Instead, they focused their attention on Guo Xinghai, who had chosen meat filling and loofah. If they weren't mistaken, this "Mr. Guo" was probably planning to make Stuffed Loofah.

「The five rounds of selection ended.」

Everyone stood at their respective stoves and began to busily prepare.

At the main judges' table, Geng Lishan looked at Lin Xu apologetically. He truly hadn't expected the competition format he designed to end up harming his friend. But it was too late; the rules had already been set, and there wasn't enough time to change them. The competition had to go on as planned.

At his stove, Lin Xu, with a composed expression, poured a third of the white sugar he had obtained into the pot. He then added a bowl of water and set it on the stove to start cooking. While boiling, he stirred the contents with a spoon. This not only sped up the melting of the sugar but also distributed the heat evenly, preventing the sugar from sticking and burning at the bottom of the pot.

Soon, all the sugar in the pot had melted. He continued to stir. When the surface of the sugar water in the pot began to turn slightly yellow and the mixture thickened, he turned off the heat and brought over a large empty pot. He poured the cooked syrup into it, placed it on the ground, and quickly spun the pot, using the centrifugal force of the spinning iron pot to rapidly evaporate the water in the syrup.

"What is he doing?"

"It looks like he's making sugar."

"Sugar?"

"Kitchen candy, scallion candy, melon candy, and other similar sugar products are all made this way."

"I know these kinds of candies, but this is a culinary competition. Can he score high with just sugar?"

"That'll be tough!"

「In the audience」

Hearing the whispers of the people around her, Shen Jiayue hugged Dundun, nearly in tears.

Chen Yan comforted her, saying, "Now, now, your brother-in-law is so amazing. Maybe he can make it through this round of competition too?"

Geng Lele, with her cheeks propped in her hands, sighed heavily. When her grandfather had asked for her opinion on the rules, she had casually mentioned having the contestants select the ingredients. She never expected her grandfather to actually implement it. Sorry, Boss Lin!

The sugar syrup in the iron pot quickly began to thicken.

Feeling that there was still a little too much moisture, he set the pot aside and aimed a fan at it. Then he took another pot, cleaned and dried it, poured in the glutinous rice flour, and set it over a low flame to heat.

What Lin Xu was about to make was the Perfect Level Snack he had been rewarded with for making Shakima—Dragon Beard Candy. He planned to use the Dragon Beard Candy as a garnish, presenting the egg yolk baked pumpkin in a new and creative form.

As for whether he would succeed or not, he couldn't say for certain. Anyway, he would just do his best.

While making Dragon Beard Candy, the maltose could easily cool down during the pulling process, causing the sugar strands to snap. Therefore, he had to use the heated glutinous rice flour to maintain the temperature. During the pulling process, he let the sugar strands constantly roll over the warm glutinous rice flour. This not only maintained the temperature but also prevented the sugar strands from sticking together.

After the glutinous rice flour was heated, he carried the pot and poured its contents into a deeper tray. Then he took out the maltose, which had been mostly dried by the fan.

"Wow! Isn't he worried about getting burned? That sugar must be at least sixty or seventy degrees, right?"

"Heat or cold doesn't bother him; you can tell he's an old hand at cooking. Too bad we won't see him in the next round."

"It really is a pity."

"Indeed, but isn't that always the case with competitions?"

"Yes, that's the allure of competitions—always full of suspense and uncertainty."

"..."

Lin Xu rolled the maltose in his hand into a long strip, then connected the two ends and pinched them tightly together. He then carefully expanded the loop. After enlarging it, he coated it with the warmed glutinous rice flour from the tray and gave it a twist to form a figure-eight loop. Finally, he folded it again, grabbed both ends, stretched it out, and continued the folding process. This repeated pulling made the sugar strands finer and finer, and the originally golden maltose turned white.

"Holy cow! Is Boss Lin going all out?"

"Isn't that Dragon Beard Candy, as fine as hair? I bought a box at a tourist spot once, and it tasted pretty good."

"Boss Lin hasn't given up yet!"

"He definitely won't give up. Let's hope for a miracle in this competition!"

"Come on, Boss Lin, we won't give up either!"

"Damn it, let's keep posting and rooting for Boss Lin!"

"Me too! If I don't do something, I'll feel like I owe him for all the previous teasing."

"..."

Although fans often joked about Lin Xu, at this moment, they truly hoped he could create a miracle. They weren't asking for the miracle to be spectacular—just enough to get him into the next round of the competition.

Finally, Lin Xu transformed the original block of golden, still slightly hot maltose into a cluster of strands finer than hair.

After all that hard work, he cut the Dragon Beard Candy, took a large bowl, and slowly wound the candy into it. Starting at the bottom of the bowl, he wound it in circles upwards, all the way to the rim, tucking in any excess candy and setting it aside to cool.

Then he picked up the pumpkin he had chosen earlier. First, he peeled it. Next, he cut half of the pumpkin into uneven strips, while the other half was scooped into round balls with a melon baller.

Once both preparations were complete, he heated oil in a pan. When the oil was hot, he deep-fried the pumpkin strips until their outsides were crispy and then removed them. He then did the same with the pumpkin balls, frying them until they too were crispy.

"Brother, what is Lin Xu doing?"

Shen Jiayue had originally thought Lin Xu would make egg yolk baked pumpkin. But after he spent so much time making Dragon Beard Candy and was now deep-frying pumpkin balls, she couldn't understand what he was doing at all.

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