Siheyuan's Silly Pillar has been replaced by someone else

Before they knew it, the day of the competition arrived.

At Yi Zhonghai's insistence, the competition venue was set at the Chaoyang Hotel.

In his words, he wanted to defeat He Yuzhu on He Yuzhu's turf.

The judges were finally decided: the Prince that Li Huaide had found, plus Li Huaide himself.

Finally, He Yuzhu found a high-ranking leader.

After retiring, the high-ranking leader stayed at home with nothing to do.

He Yuzhu would sometimes ask him to come along when he went to the Fangshan Resort.

A while ago, the top leader went to Shanghai to visit his grandson.

He just got back and he already said he wanted to eat He Yuzhu's cooking.

He Yuzhu then told him about the cooking competition.

The high-ranking leader volunteered to be a judge, and He Yuzhu readily agreed.

Hearing there was some excitement, the wife of the high-ranking leader also came.

"Zhu Zi, I'm going to have a good taste today."

The senior leader said, "What's the rush? There's a competition later, we can't eat."

The high-ranking leader's wife wouldn't tolerate him: "You want to be a judge, but I'm not going."

He Yuzhu laughed heartily: "I'll make you a bowl of noodles myself."

"Okay." The leader's wife smiled smugly at the leader.

The high-ranking leader asked curiously, "Do you have a grudge against that restaurant across the street?"

He Yuzhu explained, "That's run by those old guys in our compound."

The senior leader asked in bewilderment, "Didn't they lose all their wealth through smuggling?"

Where did they get the money to open such a big restaurant?

He Yuzhu didn't hide anything from him and told him about Jin Qihao's identity and background.

The high-ranking leader said in surprise, "Could it be that the deaf old lady made him deliberately frame you back then?"

Even the top leaders, upon hearing this, suspected that Sha Zhu's being tricked was a setup.

He Yuzhu shook his head: "I don't know. I'm afraid only Jin Qihao knows."

“Whether they arranged it or not, Jin Qihao knows you,” the senior leader said firmly.

After finishing her noodles, the leader's wife walked over with satisfaction: "Zhu Zi's noodles are still the best. Even without sugar, they still taste sweet."

What are you saying?

He Yuzhu repeated it again.

The leader's wife directly commented that he was still harboring treacherous intentions.

"Those people are just deliberately disgusting. You don't even bother with them."

They'll come and annoy you at the slightest opportunity.

Upon hearing that someone had arrived, the high-ranking leader gestured to his wife to stop talking.

Jin Qihao's side had another large group of people, and Yi Zhonghai and his group mobilized their entire force.

Li Huaide stood beside Jin Qihao, chatting with him.

Perhaps it was Li Huaide's performance on the day the challenge was issued that earned Jin Qihao's trust.

These past two days, Li Huaide and Jin Qihao have been getting very close.

Li Huaide looked up, about to ask He Yuzhu who the judges were, when he saw the big leader.

As the deputy director of the steel rolling mill, Li Huaide naturally knew the top leaders.

"So He Yuzhu invited you."

The senior leader nodded, saying little. In fact, the senior leader didn't have much of a problem with Li Huaide; on the contrary, he even admired Li Huaide.

However, the two sides are on different camps and cannot work together.

Jin Qihao asked Li Huaide in a low voice, "Who is that?"

Li Huaide gave a brief introduction, and Jin Qihao didn't say anything when he heard that he was a retired leader.

He knew very well that given the relationship between the top leader and He Yuzhu, they would not be close to him.

Once everyone had arrived, the competition began.

Duan Zicong and Jin Qihao's chefs were cooking in the back kitchen.

He Yuzhu prepared two identical sets of plates and placed them in the kitchen to wait for the food to be served.

The others waited in the lobby.

The senior leader took a moment to give He Yuzhu a look, signaling He Yuzhu to go out with him.

The two found a corner, and the senior leader said, "Have you investigated that Jin Qihao?"

He Yuzhu had naturally conducted an investigation.

His investigation revealed that Kim Jae-ho was a major in the KMT army who later resigned to go into business after being sidelined by factions.

Because of their good relationships with American businessmen, they gradually made their fortune. Further investigation is difficult.

The top leader, however, said, "Something doesn't seem right."

"What's wrong?" He Yuzhu asked, puzzled.

The senior leader said, "I always felt that Jin Qihao was not just an ordinary major."

He must have come from the secret service.

He Yuzhu was somewhat curious as to why the high-ranking leader would say something like, "Have you dealt with him before?"

The top leader used to work behind enemy lines and had dealt with the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.

"No. But some of his subtle movements are very much like those of a spy."

Oh well, never mind.

So many years have passed.

There's no point in clinging to it any longer.

Even if he really is a spy, he's probably an unknown one.

That's not wrong.

On the Kuomintang side, the government has records of almost all spies with names and identities.

The dishes were ready, so the senior leader and He Yuzhu went back.

When Li Huaide and other high-ranking leaders returned, they showed some humility.

The senior leader smiled and said, "I'm retired now, I'm no longer a leader."

There's no need for that.

Despite saying that, the top leader was the first to pick up his chopsticks and taste the dishes.

The dishes are numbered.

After the dishes were prepared, Duan Zicong and Jin Qihao's chefs played rock-paper-scissors to determine the dish numbers.

The winners are odd numbers, and the losers are even numbers.

After tasting the dishes, the judges only assigned scores based on the assigned numbers.

In fact, true connoisseurs can tell who made it just by tasting it.

Eight dishes were tested in a row, four of which were the signature dishes of Chaoyang Restaurant and four of which were the signature dishes of Jin Qihao Restaurant.

Duan Zicong played exceptionally well.

Chaoyang Restaurant won all four dishes, and the restaurant across the street also won one of its four dishes.

They ultimately won 5-3.

Yi Zhonghai stood up in protest, saying, "Impossible. You must have cheated."

Xu Damao had long been dissatisfied with Yi Zhonghai, and now he stepped forward to express his dissatisfaction.

"How is that cheating? Everyone saw what happened in the competition just now."

No one knew beforehand who cooked the food.

Who has the ability to cheat?

With red eyes, Yi Zhonghai asked, "Which dish is our restaurant's signature dish, or is it Cantonese cuisine?"

"What makes Duan Zicong think he can cook better than our restaurant's head chef?"

"Why can't Duan Zicong cook well? If you don't understand, don't speak up," Xu Damao retorted.

"That's enough." Jin Qihao interrupted Yi Zhonghai: "Losing is losing, it's no big deal."

For him, the result of this competition wasn't that important. Winning would be great, but losing wasn't unacceptable either.
But for Yi Zhonghai, it's a different story.

He only wanted one outcome: to win.

Only by winning could he stand up for himself in front of He Yuzhu.

"This competition is unfair. This is the Chaoyang Hotel, and Duan Zicong has the advantage of being in the right place."

"We must have another match, at our restaurant."

Jin Qihao glared at Yi Zhonghai, then turned and left without a word.

Losing is not shameful; what is shameful is not admitting defeat.

Li Huaide shook his head and looked at Yi Zhonghai: "You're still the same as before, you haven't changed at all."

After saying this, he spoke to the senior leader and then beckoned the prince to leave.

He Yuzhu called out to Liu Lan, "Show the guest out."

Then He Yuzhu beckoned the senior leader to the private room upstairs: "Please wait here for a moment, I will personally cook some of my signature dishes for you."

In the hall, Liu Lan used her talent for mocking people, making Yi Zhonghai and the others so ashamed that they couldn't lift their heads.

"How old are you? Can't you have any shame? Who insisted on having the competition here in the first place?"

You didn't know beforehand that you were going to lose, that's why you insisted on competing here, did you? (End of Chapter)