Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 101 The Step-Counting Fool? Your Behavior is the Key to My Solution (3K First Update)
【Milkfish Balls】

This is a specialty food of Tai District, and its preparation method is not much different from that of fish balls in the coastal areas of Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

That is, the type of fish was changed to "milkfish". These fish balls are divided into "filled" and "unfilled". At this moment, Qian Youdao is making filled fish balls.

After smelling the aroma of his fish balls, Xia Ming stood up from the bench and peered inside from outside the cordon.

Deng Fangqing picked up a fish ball, looked at it, and then took a bite of the center.

Instantly, Xia Ming saw juice splashing out of the fish balls.

Then I smelled a very refreshing fish soup aroma.

"The soup inside is quite flavorful. Judging from the appearance of the fish balls, they probably weren't made with pork, but with another type of fish."

After eating the fish ball, Deng Fangqing's expression immediately showed surprise and joy.

These fish balls suited her taste perfectly: refreshing, slightly salty, a little hot, and with a hint of spiciness that she could taste, but wasn't too pronounced.

After blinking and confirming that there was no strange smell inside, Deng Fangqing ate the remaining fish balls and nodded.

"As expected of the Qian family, they are indeed formidable."

Hearing Deng Fangqing's praise, Qian Youdao was also very happy.

"In that case, Miss Deng, please take it to Mr. Deng for a taste."

Deng Fangqing nodded. Actually, she had no choice but to set this test question. If she didn't, her grandfather probably wouldn't even have time to catch his breath.

Moreover, the vast majority of those who come are here for the "New Chef Competition," to select chefs with more potential, and also to let the knives shine in the competition.

At this moment, Qian Youdao's fish balls clearly met Deng Fangqing's needs. She had the plate changed and then sent it to her grandfather to taste.

As the dishes were brought into the courtyard, Qian Youdao appeared particularly confident.

Based on the scent he smelled, Xia Ming pondered for a while and figured out Qian Youdao's idea.

He was indeed smarter than the previous people, using the "superposition method".

The fish balls are fine, the soup is fine, the problem lies in the filling of the stuffed fish balls.

"The filling actually contains spiciness and should be on the salty side."

"But when Deng Fangqing ate it, the spiciness was diluted by the broth filling the fish balls."

"He cleverly grasped the point of 'tasting,' because since it's a tasting, people won't eat too much, so with just a small taste, the fish balls will feel lightly seasoned."

Thinking of this, Xia Ming rubbed his nose with the back of his finger.

This is actually the same principle as the "popular crispy pork belly". It tastes great at first bite, but it gets greasy as you eat it. Similarly, the fish balls from Qian Youdao have an increasingly strong flavor as you eat them.

"But he may have overlooked one point. The elderly may not have the same appetite as young people. It may be okay to get him to eat two or three fish balls, but it would be too difficult to get him to eat seven or eight."

"Moreover, if the spiciness isn't obvious at the beginning, it's like not even giving you a chance in the preliminary rounds. How can you expect others to see your potential later on?"

Shaking his head, Xia Ming knew Qian Youdao was finished.
Sure enough, after a while, the fish balls were served again, and Old Master Deng's comment was...

"The idea is good, but it lacks flavor!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Youdao was stunned, and the other competitors nearby began to murmur amongst themselves.

"Oh dear, this isn't working properly. If only I had come a few days earlier, I could have exploited the bugs back then!"

"Yeah, I heard that someone tried to get away with it by using a special bowl. Now they even have to change the plates on the spot, even if it ruins the original appearance of the food."

"These are two completely different tastes. It's too difficult to satisfy two people at once."

"I feel like I'm already stuck with this little problem before I even go to the competition. There's no hope of crossing the line. I'm just praying that I get a shot on camera."

Just as Qian Youdao was about to be dismissed, the bodyguards around him rushed forward to stop him.

Qian Youdao hesitated for a long time before finally accepting the result.

"In that case, I'll bring another one over later."

Deng Fangqing shook her head.

"I'm sorry, the rules should clearly state that each person only has one chance per day. If you fail today, you'll have to try again tomorrow."

"You can't do this!"

“Mr. Qian, this is Sichuan and Chongqing. In front of my house, we have to follow our rules. If that doesn’t work, I recommend you go to other places in Dazhu. There are actually many excellent blacksmiths there.”

Hearing Deng Fangqing's words, a slight anger appeared on Qian Youdao's face. Just as he was about to continue arguing, Qian Yourong suddenly appeared behind him.

"Youdao, what do you want to do?"

"Sister, that's not how it works."

Just as he was about to continue, Qian Youdao saw his sister glare at him.

Instantly, he swallowed the words he was about to say.

Seeing her younger brother back down, Qian Yourong also greeted Deng Fangqing.

"I'm sorry, my brother was a bit presumptuous. I hope Ms. Deng won't mind."

Deng Fangqing smiled slightly, as if she hadn't been emotional at all.

"It doesn't matter."

Seeing this, Qian Yourong nodded, then turned and led Qian Youdao away.

Xia Ming, standing to the side, paid no attention to the unexpected turn of events. He was reviewing his previous plans again. "Deng Fangqing at the door prefers light flavors, is sensitive to umami, can tolerate a little spice, but absolutely cannot stand bitterness."

"The old man in there, Mr. Deng, likes salty and spicy food. He has a very strong palate and hopes to taste this flavor in the first bite. He doesn't like sour flavors."

“You can’t tamper with the utensils because you have to change the plates every time, and even if it damages the appearance of the dish, you will still check it carefully.”

"Deng Fangqing carefully flips the fish before serving it to make sure there are no parts that have hidden salty or spicy flavors. However, the extent of this flipping depends on the nature of the dish. After all, if it is a whole fish, flipping it too much will affect the appearance."

Xia Ming pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled slightly. He walked to the front of the line empty-handed, carrying nothing.

After walking to the front of the line, Xia Ming glanced at the two people in front of him, then estimated the distance from the line entrance to Deng Fangqing, and then turned around and started walking out.

As I walked, I counted my steps.

His strange behavior naturally attracted the attention of the people around him.

"What's that guy doing, pacing back and forth like that?"

"It seems to be based on distance, but this is something that can't be completely controlled, because you have no idea if there will be people in line ahead of you."

"Hilarious, I've run into another one trying to manipulate things by focusing on time. It's useless, all my options are blocked."

"Haha, does he think he's so smart? He's still counting one step, two steps, three steps, four steps. Is he going to look up at the sky later and think he's counting stars?!"

Completely ignoring the ridicule of the crowd around him, Xia Ming counted his steps like an honest man.

This somewhat silly behavior caught the attention of Qian Youdao, who had been brought aside.

"Sis, wait a minute, I've realized my mistake, but it's not too much to ask me to stay here for a while to prepare for tomorrow!"

Qian Yourong glanced at Xia Ming, then looked back at Qian Youdao, and nodded.

"Okay, as long as you don't cause trouble, you can stay here all day."

The bodyguard captain, being particularly astute, immediately ordered his men to bring over a parasol and a chair when he heard that Qian Youdao wanted to sit and watch the show.

They cleverly created a comfortable viewing spot for Qian Youdao, right next to the wall.

After the two of them were seated at the viewing spot, Xia Ming was still counting.

"123 steps"

"124 steps."

He read it out word by word, making everyone around him burst into laughter.

The laughter naturally attracted the attention of Deng Fangqing in the center of the room.

Looking from a distance, she realized that Xia Ming was the boy who had knocked on the door to get the rules earlier.

She casually rated the overly spicy dish in front of her as unacceptable and shook her head at Xia Ming.

"At the time, I thought his manners and attitude were quite good. I didn't expect him to be such a straightforward and honest person."

"Sigh, he's probably planning to tamper with the timing, using some kind of ingredient that melts over time? Does he think I'll miss out on tasting it?"

After saying that, she looked away and called the next person over.

Qian Yourong, who had already sat down and was drinking tea, glanced at the small stool in the corner where Xia Ming was sitting.

In the corner of the shed, around a small stool, there was a red plastic bag. Judging from its bulging shape, it was probably the trash left over after Xia Ming finished eating.

Qian Yourong estimated the size of the garbage bag, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes.

"There's a lot of trash, which means he's been there for quite a while. He must have observed a lot of people before he started preparing his own dishes."

"Compared to those who start working as soon as they see the problem, he should be smarter. Why didn't he choose to count when the passage was already set up, but instead chose to count in front of everyone now? Is he trying to be a scapegoat?"

Turning her gaze back to Xia Ming, Qian Yourong looked at his handsome profile and silently marked him with a "?" in her mind.

At this moment, Xia Ming finally finished counting the steps in the queuing area, then looked up with a confident expression and walked to the other side.

He had checked the map on QueDe Map while he was observing, and there was a large seafood market about 300 meters away. He needed to find suitable ingredients to cook the dishes there.

Dazhu Baihua Seafood Market

Following the aromas wafting from the market, Xia Ming quickly located the seafood section and then inquired at various shops whether they had wild large yellow croaker.

No, you can ask up ahead!

"There aren't any wild ones. Those things are very precious, and they're not usually available in the market."

"I don't have any here, you can look ahead."

"I have farmed ones here, they're about the same quality, and farmed ones are even cheaper!"

After walking around, Xia Ming found that there were indeed no wild large yellow croakers in this area, but there were three shops selling farmed large yellow croakers.

The most expensive shop claimed that its farmed yellow croaker was of the same quality as wild ones. Xia Ming glanced at it with his "Blood Eyes" and found that its fish did indeed have a higher "vitality" than the others, but to say that it was comparable to wild ones was obviously a joke.

After some haggling, Xia Ming picked out the fish with the highest "vitality" and then went to other parts of the market to select some other materials.

Finally, carrying all the materials, he found a restaurant with a large and newly renovated storefront, but not many customers. After some negotiation, he rented a kitchen stove from the owner.

After placing the large yellow croaker on the stove, Xia Ming recalled everything he had seen earlier, a sly smile playing on his lips.

"What you thought was the right thing to do inadvertently became the key to solving my problem~"

(End of this chapter)