Universe Infinite Canteen-Chapter 581: The Second Round of the Competition

"He actually made eight portions..." Ma Lu remarked as he looked at the row of plates on the table.

"Um, because replicating it was harder than I imagined," Sun Mei admitted, "I've been trying all sorts of methods this afternoon, but I haven't been able to complete it."

"But I remember you once said that a chef should just stick to their own path, that someone else's path, no matter how good, has nothing to do with you..."

"That has nothing to do with the path," Sun Mei said, "I just wanted to understand the techniques involved."

"Give it up, you can't do it," Ma Lu stated bluntly.

He had a favorable impression of Sun Mei, so he didn't want Sun Mei to be stubborn and end up going down a dead end.

Old Wang wasn't an ordinary chef, not only because his culinary skills were superior to other chefs, but most importantly because he was not human.

Therefore, he could perform many operations that human chefs could not, and his precision was extraordinarily frightening.

Take slicing potato strips, for instance. The potato strips cut by a regular housewife may vary in size and are easily distinguishable at a glance.

While the potato strips cut by a trained professional chef would be much more uniform, usually controlled to within 0.5mm, and not easy to discern unless looked at closely.

But Old Wang, as long as he wished, could really cut the potato strips to exactly the same size, or rather, he could control the precision to the nanometer level.

"Roasted Steamed Bun," this dish might seem simple, but in fact, it's a product of Old Wang's perfect combination of control and calculation.

It had already gone beyond human limits and was not something that could be achieved with just a bit more effort.

However, Sun Mei misunderstood and raised his eyebrows, "Is that a challenge?"

"It's not a challenge," Ma Lu shook his head, "I'm just stating a fact. If you don't believe me, I can demonstrate it for you. After watching, you should understand the difference between us."

"No, I haven't given up. It's just that I've already failed too many times today. The ruined dishes can't be handled, just give me more time, and I'm sure I can replicate it successfully," Sun Mei said.

"Well, if you insist on trying," Ma Lu shrugged, "I can also take care of these failed attempts for you."

"There's only three of us, we can't eat that much," Chuan Ye Zhengming reminded.

"No worries, I've made quite a few new friends these past few days. Some of them probably haven't had dinner yet."

"Thank you so much," Sun Mei said, "I've already sent a message to Lele. Along with myself, we can take care of two portions."

"That leaves six portions, leave them to me."

Ma Lu snapped his fingers.

Taking care of the ruined dishes seemed like a trivial matter to him, especially for a chef of Sun Mei's caliber. Their so-called failures were more about not meeting personal expectations, but the taste wasn't too far off.

If it weren't for Sun Mei's insistence that these failed products shouldn't be sold, Ma Lu would even consider creating a mystery dinner box and selling these Roasted Steamed Buns to the public jury.

At 19.9 yuan, they would definitely sell out in minutes.

After all, the taste at a five-star hotel's restaurant wasn't any better, yet the price was more than ten times higher.

But even without selling them, it was easy to solve. He gave one portion to Chuan Ye Zhengming, one to the Indonesian female chef Pevila, who had discussed the use of spices with him the night before.

Later, Ma Lu took two portions to Yu Yitong and David, receiving their thanks, then took the remaining two to Qi Shanzhu.

Qi Shanzhu opened the door, touched to see Ma Lu bringing her food, and even invited him to join her for a meal in her room.

After passing the first round, unlike other competitors, Qi Shanzhu became completely relaxed.

She knew that with her level, she definitely wouldn't make it past the second round, so she felt no pressure at all.

Just now in her room, she was listening to music and editing her video when she also asked David for the footage shot at the pool in the afternoon, planning to post it on her ins when she got back to her country.

Since there was a camera around, Qi Shanzhu and Ma Lu only talked about some fun stories related to opening stores and being internet celebrities while dining.

However, when Ma Lu left after the meal, Qi Shanzhu took the chance when the camera couldn't see her and winked at Ma Lu.

Ma Lu got the hint and didn't wander outside for too long after that. He went back to his room to sleep before nine.

Yu Yitong just thought he was preparing for tomorrow's competition and said goodnight before leaving with David.

But at eleven o'clock, Ma Lu heard a knock on the door, opened it, and saw Qi Shanzhu standing there with a bottle of red wine, wearing pajamas.

Qi Shanzhu stayed in Ma Lu's room until one-thirty before leaving.

The next morning at breakfast, Chuan Ye Zhengming saw Ma Lu yawning continuously and asked curiously, "Boss Ma, did you also not sleep well last night?"

"Um, I lost track of time playing games. Wait a second, why did you say 'also'?"

"Because I just saw Sun Mei, and she didn't sleep well either."

"Is she playing games too?"

"Probably not, it seems like after she went back, she was still studying your 'Roasted Steamed Bun.'"

"Wow, she is really persistent."

Ma Lu had already finished a bowl of rice noodles and fried rice and went for a plate of fruit. "By the way, have you heard anything about today's competition?"

"Nothing," Chuan Ye Zhengming said. "But generally, on the second day of previous competitions, it's usually theme creation. It should be the same this year, I guess."

"Theme creation?"

"It's when they set a theme, and then let the contestants show their skills. In the past, there have been themes like seafood, noodles, black truffles... Oh, and there was one year where the cooking equipment was limited to just one soup pot."

"Eh, but wouldn't that be unfair for some people? Like Master Long Posen, doesn't he only do vegetarian dishes? What if the theme is about meat, what would he do?"

"There's nothing you can do, theme creation is like that. There will always be topics that some people are good at and others aren't. It's like being a chef or running a restaurant; sometimes you encounter various problems, be it a lack of one or several ingredients. We have to solve it ourselves."

Sun Mei's voice came from behind Ma Lu, initially very earnest, but as she continued, she couldn't help but yawn.

And like catching a contagion, Ma Lu yawned too.

"Alright, let's go see what today's theme is."

After eating, the three of them arrived at the competition hall and found that yesterday's cooking stations were still there, just reduced by more than half, indicating that over half the contestants had been eliminated. The cooking tools, however, didn't look much different from the first day.

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It seemed that this round's competition wouldn't focus on the cooking equipment.

Once all the contestants had assembled, someone noticed that the chairman's podium was still empty; the previous thirteen experts had yet to show up.

In contrast, the seats designated for the public jury in the back were already filled with people wearing expressions of eagerness.

Some of the quicker thinkers had already guessed something.

"So, the public jury is used here, right?" Sun Mei pondered.

The female host didn't waste words. After a brief introduction, she revealed the theme of this round.

Upon hearing the content of the second round's competition, Ma Lu couldn't help it and burst into laughter on the spot.