“Is it always like this? I mean are Silver Leaf’s annual examinations always extravagant like this?” Lu Xiulan asked.

“So I heard,” Xiao Lan answered for her, “but Shen family’s involvement this year had made a ruckus and broke the tradition. Before, only the four families participated; and with Liu family’s recent dethronement, I’m sure it made a lot of talks and intrigued the people.”

Huo Meili checked her cue cards and straightened her back to face the camera that was focused on her. The event was pre-recorded and will be televised after a week for entertainment and promotions. Of course, this would also help to keep Silver Leaf’s reputation.

“The board of directors and the panel of judges had come to an agreement of what dishes our examinees have to cook! Today’s exam had been cut into three parts. Each part will be testing an aspiring student’s creativity, cooking prowess, and accuracy! A time limit was set for the examinees to prepare their dishes. Failure to deliver the dishes in time would result in one’s disqualification. -.

“And the first dish you have to cook is… fried rice!” There was a low roar from the audience, chatters filling up the air. Fried rice seemed too easy to hold some standards, they thought. Hearing the chatters, Huo Meili only chuckled lightly. “This dish looks like it’s easy to make, but don’t underestimate it! It is incredibly easy to prepare and offer up limitless possibilities. It’s a deceptively simple dish—deceptive because, despite its spare appearance, it involves many specific techniques and tricks honed through decades of cooking experience.

“Whatever kind of fried rice to make will be up to you! Just make sure you would make use of our available ingredients at the side!” The camera turned to the stand where the ingredients were seen. Another camera was taking a scenic shot of the stands. The host continued with a reminder: “You only have thirty minutes to prepare and serve your fried rice to our judges.

“Next on the list—noodles! You will make your own noodles from scratch.” The people chattered like chirping birds again: from scratch?! “It doesn’t matter what kind of noodles you’re planning to make because your cooking skills and techniques will be tested on this dish.” Huo Meili only huffed, keeping it short for the noodle challenge for now. “The judges had given you exactly one hour to serve a handmade noodle dish.

“The last but not the least, can you guess it?”

Huo Meili turned her microphone to the audience and let them guess the last dish to be cooked. Someone yelled a meat dish while the others said desserts. She let out a girly giggle when more people yelled about different desserts.

“Ah, some of you got it right!” she beamed, “Of course, we’ll finish it with a dessert! Everyone had to bake a devil’s food cake. Yes, you heard it, right! A devil’s food cake!” The devil’s food cake was nothing special to normal people, but there were examinees whose eyes either lit up or flickered with fear after hearing the challenge. “You will be given the exact and same ingredients as everyone in the exam. This time, we have a target texture for the devil’s food cake: moist, airy, and rich. All while presenting a two-layered devil’s food cake.” There was a different kind of light in Huo Meili’s eyes as she spoke. It was as if she knew why some examinees had those expressions on their faces. “You have two hours to make this perfect yummy cake.”

Lu Xinyi tilted her head on one side and frowned. Was this a trick? The dishes sound very easy to make, but maybe the judges’ intention was to see how they work within the kitchen. So where did those three ingredients fall?

As if reading her thoughts, Huo Meili turned her cue cards and answered Lu Xinyi’s question.

“After passing the first exam, examinees were requested to bring three ingredients outside a list—that they deem fit to enhance a person’s eating experience. The judges allowed you to bring three extra ingredients that you could use only for the first two dishes.” There was a slight smile on her face. “This means neither of you is allowed to change or omit any ingredients that our proctors provided for your last dish.

“Are you excited to start?” She then beamed all-out at the examinees as if trying to dispel their worries and fears.

“Yes!” the examinees roared while the audience started cheering for their bets.

The staff of Silver Leaf started distributing the main ingredients for the fried rice to the examinees. Anything that the examinees wished to use on their dish was available at the open food stock at the left side of the stage. It had a wide range of vegetables and fruits that they could use and some herbs and spices to enhance the flavors of their dishes.

Lu Xinyi frowned deepened. She couldn’t possibly serve the same fried rice she’d made for Shen Yi before. This was a different kind of fried rice they were asking.

“Alright, let’s start with the first dish for today. Your thirty minutes starts now!” Huo Meili’s voice pulled Lu Xinyi out of her thoughts. Her eyes widened when she saw the other examinees fight their way to the food stock to get the ingredients they needed.

How the ** could she get what she needs if there’s a mob she had to cross?

On the sidelines, Tong Yan watched as Lu Xinyi faced a dilemma on her first dish. Waiting for other examinees to leave would consume some time that Lu Xinyi needed to make her dish. The smile on her lips was a sinister one.

It didn’t matter if Lu Xinyi could pass the first two dishes because she would make sure that Lu Xinyi would not make it through the third round.