1313 Tastes Like Chewing Wax!
Xiao Zhen’s voice was neither loud nor soft, but Ming Zui, Luan Qingyang, and the other newcomers heard him.
They looked at Bai Zhou in horror, making him embarrassed. “Don’t talk about me. I heard that someone’s scrambled eggs with tomatoes almost broke Zhi Tong’s teeth. I wonder if that’s true?”
Everyone’s gazes turned to Xiao Zhen again.
“Hah, that’s still better than some people making beef into rubber.” Xiao Zhen was not to be outdone.
Bai Zhou glared at him and said, “It better be. Some people’s shredded pork became shredded metal. They’re probably not much better than rubber.”
The two of them spoke one after another, neither willing to admit defeat, scaring the others at the side.
“Alright, stop arguing.” Chi Lian looked at the two of them bickering like children and couldn’t help but say, “That was your work from the beginning. Bai Zhou’s standards have improved a lot. He definitely won’t cause people to eat to their deaths.”
Everyone: Won’t cause people to eat to their deaths? This requirement was too low!
Zhi Tong also spoke up for Xiao Zhen. “Brother Xiao Zhen has also improved a lot. At least we can tell what ingredients were used for the dishes.”
Everyone was speechless.
“Actually…” Luan Qingyang couldn’t help but say, “I can make four dishes. Why don’t we…”
“No!” Bai Zhou and Xiao Zhen rejected her at the same time. The two of them looked at each other and said, “His food must be the worst.”
Luan Qingyang: “…”
Everyone looked at each other. They did not know where the two got their fighting spirit from, let alone the meaning of this competition.
“Is the Sect Master not coming over today?” Ming Zui looked at the others and asked.
When Chi Yang heard this, he said, “It’s New Year’s Day today. The Sect Master should have gone home for the holidays. Perhaps she’ll come over tonight when she’s free, but it’s hard to say.”
Ming Zui nodded in understanding. Because he, Luan Qingyang, and Duo were the last to come to Baiyun City, he inevitably wanted more opportunities to interact with the Sect Master.
As if seeing through his thoughts, Luan Qingyang smiled brightly and said, “Brother Ming Zui, there will be opportunities in the future. There’s no hurry for this day.”
“Qingyang is right,” Yu Wuyuan said. “There will be many opportunities in the future.”
Ming Zui nodded and scratched his head in embarrassment.
After a busy day, when the sky gradually darkened outside, everyone finished their dishes.
They placed together the two dining tables. Everyone sat around casually. Champagne, red wine, and delicious food filled the table.
Bai Zhou raised his glass and stood up. He looked at everyone and said, “Most of us aren’t Chinese. But because of the Sect Master, we’ve gathered together today. Let’s do as the Romans do and celebrate the new year in China. Come, everyone, have a drink first. Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year…”
“Happy New Year…”
“…”
Everyone raised their glasses and downed the wine. Only then did Bai Zhou call out to everyone, “Everyone, eat. You’ve been hungry for the entire day, but don’t forget about today’s competition. Choose the worst one.”
Everyone subconsciously looked at each other and picked up their chopsticks to eat.
Bai Zhou’s gaze followed everyone’s chopsticks, wanting to see who would be the first to eat his dishes.
Although Xiao Zhen did not care on the surface, he was secretly observing from the corner of his eye.
For the first time, no one cared about their dishes…
Everyone rejected it in their hearts. No one dared to eat it!
Xiao Zhen was calm, but Bai Zhou could not sit still anymore. He immediately attacked. He stood up and handed the stewed beef brisket with potatoes that he had been training hard for a week to Yu Wuyuan. “Come, give me face…”
Yu Wuyuan’s chopsticks were still holding a piece of Yun Buyao’s sweet and sour pork ribs. Looking at the food in Bai Zhou’s hand, he could not help but be slightly stunned. He did not move as if someone had hit his acupoints.
The others couldn’t help but laugh when they saw this. Yun Buyao said, “Bai Zhou, there’s no such thing as forcing people to eat!”
Bai Zhou said confidently, “Since it’s a competition, of course, every dish has to be tasted to be fair! You can’t escape either. You have to eat later!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he pushed the plate toward Yu Wuyuan. “Come, have a bite!”
Yu Wuyuan resisted in his heart, but he still put down the pork ribs between his chopsticks and picked up a piece of beef from the plate in Bai Zhou’s hand.
This should be beef… right?
Bai Zhou looked at Yu Wuyuan expectantly, waiting for him to put it into his mouth.
Yu Wuyuan stared at the beef with a smile for a long time before slowly saying, “Let me try to see how formidable this stewed beef brisket with potatoes is that caused Chi Lian to go on a hunger strike for three days after taking a bite.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Wuyuan made up his mind and stuffed the beef into his mouth.
Bai Zhou’s eyes lit up. Even Xiao Zhen was focused on Yu Wuyuan’s expression.
The others were the same. They looked at Yu Wuyuan’s mouth without blinking.
Yu Wuyuan chewed, chewed, and chewed…
After chewing for two minutes, his cheeks were aching, but the beef was not chewed through yet.
In the end, he raised his hand elegantly to take a napkin. Then, he turned around slightly and spat the chewed beef in his mouth onto the napkin to wrap it up. He casually threw it into the trash can.
Seeing this, Bai Zhou couldn’t help but cry out in pain. “Why did you spit it out?!”
Yu Wuyuan said calmly, “I can’t finish chewing it!”
“Haha…” Everyone burst into laughter.
Chi Lian even teased, “Be content, Bai Zhou. Your dish stayed in Yu Wuyuan’s mouth for at least two minutes. It’s much better than before.”
Chi Lian only took a bite of the dish back then and couldn’t help but vomit in three seconds. Chi Yang even smelled it and retched.
Compared to this, there was indeed an improvement.
However, Bai Zhou didn’t give up and asked, “How does it taste? Is it delicious?”
Yu Wuyuan looked up at Bai Zhou and slowly said, “It tastes like chewing wax!”
Bai Zhou frowned. “What do you mean?”
He hated Chinese idioms the most. Back then, at the Langxing Gala, he and Yun Buyao failed at idioms.
However, Yu Wuyuan smiled and said nothing, but he used his actions to show what he meant. He picked up the cup beside him and took a sip of water before rinsing his mouth.
Everything was said without words!
Bai Zhou: “…”
“Let me try Xiao Zhen’s stir-fried meat with green peppers!” Seeing that Yu Wuyuan had tasted Bai Zhou’s dishes, Yun Buyao volunteered to raise her chopsticks to taste Xiao Zhen’s dishes.
Xiao Zhen had indeed made two relatively simple dishes as Bai Zhou had said. After all, they were competing in taste. If the difficulty was too high, it was easy to make mistakes. Xiao Zhen’s goal was just to win.
“Yes…” Yun Buyao’s eyes lit up. She looked at Xiao Zhen and said, “Not bad, Xiao Zhen. Although the color is a little dark, the taste is still not bad!”
When Xiao Zhen heard this, he subconsciously raised his head slightly with a proud expression.
