Chapter 3 Cooking Showdown
Shaoan grabbed Xu Qing by the collar and tried to drag him out.

Xu Qing was not one to suffer a loss, so he punched Shaoan in the face, causing him to stagger.

You can't be nice to someone like Shaoan. The nicer you are to him, the more he will become.

Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Master Abei quickly pulled the two men apart and protected Xu Qing firmly behind him.

"Shaoan, stop it!"

Shaoan picked up the kitchen knife placed beside him, pointed it at Master Abei, and said fiercely: "Old woman, get out of here!"

Master Abei was even more afraid to leave now. Who knew if Shaoan would do something irreversible in his emotional excitement? At the very least, she had to protect Xu Qing.

Xu Qing moved out from behind Master Abei and stood in front of Shaoan.

This was his own fault, so there was no way he could let Master Abe take the blame for him.

Xu Qing asked, "Shaoan, you have been learning cooking for so many years, is the reason you pick up a kitchen knife just to kill people?"

"Bad boy, what did you say?"

Shaoan glared angrily. No one had ever dared to talk to him like that.

However, Xu Qing's words also made Shaoan sober up from his anger, and he subconsciously lowered his hand holding the kitchen knife.

Shaoan was so angry that he picked up the knife without thinking, but he never thought of using the kitchen knife to kill someone.

His hands are for cooking, not for killing.

Master Abei heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Shaoan, put down the knife first. We can talk it out."

Shaoan threw the knife on the ground and said, "I only have one thing to say, get this kid out of here!"

How could Xu Qing leave?

He looked at the messy kitchen and said, "Shaoan, your dissatisfaction with me is that you think I will hinder your progress in learning. How about this? Let's have a cooking showdown and let you see my level."

"Cooking duel?" Shaoan couldn't help but laugh. He was worried that he couldn't find an excuse to get rid of Xu Qing, but he didn't expect that someone would send him a pillow when he fell sleepy.

"Okay! But the conditions need to be changed."

Xu Qing frowned: "What conditions do you want to change it to?"

Shao An looked at Xu Qing coldly and said word by word: "The winner stays, and the loser gets out immediately."

"Shaoan!" Master Abei shouted hurriedly, "I don't allow this kind of duel..."

"Okay, I promise you." Xu Qing agreed immediately.

Shaoan disliked Xu Qing and wanted to drive him away, and Xu Qing had the same idea.

Xu Qing simply couldn't imagine the days of learning skills with Shaoan. They imagined it to be a scene like hell, and every day was extremely frustrating.

But after all, Shaoan was the one who came first, so Xu Qing couldn't say anything and could only endure it.

Now Shaoan has taken the initiative to suggest that the loser should leave. It's like someone giving you a pillow when you are sleepy!
For the first time, two people who disliked each other since their first meeting reached a subtle consensus.

"The cooking showdown starts tomorrow, kid. I'll give you a whole night to prepare yourself. But no matter how much you prepare, it will be useless!"

Shaoan pushed the door open and left with a big laugh, feeling extremely happy.

He hadn't felt so happy for a long time since he came to Ju Xialou.

As for the cooking duel, he was sure to win. How could a country boy beat him who had worked hard for several years to learn from the best chef in Sichuan?

Master Abei saw that the matter was done and there was no point in trying to stop it, so he could only sigh deeply.

"You two...sigh."

What's the trouble with this?

Why do chefs always use their culinary skills, which are acquired with great effort in pursuit of the ultimate in delicious food, become tools for fierce competition among chefs?

Seeing that Master Abei was in a depressed mood, Xu Qing had no choice but to persuade him, "Master, a cooking duel is already a good result. It's better than a bloody fight with knives and guns, right?"

Master Abei was left in tears and amused by his words. After thinking about it, she realized that it was true. When she saw Shaoan lose control and pick up the kitchen knife, she was really afraid that Shaoan would do something irreversible.

If that happened, it would not only hurt others, but would also completely ruin Shaoan's own career as a chef.

Master Abei said, "Ah Qing, this duel is not fair to you. I have taught Shaoan for such a long time, and I know his strength best. With his current strength, he can easily obtain the qualification of a senior chef. Ah Qing, you are just a novice, you can't beat him."

Xu Qing nodded. Master Abei was right. He really couldn't beat Shaoan in terms of skills.

But he still has talent!

If you don’t have enough skills, you can make up for it with talent.

Xu Qing said, "Master, the five-shred soup you made for dinner was so delicious! The perfect combination of sour and spicy whets our appetite, and what's even better is that the soup has a rich aroma that makes one linger. It must be the broth made from chopped pork and chicken bones that has been boiled for ten hours. The long stewing makes the bone marrow soft and melts into the soup, making the flavor of the broth more layered, and every bite is a completely different taste."

Xu Qing recalled the taste and said with a hint of regret, "It's a pity that the broth has been left for too long, and the aroma has been lost a lot. If we add a little cinnamon and simmer it for a while, the meaty aroma will be re-stimulated, and then put it into the five-strand soup, the taste of the finished product will be more mysterious."

Chef Abe looked at him in shock. There was a little broth left from her earlier cooking, so in order to avoid wasting it she planned to add it into the dishes during dinner. Unfortunately, she had run out of cinnamon that day, and the shop that sold cinnamon had closed down, so Chef Abe could only skip a step.

I didn't expect that Xu Qing could taste the soup from just a small spoonful of it, and could even accurately tell the ingredients and time used for cooking, and even accurately pointed out the shortcomings and suggestions for improvement.

Not only is Xu Qing young, he is also a beginner. However, he has such accurate and sharp perception. Such talent is simply astonishing.

Master Abei looked at the direction Shaoan left with mixed feelings.

It seems that Shaoan lost this cooking competition.

It is true that Shaoan has the ability to be a top chef, but in front of Xu Qing, who possesses the talent of a top chef, the ability of a mere top chef is far from enough.

Master Abei had long regarded Shaoan as her own child. She couldn't help feeling sad at the thought of Shaoan leaving.

"master……"

Xu Qing looked at Master Abei's sad expression and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Master Abei came back to his senses, patted Xu Qing's shoulder gently, and said softly: "Ah Qing, don't worry, it's not your fault. Shaoan's character is too strong, and he is a little arrogant and conceited. Maybe losing once is a good thing for him."

"Ah Qing, what you need to do now is to concentrate on preparing for tomorrow's cooking competition. You are a beginner, and my experience is not a good thing for you now. It will confuse your mind and prevent you from showing your true strength. Do it according to your feelings and believe in yourself."

"Yes, master!"

Since Shaoan made this kitchen a mess and it was very troublesome to clean, Master Abei found another kitchen for him to use.

Xu Qingxi sat on the ground with a recipe compiled by successive chefs of Juxialou in front of him. This was specially left for him by Chef Abei, and it also marked the dishes suitable for beginners.

Xu Qing went through many trials before he finally chose the dish that suited him best.

He worked all night until dawn, and finally adjusted the taste to the best.

(End of this chapter)