The governor was not supposed to come to this second round of competition, since he was in charge of the whole capital.

He was at least a third-ranked official among all the royal and noble families in the capital. At most, he would show up in the last few days of the competition, but he actually appeared now.

The news about his arrival quickly spread.

Some of the wiser people have already guessed that the competition has caught the attention of the top people.

There is no one else above the governor except for the marquis and the emperor.

It did not matter which of these officials was interested since any of them would increase the popularity of the competition.

The sharp people would all observe the situation of the God of Cooking Competition now.

Lord Pei himself didn't expect to arrive at this competition, so he would examine the situation since he had a chance now.

The 150 people who would take part in the second round of the competition were all standing in the open space of the market and would be divided into ten groups to start today's competition.

This display allowed people to feel like Lord Pei has some ability. Even though he has a habit of bragging sometimes.

150 contestants, plus the judges, assistants, and the spectators were all arranged with no mistakes.

Lord Pei signaled that the competition could start after checking the time.

Su Tang followed the third group to her designated place so she could start cooking.

The scene of 150 people trying to start a fire at the same time was quite spectacular.

Su Tang saw a woman in yellow waving at her while she was preparing the ingredients.

Su Tang glanced at her and realized that it turned out to be Miss Huang Yue Tong whom she saw during the last competition.

Huang Yue Tong walked over and said: "My father said that you have a great way to deal with beef and he told me I should thank you once I get a chance. However, I could not find you after I came back from speaking with him."

Su Tang smiled: "It was just a little trick that didn't mean too much."

"Why, the ancients all said if you could teach me one would then it is enough to call you my master."

Huang Yue Tong was just joking around about the master thing, but she later recognized Su Tang's cooking skills were the real deal. She felt it would be worthwhile to have her as a teacher!

Huang Yue Tong spoke out again: "I am in group 5, so I will see you after the competition!"

Seeing her full of vitality, Su Tang also became a little more cheerful: "Okay, see you after the competition."

The women who participated in this competition were few in the first place. They ended up attracting the attention of the governor because they were chatting together so merrily.

However, Lord Pei was actually trying to observe Su Tang.

He knew that this woman had been praised by the Marquis for the dishes she cooked in the first round, and looked forward to what she would do next.

Su Tang stood at her place and heard a cold snort from the surrounding people: "So what if you fawn over the imperial chef's Huang Family? We are all competitors here. Even if you get through now, the Huang Family will ruthlessly eliminate you later."

Su Tang knew when she entered the competition someone was bound to ridicule her.

After all, this was ancient times. The competition is still more biased towards men even if the people's customs were more open-minded.

Thus, there were still many people who thought the dishes that men made were better than those made by women.

For example, women usually cook at home, but the famous top chefs are still men.

Su Tang has seen such thoughts in modern times as well.

It was true that working inside the kitchen of an establishment was a laborious job. Many things had some strength requirements, whether it be to carry pots or other miscellaneous tasks, but that did not make women worse than anyone else for the job.

When Su Tang heard that person speak, she made plans about how she was going to beat that man in the competition.

Su Tang said lightly: "Take care of yourself."

Someone from the next group laughed when he heard what Su Tang said.

The man had bright eyes with a slight smile on his face. He was neatly dressed in short summer wear with his sleeves rolled up.

"Well said! Some people should take care of themselves first."

The man who had just ridiculed Su Tang shut his mouth when he heard this person. Obviously, he was showing fear to this person.

Su Tang didn't know anyone here, so she could only nod slightly.

She was not here to fight anyone, but she came to cook.

Su Tang was boiling water again. She didn't purposely do it to attract attention, but it was just a requirement for her dishes today to have better water.

She thought about it yesterday and decided to make vegetable porridge.

It was better to have a warm and slightly sticky porridge that was not too hot.

This kind of porridge would make people feel comfortable and relieved when eaten.

One group had 15 participants and just 2 judges who had to try all the dishes, so something light would be best for them.

Su Tang tried to make it tastier by matching it according to the season.

For example, in spring picking a handful of fresh, tender locust flowers and steaming them would give off a great smell.

Another example: In summer, using the freshest lotus seeds from a pond would create a refreshing delicacy.

However, it was not good to make something like a bowl of soybean soup in the middle of winter or have super hot lamb in the middle of summer.

Food also depends on mood and location.

Although the vegetable porridge she made was simple, it was perfect for the situation.

But while she was in the middle of preparation, the man next to her kept staring at her and making her a little uncomfortable.

Su Tang was not afraid of others watching her. She used to be a food blogger with a lot of viewers.

Under the criticisms of her viewers, she grew into a professional blogger by making every step flowing and beautiful as she cooks.

Currently, there are a lot of spectators watching her.

How come she looks good when she is cooking?

The man that kept staring at her exclaimed: "Although you are young, you are very skilled in your movements! That is quite admirable."

Su Tang glanced at him but didn't speak.

The man introduced himself: "I am the chef of the Jing Shui family. My name is Jing Liang, and it is nice to meet you."

She just replied: "My name is Su Jin Tang."

They both concentrated on cooking after the introduction.

Jing Liang made a bowl of bright, fresh fish soup. It looked light and delicious, which was similar to the vegetable porridge made by Su Tang. They made both dishes this way without losing their natural taste.

She knew at a glance that the chef named Jing Liang had the same idea as her.

It was all about solving the problems for the judges.

Su Tang poured her boiled lard into the simmering porridge while stirring clockwise. Many people don't know this little trick.

Even the white porridge sold in restaurants has lard in it so that the porridge produced was fragrant enough.

The reason homemade porridge didn't seem better than the ones sold in restaurants was just because of this simple trick.

Then she soaks the onion, ginger, garlic, and other prepared spices in the boiling water.

After soaking for 25 minutes, pour the mixture into the porridge.

During this period, the porridge in the pot should be stirred clockwise continuously.

The stirring shouldn't be stopped even for a moment when the water is being poured in order to ensure that it is fully mixed.

The vegetables would be added at the last moment.

A trick to enrich the taste of the porridge would be to use more vegetable stems than leaves. It will give off a crunchy feeling when people take a bite.

Su Tang had already filled the porridge while most people were at the finishing stage. It was divided into three bowls, as usual.

She waited until the porridge in the bowl was warm instead of calling the judges to come to taste it right away. After making sure that it was warm, it was then that she raised her hand to signal that she had finished cooking.

More than an hour has passed since the competition began.

There were more and more people around.

It was a lively scene created by 150 people cooking together.

Some of the nervous chefs did things like stumble over eggs or forget to put oil in their cooking. It was hard to think that all of them were professional chefs.

After all, most chefs were busy themselves in their own kitchen, and they never experienced this kind of situation.

Watching above the competition was the capital's mayor and the officers maintaining the situation. The participants were also surrounded by countless people who would ask questions or chat from time to time.

This kind of situation causes them to be under pressure.

Su Tang also became the center of attention for some people, but she just hasn't noticed yet.

Su Tang was calm and composed. Her actions looked more appealing after performing more of them. The key thing to note was the way she kept everything organized. There were no messes left behind by her movements.

One could not even see any water dropping on the table where she cooked. She even cleared off all the kitchen garbage.

She got these organizational habits when she was a food blogger.

This habit was hard for her to get rid of since it had been so deeply ingrained into her.

Su Tang could answer the questions of the people around her while cooking, and it would not affect her movements at all.

Many people felt that it was fun to watch her cook. Thus, everyone's eyes couldn't help but fall on her.

Qi Tian Yun saw this spectacle when he came over.

A lot of people all had their eyes on her, but seeing a man next to her made Qi Tian Yun frown slightly.

What are you doing watching Su Tang instead of cooking properly?

This thought flashed by. Even Qi Tian Yun himself caught nothing.

Lord Pei got up immediately when he saw the Marquis coming.

However, Qi Tian Yun was just passing by. He and Shi Ding were going to the back building to wait, so they would not have to face the crowd.

Qi Tian Yun and Shi Ding both looked at Su Tang before entering the door. They were obviously looking forward to what she would make.

The governor observed what they were doing and thought that he was really smart! He could guess what the cold-face marquis liked!

It seems that he needs to be more polite to Su Tang in the future. Maybe he would need to rely on this little girl for his official career in the future.

Su Tang didn't notice that she was the focus of attention of the people around her. She was just slowly answering the questions for them.

"Rice water is good for watering flowers since it can also prevent insects."

"You need to boil the water you are going to drink, especially if you have children at home, so you don't get sick."

"The purpose of putting lard in the porridge is to enhance the aroma and to make it stickier, so you don't have to put too many ingredients to make it smell good."

"These seasonings may seem strange, but they actually taste great."

"You want to try? This pepper is somewhat spicy."

Su Tang replied to the person who asked by handing them a pepper.

The person didn't seem to expect this to happen. The spiciness of the pepper surprised him after taking a bite, causing everyone around him to laugh.

The judges were wondering why there were so many spectators gathered here when they came over to try the dishes.

The reason didn't seem to be because few women took part in the competition. Because if that were the case, then the little girl from the Huang family would have more people gathered around her as well.

Jing Liang could understand why the crowd gathered around her was because of her character and it was not because Su Tang was a woman.

It was because she spoke politely and cheerfully while she cooks so people couldn't help but watch her.

However, all this commotion was just temporary.

In the end, all of them were participants in the cooking competition.

Everything depends on how well the dishes are cooked.

Jing Liang and the two judges' eyes were on the green vegetable porridge made by Su Tang.