Chapter 251 - Last round

The next round was a head scratcher as well. For this round the rules changed a bit. You couldn't stand too close to the ingredient nor could you touch or eat it. The ingredient looked exactly like tofu but at this point no one was stupid enough to believe that the ingredient is tofu, there had to be a trick somewhere, after looking at it most realized soon that the ingredient differed from tofu just a tad bit. It had the same white square shape as a normal tofu, the only difference is that it doesn't look as flaky as tofu. 

In the end, only Tan Ai answered correctly. The ingredient was Paneer, a type of cheese made from goat, cow, or buffalo milk. Her sushi restaurant incorporates different cheeses into their menu to keep it fresh. Most people who's new to her restaurant immediately thinks about rice, soy sauce and fresh fish. But she has incorporated a lot of different western ingredients and recipes into her restaurant to make her restaurant stand out.

Wang Ming felt bummed he didn't get this round right, but luckily none of the other competitors did either. Though he didn't let it hit him too hard, he still had 6 rounds to go everything could change. Having Uncle Hou and Ming Ming helped his mental tremendously, even though he knows that many watching on the tv including his girls and friends supports him from home. 

With both hands in the air, Ming Ming waved them left to right to show her support. With her behind him, how could he fail? Even if he did, then he's done enough already. He hadn't realized, but his body had all tensed up again. He felt it almost suffocating him, the pressure. 

Angela then waved her hands to get everyone's reaction. Once again Wang Ming had to appreciate her graceful her every move is. Even just how she waved her hands, her every move looked so calculated and beautiful. He knew that he would have tried his luck with Angela if he hadn't met his girls already. It's incredible to think that each and everyone of his girls could easily become a celebrity just like Angela, who wouldn't watch a movie starring all three?

Until the last two rounds Wang Ming kept playing the catch up game, the next four rounds he only got 1 point. The competition had ramped up their difficulty by a lot. Though it wasn't only he that had it rough everyone did, as the ingredients they needed to appraise aren't ingredients used in China but internationally. He got tarragon right, which is a herb commonly used in French cuisine. 

As for the other ingredients, only a few got it right each round. The ingredients they had to appraise were ingredients only found in African and nordic countries. A place few of them had been to.

"Everyone, this is the last round of the competition let me once again remind you about the points. At this moment Tan Ai, Cheng Kecheng and Mao Qingling have all secured their spot to the finals. Behind them is a lineup of 6 contestants who are still giving their everything to be the one qualifying for the next round. Fu Jian, Xu Guo, Pan Hong Hui, Zhang Don, Yin Lifen and Wang Ming all famous chefs! Needs to guess the ingredient correctly this next round, it's all in your hands now, please give them a big applause before they head into this round."

After the big round of applause, the staff played a loud and intense sequence of music. They shut the lights off to make it even more dramatic. Since Tan Ai, Cheng Kecheng and Mao Qingling had qualified already, they sat out this round. The ones that weren't in contention to get through sat out as well. All the lights now shone on Wang Ming and the others that had the same amount of points as him.

The multiple lights shining at their faces made them feel uncomfortable, but it was now they all had to step up to the plate and do their best. Wang Ming felt his face fill with sweat, which he used his shirt to wipe away, but he had to be careful as to not wipe away the makeup they had put on him. He tried to tell the staff that he didn't need makeup, but he had no say in it. 

Though he could get through to the next round, if he answers incorrectly then his only hope would be that someone else also does the same, which is quiet likely as all of them had made incorrect guesses the last 5-6 rounds. In fact, Wang Ming is the last person in the group who had answered correctly. The rest of the group only got the earlier rounds right before the trickery happened.

"Thank you, everyone, for you patience, including you guys at home. We will now announce the last round. We hadn't expected so many to be in the last round, but it doesn't matter, we will still proceed the same way. The last round will have no trickery at all. For the next round we will present to you a ginseng your job is to guess the exact age of the ginseng. We know the exact age because an old monk donated this to us, he's the one who planted the ginseng when he was a child. He's today over 60 years old."

The contestant's eyes lit up hearing Angela slip. They now knew that the ginseng should be 60 years or older. Angela would definitely not tell them the exact age of the monk. The monk would definitely have to be 70-80 years old, at least if not even older. A contestant tried to ask Angela for the name of the monk, which she gently declined, as the monk is a famous person.

"Now, now, no more questions. The ones closest to the age of the ginseng will be the ones that get through to the next round, so the one furthest away from the age will be the one that gets disqualified. You will each have 1 minute to examine the ginseng, then after you will go back to your designated counter and write the answer within a minute. If you don't write an answer within a minute, we will disqualify you as well, so remember to write an answer even if you think it's wrong or you have a lot on your mind. It's better to guess wrong than to go out because you didn't write an answer."

Some contestants hoped they would be the first one to examine the ginseng as it would give them the most time to think and answer, but this rule had completely squashed their plans. The production had not only turned the heat on for the last round, but they had put it to the maximum. 

Wang Ming wanted to be the first one out, as he just wanted to get this done and over with. After walking back to his kitchen counter, he just waited for his name to get called. The production had been diligent. They had placed the ginseng in a small room which had black curtains surrounding it, so no one from the outside could see the ginseng. 

Soon Angela listed name after name, but she never mentioned him. Each time he saw heard her call out a name, he felt his heart stop, but only to be disappointed when he heard another name than his. After 5th person got called, Angela had still not called his name, taking his eyes away from the counter which he had stared at close to 10 minutes now.

Wang Ming noticed Angela staring at him. She looked like she was enjoying seeing Wang Ming stressed out. It felt like she had deliberately not called his name until the end, just to make him more stressed. 

"Now for the last contestant, Wang Ming. Good luck!"