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

"Look, the cook is moving!!"

"What is she doing? Slicing cucumbers? Isn't that just like cooking at home?"

"Suddenly, I feel like I could participate in a culinary competition..."

"..."

Upon seeing Shen Qing's actions, the audience immediately began to discuss it again.

Honestly, this was the first time they had ever seen someone so indifferent to a food competition.

The other cooks couldn't help but glance at Shen Qing a few times when they heard the murmurs.

Anyone in the know would immediately recognize that Shen Qing was preparing a cold dish.

"Serving cold dishes at a food competition? How petty..."

"Outrageous! I never expected that someone would make a cold dish in this year's food competition."

"..."

Shen Qing was not affected by these sounds at all. She was keeping track of the time in her mind while observing the condition of the cucumber.

As time passed, fine water droplets gradually seeped from the cut surface of the cucumber. The droplets gathered into streams and pooled into a light green liquid at the bottom of the bowl.

Seeing that it was almost done, Shen Qing picked up the bowl and poured out the water.

At this moment, the cucumber is slightly dry on the surface, but it still contains moisture inside. When you press it with your hand, you can clearly feel its full elasticity.

Shen Qing prepared a large bowl of water and poured the cucumber directly into it, rinsing it gently.

This step is to wash away the salt on the surface of the cucumber.

After washing and draining the water, she slowly poured in the sauce she had just prepared.

After doing all this, Shen Qing started a fire.

Having been in ancient times for quite some time now, Shen Qing was quite skilled at starting a fire.

In no time, the fire in the stove was lit.

Pour oil into the pan, and it will be hot in no time.

Shen Qing threw the chopped garlic and chili threads she had just prepared into the oil pan.

In just a moment, the minced garlic turned golden yellow, and a pungent chili aroma emerged.

Shila-

Hot oil mixed with minced garlic and chili threads was poured directly over the cucumber.

The smoky aroma of garlic and chili, the numbing aroma of Sichuan peppercorn oil, the sour aroma of balsamic vinegar, and the salty aroma of soy sauce are fully activated and amplified by the hot oil, blending all the aromas together.

Shen Qing picked up long chopsticks and stirred the cucumber bit by bit to ensure that each piece was coated with the juice.

Then, she poured the mixed cucumber into a white porcelain plate and arranged it on the plate.

clang--

Just as the plates were set out, the gong rang out.

"Time's up, contestants, stop cooking!"

Instantly, everyone stopped what they were doing.

With the exception of a few unexpected cases, the vast majority of participants completed the preparation of their dishes.

"Now, the seven judges will taste the dishes one by one—"

As soon as the words were spoken, the first contestant placed his dish on the high platform.

In an instant, the audience erupted in uproar:

"Look, it's Li Zhesheng! He's amazing, from a family of imperial chefs, incredibly skilled!"

"It's soup-filled yellow croaker! He made the legendary soup-filled yellow croaker!!"

This yellow croaker soup is no ordinary dish. The main ingredient is a large yellow croaker from the East China Sea, and the side ingredients include bird's nest, shark fin, dried scallops, pigeon eggs, and so on. The soup base is made with an old hen that is over three years old.

Putting everything else aside, these ingredients alone are enough to easily outclass all the other contestants.

As expected, all seven judges praised the dish, and Li Zhesheng received seven green cards, successfully advancing to the top 100.

"It's Kong Lingxian!! A true inheritor of Shandong cuisine! Look, he's serving braised sea cucumber with scallions!!"

The second contestant served their dish to the judges.

Sea cucumbers were an extremely rare ingredient in this dynasty, and Kong Lingxian served braised sea cucumbers with scallions as soon as he arrived, which shows his considerable wealth.

Without a doubt, it passed unanimously again, and they advanced directly.

"Eight-Treasure Gourd Duck!!! Oh my god, I'm so hungry!"

"I really want to go up and try it!" the audience below shouted again.

Almost every time a dish was served to the judges, everyone gasped in surprise.

The dishes served were really impressive, and of course, not only were the dishes impressive, but the people serving them were impressive too.

In contrast, the contestants behind them were extremely anxious, each one impatient and restless, as if ants were crawling all over their hearts.

For every person who advances, one less spot is available.

There are only one hundred spots available, and the more people who advance ahead of them, the more nervous the people behind become.

Guo Tiancheng and Situ Liang were already feeling very uneasy, worried not only about themselves but also about Shen Qing.

Honestly, while everyone else was having big yellow croakers and sea cucumbers from the East China Sea, Shen Qing only had a simple plate of cucumbers.

No matter how you look at it, it's destined to be eliminated.

After a period of agonizing waiting, it was finally Situ Liang's turn.

"Go quickly, just do your best," Guo Tiancheng said earnestly.

Now, there is only one spot left to advance, and they have three people left.

Of course, this does not mean that two people must be eliminated. According to the competition rules, if all three of them are approved by the judges, they can choose an opponent from the already advanced contestants to compete again. The winner advances and the loser is eliminated.

In the end, only one hundred people remained.

But the judges had already tasted so many delicious foods that they were gradually losing patience.

Unless they have exceptionally delicious food, they won't go through the trouble of having the contestants compete again.

Situ Liang carved the radish into a lifelike little cat, which was extremely cute.

He has excellent knife skills, but there are plenty of chefs with good knife skills in culinary competitions.

Unsurprisingly, he was eliminated.

Next up on stage was Guo Tiancheng, who served his plate of steamed fish with scallion oil.

Speaking of which, this steamed fish with scallion oil is quite similar to yesterday's steamed sea bass. He has taken good care of Shen Qing's improved method for that steamed sea bass.

"This fish is steamed quite well," Jin said slowly.

Turning to look down at the audience, Shen Qing was already waiting below the judges' table with a bowl of cucumber salad.

Jin Ye was initially hesitant, but the moment he saw Shen Qing, he immediately raised the green card.

The other judges also glanced at Shen Qing, and in unison raised their green cards for Guo Tiancheng.

They wanted to see the last contestant and decide whether or not to raise the sign.

But now that they see the last contestant is a woman, they don't have much hope anymore.

So they directly gave the last spot for advancement to Guo Tiancheng.

Guo Tiancheng sighed, unsure whether to be happy or sad.

He turned and stepped off the judges' platform, staring intently at Shen Qing.

Shen Qing was poised and graceful, showing no outward emotion as she walked step by step onto the judges' stage.

"Look! It looks like a cold dish!"

"Cucumber salad, hahaha~"

"Is she just giving up?"

"..."

The judges' platform was in the very center, attracting everyone's attention. At this moment, even more eyes were drawn to the plate of cucumber salad in Shen Qing's hand.

Laughter, mockery, and of course some sympathy mingled together, creating a continuous cacophony.