Chapter 288: Chapter 188 The Eye of Discrimination is really useful! The reward for the first round of competition! [Seeking Monthly Ticket]_2
"My barbecue rub?"
From the back row, Dai Jianli, curious, leaned forward and whispered, "Brother Dong, is your intel accurate? Brother Lin seems to be doing a thorough job with his writing, doesn’t he?"
Guo Weidong frowned. "Old Dai, if you’re going to call Lin Xu ’Brother Lin,’ then don’t call me ’Brother Dong.’ Lin Xu and my nephew are peers. If you call him that, you’re putting my nephew on the same level as me."
Xie Baomin shot him a sideways glance. "Lin Xu is my Junior Brother. If he’s the same generation as your nephew, wouldn’t I have to call you Uncle Guo?"
"Then go ahead and call me that. Your Uncle Guo here... gives out red envelopes."
Haha, I finally got the better of this bastard! After being bullied by this damn guy so many times, I’ve finally gotten back at him.
Guo Weidong was feeling quite pleased with himself.
However, just as he was reveling in his small victory, he heard Xie Baomin beside him say, "Old Song, actually, Guo Weidong was the first one to go steal those sugarcanes. I was bored during a meeting and casually mentioned to him the benefits of having sugarcane around. Who knew he’d not only steal some himself but also tell Old Dai and the others about it."
Song Dahai’s eyes immediately glinted with murderous intent. "Guo Weidong, is what Old Xie said true?"
Guo Weidong: "!!!!!!!!"
Xie Baomin, you rotten bastard, why are you so vicious?
As the biggest beneficiary of the sugarcane theft incident, Dai Jianli quickly changed the subject. "Old Xie, is your Junior Brother really writing about seasonings? It’s been almost two minutes, right? Why is he still writing? He’s writing more than I did for my school essays."
With that reminder, Xie Baomin also noticed. Everyone else stopped writing after a bit, so why is my Junior Brother still going at it? You were asked to list the ingredients, not write out your entire thought process, my dear Junior Brother. Please don’t churn out an eight-hundred-word essay!
「At the competition venue.」
Most of the contestants had already stopped writing. Some had even started whispering amongst themselves.
"So that’s Lin Xu. I hear he’s pretty popular online."
"He’s definitely popular. Didn’t you see that group of people in the stands wearing matching shirts? Those are all his fans who came to support him in person."
"Hah, look at him, still writing."
"Sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, salty—there are only so many types of flavorings. Does he think this is an essay-writing contest?"
"Well, he’s an internet celebrity chef, always trying to stand out."
"When the answers are announced later, he’ll realize that writing too much doesn’t always earn you points; sometimes, it can even lose you points."
Finally, the time for the competition was up. Lin Xu also managed to finish writing down nearly thirty types of seasonings and spices.
After getting used to typing, suddenly writing by hand felt a bit awkward; his fingers were as stiff as hardened winter melon candy.
After the papers were submitted, the judges began scoring. To ensure fairness and transparency, the screen behind the judges’ table also displayed all the seasonings and spices used in the soup.
The few contestants who had just been mocking Lin Xu were no longer smiling.
「Meanwhile, in the livestream chat.」
The fans were already ecstatic:
"Whoa! I thought Boss Lin had regressed to elementary school and was writing a short essay on the spot. I didn’t expect there to be so many seasonings!"
"What kind of palate can identify that many ingredients?"
"Same question! Is that even a human tongue?"
"The judges are being mischievous again."
"I was just worried for Boss Lin, but it turns out he actually possesses the Divine Tongue!"
"Are you guys saying Boss Lin tasted all of those? I find that a little hard to believe."
"Hmph! This kind of thing is always half educated guesses and half bluffing. It just comes down to who can guess more of them right."
Guo Xinghai looked at the list of ingredients on the screen, a flicker of helplessness crossing his face.
I missed quite a few. I thought I could help Lin Xu pull his score up a bit, but I didn’t expect I might end up near the bottom myself. I was careless. I should have practiced more after Geng Lele spotted that question type last time. With these things, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Wei Qian, beside him, was also somewhat astonished. He had only written down about ten types. He thought he’d written down most of them. Who would have guessed there were nearly thirty ingredients in total? Who could possibly identify all of those by taste?
Because the answers for this round were relatively fixed, the scores were quickly displayed on the large screen. To appear fair, the incorrect items were listed next to each contestant’s score.
First place, Lin Xu: 9.9 points (extra: cardamom powder and bitter tea powder)
Second place, Huo Yifan: 9.5 points (missed: chicken powder, white pepper powder, buckwheat flour, matcha powder)
Third place, Zhuang Xiaozhou: 9.2 points (missed: chicken powder, black pepper powder, grass fruit powder, buckwheat flour, matcha powder, minced preserved vegetables)
Fourth place, Guo Xinghai: 8.8 points...
「On the livestream’s bullet chat.」
The Lin Ji guys and gals were overjoyed:
"Boss Lin was the only one who wrote *too many*."
"LMAO! He listed more seasonings than they even put in!"
"He seems to know more than the spice vendors at the market."
"Boss Lin: As a king of crossing disciplines, isn’t it normal for me to understand seasonings?"
"Since Boss Lin knows so much about seasonings, I hope he can release his own ’Thirteen Spices’ blend. The Thirteen Spices on the market these days is really losing its flavor. You have to add so much, and a box is gone in no time."
"Exactly! Today’s seasonings just aren’t as potent. The aroma always seems much weaker than it used to be."
「In the audience section.」
Seeing their son’s name ranked at the very top, Chen Meijuan and Lin Hongqi were thrilled. This was the culinary competition between the top ten hotels in Yanjing that cater to foreign guests! For their son to win first place in such a competition was truly amazing.
Shen Guofu said cheerfully, "Little Xu is truly incredible. After the competition ends, we absolutely have to give him a big reward."