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

Shen Qing didn't care what Master Jin said; in any case, she had already advanced.

Turning my head, I saw that Fang Shanren on the stage was still eating cucumber salad with his head down.

I don't know where he got a big steamed bun from, but he's currently dipping it in the juice of a cucumber salad and eating it like crazy.

"I also want to try that cucumber salad." Situ Liang looked on longingly from below the stage, his mouth watering.

Guo Tiancheng beamed, clearly genuinely happy for Shen Qing: "Excellent! A simple cold dish! I never expected Fang Shanren to actually produce the Golden Chopstick Token! Fantastic!!"

This is something that has never happened before.

Shen Qing smiled and said, "It was just luck. I was prepared to be eliminated."

No matter how good the food is, it's all for nothing if the diners don't touch it.

Compared to hot dishes, cold dishes don't have such a strong flavor and can't entice diners with their aroma, but once diners try her cold dishes, they will definitely finish them.

Shen Qing advanced, leaving one more spot than available. Therefore, Guo Tiancheng had to choose one of the other advanceees to compete again.

Guo Tiancheng is a seasoned chef with many years of experience, and the culinary competition is extremely important to him, so he put in his best effort in cooking.

Unsurprisingly, Guo Tiancheng won and successfully advanced to the top 100.

The first stage of the competition has come to an end.

"Ladies and gentlemen, after the first stage of the competition, we have successfully selected one hundred finalists."

"These 100 finalists will compete in the second stage tomorrow."

"The second stage has forty qualifying spots. The rules are: use a designated ingredient and be free to create your own dish. The designated ingredient this time is eggs. All contestants need to use this ingredient to make a dish, which will be tasted by the judges."

"Similar to the first stage, judges will decide who stays and who goes by raising their placards. Contestants need to receive six or more green placards to advance."

"The Golden Chopsticks Token allows a contestant to advance directly. Currently, Fang Shanren has used his Golden Chopsticks Token, and there are six Golden Chopsticks Tokens remaining on the field."

egg??

Everyone present listened attentively, and the contestants were already thinking about what they wanted to do with the eggs.

Eggs are a common and ordinary ingredient, but to win in a competition, the contestants' dishes must be anything but ordinary.

This is the challenge of tomorrow's match.

Needless to say, the contestants will rack their brains tonight trying to figure out how to make the eggs exquisite and expensive.

......

After the first day of competition, the three returned to the inn.

Situ Liang suggested going outside for a walk.

Although he was eliminated, he wasn't upset at all.

He always felt that Shen Qing would make it to the final round, and he was incredibly excited about it.

"Madam Shen, what are you planning to do with the eggs tomorrow?" Situ Liang asked curiously.

Shen Qing shook her head: "I haven't thought about it yet."

"You, all you do is spout nonsense. Is this the kind of thing you can say on the street?" Guo Tiancheng smacked Situ Liang on the back of the head.

With so many people on the street, there's a good chance we'll run into the contestants. If they overhear us, wouldn't that be asking for trouble?

Situ Liang suddenly realized and quickly said, "Yes, yes, yes, Madam Shen, please don't tell me, please don't tell anyone!!"

"I really didn't expect that," Shen Qing said helplessly.

As they were talking, a disdainful voice came from behind:

"A plate of smashed cucumber made it into the top 100? Isn't that a slap in the face for all of us?"

The speaker was a chef from Yangzhou, who had already been eliminated.

"My crab meat lion's head meatballs are so much better! The crab was freshly deboned this morning, the meat was hand-chopped, and the cooking time was perfect. How could they be inferior to a cold cucumber salad?"

The cook was furious, clearly feeling it was unfair.

Someone nearby chimed in, "Who says otherwise? What's the point of cold dishes? What kind of cooking is it if it's not cooked properly? I really don't understand what's wrong with Fang Shanren."

"Exactly! Who doesn't know how to smash a cucumber? It's just a matter of sprinkling some salt and adding some vinegar. Even my five-year-old daughter can do that!"

"If she's really so capable, why doesn't she cook like us?"

"In my opinion, Madam Shen must have a relationship with Fang Shanren."

The murmurs grew louder and louder; it was a tea stall, and many of the cooks who had been laid off were sitting there.

The once-in-a-decade food competition is a highly competitive event, and every participant has prepared extensively for it. Being eliminated in the first round is disheartening for anyone.

But Shen Qing managed to make it into the top 100 with a very simple cucumber salad, which made all the eliminated chefs feel that it was unfair.

How could their carefully prepared dishes be inferior to a simple cucumber salad?

These chefs who were eliminated couldn't accept it from the bottom of their hearts.

"You think cold dishes are simple?" Just then, another voice rang out.

Everyone turned around and saw that it was Fang Shanren.

Fang Shanren was always frugal. He wore coarse cloth clothes and sat inconspicuously in the corner of the tea stall.

The eliminated chefs fell silent, and there was even a hint of embarrassment.

They just wanted to vent their frustrations; who could have imagined that the person involved would be there?

"I ask you, what makes a delicious hot dish?" Fang Shanren suddenly asked.

"The heat should be just right!" someone shouted.

"It's all about skill!"

"And experience!"

After a pause, Fang Shanren asked again, "What about the cold dishes?"

What makes a delicious cold dish?

No one spoke for a long while.

After a long silence, a low voice finally broke the silence: "Cold dishes are simple, just sprinkle some seasoning, what's the big deal..."

"There's no need to rely on the heat for cold dishes," Fang Shanren continued. "But when making hot dishes, fire can help you cover up a lot of things. Fire can burn away the fishy smell, bring out the aroma, and lock in the juices of the ingredients. No matter what mistakes you make, fire can cover them up."

"But when making cold dishes, there's no fire. If you make a mistake, you make a mistake, and nothing can cover it up."

"You think cold dishes are simple, but the simpler something is, the harder it is to make a difference. The reason I was willing to take out the Golden Chopsticks Token is because Madam Shen's cucumber salad was worth it. I have never eaten such a wonderful cucumber salad before."

Fang Shanren's words were sincere and heartfelt.

He used to think that cold dishes were not presentable, and that hot dishes were superior to cold dishes.

But after eating Shen Qing's cucumber salad today, he thought about it for a long time and suddenly realized that cold dishes are not so simple.

There's no need for precise heat control or complicated cooking techniques, but it's precisely in this way that the chef's skill shines through.

People have had too many misunderstandings about cold dishes in the past.

Upon hearing this, Shen Qing walked to the tea stall and bowed to Fang Shanren.

Then she said softly, "Cold dishes also have their own timing and method. The time for salting to draw out the water, the time for soaking in the juice, and the time for letting it sit to absorb the flavor—a slight error can lead to a huge difference."

"There should be no distinction between cold and hot dishes. As long as they taste good and the person enjoying them finds them delicious, that's enough."