Regardless of the wailing of the crowd, the host continued, “And you can’t choose all the ingredients used by the ten groups of contestants by yourself.”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
“It means that the two contestants in each group choose three ingredients for each other.” The host came up with a bad idea, “You can choose the most difficult ingredients for each other or the ingredients that you think the other party is least good at.”
“This is too ruthless, let me die!” A lively female contestant leaned against the wall and began to “hit the wall”.
She originally thought that exchanging ingredients in the last episode was difficult enough, but now it seems that the showrunner only got even more ruthless.
In the last issue, at the very least, the other party chose the ingredients for a certain dish. If they thought carefully, they could find a clear cooking direction. But in this round, their opponent chose the ingredients for them! It’s so much easy to fuck the other up. Simply too cruel.
“There is one more thing to tell you.” The host spoke again.
“What, it’s not over yet?”
“Tell me, I’m already fearless.”
“It’s not that I’m fearless, but I’m numb now. No matter how I die, I’m going to die, so just give me a good time.”
“Don’t worry, there are no other conditions.” The host assured them, “What I want to say is that we have a new judge joining this issue, and he is our newest sponsor. Say hello to Mr. Xing Lixuan, the Chairman of Jiangyue Group.”
The large electronic screen was projected onto the screen, showing all the five judges lining up. There was only a short introduction from the host, and there was no solo shot of Xing Lixuan.
This was specifically requested by Xing Lixuan. He didn’t want to have too many shots of himself.
After the host’s introduction, he said to Zhuang Zhouyang, “Zhuang Zhouyang, you were the first in the last episode, and you have the right to choose the best ingredients for yourself. I hope you can use this to hold your first place.”
The electronic screen had been turned off, but Yu Antong was still looking up blankly. He didn’t come back to his senses until the host spoke.
Just now when he saw Xing Lixuan sitting on the judging panel on the screen. He thought that he might’ve hallucinated… and then, the host introduced him – it was indeed Xing Lixuan.
How did he get to the judges’ seat? No information was given to him at all.
No wonder he asked him last night if he would like to have an investor as a judge. It turned out that he was the new investor.
Apart from being surprised, Yu Antong also had some other emotions.
He is a contestant, and his husband will be a judge – what will the audience think? There must be some people who will question Xing Lixuan’s true motive behind his investment.
He came to this show to promote the Immortal’s Banquet based on his own ability. When Xing Lixuan came, even if he won the championship and the title of God of Chefs, some people would think that there were hidden dealings behind it.
He’s not happy, he’s still a little surprised. Xing Lixuan has always been a relatively low-key person who doesn’t want to show his face in front of the media. He was probably stimulated by the previous episodes – probably by some randos calling him husband or wife, or maybe by the CPs that the showrunner put him in.
‘Gah! This vinegar jar!’
When he thought that Xing Lixuan cared so much about him, it was hard for him not to be happy despite his frustrations.
“Let’s discuss it, shall we?” Some contestants decide to discuss it between themselves as Zhuang Zhouyang was currently choosing his ingredients. “Let’s make a deal, I won’t choose weird ingredient for you, so you won’t fuck me over in return.”
“Deal.”
Some contestants also looked at each other, and the air was filled with invisible gunpowder, obviously intending to confront each other and not give a leeway to the other.
Yu Antong got the number 7, the same number as Yu Xingmin.
Yu Xingmin is his uncle’s, Yu Qingnian’s, subordinate. Given the tense relationship between him and Yu Qingnian, there was absolutely no room for them to discuss with each other. The two of them never exchanged a word. Once it was their turn, the two went straight to the supermarket section without any words exchanged between them.
Yu Antong picked winter melon, carp, and eggplant for Yu Xingmin. These ingredients could make very homely dishes when taken individually, but it was really unimaginable to mix them together.
What Yu Xingmin chose for Yu Antong was not simple either. They were pork belly, chicken gizzards, and carrots.
Lin Haoning looked at Yu Antong’s ingredients, he clearly was without a clue of what to cook. “Master, this…”
Chicken gizzards need to be cooked for a long time to get rid of its stench and ensure its doneness, while pork belly generally only needed to be boiled for more than ten seconds in a hot pot. Using these two wholly different ingredients in one dish? Plus the carrots…
“I actually remembered a dish that uses pork belly and chicken gizzards as the main ingredients.” Jiang Yuxiu said, “But that dish is too difficult. If you try it for the first time, it will be difficult to succeed.”
“You mean deep-fried double crisps1油爆双脆; it’s a difficult dish to cook, hailing from Shandong. 
? ” Lin Haoning also remembered, “Master, have you ever cooked this dish?”
This dish has extremely high requirements on knife skills and heat control. Indeed, as Jiang Yuxiu said, it was basically impossible to make it delicious for the first time.
“It’s difficult, but let me try,” Yu Antong said, “Don’t be so nervous. Even at my worst, I won’t be eliminated by placing in the bottom three.”
Jiang Yuxiu thought of a way. “Why don’t we prepare more ingredients? If we fail the first time, we can try it again. Although this dish is difficult to make, fortunately it doesn’t take much time, and we have time to try it a few more times.”
Yu Antong agreed. “Well, this method is feasible.” After all, he really couldn’t guarantee success in one try.
The three of them discussed and acted together. Jiang Yuxiu and Lin Haoning cleaned enough chicken gizzards and pork belly for three dishes. They peeled off the inner and outer tendons of the chicken gizzards, and cut them into a net shape, vertically and horizontally, with a knife. It was a test of knife skills, and Jiang Yuxiu passed it with flying colors.
Yu Antong took a large bowl, and added clear soup, cooking wine, MSG, salt, wet starch, and other seasonings to make the gravy.
It was very important to remove the fishy smell from chicken gizzards and pork belly. Yu Antong soaked Jiang Yuxiu’s cut pork belly and chicken gizzards in water added with edible alkali to remove the stench, but also to aid in making them crispy when cooked.
The knife work was not too difficult – it was the heat control to ensure everything cooked perfectly that was much more difficult.
Heat up the oil, put the pork belly and chicken gizzards into the boiling oil and fry them instantly, then remove them quickly after an adequate amount of time.
The heat and speed at this time were very important and difficult to control. If the oil temperature was too high, the pork belly and chicken gizzards would be burnt on the outside; if the oil temperature was too low, the pork belly and chicken gizzards’ texture would be too chewy, and it wouldn’t be crispy at all.
The oil temperature needed to be well controlled, and the timing was equally as important. It must be controlled within 15 seconds. If the cooking time was too long, the chicken gizzards would be overcooked, and the essence of this dish would be lost. But if the cooking time was too short, then both of them would be undercooked and not safe to eat.
It was estimated that the purpose of Yu Xingmin to choose these ingredients for him was to let them cook this dish. While the dish could theoretically be cooked, it’s easy to do it badly.
Yu Antong’s first attempt really failed. The oil temperature was too high in the later stage, and the meat ended up overcooked.
“I’ll try it again,” Yu Antong’s unwillingness to admit defeat came up. This time he abandoned all distracting thoughts and concentrated on cooking only.
When the oil temperature is 80% hot, he quickly put in the ingredients, then turned the heat to low. When the color of the chicken gizzards changes from red to white, and the pork belly turns from soft to straight and bent, he quickly took them out with a slotted spoon to drain it from the oil.
“Success!” Yu Antong drained them with a smile on his face. He quickly ordered, “Yuxiu, heat up another frying pan. Put a little oil in it, then saute some onion, ginger, and garlic until it turns fragrant.”
Jiang Yuxiu did what Yu Antong told her. After the aromatics smelled good, Yu Antong immediately put the chicken gizzards, pork belly, and sliced carrots into the pan, and then added the prepared gravy, and stir-fried them all for a few minutes. Next, he quickly took them out of the frying pan and plated it.
Yu Antong tasted it, but he didn’t look very relieved.
“How is it?” Both Lin Haoning and Jiang Yuxiu looked at him, full of expectation.
Yu Antong nodded with satisfaction. “Very successful.”
The two of them showed admiration to Yu Antong one after another, especially Jiang Yuxiu. It was too amazing to succeed in only two times.
She has tried to cook this dish many times, and she only succeeded once, like a blind cat who could only hunt a dead mouse. Up to now, she can’t make this dish very well. But Yu Antong, who only tried to cook it today, actually did it. He really was talented.
This dish came out very quickly, even if they failed once before, they were still the first to complete it. Yu Antong raised his hand as a signal, and walked into the judges’ seat.
In the morning, when Yu Antong came to shoot, he took Lin Haoning’s car. When he went back home, he took Xing Lixuan’s car.
After recording the show, Yu Antong still wanted to go with Lin Haoning at first, but Xing Lixuan stopped him and said to Lin Haoning, “You go first, Antong takes my car.”
Xing Lixuan followed Yu Antong to the restaurant during the holidays a year ago. Lin Haoning met Xing Lixuan, but he didn’t know the relationship between the two. He guessed that they were a couple. Lin Haoning shot a hesitant look at Yu Antong.
Yu Antong didn’t want to lose his temper with Xing Lixuan in front of outsiders, so he had to say to Lin Haoning, “You send Yuxiu back, I’ll take his car.”
“Alright.”
After Lin Haoning and Jiang Yuxiu left, Yu Antong sat in the back seat of Xing Lixuan’s car and closed the door hard.
“Angry?” Xing Lixuan didn’t drive immediately, but also sat in the back seat.
“Why did you come here without discussing it with me? You deliberately kept it from me.” Yu Antong was full of displeasure, “You didn’t have anything to say when I took Lin Haoning’s car this morning, but now you don’t let me!”
“I want to give you a surprise.” Xing Lixuan explained, “I didn’t expect you to be angry.”
“I’m not angry either,” Yu Antong said, “You should discuss it with me. Have you ever thought about what other people will think when you come to be a judge? Maybe some people will think that I am the second Cai Yingying. They’ll think both you and I aren’t actually competent. It’s a lose-lose situation.”
Xing Lixuan replied, “Don’t worry, I have considered everything you said. Firstly, anyone who has been to the Immortal’s Banquet will not question your skill. Secondly, I asked Han Xingyan about the competition system in the later stage of this show.”
“The next few episodes will be recorded outdoors, and the public citizens will be invited to judge. The weight of the five judges’ evaluations will become very small. Even if I want to give you more points, I can’t do it.”
“In the later stage, the dishes you’ll be asked to cook are needed in big quantities, and the physical strength consumed is not at the same level as now. Do you think I can rest assured when you participate alone?”
–He didn’t come to be a judge, he just spent money to buy a family seat.
Xing Lixuan continued, “Furthermore, if they search Jiangyue Group and find out about my net worth, they will know that as my wife, you don’t need to follow those crooked ways.”
When Yu Antong thought about it, it really made sense. Which of the wealthy wives was like him who worked hard to start his own business?
If he really wanted to do something, he could easily do it with the resources available to him. He really didn’t need to do these backhanded dealings.
“And besides all of that, I would worry. You are so handsome. Once the show airs, those netizens should call you husband,” Yu Antong snorted. “You really shouldn’t have come.”
The author has something to say:
Netizen: Ahhh! This is my husband, and so is that one!
Xing-zong: I’m sorry, we’re both married to each other. Please don’t bother us.
