Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

Situ Liang was furious and wanted to find someone to reason with him. He really couldn't stand this kind of petty person who only knew how to play tricks behind people's backs.

Guo Tiancheng quickly pulled Situ Liang back: "Don't be impulsive, the competition is the most important thing."

He hurried over to Shen Qing and said, "Madam Shen, please use my firewood. I'll see if I can ask the organizers for some more."

That being said, it's probably too late to ask for firewood now.

After all, the competition is about to begin, and time is limited. If the fire cannot be lit in time, the result will be elimination.

Guo Tiancheng chose to give his firewood to Shen Qing because he felt that Shen Qing had the potential to achieve a good ranking and bring glory to Ping'an County.

Besides, he has already participated in two food competitions, so why not give the opportunity to the two young people?

Shen Qing squatted down, gathered the wet firewood to one side, and picked out the dry firewood.

"Thank you, Master Guo, but no need. This amount of firewood is enough."

"This little bit of firewood isn't enough. I'm afraid the fire will go out halfway through cooking." Guo Tiancheng frowned, his heart filled with worry.

Shen Qing, however, said confidently, "That's enough. Besides, I wasn't planning on cooking anyway."

"You mean???" Guo Tiancheng was taken aback, and a few guesses began to form in his mind.

"Are you making a cold dish?"

Shen Qing nodded.

Guo Tiancheng frowned even more deeply.

This is a culinary competition, and there are only one hundred spots to advance. All the contestants are eager to show off their culinary skills, but this Madam Shen is actually making cold dishes??

Cold dishes are simple, but too limited. They can't showcase the control of heat or include any expensive ingredients. Moreover, there's a hierarchy in cooking, with main dishes above and cold dishes below.

To some extent, cold dishes are just side dishes to the main courses and are not considered presentable.

No cold dishes were served; this was a consensus among all participants.

"Madam Shen, don't be embarrassed. I'm old, and I've participated in two cooking competitions. Even if I lose, I won't have any regrets. But you're different..."

"Master Guo," Shen Qing interrupted Guo Tiancheng, "who said cold dishes are always a losing proposition?"

"Can......"

"Don't worry, I won't let myself die at this stage."

Shen Qing's face radiated absolute confidence, powerful and convincing, a confidence forged from absolute strength.

Guo Tiancheng was somewhat convinced.

Reason told him that cold dishes were absolutely out of the question, but he couldn't help but trust Shen Qing.

clang--

Just then, a gong sounded.

"Contestants, the first stage of the selection process is now officially beginning. You have one hour to prepare. I will count to three."

"three--"

"two--"

"one--"

"The competition has officially begun!"

At the command, all the participants sprang into action, some tending the fire, some kneading the dough, and some chopping vegetables, each racing against time, afraid of wasting even a moment.

The audience members watched carefully, occasionally letting out a few whispers.

"Master Guo, time waits for no one. Please hurry up and prepare the dishes so as not to waste this opportunity," Shen Qing said to Guo Tiancheng.

Seeing that Shen Qing was determined, Guo Tiancheng didn't care about anything else and quickly threw himself into the process of preparing the dishes.

There was no extra conversation in the arena; all the participants were busy preparing their dishes.

Shen Qing composed herself and carefully examined the ingredients on the stove.

Although the location was poor, the ingredients we received were the same as everyone else's.

Shen Qing picked up the two cucumbers and placed them on the cutting board.

The cucumbers are a vibrant green, with a thin layer of prickles taut. If you gently pinch the cucumber with your fingernail, juice will immediately seep out.

These cucumbers are very fresh.

But she didn't start making it right away.

She was going to make cucumber salad, a simple dish that didn't take long to prepare, but if left out for too long, it wouldn't taste as good.

Therefore, she had to get the cucumbers ready at the last minute before the competition ended.

"Look, look! What's that cook doing? Why is she just standing there without moving?"

"Could it be that they've given up altogether?"

"Look, all the other contestants brought lots of ingredients, but that last cook didn't bring anything. Is she just here to make up the numbers?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, seems to be from Ping'an County, they actually sent a young woman to make up the numbers..."

"..."

The onlookers began to discuss it amongst themselves.

Shen Qing truly stood out among all the chefs.

This prominence lies not only in her identity as a woman, but also in her current state of being anxious and waiting.

All the contestants were busy, each wishing they had four hands, but Shen Qing was not only slow, but also did nothing.

Shen Qing, on the field, only regretted that she didn't have a chair, otherwise she could lie down there.

Since she had nothing better to do, she decided to observe Guo Tiancheng and Situ Liang's actions.

Guo Tiancheng was skillfully preparing a large crucian carp. The water in the pot had already boiled, and he seemed to be making a steamed fish.

Meanwhile, Situ Liang was carving something on a radish with a knife, his expression extremely focused.

Clearly, both of them brought out their best skills.

Not far away, there was a woman in red who had just greeted Shen Qing. She was preparing mutton, and there was cumin on the table, so she was probably going to make cumin mutton.

After looking around, I realized that no one was making cold dishes.

Judging that it was about time, Shen Qing began to prepare her cucumber salad.

She picked up the knife and slapped it against the cucumber with the back of the blade.

The moment the back of the knife touched the cucumber, the cucumber split lengthwise along its grain, and tiny pieces of flesh popped out of the cut surface.

Snapped--

Snapped--

Snapped--

With a swift and decisive chop, Shen Qing chopped the meat, the juice seeping out and forming a small puddle of light green liquid on the cutting board.

Soon, the two cucumbers were smashed.

Shen Qing put the smashed cucumber into a large bowl. She grabbed a handful of salt, rubbed it between her fingertips, and the salt grains fell evenly onto the cucumber.

Next comes the waiting, waiting for the salt to draw out the water from the cucumber.

Besides the cucumber itself, the dressing is also very important for making cucumber salad.

Crush the garlic cloves and slice the dried chili peppers.

Then she took a clean small bowl and added salt, Sichuan peppercorn oil, chicken bouillon, soy sauce, sesame oil, balsamic vinegar, and rice vinegar to it.

Of course, apart from salt and balsamic vinegar, all the other seasonings were provided by the system.

These seasonings were placed in exquisite little bottles and appeared out of thin air in Shen Qing's arms.

Because the bottle was so small, no one suspected anything and assumed that Shen Qing had brought it in advance.

After preparing the sauce, Shen Qing stopped what she was doing.

All she has to do now is wait, wait for the salt to draw out the water from the cucumbers.