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

The food competition began as scheduled early the next morning.

The audience and contestants crowded together, and murmurs arose everywhere.

Today is the final match, and even more people have come to watch the game.

"The finals! This is the finals! It only happens once every ten years! If you want to see it again, you'll have to wait another ten years!!"

"I wonder who will be able to go toe-to-toe with Madam Shen this time. I'm already looking forward to it!"

"Yeah, this final is sure to be exciting. Yesterday, Shen Niangzi's spicy snacks smelled amazing. I wonder what she'll cook today."

"..."

The crowd was buzzing with discussion, but Shen Qing was clearly still the focus of their conversation.

Kong Lingxian, the inheritor of Shandong cuisine, looked arrogant. He was determined to compete with this Lady Shen today.

He had never tried spicy strips, but judging from their shape, they were nothing more than a cheap, attention-seeking treat, not worthy of serious consideration.

He must win the culinary competition today and make Shandong cuisine famous throughout the world!

Thinking this, Kong Lingxian couldn't help but search for Shen Qing's figure in the crowd.

But after searching for a long time, I still couldn't find it.

Soon after, the judges came on stage.

Upon closer inspection, Shen Qing was not present.

The rules have been announced.

Looking again, Shen Qing still hadn't arrived.

The groups were drawn by lot, but Shen Qing still didn't come.

This made everyone worried.

"What happened? Where is Madam Shen?"

"Why hasn't Madam Shen arrived yet for such an important match?"

"Could something have gone wrong? Is it possible that the contestants on stage did something sabotage to Shen Niangzi?"

"Oh my god, I can't even look at it."

"..."

Everyone had different opinions, and the judges on stage were extremely anxious, especially Mr. Qingci and Mr. Fang.

That's their number one.

We'd been choosing the number one spot from the very beginning, and success seemed within reach, but at this crucial moment, we just couldn't find the right person.

Who isn't in a hurry?

Jin Ye frowned, looking anxious and restless.

His attitude towards Shen Qing was no longer the same as before.

That's his money tree, his lucky charm!

"Master Jin, the lot drawing is complete. The last lot will automatically go to Madam Shen."

"Shall we start this competition now or...?" the host asked cautiously.

It seems his heart has been pounding ever since he hosted this food competition.

Every game has its unexpected twists and turns; none of them can proceed smoothly.

"Wait a moment," Jin said, frowning.

The host was also quick-witted and immediately had several dancers come on stage to dance, saying it was to add to the excitement of the final.

But after the dance, Shen Qing still didn't come.

Another song, another song...

Finally, the dancers were all too tired to dance anymore, and their movements visibly weakened.

"Mr. Jin, I'm afraid we can't wait any longer..."

"Delay it a little longer." Jin closed his eyes, tapping his five fingers on the table incessantly, his brows furrowed. Clearly, he was extremely anxious.

"Why hasn't it started yet?"

"That's right, it's just that Madam Shen didn't come. We can't let her be the reason for delaying everyone else, can we?"

"That's so unfair! If everyone else had been late, the competition would have started much earlier."

"..."

Many participants are already resentful.

Only ten contestants remain in the fifth round of the finals, but to become famous, one must be at least second or first place.

Everyone regarded Shen Qing as their biggest competitor, so the vast majority of people wished that Shen Qing would not participate in the competition.

Of course, there are exceptions, such as Kong Lingxian.

He happened to be paired with Shen Qing today, and he's currently eager to compete with her.

"Madam Shen, you absolutely must come..." he said in a low voice, gazing into the distance.

On stage, the host was trying to stall for time:

"To ensure the fairness and impartiality of the competition, today we will first select one hundred audience judges, still in the form of grabbing chopsticks."

As he spoke, he took ten chopsticks and threw them out.

After throwing them away, I took ten more.

Ten more.

He kept praying in his heart: "Madam Shen, please come quickly, I really can't hold you any longer."

......

In the end, I only had ten chopsticks left.

So they threw them down one by one.

When only one stick remained, the host was almost in tears.

He turned his head and glanced tremblingly at Master Jin.

Jin Ye nodded slightly, his face dark.

Only then did the host breathe a sigh of relief, tossing down the last chopstick and shouting, "The fifth round of the culinary competition now begins! Contestants, please complete your dishes within fifteen minutes!!"

clang--

With the sound of the gong, the host finally felt relieved.

"Wait a minute!!"

Just then, Kong Lingxian spoke up.

"My opponent hasn't arrived yet!"

Madam Shen hasn't arrived yet, how can the competition start?

Jin cleared his throat and said, "The culinary competition cannot be postponed because of one person, but if your opponent can arrive in time and prepare the dish within the allotted time, it's not impossible."

This statement is a subtle hint to those who are connected to Shen Qing to hurry up and go find him.

This is the last chance.

"But if you can't make it here, congratulations, you can directly advance to the top five."

Kong Lingxian looked unhappy.

He doesn't want to advance directly; it's too dishonorable.

He wanted to find Lady Shen and have a good match with her.

"I'm going to find someone!" he said coldly, and then walked away.

The audience below were even more enthusiastic: "I want to go too!!"

"This competition wouldn't be interesting without Madam Shen! I'm going to go look for her on the street too!"

"We must bring Lady Shen here!"

"Yes, Shen Niangzi is definitely the winner of the food competition!"

"..."

A large crowd surged in all directions, calling out "Shen Niangzi".

Time passed little by little.

The sun is getting higher and higher, and the remaining cooking time is getting shorter and shorter.

Everyone became even more anxious.

Just then, a loud shout rang out:

"It's Madam Shen! Madam Shen is here!!!"

"Oh my god, Madam Shen has finally appeared! That's wonderful! We can see Madam Shen compete again!"

"My prayers were indeed effective! Jade Emperor, Queen Mother of the West, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Laozi, Amitabha Buddha, thank you all!!!"

"..."

Suddenly, the whole room became excited, and even Grandpa Jin and Grandpa Sun couldn't help but stand up from their armchairs.

Of course, the most excited person was Kong Lingxian.

He glanced at the time; there was less than half an hour left.

This is enough time for him to have a good competition with Madam Shen.

He rushed to Shen Qing in a few strides: "Madam Shen, hurry, let's have a fair and square competition!!"

???

Shen Qing was taken aback. Why was this person so excited? It was like he had been injected with chicken blood.

He waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "I'm not participating in the food competition anymore, you guys continue."