"What are you guys up to? I was going to take you to Fishing Platform for some fun."

Lin Xu replied with a smile, "We're heading to Fishing Platform too... Why aren't you in class?"

"My grandpa is going to be the main judge at Fishing Platform today. He said he'd take me to see the world, and I thought I'd bring you two along. Maybe you could learn a new dish. Who knew you were also going."

Main? Judge? Xie Baomin's ears perked up instantly.

He never would have guessed. The cultural circle's main judge, known for causing headaches among all the chefs at the Fishing Platform's eighteen buildings, was actually the grandfather of the mushroom-haired girl they often saw in the shop. It was like finding something you've looked for everywhere right under your nose.

He looked at Geng Lele and asked, "Little girl, who's your grandpa?"

With the competition not yet started, it was the perfect time to cozy up to him. When the time came, even if he didn't directly favor anyone, he might still show a little bias, right? After all, his junior brother was quite familiar with this mushroom-haired girl.

Geng Lele said, "My grandpa is Geng Lishan. Have you heard of him?"

Geng... Lishan? Xie Baomin's mouth fell open. What were the leaders at Fishing Platform thinking? To invite this eccentric calligrapher to be the main judge?

"Senior brother, why that look? Do you know Lele's grandpa?"

Xie Baomin managed a wry smile, "That would be Mr. Lishan, renowned in cultural circles. He despises brown-nosers the most. I heard that in last year's calligraphy competition, a top seed asked him for a high score before the competition. He ended up giving the guy a zero during the contest and even cursed out all the participants..."

If it had been any other cultural celebrity, you'd want to suck up for a higher score. But now that this deity was the main judge... forget it. The more you try to cozy up, the lower your score. You might be eliminated by this quirky calligrapher even before reaching the finals.

Lin Xu, on the other hand, thought it was a good thing. This kind of skill competition should have an upright main judge; otherwise, a proper contest turns into a networking competition. Now, with a main judge who'd score lower the more you sucked up to him, let's see true abilities speak for themselves.

"I don't know when my grandpa will come over, but since we're all going to the Fishing Platform competition, I might as well ride with you. It'll give me a chance to play with Dundun too."

Lin Xu opened the car door and let the girl in. As he closed the door, the car slowly started, heading straight for the Fishing Platform State Guesthouse next to the Summer Palace.

Before long, the car drove under the archway of Fishing Platform. Continuing on for a while, it finally slowed to a stop before an imposing building.

"Junior brother, this is Building Two where I work. Each of the eighteen buildings at Fishing Platform has its own style, both Chinese and Western. If you're interested, I'll take you on a tour from Building One to Eighteen someday."

Lin Xu was really interested. But what intrigued him more was how much it would cost to hold a wedding here.

After he asked, Xie Baomin said, "You know, weddings are often held here. People rent out a whole building—a bigger one for more guests, a smaller one for fewer. It includes accommodation, catering, and wedding services all in one package, and the price isn't particularly high."

Not particularly high is how high? Surely a wedding here would still cost at least hundreds of thousands, right? But a wedding here would certainly be dignified. After all, the guards at the door are upright armed police, not those slack-belted security guards.

Once inside Building Two, the group toured around a bit and then enjoyed some incredibly tasty Snacks and refreshing high-quality tea.

As the competition time approached, Xie Baomin brought a chef's uniform for Lin Xu to put on. Together with a few other young chefs participating in the competition, they headed to the huge banquet hall of Building One. The cooking competition was to take place there today.

As they entered, Lin Xu didn't see the contestants but instead ran into a sweating Panda.

"Brother Panda? What are you doing here?"

"Chen's company won the live broadcasting rights for the cooking competition, and I'm here to help set up the equipment... But why are you wearing their chef's uniform?"

Lin Xu replied with a smile, "I'm here to compete. Make sure to catch me on camera later."

"No problem, I'll mention it to Xinxin in a bit!"

Walking into the banquet hall, smoke hoods, stoves, workbenches, and other culinary equipment had already been set up, each bearing a LOGO, presumably for product placement during the live broadcast.

Hmm, even the prestigious Fishing Platform has been infiltrated by the internet. But this competition was destined to be watched by many. With such high traffic, it really would be a waste not to earn some advertising revenue.

Before long, chefs from other buildings also arrived in twos and threes.

Each held a cleaver, many of which, like Senior Brother Xie Baomin's, came with a sheath, making them look more like warriors attending a martial arts congress than chefs.

The most ostentatious was from Building Ten, which unfurled a banner as soon as they entered: [Congratulations to Building Ten for achieving their third consecutive victory in the 2022 Young Chefs' Cooking Competition!]

Lin Xu hadn't seen their cooking skills, but they'd definitely maximized their hate score. He saw young chefs from the other buildings pointing and gossiping about the banner. Clearly, everyone found that banner quite objectionable.

If you're already celebrating the championship, why not just proceed to the award ceremony and skip the competition?

"Ha, this Mr. Zhong Guo, really useless at everything else but always first in stirring up trouble."

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