The person that E Cheng Jun walked up to was once again a female contestant. With the ninjas of the Si clan blocking twenty of the sixty-four places on the show, there were a lot more men around than women. So she paid special attention to picking out enough of the female contestants for her short interviews.

This was a matter of course. After all, they wanted to reach different segments of the audience. Even though ‘Golden Spoon’ was a cooking show and most people would come for the dishes and the cooking itself or maybe just to see some creativity, there was also another side to this: Especially for the episodes shown online, there was a decent chance to pull viewers in just by having good-looking contestants on camera.

In that regard, ‘Golden Spoon’ had gotten incredibly lucky. While not everyone might look like a model, about half the people had the looks to achieve some small fame. Well, coupled with their identities, a good part of them might be able to get more than just a little fame.

This was especially true for the men. Just casually pulling one of the members of the Si clan in front of the lens, viewers would definitely be happy. All of them were young men, good-looking in their own way but different types to satisfy all kinds of viewers. They also had the identities to match. Who wouldn’t want to date a successful athlete, musician, or doctor? Maybe some members like Si Shi Jiu who worked in politics or Si Shi Liu as a person in the police force would give some people pause but the others were absolutely top-notch men that shouldn’t be passed up on!

Not even looking at the ninjas, there were still other contestants such as Zhao Li Yu who could certainly excite the viewers. He was about the same age as Si Yi, and could definitely also be described as handsome. He had that slightly unkempt look about him, where you couldn’t help but wonder if he had just gotten up or had styled it this way specifically. Either way, handsome men would be forgiven by the audience even if it was the former so there was no need to worry.

As for the female contestants, the problem was really just that their numbers couldn’t keep up with the men. It didn’t help that there were also contestants among them like Ye Ping who looked like somebody’s over-excited aunt. Unless the viewers had very specific tastes, she wasn’t the kind of eye candy anyone would lick the screen for. Thankfully, the same couldn’t be said about other female contestants and as long as enough time was spent on them, the impression of having too few women on the show could be mitigated.

The contestant E Cheng Jun had picked out to be pushed into the limelight this time around was called Tong Xinyi. She seemed to be in her late twenties and had a very warm demeanor. As soon as E Cheng Jun approached her, she looked up with a bright smile that would definitely be able to warm the hearts of the audience.

E Cheng Jun smiled back and went to stand next to her, looking over her shoulder. “Ms. Tong, ah, can you tell me about your process? For example, I see that you seem to have exchanged the meat. You are one of the few contestants that did. Is there a special reason?”

Xinyi put the knife to the side and turned around to E Cheng Jun, giving her her full attention. “Well, when we got our feedback for the previous task, I was inspired by what everyone said about their dishes. Everyone was thinking up situations when they would make the dish and for whom, choosing a certain way to do the task because of that.

“When I heard that, I was a bit ashamed. At that time, I was only thinking I had to make this dish and picked one version that I was familiar with, not thinking too deeply. Hearing everyone talk about their reasons made me realize that I wasn’t being serious enough. So for this task, I am also trying to think about what I would like to do based on a specific situation.

“It gives some insight and I feel like this will allow me to learn more but I feel that it also makes matters more difficult. You see, for me, eating is something that should be shared with others. It’s the most fun if you eat together with family or friends.

“I recently moved to a new city, having to leave behind all the friends that I made back at university and in my first job. I’m really sad about it. So if I had some time, I would love to meet up with everyone and share a few dishes.”

E Cheng Jun nodded, happy that Tong Xinyi was talking so much. This would do well on the episode. Especially so since she had been praising the other contestants and what they had done for the first task. This was something that could even be used as a teaser for the next episode. “In that case, are you going to make several dishes out of this?”

Tong Xinyi smiled wryly. “I would love to but that is the difficult part. I feel like there are too little ingredients. Ah, right, you asked about the meat!” She had been so preoccupied with the question of what her process was that she had completely forgotten about that. “Well, you see, one of my friends can’t eat meat. She has a rare illness that makes her get sick if she tries it.

“Because of that, I didn’t want to use any meat in whatever I’m making. After all, I want that everyone will be able to enjoy themselves when we eat together. So this decision was still easy. But other than that, I haven’t decided yet what exactly I should cook. I can think of several dishes that can be made with these ingredients but I’m not sure if they would really be satisfying for this type of situation.

“I was thinking that if my friends came by for a surprise visit and I only had a few ingredients at home, I would want to make one big dish out of all of them to eat with my friends. It helps give that feeling of togetherness, you know?” She showed a thoughtful expression, inwardly going through her options.

E Cheng Jun nodded, feeling that even though Tong Xinyi hadn’t made up her mind yet, the thought process behind it was interesting enough to make it on the show. “So, is there no big dish that you can make out of this? I’m sure there has to be something that all of your friends would enjoy.”

Tong Xinyi nodded, her expression a bit reluctant. “Well, they all really like to eat hot pot and so do I. When we went out together in the past while we were still studying, we often went to a little restaurant around the corner that had very good hot pot. Making one myself for them would be the best way to let us reminisce. They’d surely love that!” Tong Xinyi’s eyes lit up when talking about that time. Clearly, she loved her friends dearly and missed them. Just thinking of seeing them again and having a good time made her excited.

Looking at the ingredients in front of her though, she sighed. “Even though it would be amazing, I’m not sure if I can make it with just these ingredients. The awesome part about hot pot is being able to pick what you like. With just these, it’s too little.

“Like, I have bell pepper and carrots which are alright as ingredients for a hot pot but my friends wouldn’t like them as much. There was also a cabbage in the box which isn’t that bad. I think hot pot should have at least one leafy green and cabbage is a good one. My friends all like it.

“As for the meat, I exchanged it for some lotus root. I wasn’t sure what to pick at first but I figured it would be good to have a few more options so I didn’t want to take another leafy green or a fruit vegetable. We didn’t have any root vegetables in the box though so I figured this was a good choice no matter what I end up making.

“But considering all that, there are only two ingredients that are really good for hot pot. What’s worse is all the things that are missing: There is no seafood option which my one friend could eat and we all really like it. There are no mushrooms either, not to mention tofu or bean curds. It’s really too poor.

“Well, at least, I am allowed to use the sauces for dipping, so I guess it wouldn’t be that bad.” Her expression turned a bit hopeful but she wasn’t convinced yet. “All in all, I think that while the idea is good, with just these, I just can’t make a good enough hot pot. It’s a pity, really. If it was at home, I’d probably have one of my friends go to the store to buy a bit more but I can’t do that on the show, can I?” At that, Tong Xinyi sighed.

Really, after getting past the casting, she had thought she was very awesome but now it was the first episode and she couldn’t help but feel inferior. She hadn’t thought as deeply about the first task and had probably left the three judges with a bad impression. Now, while she had an idea, it couldn’t be done well. If she still attempted it, wouldn’t that be akin to asking to be kicked out by the next episode?

She didn’t want that. While she doubted that she could make it into the finals, she at least wanted to make it into the second or maybe third episode! She had made it into the top hundred among thousands of participants in the casting and she was proud of that. She didn’t want it to be over as soon as she got onto the actual show. No, she wanted the chance to actually compete with people!

While Tong Xinyi was encouraging herself to do her best, E Cheng Jun felt lost. She knew how to cook a little but she wasn’t that proficient. To say whether a result would be good based on the ingredients or not, she wouldn’t dare to brag that she could do it.

Well, even if she couldn’t, she had to say something to keep the conversation going. “Well, maybe there is something you can do to ensure that it will taste nice even if the ingredients aren’t perfect for this? You can also use the sauces and staples, after all.”

Tong Xinyi looked at her and suddenly, her eyes widened. “Ms. E, you’re the best! I just had an idea! Oh, I’ll have to hurry or there won’t be enough time!” With that, she turned on her heels and rushed over to the section at the side of the studio where the contestants could get their ingredients, getting busy with picking out some more things.

E Cheng Jun watched her back, being reminded of how Huyan Xia had reacted before when she talked to her. She turned back to the camera and shrugged her shoulders. “Well, apparently, my comments are a source of inspiration for our contestants. I should better go and talk to a few more to see if I can also have a positive effect on their working morale.” With that, she picked out the next one, hoping to get more material out of this task. Anyway, there were two hours, more than enough for her to find some nice opportunities.

While the two women were busy, so were the ninjas of the Si clan.

Si Jin specifically had made up his mind and decided on a couple of dishes. By now, he was handling the ingredients, catching up to the other contestants.

When he had cut everything down to the desired size, he looked at the utensils at his working station, pondering the few problematic areas that remained.

The worst part about making several dishes at a cooking station like this was that he couldn’t make everything at the same time while needing to keep the dishes warm. The ones he had chosen were fairly easy so two hours was more than enough time to make them. But if he made them one after the other, most wouldn’t be at their optimal state when he presented them. Since he wanted to impress Xiao Ming, Si Jin naturally wasn’t happy with that possibility.

No, if he were to do this, he needed a way to prepare his dishes one by one while keeping the finished ones the best as possible. Unfortunately, that exposed problem number two: There wasn’t all that much space at the cooking station.

He had a stove with four burners, but then, there was only about half a meter left next to it where he could keep the prepared ingredients and the finished dishes. Not to mention that he needed to plate everything nicely which needed some room.

He stared at the empty space at his cooking station and finally turned to the side, walking up to one of the staff members that was waiting there. The contestants had only been told that the staff members would be there to help them exchange the meat but he was sure that they could also give him other necessities. And wanting to have a bit more space shouldn’t be a problem.

Si Jin didn’t have the time to deal with somebody not understanding what he wanted so he threw out some more words for this occasion. “One of those food trolleys we had in the casting. There isn’t enough space.”

The staff member looked at him, wondering just what was going on despite Si Jin’s rather extensive explanation compared to usual. It was just that this was something he hadn’t expected.

He stared at Si Jin for a moment and couldn’t help but notice that this was the person that had previously gotten into trouble with that Fan Mei. He definitely wasn’t a person they should slight even further. Yes, it would be best to fulfill whatever he needed.

Unfortunately, there were no food trolleys here so it wasn’t like he could just give him one and he also wasn’t sure if he was even allowed to hand them out in that case. Well, in that case, he should at least inquire if he could get one and then go from there. “Uh, let me go and ask.” He walked over to Yang Shu Na who was already looking worried.

As soon as Si Jin had left his cooking station, she had grabbed another staff member, telling them to keep their eyes peeled on Si Jin’s cooking station. With how that Fan Mei had previously acted, she couldn’t let any accidents occur. Somebody had to make sure that she wouldn’t try to sabotage Si Jin’s work after not getting the results she wanted in the argument before.

When the staff member that Si Jin had spoken to suddenly came up to her, she couldn’t help but feel apprehensive. “What is it?”

There was an edge to her tone that made the staff member tense up, wondering if he had done something wrong.

“That … the contestant asked for one of those food trolleys we had in the casting. I think he felt he didn’t have enough space.”

Yang Shu Na looked over and seeing that Si Jin was just waiting there, not looking accusatory and just showing the same blank expression as usual, she calmed down. “Well, they are allowed to make several dishes so there might indeed be a problem with the space. You can get one.” Anyway, it wasn’t an additional ingredient so it wouldn’t actually influence the result of the task. Nobody should be able to make trouble with that.

The staff member nodded and then disappeared to take care of it.

Seeing him leave, Si Jin felt that the matter should have been taken care of, so he went back to his cooking station, and started on his first dish.