Chapter 182 - 182: Demands

Translator: 549690339

“Crunch— ”

Qin Lang had already tasted the pasta dish called Tianhua Cake, cooked by Zhao Junzhang.

The thin and crispy exterior, the soft and fluffy interior, the insides of the edges of the cake created a vacuum effect, curving upwards like a small bowl to hold the stuffing in the middle.

The stuffing that mixed with all sorts of ingredients was spread evenly on the cake, mixed with a special sauce made from compound seasonings. During the baking process, the two were completely melded together.

A pizza from another world, perhaps…

While savoring the lingering taste in his mouth, Qin Lang’s face expressed a hint of amazement.

You have to admit, this pasta dish researched and developed by Zhao Wenchang’s grandfather was indeed quite delicious.

“Mmm~”

After finishing the last bite, Zhao Junzhang reluctantly put down his empty bowl.

This was the most delicious pasta he had ever eaten, better than anything in Zhao’s Noodle House.

It was even better than the Tianhua Cake he specifically asked Luo Hui to make using a variety of seasonings and ingredients collected from all over the place.

Turning his gaze to Zhao Wenchang, who was still busily eating, Zhao Junzhang suddenly asked, “Wenchang, which of these two pastas do you find tastier?”

“This…” Zhao Wenchang lifted his head, looking at the nearly finished Scallion Oil Noodles and Tianhua Cake in front of him. After a moment of hesitation, he quickly gave his answer, “1 prefer the Scallion Oil Noodles!”

“Really…”

After hearing the same answer from his son, Zhao Junzhang finally made a decision.

“Qin Lang, young friend, would you be willing to represent Zhao’s Noodle House in this duel?” he asked, pausing for effect, “In return, you can learn all the pasta recipes from Zhao’s Noodle House.”

“Of course I’m willing.” Qin Lang nodded unexpectedly.

He came here for this reason. Since he had already made up his mind, there was no reason to object.

Nevertheless, the reward that Zhao Junzhang offered still surprised him.

He could learn all the pasta recipes from Zhao’s Noodle House.

Keep in mind, the point of instigating this duel for Liu’s was to get these recipes.

As for these pasta recipes from the other world, Qin Lang was indeed very interested.

“Uncle Zhao, can you tell me about the details of the duel?”

“Of course.” Zhao Junzhang nodded, “The duel will take place in two days, and the theme is fixed on pasta.”

“Although the duel is witnessed by the Catering Association and not the Spirit Chef Association, five judges from the Spirit Chef Association have been specially invited to ensure the fairness of the competition through voting.”

“In two days…” Qin Lang nodded thoughtfully, “In that case, there’s plenty of preparation time.”

Two days was enough?

Zhao Junzhang looked at Qin Lang in surprise, “Although the duel is in two days, there is one thing that needs to be determined right now.”

“What is it?” Qin Lang asked curiously.

“This duel was initiated by Liu’s Noodle House, so we at Zhao’s Noodle house can make an additional request based on the fixed theme. This is where our advantage lies.”

“Because we hadn’t yet decided who would compete in the duel, I never made this request. Now that you’re representing Zhao’s Noodle House in the duel, the right to make requests is also given to you.”

“Is there any request 1 can make?” Qin Lang pondered.

“In theory, yes.” Zhao Junzhang nodded, “But both parties need to adhere to the request made; they cannot present clearly unfair demands targeting one party.”

“For example, requests that only non-local Spirit Chefs can participate in the duel, or bans on the reigning Qingyang City Cooking Champion are considered unfair.”

“Understood.” Qin Lang nodded to show his understanding.

He had no intention of making such odd demands to limit his opponent.

In fact, he didn’t plan to manipulate anything in this regard.

“My opponent is Jihe?” he asked curiously, “Is he skilled at making pasta?”

“Yes.” Zhao Junzhang’s expression turned serious, “Jihe won the Qingyang City Cook-off Championship with a dish of pasta.”

“And his culinary skills are higher than those of previous city-level cooking champions.”

A city-level cooking champion who specializes in pasta…

Qin Lang thought back to his previous participation in the Beef Tasting Banquet at the Zhen Niu Pavilion.

In that banquet, he had interacted with many spirit chefs at the city-level cooking champion level and gained a lot from them in the subsequent outdoor duels.

He had an idea of what kind of request he wanted to make.

“My request is, an open-air public duel.”

A brown-haired young man quickly walked into Liu’s Noodle House.

After closing the door, he turned his head towards the short, fat man with eyes squinted like slits, “Why the rush to get me here? What’s going on?”

“Something big has happened.” The fat man’s face turned serious, “Zhao’s Noodle House made a request for the duel.”

“What request?” The brown-haired young man remained calm. “If it’s a blatantly unfair request, you can refuse it. There’s no need to be so anxious.”

“But this request can’t be counted as unfair…” The fat man let out a bitter smile, “They’ve requested an open-air public duel.”

“This means that both parties’ cooking process must be made public.”

The young man with brown hair paused for a moment and turned to leave, “Then 1 suggest you find someone more competent!”

“Jihe!” The short, fat man hurriedly rushed over and caught the hand of the brown-haired young man, squeezing out a smile, “Don’t be too hasty, there’s still room for negotiation.”

“We can increase the remuneration on top of the original one!”

“Hmph.” Jihe scoffed, “No matter how much you multiply your offering, it can’t compare to my pasta-making method!”

“This…” The chubby man wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead.

“Who are we against? Who’s representing Zhao’s Noodle House?”

“A chef named Qin Lang. I’ve never heard of him.” Sensing that Jihe’s tone implies there was still room for negotiation, the fat man quickly spoke up.

“Qin Lang…” Jihe thought for a while as if something came to mind, “He’s the cooking champion of Dongxia City.”

“What?!” The fat man’s eyes widened in surprise.

He had already discreetly tapped on the spirit chefs specializing in pasta in Qingyang City, he didn’t expect Zhao’s Noodle House to bring in a city-level cooking champion from outside the city!

“If it’s him, 1 agree to the open duel.” Jihe spoke calmly.

His opponent was on the same level as him, so he didn’t consider it a disadvantage.

“That’s great!” The fat man let out a sigh of relief, a relieved expression on his face.

“Don’t celebrate too soon.” Jihe glanced at the fat man, “I have one extra condition.”

“After winning, I want both Zhao’s Noodle House’s pasta recipes and the pasta recipes you own.”

“This…”

The fat man once again showed a hesitant expression.

A moment later, he gritted his teeth, “Fine!”

Jihe nodded satisfactorily, turned around, and left Liu’s Noodle House.

“Don’t worry, I’m not interested in restaurant management.”

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