Chapter 530: Jiang Liu Won? Yu Guoguang Is Stunned

Chapter 530: Chapter 530: Jiang Liu Won? Yu Guoguang Is Stunned

The judges used three prepared bowls to portion out the two hot and sour soups. The third bowl held water to cleanse their palates.

Morse chuckled and looked at Fu Yuan.

Fu Yuan nodded, indicating it was no problem.

Morse relaxed completely.

It looked like victory was in the bag.

Soon, after tasting the two hot and sour soups, the five judges wore expressions of utter astonishment.

The same ingredients, but two different kinds of deliciousness.

It was hard to find any faults.

Both were exceptionally good.

One of them was smooth on the palate, a flavor both sour and spicy, accompanied by a rich aroma. A single sip left a pleasant, lingering aftertaste.

It was good, yes, but it didn’t truly move them.

The one that truly moved them was the other soup.

This steaming bowl of hot and sour soup, with its thick, tangy aroma, awakened the taste buds the moment it entered the mouth. The egg was tender and smooth, complemented by the sweet and sour notes of tomato.

Next, the sourness evolved on the tongue. It was as if your palate was tickled by a hint of tartness—sometimes like the fresh, unique sourness of a lemon, other times like a rich vinegar, carrying notes of bitterness, sweetness, umami, and fragrance.

After that, the spiciness exploded on the taste buds like a bomb, instantly revitalizing the senses. A spoonful of the sour, spicy, and savory soup went down, warming the stomach in an extremely comforting way!

In comparison, the other soup fell short. While its layers of texture were top-notch, upon closer tasting, something was missing. The flavor came on strong and fiery, lacking the gentleness of this one.

"How is it?" Jun Xinghe asked nervously, unable to remain calm.

All eyes were on the five judges.

Zhu Getting chose his words carefully. "These two bowls of hot and sour soup have slightly different styles. One is aggressive, the other is natural."

He pointed to the bowl on the left. "I think this hot and sour soup with its natural texture is better. I give it ten points. The other one gets nine."

The previously confident and expressionless Fu Yuan was stunned by Zhu Getting’s critique.

He even suspected he had misheard.

’The one on the left is Jiang Liu’s, and the one on the right is mine. Is Zhu Getting saying my hot and sour soup is inferior to Jiang Liu’s?!’

’What a joke!?’

Jun Xinghe glanced at Jiang Liu, trying to read his expression, but before the judging was over, he had no idea which soup was Jiang Liu’s.

’Still, one got nine points and the other ten. Even a loss wouldn’t be too embarrassing.’

Jun Qingmeng, Lin Qiu, and Jiang Dahai also breathed a sigh of relief.

After a moment’s hesitation, the other judges gave their comments one by one.

"The one on the left has a gentler texture. I give it ten points. The one on the right is too spicy, which clashes a bit with the sweet and sour notes. I’ll give it eight points."

"Both hot and sour soups are well-made, but I believe the one on the left better suits the palate of Hua Country. From my personal perspective, the left one is a cut above. I’ll give it ten points. The other one... five points."

’Five points?! Go to hell!’ Fu Yuan’s impassive face twitched, his composure breaking.

Soon, the last two judges gave their scores. One gave the left bowl ten points. The other, a Westerner, gave it eight points, and the right bowl nine.

Fu Yuan’s breathing grew ragged. He clenched his jaw so hard the muscles bulged. Dissatisfied, he glared at Morse.

’There has to be something wrong with this competition! Someone of Jiang Liu’s level isn’t even worthy of carrying my shoes, so how could he possibly get such high scores!?’

’He absolutely refused to believe Jiang Liu could win!’

Morse was utterly confused.

’Why are you looking at me with such hatred?’

The judging concluded.

Although Morse was surprised that Jiang Liu could keep pace with Fu Yuan, he wasn’t too concerned.

He just assumed the judges were being polite and intentionally keeping the scores close to save face for the contestants.

The viewers in the livestream were a bit speechless.

"Wait, what’s going on? Wasn’t he supposed to crush this Jiang Liu guy? How did he even score points?"

"You don’t get it. Haven’t you seen shows like The Voice? The contestants on stage are trash, but the judges act all mesmerized. It’s just for show. They’re not gonna actually pick him in the end."

"Got it. If it were up to an honest guy like me, I’d give this Boss Jiang a 0. You can just tell it tastes awful."

"Hahaha."

"Has anyone noticed Old Fu’s expression looks a little off?"

"That’s excitement, you know? Uh, wait, no. Why would he be excited about beating some gimmick-y online celebrity?"

"Go, Boss Jiang! Shut them up with your skills!"

"No doubt about it, the one on the left has to be Xiao Jiang’s!"

The number of viewers in the livestream reached 300,000.

Most of them were Jiang Liu’s fans, but Fu Yuan’s fans were noticeably more active.

Morse glanced smugly at the nervous Jun Xinghe and said, "If the judges would please reveal the results, it’s time to end this farce."

A muscle in Fu Yuan’s cheek twitched again.

’It’s rigged! This is absolutely rigged!’

’He decided he would ruthlessly expose this whole orchestrated show in a moment!’

As the most senior judge, Zhu Getting frowned, stood up, picked up the bowl, and checked the label underneath.

A single glance left him stunned.

Underneath the bowl of hot and sour soup on the left was written the character for "Jiang."

"Ahem, Elder Mr. Zhu, please announce the name," Yu Guoguang prompted the dazed Zhu Getting from the side.

He shook his head and sighed.

’I’m sure Elder Zhu doesn’t want to see a rising star of the Huaxia culinary world suffer a setback like this.’

’But this is also for the best. Pride comes before a fall. This way, Jiang Liu can humble himself and study the art of Sichuan cuisine with me. It wouldn’t be impossible for him to defeat Fu Yuan in the future.’

Everyone present had different feelings about the situation.

A small smile touched Jun Qingmeng’s lips. She knew Jiang Liu well. Seeing the calm expression on her husband’s face, she was certain the highest-scoring hot and sour soup on the left had to be his.

Jiang Tongtong blinked her big eyes.

Lin Qiu unconsciously tightened her grip on Jiang Dahai’s hand.

The most nervous of all was Jun Xinghe, who couldn’t help but repeatedly swallow.

Zhu Getting snapped back to his senses, concealed his surprise, glanced at Jiang Liu, and announced loudly, "The winner with the highest score is... Jiang Liu!"

As he spoke, he removed the label from the bottom of the bowl.

???

Jiang Liu?!

The moment the words fell, the venue went silent. Morse’s smile froze on his face.

’The winner is Jiang Liu??’

’Shit! Are you fucking kidding me!’

Utterly shocked and suspicious, Morse shot a look at Fu Yuan.

At this moment, Fu Yuan’s expression was so dark it looked like storm clouds had gathered.

’Rigged!’

’How could he possibly have lost!’

Lin Qiu and Jiang Dahai let out a huge sigh of relief.

Aside from the slack-jawed Jun Xinghe, even the judges were completely dumbfounded.

"This... is rather bizarre."

Yu Guoguang, one of the judges, was especially flabbergasted.

The scene was dead silent.

In the livestream, the peanut gallery exploded:

"AHHH?? Wait, what the hell? How did Jiang Liu win? Didn’t Old Fu just compete against the Sichuan cuisine master Yu Guoguang? Even Yu Guoguang admitted he wasn’t as good. This Jiang Liu... I’ve never even heard of him."

"I was in the middle of eating and just spit my food out! This is ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous!"

"Wait, what’s going on? Who is this Jiang Liu guy??"

Jiang Liu’s fans became smug. They were genuinely happy for him, though they had been on the edge of their seats just moments before.

"See? Told you! Boss Jiang, lose?? Ten Fu Yuans tied together couldn’t beat him!"

"Boss Jiang is incredible! Incredible! Incredible!"

"When is he gonna make hot and sour soup for us? Damn, if even that arrogant Fu Yuan couldn’t beat him, Boss Jiang’s soup must be out of this world. I’m drooling just thinking about it."

"I’m flying to South City tomorrow and I’m going to wait for Brother Jiang to make it for me! If he doesn’t, I’ll just lie down at his door and not leave!"

Yu Guoguang pulled his confused gaze away from Jiang Liu and said, "Gentlemen, you may now taste each other’s dishes."

To ensure the fairness of the competition, the contestants were only allowed to taste the dishes after the judges, acting as intermediaries, had finished their evaluation.

Jiang Liu nodded.

...