Chapter 177: The Challenger

After seeing Elder Princess Yu De off, Xia You turned to Jinxuan and said, “The Empress Dowager has changed her mind.”

Ye Jiayao’s mouth opened in surprise. Wow, they work fast!

To show her gratefulness for their efforts, Ye Jiayao decided to prepare several delicious dishes tonight.

Just as she was just about to prepare all the necessary materials, a servant came in to tell her that someone from Heavenly Residence was outside and wanted to speak to her.

Ye Jiayao told Jiang Yue to keep going and came out to see what was going on.

Cui Dongpeng was pacing back and forth anxiously when he spotted her. “Second Young Mistress, there’s a challenger at the restaurant!”

Ye Jiayao asked him calmly, “Why are you so nervous? Can’t Zhong Xiang handle this?”

“That man claimed that he’s the best chef in Sichuan and Hunan area,” Cui Dongpeng answered. “He’s participating in the cooking competition and he said that he has already challenged Qi Lin and Niu Baoshun. Brother Xiang wanted to compete with him, but he insisted that he wanted to face off with Li Yao. He’s in the restaurant right now and he’s refusing to leave. He’s gathering an audience from all the fuss he’s been kicking up. Even Zheng Sanduo and Lu Xiaotian have come to watch.”

Ye Jiayao laughed. “Didn’t you say that I am married now?”

Cui Dongpeng scowled. “I did but he wouldn’t listen. He thinks Li Yao is just a coward who’s using that as an excuse. The onlookers are just finding the whole thing funny.”

Ye Jiayao smirked. She hasn’t even met him yet and she already knew that he’s cocky. If he was as excellent as he said he was, why didn’t he challenge Zheng Fugui? He was just trying to pick off the little guys to build his name.

Fine then, I’ll give him the competition he’s asking for. “Alright. Go back and tell him that Li Yao will come soon.”

Ye Jiayao asked Song Qi to prepare a carriage for her and had someone inform Jiang Yue that she’d be cooking dinner all by herself. She also asked someone to tell Granny Sun that she had some matters to settle in Heavenly Residence.

She changed into a man’s clothing and hurried off to the restaurant.

When she arrived at the Heavenly Residence, the crowd that had gathered started pointing and talking.

“Li Yao is here!”

Although everyone in Jin Ling knew that Li Yao is actually Ye Jinxuan, they played along with calling her Li Yao since the challenger didn’t know any better.”

“She’s finally here. Do you think she’ll win?”

“That man is sharp. It is said that both Duan Qilin and Niu Baoshun lost to him.”

“So what? Li Yao serves the Emperor. Although she hasn’t competed with those first-class chefs like Zheng Fugui and Lu Xiaotian, everyone knows she’s very skilled.”

“Heavenly Residence only got famous because of her.”

“I bet that Li Yao will win.”

“I think the challenger will best her.”

“Come on, let’s start a bet and we’ll see.”

“Susu, let’s have some fun,” Zhao Qixuan said excitedly. It has been a long time since something as amusing as this happened.

Su Yi smirked and said, “Three hundred on Li Yao.”

“Okay. I’ll add two hundred.” Zhao Qixuan pulled out a five-hundred banknote and put it on Li Yao’s side.

Ye Jiayao came into the hall full of people, her eyes immediately zeroing in on Lu Xiaotian and his companions.

Lu Xiaotian smiled and nodded at her in greeting. He was here to come to her rescue if she needed him to, but also because he wanted to see her in action. She withdrew from the competition so he knew that this might be the only time that he’d get to witness her skills. Plus, he needed to see if this challenger can back up all his talk about being the ‘best chef’ in two cities.

Ye Jiayao returned his smile before her eyes fell on a man who looked to be in his thirties with an upturned nose and a handlebar mustache. He looked like every movie villain ever.

“How do I address you, sir?” Ye Jiayao asked warmly.

He barely swept a glance at her.

Deng Haichuan said crossly, “Hey, you said you wanted to challenge Brother Yao, right? Here he is.”

The man glanced back at her again, the cockiness in his face intensifying. “Hu Dahai.”

“Which way do you want to compete in?”

“A guest should follow the host’s choice. It’s up to you.”

When he arrived at Jin Ling, he asked around for the best chef in the city. A lot of people answered that it was Lu Yiming since he was the champion of the last competition, followed by Zheng Fugui. Lu Yiming’s son, Lu Xiaotian, was also mentioned because apparently, he inherited his father’s talent in cooking. However, everyone agreed that the most popular chef in the city was called Li Yao. He had come up with a lot of new dishes that shocked the people. After careful consideration, Hu Dahai decided to challenge this Li Yao first since he seemed to be the inexperienced one.

He was surprised to see that this Li Yao was so young. Hu Dahai predicted that this would be an easy win for him.

Still with a pleasant smile on her face, Ye Jiayao said, “Sichuan cuisine, one of the four major cuisines in Central Plain. It is famous for its unique way of cooking and special characteristic, which is called People Cuisines. It has three main features: spicy, hot, and appetizing. The specialties are shredded pork with garlic sauce, double-cooked pork slices, Mapo beancurd, fish filets in hot chili oil, and sliced beef and ox tongue in chili sauce.

Hu Dahai’s arrogant face turned serious. He was impressed that the young lad was familiar with Sichuan cuisine. It seemed as if he had underestimated him.

“I’m skilled in Huaiyang cuisine, but I’m not going to suggest that because even if I win, that’ll bring me no honor. So how about we just both cook Mapo beancurd? And hurry up, our restaurant has lots of business!” Ye Jiayao said, still seeming unperturbed.

Every chef in attendance were all thinking the same thing: Why would she choose a dish that she wasn’t familiar with?

Some people thought that she has underestimated her challenger while others thought that this made for a more entertaining faceoff. Mapo beancurd might be a simple dish, but the skills needed to make it was very determining. Only first-class Sichuan chefs can get it right.

Hu Dahai was stunned. Why would Li Yao suggest that? For him, an experienced chef, making Mapo beancurd was extremely easy. Was Li Yao that good or was he just overestimating himself?

“What do you think? Are you okay with that or do you want to cook something of your expertise?” Ye Jiayao asked, still with a smile that she knew was grating on his nerves.

Hu Dahai huffed. He was taunting him. “Let’s do Mapo beancurd.”

“Should we choose foreign chefs to judge our finish product? I don’t think Jin Ling chefs would be fair if we get them to judge.” Ye Jiayao called Lu Xiaotian over and asked, “Chef Xiaotian, can I bother you to select three chefs who are neither from Huaiyang or Sichuan?”

Lu Xiaotian readily agreed.

A few moments later, he produced two Lu cuisine chefs and one Yue cuisine chef. Before they began he suggested, “It would be fairer if the judges were to taste your dish without knowing who made them.”

Ye Jiayao thought it was a great idea and Hu Dahai made no objection with it.

With the mechanics of the competition ironed out, the two chefs entered the kitchen in tandem.

Mapo beancurd was one of the most famous dishes in China. Ye Jiayao’s grandmother was from Sichuan and Mapo beancurd was her favorite food. When her grandmother was young, her husband would always cook it for her. Then, it became Ye Jiayao’s father’s job to cook for her. Then it passed on to her.

“Chef Dahai, which one do you need, beef or pork?” Ye Jiayao asked.

“Pork.” He answered.

“Well, then the seasoning…” Ye Jiayao was about to ask if he needs Sichuan pepper when she saw him take out all kinds of seasoning from his carry-on parcel. Damn, he came prepared!

Ye Jiayao set out to retrieve her seasonings, some blue and white pepper powder, fermented black bean, bean paste, and many other things.

Deng Haichuan laid out two pieces of fresh filet and two boreal bean curd while Zhong Xiang provided the garlic, onions, and cilantro.

Hu Daihai took half of the ingredients and got started.

He cut the boreal bean curd into two cm pieces and then added some water into the pot. He then proceeded to finely chop the fresh filet.

Ye Jiayao took her time preparing her ingredients as she observed Hu Dahai’s cutting techniques. He was soft and swift, clearly skilled.

When Hu Dahai saw Li Yao’s turtle pace, he asked, “Shouldn’t this competition have a time limit?

Ye Jiayao chuckled at his competitiveness. “Sure. Whoever finishes last, loses.”