Chapter 112

Chapter 112: Flavor Special Effect of Nine-Turn Large Intestine

Upon hearing Du Zhaohu's words, Chen Ran was momentarily stunned.

The Two Capitals Culinary Competition required three recommenders, but the requirements for recommenders weren’t too high. She had originally planned to ask Huang Renshou to fill the third spot.

Unexpectedly, Grandpa Xu had acted as her third recommender. Wasn’t that a bit too high-profile?

However, Grandpa Xu always meant well.

Chen Ran nodded. "I understand, I’ll thank Grandpa Xu tonight."

"Master, you should rest early. We can handle the remaining tasks here."

Although Du Zhaohu was considerably older than Chen Ran, he still held great respect for her as his master and treated her with utmost respect.

After being escorted out, Chen Ran glanced at the still-vibrant charity banquet and nervously walked back to the dormitory.

Though Chen Ran hadn’t regained her sense of taste yet, she had developed a considerable amount of confidence in her culinary skills.

After all, with so many diners from all over the world following her, it would be inappropriate not to be confident at this point.

But even with such confidence, just thinking about the upcoming competition still made Chen Ran a little nervous.

Since she was young, she had grown up watching the Two Capitals Competition.

Although the National Culinary Skills Competition was prestigious, Chen Yuncong had risen to fame through the Two Capitals Competition, and it had been a must-watch event for the Chen family’s younger generation.

When Chen Ran was just a little girl with a tiny frame, barely able to reach the cutting board, she would watch the competitions between Chen Yuncong and Chen Boduan every day.

She had once imagined that maybe one day, she too would stand on that stage. However, she never imagined that it would be under circumstances where she was standing against the Chen family.

"System, do you think Chen Yuncong would honestly take that spatula and bet against me?"

The final round of the Two Capitals Competition was when the current champion challenged the previous champion, and a culinary god would be determined from this battle.

【Betting with the plaque "Food is Heaven"】

Chen Ran laughed, unable to stop herself from mocking the system: "No wonder you gave me the plaque as a reward so early, it turns out I need it for this..."

However, if she really took the plaque "Food is Heaven" out from the system space, Chen Yuncong would definitely bring out that spatula to challenge her!

"By the way, didn’t you say this was the last time I’ll be working? When will you return my sense of taste?"

The system fell silent again, and Chen Ran clicked through the system panel aimlessly with no response. She opened the system space and quietly stared at the slightly worn plaque for a while before heading back to her dorm.

Anyway, getting her sense of taste back was bound to happen eventually. For now, she’d continue to experience this world without flavor!

Starting the next day, the students of Hope Primary School and the fans of the book bar started enjoying delicious food!

Red-braised lion’s head, rolled pancakes, clear-braised pork hock...

Chen Ran made every dish from the recipes she had, one after another!

Before she arrived, the elementary school students hated eating at the cafeteria, but now, they couldn’t wait for mealtime.

Principal Li was happy to see the children’s satisfied faces every day, but she also had some concerns about the cafeteria’s expenses...

Was it a bit too much for the school cafeteria to serve clear-braised pork hock to the students?Hao Shenshen swore to her, "Oh, Principal Li, you’ve been so busy accepting donations these past few days that you didn't notice. The ingredients these days were all donated!"

As long as Chen Ran wanted to cook, how could she ever worry about ingredients?

The fans of the book bar were ecstatic!

For these past few days, everyone had been able to enjoy Chen Ran’s signature dishes since her debut, and each of them ate their fill.

However, the old fans became increasingly shocked... Chen Ran had actually improved?

"The red-braised lion’s head... it really tastes better now."

"Yes, comparing it to the previous red-braised lion’s head, I think it’s at least 1.5 lions now!"

"The rolled pancakes are also better!"

"By the way, have the麻鸭 (ma ya) and wild ducks been bought yet? I can't miss eating the three kinds of ducks!"

Zhu Nan even made a whole series of videos, planning to release them one by one to build momentum for Chen Ran when she went to participate in the Two Capitals Culinary Competition!

—Yes, everyone already knew that Chen Ran would be competing in the Two Capitals Culinary Competition.

As the most sensational and largest culinary competition in the past, the Two Capitals Competition's reboot had drawn a lot of attention.

Especially after the list of participants was posted on the official website.

The food critics in the old-timers group, one by one, compared the names on the list with the official website, each time a new name was revealed, there was a chorus of gasps.

“Wow, this is like a gathering for the offline exchange of the ‘Famous Chefs’!”

“Almost all the people from the Earth List are here!”

“There are even two from the Sky List... At such an old age, they’re still going strong.”

"However, looking at it this way, it feels like the culinary world is in a transitional phase. Just judging by age, most of them are in their 50s and 60s."

"Never mind, our Ranran alone will average out the age!"

Yes, Chen Ran’s age stood out among the middle-aged and older chefs.

But in the eyes of others, there was something even more eye-catching than her age.

"Grandfather, take a look… this is the list of participants for this year’s Two Capitals Competition."

Chen Yuncong had just finished offering incense, stood up, and respectfully bowed before waving his hand. "Is there anything worth noting? Just tell me directly."

Chen Boduan dared to glance at Chen Yuncong’s expression before speaking up. "Chen Ran is also participating in this year’s Two Capitals Competition."

"Oh? Quite impressive."

Chen Yuncong glanced at the paper in Chen Boduan’s hand. "Who recommended her? Is there anyone with the last name Chen?"

After all, due to his old age, Chen Yuncong rarely paid attention to things on the internet. Chen Ran stirring things up outside was just a minor detail to him.

Chen Boduan paused, raised his head to check Chen Yuncong’s expression, then softly replied, "The three recommenders are Xu Zhuoxing, Chang Nian, and Wu Chaomei."

He could sense that while the old master didn’t show any reaction, he still instinctively took a small step back.

"Alright, go on. I know now.""Yes, I will leave now, grandfather."

Chen Boduan carefully stepped backward out of the room, closed the door, and deliberately walked louder for a few steps. Only then did he hear a few harsh curses coming from Chen Yuncong's room.

At the same time, there was the sound of porcelain smashing on the floor.

He stopped a maid nearby. "Don’t go, I’ll clean it up myself later."

Not only Chen Yuncong in the room, even he himself wanted to curse.

He had also signed up for this year’s Two Capitals Culinary Competition! If he lost to his niece, how would he face managing Zhi Wei Zhai and the Chen family business in the future?

Chen Ran didn’t know that the Chen family was already in turmoil because of her participation. She was still diligently practicing as usual.

It was still a world without taste, but she had already started learning how to evaluate dishes. Even though her tongue couldn’t taste the flavors, under these circumstances, she could more deeply appreciate the texture of each dish.

The outer layers of the three-duck dish seemed to have more room for improvement. The wild duck meat was tough, so after deboning, it was best to add some flower cuts on the inside.

The appearance of the chicken porridge was very similar to plain porridge, but the texture was still slightly off from the softness of rice grains. The chicken was too firm, and the cooking time needed further adjustments.

The Double-Superior Roasted Chicken could be even more tender. After steaming to 80% cooked, soaking it overnight would allow it to absorb the flavors better.

With the current basic skills, Chen Ran recreated all the dishes she had made from scratch.

The people helping in the kitchen also keenly noticed the change in Chen Ran.

The past Chen Ran, who only focused on cooking, didn’t seem so somber anymore.

She was still hard-working, but now, she seemed to... enjoy it a little more.

The most obvious change was that Chen Ran, who had always appeared to have a very low body fat percentage, had gained some weight over the past month!

Wang Qing'an was greatly relieved. "It’s better to be a little fatter! A bit of meat on the face looks better!"

"Ranran used to be very sturdy, but her body fat looked too low. Now, this is just right!"

Wang Zhaoshan, who was helping in the kitchen, secretly recorded a video and sent it to Chang Nian.

"Take a look!"

In the video, Chen Ran was rubbing pork intestines by hand, unusually wearing only one earpiece, and humming a song.

Chang Nian forwarded the video to Wu Chaomei. "Look at this, Chen Ran’s video! These days she’s been on my mind..."

"Who’s been thinking about her?" Wu Chaomei replied sharply, but her hand clicked to open the video faster than anyone else.

In the video, Chen Ran’s movements while cleaning and blanching the pork intestines seemed relaxed, even slower than when she was assisting her previously.

But it was exactly this slowing down that made her movements seem more harmonious, and also... happier.

"That’s more like it..." Wu Chaomei frowned and scolded Chen Ran in the video, "A young girl like her should be more cheerful! If you don’t enjoy cooking, when will you ever enjoy life?"

She didn’t need to watch the rest of the process; she knew that this dish of Nine-Turned Pork Intestines would definitely be done well by Chen Ran.

In life, there should be not only hard work and diligence but also relaxation and joy. Losing any of these aspects means it cannot be called life.

Chen Ran, who was making Nine-Turned Pork Intestines, seemed to feel this as well.She swiftly cut the spring onion into sections, and the Nine-Turned Pork Intestines went into the pot!

Although she had only made it twice, her movements were more skilled than if she had done it a thousand or ten thousand times.

After a series of complex procedures, her actions flowed smoothly like a stream of water, perfectly connected, with the sound of the spatula striking the pot in sync.

The Nine-Turned Pork Intestines were ready!

Chen Ran glanced at the system’s evaluation and couldn't help but be surprised.

It was the first time she saw the system give a dish a dual-line evaluation!

【Sweet, sour, salty, fragrant, bitter, and spicy】

【A Nine-Turned Pork Intestines that can taste the hundred flavors of life】

She couldn't resist taking a bite and putting it in her mouth.

Although she couldn’t taste the flavors, she had already learned to judge the taste through the texture.

The bitterness of the dish came from the slightly burnt sugar syrup, so the sugar coating on the outside felt a bit sticky...

As her teeth gently pressed down, the various flavors competed with each other, each trying to outshine the other, but none could steal the spotlight!

This bite was the hundred flavors of life!

Chen Ran felt the layers of flavor unfolding in her mouth, and couldn’t help but raise her hand to cover her eyes.

She could taste it!

With the system’s prompt sound, she opened the system panel, and behind the recipe for Nine-Turned Pork Intestines, four words appeared: "Flavor Special Effect."

And the special effect was already activated.

【You've worked hard all this way】

【Flavor Special Effect: A true chef should have the most sensitive taste buds】

【Special Effect Restriction: For Chen Ran's consumption only】

Chen Ran's gaze didn’t focus on the special effect description but instead on the line before the flavor effect.

She whispered in her heart to the system:

“You’ve worked hard too.”

“I’ll bring that spatula back.”