99. Eating and Drinking Before the Patient

After Gu Bai left the Chef Guild, the president and the seniors of the Chef Guild held an emergency meeting, discussing Gu Bai's upcoming Four-Star assessment.

After the discussion, they settled the specific content of the test and posted the test on the official website of the Chef Guild.

Since the Chef Guild was one of the most prestigious guilds in the empire and was responsible for studying food, they had a large number of fans. Even if the majority of them couldn't afford to eat natural food for once, they still paid close attention to the updates of the Chef Guild.

Sometimes, they would be satisfied as long as they could notice the updates.

[A Four-Star assessment tomorrow? If I remember right, today is test day.]

[Yeah, I did the math just now. It's indeed today. How can anyone attend the test tomorrow?]

[Perhaps the guild changes the rule because Four-Star chefs are too limited in our empire. If anyone wants to take the test, they will let him do it. It works when the Four-Star chefs want to take the Five-Star Chef Certificate test.]

[That's impossible. They would have issued the notice if they had changed the rule. Have you ever seen it before?]

[Why do you care about that? Should you be curious about who this guy is?]

[Of course, I'm curious, but there are hundreds of Three-Star chefs in the empire. We can't tell who this guy is. Also, why is the test set for tomorrow? Shouldn't he take the test today?]

[Maybe he's too busy to do it today. We'll know the answer tomorrow anyway.]

[We haven't had a Four-Star chef for several years, right? I wonder if this guy can pass the test.]

[My best shot is Senior Bai's disciple, Shen Liangxu. He finished the Three-Star Chef Certificate half a month ago. I'd say it's him.]

[Ahhh! Mr. Shen? I love this guy! He's already a Three-Star Chef at such a young age. I believe he will become a Five-Star chef one day. You know, a young and handsome Five-Star chef. If he's here tomorrow and passes the test directly, he will be amazing!]

[I agree, girl. I'm a big fan of Mr. Shen as well. The Chicken in Four Seasonings he created is super yummy! I can't stop thinking of it after I tried it online once. I have been working really hard recently so that I can have enough money to eat it in Jin Liang Chi one day for real.]

[Sis, will you take me with you? I'm doing the same as you. Maybe we should share a table by then.]

[I think it is more likely to be Fang Weixuan instead of Shen Liangxu. Fang Weixuan passed the Three-Star Chef Certificate several years ago and hasn't attended the Four-Star test by now. Considering the time, Fang Weixuan is in the upper hand to take the test.]

[Indeed. I know Shen Liangxu is a good chef, but he just passed the Three-Star Chef Certificate half a month ago. The Four-Star test is much harder than the Three-Star test. I'm afraid half a month isn't enough for him to get prepared.]

[Fang Weixuan doesn't take the test because he knows he isn't good enough. He has waited for a few years. Why would he take the test all of a sudden? Besides, didn't he chase after a nameless anchor not long before? Do you think he has any time to be prepared?]

[He has more than the recent months to prepare for the test, OK? He didn't take the test only because he didn't care much about it. Unlike someone who is so bold to take the test after preparing for it for only half a month. Isn't he afraid that he might embarrass himself once he fails?]

[It only proves that Mr. Shen loves challenges. He will get at least experience even if he fails. He's still young anyway. Unlike someone who could only fake an excuse not to take the test for several years. I don't understand why we should compare Mr. Shen with someone like that.]

[That's ridiculous! Fang got his Three-Star Chef Certificate when he was 22. He could have taken the test much earlier as long as he wanted to. Otherwise, do you think your Mr. Shen has any chance of being the youngest Three-Star chef?]

People discussed wildly as long as the news was released. Most topics were about who would attend the test. All the Three-Star chefs were discussed one after another, but Shen Liangxu and Fang Weixuan were basically the main topics.

Both of them were young, rich, powerful, and handsome guys from top families. Many girls on Starnet dreamed that they could be with one of them someday, so they had many fans.

The two of them were basically the excellent ones among their generation.

Given the same reason, people always compare them with each other no matter what it was about.

Therefore, the comments had become a battle between Shen Liangxu's and Fang Weixuan's fans.

Gu Bai didn't know any of it. After he investigated the situation of the restaurants on the Central Star, he was more confident about his restaurant. Regardless of the prices, his dishes were much more delicious than any other restaurant on this planet. He wouldn't have to worry about the customers.

Next was the test tomorrow and the day after it. Once he finished the two smoothly, he would get his chef certificate, then he could get the business license and other things he needed to open the restaurant.

"I wonder if Mu Qiu is doing well in the hotel," Gu Bai said to Mu Mu.

The Central Star was a completely strange planet (for Mu Qiu) in Gu Bai's eyes. He still didn't think it was appropriate to leave Mu Qiu, a little wolfie, here alone.

He wouldn't even know where to find it if Mu Qiu got lost.

Thinking of this, Gu Bai sped up to get back to the hotel.

Opening the door, he saw Mu Qiu sucking its claws obediently. It even barked happily when seeing Gu Bai back.

Gu Bai was finally relieved to see it at home.

"Good boy, Mu Qiu. Were you afraid to stay here alone? I'd like to take you with me to the Chef Guild tomorrow. Will you come with me?"

Gu Bai stroked its head as he saw the food he left for Mu Qiu. Seeing the empty plates, he was relieved to know that Mu Qiu wasn't hungry.

Mu Qiu barked as a response, "I'm not afraid of being here alone. I won't go out with you."

Mu Qiu was worried that it wouldn't have the chance to go to its master if Gu Bai took it out.

Unfortunately, Gu Bai didn't understand Mu Qiu and thought it had agreed. He only wondered if the Chef Guild would let him take his pet there. Maybe the staff member would be willing to take care of Mu Qiu for him.

The next morning, Gu Bai made breakfast and ate with Mu Mu and Mu Qiu. He then planned to take the two to the Chef Guild, but Mu Qiu insisted on staying, sitting on the sofa as if the sofa was part of its body. Mu Qiu clasped the sofa even if Gu Bai walked over and tried to hold it.

"Mu Qiu, don't you want to go to the Chef Guild with me?" Gu Bai asked.

Mu Qiu nodded.

Realizing Mu Qiu had every intention to stay, Gu Bai thought it liked the hotel, so he prepared enough food for Mu Qiu and then left with Mu Mu.

Not long after he left, Mu Qiu took a bigger pack and then went back to the manor with the food Gu Bai made.

Given what had happened yesterday, the guard had waited at the gate early so that he could open the door for Mu Qiu in time.

The only thing he didn't understand was why the marshal's companion animal didn't stay but left in the afternoon. Then it came back the next day with a big pack as if someone had made it specially.

Did it mean the companion animal lived in someone else's place recently?

Who could that be?

Did the person know that Mu Qiu was the marshal's companion animal?

Did the Empress know about this?

He could tell from Yin Feng's face that it liked to live with the person for the time being.

The guard was very curious about who the person was, but he knew better than anyone that he shouldn't ask any questions. After all, Yin Feng was the marshal's companion animal, and it knew what it was doing.

His task was to open the door for Yin Feng and protect the manor.

Fang Mengshu had been waiting in the living room for a long time. When she saw Mu Qiu running over, she helped it untie the boxes on its back and opened them impatiently. The fragrance of the food made her eyes brighter.

She wasn't disappointed.

She had been thinking about the food ever since she had eaten them yesterday. Even the Five-Star Chef's dinner didn't get her interest.

Knowing that Yin Feng would come over the next morning, she had been waiting in the living room after she got up early. She didn't even have breakfast yet.

"Let's go to my master and let him smell the food."

Yin Feng urged Fang Mengshu.

"Alright. Let's go." Fang Mengshu closed the boxes again and then took them to Jun Molin's bedroom. She couldn't wait to take the chopsticks and try the food directly without looking at her son.

If Jun Molin were conscious at this moment, he would probably want to jump up immediately.

Why would anyone have a feast in a patient's room? Did she have a heart?

100. The Battle among the Fans

When Gu Bai came to the Chef Guild, he was immediately welcomed by the staff member who was much warmer than he was yesterday.

Zhou Xingchu sent him here to show Gu Bai the way to the test room.

When Gu Bai arrived at the floor where the assessment was held yesterday, he found one more man there apart from the four he had seen yesterday.

He was used to being watched by others, so he didn't care much about the man.

"Xiaobai, are you ready?" Zhou Xingchu asked nervously as if he was the one who was about to take the challenge.

To be honest, Zhou Xingchu himself wasn't even nervous when he took the test years ago.

"Yes." Gu Bai nodded seriously.

When he returned to the hotel last night, he didn't think highly of himself but checked a lot of information on the Starnet, especially the past videos of the Four-Star assessment in the past. After watching almost all the videos, he had a better understanding of the chefs in the interstellar era.

Only then did he understand that the restaurants he had gone to last night all basically employed Three-Star chefs. Four-Star chefs were either interested in creating new dishes and recipes or being hired by big families as their private chefs. Therefore, few of them would choose to work in any restaurant.

As for the Five-Star chefs, they were like national treasures, so there was no way that they would open any restaurant to cook for ordinary people.

"All right. Let's get started." Zhou Xingchu said to the rest, and they all nodded in agreement.

Standing next to Zhou Xingchu was the president of the Chef Guild, Yang Xun.

He didn't have to watch this on the spot, but he preferred to meet the special and talented kid personally.

Gu Bai was the only contestant today, but he had to face both the president and the seniors of the Chef Guild.

Anyone at his age would feel nervous to talk, but Gu Bai had been calm.

"Turn on the live stream," Zhou Xingchu said to the staff member in the corner.

As the live stream was broadcast, the fans who had been waiting for this moment joined in immediately.

[Where is the contestant? Where is he?]

[Who has the guts to take the Four-Star Chef Certificate?]

[Is it Mr. Shen? Why doesn't the camera shift quickly? I want to see Shen Liangcu's handsome face!]

[It must be Fang! Wait! Why can't we see his face? How come you guys blur his face on the live stream? I want to see Fang's face!]

[Why doesn't he want to show his face? Is he afraid that he might fail and embarrass himself?]

[When is Mr. Shen ever afraid of anything? Besides, he just got his Three-Star Chef Certificate half a month ago. It will be quite normal even if he fails. Why do you think he will embarrass himself?]

[That's right! Mr. Shen is unlike someone who never has the courage to challenge the Four-Star Chef Certificate test. I'd say the one who doesn't show his face is probably the guy. He just doesn't want to disgrace himself.]

[The man doesn't look like Fang at all. Besides, Fang has never feared the test, OK? He just doesn't care much about the test.]

[Uh, why is the figure familiar to me? But the person I know is not supposed to be on the Central Star, not to mention taking the test of the Chef Guild. It's for the Four-Star chefs after all.]

[Sis, I understand who you have in mind, but I don't think he is here, either. Maybe we misread the figure. Let's not mention his name here in case we might bring trouble to him.]

[It's possible, actually. Xiaobai told us on Facebook a month ago that he was about to live on another planet for a period. Maybe he came to the Central Star.]

[Who is Xiaobai? How come I've never heard of the name before? Who is he to be mentioned in this test? I have to remind you guys to take the test seriously, okay? It's for Four-Star chefs. How dare you mention someone as nameless as Xiaobao here? Is he qualified to take the test?]

The atmosphere was tense right after the live stream started. Mainly because Fang Weixuan's and Shen Liangxu's fans had been arguing in the comment area since yesterday.

Occasionally, Xiaobai's fans made some comments, but they were too weak in front of Fang Weixuan's and Shen Liangxu's fans.

Although Gu Bai had a lot of fans, most of them had known him through the Gourmet Contest. But they were too limited among people around the empire.

Xiaobai's fans thought the person looked like Xiaobai. After all, Xiaobai had been blurring his face on his live stream. If the background was changed to Xiaobai's kitchen, they would think that it was Xiaobai indeed.

The fans who had watched Xiaobai's live stream could recognize him at first glance. However, at first, they weren't sure whether Xiaobai had come to the Central Star; secondly, it was a test for the Four-Star Chefs. Xiaobai was only 18. Even if he did come to the Central Star, he had only arrived on the planet for three days. How come he would take such a high-level test?

Given the above reasons, they couldn't convince themselves that the person was Xiaobai even if they had such an idea in mind.

After being scolded by Fang Weixuan's and Shen Liangxu's fans, Xiaobai's fans kept quiet on the live stream in case they might cause more objections to Xiaobai. Therefore, they sent their doubts to their group chat and discussed them safely.

Xiaobai didn't know any of it during the assessment.

"The Four-Star chef assessment starts now!" After the staff member made sure that everything was settled, he said so to start the test.

"I'll be in charge of the first round." Senior Zheng took a step forward smilingly.

The invigilator had his back to Gu Bai, while Gu Bai faced a big screen on the wall. Senior Zheng took something like a pad and clicked it. There were many pictures on the screen. Since there were too many of them, Gu Bai could only tell that there were all about ingredients.

"This is the database of all available edible ingredients in the empire. I will randomly select 200 from them, among which I will choose 50 as your exam content. You will have to write down all their names and tell us the function of at least 45 ingredients. If you do that, it means you pass the first round," Senior Zheng carefully explained the rules of the test to Gu Bai.

Although Gu Bai understood the rules when he watched the Four-Star assessments yesterday, he still listened very seriously.

No wonder the Chef Guild dared to publicize the previous Four-Star assessments videos, yet they weren't worried others might take them as references.

They were confident because there were at least 1,000 kinds of ingredients in the database of the empire. Even if others wanted to take them as references, they would have to at least remember all these ingredients.

If they could do that, it meant they were exactly the kind that the Chef Guild and the empire needed the most. Therefore, the Chef Guild had no reason to reject them to join in.

[Although this is not the first time I've seen a Four-Star chef's live broadcast, I feel shocked every time I see the ingredients in the database. How come I've never tasted any of them? Poor me!]

[200 out of 1,000, and then 50 out of 200. They have to answer all 50 kinds correctly. That's so difficult. No wonder we don't have many Four-Star chefs in our empire.]

[I'm nobody's fan here. The person looks young. I'd say he is barely an adult. Did he remember all the ingredients?]

[I feel worried about him. I wonder which big family he is from. Whether he passes the test today or not, he has proved his talent by passing the first three levels. Maybe he is good enough to pass this one.]

As more and more passersby joined the discussion on the live stream, Fang Weixuan's and Shen Liangxu's fans finally ceased their quarrel.

Since the person didn't show his face, neither side could confirm whether it was their idol. To prevent their idol from having more anti-fans, the fans could only suppress their excitement and decided to confirm the information after the test. Once they got the positive answer, they wouldn't hesitate to laugh at the other party!

After confirming that Gu Bai understood the rules, Senior Zheng pressed the button in his hand. 200 kinds of ingredients were selected in an instant, including the main food, vegetables, seasonings, etc.

They were all chosen by Intelligence and no human could interfere with the choices, so the results were fair.

Zhou Xingchu and the other invigilators also looked at the selected materials. Even they might not even be able to recognize them all.

Firstly, they couldn't recognize the thousands of ingredients in the database. Secondly, new materials were discovered every year and filled into the database.

Given the two reasons, it was quite hard for the chefs to pass the Four-Star Chef Certificate test. A certain number of people failed dozens and even hundreds of times because they couldn't answer all the 50 ingredients. As the rules said, they had to answer all of them correctly.

Therefore, a Four-Star chef needed to have both ability and a little bit of luck.

Since Gu Bai transmigrated over and decided to inherit Shen Bai's farm, he had been paying attention to the raw materials discovered in this world. Through these things, he could create more delicious food.

Thanks to his accumulation, he could remain calm to deal with the exam.

In addition, Gu Bai was lucky this time. Although he only knew the names of several ingredients among the 200 kinds and didn't know their exact functions, these materials were not selected in the 50 kinds. Therefore, Gu Bai passed the first round smoothly.