Transmigration: The Little Chef Calls The Shots
Chapter 1223 - 132 Arcane Secrets (first update)

Chapter 1223: 132 Arcane Secrets (first update)

Watching Sun Qian’s angry yet unspoken demeanor, Liang Shiyou became even more smug, his chubby cheeks quivering with delight.

However, having quietly witnessed it all, Lin Yuan and Xia Zheng felt even more disgusted with him.

Xia Zheng raised his eyebrows, as if struck by a sudden realization, "Hey! I think this young man’s idea is quite good. Let’s have Master Liang taste it himself, shall we?"

Once Xia Zheng had spoken, everyone else naturally chimed in, especially the helpers, whose voices were the loudest.

Seeing the crowd egging him on, Liang Shiyou’s face slightly changed, but knowing that Lin Yuan and Xia Zheng were not going to change their minds, he steeled himself, picked up the small dish and, with difficulty, swallowed his saliva before pouring the liquid from the dish into his mouth.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough!"

As soon as the liquid entered his mouth, he began to cough violently. Lin Yuan pursed her lips in amusement, and everyone else watched on, eager for the spectacle.

Xia Zheng was devilishly gleeful, eyeing him with great curiosity as he edged closer, "Wow, Master Liang, why did you drink it all? You didn’t leave any for us! Was it that delicious? Look at you, drinking so eagerly that you choked."

Liang Shiyou had a pained expression, his mouth sour and astringent, yet he didn’t dare to say a word. Even after hearing Xia Zheng’s comment, he didn’t dare spit out the juice that he hadn’t swallowed.

Could he spit it out? His own concoction of Plum Blossom juice, even if it were as bitter as coptis, he had to swallow it down with tears in his eyes!

Lin Yuan seemed to be able to see the veins popping out on Liang Shiyou’s neck as he swallowed the Plum Blossom juice; it seemed that the so-called "concentrated essence" was indeed not a pleasant taste!

After finally swallowing it down, Liang Shiyou let out a dry laugh and said, "It’s okay, it’s okay, it just seems like it wasn’t clean enough, it’s a bit, well, a bit uncomfortable."

Pffft!

Everyone finally couldn’t hold back their laughter anymore, and the room erupted into hearty laughter, laughter that made Liang Shiyou’s face turn as many colors as a cooked shrimp.

Lin Yuan couldn’t help but sigh in relief, glad that she hadn’t tried his so-called essence, which might have damaged her own teeth.

The quality of Liang Shiyou’s dish didn’t even need Lin Yuan and Xia Zheng to comment for the results to be clear. Lin Yuan didn’t want to waste more time on this useless man, so she bypassed him and went to look at the helpers’ dishes instead.

Liang Shiyou clearly hadn’t figured out the situation yet. Seeing Lin Yuan leave without a word and still holding his small dish, he incessantly bragged about himself.

Shopkeeper Xiao was about to die of embarrassment. He snatched the dish from Liang Shiyou’s hand and put it on the table, lecturing him in a stern voice. What he said wasn’t clear to anyone else, but Liang Shiyou’s face turned very ugly, as if he still couldn’t accept the criticism.

Lin Yuan didn’t notice the interaction between the two of them because she was already captivated by Sun Qian’s dish.

At first glance, Sun Qian’s dish didn’t look special, merely having a shape similar to that of a plum blossom, but unlike the previous master chef who used plum blossoms for the shape, Sun Qian’s plum blossoms were made from other ingredients.

Lin Yuan looked carefully and raised her head to ask, "Is this, white radish?"

Unexpectedly, Lin Yuan immediately identified the ingredient used for creating the plum blossoms. Sun Qian was first startled, then smiled sheepishly, "I thought my skills were quite good, but I still couldn’t fool the Boss’s discerning eyes. What the Boss said is correct, this plum blossom is carved from white radish."

Lin Yuan curled her lips, looking down again at the radish blossom. She had to admit, Sun Qian’s carving skills were not bad. However, the white radish he chose was not up to par. Although he used the tenderest middle part, upon closer inspection, one could still make out some striations within the heart of the radish, which was why Lin Yuan could tell it was a white radish at first glance.

"The craftsmanship is good. Just not sure about the taste?" Xia Zheng also altered his view of Sun Qian. When he heard that Sun Qian also wanted to participate, he guessed that Sun Qian must possess some skills. However, if the only effort was to make a plum blossom shape out of white radish to impress others, that would be too simplistic.

"Why not taste it for yourself, young master?" Sun Qian chuckled and passed over two pairs of chopsticks, seemingly very confident in his radish blossom.

Lin Yuan and Xia Zheng exchanged a glance, taking the chopsticks and each picked a "petal" of the "plum blossom" to bite into.

Upon the first bite, Lin Yuan felt her mouth filled with the faint fragrance of plum blossoms, coupled with the sweet juice of the white radish. She couldn’t deny, this dish definitely qualified as a very delicious cold appetizer.

Xia Zheng was nodding continuously, "Your radish blossom not only looks like a plum blossom but also has a strong plum blossom fragrance when eaten. It’s just..."

Glancing at Lin Yuan, seeing that she was also somewhat puzzled, Xia Zheng voiced his own doubts, "The ’Plum Blossom Whisper’ made by that master earlier also used plum blossoms in the dish. Both of you must have used plum blossoms to marinate the ingredients to infuse the aroma into the food. However, why does your radish have a stronger fragrance than his fish? Logically, radishes are even less likely to marinate and absorb flavors!"

Lin Yuan had the same question. To get the white radish to have such an aroma, it would require marinating a day in advance. But her choosing plum blossoms as the theme was spur-of-the-moment, and it was their first meeting with Sun Qian. She didn’t believe that anyone in this world could predict the future and thus prepare the required white radish ahead of time.

Hearing Xia Zheng asking this, the others also showed puzzled expressions, and some even began to suspect that Sun Qian was acquainted with Lin Yuan, so he had advance knowledge of the examination content for today.

Liang Shiyou was one who thought this and couldn’t help showing a look of disdain, feeling even more repulsed by Sun Qian.

However, there were also others who saw Sun Qian picking plum blossoms, and he even had a conflict with Liang Shiyou over picking them. If he knew the topic in advance, there would be no need for him to go through the trouble of acting, nearly falling from the ladder to pick the highest and cleanest plum blossoms.

But Sun Qian hadn’t thought of all this. He just smiled and reminded the two, "Young master, Boss, please take a closer look at the radish you just bit into for anything unusual."

Anything unusual?

Lin Yuan frowned, could the mystery lie in this radish?

Holding the white radish up for a closer look, Lin Yuan finally noticed that the radish she had eaten wasn’t a single slice but two slices stacked together. Because the radish petals Sun Qian made were extremely thin, almost transparent, she hadn’t looked closely before and mistook them for one piece.

Now taking another look, there indeed was a twist.

Xia Zheng also noticed this detail. He carefully separated the two thin slices of radish with chopsticks, exclaiming in surprise, "Inside this radish, there’s actually another layer of plum blossom petals!"