Lin Chen nodded and said to Zhao Xiaowen, "Try making a dish."

Zhao Xiaowen picked up the kitchen knife and then took a potato out of the vegetable basket.

Her knife swiftly rotated in her hand, and in no time, she had peeled the potato completely.

"How is this possible?" Staring at the smooth potato in her hand, Zhao Xiaowen was almost stunned.

Just now, her movements had been mechanical, done unconsciously, as if she had practiced knife skills for decades. Her movements might not have been as skilled as Lin Chen's, but they certainly exceeded the level of a five-star hotel chef.

She sliced the potato into shreds, put oil in the pan, added the shredded potato, threw in the seasonings, and her entire motions flowed like running water; soon, a fragrant dish of stir-fried shredded potatoes in vinegar sauce was ready.

Zhao Xiaowen took a bite with her chopsticks, and her pretty face suddenly changed.

"Lin Chen, is this really a dish I made? How could I possibly cook something this delicious?"

Lin Chen smiled, "This is what I just taught you, but Xiaowen, you must keep this secret for me, not even your parents are allowed to know."

"Mhm." Zhao Xiaowen nodded seriously.

"Alright, take your stir-fried dish out and let the customers try it!" Lin Chen said with a smile.

Zhao Xiaowen brought the dish out and happened to see Li Meng, the foodie she saw earlier.

"Manager Zhao, you're personally serving me? I'm a bit embarrassed," Li Meng said with a grin, caressing his pudgy belly.

Zhao Xiaowen smiled slightly, "Try tonight's dish and see how it is."

Li Meng nodded, picked up a piece of cabbage, and took a bite, "Delicious, it's simply too delicious."

Then he took a bite of the shredded potato, "Mmm, I've finally tasted this flavor again."

Seeing Li Meng indulging in the delicious food, Zhao Xiaowen could hardly believe that she could cook such tasty dishes herself.

Zhao Xiaowen excitedly returned to the kitchen and went straight to Lin Chen and hugged him.

"Lin Chen, thank you for passing on such a powerful skill to me," Zhao Xiaowen said gratefully.

Lin Chen smiled, "This is just the beginning, in the future, I will teach you even more skills."

With Zhao Xiaowen around, Lin Chen didn't have to run to the Little God Chef Private Kitchen every day, which meant he could devote energy to developing Star Company properly.

Lin Chen had just walked out of the kitchen when Huo Jing approached him.

"Mr. Lin, do you remember me?" Huo Jing asked.

Lin Chen nodded, "Of course, I remember you. Is there something I can help you with?"

With a hint of embarrassment, Huo Jing said, "I'm really sorry, Mr. Lin. We intended to have you as a seeded player going straight to the finals, but there's been a small complication. Would you be able to start from the preliminary round instead?"

Hearing Huo Jing's words, Lin Chen frowned and asked, "Will there be a live TV broadcast of the preliminary round?"

Lin Chen was participating in this competition to increase his popularity, so he wasn't very concerned about the prize money or ranking; what mattered most to him was how much popularity he could gain.

"Yes, there is a live broadcast," Huo Jing said hastily.

Lin Chen nodded, "As long as there's a live broadcast, that's fine. It doesn't matter at which level I compete."

Huo Jing was initially on tenterhooks, fearing that Lin Chen might get angry and decide not to participate in the competition, but seeing his magnanimity, she felt relieved.

In fact, Lin Chen was originally a seeded player, but today someone had replaced him. Although Huo Jing was upset deep down, the person recommended was backed by the head of the Culinary Association, so she was even more eager to see Lin Chen prove himself in the competition.

"Then make sure you go to the DY Exhibition Center at ten o'clock tomorrow morning, I'll be waiting for you!" Huo Jing handed the contestant badge to Lin Chen before taking her leave.

Unfortunately, Zhao Xiaowen can no longer sign up. If she were to register, she would probably have taken the top two spots in the culinary competition with him. Lin Chen shook his head helplessly.

The next morning at ten o'clock, Lin Chen arrived at the competition venue and was genuinely startled by the scene.

He saw countless stoves set up in the venue, each equipped with a variety of stir-frying tools.

After greeting Huo Jing, Lin Chen made his way to his own stove.

At this time, a few competitors next to Lin Chen were chatting.

"Hey, which technical school did you graduate from?"

"I'm from Blue Sky Technical School, how about you?"

"I'm from Huafei Technical School."

Then one of them asked Lin Chen, "Hey, young man, which technical school are you from?"

Lin Chen smiled, "I'm self-taught."

"Haha, an amateur also coming to join the fun?" At this point, several people looked at Lin Chen with disdain.

In their eyes, only those who had undergone professional training were qualified to join the competition.

"Who says self-taught means amateur? Have you guys heard of Little Chef's Private Kitchen? The chef there is said to be an amateur, yet the dishes they make are so flavorful, they're even more delicious than what the chefs at five-star hotels can create," said a boy with glasses among the crowd.

Seeing that Lin Chen was an amateur, the other competitors couldn't be bothered with him anymore, except for the bespectacled boy who took the initiative to walk up to Lin Chen.

"Hello, my name is Li Fei." The boy reached out with a warm smile.

"Hello, I'm Lin Chen." Lin Chen also smiled and shook hands with the boy.

"Don't mind these people; they think they're something special after a few days at a technical school learning a few cooking skills. Pfft, what's so bad about being an amateur? I'm an amateur too, and I can still eliminate them," Li Fei said confidently.

"Wow, you two are really full of yourselves." The male student from Blue Sky Technical School who heard their conversation approached them.

"Got a problem with that?" Li Fei said, coldly.

"Pfft, dare to make a bet?" The male student from Blue Sky Technical School picked up a potato and sneered at Li Fei.

"What's the bet?" Li Fei asked.

"You two team up, and we'll have two on our team. We'll compete in peeling potatoes, ten for each team, to see who can finish peeling first. The losing side will have to withdraw from the competition," the male student said coldly.

"This...?" Li Fei glanced at Lin Chen; he had no doubt about his own readiness, but he didn't know how capable Lin Chen was.

"Let's bet; it doesn't matter," Lin Chen nodded and said.

"Good, who wants to go first?" Li Fei was excited when Lin Chen agreed.

"What's with the world today, a bunch of amateurs acting so arrogant. I'll compete against you guys," a haughty young man approached from the crowd.

Seeing this young man, the guy from Blue Sky Technical School's face lit up, "Brother, with you stepping in, those two kids are definitely going to lose."

The newcomer was named Zhang Xu, the best knife-skills student from Blue Sky Technical School. He had been selected by a five-star hotel even before graduation, and if he placed in the top three in this competition, he could enter that five-star hotel.

Zhang Xu looked at the two with a teasing gaze and said coldly, "If you lose, not only do you have to withdraw from the competition, but you also have to let the other side slap you ten times. Do you dare to take this bet?"

Upon hearing this stake, Li Fei furrowed his brows, but hesitated because the other party seemed so confident.

"Fine, since you're so eager to be slapped, let's start!" Lin Chen suddenly said indifferently.