Yamafu Military Affairs

Chapter 282: Jueyun Nine Changes
"Serve!"

Following the order from the master of ceremonies, a white tiger captain wearing black armor came to Shaohua's side. A faint silver star power emerged from his fingertips, condensing into a thin film shield on his body to resist the blazing fire waves. He held up the azure crab claw pattern porcelain plate with both hands and presented the [Nine Changes of Absolute Clouds] to the podium with just one leap.

The fire essence that had been compressed to the limit slowly dissipated, causing all kinds of terrifying fire visions in the air.

The three judges were in a furnace, but the temperature around them only rose a little bit. The high heat brought by the large amount of [Jueyun Pepper] was absorbed into the red oil by Shaohua with his unique skills, forming a dynamic balance with the white jade tofu ground from [Suijin Beans], with very little fire overflowing.

In addition to the three dragon-level chefs Zhen Xian, Beihai Shen Ni, and Kong Zong Yan sitting high on the rostrum, there are also nine official judges (one from each of the four departments and six bureaus) and twenty-seven selected civilian judges. Only if the dishes made by the contestants are recognized by two-thirds of the judges can they pass the preliminary round and move on.

Among them, if the three dragon chefs do not approve of the dishes prepared by the chef, then even if all the other thirty-six judges approve, the chef will not be qualified as a spiritual chef this time.

Just as Qin Huai was recalling the details of the competition, a White Tiger guard came with a tray and placed two palm-sized bowls of spicy and sour tofu on the table in front of him and Liu Gengyang.

"Thank you."

Qin Huai glanced at the iron pot on Shaohua's stove, and sure enough, there was not a drop of tofu left in the pot.

"The amount of food is well controlled, not too much, not too little, just enough to be served."

Liu Gengyang picked up the spoon and watched the White Tiger Guards distribute the thirty-six small bowls. He turned his head and nodded to Qin Huai: "Don't rush to eat, be careful not to burn your mouth."

Qin Huai shook his head, and black ripples extended towards the small bowl in front of him.

【Tofu Trio·Jueyun Nine Changes】

Category: Consumables
Quality: Rare

Xunwei is one of Langguan Shaohua's signature dishes. It uses extreme ingredients. Eating it can boil your blood, star power and other extraordinary powers in fifteen minutes, and will double the damage when activating any skill.

After the boiling period of the skill damage ends, the consumer will be attacked by fire poison. If not treated in time, carbuncles and ulcers will easily occur.

Note: Tofu tastes best when baked, and its nine variations are yet to be known.

The dish [Nine Changes of Jueyun] in front of Qin Huai was fried and blanched in a perfect way. It was as white as jade and had sharp edges, which was enough to show the excellent knife skills. The chopped green onions and garlic sprouts on it were fresh and tender, and paired with the freshly boiled red oil that had been thickened and hung on each piece of creamy white tofu, it was like the fiery clouds in the sky at sunset, and the snow-silver lotus hidden on the top of Jueyun Mountain was looming.

It was originally a cliff-like pepper, but now its polarity has reversed and it has become the bright fiery clouds that embellish the white lotus.

"This little guy put a lot of thought into the design."

Qin Huai stretched out his left index finger, tested the temperature of the outer wall of the porcelain bowl, and nodded.

It was scalding hot, but an acceptable kind of hot.

He picked up the spoon and tried to touch the tofu lightly. It broke into pieces with a pinch. After judging the color, aroma and shape, Qin Huai no longer hesitated and scooped a spoonful into his mouth.

Numb, spicy, hot, fragrant, crispy, tender, fresh, lively and sour!

In an instant, the numbing taste of the Sichuan peppercorns, the spiciness of the chili peppers, the hotness of the tofu and the crispness of the beef cubes, this mouthful of tofu with both soup and meat falls on the tongue, and the extremely overbearing taste is like a meteor hitting the sea, stirring up huge waves.

The heat was not the real temperature, but the nine-transformation true taste that Shaohua had imprinted on the food after he refined a large amount of fire essence contained in the [Jueyun Pepper] into the red oil.

The gorgeous fiery clouds that drifted down to the earth dyed the entire tongue into boiling golden flames. With a light lick of the tongue, the flames rolled over, and Qin Huai seemed to fall from the top of Kunlun Mountain, passing through heavy clouds, and leaping from the sky into the Tianshan Clear Pool that gave birth to the white snow lotus.

The white jade tofu that Shaohua had ground with Suijin beans at Baiweitang the night before was icy cold, which was completely different from the red oil that was being boiled on site today.

Qin Huai was in a world of ice and fire, but he had no time to think about anything else. Instead, he had only one thought in his mind: eat another bite, and another bite!
Grit your teeth and chew gently, and the crispness of the [bloodthirsty beef] tenderloin that has been fried in hot oil and marinated in advance will be revealed.

The color is dark, red and crispy but not stiff.

Grain by grain, the unique aroma of [Bloodthirsty Ox] blends with the previous aroma of sauce and beans.

After swallowing, the rich and lingering spicy taste still lingers in the mouth.

At this moment, a very faint sour taste suddenly arises in the tightly closed mouth, silently cooling down the severely stimulated mucous membrane taste buds.

Absolutely!
To be honest, if Qin Huai's sense of taste was not far superior to that of ordinary people, he would have thought that the slowly fading heat was the result of the mouth's self-protection mechanism, rather than the wonderful sourness.

"As expected of my favorite dish, this is awesome~"

Qin Huai put down the spoon. The magnificent scene that he saw in a trance stayed for a long time before disappearing. Liu Gengyang on the side had already finished his small bowl of tofu and was now looking at Qin Huai eagerly.

"It has a rich flavor, but I just took a small sip and I haven't fully understood it yet. Let me taste it again."

Qin Huai smiled at Liu Gengyang and quickly ate up the remaining [Nine Changes of Jueyun] in front of him.

"It's okay. It doesn't matter if you don't understand the taste. You can taste it again later. And you can enjoy it with the five senses of a dragon-level chef~"

Seeing Liu Gengyang pointing mysteriously at the podium, Qin Huai looked over and found that Zhen Xian and the other two judges finally picked up the white jade spoon.

At the same time, the silver-white star tiger reappeared above the inner field, and the starlight accurately sprinkled on every seat in the stands. Liu Gengyang saw a light green star power ribbon emerge from his fingertips, and he casually threw it upwards, and the light green ribbon caught the silver-white starlight, blending together without any stagnation.

"Oh, I forgot that you don't have any stars in your body, Hu Zi. Look at my poor memory."

Liu Gengyang looked at Qin Huai with regret and motioned him to follow the children to watch the central giant screen.

Qin Huai shrugged, savoring the hot taste just now, while looking up to see the progress of Cha and Ding.

Cha Xiaodao had already blanched the [Mang Tie Niu] ribs, skimmed off the foam, and was pouring the soup into the specially prepared casserole, preparing to simmer over low heat. Ding Ru had also blanched [Seven-star Perch], [Bamboo Shrimp], [Slippery Bone], [Ke Xue Zhu], onions, and carrot slices, and put them into the casserole, preparing to simmer over medium heat.

"Tsk tsk~ Look at this action. I can't say it's exactly the same, I can only say it's completely consistent."

Looking at the two people whose cooking techniques were exactly the same, Qin Huai always felt that they were looking in the mirror of each other.

After about a cup of tea, the three judges who had already tasted [Nine Changes of Absolute Clouds] took the initiative to cut off the myriad threads of star power, giving the audience enough buffer time.

Most of the tens of thousands of spectators in the stadium were still in a trance until the Silver Star Tiger blew a refreshing breeze straight into their hearts, and they woke up from the illusion of the setting sun on the top of the clouds.

For a while, the audience was full of discussions and opinions. Some old gourmets who were originally prejudiced against the new Sichuan cuisine also changed their minds and wondered if the dishes they had just seen were really as inferior as others criticized.

the answer is negative.

The answer is of course no.

"The Ninth Variety (spicy) is still a little off, but the Jade Emperor Flavor (sour) has hit the mark. You're doing great."

Zhen Xian nodded and was the first to show the wooden sign of passing.

Seeing that the chief judge had set the tone, the two deputy judges had no objection.

Besides, Xunwei Langguan, who was chosen by Yu Shixian, came to participate in the spiritual chef competition just for the sake of formality, and there was no need to embarrass him in such an occasion.

Soon, Shaohua passed with unanimous votes and was the first to leave the inner court.

"Your Majesty, do you think this can really change the stereotype of the people of Kyushu about Xinchuan cuisine?"

Shaohua let out a breath of relief, and his brows, which had been wrinkled due to nervousness, finally relaxed.

And just behind him, a man appeared, looming and completely unnoticeable to the audience, holding a bamboo scroll in one hand, majestic yet friendly.

"When you pass this spiritual chef competition, you can choose a restaurant in the prefecture or the capital and find a chef. I think you will soon be able to strike while the iron is hot and promote this new Sichuan cuisine, and live up to your mother's original expectations."

Shaohua listened to the voice that only he could hear, nodded, and under the guidance of the White Tiger Guard, went to the viewing area prepared for the players.

He had to wait until the end of the preliminary round and listen to the chief judge announce the specific requirements of the second stage [Feast].

Turning our attention back to the venue, several contestants who had chosen simpler dishes finished cooking and raised their hands to signal that their dishes could be served.

【Tai Chi Mud】, 【Drawing Clouds for Offering】, 【Clouds for Freshness】.
One after another, Kyushu specialties that you have either heard of or never seen were served to Qin Huai, some sweet, some fresh, and some salty.
Qin Huai gave relatively fair evaluations of these dishes one by one based on his own personal feelings and referring to the changes in the countdown in the status bar.

If Zhao Jianzhong's [Tomato Scrambled Eggs] was rated at 1,000 points, most of the dishes in the Spirit Chef Competition were only around 60 points, with the [Absolute Cloud Nine Changes] being higher at nearly 80 points. As for Cha and Ding's dishes, based on Qin Huai's experience tasting dishes last night, they would be around 70 points, Ding Ru's would be lower, but after using the ingredients of the yellow and Ding grades, the two should be on par, second only to Xunwei Langguan's signature dish.

Time passed by minute by minute. Qin Huai looked at the Star Power Incense Stick which would burn out in about a quarter of an hour. He and Liu Gengyang both lay on the back of the chair with their bellies opened, just like the second senior brother who was full and basking in the sun.

In more than half an hour, they tasted more than 200 dishes made from different cuisines, different regions, and different ingredients. Even though each dish was in a small bowl the size of a palm, the total amount was enough to fill half a cow.

If one of them was not in the transformation period and in urgent need of nutrients due to rapid growth, and the other was a pig from heaven with a meaty belly that could run a horse, it would be really difficult for them to eat all these vegetables.

Among the three judges on the rostrum, Beihai Shen Ni and Kong Zong Yan, two long-established folk dragon chefs, were conservative and cautious with their words, while Zhen Xian represented the majesty of the court and would not speak easily unless there was an outstanding performance that interested him.

At this time, the works of the remaining contestants have basically taken shape, and the production steps are fully disclosed. There is no such thing as a secret nesting doll dish like Qiankun Roast Goose, so there is no risk of mistakes when commenting on it.

Thinking of this, and seeing the three judges and the emcee on the rostrum only occasionally exchange glances, and not much is said, it is a bit dull. Director Cao Jianbing glimpsed the lively and lively Liu Gengyang, and suddenly became playful, and used a large screen to lock on Qin Huai and the other person who were nitpicking.

"Huzi, what you said is biased. The pork elbow we had earlier was indeed very tasty, but it was made from ordinary, low-quality pork. No matter who chooses it, it can't be better than the pot of Xuan Bing's top-quality bear paws, right?"

"Being able to make a [Garden Feast] with ordinary ingredients is much better than just piling up quality ingredients."

Seeing the two of them teasing and praising the distressed middle-aged man with a hint of meaning, Cao Jianbing's mouth curled up into a faint smile.

These two are quite interesting.
In the last quarter of an hour, deputy judge Kong Zongyen coughed lightly, and Qin Huai and the other man who were happily performing crosstalk on the screen immediately shut up.

The silent MC finally remembered his duty and started to control the competition process: "Kong Dingzu, except for the future Yulong Palace Dim Su Niang who will be absent, the remaining chefs will have completed their works. The [Taste] stage has entered the most critical final stage. I wonder which contestant you admire the most at this moment?"

The middle-aged man in a Confucian robe who looked polite and obedient walked onto the big screen and said slowly, "There are not many contestants who won the Kongguwei in this preliminary round, but there are also quite a few. Most of them are quite standard and their dishes are passable, but that's all. There is not much novelty. However, the cooking technique used by contestant No. 626 is a bit peculiar. It looks very similar to some of my Shandong cuisine techniques, but in fact it is different. I appreciate contestants like him who are innovative in their cooking."

Upon hearing this, the North Sea Goddess nodded, and then spoke on behalf of Kong Zongyan, who was not good at boasting, and explained the origin of Kong Mansion cuisine to tens of thousands of spectators.

"Lu cuisine originated in the states of Qi and Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and was formed during the Qin and Han Dynasties. Up to now, Lu cuisine has become the representative of [northern cuisine] and is one of the four major cuisines today."

"Shandong cuisine is found in Qingzhou, Jizhou, Yanyun and other places. Its system is mainly composed of three local flavors: Licheng cuisine, Jiaodong cuisine and Confucius Mansion cuisine."

"The family tradition of Kong Dingzu is the unique Confucius Mansion cuisine in the Shandong cuisine system. Its dishes are very elegant and luxurious, and are a favorite imperial cuisine among officials today."

"Then let's see what kind of dish the contestant No. 626, who is favored by Kong Dingzu, will eventually present."

Zhen Xian spoke at the right time, interrupting Kong Zongyan who was still trying to reciprocate and praise Xin Nian Zhai.

As soon as he finished speaking, Cao Jianbing immediately turned the screen to Cha Xiaodao's stove chopping board.

(End of this chapter)