302: Chapter 302 doesn't seem too difficult.

When Liaojie walked in, Lin Xiao even wondered if he had the wrong person.

The monk before him was still tall, but he was skin and bones; his signature chubby face and large ears were gone, and he looked like a long, thin yellow cucumber with a sickly complexion.

If it weren't for the fact that the attribute panel couldn't be wrong, Lin Xiao wouldn't have recognized him.

"What's the situation with you? How did you get so thin?"

Liaojie had a look of "resentment" on his face as he said aggrievedly, "General Lin, why did you just get back? I've been waiting for you for almost a month!"

"Huh?"

Lin Xiao was stunned for a moment, and after hearing Liaojie's explanation, he immediately burst out laughing unkindly...

It turned out that ever since Liaojie was recruited by Lin Xiao, he had been thinking about going down the mountain to become a chef.

He wasn't stupid; he had made inquiries in advance and knew that Lin Xiao had a stellar reputation in Cang Province.

So, he made up his mind, left Xishan Temple, and planned to seek out Lin Xiao.

But as luck would have it, Lin Xiao had been busy campaigning in the east and west during this time.

Seeing that Lin Xiao wasn't coming, Liaojie planned to return to Xishan Temple for a while.

But Liaoyuan and the other monks had long since had enough of this meat-eating and wine-drinking junior brother. Having finally sent this "great deity" away, how could they possibly take him back?

If he ate there for a few days and then refused to leave, wouldn't the monks of Xishan Temple go crazy?

Liaojie was shut out on the grounds that he had broken the precepts by drinking wine and eating meat, and since he had already removed his name from Xishan Temple, he was not qualified to return.

Liaojie was furious, but there was nothing he could do. After going down the mountain, he intended to beg for alms everywhere, but he encountered a plague.

He accidentally caught the plague and was sent straight to a makeshift hospital. By the time he recovered and came out, he had become like this.

"General, are you laughing at me?"

Seeing Lin Xiao's expression, Liaojie became increasingly indignant.

"I only gave up that good job in the Xishan Temple kitchen because I trusted you, General. You have to compensate me!"

Lin Xiao chuckled. "This General only gave you a choice; I didn't hold a knife to your throat and force you down the mountain. Don't give me that!"

"Then... then do you still want me or not?" Liaojie grew anxious.

Lin Xiao thought these words sounded a bit strange.

"Since I said I wanted you to be a chef, I will naturally take you. But whether you'll be a junior cook, a head chef, or the boss of the chefs depends on your performance."

Liaojie grinned happily. "That doesn't matter, as long as you let me eat my fill!"

Lin Xiao nodded. "How about this: I just returned today, and a banquet needs to be prepared."

"Our original chef is the head chef from Baiyu Pavilion. Since you're here, the two of you will have a culinary competition."

"I need to see your skills before I can decide exactly what to have you do."

Liaojie didn't mind at all and agreed readily. "That's a small matter. Can I eat my fill first? I haven't had a full meal in a month..."

Lin Xiao thought to himself that this guy must be a reincarnated starving ghost, then had the Old Butler arrange for him to go down and eat.

In the evening.

The back kitchen of the Generals Mansion was busier than ever before.

Besides the women who heard about the chef's evaluation, the servants and maids had all come over as well.

If these people hadn't crowded the kitchen so tightly, Lin Xiao wouldn't have realized that there were already dozens of servants in the mansion now!

The one participating in the challenge was Chef Sui from Yangquan's Baiyu Pavilion, whom Su Wansha had brought from Baishui City; he was somewhat famous locally.

He had come to the provincial capital intending to show off his skills, only to hear Su Wansha say that someone was coming to challenge him?

If it weren't for General Lin himself asking, he naturally wouldn't have accepted it.

A monk who had never even worked in a restaurant! How was he worthy of competing in culinary arts with him?

"The rules are simple. You can use any of the ingredients here. The requirement is to make at least ten dishes within one hour, and you must feed everyone in the Generals Mansion."

Lin Xiao pointed to the servants. "Besides me and my wives, they are all 'judges'."

"General, how can we servants be worthy of eating the same food as you and the Madams? This isn't right," the Old Butler said embarrassedly.

"Everyone is human; can food be divided by status? Your tastes are the tastes of the Zhenbei Army soldiers and the people of the Northern Border. You are naturally qualified to be judges!"

Hearing this, the servants' hearts felt warm and filled with gratitude, and they shouted, "Thank you, Great General!"

Liaojie and Chef Sui couldn't help but nod as well, admiring Lin Xiao's magnanimity, and they became even more serious about the competition.

[Comprehension +5...]

Hmm?

Just these few words triggered the 'All Lands Under Heaven Return to the Heart' effect?

Wait a minute, does that mean that just now, some of these servants present hadn't yet given their hearts to me?

Damn! They're eating my food and taking my pay, yet they didn't support me?

There are rebels even in the Generals Mansion!

Lin Xiao cursed inwardly; no wonder there were over three million people registered in the Northern Border, yet he had only received over seven hundred thousand comprehension points.

A small favor brings gratitude, but a large one brings resentment; it's not easy to make someone truly support you!

As the timer started, two figures began busying themselves in the kitchen.

Chef Sui held his kitchen knife, striking quickly and precisely, cutting various ingredients into exquisite shapes.

Liaojie, after all, was self-taught; even his way of holding the knife wasn't standard, and what he cut looked more like the shapes of home-cooked dishes.

Chef Sui took one look and immediately knew the win was likely his, but he didn't dare be careless and proceeded step-by-step.

In less than an hour, Chef Sui was the first to present twelve dishes, half of which were large-pot stews, while the other half were steamed and stir-fried dishes.

Liaojie barely made it as well, but he only made ten dishes; to ensure everyone could eat their fill, he intentionally increased the portions of several dishes.

Just at a glance, one could see Chef Sui was at ease, while Liaojie's work seemed a bit rushed.

However, when Liaojie's last dish was served, a special fragrance caught many people's attention.

"Eh, Husband, isn't this cumin?"

Mu Wanying remembered this scent and pointed to the large basin of mutton chunks.

Lin Xiao looked and found it was indeed fried mutton chunks sprinkled with cumin.

"Liaojie, where did you learn to use cumin?"

Lin Xiao remembered that last time at the temple, the monk had even asked him how to use it.

Liaojie said casually, "After you left that day, I kept thinking about it. I thought it over and felt it would go well with mutton, so I tried it today."

As expected of the 'Cooking Dragons and Roasting Phoenixes' special trait; this was pure talent, mastering it without a teacher!

Beside him, Chef Sui also couldn't help but frown. Although many of his dishes were clearly more exquisite, everyone's attention had been drawn away by this cumin mutton dish.

Just now, he had actually noticed the cumin in the kitchen, but he couldn't think of a use for it, so he ignored it.

He had been careless; this monk actually knew the use of such an obscure spice?

Lin Xiao took a bite and was somewhat surprised; Liaojie had actually marinated the mutton in advance to infuse it with flavor. It was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside; for a first attempt, the level of execution was very high.

After the women finished tasting, the servants also took portions to taste one by one.

These servants all came from poor families.

Forget about going to a restaurant like Baiyu Pavilion, they never even had the chance to taste beef or mutton. Usually, being able to eat a bit of pig offal was considered an excellent source of fat.

Now that they were eating this food, some were so moved that tears even flowed down.

"This is too delicious... how can meat be this fragrant?"

"When I was a kid herding sheep in my hometown, I never got to eat mutton; that was all for the masters... I finally got to taste it today."

The servants wolfed down the food one by one, feeling lucky to work at the Generals Mansion. General Lin was truly a great man!

[Comprehension +1, Comprehension +1...]

Lin Xiao looked at the rising comprehension points, not knowing whether to cry or laugh. If you said comprehension points were hard to earn, it actually didn't seem that hard!

When everyone finished their evaluation, the Old Butler brought two bowls and let everyone vote using chopsticks.

Liaojie and Chef Sui stood with their backs to the crowd, waiting for the voting results.

Hearing the continuous sound of chopsticks dropping into the bowls behind him, Chef Sui's expression was a bit nervous, while Liaojie was rubbing his stomach, feeling hungry again.

Seeing the result was clear, Lin Xiao then said, "That's enough, turn around."