Divorced and Determined: The CEO’s Ex-Wife Fights for Love

Chapter 137 Joking Internationally—Four Ounces of Pork Loin Can Yield 3.7 Ounces?

The ten-minute time limit was almost up. Some had just finished filling out their tasting feedback and let out a sigh of relief. Some had been frowning throughout the tasting process, treating it as if they were answering a college entrance exam, even sweating on their foreheads.

This made Lu Qin wonder—wasn’t this just helping out with a dish tasting? If you could provide feedback, great; if not, then just don’t. Or were they afraid that with so many people present, not coming up with something insightful would make them lose face?

Thinking about it, Lu Qin figured that might actually be the case. At that moment, Rongxuanji Restaurant’s manager, Zhu Li, came in and collected the fourteen feedback forms. Then, she led everyone to the kitchen.

The kitchen had been cleaned, leaving only a long table in the center, with fourteen cutting boards placed on it. Each cutting board had a piece of pork loin. Lu Qin had initially thought there would be more dishes to taste, but judging from the setup, were they supposed to cut meat?

What was Fang Ya up to?

A staff member set up two tripods at opposite corners of the kitchen and mounted two DV cameras. Lu Qin suddenly realized—they were recording the meat-cutting process?

Showing off skills?

That was the thought that came to his mind.

Sure enough, Zhu Li spoke, “Second task—knife skills.”

“The pork in front of you weighs four ounces. Please demonstrate your knife skills.”

After saying that, Zhu Li left the kitchen.

Lu Qin glanced at the others, everyone had a serious expression. Typically, showcasing knife skills involved carving radishes into flowers, slicing potatoes into thin threads, or cutting cucumbers into paper-thin slices. However, cutting pork into fine strips was far more challenging.

And since this was a skills demonstration, the meat strips had to be far more refined than what one would normally cut for cooking. The requirements included length, thickness, uniformity, and even quantity—how many strips could be cut from four ounces of pork loin? This was the real difficulty.

A few people picked up their knives, checked the blades, then scooped up some water with their hands and sprinkled it over the blade before starting to cut.

Well, since he had agreed to help, Lu Qin switched into serious mode and prepared to showcase his knife skills. Pork loin, also known as pork tenderloin, is the meat located along both sides of the pig’s spine, running the entire length of the vertebrae.

This part of the meat is tender, with distinct muscle fibers, and contains some fat and connective tissue. If knife skills were being tested with meat strips, pork loin was the perfect choice.

With his maxed-out cooking skills, cutting meat into strips was second nature to Lu Qin. As expected, he finished the fastest. And, of course, his cuts were top-notch. Once again, the others glanced at him in unison. Lu Qin finishing so quickly seemed to put pressure on them.

After everyone finished cutting, they placed their meat strips into individual stainless steel bowls filled with water. With the meat strips floating in water, their quality was clear at a glance. Zhu Li instructed two staff members to take down the DV cameras and film close-up shots of each bowl of meat strips.

The participants also observed each other’s work. Zhu Li examined each batch—there was a wide range of skill levels. Some participants weren’t trained in traditional Chinese cuisine and had barely practiced knife skills.

Some were self-proclaimed fusion chefs, blending Chinese and Western techniques but mastering neither. Their knife skills were weak. Some focused on creative fusion cuisine and hadn’t invested much time in honing their knife skills.

As a result, some had only managed to cut two ounces of meat into strips, wasting half of the meat—if they were working in a restaurant, the owner would go bankrupt from such losses!

Some had cut the strips too thick—they weren’t strips but meat chunks. Some had inconsistently sized cuts, many of which were broken or uneven. Zhu Li shook her head in disappointment.

Knife skills are a fundamental part of Chinese cuisine, representing a chef’s expertise. For Rongxuanji to earn a Michelin three-star rating, it couldn’t rely solely on fusion dishes—it needed to incorporate technically demanding Chinese cuisine.

Clearly, just based on knife skills, 70% of the participants would be eliminated. The remaining ones were barely passing. Zhu Li arrived at the last participant. She took a look and immediately recognized him—it was Mr. Lu, the last one to arrive.

Handsome, with a casual demeanor, yet his gaze was firm, giving off a sense of reliability. When Zhu Li saw the meat strips in Lu Qin’s stainless steel bowl, her eyes widened.

Visibly, the strips were uniform in thickness and length, with an even texture. The strips floated in the water, making their consistency unmistakable. His knife skills were incredibly refined. Zhu Li suddenly felt a surge of excitement.

She turned to a staff member and said, “Bring a digital scale.”

Lu Qin smiled slightly and said, “Four ounces of pork loin—removing 0.2 ounces of connective tissue, yielding 3.7 ounces of meat strips.”

Zhu Li’s body stiffened, and she looked at Lu Qin in shock.

Was he joking?

Four ounces of pork yielding 3.7 ounces of strips with almost no loss?

Impossible!

Under normal circumstances, according to the high standards of Shandong cuisine, four ounces of pork loin, after removing connective tissue, could yield about 3.4 ounces of meat strips—that was already exceptional.

3.7 ounces!

That was an insane difficulty level—only about 0.01% of chefs could achieve that!

It was nearly impossible!

The others murmured among themselves.

“Four ounces of pork loin yielding 3.7 ounces of strips? That’s a joke! I trimmed off 0.3 ounces just removing the connective tissue!”

“I’ve practiced knife skills for six years—3.2 ounces is my limit!”

“I don’t know… I glanced at that handsome guy while he was cutting. His hands were ridiculously steady, and his knife work was incredibly fast! It made me feel immense pressure!”

“No way he got 3.7 ounces. I know a top chef who’s been practicing for over 20 years, and the best he can get is 3.5 ounces. There’s always some loss—just what sticks to the knife is more than 0.2 ounces!”

The digital scale arrived.

The meat strips were drained and placed on the scale. Everyone held their breath. The result—precisely 3.7 ounces!

Four ounces of pork loin, with 0.2 ounces of connective tissue removed, yielding 3.7 ounces of meat strips!

Good grief!

This was god-tier knife work!

This…

This was outright insane!

Zhu Li’s heart pounded. She took a deep look at Lu Qin—this young man was a rare talent!

His knife skills were extraordinary!

All eyes in the room were on Lu Qin—some were in shock, some in envy, some in admiration, and some in disbelief…

This guy was a master!

An absolute top-tier expert!

With him here, why were they even bothering to compete?

They were just extras at this point!

Only Lu Qin remained clueless—he still thought this was just something Fang Ya had set up in advance. To confirm, he had even messaged Fang Ya midway through, and she replied, Room 3092. So, there was no mistake.

Zhu Li suppressed her excitement and announced the third task.

“Prepare a Sichuan dish—Mapo Tofu.”

Lu Qin rubbed his nose and thought, Well, this is easy. My Mapo Tofu skills are maxed out.

This was his specialty!

With limited stovetops, the fourteen participants were split into two groups. Of course, the second group had to wait outside while the first group cooked—no peeking. Unsurprisingly, Lu Qin finished first again.

Zhu Li paid special attention to him. He completed the dish in about eight minutes with three rounds of thickening—a sign of true expertise. The rich aroma made her involuntarily swallow. It smelled incredible!

The taste had to be phenomenal!

As soon as Lu Qin plated the dish, Zhu Li had it sent to the chairman’s office for evaluation.

Lu Qin remarked, “This Mapo Tofu isn’t perfect.”

Zhu Li asked, “Why? Did something go wrong?”

“The doubanjiang isn’t quite right.”

“But it’s all Pixian doubanjiang.”

“There are different grades of Pixian doubanjiang—the taste and saltiness vary.”

Zhu Li: “…”