Chapter 966 Culinary Competition
The marriage mouse was a custom in Flame City and had existed for many years. People still believed that the marriage mouse could bring about a good marriage.
However, her mind was in a mess because of her concern. Before the result was confirmed, she had been worried all the time. What if the marriage mouse chose an old and ugly man for her?
It was not until she saw Qin Haodong’s appearance that she was relieved. She was secretly happy in her heart. She had not raised this little thing for so many years for nothing. The man it had chosen for her was really good.
But now there was a problem. She was very satisfied with this husband, but Zhuo Wengong appeared and wanted to make trouble. She had to get rid of Zhuo Wengong.
Thinking of this, He Ziwei frowned and said to Zhuo Wengong, “Young Master Zhuo, are you sure you want to do this?”
“Of course, my feelings for Sister Ziwei are obvious. No matter what price I have to pay, I will marry you.”
“Young Master Zhuo, I think it’s better if you reconsider. It’s really not appropriate between us.”
Both of them were young people who had grown up in Flame City. How could she not know what kind of person this playboy was? She hated him from the bottom of her heart.
Zhuo Wengong chuckled, “Sister Ziwei, in fact, you still don’t know me well. As long as you get to know me, you’ll immediately know my worthiness!”
He Ziwei’s brows furrowed. There was nothing she could do about it. This rule had been set by the ancestors. Since she had chosen to use her marriage mouse to find her husband, she had to accept the challenges of other people.
“Since Young Master Zhuo insists, then let the challenge begin!” He Ziwei said, “According to the rules, the regulations of the competition will be set by the challenger. What do you want to compete in?”
Zhuo Wengong waved the folding fan in his hand and confidently said, “I am talented and versatile. Any one of them can crush this bumpkin.
“But I heard that Sister Ziwei likes delicious food and music, so I’ll challenge his cooking and music skills, plus martial arts, two out of three sets.”
“Shameless!”
He Ziwei cursed inwardly.
Everyone in Flame City knew that Zhuo Wengong was adept at music and cooking. Now, he used two areas of his expertise and challenged the other party in such a pompous manner.
It turned out that the Lord of Flame City, Zhuo Wangsun, enjoyed watching dancing, listening singing and eating delicacies. Zhuo Wengong had always been good at flattering his father since he was young.
In order to get the position of the Lord in the future, in addition to cultivating martial arts, he had been studying cooking and music. Moreover, he had some talent, so he had made great achievements in these two fields and was deeply loved by Zhuo Wangsun.
Although she was angry in her heart, she could not show it on her face. She turned to Qin Haodong and said, “Young Master Qin, what do you think?”
“Sure!”
In Qin Haodong’s opinion, Zhuo Wengong competing with him in these two aspects would simply result in his humiliation.
In terms of cooking, not only the delicacies in Lingwu Continent but also the delicacies on earth could not be compared with those of Huaxia.
As for music, he had the confidence to win.
“Alright then, I will announce the regulations of the competition,” He Ziwei said on the spot. “According to the rules of our Flame City, Young Master Zhuo will challenge Young Master Qin. The regulation is two out of three sets: cooking, music, and martial arts.
“Now the competition begins.”
Qin Haodong said, “For the first round, what will we compete in?”
“Let’s compete in cooking.” Zhuo Wengong proudly said, “Today, I’ll show you what delicious food is.”
After saying that, the guy directly took out kitchen utensils and all kinds of cooking supplies from his Storage Ring. It seemed that the guy was really proficient in cooking and carried everything with him.
He Ziwei looked worriedly at Qin Haodong and asked, “Young Master Qin, do you need us to prepare anything for you?”
“No need! I brought them all with me, too!”
Qin Haodong said as he took out his kitchen utensils. However, compared to Zhuo Wengong, his utensils were much simpler.
Then, they separately showed their cooking skills and began to make delicious food.
Zhuo Wengong’s cooking moves were extremely practiced. Moreover, the colors were beautiful and dazzling. Soon, the rich fragrance of food spread throughout the place.
On the contrary, Qin Haodong looked much more low-key. They had never seen his kitchen utensils and ingredients before. No one knew what he was cooking.
Furthermore, the fragrance was not that strong. Occasionally, there would be a strange smell.
“Where did this young man come from? Can he cook? What is he doing?”
“Yeah, what is he making? It smells so strange. Why is there such a pungent smell?”
“Alas, he is destined to lose in this cooking round. It’s a pity that such a good young man will be beheaded later.”
The onlookers were shocked by Zhuo Wengong’s cooking skills. None of them thought highly of Qin Haodong.
He Ziwei’s heart tensed up again. Although she was the one presiding over this challenge, the referee couldn’t show any partiality at all.
Otherwise, going by the customs of Flame City, not only her but even the He Family would find it hard to live here in the future.
Zhuo Wengong’s cooking speed was extremely fast. It didn’t take long before four exquisite dishes were placed in front of He Ziwei.
“Sister Ziwei, here are the golden fish, the deer meat with spiritual herbs, the amber duck, and the immortal elbow meat that I cooked for you. Please have a taste now.”
He Ziwei picked up the chopsticks that had already been prepared. Then, she took a bite of each dish.
It had to be said that Zhuo Wengong’s cooking skills were really good. No wonder he could win Zhuo Wangsun’s favor. These dishes were all fragrant and tasted very good.
It was a pity that although these dishes were clearly delicious, she felt extremely lonely when she tasted the dishes. Was she really going to marry this playboy?
Zhuo Wengong proudly said, “Sister Ziwei, how are they? Are they delicious? After you marry into my mansion, I will cook delicious food for you every day.”
He Zhong could read He Ziwei’s mind and he said, “Young Miss, it’s time to try Mr. Qin’s dishes.”
Zhuo Wengong proudly said, “Do you think that Young Miss would still like to try other people’s garbage after she had tasted my delicious food?”
“We’ll only know whose dishes are the actual trash after we do a comparison,” Qin Haodong said and took a tray over. “Miss Ziwei, please have a taste of my stirfried cabbage in vinegar sauce.”
He Ziwei asked in surprise, “What do you mean by ‘vinegar’?”
Qin Haodong said, “It’s a seasoning I made myself. It tastes sour and is great for stir-frying vegetables.”
“Ha… Ha… Ha… Ha…” Zhuo Wengong immediately burst into laughter. “Do you know how to cook or not? This is my first time to hear that those sour things can be used to stir-fry vegetables.”
The cuisine in Lingwu Continent was relatively outdated. Usually, the fragrance of the dishes was the most prominent. The seasoning was only oil and salt. Hence, he did not know what vinegar was.
Qin Haodong said, “You’ll know if it’s delicious or not after you try it!”
After that, he took off the lid. The sour smell filled the air.
Zhuo Wengong mocked again. “Whew, this smell! I know that it can’t be eaten after smelling it.”
Qin Haodong ignored him and said to He Ziwei, “Young Miss, please have a taste.”
As a Young Miss in the first big family, He Ziwei had never eaten dishes with this taste. She picked up the chopsticks and put a piece of cabbage into her mouth. Next, she chewed slowly.
“Well… it’s delicious! It’s so delicious!”
The sour flavor of the stirfried cabbage in vinegar sauce completely awakened He Ziwei’s tastebuds. Her appetite suddenly increased. Several pieces of cabbage were put into her mouth one after another.
Then, she put down her chopsticks and sighed, “It’s really delicious and out of this world. I didn’t expect sour things to be so delicious!”
“Impossible! This is absolutely impossible. You must be biased towards this gigolo!”
Zhuo Wengong jumped up suddenly. “I’ve never heard that sourness could be used in cooking!”
“Zhuo Wengong, watch your words!” He Ziwei didn’t favor Qin Haodong at all, so she confidently said, “The dish made by Young Master Qin is right here. You can try it yourself if you don’t believe me.”
“I will try. I don’t believe that this stirfried cabbage in vinegar sauce can be delicious!”
Zhuo Wengong picked up his chopsticks and put a piece of cabbage into his mouth. Then, he began to eat it.
“This…”
Soon, a surprised look appeared on his face. As a person who cooked extremely well, he could appreciate the taste of this dish. It was indeed several levels higher than what he had cooked.
He Ziwei asked, “How is it? What else do you have to say? Do you want me to find someone else to taste it for you?”
Zhuo Wengong froze and said, “I admit that the taste of this dish is not bad, but I made four dishes. He can’t win with just one dish, can he?”
“Don’t worry. I have more!” Qin Haodong said and took out the second dish.
He opened the lid of the dish. A plate of green food appeared in front of everyone.
“Young Master Qin, what is this?” He Ziwei asked curiously.
She was very curious as to why Qin Haodong served this dish, one which she had never seen before.
Qin Haodong said, “This dish is called bitter melon in sauce. It tastes bitter!”
“Nonsense. This is pure nonsense. Who has ever heard that bitter things can be used in cooking? Isn’t this nonsense?” Zhuo Wengong shouted again.
However, He Ziwei wasn’t affected by him at all. Just like how she had tasted the stirfried cabbage in vinegar sauce before, she picked up a piece of bitter melon with her chopsticks and placed it in her mouth.
She indeed felt the slight bitterness of the bitter melon after it entered her mouth. However, she felt the fresh fragrance and the coolness in the bitter taste soon after. This taste was really good. She had never tasted anything like it before.
Qin Haodong said, “Generally speaking, bitter-tasting food is very difficult to cook, but my bitter melon in sauce is not only cool, refreshing, and fragrant, but also has the effect of clearing summer-heat and detoxification.”
“Young Master Qin, you are so amazing. You can make the taste of bitterness so delicious.”
At this moment, He Ziwei looked at Qin Haodong with starry eyes. She was indeed a foodie. However, she had never enjoyed the stirfried cabbage in vinegar sauce and the bitter melon in sauce before.
Not only did the two dishes satisfy her taste buds, but they also opened a new window for her in the direction of food.
“He Ziwei, are you guys kidding me? I refuse to believe that bitter things can actually be cooked and eaten.”
Zhuo Wengong’s face was full of anger. He grabbed his chopsticks and put two pieces of bitter melon into his mouth.
Originally, he wanted to fiercely refute them after eating, but soon his tongue was conquered by the fragrance of the bitter melon in sauce.
He Ziwei asked, “How is it, Young Master Zhuo? Is this dish good?”
“This…”
Zhuo Wengong originally wanted to deny it. With so many people watching, he couldn’t lie through his teeth.
“You win with this dish. Let’s see what other tricks you can come up with.”