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

Lin Xiaoyan across from her was wearing a light pink polyester dress, which was called a "blouse" in this era—a very fashionable name.

She had just stepped off the stage, her face lightly made up, her eyebrows arched, and her breasts were voluptuous when she lowered her head. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw Chen Wei.

She skipped over to greet us.

"Chen Wei! You'd better do your best today! Of all the dishes I've ever eaten, your cooking is the best!"

"Um."

Chen Wei was in a rare good mood today because someone was helping him level up his proficiency, and he smiled and nodded in response.

In the blink of an eye, a familiar figure walked in from outside the arena.

Ma Dayong was wearing a brand-new white chef's uniform, with a badge of a great man pinned to his chest. His hair was combed until it was shiny and greasy, clearly indicating that a lot of hair oil had been applied. Now, under the sunlight, he looked greasy all over.

However, the expression on his face was one of smug satisfaction, as if he was determined to win.

Sun Ergou followed behind him. No one knew how the kid got the leave. He followed Ma Dayong around, scurrying around carrying the pot and shovel for him, acting like a lackey.

Thinking of the tricks these two people had secretly used, Chen Wei sneered inwardly and shook his head disdainfully.

I wonder what Ma Dayong's expression will be when he sees me suddenly appear at the competition.

He even felt a faint sense of anticipation.

So he deliberately fiddled with his equipment and asked the staff on site.

"Comrade, may I bring this knife in?"

His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for Ma Dayong, who had just walked in, to hear.

"Why is he here!"

The moment Ma Dayong looked over, his tone changed, and his eyes were filled with disbelief.

Uncle told himself with absolute certainty that Chen Wei would definitely not be here today.

What's going on now? How did this kid get here?!

"Brother Dayong! Look who's there! What brings him here?"

Before he could even express his surprise, Sun Ergou next to him cried out in alarm.

Ma Dayong was already in a bad mood, and hearing these words made him even angrier.

"I'm not blind! I don't need you to remind me!"

"...Yes, yes, yes." Sun Ergou nodded hurriedly, his face full of embarrassment.

When Ma Dayong saw that Chen Wei had also arrived at the competition venue, he was obviously furious that his previous scheme had failed. Sun Ergou didn't dare to say anything more, fearing that he would get into trouble, so he could only slink behind Ma Dayong.

Ma Dayong, on the other hand, charged straight at Chen Wei with a look of hostility on his face.

"The factory notified us to work overtime, why aren't you doing it! Are you unwilling to contribute to the factory and trying to shirk your work?!"

Chen Wei raised an eyebrow, looked at the bug in front of him, and gave a speechless sneer.

He didn't even work overtime himself, yet he has the nerve to criticize others!

"My leg is broken, I can't work overtime!"

Chen Wei said calmly.

Ma Dayong's eyes widened as he looked down at Chen Wei's legs, only to find that they were perfectly fine.

"You're talking nonsense!"

"Yeah! So what?"

Chen Wei smirked, too lazy to pay attention to this idiot, turned around, greeted the staff, and went straight into the arena enclosure.

Ma Dayong was rebuffed by him and immediately tried to chase after him, but he was stopped by the staff after taking only two steps.

"Comrade! Everything you're bringing needs to be inspected before you can go in! Don't you know the rules?!"

"No? What right does that kid have to go in?" Ma Daqi was furious and questioned loudly.

But then he heard a disdainful look on the other end of the line: "They've already finished the checks! Do you still want to participate?!"

"I!……"

Ma Dayong was so frustrated that he couldn't catch his breath and had no choice but to stop and undergo the examination.

The staff member was annoyed by his reckless behavior and turned his belongings upside down, even wanting to find out how many pinholes were in the pot he was carrying.

It really wasted a lot of time.

Having finally made it into the arena, Ma Dayong was about to go up and make a sarcastic remark to Chen Wei in order to get back at him, but he found that the two of them had been assigned completely different playing fields.

A banner was put up in the middle to separate them.

The words "Friendship First, Competition Second" are written in large white letters on the top.

Ma Dayong's face turned bright red, but he was helpless.

He had no choice but to angrily spread out his things and secretly vowed that the competition would prove him right.

Chen Wei, carrying his ingredients, strode briskly to his competition platform.

Before me, each table was equipped with a small stove. Everyone brought their own pots, pans, and utensils, probably sponsored by some factory. The small gas cylinders looked quite useful.

Chen Wei arranged his things and first turned on the stove to test it.

Although the gas cylinder looked small, as soon as a flame shot out from the stove, the system's notification sound indicated that the stove actually had 95% of the efficiency of the coal-fired cooking stove in the cafeteria.

This surprised Chen Wei.

It must have been sponsored by some professional kitchenware manufacturer.

"Comrades, please be quiet—"

Just then, a clear voice came from the other side of the podium.

Chen Wei looked up and saw Lin Xiaoyan, who had just been standing in front of him, now standing on the podium with a professional look on her face, holding a speech and reading her opening remarks with great expression.

"...Respected leaders, judges, and fellow participants, the Jinshi Workers' Cooking Skills Competition is now beginning!"

After a lengthy opening speech, several reporters snapped a few photos before Lin Xiaoyan professionally announced the start of the competition.

A thunderous applause erupted from below, and Chen Wei noticed the few people who had arrived late to the judges' panel.

There were three judges in total. The two on either side looked to be in their thirties, while the other wore glasses and looked like an intellectual. It was clear that these two were not the main judges.

The real judge should be the old man in his sixties sitting in the middle. He was thin and short, wearing a top-grade chef's uniform with a judge's badge pinned to his chest.

He looked at the contestants below the stage with a somber expression, exuding a powerful aura.

This person should be the senior brother Wang Defa mentioned—Yang Limin!

Chen Wei narrowed his eyes, first casually soaking the dried plum vegetables he had brought, before carefully examining Yang Limin.

The two judges sitting next to Yang Limin whispered and laughed to each other from time to time, while Yang Limin sat in the center with a serious expression, scanning the competition venue.

You can tell at a glance that this old man is probably not easy to get along with.

Adding to the information Wang Defa had given him earlier, Chen Weixin understood.

Such people are generally very stubborn about what they believe in and are not easily swayed, so he made the right choice with today's dish!

However, Chen Wei didn't plan to make only the steamed pork with preserved mustard greens today. A couple of days ago, taking advantage of the system's recipe analysis skill refreshing the menu, he prepared another backup recipe.

Looking down at the other ingredient in the strainer bag he had brought, Chen Wei's lips curled into a smile.