Early the next morning, twelve temporary stoves were set up outside the county government office. A total of twelve people participated today.
There were quite a few people watching, and many wanted to know who would be lucky enough to become the magistrate's chef.
Based on past experience, only one or two people are selected each time.
"Look, it's Chef Wang, the head chef of Liu's Restaurant, and he's actually here to participate in the competition!"
"That shouldn't be the case. He's a master chef and he's living a good life. Why did he come to compete at night?"
"I heard that because there are so many people in the family, the head tax is too high and we can't survive..."
"Shh, please keep your voice down, do you want to get slapped?"
Song Cheng also came to the arena, holding a bottle of special seasoning given by Ye Ming. Although he didn't know how effective it was, since Ye Ming said it was no problem, it must be no problem.
What Ye Ming gave him was bear bone powder. Of course, it was refined and had medicinal effects. It only had the ability to increase the taste. It would not be an exaggeration to say it was a special seasoning.
Song Cheng still wanted to save face. As a gentleman goes far away from the kitchen, he put away the scarf without wearing it on his head. Like other cooks, he was preparing behind a stove.
Ye Ming was lying against the wall at the far corner of the street, looking at the empty gourds, feeling a little worried.
"You guys are not just trying to get the magistrate's idea, right?"
Lei Ling lay beside him and whispered.
Ye Ming smiled and said nothing.
After a while, two rows of government officials stood up, and the sound of gongs and drums was heard.
The first to appear were the local landowners and gentry, all of whom came to support the magistrate.
After these people were in place, they took their seats, and finally the magistrate appeared.
This magistrate is different from the fat head and big ears he imagined. He is actually very thin. I wonder where all the delicacies he ate have gone. It has no effect at all.
On both sides of the magistrate, there were two masters and an old Taoist priest.
The old Taoist priest's eyes were sunken and his face was a little sickly white, giving him the impression of long-term insomnia.
Moreover, just looking at it makes people feel that this Taoist priest is not a serious Taoist priest.
When Lei Ling saw this person, she became alert as she was lying lazily.
Seeing this, Ye Ming was a little surprised:
"You know him?"
"I know him. Not only do I know him, I also lost my life in his hands."
Lei Ling looked at the old Taoist priest, which seemed to evoke some bad memories.
“He is a fake Taoist priest, but he is actually an evil cultivator who practices evil arts.
Back then, he haunted the area in Lingbi County, killing people and demons secretly, and used them to practice evil arts, which were very powerful. "
As she said this, Lei Ling seemed to have thought of something:
"By the way, the cursed scarecrow of the family we met before was probably his handiwork."
After listening to what Lei Ling said, Ye Ming opened his eyes and looked at the sickly old Taoist priest, no, the evil cultivator.
The evil cultivator's senses were very keen. After being observed by Ye Ming, he immediately looked here.
But I only saw a blind beggar, a donkey, and a cat, so there didn't seem to be anything suspicious.
Xie Xiu glanced around again, silently getting closer to the magistrate.
"Fortunately, my aura has changed greatly now, and besides, he has never seen my true form and did not recognize me."
Lei Ling said a little scared.
Ye Ming said indifferently:
"So what if you recognize it?"
"As soon as you recognize it..."
Lei Ling suddenly paused. Yes, the person next to her was the big devil who was hiding deep inside. Why should she be afraid of this evil cultivator?
After figuring this out, Lei Ling felt much more at ease.
I never thought that this old devil would one day bring him a sense of security.
At this time, the magistrate also came to the stage, took the main seat first, and after making some speeches, announced the start of the game.
In fact, the local gentry was not very interested in the competition. They all came to compliment the magistrate. Several landowners and gentry had a good chat with the magistrate.
The twelve participating chefs all started to demonstrate their cooking skills.
Soon, everyone smelled waves of fragrance, the most attractive of which were Chef Wang and Song Cheng, the chefs of Liu Family Restaurant.
One relies on strength, the other relies on cheating.
At first, the landowners and gentry didn't care much about the so-called competition and only wanted to build relationships with the county magistrate.
But after smelling the aroma of these two dishes, everyone was aroused.
The people watching also became hungry unconsciously, and many even drooled from the corners of their mouths.
The magistrate, who has always been fond of food, stared at Song Cheng's dishes with bright eyes. As an old gourmet, he could tell at a glance that Chef Wang's dishes were better in color and craftsmanship, but when it came to In terms of taste, Song Cheng's dishes are definitely better.
The evil cultivator on the side didn't care about this, and was still observing the source of the prying eyes just now.
After searching for a long time, there was no movement, which felt a little strange.
Is it really that I am too suspicious?
As a shady evil cultivator, he also knew that he was a little suspicious.
But people like them can't live without any suspicion.
"He won't find us, right?"
Lei Ling looked at Ye Ming and asked.
Ye Ming looked at Kong Gourd and sighed, not answering Lei Ling's question at all.
Seeing this, Lei Ling stopped asking.
Soon, the chefs' dishes were prepared one by one.
First, the two masters next to the magistrate came forward to taste it, and they also took on the role of testing the poison.
After finishing all the dishes, the two masters looked at the dishes made by Song Cheng with some unfulfilled interest.
Although his dishes don't look very good, they taste so good that you can't help but want to try more.
Seeing that both masters were fine, the county magistrate was relieved and went straight to Song Cheng's cooking, holding it up to taste...
Not surprisingly, Song Cheng's dish was appreciated by the county magistrate and he became the winner of this competition.
In addition, Chef Wang was also selected, and his mission was to teach Song Cheng to make dishes that looked good enough.
As for the others, they go back and forth wherever they go.
After the game, Song Cheng was taken directly to the county government kitchen because there was nothing here, and was told that he would eat and live here from now on.
When he arrived at the county government's back kitchen, Song Cheng was in trouble. He didn't know how to contact Ye Ming, and the county government was not allowed to come in and out at will, especially for a new cook like him.
There were several good cooks in the county government, and when they met the newcomer, they all expressed their desire to compete with him on their cooking skills.
Song Cheng couldn't shirk it, so he had to show his hand again.
After impressing these chefs, Song Cheng couldn't contact Ye Ming and was a little impatient, restless in his residence.
Suddenly, Song Cheng felt sleepy and couldn't help but lie down on the bed and fall asleep.
In his dream, he saw Ye Ming.
"Mr. Yang?"
Song Cheng looked at the nothingness around him. Only he and Ye Ming were here, and he clearly realized that he was dreaming.
Ye Ming smiled and said: "Old Song, the first thing is to help me pour all the monkey wine from the county government into the gourd."
After saying that, Ye Ming disappeared.
Song Cheng was still thinking about asking something else, but found that he had already woken up.
Just when he was wondering about the clarity and reality of the dream just now, he felt something next to his face. When he looked sideways, he saw that it was the gourd hanging from Ye Ming's waist, which appeared beside his bed at some point.
"Chef Song, the county magistrate has told me that I will have your cooking for dinner. Hurry and go to the kitchen."
a cook shouted from outside.
Song Cheng responded, hid the gourd in his arms, and went out with a guilty conscience.
Outside the county government office, Lei Ling jumped down from the courtyard wall:
"The county government office is guarded by officials and I cannot enter. The evil cultivator must have gained the trust of the county magistrate and can come and go freely."
Hearing this, Ye Ming nodded:
"knew."
"How are you going to deal with him?"
"Why should I deal with him?"
"Why are you here if you don't deal with him?"
"Just looking at the situation."
Ye Ming pointed in the direction of the County God's Temple,
"Go and tell the local city god that there is an evil cultivator hiding in the county government office, and let them handle it themselves."
"I go?"
"Could it be me?"
"But I..."
"You have no evil powers now. You are just an ordinary neutral monster. It is normal to report evil cultivators to the city god."
"......yes."
Lei Ling also reacted. After all, she had been targeted by the City God for a long time, so she subconsciously wanted to avoid their presence.
But if you think about it carefully, Ye Ming's method is completely feasible.
The thought of being able to go to the Chenghuang Temple to file a complaint in person seems very exciting.
After thinking about it, Lei Ling went towards the City God Temple with a little excitement...
After Song Cheng finished dinner, he had nothing to do for the time being. Thinking of the tasks assigned by Ye Ming, he started walking around under the pretext of being familiar with the backyard.
The place where Houer Liquor is stored is easy to find, and the door is not locked. If it is left open, no one will think that someone dares to enter the county government office and steal things.
That kind of thing basically only appears in dramas.
It had just been dark for a while, and everyone was still asleep. Song Cheng didn't dare to act immediately, so he went to other rooms to take a look.
In the next room, as soon as Song Cheng entered the door, he saw a bunch of large jars. Monkeys were fixed in the jars. Several cooks were shaving the hair on the monkeys' heads with razors. There were several monkeys over there that had been fixed. Shaved head.
These monkeys are all alive, and some of them still have the desire for life in their eyes.
Seeing this, Song Cheng couldn't bear it and stepped forward and asked:
"What are you doing?"
A chef was shaving the monkey's head and said:
"Prepare the monkey brain."
"Live?"
"Yes, the magistrate likes to eat live monkey brains. He must first shave the hair on his head, then scald the monkey head with boiling water. When the monkey can't stand it anymore, he will pry open the monkey skull and eat it with a spoon.
By the way, we need to mix in a little more sugar. Go and help get some sugar. The magistrate will have some for supper soon. "
The chef was speaking and cooking at the same time, and his movements were very fluent.
Seeing Song Cheng standing there motionless, the chef urged:
“Why are you still standing there, go get some candy!
Newcomers, don't think that just because the magistrate appreciates you, you don't have to listen to the old man.
Who among us here has not been praised by adults for his cooking skills? The adults will only be interested in you for a few days!
If you know what's going on, go get the candy as soon as possible. No one can afford the sin if you delay the adults' supper! "
After hearing this, Song Cheng turned around and went out.
Seeing this, the chefs paid no attention and continued busy with what they were doing.
After a while, Song Cheng came back.
The head chef lowered his head and concentrated on handling the monkey. He did not look at Song Cheng and said:
"Just put the sugar on the table over there, and we'll carry it over with the monkey later."
As he spoke, the chef noticed something was wrong. Judging from the shadows on the ground illuminated by the lights, Song Cheng was holding not candy, but a wooden stick!
As soon as the chef turned around, Song Cheng hit him in the face with a stick.
This time Song Cheng used all his strength and hit the chef directly, causing him to faint and fall to the ground.
The other chefs were shocked. Seeing Song Cheng's attack, they all picked up their kitchen utensils to attack Song Cheng.
But Song Cheng had already expected it, so he specially chose a long stick.
Several cooks couldn't get close and were knocked over one by one by Song Cheng.
A cook threw his knife, but Song Cheng dodged it.
After knocking over the last cook, Song Cheng was still a little nervous, fearing that some of them would pretend to be faint, so he hit each of them hard on the back of the head with a stick.
After confirming that everyone was fainted, Song Cheng took the monkeys out of the water tank one by one and untied them.
The monkeys knew that Song Cheng was saving them and did not resist.
After rescuing all the monkeys, Song Cheng was in trouble.
I can’t get out of the county office!
The county government also has yamen servants who take turns at night. With his skills even worse than those of a three-legged cat, how can he be the yamen servant's opponent?
For a moment, Song Cheng felt that his actions were a little anxious.
When he was anxious and didn't know what to do, he discovered that a "blind man" in shabby clothes had appeared in the backyard at some point, holding a wine jar in his hand and pouring monkey wine into the gourd on the stone table.
Seeing that it was Ye Ming, Song Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. When he saw the gourd, he noticed a problem and touched his chest. The gourd he had stored close to him unexpectedly returned to Ye Ming's hands at some point.
"Mr. Yang, you are here, take me and the monkeys away quickly."
"Don't worry, help me pour all the wine into the gourd. There will be a show to watch later!"
...
