Lin Xu had never imagined that the skill of Whole Pig Slaughter would be used under these circumstances.

He held the previously sharpened kitchen knife in his hand.

First, he skillfully severed the meat on the pig's neck, cutting to where the spine met the skull, then chopped off at the joint, and the entire pig's head was detached.

Then, he continued down the spine to split the entire suckling pig into two halves.

Next, he began to handle the front legs.

After detaching the front legs, he chopped off the Pork Trotter at the joint, then sliced away the fascia surrounding the large leg bone joints, and thus the suckling pig's fore shank had been removed.

The entire process was as smooth as drifting clouds and flowing water.

「Below the stage」

Guo Weidong watched the remaining fifteen contestants, a smile gracing his features.

It's finally our Guo Family's turn to shine with our specialty dish! he thought. With my nephew's skills, they're all in for it... Wait a minute! What's with this young fellow from Building Two? How is his technique even more polished than my nephew's?

The smile froze on his face.

Where on earth did that scoundrel Xie Baomin dig up such a talent? he wondered. He's skilled in metalwork, knows to add fruit to dipping sauces, and now he's this proficient at breaking down whole pigs... My nephew's bid for a third consecutive championship is looking shaky!

「In the livestreaming room」

Fans finally witnessed Lin Xu's third foray into a new field.

"Here it comes, the familiar crossover!"

"Boss Lin is finally extending his reach into the pig butchering world!"

"Look how skilled he is! Did his family use to be butchers?"

"Boss Lin: From today on, I, Lin the Butcher, am the only meat monger in the entire market! Who agrees? Who objects?"

"Where are all those people who were always yelling about challenging Boss Lin to a knife fight? Come on out, take a few steps, and let Boss Lin show you how it's properly done."

"Exactly! Always clamoring for Boss Lin to draw his knife. Well, the knife's out now, so where are you all?"

"..."

No one had expected the scholarly-looking Boss Lin to break down pork so swiftly and fluidly.

Compared to him, the gap between the other contestants immediately became apparent.

In the third round of the competition, contestants were allowed to use their own kitchen knives. The staff had even provided a knife rack nearby, stocked with all sorts of kitchen knives, cleavers, boning knives, and more.

Even so, faced with a suckling pig lying on the cutting board, the contestants still felt at a loss as to where to begin.

Usually, the meat used in the kitchen was pre-cut; occasionally, they might have to trim a spine or ribs from a whole side of pork. But now, they had to break down an entire pig. Although this suckling pig was much smaller than the large, fattened pigs they usually encountered, it was still a pig. And it had to be broken down like one.

These contestants were already anxious. When they turned to see Lin Xu had nearly finished with half the pig, they could only lift their kitchen knives and start hacking away forcefully. But because they were chopping in the wrong places, the bones remained unmoved while their knives became blunted.

Among the competitors, Guo Xinghai's performance was relatively impressive.

He came from a family of Cantonese chefs and often handled suckling pigs for dishes like roasted suckling pig, so he was comparatively skilled at breaking them down. When he encountered joints, he knew to cut the fascia first. However, his overall fluidity still lagged behind Lin Xu's.

On the other hand, the chubby chef who had previously borrowed a pear from Lin Xu was also noteworthy. Wielding a small, sharp knife, he first removed the four Pork Trotters, followed by the four legs. From the remaining torso, he skillfully removed the ribs and then the spine. Finally, he sliced the meat from the pig's rump to its head. Although his method differed from the standard way of breaking down a pig, he managed to completely dismantle his pig just before Guo Xinghai finished.

The fans in the livestreaming room were stunned by this impressive display of skill.

"I thought only Boss Lin could be this stunning, but this chubby fellow is pretty amazing too!"

"Judging by his appearance, his family must be in the pig butchering business."

"Yo, the commenter above knows face reading?"

"Just a little."

"So, how can you tell this chubby chef's family is in the pig butchering business?"

"Because he's... fat!"

"Damn, what a reason... But seriously, thinking back, none of the butchers I've known since I was a kid were skinny."

「Yinzhou City.」

Within Longqi Mountain Scenic Area, the monitors hanging in the ticket hall were broadcasting the Fishing Platform cooking competition live.

Lin Hongqi looked up at his son's deft way of breaking down the suckling pig and couldn't help asking his wife, "Our boy in Beijing... was he really studying finance? Why do I get the feeling he spent four years working in a Beijing slaughterhouse? His technique is too professional."

Chen Meijuan shot her husband an exasperated look. "Our son is just naturally gifted. You can't cook yourself, yet you love to question other people's culinary skills."

Not at all annoyed by her remarks, Lin Hongqi said, "Well, since he's so good at butchering pigs, I'll buy a few large, fattened ones this Spring Festival. He can slaughter them, and we'll distribute the meat to the scenic area staff so everyone can have a great New Year!"

Business at the scenic area was booming, filling Lin Hongqi with energy every day. And so, almost without thinking, he had assigned his son the task of pig butchering for the New Year.

「Fishing Platform competition site.」

Lin Xu had neatly sorted all the pork into categories. After washing his hands, he stood by the side of the arena, slowly sipping a freshly brewed cup of Taiping Houkui tea.

"Bro, is your family also in the pig butchering business? You seem even more skilled at breaking down pork than I am," the chubby chef said. He had followed Lin Xu's example, organized the parts of his suckling pig, washed his hands, and come over for tea.

"Oh, I used to help out at our local slaughterhouse during summer holidays. Got used to it," Lin Xu lied, continuing to sip his tea.

"Thanks for letting me have that pear. My name is Wei Qian. Which building are you from, bro? How about we add each other on WeChat?"

The chubby chef's name was Wei Qian. At twenty-four, he was two years older than Lin Xu.

His family had been pig butchers, and he had learned to slaughter and bleed pigs at the age of eight. After starting junior high, he had to break down two pigs every afternoon after school before he could have dinner and do his homework.

For him, slaughtering live pigs and breaking down whole ones was as easy as drinking water.

Wei Qian had always taken great pride in this skill.

Until today, when he met someone for whom it seemed even easier than drinking water.

Lin Xu took out his phone and added him as a friend.

While they were chatting, Guo Xinghai also arrived.

"You two are insane, breaking down raw pigs so efficiently! Is your family in this line of business?"

Wei Qian answered for Lin Xu.

The three of them added each other as friends and chatted idly over their Taiping Houkui tea.

Before long, the third round of the competition ended.

Lin Xu once again scored full marks.

The chubby chef, Wei Qian, received 9.7 points.

And Guo Xinghai, the favorite to win and an expert in Cantonese cuisine, scored only 9.5 points.

Guo Weidong, who had previously been feeling smug about the round featuring suckling pig ingredients, was now completely deflated.

Before, he was just annoyed about potentially only getting second place. Now, even second place was out of reach!

After the elimination round, Lin Xu and seven others successfully advanced. The remaining contestants entered a revival match to compete for two spots in the top ten.

As he left the competition hall, Shen Jiayue approached with Dundun in her arms.

"Tired?" she asked. "I only realized today how many things you know."

"Not tired. These are just minor skills," Lin Xu replied, taking Dundun into his arms. He then pulled out his phone and contacted Song Tiantian and Niu Chuan separately to check on the restaurant.

After learning that everything was normal at the store, he hung up.

Holding Dundun, he headed to the lounge next to the banquet hall to rest for a while and grab a bite to eat. After the revival match ended, he would have to participate in the contest to narrow the top ten down to the top five.

Fortunately, they would be able to use stoves after the top-ten competition, allowing for a broader range of culinary challenges, unlike the current rounds centered around cutting boards.

Just as he sat down in the lounge, Wei Qian entered carrying a tray with a large plate of freshly roasted suckling pig and some other food.

"Come on, buddy, have some meat to fill you up," Wei Qian offered. "There are small pancakes here too. If you find it too greasy, you can wrap the meat in a pancake."

Lin Xu asked curiously, "You seem very familiar with this place. Where did you get this from?"

"I'm a chef from Building Number One; this is my turf, of course I know it well! Is this your cat? The little fellow is chubby and looks really lively."

Wei Qian, a naturally outgoing person, sat down and started chatting with Lin Xu while nibbling on the charcoal-roasted suckling pig.

The pork, marinated with garlic and various spices, was roasted over charcoal. Biting into a piece, the outer Pork Skin was delightfully crispy, while the meat inside was tender and juicy.

Moreover, due to the slow roasting over a low fire, the meat was practically falling off the bone.

"This isn't the pork we broke down, is it?" Lin Xu asked.

"No, this was marinated before the competition started. Does your cat eat this meat? Should I get some other kind for it?"

Lin Xu picked up a piece of the suckling pig's Pork Ribs and placed it in front of Dundun.

The little creature actually squatted down and began to eat, finishing two small pieces before leaping onto the windowsill. There, it gazed at the scenery outside while licking its paws and grooming its face.

While they were eating, Guo Xinghai walked in.

"What do you guys think the top-ten competition will be about later?"

That question...

Wei Qian said, "If we eliminate time-consuming dishes, those with complicated methods, and those that don't present well or showcase culinary skill, then the competition will likely feature some quick and straightforward dishes."

That reasoning was sound, but before the competition, who would have predicted the chief judge would ask them to demonstrate their Knife Skills with a blunted knife? Who would have guessed the third round would be Whole Pig Slaughter? Ever since Geng Lishan became the chief judge, everything had become difficult to predict.

When they were almost done eating, Wei Qian took the leftover meat back to the kitchen.

When he returned, his face bore a shocked expression. "I don't know if it's because of the competition or something else," he exclaimed, "but the restaurant in Building Number One has an occupancy rate of over sixty percent! That usually only happens on holidays."

The restaurant at Fishing Platform was different from Lin Ji's Food. Here, the average cost was two to three thousand yuan per person; people paid for the ambiance and prestige. If the occupancy rate reached sixty percent, a single meal service could generate revenue in the hundreds of thousands.

Lin Xu glanced at Dundun, still grooming itself on the windowsill.

Could they have been attracted by this little one? he wondered. Its reputation for attracting wealth is truly well-deserved!

After resting for about twenty minutes, Lin Xu and the others returned to the competition arena.

The results of the revival round were out, and the top ten contestants had been determined.

It was time to compete with real culinary skills.

The cutting boards at the competition site had been cleared away, and all contestants now stood before stoves. Next to each stove was a rack displaying various ingredients.

The chief judge, Geng Lishan, announced, "The top ten have been decided. Next is the on-stove cooking challenge. Contestants, please choose your main ingredient according to your ranking in the previous round. You may only select one. Please consider carefully."

Choose one main ingredient?

Lin Xu, who had ranked first in the previous round, approached the ingredients rack. He saw beef, sea bass, Carp, whole chicken, Pork Ribs, pork belly, Large Shrimp, and other items displayed.

Which one should I choose as the main ingredient for this round's test?

After a moment's thought, Lin Xu picked the lively sea bass.

Below the stage, upon seeing Lin Xu's choice, Guo Weidong instantly felt his nephew had a chance again.

He actually chose sea bass! Is he planning to make Steamed Sea Bass? Guo Weidong mused. Excellent! He's finally walked right into my nephew's strong suit!

However, just as he was feeling pleased, he recalled Lin Xu's previous achievements, and a thought couldn't help but surface: This young man... surely he isn't skilled in Cantonese cuisine as well?

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