Chapter 16

Chapter 16: This Competition Really Isn’t a Fan Meeting...

Before the competition began, Chen Shuzheng gathered six judges all at once. Some had even come seeking him out.

Besides that, Chen Boduan also sent several family members to watch.

Chen Shuzheng arranged seats for his relatives and proudly led his son out the door to welcome Wang Zhaoshan: “Still dare to doubt your old man’s cooking? Look, they all came here to try the lion’s head your old man personally made!”

For example, the Ms. Wang who contacted him yesterday—she’s been a loyal fan of the Chen family’s lion’s head for many years.

Chen Yijin always felt something was off... The last time that turncoat Zhu Nan came to try the lion’s head for the first time, wasn’t it Ms. Wang who accompanied him?

Back then, Ms. Wang only took a light taste. He thought she was just watching her figure since she looked well-maintained, but now recalling it, it seemed a bit off?

“Really...?”

Chen Shuzheng was not satisfied with his son who had been repeatedly doubting him. The competition was about to start, and the two of them were already waiting for the judges at the kindergarten gate. What was his son still thinking about?

“Focus! Watch closely how I make it today. When we get home, I’ll start teaching you.”

Last time when Zhu Nan exposed him, he had a disciple take over, but that trick wouldn’t work anymore. His brother had that disciple fired, so now he could only count on his son.

“Hahaha, you finally came! Now that the judges are all here, I’ll accompany you inside!”

Qiu Xian followed behind Wang Zhaoshan as they walked into the venue at Morning Star Kindergarten.

Thinking about being able to taste that lion’s head she dreamed about again, Qiu Xian felt her mouth water uncontrollably!

She and Wang Zhaoshan sat together at the judges’ table and looked around, exchanging warm greetings.

What kind of social connections did Chen Shuzheng have? Look at the judges he invited.

There was Ms. Wang, herself, Wang Zhaoshan, and two others unfamiliar to her but who also came warmly to shake hands.

“I hear you’re a reporter? Ah, I’m also involved in self-media work. My son is in this kindergarten, his name is Qian Rui!”

“Haha, I work at the notary office. The boss told me to come here, so I hurried... Yes, my daughter is also in this kindergarten. My surname’s Zhu, you can just call me Old Zhu!”

Qiu Xian could hardly hold back her laughter!

Was this really not a fan meeting for Chen Ran’s lion’s head?

The only judge she didn’t recognize stood straight and imposing, like a former soldier. But judging by how they seemed to know Ms. Wang, they were probably also invited to eat the lion’s head.

Qiu Xian’s laughter was so exaggerated that Wang Zhaoshan shot her a look: “Can you be serious? You’ll scare Chen Shuzheng away!”

He pointed to the other side: “Look, there are still some Chen family members over there. Don’t let them notice.”

Before the competition, he had done two restaurant visits with this young reporter and felt Qiu Xian had a pretty good taste for food.

That also made him curious about Chen Ran’s lion’s head.

The competition venue was the usual activity room of the kindergarten. The kitchenware and ingredients were all prepared.

The little headmaster seriously explained to Chen Shuzheng, “You two start now, and the six judges will score. All the ingredients are here, no problem?”

The ingredients and seasonings needed for the lion’s head were placed on a table in the middle, accessible to both chefs.

Chen Shuzheng went over to check: the pork was top-grade firm pork belly, and the other ingredients were fresh. The seasonings were even the brands he was used to.He looked up at Chen Ran but noticed she wasn’t looking at him.

Chen Ran didn’t have much feeling for this uncle; they hadn’t interacted much during her culinary training. She was too lazy to look at him and just nodded at the little headmaster.

“I’m good on my side too. You can start.”

A week had passed since she last made her signature flavored lion’s head, and this time she could make her flavored lion’s head properly.

Both of them selected their pork belly and started cutting!

In Chinese cooking, knife skills are especially important. Unlike Western cuisine with its variety of tools, most Chinese chefs rely on just one cleaver.

Chen Shuzheng’s cleaver was even custom-made by a specialist, and he had brought it to this competition.

In comparison, Chen Ran’s Zhang Xiaoquan cleaver seemed a bit modest.

However, from the audience’s perspective, Chen Ran’s knife skills appeared superior to Chen Shuzheng’s.

Wang Zhaoshan nodded. As a food critic for the Famous Chef Record, he had naturally seen and tasted many dishes.

He explained to the other more amateur judges, “Judging by the knife skills alone, this young woman’s knife work is by no means inferior to Chef Chen’s, maybe even a bit better.”

Ms. Wang, always good at encouraging, smiled and asked, “But I notice Chen Shuzheng’s cutting speed seems a bit faster?”

“Well, he’s older and his cleaver is sharper. Chef Chen Ran’s cleaver looks like it was brought from kindergarten... wait, that’s not right.”

Wang Zhaoshan glanced oddly at the piles of meat slices on the cutting boards after both chefs finished cutting.

For lion’s head, the pork is first sliced, then cut into strips, and finally diced.

“Look, aren’t the slices this young chef cut especially neat?”

Everyone saw it but didn’t think much of it, just assuming it was due to Chen Ran’s pork belly having better grain.

“Generally, when cutting meat, there’s a bit of a back-and-forth sawing motion, but if you look closely at this young chef’s movements, they’re very small.”

“It’s not because her knife is sharper, it’s because her movements are faster and more powerful. Cutting this way reduces fiber tearing, resulting in neater slices.”

Wang Zhaoshan sighed, “I used to learn cooking for a while but couldn’t stand the hardship. My master was from the imperial kitchen and told me real chefs have very strong arms, but not just pure muscle. They train by hanging sandbags and practicing knife skills...”

He didn’t believe it then, but now he did.

Chen Shuzheng was a 1.8-meter tall big man, yet Chen Ran looked like she had even stronger hands.

Qiu Xian squinted and watched Chen Ran cut the meat carefully, unable to help but comment, “Miss, your shoulder and arm lines are so beautiful. Those muscle lines... I really want to touch them...”

Zhu Chenchen, acting as the assistant in this competition, had just served tea to the judges and couldn’t help but chime in, “Our Ran Ran practices knife skills every day! At first, she only hung sandbags, but now there’s a steel ring added to the sandbag. She’s super strong!”

The man sitting straight beside Ms. Wang, who looked like a retired soldier, nodded and said, “Indeed, her shoulders are well trained, and it’s not from heavy lifting. Her agility is excellent too.”

At this point, both chefs had finished cutting the meat filling.

Their methods started to show clear differences.

After dicing the meat, Chen Ran used the back of the cleaver to chop a few times, while Chen Shuzheng lightly pressed and tapped with the side of his knife.

As the only professional judge present, Wang Zhaoshan commented again, “Judging by this, Chen Shuzheng’s lion’s head should be more soft and glutinous. The lion’s head from that video that could be pierced with chopsticks definitely wasn’t made by him.”

He sneered, “Many masters have their disciples cook for them. But it seems Chen Shuzheng was afraid his disciple would learn the recipe fully, so he held back during teaching, and that’s why he ruined his own reputation.”At this moment, both chefs had started kneading the lion’s heads.

Chen Shuzheng’s technique was the traditional pounding method—the meatballs flew back and forth between his two hands while quickly taking shape.

Chen Ran’s method was different. She sometimes pounded twice, then clenched her fists to press and crush. Her way of pounding the lion’s heads seemed to have some special technique.

Her hands were beautiful—palms fair and strong, fingers slender and long, fluttering up and down like two butterflies. The judges, dazzled, suddenly saw her hold up a lion’s head, gently push it, and it rolled right into the oil pot.

“That technique...”

“Got that on video, got it! I’m posting this on Douyin!”

“I heard Chen Shuzheng set up a glass kitchen for daily live broadcasts making lion’s heads, but I say Chen Ran should be the one doing it. Her technique alone would make me pay for a ticket!”

One by one, the lion’s heads were skillfully slid into the oil pot by Chen Ran, exploding into huge bursts of sizzling oil. The aroma of fat and protein meeting burst through the entire kindergarten.

Their frying methods were actually the same—both used long chopsticks to constantly stir and keep the lion’s heads rotating in the hot oil. This ensured quick shaping and even frying inside and out.

Chen Shuzheng took this time to glance at Chen Ran’s performance.

Looking closely, her technique was no different from his, and he relaxed.

He couldn’t help but mock, “So what if you stole the lion’s head recipe? I’ve never heard of a chef who only makes one signature dish.”

Although Chen Shuzheng was best known for his lion’s heads, he indeed had a few other signature dishes—a sweet and sour pork ribs dish, and a three-style duck.

As soon as he said this, the system started buzzing wildly again!

Chen Ran looked at the system panel floating in midair with a headache. A new mission was announced:

[Random Mission: Decisively defeat the Chen family members in the competition, making them completely convinced]

[Reward: Dark Iron Cleaver]

A cleaver!

Chen Ran got excited!

“Anyway, the lion’s heads still need a long time to stew. We can’t keep the judges waiting empty-handed. Let’s compete with other dishes.”

“I’ve heard your sweet and sour pork ribs are famous. How about we compete on ribs?”

Chen Shuzheng sneered, “Alright then, since you asked for it, don’t blame me for the old beating the young.”

Today, he would show this niece what it means to be seasoned and sharp like old ginger!

She stole one recipe and really thought she was the main dish herself!