Chapter 922: Good Talents Are A Source Of Hatred

Everyone in the car sank into silence. Little Guo was silently arranging the information in the document with a serious look while Little Wang was silently driving.

As for Director Gu, he had his eyes shut, thinking about something unknown.

After a while, Director Gu opened his eyes and spoke, “Little Guo, make a written record of our trip. I want it in detail.”

“Ok,” Little Guo nodded and started preparing the folder and pen.

As for Director Gu, he was preparing to plan this event perfectly. As for the camera team on the car ahead of them, they were seriously discussing about their coming task.

The people from another province might be coming, they might not appear in front of the camera and might even come unannounced.

One ought to know that in the recent two years, the government officials of all ranks had been requested to keep a low profile. And thus, it was natural that they would not show themselves in a competition like this that was more of a marketing event.

Compared to these people that were being all cautious, the members of the evaluation committee were much more relaxed. They started gathering at the agreed-upon location.

Both Zhou Shijie and Lee Yanyi had already arrived at the meeting room, both arriving at nearly the same time.

After exchanging pleasantries, they did not even have the chance to talk before the door was knocked.

Knock. Knock. After the door was knocked, a middle-aged man in a blue suit walked in. He had a pair of glasses on, giving him a refined and scholarly look.

This person was precisely the chief editor of Food Discovery Dog, Hu Yue.

“Chief Editor Hu is here. Please have a seat,” Zhou Shijie said with a smile.

“Nice to meet you, chairman. You’re here as well, Mr Lee? It is quite hard to meet you in person,” Hu Yue first exchanged greetings with Zhou Shijie before looking at Lee Yanyi in astonishment.

“Um, here to take a look at the newly nominated restaurants,” Lee Yanyi said without bothering to hide his intentions.

“So you mean you’re here for those two restaurants?” Hu Yue asked while sitting down.

That’s right. Of the 10 nominated restaurants, only two were newly nominated ones. One was Yuan Zhou’s Master Chef Restaurant and the other was a new faction of Sichuan Cuisine that had gotten very popular recently, the Chengdu Cuisine Restaurant. It was rumored that the head chef had returned from overseas.

The head chef of Chengdu Cuisine Restaurant was 36 years old and he was a very creative person as he had fused the traditional Sichuan Cuisine with Western Cuisine, creating a new cuisine that was very gorgeous and pretty.

“Only one, Master Chef Restaurant,” Lee Yanyi said.

“And Chairman Zhou is also here for the Master Chef Restaurant?” Hu Yue asked.

“You can’t say that. I am also checking out the other restaurants as well,” Zhou Shijie said with a modest smile.

“Everyone knows you are very protective of that kid. You’re almost treating him like your own child,” Lee Yanyi exposed Zhou Shijie as he could not stand his crafty way of talking.

“Haha, seems like this Master Chef Restaurant does not have its reputation for no reason,” Hu Yue said with a laugh.

“You have never been there before?” Lee Yanyi looked at Hu Yue with an odd gaze.

As the chief editor of the largest culinary magazine in Sichuan, he had never visited Yuan Zhou’s restaurant. He was truly outdated.

“I’m waiting for you to first give that restaurant your review,” Hu Yue did not give the real reason and instead tossed the ball over to Lee Yanyi’s court.

“I have been eating there a lot. What, should I give a review so there will be more people there fighting over seats with me?” Lee Yanyi replied, looking at Hu Yue with an “I’m not stupid” look.

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“Haha, Mr Lee is a very humorous person,” Hu Yue replied with a laugh.

“Chief Editor Hu, you have really never been there?” Zhou Shijie asked when he recalled that Yuan Zhou had indeed never been featured in his magazine.

“Yes. He has been busy with the special column on Sichuan Cuisine and has been at it for half a year. So he did not have the time to visit other places.”

Instead of Hu Yue, Zhang Yan, the chairman of Sichuan Cuisine Alliance was the one who answered. He was the last to arrive.

“Chairman Zhang has arrived? Come, have a seat,” Hu Yue stood up and greeted him. After all, they had been working together for half a year.

The newcomer was Zhang Yan and he wore the traditional Tang attire. He was a thin old man with a goatee and white hair. He might look older than Zhou Shijie, but in truth, he was two years younger than Zhou Shijie.

And due to the age difference, Zhou Shijie was the first of the two to become popular in the cooking industry.

Zhang Yan once mentioned that his father giving him the name with three flames was a kind of fate, linking his life with the world of cooking. And in truth, he was indeed very talented when it came to flame control. But on other aspects of cooking, he was not as talented as Zhou Shijie¹.

Back then, both he and Zhou Shijie had participated in the election for the Chef’s Association chairman and he had ultimately been defeated by Zhou Shijie. Because of that, he started working hard to improve his skills, yet three years later, he was defeated yet again. After two defeats, it was natural that he disliked Zhou Shijie.

And what he hated most was when people spoke of talent. After all, when he was young, he was evaluated as not being as talented as Zhou Shijie.

And thus, the moment he entered, his words were aimed at Zhou Shijie, a start of their rivalry again.

“No wonder I see you in the magazine everyday,” Zhou Shijie remarked expressionlessly.

“There’s no helping it. The continuation and growth of Sichuan Cuisine still relies on us who focuses on Sichuan Cuisine,” Zhang Yan said.

“But when it comes to cooking, what matters most is making delicious food,” Lee Yanyi said.

“But the event today is in order to select a Sichuan Cuisine’s Exemplary Restaurant. Chairman Zhou, the restaurant you nominated seems to be better in Jin’ling Cuisine instead?” Zhang Yan asked, revealing his hostility towards Zhou Shijie.

“Comrade Zhang, you are outdated in your information. This Yuan Zhou is an authentic chef of the Chengdu School of Sichuan Cuisine. The dishes he cooks are delicious and the ingredients he uses are authentic. He has also been dabbling in Chongqing School of Sichuan Cuisine. The lad is very energetic and learns fast,” Zhou Shijie said with a wide smile.

Although Zhou Shijie was smiling, he was indirectly belittling Zhang Yan, causing Zhang Yan to be furious.

“I heard this Chef Yuan is only 20 years old. It is not good for a young man to keep getting sidetracked with so many cuisines. He should focus on building a firm foundation,” Zhang Yan held his temper in and remarked with a deep tone.

“To be precise, Yuan Zhou is 25 years old,” Zhou Shijie corrected.

This time, before Zhang Yan could reply, Lee Yanyi spoke.

“What’s the point of talking about it? We will know after eating there,” Lee Yanyi was getting impatient with the two’s bickering.

“Yes, Mr Lee is right. We will only know after trying it. I wonder if the filming crew is already there,” Hu Yue said.

“That’s right. Comrade Zhang, you will know talent truly exists after you try the food there. This Little Yuan is born to be a chef,” Zhou Shijie said with a smile.

With that, Zhang Yan’s hatred was totally directed towards Yuan Zhou. That’s right. He was now hating Yuan Zhou. After all, he had already been hating on Zhou Shijie for a very long time. Another round of bickering wouldn’t change much. Instead, it was Yuan Zhou and Yuan Zhou’s talent that was now a source of his hatred.

“It has not been proven by science that there is such a thing as talent. It is too early for you to be saying something like that,” Zhang Yan replied with a snort.

Zhou Shijie still cared about his image. And thus, when he saw Zhang Yan on the verge of turning crazy from anger, he decided to be the bigger man and smiled instead of saying anything.

Hu Yue breathed out in relief when he saw that.

The bickering of the two made things difficult for Hu Yue. After all, he worked for a culinary magazine and needed to be on good terms with everyone. On the other hand, Lee Yanyi did not seem to care. He was sitting there waiting for the filming crew.

“Good morning, masters.” Just as Hu Yue and Lee Yanyi were wondering about the whereabouts of the filming crew, they arrived.