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

"Can we, the audience members, go up and taste it?"

"This is unprecedented in all the years the food competition has been held!"

"Pick me! Pick me!!"

"..."

In an instant, the audience erupted in excitement, and everyone wanted to go up and try it out.

Gao Hongyuan's face darkened; things had completely spiraled out of his control.

I thought that if the audience complained about the unfairness, the judges on stage would re-evaluate the scores to appease them.

Unexpectedly, the audience was invited to come up and taste the food.

This is incredible! Judging from the judges' reactions, Shen Qing's spicy strips must be absolutely delicious!

Gao Hongyuan really didn't know what to do, so he could only keep giving Chef Zhu meaningful glances, hoping that Chef Zhu could do something to change the current situation.

Chef Zhu turned his head away, avoiding Gao Hongyuan's gaze.

Now that things have come to this, what can he do?

All the judges gave Shen Qing a perfect score of 10. Even if he gave her a score of 1, it wouldn't matter, because the lowest score would be removed when calculating the total.

It's better to play ten points with Master Jin.

Besides, Shen Qing's spicy strips are really delicious.

Chef Zhu was now regretting accepting Gao Hongyuan's money. He had thought he could easily protect Gao Hongyuan, but he hadn't expected that Master Jin would side with Shen Qing at this stage.

"Pick me! Pick me!!"

The audience below was still in an uproar, everyone was extremely excited.

The host brought out one hundred chopsticks and announced loudly, "I have one hundred chopsticks here. I will throw them to everyone shortly, and whoever catches them can come up on stage to taste them!"

"In this way, the audience members who come on stage are randomized, and everyone can see the fairness of our food competition!"

After saying that, the host swung his arm and threw a hundred chopsticks at the audience.

wow——

One hundred chopsticks were scattered among the crowd in an instant.

"Mine! Mine!!"

"These chopsticks are mine!!"

"I got it! I got it!!!"

"How about selling me your chopsticks for one tael of silver?"

"..."

There was a chaotic scramble below, with some even trying to buy chopsticks with silver.

clang--

A gong sounds.

Seeing that the audience had gathered enough, the host announced, "Now, please come up to the stage if you managed to grab the chopsticks!"

In no time, a large group of audience members crowded onto the judges' platform, their faces filled with excitement.

The audience members who didn't manage to grab chopsticks looked on with regret and longing.

"Please, everyone, take your time to sample the dishes prepared by the two contestants!"

One hundred plates were brought out, each plate containing a small spicy strip and a small piece of fried chili pepper.

Fortunately, Shen Qing had made a lot, and the seven judges snatched up all the spicy strips in the white porcelain plate, but luckily there were still many left in the bowl for mixing the spicy strips.

The remaining spicy strips in the basin were divided into one hundred portions by the servants.

Therefore, each spicy strip in the plate is very short, about the size of a thumb.

However, Gao Hongyuan had even fewer fried chili peppers; each plate contained only a piece the size of a fingernail.

The audience began to taste the food in turn.

The first person to taste it was an eight or nine-year-old child. He was dressed in fine clothes and wore a piece of jade around his waist.

It's obvious they're not short of money.

Taking advantage of his small size and agility, he secretly picked up a chopstick from the ground.

"Hiss~ The chili peppers are pretty spicy!" The child said casually after tasting Gao Hongyuan's fried chili peppers.

"It's just spicy, nothing else." He said with a serious expression of disdain.

It's clear that this child is used to having a taste for delicacies.

Immediately afterwards, he put the spicy strip from the plate into his mouth.

The next moment, he jumped up: "So delicious!!!"

"These spicy snacks are so delicious!!"

"I choose spicy strips!"

The children were so excited that they picked up the plate and licked the oil left by the spicy strips clean. After looking around, they rushed straight to Shen Qing.

"Sister, your spicy snacks are so delicious!"

"Why don't you come work as a cook at my house? I'll have my dad pay you a lot!"

"How about fifty taels of silver a month? Or one hundred taels? If not, just name your price!"

The kid is very wealthy, and seems to have plenty of money.

Shen Qing smiled helplessly: "My sister has to go home after the competition, so she can't come to your house to be your cook."

"Where do you live, sister?"

Ping'an County.

"Can't we settle down in the capital? I'll have my father buy you a house."

"..."

It seems that the kid's dad is really rich.

Shen Qing sighed helplessly. Sure enough, no one could resist spicy strips, especially children.

She still remembers when she was a child, a spicy snack that cost one cent could last her a long time.

Finally, they even licked their fingers clean.

It seems that, regardless of the era, spicy snacks have a fatal attraction for children.

"Aaaaaaah!"

Just then, a scream rang out.

"It tastes so good!! It smells amazing!!"

"I apologize to Madam Shen!! Madam Shen deserves to be number one!"

Shen Qing looked up and saw a girl of about seventeen or eighteen, with bright almond-shaped eyes, licking her fingers as she called out.

Well, not only kids, but adults can't resist the temptation of spicy strips either.

Immediately afterwards, exclamations of surprise rang out. Everyone, young and old, male and female, was filled with excitement, licking the plates and their fingers clean.

"It's so delicious! It's both numbing and spicy, absolutely amazing!!"

"I hereby unilaterally declare that Madam Shen is the winner of the culinary competition!"

"That's right, what's the point of competing? Madam Shen is number one!"

"..."

The people on stage were incredibly excited, while those in the audience were drooling with envy.

Being able to only look but not eat, no, being able to only watch others eat, is simply the greatest torture.

"Mrs. Shen, are you selling your spicy strips?"

"Are you from Ping'an County? Do you have any shops in Ping'an County?"

"Madam Shen, please, please sell spicy strips! I want to try some too!!"

"..."

A chorus of wails erupted from below, and the audience on stage also wailed and prayed, hoping that Shen Qing would sell spicy strips.

A spicy snack the size of a thumb is gone in one bite, it's not satisfying at all.

It's one thing to have never tried it, but to have taken a bite, tasted the flavor, and then find it gone is an even greater torment.

For a moment, everyone on the field was clamoring for Shen Qing to sell spicy strips.

Jin squinted, his smile growing wider and wider.

This is a huge business opportunity!

After the competition is over, he will definitely invite Madam Shen to join his restaurant.

If his restaurant were to offer spicy snacks, business would definitely boom.

How much does a plate of spicy strips cost... fifty taels, I guess!

Jin already had a complete plan in mind.

But Shen Qing was stunned at this moment, not because of anything else, but because that familiar mechanical voice rang in his mind again:

[Ding—A strong craving for spicy snacks has been detected, automatically triggering a new task.]

[New Task - Sell 1,000 servings of spicy strips]

[Task Reward - One Random Skill]