Yu Antong looked despondently at the first flatbread he'd cooked.

Weren't these the right conditions? Why did it burn?

Yu Antong looked into the stove at the charcoal fire, which seemed even more blazing than before.

"What's going on?" Yu Antong wondered, scratching his head. "How do you control this kind of fire?"

The shop owner didn't teach this part!

"Let me see," Jiang Yuxiu said, pushing past Lin Haoning to the stove.

Having used coal-heating stoves at home, Jiang Yuxiu inspected the oven and soon realized the issue. Clapping her hands, she exclaimed, "I get it now! The charcoal that the shop owner added earlier hasn't been fully ignited. Now it's burning at its peak."

Seeing that Jiang Yuxiu seemed to understand, Yu Antong hurriedly asked, "So, what can we do to reduce the flame?"

Jiang Yuxiu noticed an adjustable iron flap on the stove's air intake. Grasping its insulated handle, she slid it down, suggesting, "This should do the trick."

By closing the vent slightly to reduce incoming air, the fire would diminish. Although she hadn't used this type of stove before, the principle seemed the same as those she had used at home.

"It's working, it's working!" Yu Antong, watching the flames die down a bit, finally felt a sense of clarity.

He hastily continued making the flatbread, but still struggled with rolling the dough without tearing it, exposing the filling.

Glancing at the clock, Lin Haoning anxiously said, "Master, we only have fifty minutes left. If you can't roll it thinly enough for sale, let's just make a thicker version. Otherwise, we'll run out of time."

If it keeps breaking when rolled thin, it's better to make it thicker. The texture might be a bit off, and the judges might score it lower, but it's better than presenting nothing and leaving the judges empty-handed.

"No." Yu Antong frowned and shook his head, "If it's too thick, it'll end up like a baked flatbread."

"The judges this time are regular patrons of this food street. They're well-acquainted with the delicacies here. Even a slight taste deviation won't escape them. They might even criticize it as inauthentic, let alone transforming a thin-crisp guokui into a thick flatbread."

"Unless they've decided to just give up and not continue."

"I don't think they're there yet," Yu Antong believed. "Let me try again."

"Rolling dough may seem easy, but it requires a certain finesse. If you don’t catch the knack of it instantly, mere practice won't perfect it in the short term."

On his third attempt at rolling, Yu Antong remembered the shop owner's demonstration—after rolling the dough thin, he slapped it between his hands, stretching it with its own weight to make it even thinner before sticking it to the oven wall. Maybe Yu Antong could try that...

An idea struck Yu Antong. He rolled the dough a few more times, making it just transparent enough to see the filling inside, and then started stretching and slapping it between his hands.

After about a dozen repetitions, the dough indeed became translucently thin, yet it didn’t tear or expose the filling!

"We did it!" Jiang Yuxiu exclaimed excitedly, "This one's perfect."

"The shop owner has mastered the technique, managing to roll the dough thin in just a few strokes to save time. My method might take nearly twice as long, but at least it's effective."

With a hint of joy on his face, Yu Antong proceeded to stick the dough onto the oven wall using the shop owner’s method.

"Yuxiu, you’re familiar with this oven. Watch the heat and add coal as needed. Retrieve the bread once it's cooked." Without wasting any time, Yu Antong directed, "Haoning, come help with the filling."

Lin Haoning divided the dough into fist-sized pieces, flattened them, added the filling, and rolled them into balls. Yu Antong continued with the next steps. With the experience from his previous success, he was slightly faster this time. As he stuck the new dough on, the previous one was ready to come off.

As Yu Antong worked tirelessly, he said, "Yuxiu, slice up this first one. Cut it into small pieces and let me taste."

"Alright." Jiang Yuxiu, after ensuring the oven fire was stable for the moment, asked the shop owner for a knife. Once the guokui had cooled slightly and the crust turned crispy, she began slicing it.

"Crack~ Crack~" Each slice was accompanied by the crisp sound of the flaky crust breaking.

"There's only half an hour left. Contestants, please hurry."

The emotionless voice of a crew member in black echoed, sounding like a dispassionate timekeeper.

Time was of the essence. Yu Antong, focused on rolling dough with his back to the shop entrance, didn't look up when he heard a commotion at the door.

No need to be curious. The people entering were either customers buying guokui or the show's crew, most likely the host who always asked questions and interrupted the contestants.

Before, when he was breezing through, Yu Antong enjoyed chatting with the host. Now, he finally understood why other contestants would bluntly shoo the host away when approached.

"Master, I've sliced it. Have a taste."

As Yu Antong was pondering, he heard Jiang Yuxiu's voice and turned around.

"When did you get here?"

To Yu Antong's surprise, standing there was not a customer nor a crew member, but Xing Lixuan dressed in a black sporty casual outfit.

With his sleeves rolled up, revealing his forearms, and one hand in his pocket, he looked effortlessly cool and stylish, drawing everyone's attention.

"Oh my gosh! What luck I have today!" The extroverted girl whispered excitedly to her friend, barely containing her enthusiasm, "In my lifetime, I got to see the real-life couple Anli together!"

Her friend gripped her hands tightly, "Xing is truly handsome to the max! Mind-blowing! To see a real-life dominant CEO in person is totally worth it!"

"Absolutely! The novels weren't lying to me. Some men do command everyone's attention the moment they enter a room, captivating strangers with just their aura."

"Today must be my lucky day. I should buy a lottery ticket later!"

When Xing Lixuan entered, he saw Jiang Yuxiu holding a plate in one hand and about to feed Yu Antong with a piece of guokui using the other. One glance from him made Jiang Yuxiu pause and set the food down.

Does he have to be that jealous? She was just trying to help feed her master since he seemed too busy.

Without answering Yu Antong's question, Xing Lixuan didn't use chopsticks. Instead, he pinched a small piece of guokui and brought it to Yu Antong's lips, "Want some?"

Having often been fed by Xing Lixuan at home, Yu Antong naturally opened his mouth, his lips brushing against Xing's fingers.

Yu Antong savored the guokui. Though thin, its texture was layered – the outer crust was crispy with a fragrant aroma of sesame and the baked scent filling his mouth. The inner layer, close to the filling, retained some softness due to the moisture from the filling.

As for the filling itself, the perfectly harmonious combination of salty-sour pickled vegetables and fresh meat was simply irresistible!

The guokui might appear a bit dry from the outside, but it was incredibly flavorful with layers of textures, a classic delicacy known throughout the land.

aiyueshuxiang.com

"The flavor is quite good, but I'm unsure if it meets the local standards," remarked Yu Antong, as he took another piece and waited for Jiang Yuxiu to serve the baked ones. "Distribute these to the customers in the shop for their feedback."

The shop's patrons were all regulars from the street. Their tastes likely aligned with those of the food critics invited by the show's production team.

If the regulars liked it, then the critics would probably feel the same.

Although the show's rules prohibited interaction with the shop owner post-training, they didn't say anything about interacting with the patrons.

Understanding Yu Antong's intention, Jiang Yuxiu stepped out from behind the counter, handing each customer a piece and asking for their opinions.

"How's the taste?" Jiang Yuxiu inquired nervously. "Does it compare to what you've had here before?"

"You know what, it's pretty close!" An elder gentleman, after finishing one, requested another. "The seasoning feels a tad different from old Zhao's secret recipe, but this flavor is truly delectable!"

Old Zhao is the owner of this shop. His secret seasoning mix is a closely guarded secret. It's normal for Yu Antong's mix to differ slightly since he prepared it based on available ingredients.

A young man commented, "I can't discern any difference. It feels like a perfect replication. Very tasty!"

A straightforward elderly lady remarked, "I used to think TV shows exaggerated their dishes, but tasting this, I'm impressed! For a first-time attempt at making guokui, this is exceptional!"

"I never dreamed I'd get to taste guokui made by Yu Antong himself!" exclaimed a cheerful girl. "Delicious! Absolutely top-notch!"

...

After hearing the customers' feedback, Yu Antong felt reassured.

The taste was excellent, very similar to the shop's. Those with a discerning palate might spot minor differences, but overall, they seemed to love what he had prepared.

Yu An Tong finally felt reassured. As long as he continued at this pace, there would be no problems.

"Feeling hot? Maybe you should take off the apron?" Xing Li Xuan moved behind the counter and noticed Yu An Tong rolling out the dough, his face flushed with a thin layer of sweat forming on his forehead.

Since he couldn't assist in any other way, he tenderly took a wet wipe to dab away the perspiration.

The store had the air conditioning on, but Yu An Tong, working near the fiery furnace and manually attaching each pancake, couldn't avoid sweating even with the cold air around.

Yu An Tong replied, "I'm fine, no need to remove it."

Without the apron, his baby bump would be in clear sight.

Ever since he began to show, their team's chef uniform transitioned from a slim-fit to the now looser apron. Luckily, many other competitors also wore similar aprons, so not many viewers made an issue of it.

After the child's birth, while he might be okay revealing that Xiao Nian was the biological child of him and Xing Li Xuan, he didn't want the public to see his pregnant figure.

"Do you need some water? I'll get you a glass. You should stay hydrated," Xing Li Xuan offered again.

The emotionless voice of the timekeeper chimed in: "Ten minutes remaining..."

"No, no! I don't need anything." The store was already tight on space and Xing Li Xuan, being tall and broad, took up quite a bit of it.

Yu An Tong gently nudged the intrusive Xing Li Xuan out of the way: "Please step aside and maintain an impartial attitude as a judge. Do not distract the participants. Yu Xiu, come here quickly, the pancakes are about to burn!"

Xing Li Xuan never imagined there'd be a day when he'd be shunned like this.

Several young women in the store held their mouths open in a mix of shock and amusement.

"I never imagined Yu An Tong would treat Xing Boss this way when cooking," one girl whispered to her friend. "Those online snippets were true after all."

"Which snippets?"

"This one right here!" She took out her phone to show her companion.

——

Assistant: "Boss Xing, your wife has joined the third season of 'The Culinary God Arrives!'."

Boss Xing: "Cooking is exhausting. Has he realized his mistake?"

Assistant: "No, he's advancing through the competition and has even formed a 'ship' with another competitor. He mentioned not returning home unless he wins."

Boss Xing: "... Arrange a judge's seat for me."

——

After reading, her companion burst out laughing: "Haha! What is this ridiculous thing?"

The girl giggled, "The wife is obsessed with cooking. Boss Xing can only appear on the show to be with him but still gets ignored."

Author's note:

Boss Xing: ...

Many thanks to the lovely angels who cast their support votes or donated between 23:55:46 on 2020-02-23 and 23:55:09 on 2020-02-24.

Special thanks to the little angel who threw "landmines": Pea Mash, 2 in total.

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I deeply appreciate everyone's support. I will keep doing my best!

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