to change his mind in a short time.

Just as the two were drinking, the cameraman next to them made a gesture to Nicholas Tse.

Seeing this, Nicholas Tse also stood up.

"We've rested enough. The off-site filming is now over, and the live broadcast is about to begin. Let's go, we'll head to the Qinghuai River first."

(End of this chapter)