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month record rogue 5 7 1
'Just think about it! If you win, you'll be the greatest chef in all of Baizao, and our Zhi Wei Tang will bask in the limelight. C'mon, no need to hesitate, join the competition!' The owner of Zhi Wei Tang begs and implores the seemingly thirteen- or fourteen-year-old Young Chef, and at last sees a hint of curiosity in his puzzled expression.
What sort of taste would becoming a renowned chef bring?
Whenever the annual Baizao culinary competition comes around, people throng the streets, sampling new recipes while watching chefs duel each other atop the stage. Currently, everyone is talking about the showdown about to unfold between the Young Chef and the head chef of the renowned Liang Jiang Xian.
A day before the finals, everyone in Zhi Wei Tang's kitchen is nervously making preparations under the Young Chef's guidance when a waiter, heart filled with anxiety, bursts in. 'This is bad! The wild mountain mushrooms Chef Yu specifically asked for—the foragers say a heavy rain's spoiled the entire lot!'
The kitchen immediately falls into an uproar. Wild mushrooms are an essential ingredient in the Young Chef's proposed main dish. Without the main course, aren't they certain to lose the battle? What should they do? It is far too late to change the menu they submitted to the officials.
The Young Chef stays calm. 'Don't lose your heads. It's a shame, but while every ingredient has its own flavor, there's no reason not to use a substitute.'
The owner of Zhi Wei Tang jumps up, shouting: 'Absolutely not! Liang Jiang Xian managed to get a live wild hairtail fin, about two feet long! You're lucky to see one of those in a century! We'll never win using ordinary ingredients!'
The Young Chef raises an eyebrow. 'Aren't the menus supposed to be secret? How do you know what's going on in their kitchen?'
The owner doesn't answer, rattling off several alternative sources of wild mushrooms, all of which are shot down by the waiter as unfeasible. Clearly at an impasse, the owner suddenly unfurrows his brow and says to the Young Chef: 'Oh well. If we don't have our mushrooms, maybe Liang Jiang Xian won't have their hairtail fin either...'
The Young Chef looks at him doubtfully.
By the back door to Liang Jiang Xian, a waiter attempting to sneak into the restaurant is hastily pulled into an alleyway by the Young Chef, who had rushed over. Under threat of being reported to the authorities, the waiter fearfully pulls out a bag of poisoned finbait.
...
'Is this how you planned on winning?' The Young Chef tosses the bag onto the table in front of the owner of Zhi Wei Tang.
The owner's expression suddenly changes as he glares daggers at the Young Chef, yet his raised voice is full of self-righteousness: 'You... What's with the holier-than-thou attitude?! I'm doing this for you, for our restaurant! Do you know how much business we'd get if we win? Didn't you want to savor becoming a renowned chef?!'
In response, the Young Chef also suppresses his fury. He closes his eyes, as if sampling the flavor, before shaking his head. 'This sort of taste is really hard to swallow once it gets in your mouth.'
On the day of the finals, ignoring the owner's ashen expression, the Young Chef cooks up a big pot of vegetable and shiitake congee. Ordinary vegetables, ordinary shiitake mushrooms, ordinary rice. It isn't just the judges who are served. Every spectator also receives a bowl. At first, everyone looks rather uninterested, but after a single spoonful, they are amazed. The congee is just as warming as the one their parents made when they were children, sick in bed.
Naturally, the Young Chef loses the battle, but he is given a bowl of hairtail fin soup, a once-in-a-century flavor. Upon tasting it, he feels contentment.
