Chapter 260 Communication
The gorgeous knife work really attracts people's attention.

But things that are too flashy can easily make people lose interest.

Those complicated and luxurious things will attract people's attention and make people fall in love with them at the first moment, but they are not durable.

What is pleasing to the eye are the simple and direct things.

The shape is not gorgeous, and the appearance is not eye-catching, but it gives people a sense of comfort just right, making people feel relaxed and happy. People look at it again and again, and never feel bored no matter how many times they look at it.

This is true whether it’s the knife skills or the taste of the food.

Only things that can keep people happy for a long time are truly beautiful things.

Because the human body is always balancing the feedback of stimulation. A strong stimulation at a certain moment will bring a strong sense of excitement, but what follows is mediocrity and boredom.

Just like a dessert that is too sweet, it tastes delicious at the first bite, but becomes unbearable at the second bite.

Things that can produce pleasure continuously are in a subtle range that will not stimulate the balance of the body's senses. It cleverly provokes a sense of stimulation and brings pleasure, but does not make the stimulation too heavy or arouse a balance reaction of the senses. Therefore, it can bring a pleasant feeling to the body lightly and continuously without causing the body to feel disgusted.

The taste manipulation that Xiang En performed in the first duel was precisely the use of the sensory balance mechanism.

But at this moment, her overly gorgeous knife skills, just like her overly rich and delicious fried crab, made people lose interest after eating it.

Therefore, gradually, the audience's attention shifted away from Xiang En and began to turn to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing's extremely simple knife skills caught everyone's attention.

Smooth, exquisite, simple and effective, no single cut is redundant. Every time Xu Qing cuts the squid, he maximizes the effect. He lets the knife move spontaneously according to his heart and cuts at the most appropriate nodes. Then the squid will stretch out under the knife obediently and naturally, spreading all its beauty in front of the knife.

This doesn't seem like knife skills, but more like using the knife to communicate with the squid, as if knife skills are the language used to communicate with the ingredients. A gentle touch seems to let the ingredients understand what the knife holder wants, and then spontaneously show their beauty.

This is a clever way to do things with a gentle touch.

It was clearly a sharp knife that was cutting the food, and this scene, which should have been cold and cruel, inexplicably gave rise to a sense of telepathy.

It’s as if the person holding the knife and the ingredients are in sync with each other, both working towards the same goal, to achieve the ultimate deliciousness.

It is not about forcing the ingredients to change with a knife, nor is it about shaping the ingredients with one's own will. Instead, on the premise of fully understanding the ingredients, one reaches an agreement with the ingredients and together displays their most exquisite and beautiful side.

Therefore, every time Xu Qing cut, the ingredients under his knife seemed to have been prepared in advance, and bloomed at the touch of the knife tip.

It’s like the knife and the ingredients are performing a duet, coordinating with each other in perfect harmony and with a full sense of rhythm.

This wonderful feeling is so wonderful that once you see it, you will never want to look away.

In the judging panel, Elder Huang was surprised and asked, "What is he doing? How did he do this?"

No one answered him.

Because they don't know how this was done.

The only person present who had some confidence was Master Luo Tian.

Master Luo Tian said: "The legendary chef Ding butchered the ox, and he reached this level. He did not use his eyes but his mind. He felt the ingredients with his heart and communicated with the ingredients with his knife, and finally made the ingredients show their best side."

Elder Huang couldn't help but say, "How is this possible? That's just an allusion, just a legend!"

"Yes, the legend..."

This kid Xu Qing really has a connection with legends.

Master Luo Tian thought to himself.

Elder Huang said: "It's just a coincidence! If his knife skills can really reach such a level, why didn't he use this trick in the first duel, but instead injured his right hand. He just got lucky." Master Luo Tian was silent.

After all, Xu Qing's skill is only useful for squid and cannot be used for other ingredients.

This rare state of mind is difficult to achieve through training alone.

In comparison, the knife skills Xu Qing used in the first duel to show the natural form of the ingredients are relatively universal.

It just has too much impact on the arms.

Seeing that Luo Tian had nothing to say, Elder Huang became more certain of his judgment. Xu Qing was just lucky for a moment and it would be difficult to replicate.

Yet even so, he was still worried.

Wouldn’t the dishes made with this kind of knife skills have the same unique flavor as in the last duel?

If that were the case, this duel would be in jeopardy.

Elder Huang lowered his head and discussed with Elder He in a low voice.

Elder He nodded slightly.

Xiang En was so absorbed in his knife skills that he didn't notice what Xu Qing was doing.

Because in her mind, Xu Qing, who couldn't use his right hand, was no longer threatening.

She just needs to do her job well, and then victory will fall easily into her hands.

After a while, they finished their dishes one after another.

Elder Huang said, "Let's start tasting, starting with Xiang En's dishes."

Xiang En nodded and opened the lid of the table, revealing the dishes inside.

The four of them looked down and were immediately shocked by the scene in front of them.

This is a dish of cold-mixed squid. The squid is cut into flower-shaped pieces, blanched and put into a bowl. Add the prepared sauce and mix it with various fresh ingredients. It is a crisp and refreshing cold dish.

But the dish in front of me is extremely gorgeous.

The squid was carved into a thousand-petal lotus by the knife skills, and each lotus was as crystal clear as jade, as if it was carved out of jade.

The side dishes for squid are fresh vegetables such as onions, green and red peppers, etc.

These pieces are also carved into the shape of lotus flowers, each one larger than the other, nested within each other, in colours of green, red, yellow and white, with a crystal-clear squid at the centre.

The size is just right for one bite. When you take a bite, you can taste the delicious combination of various ingredients, which is very appetizing.

The sauce poured on it adds a bit of fresh color to the gorgeous thousand-petal lotus, making its color even more bright and attractive.

Just like the knife skills Xiang En demonstrated, this is also an extremely gorgeous and eye-catching dish.

Elder Li said, "You won't use any tricks like taste manipulation this time, right? I've told you in advance that if you use that kind of trick again, you will lose this duel."

Elder He said, "Don't worry. Even without any tricks, the skills of our dark cuisine chefs are enough to win."

"That's good."

As they spoke, the four of them simultaneously stretched out their chopsticks, picked up the gorgeous thousand-petal lotus and put it into their mouths.

(End of this chapter)