Chapter 185 Reaching the finals

Xia Zhuofeng stared at Youshi's straight back in astonishment. Youshi seemed like a different person today. She was so tough. Could it be that she was influenced by the second son's wife?
The next day, Ye Jiayao got up early in the morning and went to pay her respects to Xia Youshi first. Xia Youshi didn't ask her to pay her respects out of consideration for her, but she couldn't take politeness as a blessing, and she still had to follow the rules.

As usual, Qiao arrived earlier than her. When she saw her today, there was a hint of timidity in her eyes, and a hint of flattery in her smile.

What happened last night shocked Qiao deeply.

People tend to bully the weak and fear the strong. Who would want to provoke someone who is not easy to provoke?

Moreover, she heard that afterward her mother-in-law gave Ye Shi porridge and exempted her from visiting her parents every morning and evening, which made Qiao Shi smell something unusual. It seemed that Ye Shi had been recognized by her mother-in-law. Then she had to be more relaxed.

"Second brother's wife, is your leg okay?" Qiao asked with concern.

Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "It's okay. Thank you for your concern, sister-in-law."

"The Madam is here." said the maid.

Mother Sun helped You out.

Seeing Ye Jiayao was also there, Youshi's originally dull expression fluctuated a little, and she looked at Ye Jiayao more and more favorably. However, this trace of admiration was quickly covered up by a cold expression.

The two daughters-in-law came forward to pay their respects. Mrs. You asked them to stand up calmly and said, "You all have things to do today, so there is no need to waste time here. Go and get the things you need to do done quickly. The wedding date is getting closer and closer, and there are still so many things to arrange. Sigh..."

Ye Jiayao felt a little ashamed. If the cooking competition had not coincided with Chunfeng’s wedding date, she could have helped more.

After leaving the house, Qiao said, "I still have to go to the accounting office to withdraw money, so I'll leave now."

After Ye Jiayao and the others left, she took Jiang Yue to Tianshangju.

Today is the semi-finals, a very crucial match. Among the thirty-six people, only ten can enter the finals. If Zhong Xiang can enter the finals, it will be considered a success. Of course, if Zhong Xiang gets into the top three, it will be a good thing for Zhong Xiang, as he can enter the imperial kitchen, which is the ultimate goal of most chefs. But for Tianshangju, it is both a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is that Tianshangju has another chef-level pastry chef, who will surely be famous. The bad thing is that if Zhong Xiang leaves, who will be in charge of the kitchen? Although Deng Haichuan and Wang Mingde can both stand on their own, their overall quality is still a little behind Zhong Xiang, and they need to hone their skills.

But Ye Jiayao put this tangle behind her in just a moment. She couldn't hinder the development of others just for her own benefit. That would be too selfish.

Qiao went to the account office to withdraw a banknote and was about to leave when she ran into Zhou. Qiao wanted to pretend she didn't see her and avoid her, but Zhou called her.

"Chunli's wife..."

Qiao had no choice but to stop.

"Third aunt."

"Mingxiu, where are you going? I heard that you opened an embroidery workshop in Jinling. I was just thinking about going to take a look at your place!" Zhou said with a smile.

Qiao's heart skipped a beat. She didn't dare let Zhou go to her embroidery workshop. If she took the good ones she saw, she would be at a huge loss. Her embroidery workshop could not make as much money as Ye's Tianshangju.

"Oh, my mother asked me to go to the Peony Garden outside the city to pick some beautiful potted plants." Qiao quickly stated her mission.

Zhou's eyes sparkled. "Really? I heard in Jinling that there were many top-quality peonies in the Peony Garden, but I never saw them. It just so happens that I also want to add some potted flowers and plants to my new house, so why don't we go together!"

Mrs. Qiao secretly groaned. She had witnessed how this Third Aunt acted like a spoiled brat last night. She was a little scared, but she couldn't refuse.

There were even more spectators at today’s rematch, and both venues were packed.

What is different from yesterday is that today there is not only a chopping board but also a stove on the field.

Zhong Xiang was obviously a little nervous, not as calm and composed as he was yesterday.

“I wonder what kind of competition rules will be adopted?”

After yesterday's race, the organizers announced that participants in the rematch did not need to bring their own tools and ingredients.

Ye Jiayao said: "You have to have confidence. We have done sufficient preparations. With your strength, there will be no problem."

"Brother Xiang, if the Second Young Madam says you can do it, then you can do it." Wang Mingde said firmly. Facts have proved that the Second Young Madam never brags.

"Brother Xiang, come on." Jiang Yue curved her eyebrows and showed a lovely smile. She imitated the gestures often used by the second young lady and clenched her fist to cheer Zhong Xiang up.

A suspicious blush appeared on Zhong Xiang's face: "Well, I will do my best."

The five judges began to walk towards the podium, and the host began to announce the rules for today's rematch.

It was still a set event, all tools and ingredients were provided, today's theme was noodles, contestants could decide what kind of noodles to make. A stick of incense was lit at a fixed time.

Staff members brought up the food one after another.

Flour, eggs, cooking oil, seasoning, a piece of pork, a handful of greens, two tomatoes, a few mushrooms, and a pot of water. Ye Jiayao knew at a glance that today's competition was mainly about taste. Even if you made noodles with flowers, it would be useless. It would only show your skills if you could make simple ingredients into unique flavors.

"Dragon beard noodles, knead the dough with tomato juice." Ye Jiayao said decisively.

Zhong Xiang nodded, took a deep breath, and strode into the arena.

Dragon beard noodles are Zhong Xiang's specialty, and he has put a lot of hard work into it. Ye Jiayao once saw a modern cooking master stretching dragon beard noodles. The spectacular scene of a waterfall dropping three thousand feet is still fresh in her memory. Zhong Xiang can also reach that level, as thin as a hair.

Today's competition depends entirely on real skills, and there is no room for cheating. However, Ye Jiayao can still come up with a little bit of innovation. Kneading the dough with tomato juice can make the noodles appear pink, and they taste slightly sweet and sour, a unique taste.

No matter what competition it is, creativity always counts.

The game started. Although Ye Jiayao seemed calm on the surface, she was actually paying attention to the players on the field.

She saw the Shanxi chef who won the first place yesterday making knife-cut noodles. His noodle-cutting skills were amazing. There were also people kneading noodles into fish shapes, making belt noodles, etc. There were many kinds of things. Her eyes turned back to Zhongxiang.

Zhong Xiang has already started to stretch the noodles. The pink noodles are constantly folded and stretched in his hands, with his left hand inward and his right hand outward, just like practicing Tai Chi. The noodles gradually become thinner. After countless folds and stretches, Zhong Xiang raised one hand above his head for the last time and began to shake the noodles. The thin threads gradually loosened, rippling in a graceful arc, and it really felt like three thousand silver threads, cascading down.

This unique skill of stretching noodles caused many people to marvel. Even the judges on the rostrum stood up.

But Zhong Xiang was so focused that he didn't realize he had become the focus of the field.

After the noodles are stretched, the pan is already hot. Add cooking oil, put the shredded pork marinated with egg white and various seasonings into the pan and stir-fry. Remove from the pan quickly, then use the pork fat to stir-fry mushrooms and green vegetables, and add water to make the soup.

All procedures were in order, and Ye Jiayao's heart slowly calmed down.

Zhong Xiang has done his best today, and the rest can only be left to the judges.

When the incense stick of time was up, only one contestant failed to finish within the specified time and was eliminated. The finished products of other contestants were brought to the podium for the judges to taste.

Zhong Xiang had been concentrating on the task and completed it in one go before, but now he relaxed and sweat soaked through his heavy clothes without him noticing. He smiled at Ye Jiayao and the others and felt good about himself.

Regardless of whether he can make it to the finals, today was the best day he has ever had in his life and he has done his best.

Ye Jiayao also smiled and nodded at him.

The judging process was very long, which showed the serious and responsible attitude of the judges. The 35 contestants and the hundreds of onlookers outside the venue were all silent, waiting for the final result anxiously or calmly.

Finally, the judges returned to their seats and the host announced the list of finalists.

Ye Jiayao listened carefully. Yesterday's first place was still first place today, and the second place was the eighth place yesterday. They jumped up really fast, and Zhong Xiang was still fifth.

"Brother Xiang is so awesome." Wang Mingde exclaimed with a smile.

Ye Jiayao said: "It's really amazing. It ranks fifth. It seems that there is a great hope of entering the top three in the finals."

The contestants who made it to the finals were all smiling and full of confidence, while those who were eliminated all looked gloomy and left in disgrace.

The host then announced the finals.

The final will be held in two days. Everyone can bring their own tools and ingredients to make two pasta dishes and two cakes. You can be free to experiment.

"Second Young Madam, you are so amazing. You seem to know what will be in the final." Wang Mingde looked at Ye Jiayao with great admiration. Didn't Brother Xiang prepare two dishes of noodles and two pastries?
Ye Jiayao was sweating. How would she know? It was just a coincidence.

Jiang Yue scolded in a low voice: "What nonsense are you talking about? There are so many people here, if others hear it, they will think that the second young lady cheated."

Wang Mingde quickly shut up.

Ye Jiayao glanced at Jiang Yue. This little girl was quite smart. She could actually think of this.

Indeed, the organizer of this cooking competition is the imperial court, so the main force is the imperial kitchen. Among the five judges, three are from the imperial kitchen, and she is a walk-in judge in the imperial kitchen. If others knew the project that Zhong Xiang had prepared, all kinds of speculations would pop up.

Here everyone went back to Tianshangju happily, while Qiao returned to the Marquis' Mansion with a sad face.

Third Aunt was really shameless. She said she was going to buy flowers, but she didn't bring any money. She was very careful with her money and bargained hard to buy a few pots of rare peonies. There was still some left, which she wanted to keep for herself. Otherwise, why would she have spent so much time and effort bargaining? In the end, all of it was borrowed by Zhou.

He said he was borrowing it, but in fact he was robbing it. He snatched it from her without any explanation.

Mrs. Qiao was very upset. Not only did she lose all the benefits, but her mother-in-law would scold her if she found out. She almost cried just thinking about it.

When Xia Youshi heard that Zhou had borrowed more than 200 taels of silver, she knew that this time she was throwing meat buns at a dog and it would never come back. However, she was not going to turn a blind eye this time. Even if Zhou had borrowed a copper coin, she would get it back.

(End of this chapter)