Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Unexpected
Translator: 549690339
“Both contestants have ascended the stage, and judging by the items they bring with them, they are well-prepared for this match.”
The host chuckled and looked at Qin Lang and Lei Ke.
“So now, are you two contestants ready?”
“The moment the second round of draw results are confirmed, the countdown for this match shall commence.”
“I’m ready!”
Lei Ke weighed the box in his hand, a confident expression displayed on his face.
With his secret seasonings at hand, no matter the theme drawn, he could handle it with ease!
“I’m ready too.”
Qin Lang nodded, and his gaze inevitably turned to the screen in the air.
He didn’t know what kind of theme would be drawn in the second round of draw.
“Both contestants are ready, so now, let’s proceed with the final theme drawing for this match!”
With a sweeping gesture from the host, the words on the screen began to roll quickly.
Tang Xie and Zhu Ming, who had already completed the competition and obtained their final rankings, stared intently at the screen.
The two contestants standing in the field now had each defeated them separately yesterday.
At the moment, they were very concerned about which of the two would win.
The numerous audience members in the seating area held their breath at this moment, Qi Xiaoyu, seated in the VIP inner field area, couldn’t help but grasping Du Weiwei’s forearm tightly.
But Du Weiwei was so absorbed staring at the electronic screen in the field that she didn’t notice the pain in her arm at all.
The eleven Food Recommenders on the judges’ seats each displayed expectant facial expressions.
Even with their wealth of judging experience, they had never encountered the rare theme of on-the-spot performance.
Just this theme alone was enough to tickle their interest, let alone the remarkable culinary skills of the two Spirit Chefs in the arena.
Naturally, the two contestants about to compete in the field were the most nervous.
Qin Lang tightly held his backpack with one hand and couldn’t help but tighten his face.
On the other side, Lei Ke rubbed the handle of his suitcase slightly, his thoughts unknown.
As the words scrolled, the atmosphere in Dongxia Arena became more and more tense.
Until, the words on the screen finally stopped.
[Home]
Seeing this term that was so short it was just one word, Tang Xie couldn’t help but gasp for breath.
This is an abstract theme!
Following the rare theme: on-the-spot performance, they had drawn the most difficult abstract theme for on-the-spot performance.
He put himself in their shoes and immediately felt the terrifying difficulty.
Fortunately, the theme he drew was simple.
Similarly expressing relief was Zhu Ming beside him.
The theme they drew was much simpler compared to what Qin Lang and Lei Ke drew.
The moment this theme was revealed, the audience seats were filled with murmurs.
Obviously, they were shocked by such a theme.
But beyond the shock, there was anticipation.
How would the two contestants conceive a dish, find ingredients and cook within three hours with such an abstract theme?
As for Qin Lang and Lei Ke in the field, they had no more time to catch their breath.
Simultaneous to the theme freezing on the screen, the sound of an electric bell echoed.
The three-hour countdown, begins!
Lei Ke, carrying his briefcase, hurried off towards the Food Material Market without a word.
However, his expression wasn’t quite as relaxed as before.
Getting an abstract theme in the second round of draw was also unexpected to him.
But for Lei Ke, the trouble wasn’t in interpreting this theme.
The moment he saw the theme, he already had an idea of what dish he was going to prepare.
And, that dish was indispensable.
But one of the ingredients required for that dish was a specialty of Danju City which couldn’t be found in the Food Material Market.
Lei Ke had his way of procuring the specialty within the given time, but it would cost him precious cooking time.
He should make it in time.
Even if Qin Lang were to finish earlier, the real taste difference could never be completely eliminated by time.
Lei Ke muttered to himself, couldn’t help but glance back at Qin Lang before he temporarily left the arena.
To his surprise, Qin Lang was still standing in place.
This guy…
Lei Ke withdrew his gaze and disappeared out the entrance.
“Gudoo?”
After Lei Ke left, Dan Bao went to Qin Lang’s side and rubbed Qin Lang’s cheek with its big tail, a worried expression on its face.
With their heartfelt communication, Dan Bao could sense the emotional turmoil under its Spirit Chef’s calm facade.
Without knowing the reason, it wanted to comfort him with all its might.
“Phew!”
Standing in place for about ten minutes, Qin Lang let out a deep breath, and his face became lively again.
Home…
This was indeed an unexpected theme.
He gradually came to his senses, but his drifting thoughts still lingered on that memory buried deep within him.
This abstract theme had awakened his dormant memories of home.
Subconsciously reaching into his bag and touching a certain bottle, Qin Lang’s heart steadied.
Like Lei Ke, who knew immediately which dish he had to cook once he saw this theme, he also knew what dish he should cook in this competition.
Looking at a worried Dan Bao, Qin Lang gave a comforting smile, “Let’s go, we’re going to pick out some ingredients.”
“Gululu!”
Dan Bao nodded heavily, following closely behind Qin Lang.
Unlike Lei Ke, everything Qin Lang needed could be found in the Food Material Market.
After making their purchases, he and Dan Bao hurried back to the arena and entered the Competitive Standard Kitchen.
Half an hour passed.
Qin Lang began cooking, and Lei Ke had yet to return to the arena.
“We’ve got this in the bag!”
In the audience seats, Qi Xiaoyu excitedly patted Du Weiwei’s thigh, “Qin Lang is already inside! Lei Ke hasn’t even returned yet. Qin Lang is definitely going to finish first! Advantage is ours!”
“Let’s wait and see.” Du Weiwei glanced helplessly at her best friend, knocked her hand off her thigh and looked towards Qin Lang’s kitchen, her brow furrowing slightly.
“I just have this feeling that something is off about Qin Lang.”
After awakening its Thought Waves, Dan Bao could help much more.
Despite the lack of a second Food Spirit creation from last night’s cooking, Dan Bao had gained lots of experience in assisting with ingredient preparation using Thought Waves.
At the moment, it was controlling the water to wash the ingredients and treating fresh ingredients with its Fresh Full, while also asking curiously.
“Gululu?”
What dishes are we making today?
“Today, we’re making a dish called Twice-Cooked Pork.”
Qin Lang replied in a soft tone, a faint nostalgia on his face.
In his hand was a large piece of pork belly, with the pork skin side downwards as he seared it in a heated pan.
After searing the pork skin to lessen the gamey taste, he scraped off the charred surface with a kitchen knife, washed it clean, put it into cold water, added scallion and ginger, as well as cooking wine, and slowly simmered it on low heat.
Having completed all this, Qin Lang took out a bottle of sauce and placed it on the countertop.
There was a label he hand-wrote on the glass bottle.
Three characters were written on the label.
Doubanjiang.
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