Chapter 348: Chapter 348: Scorn

“Actually standing on top of the Tower of Food, space feels even bigger than I imagined!” Shen Qian looked around curiously, her face showing a mix of nervousness and anticipation, “They say Mr. Gao Yichen is at the top of the Tower of Food.”

“Yes.” Zhou Tianhao nodded, also scrutinizing everything inside the Tower of Food. Soon his eyes locked onto a closed compartment located right in the center of the top level of the tower, “That should be it.”

“Good luck to you both.” Seeing their nervous but hopeful faces, Qin Lang smiled, “We’re here on the top level of the Tower of Food to visit Mr. Gao Yichen, but the battle for qualification is happening at the very bottom.”

“It seems we will have to part ways for now.”

With limited time, the three didn’t linger. Soon Shen Qian and Zhou Tianhao headed straight for the closed examination room in the center of the top level, while Qin Lang took the elevator straight to the bottom.

Through the transparent glass of the elevator, he had a clear view of the bustle and prosperity on each level of the Tower of Food. It was still morning, but the place was already crowded to capacity.

The savoury aromas of all sorts of delicious food permeated even the closed environment of the elevator, floating to Qin Lang’s and the two little fairies’ noses.

“Grumble-”

“Clatter-”

Both of the little fairies swallowed and turned their hopeful eyes to Qin Lang.

“After we help Uncle Su win this qualification challenge, let’s tour around the Tower of Food. We went to so much trouble to get here, we definitely have to taste all kinds of delicious food they have here.” Qin Lang smiled, “But before that…”

“You two haven’t forgotten the cooking steps for ‘Sleeping Bull Silk’, have you?”

The two little fairies shook their heads. With the qualification battle imminent, they quickly regained their serious expressions, their eyes flickering with a hint of fighting spirit.

Once again, it was time to cook up delicious food and conquer the opponent!

Seeing that the two little fairies remembered the important stuff, Qin Lang was even more satisfied.

After last night’s training, he was relatively familiar with the dish that he was about to present for the showdown.

He wouldn’t go as far as to say his version was better than Chef Zhong’s, but there shouldn’t be much problem winning this showdown.

After all, Breeze Restaurant was indeed a very strong restaurant, it was just not well established in Ye Zhi City yet.

The deliciousness of the “Sleeping Bull Silk”, which was capable of being a signature dish of the restaurant, was beyond doubt. Last night, after Qin Lang completed the final practice of the dish, he tasted it and was full of praise.

The elevator quickly descended to the first floor. As soon as the door opened, Qin Lang saw Su Henian and a few chefs waiting outside.

“Welcome!” Su Henian smiled and pointed to the people behind him, “Let me introduce them. This is Xu Qingzhong, Tong Sheng, and Tan Tao. They are all current Excellent Chefs at Breeze Restaurant.”

“Nice to meet you!” Qin Lang nodded at the three of them. His gaze lingered a bit longer on Xu Qingzhong.

Yesterday, when Chef Zhong first doubted his own skills, he suggested that this chef might step in. He was capable of cooking the dish ‘Sleeping Bull Silk’, but there was a certain gap compared to Chef Zhong.

As for the other two chefs, a man and a woman, Qin Lang was meeting them for the first time, so he didn’t know them well.

“I’ve been following your performance at the Leaping Fish Banquet. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the site to sample your cooking skills.” Tan Tao was a twenty-something girl with a high ponytail and currently was smiling, “So this time, I took the initiative to come and watch. I’m hoping to see your cooking skills first-hand. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not.” Qin Lang smiled.

“Yesterday my master told me that your ‘Sleeping Bull Silk’ would be better than mine.” Xu Qingzhong slowly spoke up. “Honestly, I don’t really believe it because you only had one night to practice.”

“But I hope you can do it, after all, winning for Breeze Restaurant is more important than anything else.”

“You’ll see.” Qin Lang nodded seriously, having no hard feelings for the other’s sincere words.

As for the Spiritual Chef named Tong Sheng, he seemed somewhat reticent, standing silently to the side with a grin on his face, without saying a word.

“If you’re ready, we can head to the competition venue now.” Su Henian, who had been observing their conversation, stepped in to address the group, “Among the seven floors of the Tower of Food, the bottom one occupies the largest area.”

“The number of shops here is also the most.”

“The qualification battle takes place in the central area of the bottom floor. Both the challenger and the challenged send out a chef to cook a dish. The dish has to be on their own restaurant’s menu and can’t be a new one.”

“As for the judges, it’s the eleven First-Level Food Recommenders from Ye Zhi City.”

“Huh?” Qin Lang’s face showed a bit of surprise. He was just learning about this, “The judging panel for the qualification battle is so impressive?”

“Yes, after all, the Tower of Food was created by Mr. Gao Yichen, a Second- Level Food Recommender of our city. The eleven First-Level Food Recommendors are his subordinates. They judge as long as it doesn’t hamper the City-level Cooking Contest.”

“I see.” Qin Lang nodded, recalling the Beef Tasting Banquet that Mr. Fu Hang hosted in Dongxia City. He also invited other First-Level Food Recommenders, who would accept if they could spare the time.

Since Mr. Gao Yichen was a Second-Level Food Recommender, it isn’t difficult to ask the city’s First-Level Food Recommenders to help judge.

“In this case, the judging panel is the same as the one for the City-level Cooking Contest.” Qin Lang’s face showed anticipation. He was becoming more serious about the upcoming Qualification Battle.

While chatting, the Breeze Restaurant group arrived at the scene.

The competition venue was divided into two competitive standard kitchens and judges’ seats. There were no audience seats, but there was a large empty area around the edge of the venue allowing for hundreds of spectators.

When Qin Lang and the others arrived, several people were already standing in the middle of the venue, judging from their clothes and stance, they are obviously from the same team.

“That’s our opponent for today, Jiuhe Restaurant.” Su Henian introduced to Qin Lang, “They’re a restaurant from the first floor of the Tower of Food. Their overall ability is not strong.”

Qin Lang nodded slightly.

Su Henian only now informed Qin Lang about their opponent and showed no intention to study their signature dishes, clearly not taking them too seriously.

And it makes sense. While Breeze Restaurant may not be well known in Mingjing Province, it is a powerhouse in Tianhua State.

“So you’re the people from Breeze Restaurant?” The team from Jiuhe Restaurant approached with unfriendly faces when they saw Qin Lang and his group. “Who’s cooking today?”

“I am.” Qin Lang replied calmly.

“So young?” The owner of Jiuhe Restaurant, Zhang Kan, immediately frowned in displeasure.

He had every reason to be upset.

Of all the restaurants in the Tower of Food, his Jiuhe Restaurant was chosen, making it clear that they thought his restaurant was the weakest.

Although this was the truth, it was still irritating to think about.

What’s worse, they even dispatched a young kid to compete.

Who are they looking down on here?!

“You will pay the price for underestimating us!”