Martial Arts Crossover: Something's Wrong with This Evil Sect

Chapter 219 Food Tasting Competition

The thought that the iconic scene I've been waiting for so long is finally coming...

Dan Tianxie couldn't contain his excitement. He quickly walked down to the second floor...

Only then did they realize that what Guo Furong had just said was true, and they saw that not a single person was missing!

Even in the original storyline, they should still be greeting guests at the entrance.

Bai Zhantang, who had been showering his guests with blessings and pleading for them to come to dinner, was now sitting calmly at the table.

Upon witnessing this scene, Shan Tianxie couldn't help but gasp and click his tongue in amazement.

Li Xiulian is indeed worthy of being the offspring of the One-Finger Xuanyuan; she's got some nerve. She's trying to use the food tasting event as an opportunity to go all in!

Let's wipe out everyone at Tongfu Inn, including our own group!

That's quite polite of them. They say we shouldn't miss any of the food tasting events.

Judging from Shan Tianxie's current assessment, Li Dazui is pretty sure none of them will escape.

Li Dazui's current actions are exactly like those of a worker in his past life who was exploited by his boss and eventually driven to the brink of collapse.

It gives the impression that after going crazy, you don't want to think about anything else, you just want to create equality for everyone.

As Shan Tianxie's mind raced with thoughts, he had unknowingly walked to the table.

Seeing an empty seat next to Xiyu, he didn't think much of it and sat down.

He immediately focused his attention, ready to enjoy the next big show.

However, when Xi Yu saw him sit down next to her, she secretly glanced at Shan Tianxie's face.

A blush crept up her neck instantly, and she thought to herself with a hint of coquettishness, "Young Master really isn't even acting anymore lately."

.......

At this moment, Tong Xiangyu looked around and saw that everyone had arrived.

He then subtly gave Li Dazui a wink, signaling him to hurry up and serve the new dishes.

Li Dazui understood immediately and, without further ado, called for Bai Zhantang and Guo Furong to come.

The three of them moved between the kitchen and the dining room, and soon they had neatly arranged the prepared dishes on the table.

Interestingly, each dish was covered with a plate by Li Dazui in a mysterious manner, making it look quite enigmatic.

Seeing the scene before her, Tong Xiangyu, having learned from the lesson of the Nine-Nine Rejuvenating Soup from last time, became more cautious.

Ignoring everything else, he first quietly counted the number of dishes on the table.

After counting and finding no problem with the quantity, he smiled and said softly.

"It's beautiful, it's beautiful! Big Mouth really put in a lot of effort this time. Once business is booming, I'll give you a couple of days off..."

"Thank you, shopkeeper."

Upon hearing this, Li Dazui's face lit up with a smile, a smile even brighter than Tong Xiangyu's...

But before Li Dazui's excitement could subside, Tong Xiangyu seemed to suddenly remember something.

His gaze fell on the covered plates, his eyes filled with doubt, and he asked.

"Big Mouth, why are all these dishes of yours covered with lids?"

After saying that, Tong Xiangyu turned her gaze straight to Li Dazui.

Before Li Dazui could even open his mouth to explain, Shan Tianxie, who was standing to the side, had already spoken up to help cover for him.

"I bet Big Mouth has put in a lot of effort behind the scenes for this food tasting event, and that's why he's trying to surprise us by introducing each dish in detail, right?"

At this point, he looked at Li Dazui with a smile and said, "Am I right, Dazui?"

"Yes, that's right! Absolutely right!"

Big Mouth nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice, "Young Master Shan understands Old Li's thoughts so well! Shopkeeper, that's exactly how it is."

"Moreover, I already told Xiao Guo when we were serving the dishes that he would be helping me introduce my new dishes to everyone one by one!"

"I, Li Xiulian, am confident that these dishes will be completely new cuisines that no one has ever heard of or seen before!"

"Big Mouth, you spoke so well! I underestimated you before."

Tong Xiangyu had initially been a little suspicious, but after hearing Li Dazui's impassioned speech,

He instantly became incredibly energetic, as if he had been injected with adrenaline.

Especially when she caught a glimpse of the gazes cast by Shan Tianxie and the others, Xiangyu felt even more proud. They were really making her proud; these were the kind of guys that Tong Xiangyu wanted!

Besides engaging in price wars, what else can Yihonglou across the street do if they don't even dilute their wine with water?

Diluting the wine with water was for the health of everyone in Qixia Town. What does Sai Diaochan know?

If you really push her too far, she can go back to Hanzhong and ask her father for 30,000 taels of silver to fight the Yihonglou across the street to the death!

She wanted to see if the funds of the Yihong Pavilion across the street could match those of her own Longmen Escort Agency!

Tong Xiangyu was secretly weighing whether to go back to her parents' home for reinforcements and fight the other side to the death.

They didn't even notice the fleeting, almost imperceptible look of sympathy that crossed Guo Furong and Bai Zhantang's faces...

Guo Furong sighed softly as she thought about the plan they had just discussed in the kitchen.

Shopkeeper, please don't blame me. I had no choice. Otherwise, none of us would have a peaceful day.

Thinking of this, Guo Furong steeled her resolve, cleared her throat, and announced loudly.

"I hereby declare the first Tongfu Inn Culinary Tasting Competition officially open!"

After Guo Furong finished announcing the dishes, she immediately began reciting the menu without pausing.

"Next, let's talk about the cold dishes!"

As Guo Furong’s clear voice rang out, Li Dazui quickly reached out and lifted the lid off the first plate.

"First dish: Spicy Fish Scales!"

As soon as Guo Furong finished speaking, everyone erupted in an uproar.

All eyes turned to the so-called cold dish, "Spicy Fish Scales".

The fish scales on the plate were carefully arranged into a strange flower shape, and a layer of bright red oil was poured on top.

Scattered among the peppercorns and tender green scallions, it looks quite appealing.

"Fish...fish scales?"

Tong Xiangyu's previously beaming smile froze instantly, and she asked with a hint of existential doubt, "Fish scales? Can you eat that?"

She was pampered and spoiled since childhood, and ate a lot of strange and unusual delicacies. She also worked for the four famous chefs from Sichuan, Shandong, Huai and Guangdong, and the Longmen Escort Agency also supported several of them.

But this spicy fish scale dish by Li Dazui was something she had never seen before.

"Shopkeeper, these fish scales aren't ordinary fish scales..."

Li Dazui looked smug, his mouth practically stretched to his ears in a grin.

Listening from the side, Shan Tianxie's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but ask, "Big Mouth, you don't mean...?"

"hey-hey......"

Li Dazui scratched his head, revealing a simple yet slightly sly smile.

He then nodded heavily, confirming Shan Tianxie's conjecture.

"That's right! Young Master Shan, these fish scales are from the golden carp you obtained before."

I thought to myself, these golden carp are a rare sight, almost every few decades. If I marinated their scales with my secret recipe, the taste might just be surprisingly good.

Upon hearing Li Dazui's reply, Shan Tianxie's lips twitched slightly.

Who says Li Dazui is stupid? He's clearly a genius! An absolute genius in the world of culinary disasters!

While Shan Tianxie was secretly grumbling to himself, Guo Furong was barely suppressing her laughter as she tried to persuade Tong Xiangyu.

"Shopkeeper, why don't you give it a try? Maybe you'll find it to your liking?"

Tong Xiangyu was skeptical and hesitated for a long time before slowly reaching out, picking up her chopsticks, and gently picking up a fish scale.

Then, she put the fish scales in her mouth, and after chewing a few times, Tong Xiangyu's expression suddenly turned strange.

The numbing, spicy, and fishy taste raged in my mouth.

Her face turned red from holding it in, and it took a lot of effort to swallow the fish scales, forcing out a smile that looked worse than crying.

"Hmm... This taste is indeed quite unique, but it still seems a bit fishy..."

"It has to be fishy!"

Bai Zhantang, watching Tong Xiangyu's expression, almost burst out laughing.

Although this golden carp is considered a rare delicacy, its scales have been sitting for several days.

In addition, Li Dazui didn't even bother with the step of removing the fishy smell.

Therefore, it's perfectly normal for fish scales to taste a bit fishy; if they don't smell bad, then you should praise the golden carp as a rare and precious treasure.

"Right? Right about what?"

Tong Xiangyu stared wide-eyed at Bai Zhantang in surprise.

"It's not only fishy, ​​but also spicy, isn't it?"

Despite the skeptical looks, Bai Zhantang smiled and said...

After carefully considering these words, Tong Xiangyu slowly nodded.

Seeing this, Bai Zhantang seized the opportunity and immediately delivered his prepared statement.

"Shopkeeper, this dish is spicy with a hint of sweetness, sweetness with a hint of bitterness, bitterness with a touch of spiciness, and a slight fishy smell in the spiciness."

The combination of multiple flavors... wow, it's simply irresistible!

Seeing this scene, Shan Tianxie almost burst out laughing.

Li Dazui using the scales of golden carp to cook was something he certainly hadn't expected.

In this respect, Manager Tong should thank him; otherwise, cooking with ordinary fish scales would be...

I'm afraid that, let alone swallowing it, one would spit it out as soon as they ate it.

Dan Tianxie was curious and wanted to taste what these peculiar fish scales tasted like.

Thinking of this, Shan Tianxie gritted his teeth, picked up a fish scale, and put it in his mouth.

However, as soon as the tip of the tongue touched the fish scales, a strong tingling sensation came over it.

After carefully considering it, and seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, he said it as if nothing had happened.

"Hmm, Big Mouth, your idea is good, but the flavor is a bit challenging. But when it comes to food, you have to keep innovating."

To be honest, it wasn't as bad as he had imagined.

In the list of worst-tasting foods, it's not even as good as canned herring or Stargazing, which are at least edible.

Seeing that Shan Tianxie had spoken, everyone picked up their chopsticks and tried it out of curiosity or out of a desire to "accompany him to his death."

As expected, apart from Gu Santong, this eccentric individual with unique tastes and no taboos,

Everyone else frowned, wisely putting down their chopsticks, refusing to take another bite.

Young Master/Young Master's taste is a bit too strong, how can you eat this?

But Manager Tong was an extremely intelligent person; seeing this scene before her,

She already had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but in order to verify her guess, she asked directly.

"What's the next dish?"

Upon being asked, Guo Furong didn't hesitate and immediately replied, "Next, please welcome our second cold dish—fermented radish peel in sweet rice wine!"

Upon hearing this, Li Dazui quickly lifted the lid.

The radish peel on the plate was cut into thin, even slices and soaked in a pool of crystal-clear fermented rice wine.

Wisps of wine aroma rose and drifted into the air.

"Radish peel and fermented rice?"

Looking at the dish in front of her, Tong Xiangyu became more and more certain of her idea.

"Shopkeeper, you're wrong!"

Guo Furong, with a serious expression, continued, "These aren't just simple radish peels; they contain the mellow flavor of Zhuyeqing liquor and the natural fragrance of the radish peel itself."

As she spoke, she closed her eyes slightly, a look of intoxication on her face, as if she were in a quiet bamboo forest after a spring rain, and continued leisurely.

"The two fragrances blend together, as if you are in a bamboo forest after a spring rain. It's a masterpiece."

"Hehe, Xiao Guo, stop praising me!"

Li Dazui smiled shyly to the side, "I'll be proud."

"Alright, alright, next one!"

Xiangyu's brows were furrowed, as if a knot had formed between them.

However, it was not appropriate to say anything in front of Young Master Shan and the others.

When Li Dazui noticed Tong Xiangyu's unfriendly expression, his heart skipped a beat. He didn't dare to delay any longer and quickly reached out to lift the lid of the third dish.

He announced loudly, "The next dish is a hot dish, braised dried sea buckthorn!"

"Sterculia lychnophora? Braised?"

Tong Xiangyu stared wide-eyed at the dish.

He realized he had underestimated the "creativity" of these guys, and his expression froze instantly, filled with astonishment and disbelief.

"Of course it has to be braised! Look how nice the color is!"

Even the usually silent Lü Xiucai could no longer contain himself; he was seething with suppressed rage.

For the first two dishes, Lao Bai and Xiao Guo were singing in unison.

This has made me, the most educated person in Tongfu Inn, a person full of knowledge, feel completely invisible!

This is unacceptable! Let me show you something more elegant.

Thinking of this, Lü Xiuci said directly to Li Dazui, "It would be best to add some chopped green onions. The tender green onions combined with the bright red dried sea cucumber, this is not a dish, it's a work of art, it's a living version of The Romance of the Western Chamber!"

"How did it become like The Romance of the Western Chamber?"

Tong Xiangyu looked bewildered, her eyes filled with disbelief; the impact of just three dishes was too great for her.

"Yep!"

Bai Zhantang was completely bewildered and didn't understand the hidden meaning in Lü Xiucai's words at all.

But he knew perfectly well that he had to help the scholar out at this crucial moment.

Seeing that Tong Xiangyu wanted to get to the bottom of things, he quickly stepped forward and cut her off with a wave of his hand.

His face was full of smiles, but there was a hint of cunning in those smiles as he continued.

"Red and green together, it's a perfect match! Shopkeeper, don't take it so seriously, the scholar is right!"

After he finished speaking, he gave Lü Xiucai a wink, as if to say, "Well done."

Before Tong Xiangyu could react, Li Dazui had already lifted the lid of the next container.