Ch93 – Grand Cooking Competition

The next day, He Yun Chen arranged for Ruan Tang and several researchers to be escorted and returned to the Blue Star Empire onboard a small battleship. He Yun Yi personally came to pick him up. There were guards outside the Star Harbor to prevent reporters from entering.

“Big Brother He, how’s Xiao Yu?” At this moment, Ruan Tang was most concerned about Ruan Yu. He has been gone for so long without knowing whether Xiao Yu had been eating well.

“Xiao Yu’s doing very well. My mother cooked for him every day. Now he’s so white and chubby. You have nothing to worry about.” He Yun Yi was full of smiles as he told him this.

It could be said that Ran Jing’s cooking skills followed Ruan Tang’s teachings very closely. The dishes she produced were of 70-80% the same level as Ruan Tang’s, so not only Ruan Yu, but also He Yun Yi and his father liked to eat her dishes.

Ruan Tang breathed a sigh of relief. “I am very thankful to Auntie.”

“What are you being so polite for? My mother already considers you and Xiao Yu to be like her own sons.” He Yun Yi said pointedly.

“Well, Aunt Ran really does treat me very well.” Ruan Tang smiled softly. He has been moved by the concern and care the He family has shown to him and his brother, but he never thought she already cared about them to that extent.

“It’s getting late, Xiao Yu has already eaten dinner is already asleep. You must be tired from your long trip. You should get a good night’s sleep, and then head to the hospital tomorrow to see him.” He Yun Yi sent Ruan Tang home, urging him to rest well.

“Okay, thank you, Big Brother He.”

Ruan Tang returned to his home, and Xiao Bai, the smart butler, greeted him. While Ruan Tang had been away, it had cleaned and swept regularly to make the house spotless and tidy.

Looking at the clean and bright home, Ruan Tang couldn’t help but admire the benefits of future technology. He patted Xiao Bai’s shoulder, and went back to his room to rest.

The next morning, he got up early to make tasty seafood porridge and bake some fluffy little cakes. He then took a taxi to the hospital.

As soon as he arrived at the door of the ward, he heard Ruan Yu’s silver bell-like laughter. Looking in from the open door, he saw Ruan Yu playing with a few children about his age. His small face was now round and chubby. His eyes so similar to those of Ruan Tang’s were bent into crescents and his face was filled with a glittering smile. The two cute dimples were exposed, making people want to reach out and poke them.

Watching this scene, Ruan Tang couldn’t help but feel a bit choked up and his eyes were filled with a sense of gratification. The child who had been as thin as firewood finally became as healthy as the other children.

Several of the children playing with Ruan Yu noticed Ruan Tang. They stopped playing, and looked timidly towards the door. They haven’t met Ruan Tang before, so they were somewhat restrained around someone they considered a stranger.

“I missed you!” Ruan Yu followed his examples and took planted a kiss on his brother’s face, his two small arms wrapped tightly around his brother’s neck, as though afraid that the other would run away. “I missed you so so so much! Will brother leave again? ”

“Brother won’t leave. I’ll always stay with the Xiao Yu.”

“That’s great!” Ruan Yu was very happy. He pulled Ruan Tang to introduce him to his new friends. They were all young patients in the hospital. Ruan Yu coud now leave his sickbed, so, every day he would go and play with his little friends.

Ruan Tang also liked these cute children very much. He greeted them and distributed the small cakes to them. These little cakes were topped with cream and decorated with fresh fruits. They look very beautiful and the children all liked them immediately. They quickly lowered their vigilance and surrounded Ruan Tang, chattering nonstop. The entire ward became very lively.

After a while, a doctor came to give Xiao Yu his treatment, “Okay, Xiao Yu is going to get his treatment. You little ones should hurry on back and prepare for your own treatments.”

“Okay.” The children responded, leaving reluctantly. When they reached the door, they turned back like sunflowers and said brightly, “Xiao Yu, Brother Tang, we’ll come again tomorrow!”

“Okay, I’ll bring you candy tomorrow.” Ruan Tang waved goodbye to them with a smile, and the little ones left happily.

No need to have the medical staff carry him this time, Ruan Yu climbed into the medical cabin by himself.

“Doctor Fang, how is my brother?” Ruan Tang asked.

“Mr. Ruan, your brother’s recovery is going well. After two more treatments, his condition will be good enough to be discharged. But after being discharged, treatments will still need to be continued to strengthen his body. You can choose to take your brother to the hospital for treatment every three days, or you could buy a medical cabin and fill in the therapeutic medicine dispensed by the hospital. ”

Ruan Tang was naturally very happy when he heard this. He couldn’t wait to take his brother home. It’s obviously more convenient to directly purchase a medical cabin instead of taking the trip so often. It would save Ruan Yu having to go back and forth. “Doctor Fang, might I ask where I can buy a medical cabin? ”

Dr. Fang reminded him, “A medical cabin is not cheap. Are you sure you want to buy it?”

“Yes.” Ruan Tang really wasn’t short on money now. In any case, whether they do the treatment in the hospital or at home, it would need a medical cabin. Doing it at home would be more convenient for Ruan Yu.

“Okay, I’ll send you a purchase page where you can buy it yourself. But to be safe, I recommend that you take the child to the hospital every month for his regular check-up.” Doctor Fang nodded, using his light brain he sent him the link to the store. After Ruan Tang placed the order successfully he would just need to wait for the medical cabin to be delivered.

“Okay, thank you so much, Doctor Fang.”

Because the treatment would take two to three hours, Ruan Tang was going to go home to cook and come back at noon.

As soon as he got on the suspended car, Ruan Tang’s light brain rang. Glancing at the screen of his light brain, he saw that it was President Gu.

He quickly connected the call, “President Gu? How may I help you?”

With a kind smile on his face, President Gu said to Ruan Tang, “Xiao Tang, I have something to discuss with you.”

It turns out that along with the popularization of semi-finished ingredients and instant meals, natural food became more and more widely disseminated in the Empire. The people began to pursue even more delicious foods.

Taking advantage of this momentum, the Chefs’ Association had also begun to develop vigorously. Due to Ruan Tang’s influence, many young chefs now dared to try out new ingredients and new cooking methods, and have learned how to handle various ingredients. That blank space in the Empire’s culinary sphere was finally being filled up. Developing even more delicious food now became much easier. As more and more people started to cook, many talented chefs began to emerge.

Therefore, the Chefs’ Association was planning to hold a cutting-edge chef’s contest to give these young chefs, and food enthusiasts, who weren’t chefs but had awakened their passion for cooking, a platform to display their skills. They had also secured the cooperation of several live broadcast platforms to broadcast this grand competition in real time throughout the entire Empire.

The competition was divided into five stages. First, a pre-selection would be conducted. Each player must submit to the official website a video of them cooking their chosen dish. The audience will then vote for their favorite dish. Each viewer was limited to only one vote. Finally, the 200 contestants with the highest votes would be allowed onto the next round.

From the start of the 1st round, there will need to be a judging panel. There would be a full five days between the pre-selection and the 1st round for the players to prepare and come to the Capital Star. A total of 100 people, that is to say, half will be eliminated in the 1st round. The 2nd round will once again eliminate half. The remaining 25 from the quarter-finals will enter the semi-finals. A total of 20 contestants will be eliminated, leaving only the last five to participate in the finals.

The competition course had three events — skills testing, creativity of the dishes, and mystery boxes.

During the competition, the audience still had the right to vote, and the judges would be responsible for professional commentary and guidance. They can also vote for the contestants. One vote would be equivalent to fifty votes from the audience. Moreover in each stage, each judge had the right to resurrect a player who they were optimistic about but had been eliminated.

In order to ensure the professionalism and spectator value of the competition, the selection of the judges was of paramount importance.

And if they were to say who the most impressive chef in the entire empire was now, it must be Ruan Tang. So President Gu wanted to invite Ruan Tang to be the main judge for this competition. His presence would not only give the competition its needed weight but would also drive its popularity.

“Okay, I promise.” Ruan Tang hesitated a little before he agreed.

He alone could not support the food culture of the entire Empire. He hoped that the future food culture will become more and more prosperous and would someday be as flourishing as the height of food culture on Ancient Earth.

“But will Jinjiang Live Platform agree?” After all, he was an anchor under the Jinjiang Live Broadcast platform. If he participates in the live programs of other platforms he might be breaching their contract.

“Of course, Jinjiang is currently the largest live broadcast platform in the Empire. Naturally, they are also involved in the broadcast of this large-scale competition. I have already discussed with Madam Ran, and she said that as long as you agree then it’s fine.

Ruan Tang heard this and was moved. Ran Jing was really nice to him.

“Then it’s settled!” After receiving his reply, President Gu ended the call, very satisfied. It could be heard clearly in his voice.

It didn’t take long for the news of the forthcoming first chef competition to be announced on the Star Network. And the news that Ruan Tang would be one of the main judges for this competition, drove up the popularity of this competition even before its broadcast.

[Luo Li: Huhuhu, My Ruan Tang is going to be a judge! I must watch it! I must! I must! I must!]

[Lin Jingan: I want to know if the judges will also be displaying their skills … [drool]]

[ID31002209: Wow, looks like we’ll be in for some fine eating once again! (＾ － ＾) V]

More and more people were paying attention to this competition, and the number of online applications for this competition was also increasing nonstop.

Three days later, the contest began in full swing.