Chef Hua-Chapter 671: Episode 355: The Outcome is Decided_2

"Pah! I knew you would pull something like this and I was waiting for you. Now what? Caught red-handed! Does it hurt? Good, serves you right to teach you a lesson!"

The crowd turned their heads one after another toward the direction of the voice, only to see Xiu Miao with her left hand on her hip and her right hand firmly grasping a woman’s wrist, her brows furrowed and spittle flying as she spoke.

It was Qing He, the maid from Song Jingxi’s side, whose hand, seized by Xiu Miao, had swollen red.

"What happened?" Old Master Xue twisted his eyebrow and promptly stood up.

Unlike Zhou Yunyun’s timidity and fear, Xiu Miao, the girl who followed Chun Xi and La Mei every day, was influenced by them to become quite bold. She usually did not lose her temper easily, but once provoked, she would not even give face to the powerful emperors. Hua Xiaomai had her guard by the stove precisely because she was worried someone would tamper with it, and indeed, Song Jingxi truly did not disappoint her.

Xiu Miao held on to Qing He tightly and unyieldingly said to Old Master Xue, "Our master ordered me to guard this soup, and I did not dare leave it for a moment for fear of any mistakes. Humph, I saw her eyeing this side since early morning and paid extra attention. The moment I turned my back, she tiptoed over here and tried to topple our soup!"

As she spoke, she lifted Qing He’s hand and called out loudly, "Our master always says we don’t bully others, but if someone tries to push us around, we are not pushovers! Look at the injury on her hand, it’s from when she tried to flip the crock and I caught her and pressed it against the stove. What does this tell you? If you walk the night road often enough, you’re bound to meet ghosts!"

Qing He was both in pain and frightened, shivering into a ball, unable to utter a single word. Hua Xiaomai couldn’t be bothered with her and went straight to Song Jingxi, saying coldly, "Boss Song, what’s the point of you targeting me over and over again? Everyone comes to the Eight Treasures Conference to compete with their own skills. Why is it that you have to resort to such sneaky tactics? Should I be thanking you for taking me seriously as a competitor?"

Song Jingxi’s face changed, and her gaze involuntarily swept toward Old Master Xue as she forced herself to say, "Little sister Xiaomai, I did not ask her to mess with you. This is a misunderstanding..."

"Misunderstanding?"

Han Fengzhi’s eyes flashed with cold light as he clenched his fists, "So the switch of my Conch two years ago was also a misunderstanding?"

"Enough!"

Old Master Xue slapped the table hard and glanced at Song Jingxi’s face, "The tasting isn’t over yet, we’ll discuss this matter later. Boss Song, please leave Chixing Pavilion for now, and someone will inform you of the final result later."

Turning his head to Hua Xiaomai, he spoke amiably, "Fortunately, the soup hasn’t been spoiled. Shall we continue?"

Song Jingxi and Qing He were escorted out of the pavilion. Hua Xiaomai and Wang Zhanrui exchanged glances, exhaling deeply, and with a pursed lip smile to Old Master Xue, she said, "Certainly, the main issue takes precedence. However, this dish has a unique way of eating, there’s one more step. If you don’t mind, may I personally perform it in front of you?"

"Why not?" Old Master Xue was quite satisfied with her demeanor, stroked his beard and nodded, "Come forward then, and let’s not delay any further."

Hua Xiaomai carefully carried the crock from the stove and brought it alongside a white porcelain plate containing the dragon meat to Old Master Xue.

The dragon meat in the plate was sliced into extremely thin pieces, blanched with a touch of water without cooking fully, faintly showing a tinge of pink. The crock contained a bowl of milky soup, still bubbling and looking quite thick. Stirring with a spoon, one could hear a faint rustling sound.

She meticulously picked out two slices of dragon meat, placed them in a small bowl, then continued to ladle the boiling soup over the meat.

With her actions, the air was quickly filled with a fresh aroma tinged with the scent of the sea. Once the slices of meat had completely changed color on both sides, she handed the small bowl to Old Xue with a "Please, have a taste" and, without waiting for his reaction, promptly moved on to the next judge.

Old Xue’s face showed a touch of skepticism as he picked up a piece of flying dragon meat and put it in his mouth. After a brief chew, his eyes suddenly widened in astonishment.

After tasting it, the other judges also showed disbelief on their faces, and their looks towards Hua Xiaomai were somewhat complicated.

"How is it? Speak up!"

Han Fengzhi, with his arms crossed, stood leisurely to the side, watching the excitement with a grin, "It couldn’t be that it’s so delicious you’ve swallowed your own tongue, could it?"

Perhaps because the dish was made smoothly without further sabotage, he was in a completely relaxed state, just as he had said himself. He never cared about the outcome; all he wanted was a fair process.

"You try it."

Old Xue looked down at the plate, which still had quite a bit of flying dragon meat left, and gestured, "Everyone, come and have a taste—Xiaomai lass, please prepare a few slices for everyone. We need to be convinced."

"What you said..."

The chefs were taken aback by his words, feeling somewhat displeased, yet they didn’t want to be left behind and hurried forward to receive the cooked slices of meat from Hua Xiaomai, eagerly popping them into their mouths.

As soon as the flying dragon meat touched the palate, the rich savory taste of the milk soup exploded and scattered in all directions. The texture on the tongue was not as silky as imagined, but instead somewhat coarse.

However, upon closer consideration, they realized that the coarseness did not come from the meat itself.

The thin surface of the flying dragon meat was coated with a layer of particles finer than grains of salt, with a bit of toughness. When bitten down with a bit of force from the teeth, those minute granules immediately burst open, releasing an intense freshness that shot to the top of the head, whitening the vision and silencing any sound to the ears. The four senses were all melted away, leaving only the dominant fragrant touch on the tongue, forcefully asserting its presence.

What was even more marvelous was that the flying dragon meat didn’t lose its character. It chose to strike back after the initial flavor subsided, carrying with it the wildness of the mountains and forests and ferociously bursting forth, weaving through the mouth. That sensation...

...was like emerging drenched from the water only to step immediately into the woods, adding a lingering aftertaste to the dish.

"She actually..."

The chefs were dumbfounded, exclaiming in shock, "Logically, Yellow Lip Jelly should dissolve completely when simmered in soup for a while, but... to form such tiny granules, simmered in milk soup without end, and still able to maintain its toughness, this is..."

Old Xue let out a sigh of relief and turned to look deeply at Hua Xiaomai, as if very pleased.

"As for the remaining dish, does it even matter whether we eat it or not? The winner is already clear..." (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)