In the 1970s, it started with contracting out communal dining.

Ok?

The judges of the cooking competition turned out to be Wang Defa's own senior apprentice!

Then I'm... safe!

Chen Wei was overjoyed and immediately asked with a grin, "Master! Then this time, I'll..."

His address of "Master" was even more sincere than the previous one, but then he heard Wang Defa say slowly.

"I have a bit of a grudge against this senior brother of mine, so you'd better not let him know that you're my disciple."

What!

To think we had a grudge against each other!

Chen Weiren was completely numb. Was it too late to take back the title of "Master"?

Why didn't you say so sooner!

"Will...it affect my competition results?" Chen Wei asked quickly.

"If you don't say you're my apprentice, it shouldn't matter!" Wang Defa rolled his eyes, seemingly quite displeased with Chen Wei's overly pragmatic attitude. "There are advantages to being an old acquaintance! I can tell you his likes and dislikes, can't I!"

He could have asked someone else about this!

Chen Wei grumbled inwardly for a moment, but finally asked sincerely.

"So... what are your senior brother's likes and dislikes?"

Since the person is already here, he might as well not waste his energy asking around.

Wang Defa reached out and directed Chen Wei to park his wheelchair under a tree at the entrance of Quanyechang.

It's the hottest part of the afternoon, and even the cicadas in the trees have stopped chirping.

Only the water stalls at the entrance of Quanyechang were still there, occasionally calling out their wares.

The two stopped by the roadside in the shade of a tree. Chen Wei handed Wang Defa his army green water bottle, but the old man not only didn't appreciate it but also waved his hand dismissively.

He simply waved and asked the stall across the street to pour him two bowls of herbal tea.

Chen Wei smacked his lips, and without any hesitation, accepted the bowl of herbal tea and drank it all in one gulp.

The cool herbal tea slid down his esophagus, temporarily suppressing the heat in the air and making him feel more alert.

Only then did they hear Wang Defa speaking slowly while sipping his herbal tea.

"My senior apprentice is Yang Limin, a native of Guangdong. Back then, we were both learning our skills from the head chef of Huanghelou Restaurant in Huainan. That guy always wanted to compete with me, and I was so annoyed by him! But when it came time to graduate, I graduated successfully, but he didn't."

He failed to graduate from his apprenticeship but has now become a judge in a culinary competition?

Chen Wei felt that the old man seemed to be talking nonsense.

Sensing Chen Wei's confusion, Wang Defa continued.

"He injured his hand and will never be able to hold a kitchen knife again! A chef without knife skills is like cutting off his own arm. But he's good at networking and has connections. Later I heard he partnered with a newspaper to organize some kind of competition, probably similar to the cooking competition you're participating in. He toured the country commenting on chefs' skills, and for some reason, the industry suddenly started treating him like a god. Sigh! You know, life is all about luck!"

Ignoring the old man's sigh, Chen Wei grasped the key information.

So this person wasn't a chef at all, but actually became a judge.

However, it's true that even the judges on TV shows in later generations might not be able to cook, like Chef Huang.

Raising an eyebrow as if he were used to this situation, Chen Wei continued to inquire along with Wang Defa's line of thought.

"Do people from Guangdong not eat spicy food?"

"You're quite clever, lad! You're young but already know a lot!" Wang Defa chuckled, pointing at Chen Wei before nodding. "He definitely doesn't eat spicy food! You could say that in almost every competition he organizes, the person making the spicy dish never wins. This guy is incredibly narrow-minded, always putting his own preferences first. How can he comment on other people's cooking like that…"

Then it was just the old man's rant again. Chen Wei didn't have the patience to listen anymore and just silently made plans in his mind.

If he doesn't eat spicy food, then these dishes he has in his hands probably won't win the favor of this judge.

We need to figure out a way to analyze a new recipe.

Fortunately, this system upgrade brought an additional three analysis functions each time a skill is activated. With a week left before the competition, I can activate the analysis skill twice in total and analyze the recipes for six dishes.

Six dishes are more than enough to satisfy this fake chef from Guangdong!

-

When Chen Wei rode his bicycle back to the Jin Yi Steel Plant, it was already a scorching afternoon. The walls of the factory buildings were burning hot, and the leaves of the sycamore trees by the roadside were drooping withered leaves. The air was filled with a dry and hot atmosphere.

Chen Wei ignored the abnormally hot weather and went straight back to the kitchen.

He needs to quickly test what kind of skills this ebony cutting board will bring after being equipped.

[Ding—Tier 2 kitchen utensil detected: Ebony cutting board. Equip?]

"yes!"

Chen Wei silently recited the command and then heard the familiar system notification sound. He quickly focused his mind and saw that a new column of attributes immediately appeared on the system panel.

[Ding—Binding successful!]

[Equipped Item: Ebony Cutting Board]

[Tier: 2 item]

Completeness: 100%

[Proficiency Level: Beginner (0/1000)]

[Equipment Effect: Reduces food spoilage by 20% and provides food freshness preservation function]

[Note: This is a cutting board made of century-old ebony. Any food cut on this board will retain the original flavor of the ingredients to the greatest extent and maintain their optimal taste.]

The cutting board can actually reduce food spoilage and even lock in freshness!

A hint of joy flashed in Chen Wei's eyes. As expected, the enhancement from the second-tier superior kitchenware was truly powerful!

Heaven knows how much Chenwei paid to keep its ingredients fresh in the days before large refrigerators and freezers.

Every day when cooking, you have to carefully calculate the amount of ingredients and the cooking time. If you're too slow, the ingredients will immediately taste bad.

With this cutting board, I won't have to worry about food spoiling after being cut on it!

nice one!

After sighing again and settling the cutting board, Chen Wei took a book out from under the cupboard.

This one is not the previous anthology of Huaiyang cuisine; it has been replaced with an anthology of Cantonese cuisine.

He borrowed this from the library on his way back.

The saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated."

Isn't this judge from Guangdong? He should just try to cook Cantonese food!

Thinking this, Chen Wei opened the anthology of Cantonese cuisine and slowly began to search through it.

Cantonese cuisine has several core characteristics, the most prominent of which is its emphasis on preserving the original flavor of ingredients, using light and fresh flavors with little use of strong spicy and numbing flavors, and mainly selecting river and sea seafood, such as chicken, duck, fish and shrimp.

The cooking methods mainly include steaming, baking, simmering, stewing, blanching, and clear soup.

Another point is that the variety of snacks is quite extensive.

As Chen Wei flipped through the book in his hand, his brows furrowed even more deeply.

It's not that he doesn't know how to cook these dishes, but... the ingredients used in this Cantonese cuisine anthology are all too expensive!

Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice!