Quick Transmigration: The Supporting Female Lead Stays Out of It - Chapter 33: Chef 32

Lin Dan’s bold, direct words surprised the Emperor. He had originally looked down on this unassuming little woman, but now, a hint of interest appeared in his eyes, “I can naturally guarantee the fairness of this competition. I will only observe and not comment. The chefs, and the gourmets, will decide whose culinary skills are superior.”

Lin Dan faced the several judges, bowed one by one, and then said, “Even so, this competition is still unfair to this commoner. Chef Yan is highly valued by Your Majesty. Now, you are also lending Fragrant Garden to her for the competition and coming in person to watch. Your actions have already shown your attitude – you are inclined towards her. And you are the master of the world, and how can your subjects dare to disobey your will? Today, as soon as I stepped into Fragrant Garden, I have already lost. I understand this, and Your Majesty, in your sagacity, should also understand.”

Everyone was shocked as they listened, never expecting that Lin Dan would be so outspoken.

The Emperor, however, burst into laughter, his eyes even more filled with interest: “If that’s the case, what do you intend to do? Do you still want to continue this competition?”

Yan Langqing showed a complex expression. If possible, she naturally wanted to compete with Lin Dan again in a fair and square manner, but the Emperor protected her so much that she couldn’t help but accept the favor. Yan Shouye, however, felt that this competition didn’t need to continue at all; Lin Dan had come to humiliate herself. When his daughter became a consort, he would definitely get rid of Lin Dan!

But he didn’t expect Lin Dan to nod without hesitation: “Of course, we need to compete. But for the sake of fairness, the rules must be set by me. May I ask if Your Majesty approves? In the past, when I first competed with Chef Yan, because I was the head chef of the Marquis’s Mansion, and my father was favored by the Yongding Marquis, for the sake of fairness, the competition schedule was also set by Chef Yan. What to compete in, how to compete, and who would be the judges were all up to her. Now our circumstances have reversed, and I am making the same request. This is not too much, is it?”

The Emperor glanced at Yan Langqing and nodded: “Indeed, it’s not too much. Tell me, how do you want to compete?”

Although Lin Dan seemed to be in control, the deterrent power of imperial authority still existed. Even if she made the most delicious dishes, as long as the judges said a word, they could cast her into the abyss. So-called fairness never existed in the face of power. Lin Dan was very bold, but not that intelligent. Thinking of this, the Emperor shook his head secretly, feeling a sense of emptiness in his heart.

Lin Dan said unhurriedly: “For this competition, we will use the same ingredients to make the same dish, not many, only one.”

Yan Langqing asked, “What dish do you want to make?”

“Since the Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, shall we make zongzi?” Lin Dan turned her head to look at her, and smiled slightly.

Yan Langqing was stunned, and after a long while, she came back to her senses and nodded slowly. Through those four signature dishes, she had some understanding of Lin Dan’s level. She had originally thought she would be competing in dishes that were difficult to cook, but she didn’t expect her to suggest making zongzi. However, Yan Langqing wasn’t afraid at all. The ladies in the palace also loved to eat zongzi, and she had made all kinds of zongzi, and they were very well-received, so she wasn’t afraid. The ladies in the palace were more and more discerning, and since she could serve them well, she could naturally serve the several judges well.

“The two of us will each make fifty catties of zongzi, and only make meat zongzi, can we?” Lin Dan continued.

“Make fifty catties?” Yan Langqing finally revealed a surprised expression.

“Can we?” Lin Dan looked at her directly.

“Yes.”

“Excellent, then may I ask Your Majesty to provide us with one hundred catties of glutinous rice, fifty catties of pork belly. The glutinous rice and pork belly don’t need to be separated; put them in a single bucket. We’ll distribute them ourselves once we enter the kitchen. If we need additional seasonings, we can also make individual requests to the palace people, without interfering with each other. Is that okay?” Lin Dan cupped her hands in a gesture of respect, her demeanor neither humble nor arrogant.

The Emperor nodded: “I approve. Go and prepare.” Each making fifty catties of meat zongzi, who are they going to feed? Lin Dan wants to stuff everyone present to death?

Not only did the Emperor feel strange, but the other guests also looked puzzled. However, Lin Dan and Yan Langqing had already gone to the kitchen one after the other, too late to ask for details. Even if they had asked, she probably wouldn’t have given an answer, and they’d have to wait until the meat zongzi were made to see. They originally thought this was a competition whose outcome had been decided even before it began, but they didn’t expect it to be turned into a suspense by Lin Dan. This Manager Lin was quite interesting.

Regardless of how the various nobles speculated, Lin Dan had entered the kitchen with a heart as still as water. One hundred catties of glutinous rice were loaded into a huge wooden bucket, which the palace people carried in, panting. Behind it was another bucket, containing fifty catties of pork belly.

Lin Dan used her hand to feel the glutinous rice and nodded with satisfaction.

Yan Langqing said in a warm voice, “Your concerns are unnecessary. I will not be so despicable as to have them prepare the ingredients well for me and prepare inferior ingredients for you. You choose the glutinous rice and pork first; I’ll use what’s left.”

Lin Dan turned to look at the other party, a slight smile playing on the corners of her mouth, “Then, thank you, Chef Yan.”

Yan Langqing slowly rolled up her sleeves, “Shall we begin then?”

“Okay, but before that, I have to specify the shape and size of the zongzi. You have no objections, right?” Lin Dan took out three zongzi leaves, rolled them into a cone shape, added some glutinous rice, and tied them with a string, gesturing, “The same shape, the same size, can you make them?”

This request was somewhat strange, but Yan Langqing didn’t think too much of it and nodded: “Yes.” She immediately made an identical triangular zongzi and handed it to Lin Dan for inspection.

Lin Dan untied the two zongzi, put the glutinous rice back in, and smiled faintly: “Then we can start.”

The two of them each took a cooking platform and started working. Yan Langqing soaked the glutinous rice first, then cut the pork belly into thin slices and marinated it with light soy sauce, fine salt, sugar, and peanut oil. When she raised her head, she found that Lin Dan was stoking the stove, and the glutinous rice and pork belly hadn’t been touched.

The zongzi hadn’t been made yet; what was the point of stoking the stove at this time? She felt strange in her heart and couldn’t help but look at it a few times, only to discover that Lin Dan wasn’t using firewood to stoke the stove, but rather, the sesame stalks that she had specially requested from the palace people. The sesame stalks still had many ripe sesame seeds on them, and they made a popping sound when licked by the flames, exuding a unique, rich aroma.

Yan Langqing couldn’t help but take a deep breath, feeling even more curious in her heart.

Lin Dan, however, didn’t look at her, just gathered the sesame stalks that had turned into ashes in one place, wrapped them in fine silk cloth, and rubbed them in cold boiled water until the clear water became murky gray water, and repeatedly filtered it several times with fine silk cloth, making sure there were no remnants, before soaking the glutinous rice in it.

The snow-white glutinous rice took on a layer of dirty color after entering the water, and four words instantly popped into Yan Langqing’s mind – a waste of resources! These zongzi were to be eaten by the several judges, and treating them like this, wasn’t it dirty? She was full of bewilderment in her heart, but she didn’t want to ask, nor did she want to ask. This competition was related to her reputation, and she would naturally not stop Lin Dan from courting death.

After Lin Dan had soaked the glutinous rice, she began to handle the pork belly. The seasonings she used were almost the same as Yan Langqing’s, only the proportions were slightly different. Once everything was ready, she began to make the zongzi. It could be seen that her zongzi-making technique was very skilled. With a flip of her wrist, the zongzi leaves were rolled. She put some glutinous rice at the bottom, stuffed a piece of meat in the middle, and then put some more glutinous rice on top, gently pressing it with her hand, then closed the zongzi leaves, tied them with a string, and finally tied a small knot at the end of the string.

Yan Langqing also started making zongzi, the size and shape exactly the same as Lin Dan’s. She threw each one into the basin next to her, waiting for them to cook.

The two of them made zongzi from morning to afternoon, and finally each made fifty catties of zongzi, which were placed in two identical buckets in terms of size and shape. They had already been cooked, and were emitting a burst of heat. Before everyone’s judgment, Lin Dan counted the number of zongzi, and then walked to Yan Langqing’s wooden bucket and said slowly: “The two of us will exchange positions.”

Yan Langqing was full of doubts, but she also felt that there was nothing to it, so she went to stand by her wooden bucket. Even if she exchanged positions, she could still recognize her own wooden bucket. Could she be greedy of Lin Dan’s?

Lin Dan then invited the guests, cupping her hands and saying, “May I ask that the adults take two guards into the kitchen and exchange the positions of the two buckets placed on the left and right? Exchange them as many times as you like, or you can choose not to exchange them at all. When one adult has exchanged them, another adult can go in and continue exchanging them. Five rounds of exchanges are enough. After coming out, no one is allowed to reveal how many times they have exchanged the positions.”

“What do you want to do?” The Emperor couldn’t quite see Lin Dan’s methods. Logically, since the zongzi had already been made, they should peel a few and let the judges taste them, and then distinguish the winner. But now, Lin Dan seemed to be playing a game, and also seemed to be teasing everyone. Whose courage did she borrow?

“Your Majesty has already agreed that this competition will be decided by this commoner, does that still hold true?” Lin Dan asked in return.

The Emperor knit his brows and waved his hand, “Five people come out, go in and exchange the positions of the two buckets.”

Tang Jiu, Prince Dianqian, Prince Cheng, Prince Gong, and Duke Wei Yuan immediately stood out.

Yan Langqing hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn’t raise any objections. These people were all Lin Dan’s loyal supporters, but they were not the judges and had no qualifications to judge the zongzi, and that didn’t interfere with the competition at all. Did Lin Dan want to confuse the two buckets of zongzi, making it impossible for the judges to tell which kind was made by whom? This method was indeed very clever, but she forgot that the several old chefs present had all come from the Imperial Kitchen, and were very familiar with Yan Langqing’s skills. Several of them had also been specially invited by the Emperor to teach her cooking skills, which made them her half-teachers.

They wouldn’t be unable to distinguish the two kinds of zongzi, let alone the fact that Lin Dan had used such a dirty method to handle the glutinous rice. Could the zongzi made in such a way be eaten? Yan Langqing was very skeptical about this, and had already decided that she would win. Lin Dan was inferior to her ten years ago, and she would be the same ten years later.

The Emperor also guessed Lin Dan’s intentions and couldn’t help but shake his head. This Manager Lin loved to play small tricks, but always missed the point.

After Tang Jiu and the others finished exchanging the wooden buckets, they walked out with grim expressions. In their view, everything Lin Dan had done was a desperate struggle. This competition had already been lost the moment she received the challenge, as there was no fairness under the iron fist of power—she should have understood this.

Lin Dan’s expression, however, was very relaxed. She cupped her hands and said, “The competition is over, and now I will specify the rules. Everyone present has their own inclinations, and it is inevitable that there will be a lack of impartiality, so in my opinion, none of you are suitable to be judges. I want to have these two buckets of zongzi carried to the city gate, where they will be peeled and chopped separately, and have the people entering the city taste them, and then, according to their preferences, allow them to take one zongzi away. Whoever’s zongzi is taken by the public first wins. Is that fair? Rest assured, I have made marks on the zongzi, so I can tell which bucket belongs to whom. I have also counted in advance, and there are four hundred zongzi in each bucket, with the extra ones set aside to avoid difficulties in the outcome.”