The judges have already tried the dishes from fifteen other contestants in the group.

Naturally, these were no ordinary meals since they could make it to the second round.

Several of the contestants had great dishes made. Even the person who ridiculed Su Tang had excellent craftsmanship.

It was rumored that he was the chef from the Ying Chun family and his name was Hao Quan Kun. The Ying Chun family's business was booming because of him.

Hao Quan Kun was also looking along with the others at the congee made by Su Tang.

They could all tell that Su Tang had some skills since everyone was a chef.

But could a bowl of what seems to be ordinary vegetable congee really help her survive the second round?

The two judges each got a bowl of congee. Originally, they were afraid that the congee would be too hot, but the temperature was actually perfect when it entered their mouth.

The congee looked simple, but it had an extremely rich taste. The seasoning inside was not heavy but was able to create a stronger fragrance than any other congee they had tasted before.

It was a perfect blend of rice and green vegetables.

They ate the whole bowl of congee without noticing it.

The judges still felt unsatisfied after they finished their bowls.

It was obviously just a simply made congee, but it made them feel like they were eating a delicacy.

"Not bad! You created something that felt like eating a larger meal inside this small bowl. Your craft is really extraordinary." The judge could not help but praise.

The other judge also added: "One would feel relaxed physically and mentally after eating this congee every morning."

Su Tang's eyes lit up when she heard that and softly said: "This little girl opened a breakfast shop in our house, and I make congee every day. If you would like, you could come by and try it."

This was the situation she was hoping for!

Was there a better time to advertise than now?

Sure enough, the greedy spectators also started asking questions as soon as Su Tang spoke: "Where is the breakfast shop at!? Tell us quickly!"

Su Tang loudly said her store name and address. Her tone was neither hurried nor slow. People who were a bit slow could also remember her store address.

Jing Liang had a smile in his eyes while watching her.

What a smart woman! The business in her shop would rise to the next level after this.

The second round of the competition came to an end, but the most important thing for Su Tang was that she made her breakfast shop famous.

Although the business in her shop was already good, she doesn't mind it getting better.

The matter had reached the building behind the competition's location.

Shi Ding couldn't help but say: "This girl is so smart, ah. Her business will definitely get better after what she did."

Qi Tian Yun said nothing and just nodded slightly. He ate her vegetable congee that was sent over.

Obviously, he had eaten Su Tang's congee before. However, this time the congee differed greatly from what he had before. She clearly used her creativity to make this new congee.

If only she could cook for him every day.

As soon as he thought about this, he remembered Su Tang's appearance when she refused from before.

Qi Tian Yun has met many people, and most of them do not dare to refuse his request. Even those that refused, it was only a desire to "welcome and refuse". Which meant that they wanted to accept, but they did not want to show it so straightforwardly.

There was never anyone like Su Tang who firmly said no.

She was different from the others.

Qi Tian Yun was about to leave when he finished his congee.

Did he just come over for this bowl of congee?

He had eaten other meals Su Tang made yesterday, so how could he run over because of a bowl of congee?

Qi Tian Yun tried to suppress his thoughts, but Shi Ding asked: "Marquis, where did you get the braised beef that you sent yesterday? My father liked it so much that he ate it all last night and asked me to get more."

Shi Ding felt helpless. His father was a dignified general, but he ordered his son to go buy beef.

Qi Tian Yun raised his chin slightly: "She made it."

It did not surprise Shi Ding when he heard this but still felt that Su Tang was very awesome.

Everything she made was delicious.

Many chefs specialize in just one technique.

If one specializes in snacks, then their snacks would taste good. The white case was in charge of the white case, and the red case was in charge of the red case. (TL note: a chef that specializes in the main dish would be in charge of main dishes or staple food and a chef that specializes in dessert and pastry like a pastry chef or baker would be in charge of desserts and pastries.)

At first, Shi Ding thought Su Tang was only good at making breakfast dishes, so he did not expect that the homemade braised beef would have gotten such praises from his father.

If only they knew......

However, many of the participants didn't bother to look at Su Tang at first.

She was now in the limelight of the first two rounds of the competition.

In the first round, she was famous for boiling water to make tofu mixed with spring onions.

In the second round, she made a simple bowl of vegetable congee, which attracted countless spectators with her beautiful movements.

These two points were enough to make her famous among the remaining 100 contestants.

There were also two highly competitive contestants standing beside Su Tang.

Su Tang looked at Huang Yue Tong and Jing Liang who had arrived next to her. She spoke to both of them with a smile: "Congratulations! All of us advanced."

Huang Yue Tong tilted her head: "What does it mean to be advanced?"

"That is to say, we all won the second round and got promoted." Su Tang embarrassingly explained. Making this minor slip should be ok right?

Jing Liang thought about it for a while and found this saying to be very concise in describing the situation.

Su Tang had to introduce the two to each other since they had not met before.

"She's Huang Yue Tong. We met in the first round."

"This is Jing Liang, whom I just met."

When Huang Yue Tong heard the other party's name, her eyes turned bright: "Wow, you are Jing Liang from Jing Shui Pavilion?"

Su Tang wondered: 'What was the Jing Shui Pavillion and why was Miss Huang so surprised?'

When Huang Yue Tong saw her expression, she explained: "Jing Shui Pavilion is a famous restaurant in the capital. They built it off the water's edge to take on the meaning of a pavilion beside the water. The seafood and river cuisine in the restaurant is one of the best."

Oh, a restaurant specializing in seafood and river cuisines.

In ancient times, it was extremely difficult to remove the fishy smell and maintain the freshness of the seafood. If the Jing Shui Pavilion was famous for this, then they should have some skills.

Su Tang nodded and saw Jing Liang smile at her to say: "Miss Huang is part of the imperial cook's family. I heard that your brother is 22 years old, but he has already entered the imperial palace as a chef. Cooking seems to be a family inheritance for you."

Su Tang's eyes were full of curiosity when she heard that.

Huang Yue Tong waved her hand: "My brother is just going to work under my grandfather's side to do miscellaneous tasks. What imperial chef?"

Huang Yue Tong said it simply, but it sounded different to others who heard it. They knew that her grandfather and brother were all in the palace, so their family could indeed be called a family of imperial chefs.

Su Tang knew that most of the ancient families were like this. Many of them inherited skills and knowledge handed down by their families.

The three of them got together and waited for Lord Pei to send someone with the paperwork for passing the competition.

However, there were a lot of eyes on their group.

One was the owner and chef of Jing Shui Pavilion, and the other was the daughter of the Huang family.

Then there was Su Jin Tang, who has been in the limelight in two competitions.

People have kept the names of the three of them in mind as top competition.

An elegant man from another respectable family walked over just when everyone was secretly sizing up the three. When Huang Yue Tong saw him, she bristled and said: "Zhu Jin Yuan, you may be dressed well, but you don't look like a chef at all."

Su Tang looked over and saw that the young man had a long robe and big sleeves, and he looked elegant and handsome. However, She agreed with Huang Yue Tong about him not having the bearings of a chef.

She, Ms. Huang, and Jing Liang were all neatly dressed, which was convenient for cooking.

Zhu Jin Yuan raised his eyebrows: "I have the ability to pass the second round, so I can wear whatever I want."

Huang Yue Tong made a grimacing face and said to Su Tang: "He is the son of the owner of Zui Xiao Pavilion. The wine sold at his house is good. Let's go back and ask for two cups."

Su Tang also thought they were funny, but she did not accept them right away. After all, she was not familiar with these people, yet they looked at her with a smile.

While they were speaking of food, Huang Yue Tong thought of Su Tang and how she said that she lived in the western part of the city: "Tang Tang, I just heard that you live in the western part of the city. Is there a soft cake over there that is really delicious? I asked my family's errand boys to go there two or three times, but every time they tell me they are sold out. Have you tasted it?"

Soft cake?

Su Tang thought for a while and suddenly remembered that it was something that her family made.

Her original name for it was egg sponge steamed cake, but the other people wanted to call it soft cake. She couldn't win the fight and just let them call it whatever they wanted.

She didn't expect the news to spread so far. She thought her soft cake was only famous in the western part of the capital.

Su Tang felt a bit amused seeing how Miss Huang was still thinking about how delicious the soft cake might be. She said, "If you have time later, you can go to my house to visit for a while. I will treat you to this soft cake."

Jing Liang and Zhu Jin Yuan had already guessed the whole story after hearing what Su Tang said. However, Huang Yue Tong happily thought that Tang Tang lived nearby the soft cake shop, so she was going to treat her when she came by.

Su Tang waited for Lord Pei to send out the passing paperwork before leaving.

Last time, it was quite a smooth process. So why did it take so long today?

Su Tang looked up and caught a glimpse of someone in a black robe. Her first impressions were that this person looked cold and scary. The person disappeared before she could make out his figure clearly.

Lord Pei finally came out after the man in black left. He had the finished paperwork, so they were just waiting for the officers to deliver them.

After the officials from the government announced that everyone could leave on their own, Huang Yue Tong pulled her aside to ask, "Are you really not going to my house? My father would definitely welcome you."

Su Tang wanted to make friends with her since she seemed so thoughtful, but then she remembered that her brother was still waiting outside then said: "Next time if I have a chance, I will go. Right now my brother is still waiting outside, and there is still something I need to do at home today."

This was not an excuse since Aunt Zhou was going to come to her house today to talk about the private school.

She can't afford to be late.

Su Tang smiled at Jing Liang and Zhu Jin Yuan before leaving.

Seeing her leave, Zhu Jin Yuan couldn't help but say, "There really are hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the capital."

Jing Liang also nodded: "Yes, I have never seen such a character before. She is young, but she has a certain way of doing things. I am curious as to what she will do next."

Others could argue that Su Tang could only make some snacks and congee, but Jing Liang and Zhu Jin Yuan didn't think that was all there was to her.

They determined that she must have quite some skills or knowledge just by looking at how she handles the ingredients.

This woman was extraordinary.

They thought about stopping by to try out her breakfast shop when they had time since she mentioned it.

However, Su Tang's actions seemed ungrateful and a waste of her opportunities. The people around her were all known bigshots for cooking in the capital.

She would have a bright future with any of the cooking skills or methods that she picks up if she could befriend any of them.

Why did she leave? She wouldn't have asked Miss Huang to go to the western part of the city if the reason was that she didn't have a gift to bring to the Huang family. There were many commoners there, so it wasn't the best place for a young lady like her to take a stroll.

She was not sensible at all!