Facing the aggressive beautiful girl, Wolfgang remained expressionless.
He took out a cigar from his pocket and a flame flicked into existence at his fingertips.
"Don't misunderstand, I'm talking about your future, your path ahead. As for now, you're just a child."
Exhaling a smoke ring, Wolfgang sneered, "This level of cuisine is merely child's play to me."
Anger flashed across the beautiful girl's face.
"You don't possibly think this is all I'm capable of, do you?"
Wolfgang shrugged, "I know, it's just the preliminaries, just playing around. For a toy, your Sweet Sundae House is quite adequate."
"Since it's all just playing, why don't we have a little competition?"
"How so?"
The beautiful girl smiled, "Let's decide by points, I'll bet two million Beli!"
Two million Beli, a sum that was truly immense.
Even highly-paid chefs couldn't easily produce such an amount.
Take the Soul of Soup for instance; after deducting expenses for benefits and various ingredients, his annual cash income was only six hundred thousand.
Wolfgang was startled by the figure. How could this small Northern Cold Earth Mining Company possess such deep pockets!
Or was it merely the private wealth of a chef?
Wolfgang, with the fan base of the Water Hotel, had no reason to fear.
"Deal! I'll bet with you!"
"Splendid!"
Wolfgang turned to leave, and before he did, he asked, "What's your name?"
"Chiyuki!"
"Very well, I've noted you."
On the judging panel, the host enthusiastically introduced the major famous restaurants, acting as free advertising and undoubtedly boosting traffic.
This was quite unfair to some smaller establishments.
With already limited customer flow, a significant portion was siphoned off.
This was the benefit of fame.
But there were exceptions.
After the host finished his introductions, he stepped off stage and took a gulp of tea.
"Spreading my voice throughout the entire venue is quite taxing!"
"If I can get through these six days, the subsequent competitions will be much easier."
Suddenly, the host seemed to recall something.
"That post station this morning, it didn't cause any trouble, did it?"
"The one belonging to Tese man?"
"Yes."
"Not only did it not cause trouble, but business was quite good too. I tried some just now, the taste was excellent!"
"Phew~ Then I can rest easy."
After all, any problems at this juncture would bring shame upon the entire Northern Region.
His seemingly lazy demeanor was indeed concerning.
...
...
As the sun began to set.
A large number of diners, having depleted their point tokens, left one by one with regret on their faces.
Due to the sheer number of diners, the portions provided by each restaurant were not very generous. Ten tokens were not enough to eat to one's heart's content.
Business at Zhang Wei's stall was exceptionally good. The stones were fired again and again, and the mountains of meat and vegetables were completely consumed.
A man dressed in elegant, unworldly attire put down his chopsticks, his expression devoid of emotion.
Zhang Wei's assistant immediately approached with a point token box, "Sir, are you satisfied with your meal?"
Normally, after eating, one would at least offer a token as a gesture.
If they were satisfied, they would offer more.
However, this refined gentleman showed no intention of throwing in any tokens. Instead, he closed his eyes to rest.
"Guest?"
"What is this dish called?"
"Bu Di Hou Fu Ju."
"What does this title mean?"
The assistant scratched his head, apologetically saying, "My head chef came up with this name, and I'm quite bewildered by it myself."
"May I have a word with your head chef?"
"This..."
"I am the head chef of Shuiyun Tian, Yun Shang Zhen Jun."
"Alright, I'll inform him."
Although Zhang Wei had to handle all the cooking himself, he remained unfazed in the kitchen, even finding time to sip on some cool tea.
The assistant brought the message.
"Yun Shang Zhen Jun? Never heard of him."
The assistant's mouth twitched.
Yun Shang Zhen Jun, the legendary head chef of Shuiyun Tian.
From the elderly to children, who in the Northern Region didn't know him?
Although he appeared to be middle-aged, he had established a grand legend in the Northern Region fifty years ago. While he now held the title of head chef, he had not been receiving guests for a long time.
It could be said that without Yun Shang Zhen Jun, there would be no Shuiyun Tian today.
And Yun Shang Zhen Jun was also the most formidable rival on the Black List!
"Then shall I send him away? Oh, and he also asked for the meaning of the dish's name."
Zhang Wei thought for a moment, took out a brush and paper, and wrote down a few characters.
"Give this to that so-called 'Zhen Jun'."
"It's Zhen Jun!"
"Whatever."
At the dining table.
Yun Shang Zhen Jun unfolded the paper and then took a deep breath.
"Magnificent!"
"Sir, what is written on this paper?"
Yun Shang Zhen Jun stood up and addressed the kitchen, "I will participate in the subsequent matches. I hope to have the opportunity to battle you."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried immense penetration, making it impossible for Zhang Wei not to hear.
With that, a mist enveloped Yun Shang Zhen Jun, and he instantly vanished from his spot.
The assistant picked up the paper and read it word by word.
"When autumn comes to the ninth month, the eighth day..."
"My flowers bloom and a hundred others wither..."
"The scent pierces through Chang'an..."
"The whole city is clad in golden armor..."
After reading, the assistant looked confused.
"This is a poem describing scenery, isn't it? Where is Chang'an?"
"What does a poem about flowers have to do with this delicious food?"
"Even though I don't understand it, it somehow feels incredibly impressive."
Even Yun Shang Zhen Jun found it admirable, so the assistant could only blame his lack of education. After a moment's thought, the assistant copied the poem by the entrance.
Since it was an explanation of the dish, it was certainly appropriate to display it here. Perhaps someone would understand it.
Knock, knock, knock~
Not long after Zhang Wei ran out of ingredients, the drum announcing the end of the competition sounded.
"Three o'clock in the afternoon!"
"The first round, first group, competition has concluded!"
"Now, we will begin the vote count!"
Staff members carried the point token boxes from stall to stall.
These point token boxes were similar to small trash cans, with one hundred for each establishment, marked with the names of various organizations.
To prevent cheating, these point tokens could only be put in and not taken out. Only the organizers had the keys.
"Pioneer Building Materials Company... 2521 votes."
The vote counting order was from lowest votes to highest. As the fiftieth place, there was no suspense.
And this Pioneer Building Materials Company, like 'Wine and Beauties', was an entity forcibly conscripted.
"Huanchun Xiaogaifan... 2611 votes."
"Passionate Sister's Restaurant... 2800 votes."
"Hongpa Bird's Nest House..."
"Yue Zhi Yan Beauty Cosmetics..."
"Qiushui Painting Studio..."
The host announced each one, and the establishments in the lower ranks felt a sense of shame.
Despite presenting exquisite dishes, the Northern Region Chef's Feast was truly filled with hidden talents!
Meanwhile, the host muttered to himself.
'Why is there such a vast disparity in the votes this year?'
'Logically, the average number of votes should be around 40,000...'