Food: My food truck can be upgraded indefinitely.

Chapter 42 Mermaid 1: The Eight-Armed Fish?

"To be fair—let's cook back to back, using our own ingredients. As for the judges, you can randomly select twenty diners from the group behind me, and their evaluations will be the basis for the decision."

Ling Yun spoke again.

The sound wasn't loud, but it carried clearly throughout the entire venue.

Cousin Zhou nodded confidently in agreement, a hint of disdain even playing on his lips.

"Count me in! Count me in!"

The female host raised her hand high.

Students who eagerly answer questions in class also count themselves as members of the judging panel.

Li He wanted to refuse.

She barely moved her lips before Ling Yun waved his hand dismissively and calmly agreed:

"It doesn't matter, I believe the masses have discerning eyes."

This trust in the diners was like a warm breeze sweeping through the crowd, earning a burst of enthusiastic applause.

Seeing the situation was getting out of hand, the female host quickly turned her eyes around, waved her hand, and shouted to regain control of the rhythm:

"Let's get started without delay!"

The three cousins ​​brought a cart, which was convenient to park behind Lingyun's food cart.

Uncle Chen stepped in and mediated.

The two surrounding stalls were temporarily moved to the middle of the road, freeing up an open space and providing enough room for both operators and onlookers.

The crowd was packed tightly together, three layers deep.

In the information age, everyone is a recorder and a witness.

The raised cameras captured this unprecedented street steak competition from all directions, 365 degrees, without any blind spots.

"Alright, then listen to my instructions: three, two, one, go!"

As Li He's clear shout faded, Ling Yun and his cousin Zhou opened fire simultaneously.

Blue flames suddenly shot up simultaneously.

Lingyun has a total of sixteen firing points, so they heat up much faster than Cousin Zhou.

He showed no intention of waiting.

A scoop of butter was spread on the hot plate, and the fat melted instantly. Steaks were then placed on the hot plate one by one, sizzling and billowing white smoke.

Hearing the sizzling sound behind him, Zhou's cousin started to get anxious. He kept reaching out to feel the temperature of the hot plate, and finally lost his composure. Before the hot plate was even heated up properly, he hurriedly put down the beef.

Hearing the off-key crackling sound behind him, Ling Yun showed no mercy, turned his head, aimed at the small megaphone in Li He's hand, and smiled:

"You put the steak in the pot too early!"

Li He's eyes lit up, and she tacitly cooperated by asking further questions, her voice tinged with laughter:

What happens if it rains too early?

"The correct way to cook steak is to sear it quickly at high temperature to lock in the juices."

Ling Yun's voice came through the loudspeaker, clear and firm:

"In my experience, the ideal temperature for cooking steak on a hot plate is 200°C to achieve the perfect Maillard reaction and give it a caramelized flavor and an appealing color."

He paused, then changed the subject:

"Otherwise, if the temperature is insufficient, the steak will not caramelize quickly after being put into the pan, resulting in a soft, grayish skin and a tendency to stick to the pan, damaging the overall structure of the steak and causing it to tear and crumble..."

His explanations were professional and accurate, like a public lecture.

Many diners nodded, their faces showing an expression of understanding, and expressed their amazement at the knowledge they had just heard.

The contempt people had for his academic credentials from the Chinese Culinary School gradually faded away.

Your background doesn't determine everything.

The master leads you through the door, but the practice is up to you.

Who knows, maybe someone else is just a bunch of small monsters who turned out to be the real Great Sage!

Hearing Ling Yun's instructional words, Zhou, who was already nervous, suddenly flew into a rage and roared, his voice distorted:

"Bullshit! I'm testing the temperature, do you think I need you to teach me such basic knowledge?"

He angrily tore the steak off the hot plate, leaving pieces of meat torn and stuck to the plate and hanging on the spatula, which drew laughter.

My cousin Zhou's face was covered in bruises.

Amidst laughter, they shoveled away the charred bits and placed a new steak on top.

this time.

Finally, a dry sizzling sound, similar to Lingyun's, came from the hot plate, and it sounded quite realistic.

Cousin Zhou breathed a sigh of relief.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and sped up the cooking.

Three minutes later.

The first batch of steaks at Lingyun's place has been cooked.

There were twelve in total, which was more than half of the judges.

"etc."

Ling Yun called out to Xiao San and Xiao Si, who were about to serve the dishes, and with a flick of her wrist, the spatula paused in mid-air:

"Serve the food to the later customers before the other side serves theirs. Since it's a competition, the food should be served around the same time."

Today, he wants to make his opponent lose so convincingly that they can't find any excuses or reasons to accept defeat.

"Okay! Alright!"

The two responded, picked up their steaks, turned around, skipped over the twenty judges, and began serving the customers in line behind them.

The fragrance wafted past the judges' noses, like an invisible thread pulling at their noses, causing their necks to sway along with the two of them.

The delicious food passed by unnoticed.

Those twenty people were extremely uncomfortable, squirming and fidgeting on their stools as if they had thorns in their backsides.

But they were unwilling to give up the opportunity to be judges, so they could only watch enviously as the lucky ones behind them tasted the food first.

Due to the existence of gambling.

Those who haven't tried it yet are now filled with a sense of unease, like a cat scratching at their hearts.

They were really curious to know just how delicious Lingyun's steak was.

They craned their necks, held up their phones, and carefully observed the expressions of the diners.

Without exception.

The moment the first bite of steak entered their mouths, diners' faces lit up with exclamations of "delicious indeed," "surprise," and "wow."

They ate non-stop with their knives and forks, their mouths glistening with oil, and could only express their enjoyment with thumbs-up, nods like raindrops, and fingers pointing frantically at the steak on their plates.

As they chewed, the aroma of the sauce rose and filled the air, making those around them swallow hard.

"It smells so good!"

"Just watching them eat makes my appetite grow, and it makes me hungry."

"Oh my god, I still have number 100?! I hate it, why do I have to poop before I go out?!"

Based solely on the aroma.

And with the visible changes in joy on the faces of the lucky winners, the onlookers were certain:

Lingyun's steak is absolutely delicious.

However, this does not solve the core problem.

Did he actually steal the secret recipe from Wenji's shop?

this problem.

We'll have to wait until Zhou's steak is ready to find out.

Two minutes later.

Cousin Zhou wiped his sweat, let out a long breath, and shouted excitedly:

"Here it is! The steak is ready!"

Zhou Meimei had been waiting impatiently for a long time.

Before her cousin Zhou could even put the wooden tray down properly, she snatched it away, picked it up, and headed out, as if afraid of being a fraction of a second too late.

As they passed the Lingyun food truck, they couldn't resist turning around and making a sarcastic remark:

"Where's your steak!"

She turned her head and looked.

The two mistresses, each carrying two steaks, followed closely behind her, never missing a step.

Seeing that she had only put down one plate, the mistress could only helplessly follow suit and put down one as well, muttering something under her breath, her voice low but each word clear:

"So all you're doing is serving it one piece at a time? The customers at chain steakhouses would starve!"

The mistress's grumbling was not loud; it was merely a complaint that came out of her mouth after being provoked by Zhou Meimei and realizing the absurdity that the other party had only managed to produce one mere steak in the time it took Chef Lingyun to make two batches of twenty-four steaks.

Unfortunately, this remark hit the diners' funny bone perfectly, and the surrounding area burst into laughter.

It was precisely this muttered remark of his that...

The diners discovered another surprising fact:

Lingyun was able to produce twelve portions at once with almost no loss. Not only was the efficiency high, but the consistency of the output was also terrifyingly good.

"This kind of skill is absolutely impossible to learn."

"That's right. Without frying thousands or tens of thousands of steaks, how could we achieve such an incredible food preparation efficiency?"

"Lingyun Steak, now it has become art!!!"

Everyone sighed with admiration.

Watching Ling Yun busily working amidst the swirling smoke, Zhang Moli suddenly had an idea. She took out her phone and snapped a picture of Ling Yun in the smoke and flames.

It has the atmosphere of everyday life and the vibrancy of a street.

Flames, meat, and iron plates intertwine, creating a vibrant and heartwarming scene with Lingyun, who is intently cooking.

With her upload.

This photo also became the first photo used in the viral video app Lingyun the following day.

Zhou Meimei was furious.

She knew beforehand that Ling Yun could serve eight steaks at once, but she never expected that after just a few days, he had evolved to serving twelve at once.

What the hell is this monster?

Is it an octopus from the Mermaid Clan?

Zhou Meimei stood in front of the food cart, watching Ling Yun's movements flow smoothly and rhythmically.

Flip it over, drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with seasoning.

Every movement seemed meticulously calculated, maintaining a captivating charm.

Her mouth was slightly open, and she stared at it for a moment, forgetting why she had come there.

After a long, long time, she finally came to her senses, stomped her foot, and ran back to her cousin Zhou's side, yelling and urging him to start serving the meal.

Ling Yun didn't notice her.

The diners didn't go to see her either.

Everyone is eagerly anticipating what the first diner to receive both steaks will say.

Under the spotlight.

He... did the fork.