Quick Transmigration: The Supporting Female Lead Stays Out of It - Chapter 34: Chef 33

As soon as Lin Dan finished speaking, everyone present was stunned, and even the Emperor, who was in control of everything, revealed an expression of surprise.

According to Lin Dan’s statement, sending the zongzi to the public to taste and letting them choose for themselves would inevitably result in them choosing the flavor they liked. They didn’t know who made these two buckets of zongzi, nor did they know that it related to the outcome of a competition, so they could get the most impartial result.

No one could refute Lin Dan’s words, not even the Emperor, because he had already agreed to give Lin Dan a fair and just competition, and everything could be decided by her. The words of the Son of Heaven were as good as gold, and as heavy as Mount Tai, not allowing for any backpedaling.

Only then did the Emperor realize Lin Dan’s true intentions. The decision-making power of this competition was no longer in his hands, nor in the hands of the judges, but in the hands of the public. To prevent him from interfering with imperial power, she even stipulated that it was only for those entering the city, not those leaving it. The Emperor could arrange for people to leave the city to receive zongzi, but he couldn’t control those entering the city; who would come to the capital today, and when they would come, only heaven knew.

And those two buckets of zongzi had been disrupted, and even if the Emperor was resourceful, and immediately sent a message to have people disguised as ordinary people to enter the city, they couldn’t tell which bucket of zongzi belonged to Yan Langqing, and in the end, they still had to rely on preference. Besides, he couldn’t bring himself to ask about which bucket of zongzi belonged to whom.

Was this fair? The Emperor shook his head, and surprisingly, burst out laughing, “Fair, it couldn’t be fairer! Come, bring the two buckets of zongzi to the West City Gate, and have the guards distribute them to those entering the city. Each person entering the city is only allowed to choose one after tasting it, and not to take more.” In this way, they could only take the one they liked the most.

The Emperor had originally intended to support Yan Langqing, as this was the woman he favored, and who had just been wronged, so it was fine to dote on her. But now, he felt that Lin Dan was extremely interesting, and this competition was also extremely interesting, so why not be just a little more and make it more interesting? Next, he wouldn’t do anything, nor would he allow others to ruin the rules, and let the people decide the result.

Seeing the Emperor’s expression of excitement, Tang Jiu finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked at the relaxed Lin Dan, his gaze becoming very hot, and then he smiled slightly. He had worried in vain again, Lin Dan could always face any desperate situation calmly, and then, relying on her persistence and intelligence, find a way out.

The Wei Yuan Marquis’s lazy and casual expression finally faded, and now he turned his head, staring directly at Lin Dan. The Cheng Prince and the Gong Prince huddled together whispering, laughing softly, and seemed to be in a good mood. The Dianqian Prince just rubbed the teacup in his hand, occasionally raising his eyes to examine Lin Dan, his gaze profound.

The most rigid expression was none other than Yan Langqing. She never expected that Lin Dan would propose this kind of evaluation method, but after carefully pondering, she had to admire Lin Dan’s intelligence. The Emperor especially liked women with quick thinking, and even more so liked interesting things, so he probably appreciated Lin Dan very much now, and wouldn’t favor either side again.

Yan Langqing was somewhat apprehensive, but not too panicked, because she believed in her own skills.

The group arrived at the West City Gate, and chose a high platform on the city gate to look down. The two buckets of zongzi were placed side by side by the guards, and a piece was peeled off and broken apart, allowing those entering the city to taste. The Dragon Boat Festival was approaching, and many rich people would distribute zongzi to the poor, as a way of accumulating virtue and doing good deeds, so the passersby didn’t feel strange, and because there were guards watching, they didn’t dare to snatch them, and since it was said that only those entering the city could take them, only those entering the city went to take them, and since it was said that only one could be taken, no one dared to take more.

Both sides tasted a little bit, and the people entering the city soon took the zongzi they liked and left. The Emperor stood on the high platform and looked down, and his bored mood had long been replaced by excitement and anticipation. He liked this method of competition, which was uncontrollable, so it would be even more interesting.

It took a lot of time to process the glutinous rice and pork belly. They had already finished making the zongzi in the afternoon, and there was only a little more than half an hour left before the city gate closed, and they also delayed on the road for a while, so neither bucket of zongzi could be distributed. But this didn’t prevent the judgment; whoever had fewer zongzi left would win, this was without a doubt.

Everyone moved to a nearby restaurant, and booked the most luxurious private room. As soon as the Emperor entered, he excitedly shouted, “Come, count the zongzi in the buckets!”

Immediately, two guards stepped forward and separately counted the zongzi in the two buckets, and after getting the results, wrote them on paper, and then asked two other guards to continue counting. This was repeated three times, and the same number was obtained, and only then did it stop. One of the guards stepped forward and cupped his hands, saying, “Reporting to Your Majesty, there are two hundred and eighty-eight zongzi left in the bucket on the left, and sixty-three zongzi left in the bucket on the right, the right side wins.”

The gap between the two was really quite large! The Emperor looked at Lin Dan, raised his eyebrows, and said, “Can you recognize which bucket is yours?”

Lin Dan walked to the right and said firmly, “Naturally, I can recognize it.”

Yan Langqing, however, looked at the two buckets uncertainly, her face somewhat pale.

“How do you know this bucket is yours?” The Emperor looked at Lin Dan with a smile in his eyes.

“When I was making the zongzi, I tied a knot at the end of each string. If you don’t believe it, you can check it yourself.” Lin Dan took out a zongzi, and showed the rope to everyone. There was indeed a small knot at the end, and it was truly impossible to see it without carefully holding it in your hand.

To show fairness, several guards immediately took out all the zongzi and examined them one by one, and nodded, “Reporting to Your Majesty, the zongzi on the right all have knots, and the ones on the left don’t.”

Lin Dan then said, “Even if you don’t look at the knots, you can just open the zongzi leaves. Imperial Chef Yan, you wouldn’t be unable to distinguish your own skills, would you?” As the words fell, she picked up two zongzi and slowly unwrapped them.

If the zongzi leaves weren’t opened, the two zongzi, whether in size or shape, looked exactly the same, as if they were made by the same person. But, after the zongzi leaves were completely unwrapped, the differences inside were very great. Previously, everyone stood on the high platform looking out at the city gate, and naturally couldn’t see the specific situation, but now, the two zongzi were lying in jade-white dishes, and they were all in their sight.

It could be seen that the zongzi on the right was golden throughout, the surface was clear, and looked very delicate and small, while the zongzi on the left had a slightly yellowish white on both ends, and the middle was a soy sauce color, as if it had been soaked in a large dye vat, appearing very mixed. Whether a dish was good or bad, it had to be judged from three aspects: color, aroma, and taste. After seeing the difference between the two zongzi, everyone had to admit that, judging from the appearance, Lin Dan had already won the first prize.

All the meat zongzi Yan Langqing had made had this kind of mixed color, because the glutinous rice was white, and the marinated pork belly was soy sauce-colored, and the two were combined and steamed, they would naturally stain each other and become not very good-looking. But she never expected that the glutinous rice Lin Dan had soaked in gray water would actually turn into a brilliant gold, and it looked very tender and lovely. What was the reason for this?

With a shock, she accused, “This is not right! Lin Dan’s glutinous rice was soaked in gray water, it’s dirty, how could the appearance be better than mine?”

Before everyone could show an expression of surprise, Lin Dan had already slowly spoken, “You only know one thing, and don’t know the other. Do you know that the ashes formed after burning wood are cleaner than spring water? Because of the tempering of the flames, the dirt inside has already been burned away. There is also a kind of magical medium in the gray water, which can be used to cleanse the hands, and can also be used to process dried goods. Soaking hard dried goods in gray water will speed up the softening process several times compared to clear water. The kind of zongzi I made was soaked in this gray water, called gray water zongzi, and it is a specialty of the Baiyue region. The glutinous rice soaked in gray water is not only not dirty, but will also be dyed with a layer of golden color, the aroma is rich and unique, and the taste is soft and glutinous and smooth, more delicious than ordinary white zongzi.”

She gestured with her hand, “After the appearance has been compared, everyone can judge the aroma and taste of the two.”

The Emperor picked up the plate and carefully sniffed the two zongzi, and his eyebrows couldn’t help but raise, and then handed the plate to the old imperial chef beside him. After the old imperial chef smelled it, his eyes brightened, and he handed it to the next judge. Everyone took turns smelling it, and finally handed it to Yan Langqing.

Yan Langqing, who originally didn’t believe it, had already turned ashen after smelling it. This gray water zongzi was indeed like what Lin Dan said, emitting a faint woody fragrance, and there was another refreshing astringency and a hint of soy sauce aroma mixed in, which was very unique. And her white zongzi only had the aroma of rice and meat, and although it was also pleasant, the layers weren’t rich, and it seemed ordinary compared to Lin Dan’s zongzi.

“Everyone, taste the taste.” Lin Dan, with a self-assured expression, picked up the chopsticks and split the two zongzi.

Everyone separately tasted the two kinds of zongzi, and the exclamation on their faces was even stronger. Nothing else, this gray water zongzi was not only bright in color, unique in aroma, but even the taste was very soft and glutinous and smooth. Although it was already cold, the flavor didn’t diminish in the slightest, biting into it, it was slightly springy, first tasting a little bit of the sweetness of the glutinous rice, but later, a burst of astringency surged up, and finally, there was a deep, inseparable soy sauce aroma and the taste of meat, the rich juices filled the mouth, making people want to savor it again and again.

After tasting Lin Dan’s zongzi, then tasting Yan Langqing’s zongzi, the taste and flavor immediately dropped several levels. This white glutinous rice zongzi had already cooled down, and didn’t have the soft and glutinous texture when it was freshly out of the pot. Biting into it, it was slightly sticky and hard to chew, and the core was hard, very difficult to swallow, and even the meat filling had already clumped together, appearing dry and withered.

Seeing everyone’s furrowed brows, Lin Dan slowly said, “The taste of the gray water zongzi is even better after it has cooled down, it is soft and glutinous with a bit of elasticity, and is very easy to eat. Not to mention stuffing it with meat filling, even if it doesn’t have any filling, just dipping it in sugar, the taste is also very wonderful. Ordinary white glutinous rice zongzi will become dry and hard after cooling down, and is not easy to eat. It has to be reheated before eating, this is the difference between the two. To prevent you from saying that I won by unfair means, let’s re-choose two zongzi to heat up and eat.”

Yan Langqing’s hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, but she said nothing, instead looking at the Emperor with a hopeful expression.

The Emperor laughed heartily and waved his hand: “Come, heat up the zongzi!”

Immediately, two palace servants took the zongzi to the kitchen and soon returned, holding a food box. The white zongzi, after being reheated, was indeed very soft and glutinous, the taste much better than before, but Lin Dan’s gray water zongzi was golden, with delicate and rich oils flowing from the gaps in the glutinous rice, dyeing it with a layer of clear and lustrous shine, its appearance surpassing Yan Langqing’s white zongzi by an unknown amount.

The Emperor immediately took a liking to the gray water zongzi, immediately picked up his chopsticks and took a bite, and then sighed with satisfaction. The glutinous rice soaked in gray water was sweeter, softer, and smoother, completely permeated by the juices secreted from the meat filling, every bite filled with rich and delicious meat fragrance, making one want to swallow their tongue. After tasting Lin Dan’s secret gray water zongzi and then tasting Yan Langqing’s white zongzi, only four words surfaced in the Emperor’s mind—plain and unremarkable.

After the two zongzi were unwrapped, the gray water zongzi was both beautiful and delicious, while the white zongzi was mixed and hard, difficult to eat; no wonder Lin Dan’s bucket was almost emptied, while Yan Langqing’s bucket was still half full. This time, she lost without any grievances.