Lin Dan's bold statement surprised the emperor. He originally despised this unremarkable little woman, but now, there is a hint of interest in his eyes, "I can naturally guarantee the fairness of this competition. I will only watch and will not comment, who is superior in your cooking skills and who is inferior? , let these old gluttons and old cooks have the final say."
Lin Dan faced the judges, bowed one by one, and said, "That said, this competition is still unfair to the women. Yan Yuchu is very much used by His Majesty, and now you have lent Xiangyuan to Xiangyuan. She competed and came to watch the battle in person. Your behavior has shown your attitude—you are inclined towards her. And you are the master of the world, how can your people dare to go against your will. Today, I just As soon as you step into the Fragrant Garden, you have already lost, I understand this truth, the emperor is wise and martial, you should also understand."
The more everyone listened, the more horrified they were, they never expected Lin Dan to be so outspoken.
The emperor laughed loudly, and his eyes became more interesting: "In that case, how are you doing? Do you want to continue this competition?"
Yan Langqing showed a complicated expression. If possible, she naturally wanted to compete with Lin Dan again and again, but she couldn't help but appreciate the emperor's protection of her. However, Yan Shouye felt that there was no need to continue this competition at all, and Lin Dan was humiliated today. When his daughter becomes the empress, he will definitely kill Lin Dan!
But he didn't expect Lin Dan to nod without hesitation: "It's natural to compare, but for the sake of fairness, I have to decide the rules, may I ask you, Your Majesty? I think when I competed with Yan Yuchu for the first time, because I was a Hou The chef of the house, and his father is very much loved by the Hou Yongding. For the sake of fairness, the schedule of the competition is also decided by Yan Yuchu. , I'm making the same request, isn't that too much?"
The emperor glanced at Yan Langqing, nodded and said, "It's not too much. Tell me, how do you want to compare?"
Although Lin Dan seemed to have the dominant power, the deterrent power of imperial power still existed. Even if she made the most delicious dishes, just one sentence from the referee could knock her down into the abyss. The so-called fairness has never existed in the face of power. Lin Dan is very bold, but not very smart. Thinking of this, the emperor secretly shook his head, feeling stunned.
Lin Dan said slowly, "In this competition, we use the same ingredients to make the same dishes, not many, just one."
Yan Langqing asked, "What do you want to cook?"
"The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, shall we make zongzi?" Lin Dan turned to look at her and smiled.
Yan Langqing was stunned, and after a while, she regained her senses and nodded slowly. Through the four signature dishes, she had a little understanding of Lin Dan's level. She thought she would try dishes that were extremely difficult to cook, but she didn't expect that she would propose making zongzi. However, Yan Langqing was not afraid at all. The empress in the palace also likes to eat zongzi. She has made all kinds of zongzi, and they are well received, so she is not afraid. The concubine in the palace is more stubborn than the other, and if she can serve them well, she will naturally serve several referees.
"You and I each wrap fifty catties of zongzi, and only meat zongzi, can you?" Lin Dan continued.
"Fifty pounds?" Yan Langqing finally showed a surprised expression.
"Can you?" Lin Dan looked at her directly.
"Can."
"Very good, then ask Your Majesty to provide us with 100 catties of glutinous rice and 50 catties of pork belly. We don't need to separate the glutinous rice and pork belly. We use a bucket and we go into the kitchen to distribute it ourselves. If we need additional condiments, we can also order them separately. Propose to the palace servants not to interfere with each other. Is that okay?" Lin Dan bowed his hands, neither humble nor arrogant.
The emperor nodded and said, "I'm sure, let's go make preparations." Each pack of 50 catties of meat dumplings, who will they eat? Lin Dan, is this the person who wants to die
Not only the emperor was surprised, but the rest of the guests were also puzzled. However, Lin Dan and Yan Langqing had already gone to the kitchen one after another, and it was too late to ask what happened. Even if she asks, she probably won't give an answer, let's wait until the meat dumplings are finished. I thought that this was a match that had already been won before it even started, but Lin Dan didn't expect it to be set up as a suspense. This shopkeeper Lin was quite interesting.
No matter how the Xungui guessed, Lin Dan, who entered the kitchen, was already heartbroken. One hundred kilograms of glutinous rice was packed in a huge wooden barrel, and was carried in pantingly by the palace servants, followed by a bucket with fifty kilograms of pork belly in it.
Lin Dan twisted the glutinous rice with his hands and nodded in satisfaction.
Yan Langqing said warmly: "Your concerns are a bit redundant. I won't be so despicable that I will let them prepare good ingredients for me and bad ones for you. You choose the glutinous rice and pork first, and I will use the rest."
Lin Dan turned to look at the other party, with a slight smile on his lips, "Then I would like to thank Yan Yuchu."
Yan Langqing slowly rolled up her sleeves, "Let's start now, shall we?"
"Okay, but before that, I have to specify the shape and size of the zongzi, do you have any opinion?" Lin Dan took out three zongzi leaves, rolled them into a cone, put some glutinous rice on them, and tied them with rope, indicating: " The same shape, the same size, can you make it?"
This request was indeed a bit strange, but Yan Langqing didn't think much about it, nodded and said, "Yes." She immediately wrapped an identical triangular rice dumpling and handed it to Lin Dan for inspection.
Lin Dan untied the two dumplings, put the glutinous rice back in, and said with a small smile, "Then we can start."
The two of them each occupied a stove and got busy. Yan Langqing soaked the glutinous rice first, then cut the pork belly into thin slices, and marinated it with soy sauce, fine salt, sugar, peanut oil and other seasonings. When she looked up, she found Lin Dan was on the stove, and the glutinous rice and pork belly remained untouched. .
The dumplings are not wrapped, what are you doing on the stove at this time? She felt strange in her heart, so she couldn't help but take a second look, only to realize that Lin Dan did not use firewood to burn the stove, but a sesame stick that was specially ordered from the palace servants. There were also many ripe sesame seeds on the sesame stick. There was a beeping sound when licking, and there was a unique coke fragrance that was extremely strong.
Yan Langqing involuntarily took a deep breath, feeling even more curious in her heart.
Lin Dan didn't even look at her, just gathered the sesame sticks that had been burnt to ashes, wrapped them in a thin silk cloth, and rubbed them in a cool white water until the clear water turned into turbid gray water. , and repeatedly filter it with a fine silk cloth several times to make sure there is no residue, and then soak the glutinous rice in it.
After the snow-white glutinous rice entered the water, it was dyed with a dirty color, and Yan Langqing's mind instantly popped up four big words - savage! These dumplings are meant to be eaten by several judges. Isn't it too dirty to handle them like this? She was full of puzzles, but she didn't want to ask, and she didn't want to. This competition is related to her reputation, so naturally she will not stop Lin Dan from committing suicide.
Lin Dan soaked the glutinous rice and started processing the pork belly. The seasonings she chose were similar to those of Yan Langqing, with only a slight difference in the amount. After everything was ready, she started making dumplings. It can be seen that her method of wrapping zongzi is very old-fashioned. When she flips her wrist, the zongzi leaves are rolled up. Put some glutinous rice on the bottom, put a piece of meat in the middle, put some glutinous rice on the top, press down lightly with your hands, and then put the zongzi leaves. Close, tie with string, and finally tie a small knot at the end of the string.
Yan Langqing also began to wrap zongzi, which were exactly the same size and shape as Lin Dan's. After wrapping one, she threw it into the pot next to her and waited to cook.
From the morning to the afternoon, the two finally wrapped 50 catties of rice dumplings each, and placed them in two buckets of the same size and shape. They were already cooked, and they were bubbling hot. Before everyone judged, Lin Dan counted the number of zongzi, then walked to Yan Langqing's wooden barrel, and said slowly, "You and I exchange positions."
Although Yan Langqing was full of doubts, she felt nothing, so she walked to her wooden barrel and stood still. Even if she changed positions, she still recognized her wooden barrel, could it still be greedy by Lin Dan
Lin Dan invited the guests and cupped his hands: "Can you please bring the two guards into the kitchen and exchange the positions of the two buckets on the left and right? It's up to you how many times you want to exchange them. Yes. After one adult exchanges, the other adult goes in to continue the exchange, and after five rounds of exchange, no one is allowed to say how many times they have exchanged."
"What on earth are you trying to do?" The emperor couldn't see Lin Dan's way. It stands to reason that since the dumplings are already wrapped, it is time to peel off a few and ask the judges to taste them, and then decide the winner. But now, Lin Dan seems to be playing a game, and seems to be playing tricks on everyone, who did she borrow the courage from
"Your Majesty has already promised that the grass-roots will have the final say in this competition. Does this matter?" Lin Dan asked instead of answering.
The emperor frowned and waved his hand, "Five people come out, go in and swap the two buckets."
Tang Jiu, the Duke of Yunnan and Guizhou, Prince Cheng, Prince Gong, and Marquis of Weiyuan immediately stood up.
Yan Langqing hesitated for a moment, but did not raise any objection after all. Although these people were all Lin Dan's loyal fans, they were not judges and were not qualified to judge Zongzi, so they did not hinder the competition at all. Is Lin Dan trying to confuse the two buckets of rice dumplings so that the referee can't tell which one made it? This method is indeed very clever, but she forgot that the several old royal chefs present were all from the royal kitchen and were very familiar with Yan Langqing's craftsmanship. Several of them were specially invited by the emperor to teach her cooking skills. She is half a master.
They wouldn't be able to tell who made the two kinds of zongzi, not to mention that Lin Dan had treated the glutinous rice in such a dirty way, and the zongzi wrapped in it could be eaten? Yan Langqing is very skeptical about this, and already believes that she can win. Lin Dan wasn't as good as her ten years ago, and it will be the same ten years later.
The emperor also guessed Lin Dan's intention and shook his head. This shopkeeper Lin likes to play tricks, but he can't always get the idea.
After Tang Jiu exchanged wooden barrels, she walked out with a gloomy expression. In their eyes, everything Lin Dan did was struggling to the death. In this competition, she had already lost the moment she received the challenge letter. There is no justice under power, she should understand this.
Lin Dan's expression was very relaxed, and he cupped his hands: "The competition schedule is over, and then I have to define the competition system. Everyone here has a tendency in their hearts, and it is inevitably unfair. In my opinion, they are not candidates for a good referee. I I want to carry the two buckets of zongzi to the gate of the city, peel them apart and chop them up, let the people entering the city taste them, and then let them pick a zongzi to take away according to their own preferences. Just win, is that fair? Don't worry, I marked the zongzi, and I can tell which bucket belongs to whom, and I counted it in advance. There are 400 zongzi in each bucket, and the extra ones are put aside. In order to avoid bad judgment.”