Chapter 411 Sweet and Bitter

What made Xu Qing distressed and anxious was not just the demands they made.

And the meaning behind their requests.

It seems that everyone has said their favorite flavor. In fact, whether it is their favorite or not is not important, but it must be what they are best at.

Every request they made was about the dish and method they were best at.

Jinghua is best at chicken dishes. The leader is good at bitter dishes, using bitterness to show the various aspects of life. The girl is good at desserts, which are refreshing and sweet. She is probably good at cold food. The boy is very fond of rice-related dishes. According to his request, he is probably good at dishes that can be eaten without seeing rice.

The four people made this request in order to compare Xu Qing's dishes with the dishes they were best at.

Therefore, Xu Qing not only had to satisfy their respective appetites, but also had to compete with them with taste and their best skills.

I'm afraid that at this moment, each of them is constructing in their minds the dish that they are best at and make most perfectly, waiting to compete with Xu Qing's dish.

This is not simply a relationship between chefs and diners, but more like an alternative culinary showdown, where one dish competes against four dishes that are at the top of their respective categories.

Moreover, this method has huge advantages for the Phoenix Eight Immortals.

Because they are not really having a cooking showdown, but rather using imagination to fight reality.

Without the legendary kitchen utensils, the Eight Phoenix Immortals are lacking in ability. If they were to have a cooking showdown, the outcome would be hard to predict.

But using imagination to fight reality, or the most perfect dishes they construct in their minds, is inherently invincible.

Because imagination is always perfect, but things that exist in reality each have their own imperfections.

Using perfection to fight imperfection, the result is self-evident.

Since the Phoenix Eight Immortals have made such a request, they are naturally confident of victory.

They came here not for the assessment, but to get the legendary kitchen utensils in Xu Qing's hands, and they were determined to get it.

It was the other party who made the request and it was also the other party who made the final judgment. If they want to say that Xu Qing lost, they have reasons for whatever they say.

And it was unwise for Xu Qing to agree to such an unreasonable request and bet on the legendary kitchen utensils no matter how you look at it.

Unwise, irrational, incomprehensible, and reckless.

This is the willfulness and madness hidden beneath Xu Qing's calm appearance.

He likes to push himself to the edge of a cliff and enjoy the moment of crisis.

This is confidence in his own strength. No matter what difficulties and dangers he faces, he has the confidence to fight and give it a try.

Perhaps the more talented a person is, the more he or she likes to challenge his or her limits.

They no longer have any interest in things that are readily available.

The more you challenge your limits, the more you will fall in love with the feeling of walking on the edge of a knife. The exhilaration brought by the surge of adrenaline is really irresistible.

Xu Qing took a deep breath. An incense stick of time was not long, but he had a lot of things to do.

The ingredients have been decided: chicken and rice. The chicken must be the best, and the rice must be edible without seeing the rice.

Needless to say, Xu Qing is quite good at chicken dishes. He has also eaten and personally cooked the most delicious chicken in the world - black-bone chicken. It can be said that when it comes to chicken dishes, few people can surpass him.

Jinghua once had a cooking competition with Xu Qing, so he should be very familiar with this.

Even so, he still suggested chicken dishes. On the one hand, it was because Jinghua was best at chicken dishes, and on the other hand, he probably didn't want to cause trouble for Xu Qing.

Xu Qing thought of Jinghua's two "sorry"s. Jinghua must have felt very guilty. He was late on the appointed day, and the cooking duel could not take place. He also brought his companions to cause trouble for Xu Qing and snatch the legendary kitchen utensils from him.

Xu Qing sighed softly. He couldn't blame Jinghua. After all, they were not related at all and had only met once. From a standpoint, they were still enemies. It was reasonable for Jinghua to help his companions deal with the enemy.

Jinghua did not make any other harsh requests; this was the limit of what he could do.

The rest depends on Xu Qing’s own ability.

Xu Qing steamed the rice first.

He already had an idea in his mind about how to eat rice without seeing the rice.

Now the key is how to deal with the two flavors of bitterness and sweetness.

One not only needs to taste the bitterness, but also be able to experience the bitterness of all aspects of life.

The other one just wants sweetness, but a clear and refreshing sweetness.

It is easy to deal with these two individually, and even if they are combined, it will not be difficult to do with Xu Qing's ability.

But if there is bitterness, there cannot be sweetness, and if there is sweetness, there cannot be bitterness. The two are incompatible, which makes people very distressed.

The dishes cannot be like the Yin-Yang pot, where one dish can separate different flavors.

Because this cannot be considered a dish. Even if it is put on one plate, it can only be considered two dishes.

How can one taste only sweetness, or only bitterness?
Xu Qing closed his eyes and thought hard, constantly simulating the cooking methods of various dishes in his mind, trying to find the answer.

And his extraordinary five senses were fully mobilized at this moment.

After Xu Qing perfected his mind, his five senses were more responsive to his commands than before. At this moment, at Xu Qing's command, his keen senses unreservedly gathered all the information they had collected and stored into his mind, and transformed into countless dishes.

When Ke Ling saw Xu Qing closing his eyes and thinking, she carefully went out of the door, moved a small stool and sat at the door to guard against others disturbing Xu Qing.

As time passed, Ke Ling became a little worried.

It seems that Xu Qing is really in trouble this time.

Well, come to think of it, it is simply not something a human can do to deal with such unreasonable demands.

Ke Ling couldn't help him, the only thing she could do was to ask others not to disturb him.

A breeze blew by, and the petals on the tree fell with the wind, slowly drifting onto Ke Ling's clothes, and some floated into the kitchen through the window.

The petals tasted sweet, like honey, and Ke Ling had loved them since she was a child. She picked up a petal and bit it on the tip of her tongue, then stood up to close the window.

Xu Qing thought for a while but still had no clue. He couldn't help feeling a little depressed. Just as he was about to walk to the window to get some fresh air, he happened to see Ke Ling.

Xu Qing said: "Ke Ling, there is a petal on your mouth."

Ke Ling plucked the petals from the tip of her tongue and said with a smile: "Ah Qing, these petals are sweet, try them."

Xu Qing picked up the petals that had fallen by the window, licked them lightly, and indeed tasted the sweetness like honey.

Ke Ling said: "But you have to be careful not to swallow it, otherwise your mouth will be full of bitterness."

Xu Qing asked: "Why is this?"

Ke Ling thought for a moment and said, "Mom once said that different parts of the tongue seem to taste different flavors..."

Xu Qing's mind suddenly buzzed.

Oh yeah, why didn’t he think of that!
(End of this chapter)