The countdown to the competition has begun. It will end exactly thirty minutes from now and will be judged by six judges.
On the stage, the six judges come from various backgrounds: the president of the Catering Association, a food blogger, a local internet celebrity, a representative from the organizer, a food enthusiast, and a randomly selected audience member.
As a local cultural feature of Jinan City, Jinan TV Station will provide live coverage of the entire event, with Zhao Luyao as the host of this food competition.
Halfway through the program, a delivery driver rushed onto the stage, wearing an apron as if ready to cook!
Dong Li hurriedly approached the stage and looked at Su He with a calm expression, unable to resist asking, "Young man, have you worked as a chef before?"
Su He pondered for a moment and replied, "Sort of."
"Then may I ask which hotel you worked at?" Dong Li continued to inquire.
"Not a hotel. My grandfather was a rural cook. He taught me a few tricks when he prepared feasts for others...," Su He replied, looking at the countdown, which showed only twenty-six minutes left, and then walked to the ingredient area.
The ingredients for this competition are provided by the organizers for everyone to use as they wish. However, Su He arrived late, and there weren't many left on the shelves.
A rural cook? Learned a few tricks?
Dong Li felt dizzy and almost fainted. He turned around and saw Su He pushing a shelf over, holding a bucket of rice in his other hand.
"Boss, don't worry. My grandfather's culinary skills are well-known throughout the villages. Whenever there was a banquet, they would invite him. I often followed him when I was young, so I learned his skills a long time ago," Su He reassured Dong Li with a confident look, then picked up a basket of eggs and cracked them one by one into a bowl.
Dong Li's smile froze, and he sat on the ground with a mournful face, wondering if this guy was seriously ill, causing trouble for him!
Zhao Luyao approached with a camera.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we finally have a contestant from the renowned Taste Pavilion Hotel. As you can see, the head chef is dressed as a delivery driver. We don't know if it's intentional or if there's another story behind it. Being the champion of the Food Competition for three consecutive years, what surprises will the Taste Pavilion Hotel bring us this time?"
"Strange. The owner of Taste Pavilion is actually sitting on the stage. Let's find out what's happening... Mr. Dong, may I ask if you have the confidence to win the championship again this year? Mr. Dong? It seems Mr. Dong is having some trouble. Let's see what their chef is preparing... Oh my!"
In that instant, Su He suddenly exclaimed, "Zhao, you're here too!"
"Su He?" Zhao Luyao patted her ample chest gently and asked in confusion, "What are you doing here?"
As Zhao Luyao watched Su He beat the eggs in the bowl with chopsticks, she had a foreboding feeling. Could it be that Dong Li's disoriented state was because of Su He?
"The boss invited me to participate in the competition... Boss, so your surname is Dong. Dong Li, come and help me, time is running out."
Dong Li's wife, Chen Ying, ran over and looked at Dong Li, shouting, "Darling, what's wrong? Are you okay? Don't scare me!"
Dong Li turned his head to glance at Chen Ying, then looked at Su He, who had a smile on his face. He sighed and said, "Wife, after we go back, let's sell the hotel and start anew in a different city."
What the hell is this? It's a food competition, and here comes a delivery driver throwing hundreds of eggs, as if he's cooking a large dish!
Chen Ying also noticed Su He's actions and asked, puzzled, "What are you planning to do?"
"Egg fried rice!" Su He had already beaten the eggs and started preparing the rice, with only twenty minutes left until the end of the competition.
Everyone was shocked!
Wide-eyed, Chen Ying exclaimed, "In a food competition, you're making egg fried rice? And you're preparing so many eggs and rice! Are you out of your mind?"
"Just a minor concussion... but I think I've recovered..." Su He honestly replied.
Chen Ying sat down, embracing Dong Li, and sighed, "Honey, I'm sorry. I let my imagination get the best of me..."
Many people in the audience took out their phones and captured this scene. Soon, it circulated widely on social media and short videos, causing laughter everywhere.
This time, Taste Pavilion completely embarrassed itself.
Su He was also speechless. No one came to help, so he had to speed up, cut the ingredients, and with only fifteen minutes left, he hurried to heat the pan and pour in the oil.
"Oh my goodness! Am I seeing things? That delivery driver is using such a huge wok to make egg fried rice."
"He's totally crazy! Does he really think he can win the 50,000 yuan prize?"
"Well, young people nowadays are too impetuous, unlike us back then..."
There were discussions throughout the audience, and even the judges on stage shook their heads. A staff member from the organizer approached Su He and reminded him, "Hello, this is a food competition. Making egg fried rice seems inappropriate, doesn't it?"
Su He rolled his eyes. The ingredients on the rack had all been taken away; not even a piece of meat was left. If it weren't for a basket of eggs, he would only be able to fry plain rice.
"Could you do me a favor and get two Australian lobsters weighing three catties each, ten premium sea cucumbers, two bottles of 1982 Lafite, and a bottle of soy sauce..." Su He looked at the staff member and said. At that moment, the television camera happened to focus on them, capturing the scarce ingredients on the rack.
The staff member was taken aback. This guy was really playing hardball. But since Zhao Luyao was standing on Su He's side, she handed the microphone to the staff member and asked, "Hello, may I ask why the organizers didn't provide ingredients for the contestants? Is it intentional harassment or is there some hidden agenda?"
This isn't a joke, right? The staff looked nervous as they faced the camera. Just as they were about to speak, Zhao Luyao spoke up on her own, facing the camera herself: "Dear audience, there has been a dramatic scene at the Food Competition. The contestants are unable to fulfill even a simple request for a bottle of soy sauce. We have just interviewed the other nineteen groups of contestants, and it's evident that their ingredients and materials are all fully stocked. However, here at Pinwei Xuan, all that's left is a few eggs and white rice. It's hard not to suspect whether the competition is truly fair. What kind of hidden secrets lie behind all this? Let's interview the head chef of Pinwei Xuan."
"Hello, may I ask if you think this Food Competition is fair?" The camera focused on Su He, who had just put a large bucket of rice on the stove.
"It's unfair. They didn't even provide a bottle of soy sauce," Su He genuinely couldn't find any soy sauce.
At that moment, a staff member from the organizer rushed over with a bottle of soy sauce. Su He smiled and said, "What about the lobster and sea cucumber? And the 1982 Lafite..."