Yunlai Xuan had just come under Li Ying's name not long ago. Her cooking habits were different from those of ordinary people, so the kitchen here had to be drastically renovated and couldn't be used for the time being.
Moreover, her "secretly - brewed" seasonings were really inconvenient for others to see. Therefore, the manager of Jixian Tower, pretending to be magnanimous, took the initiative to suggest that they might as well hold this cooking competition in Jixian Tower's kitchen.
Li Ying guessed that as she was "fighting on the opponent's home - ground", she was bound to be schemed against by this crafty manager. However, she just gave a faint smile indifferently.
When the enemy comes, we block; when the flood comes, we dam. If she kept making excuses to decline, it would seem as if she didn't have the ability and was just looking for pretexts.
Seeing that neither of them had any objections, Lord Xu relaxed. He sat upright in the private room, calmly waiting for the dishes to be served.
Jixian Tower seemed to have anticipated this competition long ago. The chefs and apprentices were so busy that their feet barely touched the ground. They carried one basin after another of tender chickens and fat ducks, going in and out in an orderly and coordinated manner. Their well - organized performance really made Li Ying let out a sigh of admiration.
Jixian Tower truly deserved to be the leader in the food and beverage industry in the capital. The clear - cut division of labor was really in good order.
The waiters filled all the stoves and chopping boards with various dishes. From time to time, they brushed past Li Ying and "politely" asked her to step aside so as not to delay their work.
This was obviously a way to deliberately squeeze Li Ying out and prevent her from preparing her ingredients with peace of mind.
Ru Yi's face flushed with anger. She said indignantly, "Sister Ying, Jixian Tower is really going too far! Such an unfair competition is not what a hero would do! Wait for me. I'll go and report everything in the kitchen to Lord Xu and ask him to make a fair decision!"
She rolled up her sleeves and was about to turn around and leave, but Li Ying quickly reached out and stopped her.
"Don't. Ru Yi, stay calm."
Although Lord Xu was not a corrupt and evil official, he obviously didn't have the magnanimity of Su Buchi.
If she really let Ru Yi go to complain, he might think that she was just making excuses and couldn't afford to lose.
"Sister Ying, are we just going to sit back and do nothing?"
Ru Yi couldn't think of a solution and could only scratch her head in distress.
Li Ying was not in a hurry. She casually dragged over a bamboo stool, pulled Ru Yi over, and sat down leisurely, observing the actions of Jixian Tower's waiters intently.
She was going to see what method Commissioner Lin was going to use to win Lord Xu over!
She saw several waiters carrying a basin of extremely fishy fish heads over with difficulty. The maids and servants understood what they meant and quickly divided the fish heads. Each of them held their breath and groped for something, seemingly peeling something off.
The head chef calmly took out a large black pottery urn. As if money was no object, he put chicken and duck bones, spare ribs, dried scallops, abalones, and scallop columns into the pot to make soup.
Before long, the room was filled with the rich and delicious aroma of meat. Just a whiff of it made one's mouth water.
Ru Yi quietly bit her finger, looking even more distressed.
"Sister Ying, this is bad! These people obviously have a pre - arranged plan and are targeting you!"
This method of making high - grade soup was exactly the same as Li Ying's usual cooking style. Jixian Tower had thrown in all kinds of precious ingredients as if they were free, so the taste would surely be on a par with hers.
"Sister Ying, what should we do now!"
Ru Yi was as anxious as a headless fly, but Li Ying was not worried. She saw the waiters fishing out the stewed and tender chickens and ducks from the soup, removing the bones and skins, and then shredding the meat into extremely thin shreds. She immediately guessed what was going on.
In ancient books, there was a dish called "Thousand Silk Winding the Silver Needle". The so - called "silver needle" was a pure - white soft bone taken from the head of a bighead carp.
After being stewed in the high - grade soup, this fish bone absorbed the rich aroma of the precious ingredients and became soft and delicious. It was just like precious shark fins, melting in the mouth with extremely mellow collagen.
Paired with the extremely thin chicken and duck shreds that were as thin as a needle, each mouthful was full of rich meat flavor. Although it looked like an ordinary white soup, each mouthful had extremely rich layers. It was truly a rare famous dish.
Li Ying sneered in her heart. Jixian Tower really had a thorough understanding of her cooking style. They knew that she was good at elaborate cooking and most of the ingredients she chose were ordinary - looking items. So they deliberately wracked their brains and prepared such a sophisticated soup dish to compete with her.
If Lord Xu asked, they could just say that this fish head was a waste after the fish lips were cut off and was by no means an expensive ingredient. Similar dishes were also served at the Burning - Tail Banquet and didn't cost much silver.
Lord Xu adhered to the principle of "a gentleman stays away from the kitchen", so he would surely not notice anything strange.
But Li Ying clearly knew that there was only one such "silver needle" in one bighead carp. For a small plate of "Thousand Silk Winding the Silver Needle", at least hundreds of fish heads were needed!
She let out a cold snort and secretly sneered in her heart. Such "frugality" was really a joke!
The waiters of Jixian Tower had been busy for more than an hour before they finally finished preparing all the meat shreds. The head chef put the stewed "silver needles" and "thousand silk" into the soup and boiled them briefly. Then he added a thin layer of clear glaze and served the steaming soup on the table.
Finally, there was some empty space in the kitchen. The head chef offered the stove in the corner and bowed slightly to Li Ying.
"Boss Li, it's your turn to show your skills. Please!"
Although he said so, after all this commotion, the kitchen was in a complete mess, just like a place that had been robbed.
Li Ying knew clearly that this must have been deliberately done by Jixian Tower to create difficulties for her and make her flustered so that she would have no choice but to admit defeat obediently.
She gave a cold smile. Seeing a lively big carp still swimming in the water tank beside, she washed her hands and deftly fished it out.
The carp's tail - wagging was very powerful. Presumably, its meat should be very tender, crispy, and sweet.
"Great! Since Boss Li has chosen this fish, we'll quickly help you deal with it!"
Before Li Ying could do it herself, two maids quickly took the fish from her.
Li Ying said, "There's no need to trouble Jixian Tower to do it..."
But before her voice faded, she saw several burly waiters swarming up and surrounding her and Ru Yi tightly.
"Boss Li has come from afar and doesn't have a kitchen assistant by her side. If word gets out, it might seem that we at Jixian Tower are bullying others with our power. Don't worry. We're just helping you deal with this fish. You can do everything else as you like."
Although the words were polite, the human wall formed by the strong men obviously made up their minds not to let Li Ying leave for a single step.
Ru Yi let out an angry shout and was about to rush forward regardless to take the fish back.
Although she had a bit of reckless strength, she was still a girl after all. Li Ying was afraid that she would get hurt from the fists and feet, so she quickly reached out and pulled her back.