Chapter 368: Chapter 368: Score

Qiu Xingfeng is a senior judge currently employed by the Xianyu City Spirit Chef Association.

At the same time, his parents and ancestors were all engaged in offshore fishing.

The sea is rich, with countless prized seafood that are inexhaustible. This is a blessing to the fishermen.

But the sea is also unpredictable; every year numerous fishermen disappear due to storms and other extreme weather at sea.

Therefore, for those who go to sea, every voyage is a life-risking adventure. They often trust in some superstitions rather than disbelieve them.

Qiu Xingfeng’s aversion to pasta had taken root since he was a child, and even though he has been a senior judge for many years now, he has not fully shaken off this prejudice.

So, when the Spirit Chef Association decided to set pasta as the theme for the scoring competition, Qiu Xingfeng strongly opposed it.

But under the resolute attitude of the Spirit Chef Association, his opposition didn’t make much of a difference. A food recommender subtly let him know that this decision had other intentions, so he chose to give up his resistance.

But he still couldn’t warm up to pasta.

When he tasted the Seafood Grilled Noodles just now, his taste buds continuously fed back the delicious taste to him. But his inner aversion still made his perception of the dish lower, resulting in a low score.

Now, presented in front of him were Dragon Beard Noodles.

This dish gave Qiu Xingfeng the feeling of “hearing the sound before seeing the person”.

Before it was completely cooked, Qiu Xingfeng was completely attracted by Qin Lang’s miraculously skilled technique.

Pulling a dough into countless hair-thin noodles, none of which broke, even the thought of such a skill made Qju Xingfeng’s scalp tingle.

Despite his aversion to pasta, he couldn’t deny his own heart. Naturally, he was infinitely curious about these Dragon Beard Noodles.

So, when this bowl of noodles was really served in front of him, Qiu Xingfeng was surprised to find that his inner aversion was completely suppressed by curiosity. His only thought at the moment was to taste these Dragon Beard Noodles.

The hot steam carried a faint savoury scent, gradually seeping into Qiu Xingfeng’s nostrils.

It was the savoury aroma of the scattered green onions in the noodle soup, the aroma of sesame oil floating on the surface of the soup, and beyond that, a kind of satisfying savoury aroma.

Is this the smell of pasta?

Qiu Xingfeng suddenly felt that, after setting aside his aversion to pasta, the bowl of Dragon Beard Noodles in front of him was so tempting.

He no longer hesitated, picked it up with chopsticks, and placed it in his mouth.

Although the noodles were thin, they were still full of bite, very resilient, and did not break under Qiu Xingfeng’s chopsticks. The moment they entered the mouth, they had a chewy taste.

More delicate noodles allowed the Dragon Beard Noodles to carry more soup, and as Qiu Xingfeng chewed, the charm of the soup noodles was fully revealed.

The soup of the Dragon Beard Noodles, Qin Lang had not used too many techniques.

It was just a clear noodle soup seasoned with things like light soy sauce and salt, but it had an astonishing flavor at this moment.

The thin noodles infused the aroma of the noodles into the soup in the moment of boiling. The aroma of the noodles in the soup was the best seasoning.

After swallowing one mouthful, Qju Xingfeng’s aversion to pasta quietly melted away at this moment.

He found the unique charm of pasta.

Next to him, the other judges were also tasting the Dragon Beard Noodles.

During the previous tasting of the Seafood Grilled Noodles, there were occasional low conversations. But now, when tasting the Dragon Beard Noodles, the judges were exceptionally silent.

Some things need no discussion, it is self-evident.

Soon, several bowls of noodles, now emptied even of the soup, were put down. A series of intensely warm gazes were directed at the young man standing in the middle of the competition.

“All thirty judges have completed their tasting. Now it’s the scoring session!” The host signaled the judges to score, and after a moment, picked up the prompt, “Subtracting the highest score and the lowest score, the final score for Qin Lang is  ”

With the host’s deliberate elongation of the last note, the arena fell into silence as if a pause button had been pressed.

A tense atmosphere spread throughout the venue, everyone wanted to know what kind of score could be earned by Qin Lang’s pasta dish, which had already elicited countless gasps during the cooking process alone.

“98.9 points! Congratulations to contestant Qin Lang!”

As the host’s voice fell, the tense atmosphere was suddenly relaxed. In the audience seats, cheers erupted at once, turning into a tumultuous sea because of Qin Lang’s high score.

Such scores are hardly seen once in ten years in the city-level cooking competitions.

In the contestant waiting area, Ying Chao’s tightly clenched hands weakly loosened. Looking at Qin Lang in the field from afar, a strong sense of defeat emerged in his heart.

Is the gap between him and this guy so big?

With such a score, what can others compare with?

Thinking back to the scene before the start of the competition, where he and a few spirit chefs who also entered the competition argued who could win the championship, Ying Chao’s breath became a bit rapid, and he glared fiercely at the closed kitchen doors.

No one is getting this championship!

Suddenly, Ying Chao’s expression relaxed, turned his head to look at Qin Lang who walked into the contestant waiting area, and squeezed out a smile that he thought looked composed.

Qin Lang looked at him strangely.

Who is this guy, why does he look so weird.

He must have some problem.

Better keep distance from him.

He chose a place farthest from Ying Chao and silently sat down, his gaze shifted to the competitive standard kitchen where Shen Qian was.

Shen Qian had also activated the transparent mode, so Qin Lang could see her cooking progress at this moment.

According to his understanding of Shen Qian’s dish, it wouldn’t be long before it was finished.

“Ding Dong     ”

The electric bell sound echoed throughout the arena, and the next contestant walked out of the door.

Seeing that familiar figure, Ying Chao’s smile gradually turned distorted.

You’re all dead!

“Our contestant Tian Jian has completed his cooking!” the host announced loudly. “May the thirty judges now taste and score Tian Jian’s dish!”

Soon, Tian Jian’s score was freshly released.

88.1 points.

After exiting the arena, Tian Jian hurried to the contestant waiting area. He quickly recognized the familiar Ying Chao and laughed jovially as he walked towards him. “Old Ying, you’re as efficient as always, managing to finish so quickly.”

“What’s your score? Let me hear it.” He plonked himself cheerily next to Ying Chao, patting Ying Chao’s shoulder.

Tian Jian was not particularly satisfied with his own score either.

But like Ying Chao before, he thought that perhaps the factor of pasta had affected the scoring, and it would be the same for everyone.

As for his own performance, Tian Jian was satisfied.

Today, he felt he had performed exceptionally well, so his mood was very good.

“Score, huh.” Ying Chao revealed a brilliant smile. “87.3 points.”

“Hahaha, as expected, I’m still one step ahead…” Tian Jian laughed heartily, and then his laughter abruptly halted.

If Ying Chao scored lower than himself, why was he smiling so happily?!

Something’s wrong!