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

"Thank you, but no need."

Shen Qing pushed the cart and walked away in a calm voice.

"Wait!!" Master Jin quickly stopped her. "Madam Shen, didn't you understand? I'm inviting you to join the Golden Sparrow Tower. Fifty taels of silver a month! Fifty taels!!!"

As he spoke, he held up five fingers and waved them repeatedly in front of Shen Qing.

Fifty taels of silver! How could anyone refuse?

Shen Qing was just an ordinary commoner with no background or status, and she didn't look wealthy at all. How could she possibly refuse?

She must not have understood.

Jin Ye looked at Shen Qing expectantly, just waiting for her to be moved to tears.

"I will not enter the Golden Sparrow Tower." Shen Qing's voice was louder.

Not entering the Golden Sparrow Tower?!

The expectation on Jin Ye's face suddenly vanished, and he froze on the spot.

You were rejected?

He was actually rejected?!

He personally invited him, and he was actually rejected?

This is the first time ever.

"Once you join the Golden Sparrow Tower, you can become a renowned chef. One day, you might even have the opportunity to cook for the royal family in the palace. Madam Shen, this is a great opportunity! You'd better think it through!"

Old Sun had just followed behind Master Jin. He really hadn't expected Shen Qing to refuse, so he quickly tried to persuade her from the side.

He wasn't exactly lying; for an ordinary chef, Jinquelou was indeed a rare opportunity.

But Shen Qing is different.

She knew that this so-called Golden Sparrow Tower might be an ancient five-star hotel, a place that many chefs dreamed of.

But she was a five-star chef in her previous life, and to be honest, she's had enough of working odd jobs.

Now that she has the system, she naturally chooses not to work.

"Thank you, Elder Sun, and thank you, Master Jin, for your kind offer. I have made up my mind and will not join the Golden Sparrow Tower."

"Jin Ye can give this opportunity to other contestants."

Shen Qing refused very politely, and she could also feel the envious looks she received from the contestants on stage.

After hearing this, Jin Ye's face fell, and a hint of anger rose in his eyes.

He felt utterly humiliated in front of everyone.

"Madam Shen actually refused..."

"This was personally invited by Master Jin... How should I put it, I inexplicably feel that Madam Shen is a bit arrogant."

"The dishes at Jinquelou are so expensive that ordinary people like us can't afford them at all. It's a good thing that Madam Shen doesn't go to Jinquelou, at least we can eat Madam Shen's spicy strips at a low price."

"That's true. If we really get to Jinquelou, I'm afraid spicy strips won't be 30 coins a serving anymore."

"..."

Countless whispers reached Jin Ye's ears.

He was such a proud person, but at that moment, he felt as if his dignity had been stripped off, thrown on the ground, and stomped on.

Embarrassing.

"In that case, I will not insist." Master Jin said through gritted teeth.

Now that things have come to this, and with so many people in front of him, he couldn't say anything more.

Shen Qing nodded, turned around, pushed the cart, and walked away.

After watching Shen Qing leave, the crowd discussed for a while about Shen Qing refusing Master Jin's offer, and then dispersed.

The biggest draw of the food competition is gone, and the audience doesn't want to stay any longer.

With a dark expression, Jin Ye sat back down on the judges' platform. As the audience dwindled, his expression grew increasingly grim.

But on the surface, the food competition must continue.

When the competition was hastily concluded and the final results were announced, there were hardly any audience members left.

Kong Lingxian unsurprisingly won first place, but he was not happy at all; instead, he was dejected.

Before the competition began, he regarded Li Zhesheng as his strongest opponent and wanted to have a good match with him.

As a result, Lee Cheol-sung was inexplicably eliminated.

So he held his breath, eager to have a fair and square competition with Shen Qing.

As a result, Shen Qing withdrew from the competition.

His first place was so meaningless; it was like he picked it up off the street.

"Congratulations on winning the Culinary Competition! You will receive a reward of one hundred taels of silver and the opportunity to join the Golden Sparrow Tower. After a full year at the Golden Sparrow Tower, Master Jin may invest in you to open a food shop in the capital, depending on the circumstances."

The host, all smiles, brought out a tray with one hundred taels of silver on it.

It's over. This food competition is finally over, and he no longer has to suffer through cleaning up the mess.

Jin Ye's expression improved slightly at this point. Even without Shen Qing, Kong Lingxian was not bad.

Young and skilled at cooking, he can easily make delicious food.

He cleared his throat: "Little Kong, don't worry, I won't treat you badly. Once you're skilled at Jinquelou, I'll invest in a shop for you. We'll split the profits 20/20, and you'll be set for life after a few years."

Kong Lingxian didn't reply, but directly grabbed all one hundred taels of silver from the tray and put it into his arms.

Without saying a word, he took a step and left.

It was as if they hadn't heard what the host and Master Jin said at all.

"Hey, hey, hey! Chef Kong, don't go! The deal with joining the Golden Sparrow Tower hasn't been finalized yet!!!" The host shouted from behind when he saw that something was wrong.

"No need."

Kong Lingxian's voice came, but he didn't stop walking.

The host was stunned. Why wouldn't Kong Lingxian take such a good opportunity?

Turning around, I was shocked to see that Master Jin's face was ashen.

"Jin... Jin... Master Jin..." the host stammered, sensing an impending storm.

Snapped--

Master Jin raised his hand and smashed the teacup on the table to the ground.

"What the hell?!" he slammed his hand on the table and yelled.

"Master Jin...Master Jin..." The host felt utterly terribly unlucky. "I'll go and have a proper talk with Chef Kong..."

"What are we talking about!" Jin roared. "Haven't we embarrassed ourselves enough?"

"roll!!!"

He lived most of his life and single-handedly founded the renowned Golden Sparrow Tower, which became famous far and wide and was sought after by almost everyone.

Unexpectedly, today, one by one, they all refused to join his Golden Sparrow Tower.

That's absolutely ungrateful!

The host was so frightened that he ran away as fast as he could.

The other judges, not wanting to provoke Jin Ye, left in twos and threes.

It's fair to say that this year's food competition organized by Mr. Jin was a complete waste of time.

First of all, everyone's attention turned to Shen Qing, and the attention and discussion about the food competition dropped significantly.

Secondly, neither of the two chefs favored by Master Jin, Kong Lingxian and Li Zhesheng, were recruited into Jinquelou.

In addition, many unexpected events occurred during this year's food competition, causing its authority and public perception to plummet.

In the end, Mr. Jin lost his most important pride.

Anyway, it was a complete mess.