Courtyard House: Become Stronger Through Blind Dates

Half an hour later, the final began.

Mr. Sun stepped forward and announced the rules: "The third round is a free-style competition, where each contestant can prepare their best dish."

"One hour only! You can ask the staff for ingredients. Let's begin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the other four contestants immediately got to work, confirming the required ingredients with the staff around them.

Sun Decai chose a large carp, intending to make his specialty, "sweet and sour carp".

He Yuzhu said to the staff, "Please prepare a set of pig intestines for me."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding contestants and staff were stunned.

Pig intestines? Serving offal in a competition of this level?

Sun Decai, who was not far away, heard this, chuckled, and whispered to the contestant next to him, "See? Knowing he has no chance, he's preparing to cook Shandong cuisine to please the judges?"

He secretly rejoiced: That's his grandfather, no matter how much He Yuzhu tries to please him, it won't work.

The contestant shook his head and stopped paying attention to He Yuzhu.

The staff member said somewhat awkwardly, "Master He, we do have pig intestines in our kitchen, but they haven't been processed yet..."

He Yuzhu said firmly, "I want the unprocessed one. Go get it quickly!"

The staff left looking bewildered, and a few minutes later, they brought over a pot of pig intestines that emitted a unique smell.

As soon as the smell wafted out, several contestants around couldn't help but frown.

Sun Decai exaggeratedly pinched his nose and loudly mocked, "He Yuzhu, are you trying to turn the competition venue into a latrine? Can't you be a little more mindful of your image!"

On the judges' panel, Mr. Sun's expression also looked rather grim.

Master Wang was anxious, but he couldn't say anything and could only sigh to himself.

He Yuzhu didn't care at all, put on the gloves provided by the staff, and began his performance.

He first removed a portion of the large intestine and began to clean it carefully.

This is the authentic version of Nine-Turned Intestines, prepared for other judges to taste. Every step is done meticulously, and the intestines are cleaned thoroughly.

After preparing the ingredients, he began cutting them into sections, blanching them, frying them, seasoning them, and simmering them...

While it was simmering, he began to process the remaining large intestine.

He Yuzhu found a thin thread, tied both ends of the large intestine tightly, and then began to clean the surface.

Forty minutes later, the large intestine was almost cooked.

Two servings of large intestine, one pot is the special original version, and the other pot is the regular version.

Near the end, He Yuzhu carefully plated the regular version of the braised pork intestines, drizzled it with a rich sauce, and sprinkled it with chopped cilantro.

The special edition was also plated very elegantly; from the outside, the two dishes looked almost identical.

In the final three minutes, the other four contestants finished their work, and the judges began to taste and score them.

Sun Decai's sweet and sour carp received good reviews, and Mr. Sun generously gave it a perfect score.

When it was He Yuzhu's turn, he was the last to finish.

He personally carried the specially made version of the Nine-Turned Intestines, while gesturing with his other hand for a staff member to carry the regular version, and slowly walked towards the judges' table.

All eyes were on him, wondering what his purpose was in coming over.

He Yuzhu walked up to Master Sun with a respectful smile: "Master Sun, in the last round of critiques, you said my dishes 'lost the original flavor of the ingredients,' and I have deeply reflected on that..."

He gently placed the specially made Nine-Turned Intestines in front of Old Master Sun and said earnestly, "So for this round, I have specially prepared this Nine-Turned Intestines for you. Please enjoy it~"

Master Wang wondered: Was Zhu Zi trying to curry favor with Old Master Sun?

The other judges exchanged glances, all displeased with his ingratiating behavior.

Looking at the Nine-Turned Intestines in front of him, and smelling the rich aroma that had become mellow after cooking, Old Sun smiled with satisfaction.

He cleared his throat and said earnestly, "Xiao He, it's good that you recognize your shortcomings!"

"However, all this empty flattery is useless; ultimately, a chef's skill is what matters..."

He Yuzhu feigned sincerity and said, "Old Sun's words of admonition are correct..."

With satisfaction, Old Sun picked up his chopsticks and took out a piece of the fattest large intestine.

He put the large intestine into his mouth and chewed it carefully.

The first bite, with its rich soy sauce flavor and soft, chewy texture, made him nod in approval.

But then, as he chewed deeper, an indescribable taste exploded in his mouth.

It was an extremely complex feeling. Old Sun's expression went from satisfaction to doubt, to shock, and finally to terror.

His cheek muscles began to twitch uncontrollably, his Adam's apple bobbed violently, and his eyes widened.

"Ugh... I'm going to vomit—"

Old Sun tried to cover his mouth, but it was too late.

With a "pfft," he sprayed the large intestine, which he hadn't fully chewed, mixed with stomach acid, all over the judges' table in front of him.

The scene was truly horrific.

"Old Sun!"

"What's wrong?"

The judges were shocked and stood up one after another.

The stands and the players' area erupted in uproar.

Sun Decai was the first to rush over: "Grandpa, are you alright?"

Old Sun pointed at He Yuzhu, his face turning from red to green, then from green to white, and said, "You...you..."

He tried to say "you" for a long time, but because his stomach was churning, he couldn't finish a sentence and could only bend over and continue to dry heave.

The other judges looked at the normal version of the Nine-Turned Intestines in front of them and put down their chopsticks.

He Yuzhu quickly explained, "Oh right, I forgot to mention! The one in front of you judges is the normal Nine-Turned Intestines, different from Teacher Sun's."

"I thought Mr. Sun liked the original taste of the ingredients, so I specially picked the fattest large intestine for him to cook."

"To ensure that the essence inside is not lost, I also tied knots at both ends to ensure that it is absolutely authentic."

"Ugh—" Upon hearing this, Old Sun gagged again.

Master Wang suppressed a laugh, picked up a regular piece of large intestine, tasted it, and commented, "Hmm, this flavor... is rich and tender, with a perfect balance of sweet and sour, and a strong soy sauce aroma. It's been cleaned very thoroughly, with no unpleasant odor at all!"

He turned to He Yuzhu and deliberately raised his voice: "Little He, your Nine-Turned Intestines are quite authentic!"

The other judges also tasted it and nodded in praise, saying, "It's really good, the cooking time is just right, and the seasoning is precise."

"It was cleaned very well, and there was absolutely no fishy smell from the offal."

"This skill is impressive!"

Sun Decai finally realized what was happening and pointed at He Yuzhu, roaring, "You...you did this on purpose!"

Old Sun, having finally caught his breath, said with a livid face, "He Yuzhu, you...you dare to mock the judges! This is...a desecration of cooking!"

He Yuzhu spread his hands, his expression even more innocent, and said, "Teacher Sun, what makes you say that? I followed your instructions strictly!"

"Didn't you say my dishes lost the original flavor of the ingredients? Well, this time I deliberately preserved the most original flavor of the ingredients. What's wrong with that?"

"I'm putting your principles into practice right here!"

"You see, the other judges all thought my previous dish was delicious, which means it's not that there's a problem with my cooking skills, but rather that your understanding of the original flavor is rather... unique."

Some people around couldn't help but chuckle, then quickly covered their mouths.

Master Wang's expression at that moment was priceless. He wanted to laugh but dared not, his face turning red as he held it in, his shoulders trembling.

The other judges also realized what was going on, and their expressions contorted. Some lowered their heads and pretended to cough, while others turned away to wipe their mouths, all afraid of bursting out laughing.

Old Sun pointed at He Yuzhu, his chest heaving violently: "You...you..."

Another wave of stale air rose up, and this time Old Sun couldn't hold it in and vomited directly onto his shoes.

Immediately afterwards, his eyes rolled back, and he fell straight backward.

"Grandpa!" Sun Decai exclaimed and quickly helped him up.

"Quick, get him to the hospital!" The staff panicked and shouted urgently.

Several staff members rushed forward and hurriedly lifted the unconscious Mr. Sun and ran him off the field.