Chapter 25: I Lost, But That Doesn’t Mean Changxi County Lost
Changxi County Town.
It slowly approached 4:30 in the afternoon.
The customers who had learned about the duel between Liang Heng and Qu Feng at noon had all returned to Mianwei Jia Noodle House.
And since noon, even more customers had learned about the duel.
They had come as well.
Mianwei Jia’s spacious dining hall was already packed with customers.
Seeing so many customers, Jiang Caidong was both happy and a little worried.
’I hope Liang Heng is the one who wins!’
Of course, all the customers in the hall also hoped Liang Heng would win.
So, what was the outcome?
They would have their answer soon enough.
One after another, Liang Heng and Qu Feng finished preparing their Yangchun Noodles.
They each placed their noodles in a porcelain bowl and presented them to Jiang Caidong.
All the customers could see them as well.
First, judging by appearance, they seemed to be evenly matched.
Both looked incredibly tempting, as if they would be delicious.
Jiang Caidong let out a breath and said to Liang Heng and Qu Feng, "Since you’ve both finished, I will now make my judgment."
"Please, go ahead."
"Please begin, Boss Jiang."
Jiang Caidong nodded. After a moment’s hesitation, he decided to taste Qu Feng’s noodles first.
He took a small bowl, placed a few noodles in it, and added some broth.
First, he took a sip of the broth.
He was inwardly startled. ’This Qu Feng really is something. The flavor and texture of this broth are a cut above Master Liang’s!’
Next, he tasted the noodles.
After savoring them carefully, he was even more taken aback.
’This Qu Feng is incredibly skilled.’
’These noodles are definitely superior to Master Liang’s.’
He sighed to himself.
On the surface, however, Jiang Caidong remained expressionless.
Then, he took a new small bowl and did the same with Liang Heng’s noodles, sampling a small portion with some broth.
After tasting it carefully, he was pleasantly surprised.
Liang Heng’s noodles had improved even further from the progress he’d made over the last few days.
This meant Liang Heng still had potential and could continue to improve.
Unfortunately, even though Liang Heng’s noodles had improved, the gap between his and Qu Feng’s was still quite noticeable.
’Liang Heng has lost.’
’It isn’t unexpected, but it’s a real shame.’
Everyone was waiting expectantly for Jiang Caidong to announce the results.
Jiang Caidong announced, "The winner is... Master Qu."
Upon hearing the result, all the customers were deeply disappointed.
In the end, the Intermediate Noodle Chef was simply the stronger of the two.
Although the customers were disappointed, they had, in truth, been mentally prepared for this outcome.
It was just that with this loss, all of Xingshui City’s two districts and three counties had been completely defeated.
And the result was that Qu Feng, all on his own, had proven to both Xingshui and Heyang that the Yangchun Noodles from Heyang City were superior.
Although they didn’t want to admit it, the truth was right in front of them. They couldn’t just stubbornly refuse to acknowledge it.
There was no point in that.
It was just a profound disappointment.
Qu Feng was not the least bit surprised by the outcome. With a slight smile, he said to Liang Heng, "Master Liang, thank you for the match."
Qu Feng appeared calm, but inwardly he was thrilled.
Now that he had defeated Liang Heng, he could officially declare that the Yangchun Noodles from Heyang City were better than those from Xingshui City.
Then, those customers who had claimed Xingshui City’s Yangchun Noodles were superior would finally know they were wrong.
’The very thought of it was incredibly satisfying.’
Liang Heng, meanwhile, sighed to himself.
’I already surpassed my usual skill level this time. But unfortunately, I still lost.’
’Qu Feng’s skill is even greater than I imagined. No wonder he has such a considerable reputation in the Heyang Chef World.’
’But even though I lost, Changxi County hasn’t lost yet.’
’And it might never lose.’
At that moment, Jiang Caidong sighed softly and added, "You two masters may now taste each other’s noodles."
Both Liang Heng and Qu Feng nodded.
Each man took a small bowl, sampling a bit of his opponent’s noodles and broth.
After tasting it, Liang Heng nodded.
’It’s true, his noodles taste significantly better.’
When Qu Feng tasted it, however, he was slightly surprised.
’There’s a clear gap between us, but it’s not as wide as I expected.’
’His skill is a bit greater than I gave him credit for.’
’But that’s all it is.’
"Anyone here who’d like to try, feel free to come up for a taste," Jiang Caidong then said to the customers.
The customers had been waiting for this invitation.
Every single one of them wanted a taste.
So, they each took a small bowl to have a sample.
Each person’s portion was very small, but it was enough to get the flavor.
After tasting, they all agreed that Liang Heng’s noodles were even better than what he usually served.
But they truly couldn’t compare to Qu Feng’s.
Even though they weren’t culinary experts, they could still taste the difference.
This just went to show how significant the difference truly was.
Seeing that not a single customer had any objections, Qu Feng couldn’t help but feel a little smug. He said, "Master Liang, Boss Jiang, and everyone here, thank you for the match. Well then, from this moment on, it can be officially said that the Yangchun Noodles of Xingshui City are inferior to those of Heyang City. All of you present are witnesses to this."
Hearing this, the customers exchanged glances and shook their heads with resignation.
Liang Heng, however, looked toward Jiang Caidong.
Jiang Caidong was looking back at him.
Then, Jiang Caidong gave a slight nod.
Liang Heng nodded as well and said, "I’m afraid you can’t say that just yet, Master Qu."
Qu Feng’s brow furrowed instantly. "Master Liang, what do you mean by that? Are you refusing to admit that you lost to me?"
The customers, meanwhile, were very curious. Why would Master Liang say such a thing?
"No," Liang Heng said. "I don’t deny it. I did indeed lose. But my loss doesn’t mean our Changxi County has lost."
"Oh?" Qu Feng’s brow remained furrowed. "Are you saying there’s someone in Changxi County who is better at making Yangchun Noodles than you?"
At this, the customers’ eyes all lit up in pleasant surprise.
’Could it be true?’
Liang Heng nodded. "That’s right. His skill is far beyond mine."
Qu Feng asked, "So, you think he can beat me?"
Liang Heng replied, "Without a shadow of a doubt."
Qu Feng looked at Liang Heng and thought, ’This Liang Heng is well aware of my skill, yet he still dares to say something like that. Could it be this Changxi County really is a land of crouching tigers and hidden dragons? Wait, no, that’s not right.’
Qu Feng seemed to realize something and turned to Jiang Caidong. "Boss Jiang, didn’t you say that your restaurant’s chef could make the best Yangchun Noodles in all of Changxi County Town? Don’t tell me Master Liang isn’t the best chef in your restaurant?"
Jiang Caidong smiled. "Master Liang is, of course, the best chef in my restaurant. The Yangchun Noodles he makes are indeed the best in town. But they aren’t the best in all of Changxi County."
Qu Feng frowned again. "What do you mean by that, Boss Jiang?"
The customers were also baffled. All eyes turned to Jiang Caidong.
Jiang Caidong said, "It means that there is someone in Changxi County who makes better Yangchun Noodles than Master Liang. It’s just that his restaurant isn’t in town. It’s located outside a rural town... out in the wild."
"Outside a rural town? Out in the wild?" Qu Feng’s brow remained furrowed. "Boss Jiang, are you sure you aren’t joking?"
Jiang Caidong shook his head. "Of course not."
After pondering for a moment, Qu Feng said, "Fine. In that case, please tell me the exact location of his restaurant, Boss Jiang. I’ll go challenge him myself."
At first, Qu Feng had wondered if Changxi County was truly a land of hidden masters.
’But on second thought, that’s impossible.’
’Especially since the restaurant is supposedly out in the wild, beyond some rural town.’
’What kind of legitimate chef opens a restaurant out there?’
’It must be that Liang Heng lost in front of all these people, couldn’t handle the embarrassment, and is now just running his mouth to save face.’
’Saying it would be a win ’without a shadow of a doubt’? That’s absolute nonsense.’
’Even in the most generous scenario, if that person’s skill really is above Liang Heng’s, he’s probably just a little better. There’s no way he’s better than me.’
’Since that’s the case, I’ll just go and challenge this person and beat him. Then we’ll see what these people have to say!’
Jiang Caidong said, "His restaurant is quite far; it’s at least a two-and-a-half-hour drive. It’s getting late today. How about this, Master Qu, we can go together tomorrow morning. As it happens, Master Liang and I were planning on making a trip there anyway."
Qu Feng nodded. "That works. I’ll need some time to prepare another set of ingredients anyway."
Jiang Caidong said, "No, Master Qu, you won’t need to prepare any ingredients. Because tomorrow, you won’t be competing against him. You’ll just need to eat a bowl of his Yangchun Noodles, and you’ll have your answer."
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