Back to the 1970s: Building My Fortune Through Time Trading

Chapter 199: Highest Score

The air was immediately filled with the enticing aroma of food. Su Xiaoxiao took a deep sniff. Ah, it smells so good.

Yan Guohua stepped forward with a pair of chopsticks to taste the dishes. Of course, he wasn’t doing it because he was hungry, but to lead by example and try them himself.

After trying each dish, he nodded. Overall, the level of this group was more or less the same.

The managers from various departments who acted as judges also finished tasting and began to score.

There were a total of five judges at the venue. They would drop the highest score and the lowest score, and the average of the remaining scores would be the contestant’s actual score.

Soon, the first group’s commentary was over, and the scores of the five people didn’t differ much.

There was no one particularly outstanding, nor anyone particularly bad. Overall, the five people had similar abilities.

Xu Zhaodi quietly tugged at Su Xiaoxiao, "Xiaoxiao, is it about to be our turn?"

Su Xiaoxiao nodded. Then she heard her say, "I... I need to use the restroom."

Liu Cuilan also scooted over, "Third Sister, so do I."

Su Xiaoxiao reached up and rubbed her forehead, "No? You don’t want to. Even if you really want to, you have to wait until the competition is over."

Xu Zhaodi gaped a little, "But..."

"It’s our turn!"

Seeing that it was the second group’s turn, Su Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief and pushed the two forward, one in each hand.

In the midst of a crowd of burly professional chefs, the two appeared particularly slender and weak.

Su Xiaoxiao made a fist with one hand and gave them a cheering gesture.

Only then did the two muster the courage to step forward and introduce themselves.

Before them were all chefs from various places, at worst local cooks. Suddenly, two ordinary rural women appeared, and the onlookers began to buzz with chatter.

Many people started gossiping below.

"Where did these village women come from? How are they also participating in the competition?"

"Exactly, this is a department store’s bidding, not some place for these country bumpkins to come."

"They don’t even know their own limits, truly overestimating themselves!"

Just then, a particularly mocking female voice interjected, "Exactly, with their level, they can only cook ordinary home meals. Coming to a formal occasion like this, isn’t it just trying to put on a show?"

Su Xiaoxiao didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

Who else could it be but Zhang Dongmei?

Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t be bothered to deal with her and kept her eyes fixed on her mother and Xu Zhaodi on stage.

To her surprise, the less she responded, the more Zhang Dongmei became energized.

She taunted, "A person should be self-aware. Some things aren’t meant for you, and forcing them is useless."

"Exactly, two rural women should go home and take care of their husbands instead of messing around. Isn’t this nonsense?"

Someone suddenly said that, and the crowd burst into laughter.

Several chefs looked at them with disdain, and even the one who claimed to be an event chef in the village looked down on them, standing up straighter.

Previously, facing the chefs from state-run restaurants, he couldn’t quite hold his head up. Seeing two village women participate, he instantly felt a bit more superior.

Everyone around looked at the two with disdain.

By now, Liu Cuilan had already calmed down.

After Father Su’s death, she, as a woman, supported the whole family alone. She had seen many big and small situations, and now she was handling it calmly and composedly.

Xu Zhaodi was facing such a situation for the first time and found it difficult to control herself.

The hand that was supposed to pick up the knife was shaking, and her whole body was almost trembling like a sieve.

She quietly tugged on Liu Cuilan, "Aunt Liu... Aunt Liu, what should I do if my hands keep shaking?"

Liu Cuiran thought for a moment and said, "If it doesn’t work, you come to fry the dishes, and I’ll cut the vegetables."

Originally, their roles were reversed, but Xu Zhaodi’s current state clearly made her unfit for cutting vegetables.

Xu Zhaodi opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly a hand rested on the back of her hand.

Su Xiaoxiao looked up confidently at everyone and said, "If I remember correctly, the bidding requirements didn’t specify that only formal chefs could participate. Since there is no such requirement, we have the qualification to participate."

Someone in the crowd snorted, "Let them participate. I want to see what kind of good dishes two rural women can make. It’s just a clown act."

The crowd erupted into laughter again.

Facing the wave of ridicule, Xu Zhaodi, with her hand tightly held by Su Xiaoxiao, felt much calmer.

Su Xiaoxiao said, "Mom, Sister Zhaodi, don’t be nervous. Just follow the dishes we practiced earlier, and there won’t be any problem."

The two nodded simultaneously, quickly calming down.

The second group’s competition officially began.

Surprisingly, Liu Cuilan’s group was particularly fast at cooking.

While other groups were still selecting their dishes, Xu Zhaodi was already holding a knife and quickly chopping away.

Someone looked at her cutting speed and couldn’t help but exclaim, "Her speed is no less than that of a professional chef?"

"So what? It might just be all show, impressive but not practical. This round is about the taste of the dishes, not knife skills."

Zhang Dongmei scoffed and didn’t believe the two could have any real ability.

By this time, Xu Zhaodi had already finished cutting the vegetables.

Liu Cuilan took a deep breath, heated the oil in the pan, and began stir-frying the dishes.

The tempting aroma quickly spread through the air, and someone curiously craned their necks to see, "What dish are they frying? It smells so good."

Someone else dismissed, "It’s all the same. What’s there to make a fuss about?"

In the midst of their discussion, the two had already finished cooking.

Compared to the other chefs who were still busy stir-frying, they were significantly faster.

A few minutes later, all the contestants completed their dishes.

Yan Guohua, as usual, held a pair of chopsticks and tried each one, followed closely by the other judges.

When they stopped in front of Liu Cuilan’s group, Yan Guohua picked up his chopsticks to taste and immediately a look of admiration flashed in his eyes.

Although it was just home-cooked food, the taste was truly excellent.

He nodded in satisfaction and directly gave this group the highest score.

Soon, all the judges finished scoring for this group.

Yan Guohua stood up to announce the results.

To everyone’s surprise, this group’s highest score was actually Liu Cuilan’s group.

Upon hearing this, a chef immediately stood up in protest.

"This is unfair. I heard that Comrade Liu’s daughter works at the department store. I wonder if the judges gave her such high marks because of her daughter?"

"Yes, I sneakily tasted them all just now. Clearly the dishes were not much different from each other. Why should she get the high score?"

Someone shouted another comment, and Yan Guohua followed the voice, frowning, "You want to know the reason? I’ll tell you right now."

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