Back on the screen, the young woman was smiling brightly. “Hello, Mister Yu, Mister Xiao, I’m happy to be here.”

Xiao Ming had already been told at that point that this wasn’t this young woman’s dish but looking at her attitude and her brightly shining eyes, he hadn’t been able to not feel good about her. Clearly, while she was taking part in screwing over two people doing their job at the moment, she was still a nice person. And anyway, he was pretty sure that there was more to this than he would be able to see.

Most likely, she was somebody who was working at the same company as goddess Tao Jin. Wasn’t that how these things worked? Tao Jin did the program a favor by appearing in this kind of mini-episode, and as a thank you, they would do her and her company a favor by showcasing a junior that was supposed to make a breakthrough in a short while or maybe even somebody who would have their debut soon.

Maybe in a later episode, she would even reappear again, becoming a special guest herself. It would be a win-win for everyone. Well, save for him and Mister Yu in case they did something wrong. But then, they had been warned behind the scenes so that also wasn’t something he needed to worry about.

In any case, since he felt good about her, he smiled back. “Hello there! Would you like to tell us a bit about yourself and the dish you made?” Since this was for special promotional material, he had figured that it would be good to give them something more to show. He hadn’t known how the final episode would look but had felt that it was an opportunity.

The girl had indeed jumped at it. “Of course! I’m Xing Xiang and I’ve come from the capital city to take part in ‘Golden Spoon’. The dish I’ve made is something that I’ve encountered on a vacation I took with my grandparents when I was still a child. I remember how they took me to a foreign restaurant and we had this dish. It’s a very dear memory to me so I’ve always thought fondly of the dish as well. So even though I usually prefer Chinese food, for this occasion, I figured that it might be a nice opportunity to make this dish. I’m hoping that the memories that are tied to it and the spirits of my grandparents will help me make it into the next round.”

Qian Huang snorted. “The spirits of her grandparents are probably scolding her right now. Lying this shamelessly on TV! Shouldn’t she be ashamed of herself?!”

Xiao Ming glanced at him and shook his head. “I’m pretty sure that she was instructed to do so. Just doing your job, is that also shameful? Also, we were told before she started to talk. I’m sure that at the end of the episode, there will be some kind of meeting between her and goddess Tao Jin where everything will be cleared up. So it’s not really lying, it’s just a story she is telling for entertainment value. I can’t even be angry at that and I was the one involved in this. What are you getting angry for?”

“Well, of course, I’m getting angry for your sake! You take everything this lightly, somebody has to worry a bit more about you.”

On the other side, Li Shui nodded. Even though he also didn’t think that a cute girl lying on TV was a problem, worrying about Xiao Ming was still something they should do. That friend of theirs wasn’t able to worry enough about himself. If they didn’t protect him, then he was afraid that sooner or later, it would be his downfall.

Xiao Ming shook his head at the two of them and turned back to the screen.

His past self was still smiling brightly. “That’s a beautiful story. I’m sure that your grandparents would be proud of you.”

There were some people laughing in the comments of the video, clearly finding it funny that he had this easily accepted that kind of bullshit lie.

Xiao Ming could see them but he didn’t mind. Anyway, he had known and just played along and even if he hadn’t, he would never regret taking somebody at their word. If it had been the truth and he would’ve laughed in her face and scolded her that she shouldn’t tell them such a sob story, what kind of person would that make him? Anyway, this feeling of having nice memories about a dish … he could understand it very well.

He and Mister Yu took a bite of the quenelles to taste them.

Since Xiao Ming had already started off with the greetings, Mister Yu decided to be the one to critique this first. “Well, I’ll have to admit that foreign foods aren’t my strong suit. The taste seems a bit bland for me but from what I know about French cuisine, that is to be expected. They don’t flavor their food as strongly as we do. Because of that though, when it comes to eating this, I would have liked if there was a sauce or a side dish to go with it that added some more flavor. I think that would make for a better experience.

“Looking at them as they are though and keeping in mind that this is how foreigners would like to eat the dish, I have to say that they are done very well. You have presented us with three of them each and the shape is even for all of them. I can only spot a small part on one of Xiao Ming’s that broke while baking. The size is also roughly the same which probably helped with using the right amount of time. Very well done.”

The girl smiled proudly as if this really was her creation. “Thank you, Mister Yu! I will keep in mind what you said for the next time.”

Mister Yu smiled as well, probably having thought of his granddaughter. Anyway, when Xiao Ming saw his smile in the recording now, he couldn’t help but realize that perhaps, he had been a little gentler toward the female contestants. There was probably a reason for that.

At the same time, in the video, Xiao Ming was also getting ready to give his feedback. “When it comes to how the food was made, I have to agree with Mister Yu. The quenelles are very well done in terms of the dough. I do like the addition of the fish as it gives them more taste but I probably would’ve paired it off with something else to go with as well.

“There is another thing that I’ve noticed: Right now, we only have these three quenelles on the plate. I’m not sure if you tried to arrange them?” He phrased it as a question, giving her the chance to explain herself and also not giving his opinion immediately.

For a moment, the girl was unsure of how to react since nobody had instructed her for this case. Finally though, she just smiled the question away. “Well, I thought it was just about cooking it.”

Behind the door, Tao Jin was shown to put a hand over her mouth, making a sound of surprise. “Oh my! I completely forgot about that! My husband even told me before he left that I shouldn’t just throw them on a plate like I always do when cooking for him. At home, I always think that as long as it’s tasty, he shouldn’t complain. But in this kind of show, I probably should’ve arranged them a little more pleasing. Ah, I’m so sorry to judge Yu and judge Xiao.”

The three guys from Bright Yellow Water all glanced over at the comments and indeed, there were immediately some people getting up in arms that their goddess Tao Jin had been chastised.

Qian Huang glanced at Xiao Ming and raised his brows. “Is that what you meant with ‘she is also there’? I don’t think what she said just now really helped you.”

Xiao Ming could only smile wryly. Yes, maybe he had overestimated how people would feel about whatever it was that she said. Well, there was nothing he could do anymore.

Back on the stage, Xiao Ming smiled faintly. “Well, I guess we didn’t make that clear enough. Usually, you would indeed be expected to plate the dish in a pleasing way. It is kind of part of the experience.

“Anyway, I was thinking that this is probably quite difficult with just the quenelles. So here as well, a side dish or a sauce would give you an easier time doing that because there are more options on how to arrange it. You could use a small bowl, for example, that would hold the sauce and then arrange the quenelles in respect to that. But even with only using the quenelles, there would be ways, of course.

“In any case, I think that if this is a dish that you really like and have fond memories of, then you will certainly want to share it with others. For that, trying to plate the dish nicely might be an idea that’s worthwhile to be explored in the future, whether that’s inside or outside of the show.

“To me, personally, good food is also always about the presentation because if the first impression is a nice one, people will be more willing to try it. Especially with a dish that means this much to you, but which is foreign and thus might make some people doubt whether it will be tasty, you might want to go a little more out in this aspect.”

Mister Yu nodded, feeling the same. “Yes, the taste is inherent to the dish, and pairing it with a different flavor is optional when we take into consideration that it is a foreign dish after all. There isn’t much to find fault with. What I think you could improve on most is the presentation. With that, you might not be able to take your cooking itself to the next level but you will be able to show how much it means to you and that, in turn, will make people more excited about it.”

The girl nodded and bowed, thanking the two of them.

While she walked down the stairs, Tao Jin went back to another room and sat down for a short interview. The camera had cut straight there, showing that some time had passed. Now, E Cheng Jun was actually with her, which showed at least to the members of Bright Yellow Water that this had once again been filmed after the casting was over.

“Well, goddess Tao, how was your experience? Was ‘Golden Spoon’ fun?”

Tao Jin smiled brightly. “Oh, it was a lot of fun! Exactly as I imagined. While I would’ve liked to have my husband with me, in the end, it wasn’t possible. Still, I don’t regret coming here. It was worth it.

“My experience can’t quite be compared to that of the other contestants, with how I didn’t even think of arranging my dish. It might’ve been because I wasn’t in the same atmosphere as everyone else that I just forgot.

“In any case, more than just being fun, this was also a learning experience. I’m really appreciative of all the feedback that I got from Judge Yu and Judge Xiao.

“Whenever I made this dish for somebody in the past, I’ve always introduced it with the same story that I told before about ‘A Field Trip in the Summer’. It’s a fun anecdote but I think that it puts the focus more on myself than the actual dish. And while this is about my cooking, I also want people to appreciate the dish itself which is something I don’t think I have managed to do yet.

“For the next time, I’m going to try what Judge Yu and Judge Xiao told me: I’ll make a side dish that has a bit more flavor and maybe a sauce as well. I never thought about that before because it didn’t even enter my mind but this input has really changed the way I think about it.

“I hope that the other contestants of ‘Golden Spoon’ will have gotten similarly valuable feedback. I’m actually a bit sad that I won’t be able to take part in the other episodes and get some more words of advice. Well, but I guess it can’t be changed. In any case, I’m happy to have been here even if it was only for a glimpse at the casting. Thank you for having me!”

“Thank you for gracing us with your presence, goddess Tao! I really feel that with you being here on the day of the casting, ‘Golden Spoon’ is up to a splendid start. It really makes me wonder how the other episodes will play out and who will be able to finally convince our critical judges.”

With that, E Cheng Jun turned to the camera and the two women gave a smile, waving gently because before the camera cut away, and finally, the countdown was shown, the last few seconds trickling away before it came to an end and the voice of E Cheng Jun sounded from over on the stage, announcing the end of the casting.

And with that, the special mini-episode and the halfway point between the casting and the first real episode came to a close as well.