The Game of Life-Chapter 780 - 779 Preparation for Mining

Chapter 780: Chapter 779 Preparation for Mining

Chapter 780 -779 Preparation for Mining

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The official recording of the competition would start on October 15th, with each contestant’s dishes announced on the 13th, and on the 14th, everyone had to be busy preparing for the procurement.

What’s meant by procurement here is something everyone is familiar with: the miscellaneous conversations with the guests before the variety show formally begins. Jiang Feng was familiar with this process, having gone through it during the Good Taste Cooking Competition where everyone had recorded the procurement. He was considered experienced.

However, unlike the procurement at the Good Taste Cooking Competition where each contestant went to the TV station to record, this time the production team visited everyone at their own restaurants, having arranged a small room specially for the procurement, where each contestant could get familiar with their own cameramen.

Since the production team was from America, all the cameramen were foreigners, and all of them were built like strongmen. Perhaps only these strongmen were suited to the job, which involved carrying cameras everywhere, a task requiring the stamina of a long-distance runner.

Jiang Feng’s cameraman was a bearded strongman whose silhouette even resembled Chef Arno, nearly causing Jiang Feng to break out in a cold sweat. He was rather aloof, giving Jiang Feng a mere nod of acknowledgment and not even a “Hi”, making Jiang Feng’s polite “Hi” seem somewhat embarrassing.

The procurement’s director, on the other hand, was Chinese, possibly for ease of communication with the contestants, and appeared very professional. After Jiang Feng entered the procurement room, the director smiled, gestured for him to sit and relax, reassuring him that he would only be asked some simple questions and not to be nervous.

Not only was Jiang Feng not nervous, he had a ton of questions he wanted to ask the production team. Ever since he received news that the program would soon begin, his schedule had been packed, with something to do virtually every day. After finishing his learning stint at Yonghe House and returning to Taifeng Building, he pondered the menu. After settling on Stir-Fried Potato Strips yesterday, he again fretted over what to do with the dish.

Once Jiang Feng’s cooking skills improved, simple dishes like Stir-Fried Potato Strips or Tomato and Eggs, which everyone can make, and even Sang Ming can cook just as well as Jiang Feng, rarely made it to the menu. Especially after he took Sun Maochai’s advice and turned his menu into an unstable one, with best-selling dishes being dynamic ones like Sweet and Sour Ribs, Di Sanxian, or Braised Pork Knuckle, which either had a special feature or were meat dishes. Stir-Fried Potato Strips were practically a mere decoration.

Securing a dish from Jiang would already be quite difficult, who would waste such a precious opportunity on something like Stir-Fried Potato Strips?

As Jiang Feng railed internally about how useless Stir-Fried Potato Strips were, the director had already started smiling and posing questions.

Seeing Jiang Feng’s stern face and empty gaze, the director thought he was overly nervous and was acting stiff and unnatural, so he decided to start with some small talk to lighten the mood: “Master Jiang, you don’t need to be too tense, we are just going to ask a few simple questions. For now, let’s chat about something else. You…”

“May I ask a few questions?” Jiang Feng said.

The director was taken aback, “Of course, you can ask whatever you want.”

“The recording is starting tomorrow, and although we chefs from the competing restaurants won’t meet each other in the first two weeks, I think we should at least be informed of the other contestants’ names. Even if the dishes aren’t disclosed, we should know who our competitors are. Why hasn’t the production team given us any information until now?”

Director: “Ah?”

“Also, it’s clearly stated on the schedule documents that Monday to Saturday are scoring days and Sunday for minor tests, based on rankings and points. But what the scope of this test is and the specific content haven’t been shared with us. Since we won’t meet each other, the tests must be conducted separately. Without that, how can we be sure that the rankings are not rigged?”

“And the most critical issue is that when we’re working, the kitchen won’t be as understaffed as it is now. You know what a hotel kitchen is like, there won’t be much extra space. Look at the size of these cameramen, they’re all towering figures carrying such huge cameras, I doubt there will be room in the kitchen for them to follow us with their equipment. I think even one is barely manageable, let alone four—there’s probably no way to fit them in. If a cameraman accidentally spills seasonings or prepared dishes, that would really affect our normal business operations.”

Jiang Feng’s speech was as rapid-fire as a machine gun, unleashing a barrage of questions that left the director utterly confused.

The director thought to herself that she was just a director in charge of finances, with no relation to the actual program planning or content, and she couldn’t resolve these issues. Maintaining a polite smile, she said, “I will relay your questions to the production team, and I believe you will receive a response very soon.”

Jiang Feng: …

I feel like you’re missing a line: “I wish you a pleasant life.”

“I think we’ve chatted enough, shall we get started?” The director, realizing that Jiang Feng wasn’t nervous at all and was just deep in thought, changed the subject.

Seeing that his questions couldn’t be answered or resolved, Jiang Feng nodded, indicating they could begin.

Jiang Feng originally thought the procurement would be casual and gentle, just like during the Good Taste Cooking Competition. When they were called to the TV station, it was only to record a self-introduction and a declaration for competing. Apart from Ji Xue turning her self-introduction into a job advertisement, everything had been quite normal.

In his mind, he believed the questions would be about the introduction of the restaurant, an introduction of himself, his thoughts on the competition, and whether he had confidence—all ending on a pleasant note. But to his surprise, the first question was rather sharp and even seemed quite provocative.

“Our program is highly competitive, with a point-based system where only the top two ranked contestants will advance to the final. I’ve just looked over the menu for the four chefs from Taifeng Building for the first week, and it seems completely lackluster. With such a disadvantage in the first week, do you think Taifeng Building still has a chance to qualify?” the director asked with a smile.

Jiang Feng: ?

Stirring the pot?

But the director’s words also reminded Jiang Feng that the dishes they drew were indeed not that great.

Or rather, some restaurants got dishes that were significantly advantageous.

“Of course,” said Jiang Feng confidently, lifting his head in a rare display of the confidence and aura of a three-time master, “There are only chefs without advantages, not dishes at a disadvantage.”

“Worthy of the restaurant that made the cover of ‘Taste’ this year, so confident. I suppose we can expect to see an extraordinary performance from Taifeng Building next.”

“The second question, which is actually also the last one. During the second stage of the swap competition, is there any restaurant you particularly want to visit?”

Jiang Feng thought for a moment, “Yonghe House, I guess.”

He was familiar with Yonghe House.

“Why?”

“Didn’t you say that was the last question just now?”

Director: …

The director took Jiang Feng’s response as him not wanting to answer, smiled, stood up, and saw Jiang Feng out.

The four people’s pre-interview took almost an hour. After it was over, they exchanged information and asked around. They discovered that everyone had been asked the same questions; indeed, the production team was looking to stir things up.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

“Fengfeng, which of our country’s eight restaurants do you think will rank first after the results of the first week’s point competition come out?” Wu Minqi asked curiously.

“It should be Taste House. If it’s just about quantity alone, other restaurants probably can’t stack up against them,” Jiang Feng said.

“Indeed, Taste House probably has the greatest advantage in the first round of the competition, but they’ll be at the greatest disadvantage in the second round,” Sun Maochai nodded in agreement. “After the swap, we have to cook according to the original menus of the restaurants. Aside from Eight-treasure House’s pastries, which are somewhat famous, some of the other restaurants hardly ever make white-cloth dishes.”

“Forget about the second round; it seems we’re not in great shape for the first round either,” Jiang Feng said with a wry smile. Although he sounded quite brash during his interview, he still had some idea of whether Stir-fried Shredded Potatoes would actually be competitive.

As per standard procedure, his menu tomorrow would consist of Chicken Tofu, Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon, Crab-stuffed Oranges, Sweet and Sour Yam, Pure Meat Wontons, Li Hongzhang Hodgepodge, Matchmaker’s Set Menu, Yellow Braised Eel Sections, Sautéed Fat Intestines, and Stir-fried Shredded Potatoes.

How determined would tomorrow’s customers have to be to order Stir-fried Shredded Potatoes!

The same held true for Sun Maochai. How determined would customers have to be to order his Conservor Baby Cabbage in Superior Soup?

Wu Minqi’s Mapo Tofu could still pack a little punch. Her Mapo Tofu was devilishly spicy and numbing, which some customers might find overwhelming, but there was also a group that liked it just that way.

The strongest contender was Sun Jikai. Whether Taifeng Building would end up at the bottom this week depended on Mr. Sun’s performance.

“Old Sun, give it your all!” said Jiang Feng gravely as he patted Sun Jikai on the shoulder, “Show us your true skills. We really depend on you this week.”

“It’s a good thing your Stir-fried Beef Ho Fun is eight yuan cheaper than Ji Xue’s. I’ve even thought about taking Ji Xue’s off the menu,” Jiang Feng continued.

Sun Jikai: ?

Although he understood what Jiang Feng meant, he still felt like Jiang Feng was mocking him.

I think my Stir-fried Beef Ho Fun can go up by eight yuan, thanks.