Chapter 130 Becoming a Monk

Zheng Fugui's words made everyone feel heavy-hearted. The expansion of the contestants meant that the competition would become more intense. Even Chef Niu's expression became more serious. Only Zheng Sanduo, who was arrogant, still looked up to the sky.

Ye Jiayao wondered, is this brat really that skilled and bold and confident in himself, or is there something fishy going on? Could it be that his father had already secured a spot for him in the top ten?

This is not impossible. No matter what kind of competition it is, there will always be shady dealings. There is no absolute fairness in this world.

Afterwards, Zheng Fugui announced the time of the competition, which would be in mid-October, which was more than two months away. The last rule was that each contestant would pay 200 copper coins for the preliminary round, 2 taels of silver for the semi-finals, and 5 taels of silver for the finals, and they would have to provide their own materials.

Ye Jiayao really wanted to say "Grass Mud Horse", it's a way to make money! In this case, the government doesn't need to spend any money, just collecting the registration fee is enough.

After the meeting, Mei Xiuguang glared at Shopkeeper Li and left angrily. He didn't care about the cooking competition. His purpose of coming today was to eat snow skin mooncakes, but he failed to achieve his wish.

Shopkeeper Li ignored him and winked at Li Yao, who understood and thought it meant they were leaving.

But before leaving, she wanted to say hello to someone.

As Lu Xiaotian stood up, someone patted him on the shoulder.

"Brother Lu, I am here to greet you."

Lu Xiaotian looked back and saw that this was the young man who had just sat in Zheng Sanduo's seat.

"Brother Lu spoke up for justice today. I admire your righteousness very much." Ye Jiayao bowed sincerely.

"You are..." Lu Xiaotian was sure that he didn't know this person.

"My younger brother is Li Yao from Tianshang."

Uh... those who were about to leave stopped and looked at Ye Jiayao.

Lu Xiaotian was stunned with his mouth open.

Zheng Sanduo's expression was as if he had seen a ghost: "Are you Li Yao, Chef Li?"

Everyone said that Tianshangju’s chef Li Yao was a young man, but he was too young, which completely overturned their original idea.

Shopkeeper Li said slowly, "He is no longer Chef Li now, but the chef in the imperial kitchen, Chef Li of Tianshangju. Chef Li has returned."

Ye Jiayao smiled and clasped her fists towards everyone, then followed Shopkeeper Li.

The people behind him who didn't know the truth were stunned. Damn, is the imperial kitchen walking around? Is this true?
"Xiaotian, is it true that your father is in the imperial kitchen?" asked Lin Changchun of Jufulin.

Lu Xiaotian smiled bitterly: "Of course it's true. Who dares to joke about this kind of thing?"

Lin Changchun glanced at Lian Xingwang, the shopkeeper of Xiangyilou, who looked unhappy, and said with ulterior motives: "Shopkeeper Li is really lucky. He was poached by someone, but he ended up finding someone even more powerful."

Ye Jiayao got on the carriage and complained with a smile: "Shopkeeper, you are too high-profile. You will scare them."

Shopkeeper Li laughed loudly: "I just want to scare these bastards. I have been in the Chamber of Commerce for more than seven years, and I have never said as much as I did today. It feels great, so satisfying!"

"That Mei Xiuguang, I've disliked him for a long time. He relies on the fact that he used to work in the Imperial Kitchen. What's so great about the Imperial Kitchen? My chef is also from the Imperial Kitchen." Shopkeeper Li is usually low-key. He never quarrels with others easily with an attitude of being kind to others. His presence in the Chamber of Commerce is relatively low. Now that Tianshangju has been sold, he is just a shopkeeper in name only. There is nothing to be afraid of. He can say whatever he wants.

Ye Jiayao wanted to tell him that Mei Xiuguang also had the secret recipe for snowy mooncakes, but since it involved Concubine Mei, Lao Li was timid and afraid of frightening him, so he held back. After all, he was now a member of the imperial kitchen, so if he wanted to take advantage of her, he had to think about it first.

If Ye Jiayao knew that Xia Chunyu had become the real owner of Tianshangju, she would probably be the one who would be scared.

After finishing dinner, Ye Jiayao asked everyone in the kitchen to stay for a short meeting.

The content of the meeting was first to convey the cooking competition and express my own ideas. This is a rare opportunity. Although it is difficult to get into the top ten, at least I can broaden my horizons and gain some experience.

Deng Haichuan said: "Brother Yao, with our abilities, we can only be cannon fodder. Brother Xiang can go and give it a try."

Everyone nodded and encouraged Zhong Xiang to participate in the competition.

Zhong Xiang was somewhat tempted, but he was too uncertain.

"I'm afraid not."

Ye Jiayao said, "I've thought about it for you. The competition in cooking is too fierce. I'm not sure I can win. Or you can participate in a pastry competition. You have solid basic skills and ideas. You can give it a try."

Zhong Xiang's eyes lit up: "Do you really think I can give it a try?"

Li Yao now holds a very high position in his mind, and he cares a lot about Li Yao's opinion. Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "Have you forgotten? Your cakes were highly praised at the old princess' birthday banquet."

"Brother Xiang, go ahead. We will all go to cheer you and Brother Yao on." Cui Dongpeng said.

"You all should go back and think about it carefully. Registration will start in three days. Don't take winning or losing too seriously. Just treat it as an opportunity for training." Ye Jiayao said.

"Now let's talk about the second thing. You should all know that we have undertaken a lot of private banquets recently, and it turned out that the five of us were too busy to handle it, so I plan to divide into two groups, one with me, Deng Haichuan, and Wang Mingde, and the other with Brother Xiang and Cui Dongpeng. The remaining vacancies will be filled by you. I said that everyone has a chance. Now the opportunity is here, it depends on your own performance. If you perform well, you can stay. If you don't work hard and don't perform well, someone will take your place." Ye Jiayao takes good care of her brothers and helps those who can, but she must say the ugly words in advance: she will not help you a second time if you are incompetent.

Everyone was moved and excited, and they solemnly said, "Brother Yao, don't worry, we will never let you down."

These days, it is impossible to meet someone like Brother Yao who will spare no effort to support his brothers. This is their luck and their fortune, and they must try their best.

Ye Jiayao snapped her fingers. She was satisfied with everyone's attitude, but the details remained to be tested.

The banquet of the Left Prime Minister Su's family is on the fifth day of August. There is also a banquet on the fourth day, which is held at the home of a fourth-rank official. Ye Jiayao drew up the menu and let Zhong Xiang be in charge. When the time comes, she will only need to check a few key dishes.

The main thing is that Ye Jiayao has something more important to do that day.

Well, that’s right, it’s Zhao Qixuan’s lifelong event.

The idea was given by her, so naturally I have to keep an eye on it and see how it works.

Early in the morning, Su Yi was practicing calligraphy in the study when a servant came to report that Xiao Shao from the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion wanted to see him.

Su Yi didn't even raise his eyelids: "No."

The servant said, "I have been told that if you don't see him, I will kneel in front of the gate until you are willing to see him."

Su Yi frowned and cursed him in his heart. After a good beating, he thought Qi Xuan would restrain himself, but in the end, he really listened to Li Yao and came to his house to play tricks.

He had already found out that the guy who suddenly jumped out and spoke nonsense that day was Li Yao, the new cook of Tianshangju. Because of Xiaojing, he became brothers with Zhao Qixuan.

This guy has been in Jinling for a short time, but he has already become famous. When it comes to Li Yao, almost everyone in the circle of noble children knows him. Ice drinks, snow skin moon cakes, the old princess' birthday banquet, and the dishes presented in Zichen Palace are just a few examples, which show that he is indeed a great cook. What shocked him the most was that even Princess Liuli suffered a loss at his hands, which shows that this guy is very capable and courageous.

Su Yi felt that someone had caught him in a weak spot, which was a very bad feeling.

He really wanted to ask someone to chase Xiao Shao away, but he was afraid that a quarrel would arise and it would be embarrassing if it got out. Kneeling outside was not a good idea either, so he had to ask someone to call Xiao Shao in.

"If you have something to say, just say it, and then leave." Su Yi made up his mind that no matter what Zhao Qixuan asked Xiao Shao to convey, he would turn a deaf ear to it.

When Xiao Shao saw him, he wiped his eyes with his sleeve and tears burst out. He thought: The pepper that the prince gave me is too spicy. My eyes are going to go blind.

Su Yi waited for a while, but didn't hear Xiao Shao speak. He looked up and saw that Xiao Shao was already in tears. He couldn't help but frowned and said, "Why are you crying? Your master is not dead."

Xiao Shao burst into tears: "Very soon...I will die."

Su Yi was stunned for a moment, then sneered: "Your master is playing a trick of self-torture!"

Even though he beat Zhao Qixuan pretty badly, it only looked miserable. He controlled the strength well and would not really hurt Qixuan. He was going to die. Was he kidding?

"Yes, it's true. It's almost like death. The prince...he wants to become a monk." Xiao Shao sobbed.

Su Yi was stunned, and then became angry. Did this guy think he could force him to commit a crime like this?
"My wife cried so hard that she fainted several times. No matter how much we tried to persuade her, it was useless. The prince was determined to become a monk. He will be ordained at the White Pagoda Temple today."

As he spoke, Xiao Shao took out a small cloth bag from his arms and gave it to Su Yi: "This is what my master asked me to give to you, saying that it's a keepsake."

Su Yi opened it and saw a bead and a strand of hair inside.

It was like being struck by lightning.

He also had this bead, which was polished from the same piece of jade. He still remembered that they bought this jade when they went to the temple fair together after school. It couldn't be said to be a good jade, but Qixuan insisted that he give him a gift, so he just bought a jade seal from the stall and asked him to go back and carve a seal for fun. Unexpectedly, two days later, Qixuan brought two beads, saying that he had polished the seal into beads, one for each of them.

He still clearly remembered that Qixuan grinned with his big white teeth and said with a grin: "Put this on and never take it off!"

At that time, he didn't know what Qixuan was thinking, so he accepted it and put it on for no apparent reason.

Later, he gradually understood Qixuan's thoughts. He was very angry and avoided Qixuan, but he never thought of taking off the bead.

Now, Qixuan actually took off the beads and returned them to him. Could it be that Qixuan really wanted to become a monk?

(End of this chapter)