On the other side, Qin Hao and Chu Qing stepped into the kitchen, each taking their place at a stovetop.
"How do you want to compete?" Qin Hao asked, letting Chu Qing choose the dish.
Without hesitation, Chu Qing announced, "Wensi Tofu!"
Hearing the name, Wang Feng, in Chu Chu Baby's livestream, grinned and began explaining to the audience:
"Wensi Tofu is one of the four famous dishes of state banquets and a hallmark of Huaiyang cuisine. This dish is extraordinarily challenging to prepare, especially requiring exceptional knife skills."
"The ingredients include tofu, winter bamboo shoots, ham, lettuce, mushrooms, chicken…"
"It's widely known that Vice President Chu Qing's knife skills are unparalleled within the Culinary Association. Clearly, he plans to use his knife work to completely outclass Qin Hao."
"In Qin Hao's past livestreams, his standout skill was also knife work. Beating knife work with better knife work—fair game. Making Qin Hao concede gracefully is the ideal outcome."
Comments flooded in:
"Not surprising from Wang Feng. So professional!"
"Looks like he's done his homework. Being a food critic isn't easy."
"Qin Hao's in trouble now. I'm not even sure he's heard of this dish before!"
Meanwhile, upon hearing the dish name, Su Wuyao, who had no idea what Wensi Tofu was, quickly looked it up online.
She discovered it was a state banquet dish, with a difficulty level surpassing Lamp Shadow Beef and Peony Fish Fillets.
Before starting, Chu Qing suddenly added, "I have one more condition."
"What is it?" Qin Hao inquired.
"At our level, it's hard to determine a winner with just one dish. I propose increasing the difficulty," Chu Qing declared.
"And how do you want to play this?" Qin Hao asked with a light-hearted smile.
"We'll blindfold ourselves for the final step of the dish," Chu Qing suggested confidently.
The livestream exploded at the audacity of the proposal—blindfolded cooking for a state banquet dish?
"Blindfolded cooking… How daring of Vice President Chu. This man's skills must be otherworldly!"
"It's clear he's utterly confident in his knife skills. Worthy of a master chef!"
"Today's truly an eye-opener!"
Despite the intense stakes, Qin Hao remained as composed as ever.
Blindfolded cooking? So be it.
"Alright, blindfolded it is," Qin Hao agreed without hesitation.
He then casually picked up his phone and ordered the ingredients needed for Wensi Tofu through a delivery service.
Seeing Qin Hao so readily agree, both Wang Feng and Chu Chu Baby couldn't help but laugh.
"Arrogant. I can't believe Qin Hao actually dared to agree."
"Hmph, Vice President Chu has earned his confidence through mastery. Where does Qin Hao get his guts?"
"Foolishness is courage, I suppose. Now that Qin Hao's agreed, he has no way out."
The sentiment echoed across the livestream, with many spectators agreeing that Qin Hao's decision was essentially digging his own grave.
"I think Qin Hao's just lost himself in the act, thinking he's a real chef!"
"Watch him cut his fingers—that'll be hilarious!"
"Challenging Vice President Chu's knife skills while blindfolded? Qin Hao, this fraud, has no place here!"
Even Su Wuyao was stunned upon hearing about the blindfolded stipulation.
How could anyone cook blindfolded?
And for a state banquet dish, no less?
Did Qin Hao really have such remarkable culinary skills?
Then why had he agreed so readily? Just how skilled was he?
Soon enough, the ingredients arrived.
Qin Hao and Chu Qing divided the supplies and tools, and preparations began.
The spacious kitchen proved fortunate, as two men competing in close quarters would have been cramped otherwise.
As they began boiling water and cleaning ingredients, Wang Feng couldn't help but chime in again.
"In Wensi Tofu, all the ingredients must be finely shredded—that's the dish's hallmark."
As a food critic, Wang Feng found this the perfect opportunity to show off his expertise.
The more intricate his explanations, the more professional he appeared.
The two contestants began with the supporting ingredients, starting with mushrooms.
Tap, tap, tap…
The crisp sound of knives filled the kitchen as both men moved with lightning speed.
Their knives danced up and down, transforming mushrooms into delicate strips in no time.
The livestream viewers widened their eyes in awe.
Their speed was astonishing—within moments, all the mushrooms were perfectly shredded.
Next came bamboo shoots and other vegetables, all handled just as efficiently.
With the supporting ingredients prepared and set aside, it was time for the most critical and challenging step—the tofu.
Wensi Tofu requires silken tofu, as smooth and fragile as jelly.
Anyone who's cooked with silken tofu knows how delicate it is—breaking apart easily. Even cutting it into cubes is hard enough for most people, let alone slicing it into threads.
Without needing further explanation, the viewers grasped the immense difficulty of the task.
Qin Hao and Chu Qing glanced at each other before pulling out white towels to blindfold themselves.
The decisive moment had arrived.
Su Wuyao held her breath, her eyes glued to the screen.
Chu Chu Baby and Wang Feng clenched their fists, palms slick with sweat.
The audience fell silent, watching intently so as not to miss a single detail.
The two men picked up their knives and began slicing the tofu blindfolded.
Tap, tap, tap…
Knife blades flashed.
Their movements didn't falter for a second, as if being blindfolded had no impact at all.
For them, it was clear—the skill was ingrained, second nature. Even blindness wouldn't hinder their knife work.
Everyone was stunned.
While Chu Qing's mastery wasn't surprising given his status as Vice President of the Culinary Association, Qin Hao's flawless performance left everyone speechless.
"How is this possible? Qin Hao can blindfold-slice tofu too?"
"Am I hallucinating?"
"No wonder Qin Hao agreed so quickly—he clearly knows his stuff!"
The comments rolled in, as the audience struggled to process what they were witnessing.
Chu Chu Baby and Wang Feng exchanged uneasy glances.
They had expected Qin Hao to embarrass himself during this stage, yet here he was—proving them wrong.
Amid the competition, the only sound in the room was the rhythmic clash of knives against cutting boards.
For a moment, the entire world seemed to hold its breath.
Phew…
Chu Qing finished first.
He removed his blindfold and let out a deep sigh of relief.
Glancing at Qin Hao, he noticed that Qin Hao hadn't finished yet.
A smirk crept onto Chu Qing's face—a mixture of confidence and disdain.
As expected, after three years out of practice, Qin Hao's skills had dulled.
Finishing first was proof enough that his knife work surpassed Qin Hao's.
To Chu Qing, the duel was already decided—he had won.
The next second, Qin Hao also finished slicing his tofu and removed his blindfold.