Cheng Su watched in surprise as Ning Ge’s hands flew about, the small knife in his hand was as if it had come to life, practically dancing with flair.
"Not bad, the way you handle that knife," Cheng Su praised, "Anyone who didn’t know better would think you use a knife all the time!"
Ning Ge was originally quite proud and was about to show off when he heard her latter comment, nearly cutting his own finger, and said: "I have a knack for it." In fact, back when they trained, they used knives quite a bit to prepare for all kinds of danger.
Cheng Su was about to speak when the sound system outside blared, the emcee’s voice rang out: "Now time has passed the one-hour mark, let’s have the judges go and see which stage each contestant has reached?"
Cheng Su then looked up at the clock in the room, indeed time had already passed.
She got a bit anxious, her actions became a bit chaotic.
Ning Ge saw this, reached over, and gave her hand a firm squeeze, saying, "Don’t rush, we’re just here for fun."
Cheng Su’s eyes curved in a smile, and she continued to calmly process the fruit cores.
"Contestant 1 is already preparing to start boiling..."
"..."
Someone entered their room, saw the two still processing fruit cores, and paused for a moment. The emcee said: "Contestant 3, still handling fruit flesh." Then came over and asked Cheng Su, "Will you have enough time?"
Cheng Su, wearing a mask, mumbled a reply, "We’re trying our best."
Someone stood not far away watching for a while before leading others out.
Meanwhile, the staff of Joy Soon Loy waiting in the competition area became nervous upon hearing they were still processing fruit cores.
"President Ning hasn’t been involved in operations. His speed at handling fruit cores isn’t even as fast as mine. If I’d known, I should have gone in with President Cheng," Mai Yanmei said anxiously, her eyes turning red.
Xiao Zhu and Old Liu pressed their lips tightly, filled with remorse and guilt.
Time ticked by, and when Cheng Su saw the fruit cores were almost done, she handed them to Ning Ge while she turned to clean the boiling apparatus.
For making sauce, the pot must be clean and oil-free, otherwise, it spoils the taste and easily goes bad.
"Done," Ning Ge called.
Cheng Su went over, picked it up, and after checking, used rock sugar and sprinkled a pinch of salt to marinate and set it aside. She said, "Check the ice basin, don’t let all the ice melt."
If it melts too quickly, in such warm weather, the ice basin won’t stay cold for long, causing trouble when it’s time to cool things down.
Time flew by, nearly three hours or so, and another group of emcees and judges came to check, while others had already started boiling, Cheng Su and the team were still in the process.
Though Ning Ge said there was no rush, inside, he became anxious as well.
The entire competition arena was filled with a sweet, cloying fruity aroma that would make anyone drool.
And with the emcees and judges visiting frequently, the competition grew increasingly tense and fierce.
Cheng Su stared at the clock, seeing that the marinating time was adequate, she said, "Alright, start cooking the sauce!"
Suddenly, Cheng Su caught a whiff of burning, her face changed slightly, but quickly she relaxed, taking a deep breath to calm herself even more.
At that moment, the emcee announced that sauces from two companies had burned, contestants 6 and 8, and now, less than half the time was left. This meant even if those two companies tried to redo their sauces, it would be a rush against time and difficult to catch up.
This meant already two competitors had been eliminated.
So, cooking is crucial, as even a hint of burning can turn the sauce into waste.