Chapter 788: Chapter 787: People’s Names (Part 1)

“Food competition grab?”

Xia Yu stopped in his tracks.

Zhou Li and Zhou Hu, the muscular brothers, exchanged a glance and focused their eyes on Xia Yu.

Feeling the stares from behind, Xia Yu couldn’t help but laugh and cry.

Fine!

He had just returned to the country and was already encountering all sorts of trouble.

However, Xia Yu was more interested in the instigator; he glanced over and whistled softly, admiring a handsome young man.

A few steps away, a young man with shoulder-length hair, wearing shiny earrings and a fashionable suit appeared, at first glance, to be a celebrity, with a quite powerful aura of confidence.

“Who are you?”

Xia Yu nodded toward him.

“I am Zhao Qi,” the young man responded with a bright, toothy smile that was somewhat dazzling.

“Zhao Qi?”

Xia Yu nodded again and then turned to leave. Zhao Qi was not prepared for such a reaction, paused for a moment, and then shouted, “Hey, the food competition hasn’t started yet! Where are you going?”

“Nutcase.”

This response did not anger Zhao Qi; he just coughed and said, “Well, the food competition or whatever, it doesn’t matter really, but Zhao’s Vineyard always accommodates talented people. There is a residency rule, and although Aunt Zhao arranged for you to stay here, you are still a guest.”

“You know the saying, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do,’ don’t you?”

Who knew Xia Yu wouldn’t even bother to respond.

Zhao Qi watched as he disappeared, then looked at the brothers Zhou Li and Zhou Hu, shrugged, and said, “The competition starts tomorrow; it’s already too late for you to find another place to stay. Use your brains to think of a way to save yourselves!”

In a certain courtyard of Zhao’s Vineyard.

“How is it?”

Seeing Zhao Qi return, the group of men and women gathered there surrounded him.

“I couldn’t get the details, but he looks somewhat familiar,” Zhao Qi spread his hands.

“Didn’t Aunt Zhao tell you more?”

A girl with wide eyes asked. Her name was Yuan Yun, seventeen years old, from Jinling to Shanghai to participate in the competition, the prodigy of the Yuan Family of Nandu, already a reputed specialized chef at a young age.

“I only recognize Chef Zhu. Since that guy was brought by Chef Zhu, he must also be a strong contender in this competition,” said Zhao Qi.

He was naturally referring to Zhu Qing.

“Hmm…”

Yuan Yun pondered and said, “How about this, tonight we go there and have a tea meeting, kind of a pre-competition, joint strategy session!”

“No problem!”

Zhao Qi agreed.

These two, one the leader among the women present, and the other the head among the young men, everyone else seeing them agree naturally had no objections.

So, not long after, Zhao Qi found Zhao’s Vineyard’s owner, Zhao Tong.

“Aunt Zhao!”

The young man first greeted respectfully before carefully telling Zhao Tong about the decision to hold a tea meeting tonight.

“A tea meeting? No problem, wait a moment…”

Zhao Tong put down a book about spirits, rubbed her forehead, thinking she had misheard, “Say that again, which courtyard are you going to use for the tea meeting?”

“Just next door at Guanlan Courtyard.”

Having heard clearly this time, Zhao Tong paused and then pointed at Zhao Qi, angry, “Did you go and cause trouble with someone else today?”

Zhao Qi took a step back, frightened, shook his head, “Not at all, just a greeting, the friendly kind!”

Zhao Tong said sternly, “You are leading a group of guests at Zhao’s Vineyard to participate in the competition, your small group is strong enough. Don’t expect to pull that person in. He’s not one of you.”

“Aunt, just tell me who he is!” Zhao Qi pressed.

“I told you already, he’s not one of you!”

“Then…”

Zhao Qi’s eyes darted around; he noticed a hint of curiosity that Zhu Tong could hardly conceal. A thought struck him, “Could it be that Aunt Zhao doesn’t fully understand him?”

Stymied by Zhu Tong, and with the venue for the tea party still undecided, Zhao Qi was frantic, needing to rush back to convene the talents for another discussion.

Unexpectedly, as he passed by Guanlan Courtyard, where Zhu Qing and Xia Yu were staying, he saw the brightly lit yard with voices emanating from it.

“When you write down half of the spices used in the dish, you will pass my residency test, and not only will you have a bedroom, but also a professional kitchen at your disposal.”

The young man from earlier stood in the light.

The Zhou brothers, Zhou Li and Zhou Hu, one sat at the courtyard stone table and the other stood sweating profusely.

Secretly observing, Zhao Qi waited until Xia Yu returned to his room and shut the door before slipping swiftly into the yard. “Residency test?”

Holding a pen, Zhou Li looked up blankly at him, then lowered his head to gaze at a sheet of paper dripping with ink, utterly unable to write a single word.

Zhou Hu stopped mumbling, “My brain is about to explode!”

Just then, a strange scent carried by the wind drifted to Zhao Qi’s nose. He took a slight sniff, feeling his body lighten by a few ounces.

“How fragrant!”

He couldn’t help but fix his gaze firmly on a plate of stir-fried noodles on the stone table that was only half-eaten. “Spiced noodles?”

The noodle strands were fine, each of consistent thickness, and the entire plate of noodles had no visible ingredients like meat or vegetables, only noodles.

Although it appeared to be a very plain plate of stir-fried noodles, it ignited a fire of appetite in Zhao Qi’s eyes.

With extra clean chopsticks available on the stone table, Zhao Qi didn’t think twice before picking up a bunch and popping it into his mouth.

Bang, bang, bang!

With each bite, it felt as if all bowstrings had snapped.

The sensation of exploding crunchiness was like a gale sweeping through his mouth. Zhao Qi was startled to see the wind hurling toward him, but as it consumed him, he felt no pain from the slashing wind.

Instead, Zhao Qi felt like he had jumped into a pool filled with fish, his body being playfully toyed with by the swarm. Every part of him experienced a sticky, slippery touch, and shame overwhelmed his nerves to the point of bursting.

Something was nudging his face.

Zhao Qi opened his eyes, only to let out a terrified shriek, “Ah!” A strange fish was floating before him.

Upon closer inspection, he realized it was an anago, magnified countless times.

After a moment, drenched in cold sweat and coming to his senses, Zhao Qi saw the Zhou brothers standing around him, staring intently.

“What did you eat?” Zhou Li asked.

“Spices, how many kinds?” Zhou Hu asked eagerly.

“Spare me!”

Zhao Qi raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I couldn’t make out anything!”

“Then, try it again!”

Struggling, Zhou Li picked up a bunch of noodles and put it in his mouth.

Seeing this, Zhao Qi couldn’t help but comment internally.

Damn it.

No wonder such delicious noodles were left half uneaten.

The food was tasty, but the experience was too terrifying.

Recalling how he was naked and playfully toyed with by a giant fish, Zhao Qi’s face turned red. Then, rubbing his face fiercely, he declared, “Damn it, I am a straight guy!”

…

Inside the room, it was a different world entirely.

The outside looked like a bamboo hut, but inside was a professional modern kitchen.

Hearing the scream outside, Zhu Qing chuckled on her chair, unable to resist glancing more at the young man deeply engrossed by the cooking counter. “This kid. Not only is he using my kitchen as a reward for the residency test but he’s planning to give it to those two dopes.”

In front of her, there was also a clean plate of stir-fried noodles.

Earlier, Zhu Qing had personally seen Xia Yu declare the batch of dough as ruined, casually knead some noodles, and stir-fried them. So, this simple dish of noodles was Zhu Qing’s dinner, and unlike Zhao Qi outside, she enjoyed eating it tremendously.

Picking up the last bunch of noodles with her chopsticks and munching down, Zhu Qing let out a weird chuckle.

“This is quite interesting.”

“I just love this prankish style…”