Chapter 50：A Busy Afternoon

A chef would usually like to judge the meal. If they were all together in the same place, then there would truly be endless judgments. Typically, the average joe might also assess the food. The real problem was that there were indeed many great talents in this bunch of chefs. As soon as the food entered their mouth, they could guess right away, whether or not the ingredients were fresh, and also if they were locally produced.

Therefore, in the midst of boundless joy, there were also hints of awkwardness that sprung up everywhere.

Bai Lu and Zhang Cheng Long left the place early. They were seated in a restaurant that served cuisine from the Northeast of China. As the examination for knife skills was held in the afternoon, they only drank two bottles of beer to parch their thirst.

Zhang Cheng Long let Bai Lu order the meal. After he thought about it, he said, "Cold Chinese bellflower salad, pickled cabbage, and boiled peanuts."

Zhang Cheng Long stared at him and said, "Are you insulting me? I am treating you to a meal, and yet, you only ordered three cold dishes?"

Bai Lu smiled. "It doesn't really matter what I eat. It's the intention that truly matters. Thank you." And he emptied the cup of beer.

Zhang Cheng Long ordered three hot dishes to make it six in total, and they shared the meal.

During this period of time, more chefs swarmed into the restaurant and started ordering their meal.

When all of the dishes were served, and after drinking a bottle of beer, there was a guy that started speaking. "This meat is too dry. The fire must have been too big. If it were me, I would never have committed such a rookie mistake."

Another one said, "The fish was already dead. It was not fresh."

Everyone was a chef, so as soon as someone started a topic about the food, everyone else would try to add on something to the discussion by giving their comments. This was similar for others who loved singing: When someone commented that a particular singer was good; someone else would definitely say another singer was better.

Thus, the restaurant was bustling with noise and excitement, as there were more than a dozen tables of customers that kept chattering away. Their lively discussion stretched for more than 10 minutes, and every single dish was unspared from their judgment. This relentless criticism was extremely demoting to the chef of this restaurant, and he almost passed out from a lack of energy. He thought, "This bunch of customers are still the king, so I have to endure. I should not flare up my temper at any cost." Never would he expect that in the end, after enduring for so long, there was actually a chef that entered into the kitchen and said, "Move away. Let me do the frying."

"Screw you, asshole," The chef of this restaurant said, as he swung his ladle and chased the men away, "Pay up and leave immediately!"

If there were no examinations in the afternoon, this group of chefs might have ended up in a brawl.

The same plot happened at the Sichuan restaurant, Hunan restaurant, North Korean restaurant, Xinjiang restaurant, and also many others. The most bizarre incident was at the Crossing-the-bridge noodles shop across the bridge, where a few chefs were standing outside the restaurant as they were also thrown out. The married female chef of the noodles shop was cursing in her native dialect and scolded the bunch of arrogant men.

The few chefs remained resolute and stubbornly said, "We are men, so we should not fight with petty women."

This was a literary battle, but there was also a military battle. The master of the ramen restaurant grabbed a ball of dough and started pulling the noodles at the entrance of the shop. He shouted at the chef that he has just thrown out. "Continue to brag. If you still continue to brag, I would strangle you to death with the noodles."

The chef was unconvinced. "I could thread a needle with it."

A young girl who was about five to six years old walked by. With a loud and crisp voice, she lifted her chin and said, "I could thread a needle too."

The bystanders that were crowding around started laughing loudly.

The young girl thought that the rest did not believe her, so she tugged at the hands of her mom and said, "Let me prove it to them, that I could thread a needle."

...

In this afternoon, there were boundless joy and happiness. Bai Lu was laughing heartily, and he said to Zhang Cheng Long, "If we could come here once every day, we would be thrilled."

"Are you mad? It costs $1k each time." Zhang Cheng Long was approaching this topic from a financial perspective.

Soon, midday was over. At 2pm, the knife skills examination started.

This examination was not that difficult. There was a massive longboard, with 20 round chopping boards placed on top. Everyone lined up and waited for their turn to go up and chop stands of peanut. The judges would stroll back and forth to assess their posture, hand movements, and overall demeanor. To know whether or not the chef was experienced, they could simply tell by their actions. Afterward, they examined the strands of peanut. Those that passed the test were given a small little slip of paper, that they could use to register at the judges' table. Those that failed the test were just sent home.

There were more than a thousand chefs. With 20 people per batch, if they were evenly distributed, it would probably take a lengthy amount of time. However, their speed was surprisingly fast, so on average, each person would take less than a minute to complete the task. In less than four hours, it was done.

When Bai Lu and Zhang Cheng Long stepped up on stage, many chefs gossiped in the background. Those that were more positive commended them on their brilliant insight to become chefs right after they graduated. Those that were more negative insulted them for their ignorance.

Zhang Cheng Long felt a little indignant. He whispered to Bai Lu, "You have implicated me."

Bai Lu smiled, and he said, "Why not show them a couple of your moves? Make them pee themselves."

He was just trying to be cheeky, but he did not expect that Zhang Cheng Long really had impressive knife skills.

When all 20 chefs began chopping up the peanut, the sounds of the knives striking the board was relentless. Zhang Cheng Long was right beside him, his knife strokes were light, steady, and precise. The chopping sounds were soft and gentle, and it was only slightly louder than Head Chef Da Tian of the Great Heavens. The strands of peanut were evenly cut, with gleaming transparency; His knife skills were definitely extraordinary.

After Zhang Cheng Long displayed his knife skills, the number of people gossiping reduced. However, there were still experts all around. When they see him boasting about his prowess, they hummed coldly out of disrespect.

Bai Lu did not want to show off. It was only the preliminary rounds, so it was not worth it to expend too much energy. He casually picked up the peanuts and placed it onto the chopping board. Without evenly looking, he already started landing the knife strokes with his right hand. His movements were flowing smoothly and effortlessly.

However, he did try to control his speed, so that he would finish at the same time as Zhang Cheng Long.

At this moment, the judge walked to his side. He observed Bai Lu's stance and his degree of proficiency. Right there and then, he knew that Bai Lu was an experienced chef, so he asked him to stop and issued him the confirmation slip.

Bai Lu had only just sliced the peanut into strips, but the challenge was already ended. With a smile on his face, he left the examination venue. In his heart, he thought, "Why is Da Tian not here for this competition? Could it be that he despised this Top Chef Contest?"

After a while, Zhang Cheng Long took his slip of paper and went to meet up with Bai Lu. "Let's go and register.

At the registration desk, the service personnel said, "The results would be announced in two days. There will be a roll of successful nominees pasted outside of the school. Otherwise, you may call to ask for the result."

The preliminary rounds were over. Bai Lu went back home. Zhang Cheng Long exchanged contacts with him and said, "We would both make it to the finals."

Bai Lu smiled, and he said yes.

He did not speak a word during the entire journey home. When he arrived back at the Xiao Wang's Village Road, Sha Sha had already finished school. Through a phone call, he learned that Sha Sha and Ding Ding were together at home. Bai Lu went straight to the restaurant. He removed the sign of truce and opened the door. After checking in the kitchen, he went to the market to buy some groceries and came back to prep the ingredients. He worked for a long while.

He opened the restaurant at 6 pm because he came home late. As there was a sign of truce on the front door, people had misunderstood that the restaurant would not be open tonight, so there was no one queueing outside. There were only four customers today. And these four customers came by because they were living in the vicinity, so they came here to eat along the way.

Looking at these four customers, Bai Lu felt a little unaccustomed. Over the last few days, the restaurant was always bustling with people. It was a rare occasion today to have some peace.

Bai Lu finished cooking the dishes quickly, and he served them on the table. While the customers were eating the meal, he stood at the door and contemplated about life.

At this moment, Sun Min came by. She stood in front of him and stared straight into his eyes.

Bai Lu touched his face and asked, "What are you looking at?"

Sun Min was a real heroine, she sternly said, "I know that you have a strong backing, but could you be more considerate towards us? Day in and day out, your small little restaurant keeps getting into trouble. Can you behave yourself for a few days? Do you think that the police station was opened just to serve you? We have to handle your trivial matters incessantly. Let me warn you, I will be watching you closely. Never ever let me find something that I could use to arrest you."

Bai Lu sighed in admiration, and he said, "You are really an immortal."

His teasing made Sun Min even more enraged. She said, "Remember this, you better behave yourself! Do not cause any trouble for me, as I will be watching you closely." Then she turned around and left.

In these two days, many people in the police station were talking about the Great 5-Star Restaurant. Many people that were outside of the system would also phone in to inquire about the background of the restaurant. Previously, Sun Min has already hated and despised Bai Lu, but over the course of these two days, she has developed an implacable hatred towards the sudden growth of power that Bai Lu possessed.

She believed that as long as she was an upright and honest police officer with an indomitable spirit, she would not have to be afraid of the so-called connections that a gangster commanded. Thus, after she finished her job, she had forsaken her meal and rushed over to warn Bai Lu.

Bai Lu scratched his head, and he thought, "The books would always say that the first impression matters the most. What an honest truth! It was all because I called her Police Aunty when we met for the first time. Now, this girl has been targetting me ever since."

This also proofed the fact that Sun Min was a woman of her word.

The next day afternoon, not long after Bai Lu had just opened the doors of his restaurant, Sun Min was already patrolling in front of the Great 5-Star Restaurant in her full police uniform. On average, she would pass by the door once every 10 minutes.

Sitting inside the restaurant, Bai Lu propped his head up with one hand and looked at this girl who was walking back and forth. He thought, "That's weird. In this sweltering heat, why is she not sweating at all? Could she be an alien?"

Today, it was the 9th of October. In the past few years, the weather would turn cold, so it was not too hot. However, there was some unexplainable anomaly in the weather pattern, so the summer did not seem to end. Every single day, the tormenting heat raged on.

Bai Lu felt a little sorry for her, because of his relationship with his dad. The job that was the most affectionate to him was a police officer. No matter how Sun Min treated him, she would always not harbor any evil intention, so he did not hate her as a human being.

When Sun Min walked by the front door again, Bai Lu went out and said to her, "Girl, come in and rest for a while."

"Who are you calling a girl?" With a harsh expression in her eyes, she rushed into the restaurant and started lecturing Bai Lu with her finger pointed at him.

"What did you say? Let me warn you, I could charge you for insulting a national public servant. You better watch your mouth." She lectured Bai Lu again. After she has cooled down sufficiently in the air-conditioned room, Sun Min strutted out of the restaurant with her head held high.

Bai Lu was surprised. "This girl would be very suitable for the job of prison management.

After a while, He San Qing walked into the restaurant and said, "Where did you go yesterday? And how did you solve that issue on the day before yesterday?"

"How else could I solve it? Just let it be."

"Oh, you are still soft-hearted. If it were me, I would not rest until I squeezed him dry."

"Forget it, man. Are you worried that I have nothing else to do?"

He San QIng pouted his mouth to express his feeling of disdain. Then he looked at the glass door and said, "Why not install a door with security code? Like those with reinforced steel plates or bulletproof glass. You do not even need to bring a key with you. How cool. That would save you so much time because you keep changing your door frequently."

"Installing a door with security code in this tiny restaurant? Have you watched too many James Bond movies?"

While the two of them were speaking, Sun Min passed by the front door again, and she saw the big red sports car. She pushed the door open and said, "Whose car is that in front of the door? Parking is restricted along this area. Hurry up and drive it away."

Bai Lu asked, "Have you become a traffic police officer?"

"Cut the crap. Do you want to drive it away or not? If you don't... I would call someone to tow it away."

He San Qing smiled coldly and said, "Whatever." This guy was accustomed to being rude and unreasonable, so he was utterly unafraid of the cops.

"How could you say it like this? Am I wrong to say that to you? Who gave you the permission to park your car here?"

Right as He San Qing wanted to say something nasty, Bai Lu immediately stared at him with merciless intent. It meant that he should be more cautious and control his mouth. He San Qing thought about it, and he decided to respect Bai Lu's decision. He smiled softly and said, "For this matter, I feel that we should really debate about it. Lu Zi, you be the judge, and tell us whether or not it is allowed to park the car outside of your restaurant."

"Crazy, is this really something debatable? Hurry up and drive it away." Sun Min did not give him any respect.

He San Qing returned the favor, and he said nonchalantly, "It's not like I am parking the car here forever. I am only here to buy a meal. Is it wrong to park here temporarily? Or do you expect people to park a kilometer away? Did you really graduate from the police academy? How come you could not even understand such simple principles of right and wrong?"