265: Ling Zihao

As soon as the competition ended, Dai Xuesong, Chairman Neng Xing, and the other Association Chairmen immediately gathered around Lu Chuan's cooking station, their faces filled with longing and conflicted emotions.

"Little Master Lu," Chairman Dai rubbed his hands, his voice excited yet a little embarrassed, "Your 'Seven-Colored Exquisite Heart Fried Rice' truly opened our eyes and left us in awe! I'm being presumptuous, but I wonder if..."

He wanted to ask for the secret, but he also felt that this must be Master Lu's closely guarded secret, making it difficult for him to speak.

The other Association Chairmen had similar expressions, looking eagerly at Master Lu, both longing for guidance and afraid of being impolite.

Master Lu looked at these elders who still maintained a childlike innocence in their pursuit of culinary arts, and he couldn't help but smile slightly, saying frankly:

"There's no need for such formality, seniors. The essence of good food lies in communication and sharing. The idea behind this fried rice actually comes from considering the fusion of ingredients' colors, textures, and flavors."

He pointed to the leftover scraps on the cooking station and began to explain.

"The core is to fry in separate steps, ensuring the optimal heat and texture for each auxiliary ingredient. The color matching should be harmonious and natural; for example, for the blue-violet color, I used black goji berry juice, which needs to be stir-fried quickly when heated to ensure even coating without turning black. The key to the flavor is layers; a savory main note, sugar to enhance freshness, and those last few drops of prickly ash oil are to add aroma, cut through richness, and activate all the flavors..."

He revealed his ideas and techniques without reservation, and the Association Chairmen listened, utterly captivated, nodding repeatedly, sometimes enlightened, sometimes exclaiming in admiration.

After the explanation, Master Lu sighed softly.

"Actually, limited by today's ingredients and equipment, this fried rice can at most be considered an unfinished product, far from achieving its intended effect."

"What? This is still an unfinished product?!"

The Association Chairmen hadn't expected Master Lu to say this. They all gasped in unison, their faces filled with disbelief.

Such an astonishingly exquisite fried rice was still just an unfinished version?

Dai Xuesong's voice trembled.

"Little Master Lu, are you... are you not joking? This... this is still unfinished?"

Master Lu nodded.

"Indeed, the true 'Seven-Colored Exquisite Heart Fried Rice' requires very specific main and auxiliary ingredients. The main ingredient needs to better carry and elevate the flavors of the auxiliary ingredients, and the auxiliary ingredients also need more suitable replacements to achieve the ultimate harmony of color, aroma, taste, and texture."

The Association Chairmen exchanged glances, moved by Master Lu's selfless sharing, and at the same time, immensely shocked and yearning to know what heights the complete version of this fried rice could reach.

"Little Master Lu's broad-mindedness makes us feel ashamed!" Chairman Neng Xing praised sincerely.

"Listening to Little Master Lu today is worth ten years of culinary study!"

"We beg Little Master Lu, if you ever create the complete version, you must let us witness and taste what kind of heavenly flavor it truly possesses!"

Dai Xuesong pleaded excitedly, and the other Association Chairmen also chimed in.

Master Lu felt their pure pursuit of good food and smiled, nodding in agreement.

"If there's an opportunity, I will certainly share it with all of you seniors."

Afterward, the Association Chairmen seized the time to ask Master Lu about the questions that arose during their observation and listening, as well as the bottlenecks they encountered in their own cooking.

Master Lu answered each question, speaking in a profound yet easy-to-understand manner, often hitting the nail on the head and going straight to the core, which frequently gave the Association Chairmen a sense of sudden enlightenment.

Dai Xuesong was particularly excited. He felt that several problems regarding heat control and flavor fusion that had troubled him for years suddenly became clear under Master Lu's guidance, and the path ahead seemed bright.

He was so overcome with emotion that he suddenly stepped back, straightened his clothes, and bowed respectfully to Master Lu, performing a traditional Rei of gratitude from a disciple to a teacher after receiving instruction.

"Master Lu's words have awakened me from a dream! This kindness is like a new beginning; please accept my bow, Xuesong!"

Dai Xuesong's words were earnest, and his actions were meticulous.

Master Lu was startled and quickly moved to dodge.

"Chairman Dai, you mustn't! You are a senior!"

However, as soon as he moved, he found that Chairman Neng Xing and several other Association Chairmen also simultaneously bowed to him with solemn expressions.

"Master Lu's guidance is an unforgettable kindness!"

Everyone said in unison.

They formed a circle, and Master Lu had nowhere to hide. He could only stiffly accept the bow, his face full of helplessness, but in his heart, he also developed a sense of respect for the purity and dedication of these old chefs.

After chatting and exchanging for quite a while longer, Master Lu was finally able to get away.

After bidding farewell to the Association Chairmen, he encountered Qi Yuan and other Regular Customers outside the venue.

Master Lu smiled and exchanged pleasantries with them for a while.

It wasn't until Qi Yuan and the others started asking about next week's stall location that Master Lu quickly found an excuse to leave, hurrying to the airport to catch the next available flight back to the Demon Capital.

As he was waiting at the airport, a smiling voice spoke beside him.

"Master Lu? It really is you!"

Master Lu put down his phone and looked up to see a young man with a towel draped over his shoulder and long hair.

"Hello."

Master Lu nodded in greeting, recognizing the bright-eyed young man as one of the three contestants who had successfully advanced to the finals.

"Master Lu, hello, hello. My name is Ling Zihao."

The young man, making himself at home, sat down beside him, his eyes full of admiration.

"Your Seven-Colored Fried Rice today was absolutely incredible! I saw the Association Chairmen's eyes almost pop out! Amazing! Absolutely amazing!"

Master Lu was a little embarrassed by his blunt praise and chuckled.

"Just good luck, an exceptional performance."

"Oh, Master Lu, you're too modest!"

Ling Zihao waved his hand.

"Your knife skills, your heat control, your creativity—that's not luck at all! To be honest, my ancestors were also imperial chefs, passing down some skills, but compared to what you showed today, it's like a firefly next to the bright moon! Truly, I'm completely convinced and full of admiration!"

Master Lu was a little surprised. He had always heard of imperial chef families, but he hadn't expected to meet one today.

Seeing that he had caught Master Lu's attention, Ling Zihao immediately became animated, chatting casually with Master Lu, his words full of praise and curiosity for Master Lu's culinary skills, acting like a complete fanboy.

Master Lu couldn't help but smile. He found the young man's personality interesting; although a bit mischievous, his eyes were clear, and his passion for cooking didn't seem feigned.

After Ling Zihao's repeated pleas, Master Lu couldn't resist and agreed to exchange contact information.

"Master Lu, please guide me more in the future! When I get to the Demon Capital, I'll definitely come find you for a free meal... ah, no, to learn!"

Ling Zihao said with a grin.

"Welcome."

Master Lu smiled and nodded, then checked the time. Realizing it was boarding time, he immediately stood up to say goodbye.

Ling Zihao waved enthusiastically, watching Master Lu disappear down the boarding gate. The brilliant smile on his face slowly faded, and the corners of his mouth curved into a subtle, elusive arc.

He took out his phone, his fingertips dancing quickly across the screen. He opened a special encrypted contact list, found an entry where both the contact name and number were scrambled, composed a text message, and sent it.

The message content was extremely brief.

【Target contacted, connection established, next step of plan can commence.】

Successfully sent, the message instantly vanished from the outbox.

Ling Zihao put away his phone, his face once again displaying that harmless, brilliant smile. Whistling, he turned and blended into the airport crowd.