Food: Randomly set up stalls, even the little guy is drooling.

Inside the venue, all the workstations were pieced together to form a long table for the judging panel, with one hundred judging panel members seated at either end of the table.

In the order of completion, the pastries were placed in steamers and porcelain dishes and quietly delivered to the table by the staff.

Before Lu Feng's layered steamed buns were even ready, some contestants had already served their pastries.

"Date paste and yam cake?" Yang Song picked up a piece of cake. The cake was elegantly shaped, like flower petals, and he recognized it immediately.

Immediately, someone chimed in, "You know her, Professor Yang? Good eye! Tell us about her?"

Yang Song thought to himself, "Since you have asked so sincerely, I will mercifully tell you."

He enjoyed the sense of superiority from this instant praise. After a moment of restraint, unable to refuse, he proudly explained to the judges around him, "This dessert comes from 'Dream of the Red Chamber' and was Qin Keqing's favorite."

"Look at this shape, it's as smooth and warm as jade. The pastry chef put a lot of thought into shaping it. Tsk tsk, normally, this alone would cost over a hundred dollars for a pastry."

As he spoke, he brought the pastry close to his nose and took a deep sniff. "It smells like the unique, refreshing aroma of steamed yam, mixed with the sweet fragrance of jujube paste. Hmm, it's the aroma of sun-dried red dates. Wonderful, absolutely wonderful."

"Pretentious, so pretentious." Song Zhihui, watching these pretentious fools' pointless antics from a distance, rolled her eyes.

She took a picture with her phone and posted it in the group chat, then couldn't resist stuffing her own little piece of yam cake into her mouth.

With one bite, the pastry melts on your tongue, its smooth texture feeling like holding a cloud in your mouth. The inside is finely ground, with almost no grainy texture.

Next comes the sweetness of the jujube paste, which balances the blandness of the yam and adds more layers of sweetness.

Yang Song was still analyzing with lingering interest, "Making a work like this probably requires a lot of patience. Could this be the work of that genius girl?"

Seeing him rambling on and on, the others thought to themselves, "Dude, don't push your luck. We're just thinking about enjoying the food." They quickly interrupted him, "Teacher Yang, stop guessing, hurry up and eat, the next dish is coming."

Yang Song reluctantly sat down, ate the pastry, and a satisfied expression appeared on his face. The second dish—jade shrimp dumplings—had already been served.

The dumpling wrappers are as translucent as cicada wings, and the shapes are equally exquisite, resembling a miniature jade cabbage.

"Standard Cantonese shrimp dumplings." Everyone present probably knew this dish, Yang Song thought to himself, wondering what angle to use to explain it, unaware that no one around him was even glancing at him.

As one delicious dish after another was served, everyone was too busy eating to listen to his rambling.

At work, you can get paid to listen to your boss nagging, but here you're being treated like a baby by not being charged for listening to his explanations.

Song Zhihui was busy and having a great time. The noodles were served so quickly that she took a bunch of pictures and sent them to the group chat, making several group members drool over the pictures.

"Paper-Wrapped Chicken King (Group Owner): Wow, these jade shrimp dumplings are amazing! They're made to look like mini bok choy. They're so bouncy and chewy, absolutely delicious! It's just a shame that each person can only have one."

"Only prone position: blocked."

"Liu Genghong Girl: @Only lying face down, if you open your eyes and look at it, I don't believe your eyes are empty."

"Shrimp without blinking: Shrimp and pork heart, actually my favorite shrimp dumplings! Go easy on me, boss, leave me half a bite."

Song Zhihui felt a secret pleasure watching her friends' groans in the group chat. What did these judges know? Of all the delicacies in the world, the most delicious are either free or those that others can only see but not taste!

One after another, the pastry dishes were served, and the long table was filled with a dazzling array of dishes. The judges were almost overwhelmed by the sheer variety.

Fu Shanyao patted his stomach and chuckled, "Old Qi, even with such small portions, after eating ten or so, I feel like my stomach is already stuffed."

Qi Baiwei slowly wiped his mouth with a tissue, nodded, and said, "I've heard there's a term in psychology called the diminishing marginal utility effect. It states that, all other things being equal, the satisfaction derived from the same thing will gradually decrease."

"Each judge finds the first dish delicious, but by the fifth or tenth dish, even those of the same quality, they no longer appreciate it. The later a dish is served, the less likely it is to be the grand finale; in fact, it puts them at a disadvantage."

"Oh?" Fu Shanyan became interested. "Old Qi, in your opinion, which of these dozen or so works do you think has the best chance?"

Qi Baiwei pondered for a moment and said slowly, "Of these dozen or so pastries, only four left the deepest impression on me: jujube paste and yam cake, jade shrimp dumplings, spicy crayfish noodles, and chestnut shortbread."

"How so?" Fu Shandong continued to ask with great interest.

Qi Baiwei continued, "This jujube and yam cake is exquisite. The craftsmanship is impeccable. In fact, because its appearance is so outstanding, I am a little picky about the taste."

"Jade shrimp dumplings are small and exquisite, perfectly miniaturizing classic Cantonese dim sum without sacrificing flavor, making them the perfect choice for those who appreciate quality in small portions."

"Spicy crayfish noodles, it takes some courage to bring out such a popular dish, but unfortunately a new product is still a new product, the taste couldn't be handled well, it was only surprising, not amazing."

Fu Shan-yang pressed further, "So, you're most optimistic about the jade shrimp dumplings?"

"In terms of the topic, shrimp dumplings are the obvious choice. However, there's also this chestnut pastry." Qi Baiwei's eyes were full of praise. "In terms of shape and aroma alone, it may not be the best, but both the layers of the pastry and the sweet and delicate chestnut filling are top-notch. This is a perfect example of making the most of ingredients."

"The chestnut shortbread is in the same vein as the white sugar shortbread from the previous event, with a distinct personality. You can tell who made it at a glance. Old Cao has a wonderful granddaughter."

During their conversation, the saying "If you don't lose weight in October, you'll be fat and die in winter" was also hotly debated.

"Liu Genghong's Girl: Group Owner! After eating so much, what are your top 3?"

"Only prone position: Same question! It looks so delicious!"

"Paper-Wrapped Chicken King (Group Owner): Ahhh, it's so hard to choose! They're all so amazing! If I had to pick, it would probably be the Red Date and Yam Cake, the Jade Shrimp Dumplings, and the Chestnut Pastry. Especially the chestnut pastry, how can it be so delicious! This is the first time I've realized that it's not that pastries are bad, but that the ones I've had before weren't good!"

Just as the judges were about to begin voting, another work was brought out.

"Huh, there's another kind of pastry?" Yang Song looked closely and saw that the plate was filled with round, white steamed buns, each smaller than an egg.

He scoffed, his eyes full of disdain.

The air in the entire venue fell silent for a moment.

"Want Want Little Buns?" a young judge joked, which made the surrounding judges burst into laughter.

"Don't tell me, you really shouldn't tell me."

"Small steamed buns, large Wangzai mini steamed buns."

"But this is too ordinary," Yang Song couldn't help but complain. "This is such a shoddy job; anyone can make steamed buns."

Song Zhihui was also at a loss. Holding her phone, she had no idea how to take a picture to show how unique the steamed bun in front of her was.

Some judges still picked up the steamed buns; after all, they were the work of a semi-finalist, and they had to taste them to see how good they were.

"this……"

A low murmur rippled through the stadium.