Chapter 33
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Lin Dan’s bold speech had surprised the Emperor. He originally looked down on this plain-looking woman, but there was already a hint of interest in his eyes. He replied, “Of course, I must ensure the fairness of this competition. I will only watch and not comment. Your cooking skills will be judged by these old food connoisseurs and chefs. They will have the final say.”
Lin Dan faced the judges and gave them a bow one by one. She said, “Even so, this competition is still unfair to me. Imperial Chef Yan is very much favored by you, Your Majesty. You have provided her with the Fragrant Garden to hold the competition and even came here personally. It is obvious that you’re showing favoritism towards her. Being the ruler of the country, I’m sure your people would also not dare to defy your will. Today, as soon as I stepped into the Fragrant Garden, I know I’ve lost. If this was plain to me, I’m sure the wise and all-knowing Emperor would understand this too.”
Everyone was horrified to hear this, as they had never expected Lin Dan to be so candid with her opinions.
But the Emperor gave a hearty laugh, his eyes filled with interest. “In that case, what do you think I should do? Do you want to continue this competition?”
Yan Langqing showed a mixed expression. If possible, she would naturally want to compete with Lin Dan fair and square, but she was unable to refuse the Emperor’s kindness. But Yan Shouye felt that there was no need to continue the competition at all and thought Lin Dan had come to be humiliated. “Once my daughter becomes a concubine, I will kill her!” He thought.
However, Lin Dan nodded without hesitation and said, “I will continue, of course. But to ensure fairness, would you allow me to set the rules, Your Majesty? Back then, when I competed with Imperial Chef Yan for the first time, Imperial Chef Yan was also the one who set the rules as I was the head chef of the marquis residence and was favored by the marquis. She had decided the content, rules, and judges of the competition. Now that the situation is reversed, I’m making the same request. I reckon this is not too much to ask for?”
The Emperor glanced at Yan Langqing and nodded, “Indeed, it sounds fair to me. Tell me, how would you like to hold the competition?”
Lin Dan may seem to have the upper hand, but the Emperor still had the final say. Even if she made the most delicious dish, a word from the judges could easily push her down into the abyss. The so-called fairness had never existed in the face of power. Lin Dan was bold, but not brilliant. The Emperor shook his head thinking of this and had lost all interest in her.
Lin Dan steadily replied, “In this competition, we will use the same ingredients to make the same dish, and just one dish.”
Yan Langqing asked, “What do you want to make?”
“Since the Dragon Boat Festival is coming, shall we make rice dumplings?” Lin Dan tilted her head and smiled at her.
Yan Langqing was stunned. She took a while to snap out of her thoughts and nodded slowly. From Lin Dan’s four signature dishes, Yan Langqing had some understanding of her current level and thought she would want to compete on an extremely difficult dish. Little did she expect that Lin Dan would propose to compete making rice dumplings. However, Yan Langqing was not taken aback at all. The concubines in the palace loved dumplings too and the various kinds of dumplings she made were well received. This was why she was not afraid of competing on this dish. The concubines were extremely picky when it came to food, and she was sure that the judges would be satisfied with her cooking if she was able to even satisfy the concubines.
“Let’s make fifty catties of rice dumplings, and only meat dumplings, is that alright?” Lin Dan continued.
“Fifty catties?” Yan Langqing finally showed a surprised expression.
“Are you up for it?” Lin Dan looked straight at her.
“Yes.”
“Great, in that case, may I request for one hundred catties of glutinous rice and fifty catties of pork belly. The glutinous rice and pork belly do not need to be separated and can be placed in one bucket, and we will distribute it among ourselves in the kitchen later on. If there are any other condiments that we need, we will make a request to the servants individually so that we will not disrupt one another. Is this arrangement okay?” Lin Dan cupped her hands and displayed a humble yet unwavering attitude.
The Emperor nodded and said, “Permission granted. Let’s make the preparations.”
“Is Lin Dan trying to stuff everyone with the hundred catties of meat dumplings?” The Emperor thought to himself.
Not only the Emperor was surprised, but the other guests were also puzzled too. However, Lin Dan and Yan Langqing had already gone to the kitchen and there was no time to ask for the reason. Besides, Lin Dan probably would not give an answer even if she was asked, so they thought it was better to wait until the meat dumplings were completed. The Emperor thought that it would be a competition where the outcome had been decided even before it even started, but he did not expect Lin Dan to create suspense in the competition. Lin Dan was interesting indeed, he thought.
Regardless of the audience’s speculations, Lin Dan, who entered the kitchen, was extremely composed. One hundred catties of glutinous rice were packed in a huge wooden barrel and was carried in by the servants who were out of breath, followed by a bucket with fifty catties of pork belly.
Lin Dan pressed the glutinous rice with her hands and nodded in satisfaction.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]
Yan Langqing said warmly, “Your worries are redundant. I will not stoop so low to make them prepare the good ingredients for me and the inferior ingredients for you. You can take your share of glutinous rice and pork first, and I will use the rest.”
Lin Dan turned her head and looked at her with a smile on her face. “Thank you then, Imperial Chef Yan.”
Yan Langqing slowly rolled up her sleeves and said, “Then, shall we begin?”
“Okay, but before that, I have to specify the shape and size of the dumplings. I’m sure you won’t have any objections?” Lin Dan took out three dumpling leaves and rolled them into a cone. She then added some glutinous rice and tied them with rope before motioning it to her, “Can you make dumplings with the same shape and the same size as this?”
This was a really strange rule, but Yan Langqing did not think much about it. She nodded and said, “Yes.” She immediately wrapped a triangular rice dumpling exactly the same and handed it to Lin Dan for inspection.
Lin Dan untied the two rice dumplings, put the glutinous rice back in the bucket, and said with a smile: “Then, we can begin.”
The two chefs each occupied a stove and got busy. Yan Langqing first soaked the glutinous rice, sliced the pork belly into thin slices, and marinated them with soy sauce, fine salt, sugar, peanut oil, and other seasonings. When she lifted her head, she realized that Lin Dan was setting fire in the stove and had not touched the glutinous rice and pork belly.
“Why is she trying to set up fire when the dumplings are not even done yet?” She thought. She felt that Lin Dan’s steps were strange and could not help but take another glance. She soon realized that Lin Dan was not burning firewood, but sesame candy sticks she had specially requested from the palace servants. The sesame sticks contained many ripe sesame seeds and made popping sounds when it was burned on the stone. A unique burnt fragrance was slowly given out and it smelled extremely rich.
Yan Langqing involuntarily took a deep breath and felt even more curious.
But Lin Dan did not even look at her. She only set aside the sesame sticks that were burned into ashes and wrapped them in a thin silk cloth. She then put them in cool water and rubbed them until the crystal-clear water had turned muddy. After sieving it several times with a fine silk cloth, she made sure that there was no residue left before soaking the glutinous rice.
After the white glutinous rice was added into the water and was stained with the muddy color, Yan Langqing instantly thought she was ruining the food! She thought these rice dumplings would be too dirty for the judges to consume. She was full of questions, but she thought it was inappropriate to ask her and neither was she interested to know anyway. This competition could affect her reputation and she naturally would not stop Lin Dan from jeopardizing her own victory.
Lin Dan soaked the glutinous rice and began to process the pork belly. The seasoning she chose was similar to Yan Langqing, with only a slight difference in amount. After everything was ready, she started making the dumplings. It was obvious that her method of wrapping the dumplings was very sophisticated. She rolled up the leaf with a twist of her wrist and added some glutinous rice underneath before stuffing a piece of meat in the middle. After covering it with more glutinous rice and pressing it with hands, she wrapped the dumpling and tied it with a rope. Finally, she tied a small knot at the end of the rope.
Yan Langqing also started to wrap the rice dumplings into the exact same size and shape as Lin Dan’s dumplings. After wrapping one dumpling, she threw it into the pot and waited for it to be cooked.
From morning to afternoon, the two of them finally wrapped fifty catties of rice dumplings and placed them into two buckets of the same size and shape. The dumplings were already cooked and steaming hot. Before it was served to the judges, Lin Dan counted the total of rice dumplings, before walking to Yan Langqing’s wooden barrel. Then, she slowly said, “Let’s swap positions.”
Although Yan Langqing was full of doubts, she did not feel there was anything wrong and stood behind Lin Dan’s wooden barrel. She thought that she could easily recognize her own barrel and Lin Dan should not have the guts to steal her food.
Lin Dan then invited all the guests and said, “May I ask the guests to take two guards into the kitchen and exchange the positions of the two barrels placed on the left and right. You may exchange as many times as you like, or you may leave it untouched. After one guest has finished the exchange, another guest will enter and follow suit. After five rounds, no one is allowed to reveal how many exchanges he has made.”
“What exactly are you trying to do?” The Emperor could not tell what Lin Dan was planning. Logically speaking, since the dumplings were done, the judges could try them and decide the winner immediately. But now, Lin Dan seemed to be playing a game, and seemingly wanting to fool with everyone else. Such audacity, he thought.
“Your Majesty, you have already agreed to let me decide how the competition would be conducted. Is your permission still valid?” Lin Dan asked instead of answering his question.
The Emperor frowned and waved his hand, “Get five of them out and exchange the positions of the two barrels.”
Five people, including Tang Jiu, son of Lord Dianqian, Prince Cheng, Prince Gong, and Marquis Weiyuan immediately stood up.
Yan Langqing hesitated for a moment but did not raise any objections. Although these people were loyal fans of Lin Dan, they were not the judges and would have no say to the outcome of the competition. Yan Langqing thought Lin Dan merely wanted to exchange the two buckets of dumplings so that the judges would not be able to tell who made the dumplings. She agreed that this was a brilliant tactic, but perhaps Lin Dan had forgotten that old imperial chefs who had left the palace were very familiar with Yan Langqing’s craftsmanship. Several of them were even specially invited by the Emperor to teach her cooking and could be considered to be her master.
She was certain that they would be able to tell the two kinds of dumplings apart. Besides, Lin Dan had used that “dirty method” to treat the glutinous rice, and Yan Langqing wondered if the dumplings could even be eaten. She was very skeptical about her cooking method, and already believed that she could win. Lin Dan was not as good as her ten years ago, and it will be the same ten years later.
The Emperor could also tell Lin Dan’s intention and could not help but shook his head. This Manager Lin had been playing clever tricks but turned out that her tricks were not good enough.
After Tang Jiu and the rest had exchanged the wooden barrels, they walked out with a gloomy expression. To them, Lin Dan was fighting a losing battle and everything she did was merely a desperate struggle. She had already lost the competition the moment she accepted the challenge. Justice was absent in the face of power and she should understand this.
Yet, Lin Dan looked very relaxed and said, “Since the competition is over, I will now set the rules for judging the winner. Everyone in this room is biased and it is inevitable that this will be an unfair competition. In my opinion, the judges who are present here are not the best candidates to ensure a fair competition. Therefore, I’d like to take these two buckets of dumplings to the city gate. We will peel the dumplings apart and cut them into pieces, before letting the people who enter the city taste them and take the dumpling they prefer away. The one who has all the dumplings taken away by the people first wins. Wouldn’t it be fair this way? Don’t worry, I’ve marked the dumplings to tell two buckets apart. I’ve also counted dumplings in advance. The two buckets each contain 400 dumplings, and extras were set aside in order to ensure that the outcome can easily be judged.
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Lin Dan’s bold speech had surprised the Emperor. He originally looked down on this plain-looking woman, but there was already a hint of interest in his eyes. He replied, “Of course, I must ensure the fairness of this competition. I will only watch and not comment. Your cooking skills will be judged by these old food connoisseurs and chefs. They will have the final say.”
Lin Dan faced the judges and gave them a bow one by one. She said, “Even so, this competition is still unfair to me. Imperial Chef Yan is very much favored by you, Your Majesty. You have provided her with the Fragrant Garden to hold the competition and even came here personally. It is obvious that you’re showing favoritism towards her. Being the ruler of the country, I’m sure your people would also not dare to defy your will. Today, as soon as I stepped into the Fragrant Garden, I know I’ve lost. If this was plain to me, I’m sure the wise and all-knowing Emperor would understand this too.”
Everyone was horrified to hear this, as they had never expected Lin Dan to be so candid with her opinions.
But the Emperor gave a hearty laugh, his eyes filled with interest. “In that case, what do you think I should do? Do you want to continue this competition?”
Yan Langqing showed a mixed expression. If possible, she would naturally want to compete with Lin Dan fair and square, but she was unable to refuse the Emperor’s kindness. But Yan Shouye felt that there was no need to continue the competition at all and thought Lin Dan had come to be humiliated. “Once my daughter becomes a concubine, I will kill her!” He thought.
However, Lin Dan nodded without hesitation and said, “I will continue, of course. But to ensure fairness, would you allow me to set the rules, Your Majesty? Back then, when I competed with Imperial Chef Yan for the first time, Imperial Chef Yan was also the one who set the rules as I was the head chef of the marquis residence and was favored by the marquis. She had decided the content, rules, and judges of the competition. Now that the situation is reversed, I’m making the same request. I reckon this is not too much to ask for?”
The Emperor glanced at Yan Langqing and nodded, “Indeed, it sounds fair to me. Tell me, how would you like to hold the competition?”
Lin Dan may seem to have the upper hand, but the Emperor still had the final say. Even if she made the most delicious dish, a word from the judges could easily push her down into the abyss. The so-called fairness had never existed in the face of power. Lin Dan was bold, but not brilliant. The Emperor shook his head thinking of this and had lost all interest in her.
Lin Dan steadily replied, “In this competition, we will use the same ingredients to make the same dish, and just one dish.”
Yan Langqing asked, “What do you want to make?”
“Since the Dragon Boat Festival is coming, shall we make rice dumplings?” Lin Dan tilted her head and smiled at her.
Yan Langqing was stunned. She took a while to snap out of her thoughts and nodded slowly. From Lin Dan’s four signature dishes, Yan Langqing had some understanding of her current level and thought she would want to compete on an extremely difficult dish. Little did she expect that Lin Dan would propose to compete making rice dumplings. However, Yan Langqing was not taken aback at all. The concubines in the palace loved dumplings too and the various kinds of dumplings she made were well received. This was why she was not afraid of competing on this dish. The concubines were extremely picky when it came to food, and she was sure that the judges would be satisfied with her cooking if she was able to even satisfy the concubines.
“Let’s make fifty catties of rice dumplings, and only meat dumplings, is that alright?” Lin Dan continued.
“Fifty catties?” Yan Langqing finally showed a surprised expression.
“Are you up for it?” Lin Dan looked straight at her.
“Yes.”
“Great, in that case, may I request for one hundred catties of glutinous rice and fifty catties of pork belly. The glutinous rice and pork belly do not need to be separated and can be placed in one bucket, and we will distribute it among ourselves in the kitchen later on. If there are any other condiments that we need, we will make a request to the servants individually so that we will not disrupt one another. Is this arrangement okay?” Lin Dan cupped her hands and displayed a humble yet unwavering attitude.
The Emperor nodded and said, “Permission granted. Let’s make the preparations.”
“Is Lin Dan trying to stuff everyone with the hundred catties of meat dumplings?” The Emperor thought to himself.
Not only the Emperor was surprised, but the other guests were also puzzled too. However, Lin Dan and Yan Langqing had already gone to the kitchen and there was no time to ask for the reason. Besides, Lin Dan probably would not give an answer even if she was asked, so they thought it was better to wait until the meat dumplings were completed. The Emperor thought that it would be a competition where the outcome had been decided even before it even started, but he did not expect Lin Dan to create suspense in the competition. Lin Dan was interesting indeed, he thought.
Regardless of the audience’s speculations, Lin Dan, who entered the kitchen, was extremely composed. One hundred catties of glutinous rice were packed in a huge wooden barrel and was carried in by the servants who were out of breath, followed by a bucket with fifty catties of pork belly.
Lin Dan pressed the glutinous rice with her hands and nodded in satisfaction.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]
Yan Langqing said warmly, “Your worries are redundant. I will not stoop so low to make them prepare the good ingredients for me and the inferior ingredients for you. You can take your share of glutinous rice and pork first, and I will use the rest.”
Lin Dan turned her head and looked at her with a smile on her face. “Thank you then, Imperial Chef Yan.”
Yan Langqing slowly rolled up her sleeves and said, “Then, shall we begin?”
“Okay, but before that, I have to specify the shape and size of the dumplings. I’m sure you won’t have any objections?” Lin Dan took out three dumpling leaves and rolled them into a cone. She then added some glutinous rice and tied them with rope before motioning it to her, “Can you make dumplings with the same shape and the same size as this?”
This was a really strange rule, but Yan Langqing did not think much about it. She nodded and said, “Yes.” She immediately wrapped a triangular rice dumpling exactly the same and handed it to Lin Dan for inspection.
Lin Dan untied the two rice dumplings, put the glutinous rice back in the bucket, and said with a smile: “Then, we can begin.”
The two chefs each occupied a stove and got busy. Yan Langqing first soaked the glutinous rice, sliced the pork belly into thin slices, and marinated them with soy sauce, fine salt, sugar, peanut oil, and other seasonings. When she lifted her head, she realized that Lin Dan was setting fire in the stove and had not touched the glutinous rice and pork belly.
“Why is she trying to set up fire when the dumplings are not even done yet?” She thought. She felt that Lin Dan’s steps were strange and could not help but take another glance. She soon realized that Lin Dan was not burning firewood, but sesame candy sticks she had specially requested from the palace servants. The sesame sticks contained many ripe sesame seeds and made popping sounds when it was burned on the stone. A unique burnt fragrance was slowly given out and it smelled extremely rich.
Yan Langqing involuntarily took a deep breath and felt even more curious.
But Lin Dan did not even look at her. She only set aside the sesame sticks that were burned into ashes and wrapped them in a thin silk cloth. She then put them in cool water and rubbed them until the crystal-clear water had turned muddy. After sieving it several times with a fine silk cloth, she made sure that there was no residue left before soaking the glutinous rice.
After the white glutinous rice was added into the water and was stained with the muddy color, Yan Langqing instantly thought she was ruining the food! She thought these rice dumplings would be too dirty for the judges to consume. She was full of questions, but she thought it was inappropriate to ask her and neither was she interested to know anyway. This competition could affect her reputation and she naturally would not stop Lin Dan from jeopardizing her own victory.
Lin Dan soaked the glutinous rice and began to process the pork belly. The seasoning she chose was similar to Yan Langqing, with only a slight difference in amount. After everything was ready, she started making the dumplings. It was obvious that her method of wrapping the dumplings was very sophisticated. She rolled up the leaf with a twist of her wrist and added some glutinous rice underneath before stuffing a piece of meat in the middle. After covering it with more glutinous rice and pressing it with hands, she wrapped the dumpling and tied it with a rope. Finally, she tied a small knot at the end of the rope.
Yan Langqing also started to wrap the rice dumplings into the exact same size and shape as Lin Dan’s dumplings. After wrapping one dumpling, she threw it into the pot and waited for it to be cooked.
From morning to afternoon, the two of them finally wrapped fifty catties of rice dumplings and placed them into two buckets of the same size and shape. The dumplings were already cooked and steaming hot. Before it was served to the judges, Lin Dan counted the total of rice dumplings, before walking to Yan Langqing’s wooden barrel. Then, she slowly said, “Let’s swap positions.”
Although Yan Langqing was full of doubts, she did not feel there was anything wrong and stood behind Lin Dan’s wooden barrel. She thought that she could easily recognize her own barrel and Lin Dan should not have the guts to steal her food.
Lin Dan then invited all the guests and said, “May I ask the guests to take two guards into the kitchen and exchange the positions of the two barrels placed on the left and right. You may exchange as many times as you like, or you may leave it untouched. After one guest has finished the exchange, another guest will enter and follow suit. After five rounds, no one is allowed to reveal how many exchanges he has made.”
“What exactly are you trying to do?” The Emperor could not tell what Lin Dan was planning. Logically speaking, since the dumplings were done, the judges could try them and decide the winner immediately. But now, Lin Dan seemed to be playing a game, and seemingly wanting to fool with everyone else. Such audacity, he thought.
“Your Majesty, you have already agreed to let me decide how the competition would be conducted. Is your permission still valid?” Lin Dan asked instead of answering his question.
The Emperor frowned and waved his hand, “Get five of them out and exchange the positions of the two barrels.”
Five people, including Tang Jiu, son of Lord Dianqian, Prince Cheng, Prince Gong, and Marquis Weiyuan immediately stood up.
Yan Langqing hesitated for a moment but did not raise any objections. Although these people were loyal fans of Lin Dan, they were not the judges and would have no say to the outcome of the competition. Yan Langqing thought Lin Dan merely wanted to exchange the two buckets of dumplings so that the judges would not be able to tell who made the dumplings. She agreed that this was a brilliant tactic, but perhaps Lin Dan had forgotten that old imperial chefs who had left the palace were very familiar with Yan Langqing’s craftsmanship. Several of them were even specially invited by the Emperor to teach her cooking and could be considered to be her master.
She was certain that they would be able to tell the two kinds of dumplings apart. Besides, Lin Dan had used that “dirty method” to treat the glutinous rice, and Yan Langqing wondered if the dumplings could even be eaten. She was very skeptical about her cooking method, and already believed that she could win. Lin Dan was not as good as her ten years ago, and it will be the same ten years later.
The Emperor could also tell Lin Dan’s intention and could not help but shook his head. This Manager Lin had been playing clever tricks but turned out that her tricks were not good enough.
After Tang Jiu and the rest had exchanged the wooden barrels, they walked out with a gloomy expression. To them, Lin Dan was fighting a losing battle and everything she did was merely a desperate struggle. She had already lost the competition the moment she accepted the challenge. Justice was absent in the face of power and she should understand this.
Yet, Lin Dan looked very relaxed and said, “Since the competition is over, I will now set the rules for judging the winner. Everyone in this room is biased and it is inevitable that this will be an unfair competition. In my opinion, the judges who are present here are not the best candidates to ensure a fair competition. Therefore, I’d like to take these two buckets of dumplings to the city gate. We will peel the dumplings apart and cut them into pieces, before letting the people who enter the city taste them and take the dumpling they prefer away. The one who has all the dumplings taken away by the people first wins. Wouldn’t it be fair this way? Don’t worry, I’ve marked the dumplings to tell two buckets apart. I’ve also counted dumplings in advance. The two buckets each contain 400 dumplings, and extras were set aside in order to ensure that the outcome can easily be judged.
Lin Dan's bold speech had surprised the Emperor. He originally looked down on this plain-looking woman, but there was already a hint of interest in his eyes. He replied, Of course, I must ensure the fairness of this competition. I will only watch and not comment. Your cooking skills will be judged by these old food connoisseurs and chefs. They will have the final say.Lin Dan faced the judges and gave them a bow one by one. She said, Even so, this competition is still unfair to me. Imperial Chef Yan is very much favored by you, Your Majesty. You have provided her with the Fragrant Garden to hold the competition and even came here personally. It is obvious that you're showing favoritism towards her. Being the ruler of the country, I'm sure your people would also not dare to defy your will. Today, as soon as I stepped into the Fragrant Garden, I know I've lost. If this was plain to me, I'm sure the wise and all-knowing Emperor would understand this too.Everyone was horrified to hear this, as they had never expected Lin Dan to be so candid with her opinions.But the Emperor gave a hearty laugh, his eyes filled with interest. In that case, what do you think I should do? Do you want to continue this competition?Yan Langqing showed a mixed expression. If possible, she would naturally want to compete with Lin Dan fair and square, but she was unable to refuse the Emperor's kindness. But Yan Shouye felt that there was no need to continue the competition at all and thought Lin Dan had come to be humiliated. Once my daughter becomes a concubine, I will kill her! He thought.However, Lin Dan nodded without hesitation and said, I will continue, of course. But to ensure fairness, would you allow me to set the rules, Your Majesty? Back then, when I competed with Imperial Chef Yan for the first time, Imperial Chef Yan was also the one who set the rules as I was the head chef of the marquis residence and was favored by the marquis. She had decided the content, rules, and judges of the competition. Now that the situation is reversed, I'm making the same request. I reckon this is not too much to ask for?The Emperor glanced at Yan Langqing and nodded, Indeed, it sounds fair to me. Tell me, how would you like to hold the competition?Lin Dan may seem to have the upper hand, but the Emperor still had the final say. Even if she made the most delicious dish, a word from the judges could easily push her down into the abyss. The so-called fairness had never existed in the face of power. Lin Dan was bold, but not brilliant. The Emperor shook his head thinking of this and had lost all interest in her.Lin Dan steadily replied, In this competition, we will use the same ingredients to make the same dish, and just one dish.Yan Langqing asked, What do you want to make?Since the Dragon Boat Festival is coming, shall we make rice dumplings? Lin Dan tilted her head and smiled at her.Yan Langqing was stunned. She took a while to snap out of her thoughts and nodded slowly. From Lin Dan's four signature dishes, Yan Langqing had some understanding of her current level and thought she would want to compete on an extremely difficult dish. Little did she expect that Lin Dan would propose to compete making rice dumplings. However, Yan Langqing was not taken aback at all. The concubines in the palace loved dumplings too and the various kinds of dumplings she made were well received. This was why she was not afraid of competing on this dish. The concubines were extremely picky when it came to food, and she was sure that the judges would be satisfied with her cooking if she was able to even satisfy the concubines.Let's make fifty catties of rice dumplings, and only meat dumplings, is that alright? Lin Dan continued.Fifty catties? Yan Langqing finally showed a surprised expression.Are you up for it? Lin Dan looked straight at her.Yes.Great, in that case, may I request for one hundred catties of glutinous rice and fifty catties of pork belly. The glutinous rice and pork belly do not need to be separated and can be placed in one bucket, and we will distribute it among ourselves in the kitchen later on. If there are any other condiments that we need, we will make a request to the servants individually so that we will not disrupt one another. Is this arrangement okay? Lin Dan cupped her hands and displayed a humble yet unwavering attitude.The Emperor nodded and said, Permission granted. Let's make the preparations.Is Lin Dan trying to stuff everyone with the hundred catties of meat dumplings? The Emperor thought to himself.Not only the Emperor was surprised, but the other guests were also puzzled too. However, Lin Dan and Yan Langqing had already gone to the kitchen and there was no time to ask for the reason. Besides, Lin Dan probably would not give an answer even if she was asked, so they thought it was better to wait until the meat dumplings were completed. The Emperor thought that it would be a competition where the outcome had been decided even before it even started, but he did not expect Lin Dan to create suspense in the competition. Lin Dan was interesting indeed, he thought.Regardless of the audience's speculations, Lin Dan, who entered the kitchen, was extremely composed. One hundred catties of glutinous rice were packed in a huge wooden barrel and was carried in by the servants who were out of breath, followed by a bucket with fifty catties of pork belly.Lin Dan pressed the glutinous rice with her hands and nodded in satisfaction.Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the Novel Multiverse dot com website @ novelmultiverse.comYan Langqing said warmly, Your worries are redundant. I will not stoop so low to make them prepare the good ingredients for me and the inferior ingredients for you. You can take your share of glutinous rice and pork first, and I will use the rest.Lin Dan turned her head and looked at her with a smile on her face. Thank you then, Imperial Chef Yan.Yan Langqing slowly rolled up her sleeves and said, Then, shall we begin?Okay, but before that, I have to specify the shape and size of the dumplings. I'm sure you won't have any objections? Lin Dan took out three dumpling leaves and rolled them into a cone. She then added some glutinous rice and tied them with rope before motioning it to her, Can you make dumplings with the same shape and the same size as this?This was a really strange rule, but Yan Langqing did not think much about it. She nodded and said, Yes. She immediately wrapped a triangular rice dumpling exactly the same and handed it to Lin Dan for inspection.Lin Dan untied the two rice dumplings, put the glutinous rice back in the bucket, and said with a smile: Then, we can begin.The two chefs each occupied a stove and got busy. Yan Langqing first soaked the glutinous rice, sliced the pork belly into thin slices, and marinated them with soy sauce, fine salt, sugar, peanut oil, and other seasonings. When she lifted her head, she realized that Lin Dan was setting fire in the stove and had not touched the glutinous rice and pork belly.Why is she trying to set up fire when the dumplings are not even done yet? She thought. She felt that Lin Dan's steps were strange and could not help but take another glance. She soon realized that Lin Dan was not burning firewood, but sesame candy sticks she had specially requested from the palace servants. The sesame sticks contained many ripe sesame seeds and made popping sounds when it was burned on the stone. A unique burnt fragrance was slowly given out and it smelled extremely rich.Yan Langqing involuntarily took a deep breath and felt even more curious.But Lin Dan did not even look at her. She only set aside the sesame sticks that were burned into ashes and wrapped them in a thin silk cloth. She then put them in cool water and rubbed them until the crystal-clear water had turned muddy. After sieving it several times with a fine silk cloth, she made sure that there was no residue left before soaking the glutinous rice.After the white glutinous rice was added into the water and was stained with the muddy color, Yan Langqing instantly thought she was ruining the food! She thought these rice dumplings would be too dirty for the judges to consume. She was full of questions, but she thought it was inappropriate to ask her and neither was she interested to know anyway. This competition could affect her reputation and she naturally would not stop Lin Dan from jeopardizing her own victory.Lin Dan soaked the glutinous rice and began to process the pork belly. The seasoning she chose was similar to Yan Langqing, with only a slight difference in amount. After everything was ready, she started making the dumplings. It was obvious that her method of wrapping the dumplings was very sophisticated. She rolled up the leaf with a twist of her wrist and added some glutinous rice underneath before stuffing a piece of meat in the middle. After covering it with more glutinous rice and pressing it with hands, she wrapped the dumpling and tied it with a rope. Finally, she tied a small knot at the end of the rope.Yan Langqing also started to wrap the rice dumplings into the exact same size and shape as Lin Dan's dumplings. After wrapping one dumpling, she threw it into the pot and waited for it to be cooked.From morning to afternoon, the two of them finally wrapped fifty catties of rice dumplings and placed them into two buckets of the same size and shape. The dumplings were already cooked and steaming hot. Before it was served to the judges, Lin Dan counted the total of rice dumplings, before walking to Yan Langqing's wooden barrel. Then, she slowly said, Let's swap positions.Although Yan Langqing was full of doubts, she did not feel there was anything wrong and stood behind Lin Dan's wooden barrel. She thought that she could easily recognize her own barrel and Lin Dan should not have the guts to steal her food.Lin Dan then invited all the guests and said, May I ask the guests to take two guards into the kitchen and exchange the positions of the two barrels placed on the left and right. You may exchange as many times as you like, or you may leave it untouched. After one guest has finished the exchange, another guest will enter and follow suit. After five rounds, no one is allowed to reveal how many exchanges he has made.What exactly are you trying to do? The Emperor could not tell what Lin Dan was planning. Logically speaking, since the dumplings were done, the judges could try them and decide the winner immediately. But now, Lin Dan seemed to be playing a game, and seemingly wanting to fool with everyone else. Such audacity, he thought.Your Majesty, you have already agreed to let me decide how the competition would be conducted. Is your permission still valid? Lin Dan asked instead of answering his question.The Emperor frowned and waved his hand, Get five of them out and exchange the positions of the two barrels.Five people, including Tang Jiu, son of Lord Dianqian, Prince Cheng, Prince Gong, and Marquis Weiyuan immediately stood up.Yan Langqing hesitated for a moment but did not raise any objections. Although these people were loyal fans of Lin Dan, they were not the judges and would have no say to the outcome of the competition. Yan Langqing thought Lin Dan merely wanted to exchange the two buckets of dumplings so that the judges would not be able to tell who made the dumplings. She agreed that this was a brilliant tactic, but perhaps Lin Dan had forgotten that old imperial chefs who had left the palace were very familiar with Yan Langqing's craftsmanship. Several of them were even specially invited by the Emperor to teach her cooking and could be considered to be her master.She was certain that they would be able to tell the two kinds of dumplings apart. Besides, Lin Dan had used that dirty method to treat the glutinous rice, and Yan Langqing wondered if the dumplings could even be eaten. She was very skeptical about her cooking method, and already believed that she could win. Lin Dan was not as good as her ten years ago, and it will be the same ten years later.The Emperor could also tell Lin Dan's intention and could not help but shook his head. This Manager Lin had been playing clever tricks but turned out that her tricks were not good enough.After Tang Jiu and the rest had exchanged the wooden barrels, they walked out with a gloomy expression. To them, Lin Dan was fighting a losing battle and everything she did was merely a desperate struggle. She had already lost the competition the moment she accepted the challenge. Justice was absent in the face of power and she should understand this.Yet, Lin Dan looked very relaxed and said, Since the competition is over, I will now set the rules for judging the winner. Everyone in this room is biased and it is inevitable that this will be an unfair competition. In my opinion, the judges who are present here are not the best candidates to ensure a fair competition. Therefore, I'd like to take these two buckets of dumplings to the city gate. We will peel the dumplings apart and cut them into pieces, before letting the people who enter the city taste them and take the dumpling they prefer away. The one who has all the dumplings taken away by the people first wins. Wouldn't it be fair this way? Don't worry, I've marked the dumplings to tell two buckets apart. I've also counted dumplings in advance. The two buckets each contain 400 dumplings, and extras were set aside in order to ensure that the outcome can easily be judged.
