Arriving in the main hall, Xiao Dangjia's eyes immediately locked onto Xiangling.
However, his thoughts were the same as Dudu's.
Such a small girl. Is she really a head chef?
"Hello, I am Xiao Dangjia of the Yangquan Restaurant. May I ask… are you really a head chef?"
He knew that being a head chef was physically demanding work, facing a large number of customers every day.
With such small arms and legs, he feared she wouldn't be able to handle the strain.
Faced with Xiao Dangjia's questioning, Xiangling became slightly annoyed.
"Are you looking down on me? I began studying the culinary arts when I was very young."
"I started adventuring alone to find ingredients when I was eight."
"And I've been the head chef of the Wanmin Restaurant in Liyue for three years now."
"What about you?"
Xiao Dangjia was instantly embarrassed.
He had only just become the head chef of the Yangquan Restaurant less than half a year ago.
How could he possibly say that out loud?
At that moment, Master Luo, having heard the commotion, came over to mediate.
"Since you are here to compete in cooking, let's just get on with the match. We can't keep the customers waiting."
It was currently half-past ten.
There was still an hour and a half until noon.
There was more than enough time to hold a culinary duel.
"I have no objections, Master!" Xiangling declared.
"I have no objections either. What are the rules of the competition?" Xiao Dangjia asked, looking at the white-haired old man.
Master Luo chuckled. "Then let's decide the winner with three dishes. We have a lot of fresh fish today, so the first dish must be fish."
"The remaining two dishes will be decided by the two of you."
"I choose a tofu dish—Mapo Tofu!" Xiangling's words were shocking.
"What? Mapo Tofu…"
Everyone was stunned.
Mapo Tofu was Xiao Dangjia's signature dish.
Did she not know?
Chef Jidi reminded her, "Do you want to change your dish? Xiao Dangjia comes from the mountains of the south; his greatest specialty is Mapo Tofu…"
"No need. I am also very good at Mapo Tofu," she retorted. "Since you look down on me, I will defeat you using your own greatest strength!"
She had secretly asked Su Han for advice just a moment ago.
Since they were all judging her by her appearance, she would beat them at their own game.
She had originally come with the spirit of friendly competition.
But one after another, they had judged her on her looks. It was infuriating.
Xiao Dangjia nodded. "Fine. Then for the last dish, let's compete with a spicy dish."
"No problem."
With that, the three dishes had been decided.
The culinary duel had officially begun.
Chef Jidi looked at Master Luo and asked, "Do you know where this Wanmin Restaurant is? How come I've never heard of it?"
"Hah… there are many things you haven't heard of," Master Luo said, squinting as he took a sip of wine.
In reality, how would he know anything about Liyue or Wanmin Restaurant?
However, as the man in charge of the Yangquan Restaurant, he had to put on a front.
Even if he didn't know, he had to pretend he did.
Otherwise, wouldn't it be a great loss of face?
"Hmph." Chef Jidi walked away with a dark expression, completely missing the look of relief on the Master's face behind him.
Three dishes.
Two spicy dishes, one fish dish.
"I might as well make them all spicy," Xiangling decided.
There were no rules for the duel beyond the specified ingredients.
As long as the food tasted good, it was a win.
That being the case, she would make everything spicy.
Xiangling selected her ingredients and began to work. Her first dish was Water-Boiled Perch.
De-scaling.
De-gilling.
Gutting.
Then, she began to cook.
Her speed was so fast that the spying Shirou was left completely dazzled.
When Xiangling took out some flower petals to use as seasoning, he was completely dumbfounded.
When Shirou relayed this information to Xiao Dangjia, the latter was also taken aback.
"Using flower petals as seasoning… how incredible. As expected, anyone who can become the head chef of a restaurant has their own unique skills."
"I have to give it my all, too."
With that, Xiao Danggjia also began to work with great effort.
His chosen fish dish was Fish Spring Rolls.
He used the freshest vegetables of the season as a complement to the tender fish meat, combining them to form a perfect delicacy.
Time ticked by.
Soon, all three dishes were ready.
The taste-testers were Master Luo and the customers present.
"Let's start by tasting Xiao Dangjia's dish."
"Please introduce your creation."
"The dish I prepared is spring rolls, using the skin of the fish to wrap the rich fish meat and fresh vegetables."
As Xiao Dangjia lifted the lid, a golden light burst forth from the dish.
Those who saw this for the first time were startled by the spectacle.
Especially the members of the Multiverse Mission Group.
Hu Tao:Holy crap! It's glowing, it's glowing! Su Han, this is amazing! If we made him cook nonstop, would we even need lamps at night?
Su Han:I can only say that's a very imaginative idea…
Ningguang:Spring rolls made from fish? What an interesting concept. I wonder how it tastes.
Zhongli:Food that glows, you say? How curious…
In his several thousand years of existence, this was the first time he had ever seen a dish that glowed.
Inside the Yangquan Restaurant, the customers began to taste the dish.
One after another, their faces filled with expressions of pure bliss.
"This is too delicious! It's an absolutely supreme delicacy!"
"The richness of the fish meat combined with the fresh seasonal vegetables is a truly wonderful match. As expected of Xiao Dangjia!"
"What surprises me most is that the fish tastes as if it's still alive!"
"This is probably the pinnacle of spring rolls!"
"Indeed, it's incredible!"
Listening to the customers' praise, Shirou laughed heartily. "Master has won! We've definitely won the first round!"