Capítulo 886: Chapter 885: Proxy War (Part 2)
Xia Yu successfully rallied his troops, exhausting his energy.
Wei Zhong and Ye Feizhou also followed suit in selecting students, with Ye Feizhou being the first to gather three students.
Moments later, only two undecided students remained.
Both Xia Yu and Wei Zhong had one recruitment spot left.
Whom should they choose?
The two were the high school student previously noticed by Xia Yu and Wei Zhong, and the miner master with a simple smile.
“Number 1 Zhang Yang, Number 9 Song Han, what’s your choice?”
The female host urged.
The miner numbered 9, a bit nervous, said, “I wish to go to Chef Xia!”
“I will join under Chef Wei!”
The high school student identified as Number 1 said.
Uh!
Xia Yu’s butt lifted off the chair, just about to stand up and offer an olive branch to the high school student, when the student, without any hesitation, went straight into Wei Zhong’s arms. He sat back down, and the camera caught his smiling face with a hint of embarrassment.
“Heh—”
Beside him, Wei Zhong had a subtle smile at the corner of his mouth.
He sat all along, said nothing, made no moves to recruit, yet had three students naturally flock to him, assembling with ease.
This is the power of reputation and heritage.
Offering a dish of “Carp Rice Cake” as response to the topic, the Number 1 student, facing the host’s question, said matter-of-factly, “Why choose Chef Wei? The reason is simple. Chef Wei was among the Five Talents in his early years. He graduated many years ago, and his culinary skills are now almost dragon-level, you could even say he has one foot in the door. Although Chef Ye and Demon King Xia are formidable, they are more than a level below Chef Wei!”
“Choosing the stronger, aligning with a more powerful mentor, would allow me to learn even more!”
A wise bird builds its nest in a sturdy tree.
Just as the high school student mentioned, culinary skill is the foundation!
The teams were divided.
Xia Yu, Wei Zhong, and Ye Feizhou all stepped down to their respective camp circles, and the female host handed over a draw bottle, “Each of you, draw a lot, every lot represents a round of competition topic!”
The female host winked.
“Regarding the topics and rounds, and which student will participate, it’s up to you to discuss and decide!”
“The show will not interfere!”
The three complied as instructed.
“Rice Cake!” Xia Yu’s eyebrow twitched as he opened the first lot.
“Mine is ‘Three Balls’!”
Ye Feizhou displayed his opened lot in his palm.
“Three Balls?”
“Yes, in Jing Chu, it’s customary during New Year’s Eve dinner to have ‘Three Complements’, ‘Three Cakes’, ‘Three Balls’, which are fish balls, meatballs, and lotus root balls. There’s a saying in Jing Chu Market—no balls, no banquet; no fish, no feast!”
Ye Feizhou had a deep understanding of Jing Chu customs.
After all, don’t forget that Huang He was also one of his mentors, and Wei Zhong was Ye Feizhou’s senior brother from the same school.
“Then how about Chef Wei?”
The female host asked.
When the camera showed Wei Zhong’s lot — “Ten-thousand-year-old Grain.”
Xia Yu’s brow knit into a ‘川’ shape.
Ye Feizhou noticed his moment of confusion, and seeing the female host about to hand the microphone to Xia Yu, he quickly answered, “The so-called ‘Ten-thousand-year-old Grain’, has a long history. From Jiangsu and Zhejiang to Fujian and Guangdong, it is customary to prepare ‘Ten-thousand-year-old Grain’ for the New Year…”
“If in Yuezhou, on New Year’s Day people eat Ten-thousand-year-old Grain. Here, ‘Ten-thousand-year-old Grain’ refers to a feast for the whole family for three days, including deep-fried balls made from rice flour and dried radish, and Five Fruit Porridge made with gorgon fruit, lotus seeds, etc…”
A huge shock!
As for these three competition topics, Xia Yu knows a bit about rice cake.
But with ‘Three Balls’ and ‘Ten-thousand-year-old Grain’, topics laden with strong local folklore, Xia Yu found them tricky.
It must be said.
In the homework of Chinese local customs and culinary culture, Xia Yu couldn’t compare to Ye Feizhou, who was being groomed as the “Crown Prince”.
Seeing Ye Feizhou talking eloquently, Xia Yu couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up.
“Impressive!”
Admitting that others are stronger is not a collapse of confidence but a kind of calmness.
In the past, Rein and Liu Maoxing, these heroes still had to travel far and wide to truly understand the culinary customs across the Chinese Realm and to meet with more powerful chefs. But now, just returning to the country, Xia Yu, in this respect, was practically blank, while Ye Feizhou was indeed stronger.
“Then the question arises, how should these three topics be ordered? What’s the topic for the first round…”
As Xia Yu spoke, Wei Zhong shot him a glance with a half-smile that seemed not entirely so.
“Why not start with the ‘Rice Cake’ you are holding?”
Wei Zhong glanced at the note in Xia Yu’s hand.
His heart skipped, and realizing the disdain in Wei Zhong’s eyes, Xia Yu finally figured it out.
This…
Rice cake, mainly steamed from glutinous rice and rice flour, indeed belongs to the pastry realm, doesn’t it?
Originally planning to take him out with a blitz?
Xia Yu pondered for a moment, having drawn the lots, he couldn’t avoid it anyway, it’s a case where he must face it regardless. Moreover, he agreed to participate in this program, and the task became secondary; primarily, it was to get to know Wei Zhong!
Since he’s Huang He’s senior apprentice, surely, “Divine Hand” is formidable, isn’t it?
Thinking of this, his eyes lit up.
“Then let’s start with ‘Rice Cake’!” Xia Yu wiped the non-existent drool from the corner of his mouth.
Ye Feizhou opened his mouth but seeing his determined expression, just nodded along.
“The second round’s topic is ‘Three Balls’!”
“‘Ten-thousand-year-old Grain’ will be the last!”
Thus, the rounds and topics were set.
“The first round is a rice cake showdown?”
The audience and judges were discussing, “Rice cakes come in red, yellow, and white colors, symbolizing gold and silver. It is said to have originally spread from Suzhou, integrating with local culinary cultures wherever it went, thus giving birth to distinctive rice cake products in each place, like Fuzhou rice cake, Mengzi rice cake…”
Indeed, like buns and mantou, rice cake is a general term for a large category of food, with its intricate lineages and heritage.
Xia Yu returned to his camp, looking at his three students.
White-collar lady, homemaker, and the simple, honest-looking uncle miner wearing a safety helmet.
Who should be sent to battle this round?
Xia Yu held his chin, and as his eyes kept flashing, he gently closed them in front of the students and the show’s cameras.
This time, the three students were at a loss, exchanging looks.
It seemed like the young mentor they chose wasn’t quite reliable?
“System, filter rice cake recipes, exchange them all!” Upon accessing the mysterious space, Xia Yu immediately called out to the system. He had no choice, needing to cram on short notice!
In the camp flying the “Wei” banner.
Wei Zhong patted Number 1 student Zhang Yang’s shoulder, “Are you skilled in making rice cakes?”
Just now, Number 1 student Zhang Yang’s opening performance was precisely ‘Carp Rice Cake’.
“Yes, Chef Wei!” Zhang Yang, at close quarters with the renowned idol praised as the ‘Reserve Pastry King’, said, “My family runs a rice cake shop, skill that has been passed down for generations!”
Detecting the dialect accent, Wei Zhong smiled, “Fuzhou?”
“Yes, Fuzhou rice cake!”
“In a moment, I’ll give you my full support, do well and give it your best!” He again patted the youth’s shoulder and glanced over to the camp marked with “Xia”, before freezing for a moment, seeing the other youth on stage, closing his eyes and seemingly napping in front of the whole audience?
The napping Demon King?
Ha.
Wei Zhong’s eyes held a trace of sarcasm.