Chapter 164: 164. Chapter 162: Stir-Fried Bok Choy

164. Chapter 162: Stir-Fried Bok Choy

Although Ding Huan could find the Cooking Competition Hall without guidance, he still asked a maid for directions before arriving outside the hall.

"Liu Liu, wait for me outside."

Ding Huan instructed Liu Liu, then entered the hall.

Inside the hall sat eleven people; upon seeing Ding Huan arrive, all of them glared at him with hostility.

They had heard the Young Lady needed only one chef—each additional applicant diluted their own chances.

Ding Huan scanned the people in the hall; nearly all of them possessed cultivation.

This made Ding Huan suspect there were few true chefs here—just like him, he was not a chef.

Their goals were probably much the same as his: merely seeking a slot to enter the Dao Cultivation World.

Shouldn't the cooking contest be held in the kitchen soon?

While Ding Huan's spiritual sense was still searching for the kitchen, a group entered carrying various ingredients.

A long table had been placed in the center of the hall, and all the ingredients were piled upon it.

Then, over a dozen portable stoves were brought in and placed on either side of the ingredient table.

An older woman, accompanied by several maids, entered and addressed the twelve chefs:

"Please take whatever ingredients you wish and prepare one dish each. When the dishes are done, the Young Lady will personally taste them. Begin."

Several chefs stood up; Ding Huan stood up too.

There were plenty of ingredients here—more than enough for the dozen chefs; no need to fight over them.

Some chefs stared in shock at this, and one exclaimed anxiously:

"We didn't bring pots—there are only stoves here. How are we supposed to cook?"

The woman glanced dismissively at those chefs, then coldly said:

"If you're a chef, how can you not bring your own pot? What kind of chef are you? Someone, escort out everyone who didn't bring a pot."

"Ah…" The chefs without pots were stunned.

Earlier, when they entered and saw a few chefs bringing pots, bowls, and utensils, they had mocked them.

This was the Jin Mansion.

Did you really need to bring your own pot to cook here? Wasn't that ridiculous?

Now they understood—the foolish ones weren't others, but themselves.

Ding Huan noticed that, besides himself, only six others had brought pots.

Several of the expelled chefs even turned back to stare at Ding Huan, since he hadn't brought a pot either.

But the next moment, their hopes shattered—Ding Huan opened his backpack and pulled out a pot from inside.

Even the woman overseeing the contest nodded in approval.

Only someone with profound love for the chef's craft would carry their pot in their backpack at all times.

Several chefs had begun selecting ingredients; Ding Huan noticed the meat here was all demonic beast meat, and of relatively high grade.

Ding Huan set his eyes on a piece of Tianxiang Rabbit meat—he was about to take it when a chef closer to the meat swiftly snatched it away.

Ding Huan saw the man had already taken a piece of venison; now taking the rabbit too, clearly to block Ding Huan from getting it.

In that moment, Ding Huan's mind held only two words: idiot.

He hadn't used his spiritual sense to scan, but he was certain the Young Lady was observing everything here.

If his future meals were to be prepared by someone, he too would watch that person closely.

Ding Huan had no intention of fighting over that Tianxiang Rabbit meat—he was about to pick another cut when he suddenly spotted a vegetable resembling bok choy.

He recognized this vegetable—it was called Qianjia Cabbage.

Ding Huan had eaten Qianjia Cabbage in Hecheng and even bought some to cook himself.

This vegetable was extremely cheap; ordinary people ate it most often, hence its name—Qianjia Cabbage, essentially an alternate-world bok choy.

Like bok choy, its benefit was clearing grease and cleansing the intestines.

Unlike bok choy, its root was green, its middle yellow, and its top white.

Without hesitation, Ding Huan picked up this single Qianjia Cabbage.

Given the Jin Mansion's wealth, the Young Lady named Guan Ai must eat demonic beast meat every day.

Eating too much demonic beast meat grows tiresome; better to serve her some vegetables to cut the grease.

Of the seven chefs, only Ding Huan chose purely vegetables.

Other chefs had selected vegetables too, but always as side ingredients to meat dishes.

In choosing his dish, Ding Huan had succeeded—he drew nearly every eye.

Everyone ate and saw demonic beast meat daily; they were all sick of it.

But Ding Huan, choosing only Qianjia Cabbage, intrigued them—they wanted to see what he could make of it.

Ding Huan placed his pot on the portable stove, then casually scooped water to rinse the pot three times.

This action earned another nod of approval from the woman overseeing the contest.

Among all competitors here, only Ding Huan rinsed his pot three times.

Others merely swished water through their pots lightly; one didn't even wash his pot before adding oil.

Clearly, they were accustomed to wilderness survival—definitely not real chefs.

Ding Huan then calmly separated the Qianjia Cabbage, cut it into segments, and rinsed it several more times.

Even the maids noticed Ding Huan was far cleaner than the other chefs.

Those preparing meat dishes almost never washed the meat—they simply cut and cooked.

The maids didn't understand, but the woman running the contest did.

If you're going to cook these beast meats, the biggest taboo is washing them with water.

Because once washed, the primordial energy will leak away.

Even though she knew this, the woman presiding over the competition still looked down on the other several chefs.

Food is for eating—why bother preserving primordial energy?

After finishing these steps, Ding Huan did not immediately stir-fry; instead, he waited aside as the Qianjia vegetables drained.

The real reason was that Ding Huan knew his dish would take no more than a minute to finish; if this vegetable cooled completely before eating, it would turn mushy and taste bad.

The chefs preparing meat dishes certainly wouldn't finish so quickly—he had to wait.

When he felt the time was right, Ding Huan lit the stove and placed the wok on it.

After the wok heated, he poured in clear oil; once the oil was hot, he tossed in the cut Qianjia vegetables and began stir-frying.

At this, everyone fell silent.

Ding Huan had been the most eye-catching all along—yet he ended up doing this?

Pour the vegetables into the wok after the oil heats up?

If you need a chef just for this, then being a chef is too easy.

What kind of cooking is this? Anyone with hands can stir-fry.

In just one minute, everyone stared in shock as Ding Huan began plating his dish.

Is that it already?

Excluding Ding Huan's waiting time, how long did it take altogether to wash the vegetables, wash the wok, and prepare this dish?

While everyone was still dazed, a young girl with a gauze veil covering her face walked in.

"Young Lady," everyone greeted her respectfully upon seeing her enter.

The one who entered was Miss Guan Chuan of the Jin household—she was the one who needed a chef to prepare meals on the journey to the Dao Cultivation World sect.

The other several chefs hurriedly sped up their cooking.

Although Ding Huan had not scanned them with his spiritual sense, he knew clearly that this woman had been watching from the side just now.

Seeing his dish finished, she arrived precisely on time to inspect it.

Perhaps her entrance had spurred the other chefs to hurry.

Soon, all seven chefs—including Ding Huan—had finished their dishes.

"Young Lady, all the dishes are ready now—shall I have them brought up for you to taste?" the middle-aged woman presiding over the competition asked quickly.

Guan Chuan nodded: "Fine, bring them up."

Seven plates were placed before Guan Chuan; even the others couldn't help but fix their gazes on Ding Huan's plate of stir-fried Qianjia vegetables.

Though Ding Huan's stir-fry was simple and straightforward, its appearance was truly excellent—the yellow, green, and white hues all sat perfectly in place on the plate.

With a faint shimmer, it gave a pleasing, refreshing impression.

"Alright, you all go wait outside for the results."

The middle-aged woman said to Ding Huan and the others.

All the chefs quickly packed their belongings and left the hall; Ding Huan also put his wok into his bag and walked out.

After everyone had left, Guan Chuan gently lifted her gauze veil and picked up a piece of Qianjia vegetable to put in her mouth.

Clearly, she had long wanted to taste Ding Huan's Qianjia vegetable dish.

As for the dishes made by the other chefs, she had long grown tired of them—not a single one had any distinguishing character.

That manager had been far too cheap—he'd hired such a bunch of food-guzzlers as applicants.

The Qianjia vegetable brought a faint, delicate fragrance upon entering her mouth; with a light bite, a slight crispness came through, and a flavor both familiar and strange fully permeated her taste buds.

Guan Chuan froze—could ordinary vegetables really be made to taste this delicious?

This man's culinary skill must be transcendent, returning to simplicity and purity.

Immediately, Guan Chuan took several more large bites, and soon half the plate of Qianjia vegetables was gone.

"Young Lady, wouldn't you like to taste these meat dishes too?"

The middle-aged woman, seeing the Young Lady eat only the Qianjia vegetables, couldn't help but speak up.

Guan Chuan put down her chopsticks:

"Bring in the chef who made the Qianjia vegetables. Dismiss all the others."

The middle-aged woman blinked—hadn't the Young Lady even tasted the other dishes yet? Was the decision already made?

But she naturally said nothing more, and quickly replied:

"Yes."

Ding Huan and the other six chefs were still waiting when someone came out.

Everyone saw clearly—it was the woman presiding over the competition; all of them watched her nervously.

The woman pointed at Ding Huan:

"You're hired. Come in with me. The rest of you may leave."

Ding Huan exhaled in relief—he'd finally made it.