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

The break time passed quickly.

At 4:50 p.m., the sunlight streamed through the high windows of the venue, casting a slanted beam onto the stainless steel tabletop. The reflected light at this point was no longer as glaring as the midday sun.

The ten finalists stood in front of their respective workbenches, their cooking utensils and ingredients ready. The final battle was about to begin.

"Wild vegetable steamed buns! He'll definitely make wild vegetable steamed buns." Wang Sheng clenched his fists, staring intently at Lu Feng, who was wearing an Ultraman mask, certain of the other's choice.

Qi Baiwei sat in the center of the judges' panel, with a booklet of information spread out in front of him.

What was written in the documents matched what Xie Zong said on the phone. This unreliable young man's specialty was a wild vegetable steamed bun.

Qi Baiwei gazed intently at Lu Feng, a sense of anticipation rising within him. He wanted to taste the wild vegetable steamed buns that Xie Zong had described as a "masterpiece," and see just how brilliant they would be.

"Attention all contestants!" The host, glancing at the clock, announced the start of the final round at exactly 5:00 PM. "Time: Two hours!"

At the workbench, Cao Jianjia remained calm and composed, her fingers brushing across the edge of the board before she picked up flour and began kneading the dough; Chen Yunqing was composed and at ease, having immersed himself in Cantonese dim sum for twenty years, he also possessed sufficient knowledge and confidence; Xiahou Ting was eager to try, his name befitting his status, he possessed a clever and shrewd mind.

Lu Feng also got to work, starting to knead the dough. His fingertips stirred the dough flakes, gradually forming a ball, sometimes pressing, sometimes kneading. Only when the dough became smooth and lustrous like jade did he set it aside to rest.

However, Lu Feng's subsequent actions gradually became incomprehensible to Wang Sheng.

Lu Feng placed fresh Shanghai bok choy on the worktable. He carefully washed, blanched, squeezed dry, and chopped it into very fine pieces.

Something's not right! Wang Sheng's heart jumped. This is definitely not right! He had a question when Lu Feng was kneading the dough. The steamed buns should be made with coarse grains, but Lu Feng only used ordinary flour.

And now, they're using fresh vegetables directly—blanching them? Chopping them? This process…it's clearly the steps for making vegetable buns!

It's autumn and winter now, so Shanghai bok choy is the obvious choice for vegetable buns as it stores better. But what about the promised cornbread?!

Wang Sheng felt like a screenwriter whose carefully prepared script was completely distorted on the spot by an unreliable actor.

Wang Sheng couldn't help but blurt out, "What on earth is he doing?!"

Hu Xi was engrossed in watching when she heard this and asked, puzzled, "Kneading the dough, preparing the filling, making vegetable buns. This is the first time I've seen his technique, and it's truly impeccable. What's wrong with it?"

"This is a huge problem!" Wang Sheng said in a low voice, but his anxiety was palpable. "This isn't his forte at all! My master clearly said that his specialty is..."

"What is it?" Hu Xi asked curiously.

Wang Sheng then realized that all of this was just his own deduction.

"If that's all there is to it, how did he manage to win the championship?" Wang Sheng, like a blind monk, no, a blind student, discovered the crux of the matter.

Qi Baiwei frowned slightly; this was not what he had expected.

This young man didn't bring his best pastry to the finals. Why not choose wild vegetable buns? Did he think that bringing out a vegetable bun similar to the one in the preliminary rounds would be enough to outshine everyone else? Where did his confidence come from?

Lu Feng's subsequent maneuvers were as smooth and flawless as in the previous two matches.

The dough spun and danced in his hands, precisely divided into identical portions, then rolled into round wrappers that were thicker in the center and thinner around the edges, filled with just the right amount of Shanghai bok choy filling. With nimble fingers, perfectly formed buns quietly took shape.

His movements were steady and efficient, and no one could find fault with them. But to those who knew his background, that was the biggest problem.

Two hours flew by as I focused intently, and the aroma of pastries began to fill the air.

"Time's up!" As the host announced the end, the ten entries were neatly arranged on exquisite plates and presented to the judges.

The first dish was Chen Yunqing's honey-glazed char siu bao, which, like shrimp dumplings, is one of the four kings of Cantonese dim sum.

The moment the steamer basket was opened, a cloud of white steam carrying a warm, fragrant aroma wafted out. Inside lay a char siu bao, its off-white skin soft and fluffy.

"I felt the dough melt between my teeth, and the next second, the honey glaze overflowed, with the sweetness of honey and the aroma of char siu pork." A judge nodded in praise, and through a bite, added, "The dark red of the char siu pork and the translucent honey glaze intertwined, the meat pieces were distinct yet not dry, showing great skill."

There's also Xiahou Ting's lotus root starch and osmanthus sugar cake.

"This dessert, like the jujube and yam cake we had before, comes from 'Dream of the Red Chamber.' It was the final dessert served when Grandmother Jia entertained Granny Liu. The sweetness of the lotus root starch paired with osmanthus sugar is full of Jiangnan flavor. It's a pity that the lotus root starch wasn't cooked properly; it was a bit lacking," Fu Shanyao commented, his eyes full of regret.

What impressed the judges the most was Cao Jianjia's rose shortbread.

"This, you've combined the characteristics of Yunnan flower cakes?" Qi Baiwei asked directly after tasting it.

Cao Jianjia nodded in agreement.

"You've taken this pastry to a whole new level. It looks like a blooming flower, yet it still retains the flavor of a pastry. Only when you bite into it do you discover the delicate fragrance of flower petals."

The ten judges carefully reviewed the results and wrote down their scores on the score sheets. The host then read out the final results.

"After rigorous evaluation by the ten judges, I now announce the final results of this competition!"

The host then teased, "This time, we'll start by announcing the first place winner."

"First place goes to Cao Jianjia's rose shortbread!"

A round of enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience. The winner of the preliminary, semi-final, and final rounds was truly deserving. Cao Jianjia bowed slightly, but her eyes were fixed on Lu Feng, a look of confusion on her face.

Wang Sheng clapped along with the crowd, his face equally puzzled. Why not use a more powerful trump card?

"Second place: Chen Yunqing's honey-glazed char siu bao!"

Wang Sheng looked at Lu Feng, but couldn't find him. Was he hiding because he was dissatisfied with the result? That's not like him.

"Third place, Xiahou Ting's lotus root starch and osmanthus sugar cake."

Wang Sheng was somewhat taken aback. How could he not even get third place?!

The host paused for a long time, but was extremely pleased with himself. Ultraman, Ultraman, humph, are you only allowed to be cheeky?

However, when he searched for the mask, he couldn't find it anywhere, rendering his playful little pause meaningless.

The host had no choice but to continue, "And the Jie family's vegetable buns from Lufeng."

Applause continued to erupt from the audience, bringing this fierce competition to a close.

Wang Sheng continued searching for Lu Feng. Despite not understanding, Lu Feng still came in third place, ultimately proving that his strength was no fluke.

He couldn't even imagine achieving such a result himself, but he felt that Lu Feng's strength shouldn't be limited to this.

Just as everyone was waiting for the awards ceremony, a voice came from the side.

"Excuse me for bothering everyone, could I possibly take a few minutes of your time?"

The entire audience was stunned and immediately looked toward the source of the sound.

Who else could it be but Lu Feng? The host had only one thought: what kind of stunt is he going to pull this time?