Pei Qian's first reaction upon seeing this post was confusion.
Using GOG's tactics to play IOI?
It didn't feel like it would work, right?
In fact, there had been some signs during the qualifiers, but at that time, this playstyle had held FV back!
These players were all celebrities who had been playing IOI for a long time. In the end, they were forced to use GOG's playstyle, which led to ten intense matches. If they used the mainstream playstyle that they were good at before, they might be able to play two less rounds.
Pei Qian felt that this reverse training would definitely lower FV Team's strength. That was why he encouraged them to continue walking towards this dead end.
In the end, they really f*cking mastered the gameplay?
Pei Qian did not pay much attention to FV Team's training. Thus, when he saw the post, his first reaction was to think that it was nonsense. However, on further thought, FV Team had already achieved two 3: 0s. That was obviously very different from his expectations!
What was the problem then?
Pei Qian quickly checked the post.
The person who posted the post was a high-scoring passerby from IOI and a former professional team analyst. He had a deep understanding of IOI's game. However, as the market for IOI was shrinking day by day, he was forced to change his career to do GOG's review program. He had been doing very well recently.
This time, he had obviously seen the popularity of the IOI World Finals which coincidentally met his area of expertise. That was why he posted this post.
"Let me analyze these few rounds of competition for everyone. The few tactics that FV team has used have actually appeared in GOG's competitions. What's more, FV team has actually used them in the qualifiers in the country!"
"However, the results of the qualifiers were not very good. On the other hand, the international competition had a crushing effect. Thus, many people instinctively did not associate the two together."
"There are two main reasons for my analysis. First, the changes in IOI World Competition made its gameplay and GOG seem to converge, giving these tactics more room to play. Second, FV team is actually constantly evolving. The details and execution of these tactics have been greatly improved, so they have completely different effects..."
The original poster had obviously put in a lot of effort in analyzing the game. He had done a comprehensive analysis of the choices of heroes, the lineup, the resource selection and tactical decisions in the game, and so on.
The final conclusion was that FV Team's playstyle had not changed from the qualifiers to the international competition.
The reason why they were able to dominate the world's strong teams before was because of the changes in IOI and FV team's proficiency in these strategies!
Finally, the original poster summarized his viewpoint.
"In short, we can come to three conclusions."
"First, FV team has an extremely powerful tactical analysis and data analysis team, and their sparring team is also very powerful. Otherwise, they would not be able to perfect the tactical details to such a degree in a short period of time, and their combat strength would not have such a leap!"
"Second, the convergence between IOI's new version and GOG's design concept is an important reason for the change in the 'version answer'. This means that Finger Games' design team has recognized the view that IOI's design concept is lagging behind GOG to a certain extent, so they have made changes to the game."
"Third, let's not talk about the idea of 'GOG's competition is for our countrymen to entertain themselves'. This is a complete joke. Based on the current facts, GOG's design concept and the team's tactical skills are all superior to IOI. Otherwise, Zhou Pengyuan would not have been able to use GOG's training method to transform FV into such an oppressive and dominating team in such a short time!"
"In fact, the other two teams in the country were eliminated in the group stages not only because of their strength, but also because they were not strong enough to adapt to the version. They only knew how to imitate the playing style of foreign teams. If you learn from others, your understanding of the game is not as deep as others, and you don't have an advantage in terms of handling, how can you win?"
"FV has proven with their actions that it's not that foreign teams are strong, but that domestic IOI teams are too weak! GOG's tactics can be easily modified and used to enter the finals of IOI's global finals and become the champion. Doesn't this precisely prove that IOI teams are rotten fish and shrimp, without any competitive standard?"
"If FV Team can really win the championship, then everyone doesn't have to watch IOI's competition anymore. Just watch the GPL. Both teams' competitions are on completely different levels!"
"Finally, there's a small problem: Obviously, as the head coach of FV Team, Zhou Pengyuan has played a decisive role in tactical planning. However, after Zhou Pengyuan retired, he became the head coach of DGE Club. Why did he follow FV Team to Los Angeles?"
"Everyone, you can think about whose order it was."
The popularity of this post exploded not long after this post was published. The gamers pushed it up hundreds of floors and reposted it!
What the original poster said made sense. What's more, it was reasonable and convincing. It even raised a very controversial point of view: GOG's competitive standards far surpassed IOI!
The logic of many fake reviewers attacking GOG previously was very simple: GOG's domestic teams had dominance. That meant that foreign teams did not play seriously. They did not have any value and the standards of foreign teams were higher.
However, now, under the guidance of GOG's coach, FV team was now chopping the foreign teams. Of course, the saying that foreign teams were stronger would collapse by itself!
In other words, GOG's tactics were not only leading the world, but also the entire E-Sports circle!
On the contrary, GPL was the highest level of competitiveness in the world.
All of a sudden, the fake reviewers who had been spamming "entertain themselves" stopped. Similar voices appeared occasionally and were immediately group attacks.
The gamers of GOG were all elated while reviewing FV Team's competition and playing against the people who belittled GOG online. They attacked with ease and went all out!
Pei Qian was flabbergasted.
It was fine if Pan Ying was spouting nonsense, but why were the audience starting to blame it on him?
Many gamers were discussing this post, after some analysis, they realized that Boss Pei was the hero!
It was true that Zhou Pengyuan played a huge role as the head coach, but he was the head coach of DGE Club and was not qualified to teach FV Team.
On the other hand, Boss Pei, who had made a seemingly ridiculous decision to "let GOG's head coach teach them", was obviously the number one contributor to FV's good results!
Pei Qian read the entire post in silence, not knowing what to say.
They had yet to play the finals, and I'm already taking the blame??
...
At the same time, in Los Angeles...
In one of the guest rooms in Finger Games' headquarters, both Chrétien and Zhao Xuming looked solemn. They had a lot on their minds.
To outsiders, IOI's global finals had been very successful.
They had already achieved his goal of generating popularity and topics to talk about. What was there to be dissatisfied about?
However, the netizens could only see the popularity on the surface. Chrétien and Zhao Xuming could feel the hidden undercurrents.
IOI Cooperation Department of Long Yu Corporation had been keeping an eye on the domestic response to the global IOI Finals. These contents would be reported to Zhao Xuming, who was far away in Los Angeles.
What troubled Zhao Xuming the most was that his previous plan to step on GOG and support IOI had completely failed!
In order to give IOI players a sense of superiority, Zhao Xuming got the fake reviewers to publicize that GOG's international invitational tournament was a form of entertainment for Tengda Corporation and that IOI's competition level was higher.
Such an argument had already spread and had the effect of confusing others originally but FV team's victory made this argument fall apart on its own!
He had painstakingly hired so many fake reviewers and triggered so many discussions about GOG and IOI's competitiveness. All of those efforts had gone to waste
Now, most people thought that GOG's competitions were better and were more willing to watch GPL competitions!
That created a huge obstacle for Long Yu Corporation to promote IOI domestically. It could be said that they had shot themselves in the foot.
At the same time, Chrétien was in a very difficult situation.
The "convergence between IOI's new version and GOG's design" was a fatal blow to him as a designer.
In fact, such voices had appeared online before the IOI World Finals and when IOI's new version had just been updated.
At that time, many old gamers felt that they were not used to the changes in IOI's new version. They lost the original taste of the game and protested online.
However, Chrétien insisted on modifying the new version. What's more, the modifications were effective. The gamers soon became 'happy'.
Even if gamers from GOG occasionally came to say that they were imitating GOG, there was no widespread response because there was no evidence.
You said that IOI's new version was imitating GOG. Why don't you show us some evidence?
Even if IOI's new version became faster and the competition for resources became more intense, it could not be said to be imitating GOG. After all, they were two completely different games.
However, FV had actually used GOG's tactics to achieve good results in the IOI global finals now. That was very intriguing.
Did Finger Games borrow GOG's gameplay when designing the new version of IOI? Everyone had their own answers.
This was a huge blow to the confidence and pride of IOI players.
Previously, many people felt that IOI was more difficult, moreover it was an overseas game. Thus, they felt an inexplicable sense of superiority towards GOG.
However, they suddenly realized that IOI had changed in the direction of GOG. Wasn't that admitting that their game design was not as good as GOG's?
In that case, Chrétien, who was pushing for changes to IOI's gameplay with all his might, would be the first to bear the brunt and become the scapegoat of Finger Games!
From the current situation, IOI's global finals might be very popular, but it seemed to be gathering on FV team. If FV team really won the championship, would Finger Games or Tengda Corporation earn more from the finals?
That was hard to say!
It could be said that Finger Games did not hesitate to invest in the global finals this time. They also endured the pressure from Dayak Corporation. No one could afford such a failure of creating the cake for others and have others eat it.
Thus, both Zhao Xuming and Chrétien looked solemn, deeply worried about their future.
Zhao Xuming did not intend to sit back and do nothing. After pondering for a long time, he said, "This cannot continue."
"There's still a week to the finals. We have to do something! We can't let FV Team win!"
Chrétien looked at him. "What can we do? We're the organizers."
It was impossible to pull a cheap trick. Once it was exposed, Finger Games and Dayak Corporation would definitely lose their reputation. Only a fool would do something as risky as that.
Zhao Xuming said, "Of course, it cannot affect the fairness of the competition. However... it should not be a problem to send one or two designers to guide FRY in private, right?"
"Boss Pei has already revealed his true intentions. We can't sit back and do nothing!"
Chapter 821: Severely Criticize The Cold-Faced Lady!
Zhao Xuming's words made Chrétien fall silent.
Indeed, he could not sit back and do nothing.
Based on the current situation, the strength that FV Team had displayed was too strong. Moreover, they had all reached an unprecedented peak whether it was their tactical reserves, player status, or public opinion.
While he did not know who made up the data analysis team of FV Team but there was no doubt that they had the support of the GPL league and even Tengda Corporation's game designers!
Otherwise, they would not have been able to improve their understanding of the game version and tactics so quickly.
Based on the current trend, FV would still have an absolute advantage even in the finals.
If FV Team really won the championship, that would be an extremely bad situation for both Chrétien and Zhao Xuming.
Logically speaking, Finger Games was the organizer of the competition. It did not matter which team won the championship.
However, the agenda for IOI's global finals had changed. FV Team represented not only the domestic IOI E-Sports circle but also Tengda Corporation.
In other words, Tengda Corporation's designers and stats analysts were using IOI's global finals as a battlefield. They had a silent showdown with the designers and the entire team!
Therefore, Finger Games could not lose.
However, as the organizer, Finger Games could not play any tricks. Two may keep counsel putting one away. If they were discovered to be playing tricks, it would be a super scandal that would shock the entire world. Not only would it turn the fairness of the global finals into a joke, but it would also cause Finger Games and Dayak Corporation to lose their reputation.
This became a dilemma.
He would definitely be hurt if he did not give a damn. If he did, there would be a chance of survival but it would also be accompanied by huge risks. A single mistake would be worse than not caring.
This was a difficult decision from Finger Games' perspective.
However, there were other considerations for Chrétien as well.
If FV Team won the championship, the popularity of the global finals would be earned by FV and Tengda. Then, as the person in charge of this series of decisions, Chrétien would definitely be removed by the higher-ups.
At the very least, FV team had to be stopped at the runner-up position. Finger Games would then be able to save face, and the efforts for global finals would not be wasted. Only then could Chrétien protect his position.
Thus, Chrétien did not have much choice from his own perspective.
Chrétien did not dare to be negligent when it came to his position as the person-in-charge of the China region. After much consideration, he lowered his voice and said, "What you said makes sense. I will search for two Balancers in the company to analyze FV team's tactical playstyle, summarize the game's data in the new version, and hand it to FRY battleteam to privately provide them with tactical support."
"We cannot let FV Team win no matter what!"
Chrétien felt that he had to take the risk after much consideration.
As long as he found two Balancers who knew the game well and came to an agreement with FRY team, this news would probably not spread.
As long as the outside world did not know about it, there should be no problem.
There was only one week left until the finals. There was not much time left for FRY team to prepare.
Chrétien suddenly thought of something and looked at Zhao Xuming. "Can you get some information from FV Team?"
Obviously, the strategy of sending two Balancers might not work.
Finger Games' official statistician might have a better understanding of data and games than ordinary people, but he might not be able to combine data and tactics well.
From data to tactics, a lot of details had to be added during this period. What's more, players had to consider their playstyle habits, proficiency in key heroes, and so on.
Thus, Chrétien felt that he would be more confident if he could obtain some information on FV Team.
Zhao Xuming had a bitter expression on his face. "I can't get it no matter whether through a hard or soft approach."
"I have already fallen out with FV's boss, Wu Yue, before I left the country. If I tried to get close to him now, I would definitely be suspected; it would be even more impossible for me to spy on him. That group of people hired four bodyguards and usually trained on the second floor of an internet cafe. They booked the entire place for sparring and would not leak any information."
"This group of people is like a metal bucket. We are not able to penetrate them at all. They won't even fight Rank. The outside world doesn't even know what heroes FV team members have been practicing recently."
After some thought, Cretian asked, "I heard that FV Team is playing mock competitions with SUG Team. Don't you know the boss of SUG Team, Ding Gan? Can you think of a way to obtain some information from there?"
Zhao Xuming's expression became even more awkward. "This... I'm afraid he won't be nice to me now."
Zhao Xuming knew his limits.
Before this, he had promised SUG that they would definitely have a spot in the international competition. In the end, FV team appeared out of nowhere and snatched the spot away. Zhao Xuming felt that Ding Gan and SUG team did not have much value anymore, so he ignored him. Ding Gan must be feeling slighted by this.
However, Boss Pei had paid for SUG to come to Los Angeles out of his own pockets. It was obvious that Ding Gan was on Boss Pei's side seeing Ding Gan and Wu Yue chatting happily at the airport.
Would Ding Gan give Zhao Xuming a good attitude now, if he were to look for Ding Gan so hypocritically now?
Ding Gan would probably turn around and tell Boss Pei and Wu Yue about this, making FV battle team even more vigilant.
Of course, Ding Gan was only the boss of a club. He might not dare to fall out with Zhao Xuming, so he might appear polite on the surface, but it was hard to say what he would do behind the scenes.
Zhao Xuming had no confidence in this.
"What's wrong with you?! Why did you fall out with those who are slightly useful? We can't count on you for anything!" Chrétien exclaimed a little angrily.
Zhao Xuming was very angry, he opened his mouth but could not refute.
Indeed, if Zhao Xuming had treated Ding Gan better, or if he had not chosen to leave FV Team behind, the situation would have been different.
However, Zhao Xuming could not predict the future. How could he have thought of such a situation!
One wrong move and everything cascaded. The seemingly insignificant decision that he had made in a moment of anger and hot-headedness had very serious consequences now.
Chrétien could not say much either, he could only sigh. "In that case, forget it. I hope that FRY can stop FV."
...
...
January 16th, Monday...
Pei Qian woke up as usual and went to the office to check on the various businesses. At the same time, he thought about where he should start his spending plan.
Pei Qian knew nothing about the schemes brewing in Los Angeles.
Pei Qian had strategically given up on them after seeing FV3: 0 win the competition last weekend.
His classmates had all gone home for the winter break after the exam week ended. Pei Qian could not help but feel melancholic at the thought of having to spend so much money.
Two minutes later, someone knocked on the door.
"Boss Pei, the Street Food Contest that I mentioned to you before is starting this afternoon. Do you have any instructions?" He Desheng reminded him.
Pei Qian was stunned. "This afternoon?"
He Desheng nodded. "That's right. This afternoon. Oh, I didn't set the time. Meng Chang's original plan was for this afternoon. Perhaps it's because he was planning to record the broadcast. Boss Pei, if you don't think it's appropriate, you can postpone it until the weekend."
Pei Qian raised his hand. "No, today is good. We'll hold it as planned."
Previously, He Desheng had told Pei Qian that there would be a local Street Food Contest. Pei Qian had thought that it would be during the weekend.
Competitions like these had to be popular and there would be more people during the weekend after all.
However, Meng Chang's original idea was not to live-stream but to record the event.
That was because Meng Chang's main purpose for organizing this competition was to get food vendors from all over the country to become a conduit for the cold-faced lady.
The show first introduced how delicious the local food was, how unique it was, and then highlighted how outstanding the cold-faced lady's taste was. It completely surpassed the best vendors in the country.
It would be easy for accidents to happen during live-streaming. It would be much easier to control the recording. If there were any emergencies, they could just cut the scene and re-shoot.
After editing the video, Meng Chang would spend a huge sum of money to advertise on Aili Island and other video websites to further increase the Cold-Faced Lady's reputation.
This would have been a very effective marketing campaign before the Cold-Faced Lady collapsed.
While some people doubted that the Cold-Faced Lady's roasted cold noodles were not as good as what Meng Chang's bragged about but the overall taste was not that bad. Therefore, the question of whether the Cold-Faced Lady tasted good depended on the individual.
Under such circumstances, marketing could be used to guide public opinion.
It was just like many food and beverage brands. Many customers would choose to try them as long as they had good marketing and everyone said that they were delicious .
However, the situation was completely different now that the cold-faced lady had experienced the previous bankruptcy storm.
The public opinion generated by excessive marketing had completely reversed. Most people would tend to trample on it until it was worthless. No matter how good the cold noodles tasted, they would find it disgusting.
He Desheng was about to leave when Pei Qian stopped him.
"Wait a minute, you just said that the Street Food Contest will be recorded?"
He Desheng nodded. "It will be recorded mainly because we are worried that something unexpected might happen during the live-stream."
"According to Meng Chang's original plan, the judges have already hinted that the Cold-Faced Lady's Cold-Faced Noodles must be first in the final evaluation of taste."
Pei Qian frowned. "How can that work!"
"Change the recording to live-stream."
"Also, let the judges know that the reviews must be realistic. Don't give the cold-faced lady any face!"
"The other dishes are all local delicacies. Cold-Faced Lady has already benefited from the industrialization of fast food and should be stricter in terms of taste."
"When the time comes, criticize Cold-Faced Lady's Cold-Faced Noodles harshly. They must point out any problems strictly. Don't show mercy!"
He Desheng was stunned for a moment but did not ask further. "Alright, Boss Pei. I'll call the person-in-charge and ask him to do as you say."
Pei Qian's two requests did not conflict with the entire process of the food competition. It was easy to change them as long as he spoke to the judges.
The competition venue for the Street Food Contest this time was in a luxury hotel in Beijing. Meng Chang's original intention should be to elevate the competition's style as much as possible so that it would better accentuate the mid to high-end brand of the Cold-Faced Lady.
Cold-Faced Lady might be fast food, but in Meng Chang's imagination, it was mainly targeted at small investors and white-collar workers. Therefore, it had to have a certain style and make a clear difference from ordinary cold noodles that were roasted at roadside stalls.
Cold-Faced Lady organized a Street Food Contest in a luxury hotel and the roasted cold noodles would prevail in the end.
It sounded like a hot topic, and it would have their own traffic.
Pei Qian could not be bothered to make a trip to Beijing for this. Thus, he decided not to go this time. He would just watch the live-stream in Jingzhou.
To be honest, this Street Food Contest Was quite interesting. Perhaps it could generate some popularity.
However, Pei Qian did not panic at all.
He had told the judges to directly criticize the Cold-Faced Lady's Cold-Faced Noodles harshly, making its already bad reputation even worse! He would let everyone know that the Cold-Faced Lady's Cold-Faced Noodles were not that delicious!
That way, everyone would despise the Cold-Faced Lady even more. No one would go to the Cold-Faced Lady's shop to spend money. As time passed, this brand could only burn money...
Wouldn't that make things better?
Chapter 822: Street Food Contest
At around 1 PM, in a luxurious hotel in Beijing...
Qi Yan had just finished telling the staff at the venue about the event changing from being recorded to becoming a live-stream. She had also instructed the judges to 'strictly evaluate the Cold-Faced Lady'.
The sudden changes made Qi Yan a little flustered. Fortunately, these two changes were not fatal. Thus, the event continued as per normal after taking the time to explain.
Qi Yan was originally the person-in-charge of Cold-Faced Lady's marketing department. Her job was to follow Meng Chang's requirements and be in charge of the Cold-Faced Lady's various marketing tasks.
After the incident with the Cold-Faced Lady, Qi Yan, like the other employees, was at a loss for a period of time.
Meng Chang was already in a terrible fix. Of course, he had no time to bother about her. Qi Yan had been looking for a job for a few days and had yet to figure out where to go. In the end, there was good news: her job was saved!
Now that Tengda had acquired the Cold-Faced Lady, the delayed salary could be paid as usual. Her work could continue as usual!
Qi Yan was both happy and worried at the same time.
She was happy that she did not have to look for a job anymore. Meng Chang was pretty very generous when it came to his employees' salary. Qi Yan was worried that she might not be able to get her current salary from another company.
However, she was most worried that her career would be affected.
Qi Yan came to the Cold-Faced Lady previously partly because she was attracted by Meng Chang, the "perfect entrepreneur", and felt that she could learn something from Meng Chang. On the other hand, she was optimistic about the Cold-Faced Lady's future prospects.
However, not only had the cold-faced lady turned cold, it's reputation was now so bad that everyone knew about it.
Everyone knew that the Cold-Faced Lady was an unreliable project now. It was hard to say if this experience would be a plus or minus if Qi Yan really worked hard at the Cold-Faced Lady for three to five years and before she jumped ship.
Qi Yan was conflicted. However, she decided to wait and see after hearing that Tengda was the new owner.
Tengda was huge and had a ridiculously good reputation after all. It was trustworthy.
Meng Chang had nothing to do with the Cold-Faced Lady anymore, so He Desheng handed all the matters regarding the Cold-Faced Lady to Qi Yan. Qi Yan would report to He Desheng, and then He Desheng would report to Boss Pei.
The current Cold-Faced Lady was just an ordinary fast food restaurant. What's more, its business and reputation were not that good. It was impossible for her to report to Boss Pei directly.
Qi Yan's first big job was this Street Food Contest after the change of owners.
All the marketing activities had been canceled except for this one.
Qi Yan did not know why exactly but she still followed the original plan.
The preparatory work had actually started a long time ago. Some professionals had gone to various cities in the country to search for food vendors with better reputations. They had paid to invite them to the capital to participate in this competition. At the same time, they had also invited several gourmet chefs with good taste to be judges.
The competition was about to start.
Qi Yan took out her phone and looked at the live-stream.
There were just a few pathetic bullet screen comments, it was not that popular at all.
That was to be expected.
It was too rushed to change to a live-stream. Qi Yan had urgently asked the live-stream platform for resources and locations. However, the recommendation spots were all pre-arranged to be given to others. They could not get good recommendation spots, only ordinary spots.
What's more, it was Monday afternoon. The live-stream platform's traffic was low to begin with, so no one was watching.
Qi Yan sighed melancholically.
She had planned to spend a huge sum of money on Aili Island's rankings after editing the event. However, it had been changed to live-streaming with no recommendations. Would it become popular?
If it did not become popular, what was the point of this Street Food Contest? Wouldn't all the money be wasted?
However, it was useless to worry now. She could only let nature take its course.
...
The Street Food Contest officially began at 2PM!
The male and female hosts came to the camera and began to introduce the organizers, guests, and the specific rules of the competition to the audience.
There were dozens of live audience members apart from a few guests who were good tasters. The live audiences would also taste the food from the stalls and vote.
Guests could comment on it and the weight of their ratings would be higher. The judges and audience would add their ratings together to calculate the total score. The winner of the Street Food Contest would be chosen according to the total score.
The first batch of food vendors had already been prepared behind the emcee. They were of different genders and ages. However, all of them were holding their heads high with stern expressions.
Behind them were snack stalls carts. The first round of competition was the "pancake group". All the vendors sold good pancakes.
Each stall owner had a serial number. They would make many pancakes in a row and then cut them into small pieces for the judges and audience to taste. Those with higher scores would win.
There were other local snacks after the pancake review.
For example: scallion pancakes, grilled squid, roasted gluten, bean jelly noodles, teppanyaki tofu, Roujiamo, roasted cold noodles, etc.
One could tell that it was very down-to-earth just by looking at the name.
Of course, apart from these common local snacks, there was also a special 'unpopular snack group'. Some of the rare local snacks competed with each other.
In fact, when it came to local food, stinky tofu should have a name. However, considering that the competition venue was a closed area the smell would not be easy to dissipate, the organizers rejected the few outstanding vendors of stinky tofu with tears in their eyes in order to ensure that the local food competition would proceed smoothly.
The ingredients for these snacks had been selected in advance, and the vendor could choose them based on his own needs and habits. The difference in taste of the final product was mainly in cooking skills and fire control.
Of course, as long as it was a selection, it was impossible to be 100% objective and fair. After all, everyone's taste and preferences were different.
However, the way the judges and audience gave marks together ensured the fairness of the competition to the maximum. In the end, the food that was selected would definitely be more suited to the general taste.
The camera turned to the vendor after the host introduced the rules and judges of the competition.
Each vendor could make a simple self-introduction of about twenty to thirty words.
All of a sudden, various dialects across the country began to chime in, one after another. The effect of the program was explosive.
This was a luxurious hotel in Beijing. There was a red carpet on the floor, and even the tables and chairs looked luxurious.
The vendors who came were all dressed in formal chef uniforms and wearing tall chef hats. They looked very formal, but their images were ruined when they opened their mouths.
It was quite difficult on the two hosts as well. They would have laughed out loud if not for their professionalism.
This competition exuded a sense of absurdity from head to toe. There was also a hint of magical reality.
The vendors were finally done introducing themselves.
The competition officially began.
The vendors got into their positions. Once the host gave the order, the timer on the screen started ticking!
The stall owners were very skilled. They scooped a spoonful of mixed grain flour and poured it onto the pancake maker. Then, they pushed it in a circle with a wooden spatula. After the skin changed color slightly, they cracked an egg on it...
This step was not complicated. Almost everyone present had seen it many times, but the methods of these vendors were slightly different. The amount of seasoning, the heat of the pancakes, and so on were all different.
The audience waited patiently as they watched the stall owners perform.
For some reason, the atmosphere became tense.
Chapter 823: Pancakes Selection
At the same time, in Jingzhou...
Pei Qian was in his office as well. He read the various department's work reports from time to time while watching the Street Food Contest live-stream.
The first group was the pancake group. The vendors were progressing differently. Some of them had just finished flipping the dough, while others had already started sprinkling bits and pieces of green onions on it. While everyone was very skilled, there would still be a difference.
"I'm actually watching the live-stream of making pancakes. I feel like this scene is a little ridiculous."
Pei Qian could not help but complain.
The audience slowly increased, and the bullet screen comments became denser as he watched the situation in the live-stream.
"What the hell is this! A group of people dressed so formally, and yet they're selling pancakes?"
"There are actually judges for pancakes? That's too magical!"
"The world is huge, there are all sorts of strange things! This is actually a Street Food Contest? Will there be spicy hotpot, scallion pancakes, and fried chicken?"
"The organizer is the Cold-Faced Lady? Is this a publicity stunt? Hey, wait, isn't Cold-Faced Lady already dead?"
"Rumor has it that Tengda has taken over? I wonder if it's true."
There were more and more people in the live-stream.
The live-stream of the Street Food Contest did not have a particularly good recommendation spot, but there would naturally be a lot of traffic after it was hung in the living area. It greatly aroused the interest of netizens, be it the title of the Street Food Contest or the content of the live-stream, making them unable to leave after entering.
This was too interesting. He had never seen it before!
Someone discovered that the account in the live-stream was "Cold-Faced Lady". This was an account that Meng Chang had specially registered to promote Cold-Faced Lady previously.
Many people did not continue to pay attention to the follow-up of the Cold-Faced Lady. What's more, Pei Qian did not deliberately flaunt this matter. Thus, most people did not know that the Cold-Faced Lady had already been taken over by Tengda. They were still puzzled. Didn't they say that the Cold-Faced Lady was already bankrupt? How could they still have the money to organize such a competition?
However, most of the audience did not think too much about this since their attention was quickly attracted by the delicious pancakes.
This time, the cameraman was also specially hired. There were several cameras that switched back and forth. Some were in charge of filming the expressions of the judges, some were in charge of filming the movements of the vendors from a distance, and some were filming the appearance of the pancakes at close range.
One by one, golden pancakes were laid out. Some were wrapped in thick sticks, while others were thin and crispy. The golden outer layer also had brown crispy skin, black sesame seeds, and light green onions. It looked very tempting.
A row of staff carried a tray to the pancake stand. This tray was specially made with many small compartments. Each compartment corresponded to a vendor's serial number.
The vendor cut the pancake into many small pieces, placed a piece on each staff's tray, and placed it on the corresponding small slot.
After the staff walked around, the trays were filled with all the vendors' pancakes. They were brought directly to the judges and audience for them to taste.
Of course, the vendors had to continue to make pancakes to ensure that every audience could taste it because there were more people in the venue.
The first to taste it was naturally the judge specially invited by the program.
The judges had chopsticks and other cutlery in their hands. They picked up a piece of pancake and put it into their mouths, tasting and chewing carefully. They recorded the flavors of the corresponding pancake in a small notebook beside them, took a sip of mineral water to remove the taste in their mouths, and then continued to taste the next one.
When the judges were almost done, the host handed the microphone to each judge and asked them to express their opinions.
At that moment, the audience was still tasting the pancakes.
The judges evaluated while the audience tasted. It could be used for explanation to a certain extent.
Of course, if the audience felt that the judge was wrong, they could also stick to their own views.
The judges and audiences could be very subjective when tasting the pancakes. They could only judge the pancakes they thought were delicious and not comment on the other pancakes. They could even decide which one to eat based on the looks of the pancakes.
That was because reviews of delicacies were subjective to begin with. Delicacies were also particular about appearance, fragrance, and taste. If they did not look good, there was a high chance that they would not be liked.
There was no choice. After all, this was a world where looks mattered.
In short, the rules were fair. They had to depend on their own ability to emerge from the competition.
The judges knew what to do and began to speak after tasting it.
"I think booth number three pancake is very good. The skin is crispy, and a bite of it leaves a fragrance. The cooking method is closer to the traditional method, but there are some personal innovations in it."
"I think No. 7 is not bad. It's mainly because the sauce and various ingredients for the side dishes are very particular. However, the sauce was not overbearing, it would allow one to taste the mixed grain noodles to the greatest extent. It would give people a refreshing feeling. At the same time, it would fit the dietary habits of modern people who need low calories..."
The judges began to express their opinions and judge the pancakes from different angles.
If a certain stall owner's pancake received good reviews from the judges, the emcee would interview the stall owner and ask him to briefly introduce the unique methods and secrets of his pancake. It would be considered as a further attempt to pull votes for himself.
In the end, the judges and audience would press the voting machine and vote for their favorite pancakes. The summarized scores in the backstage would automatically show the results according to the weighted rules, and the best pancakes would be selected based on the scores from high to low.
...
Pei Qian subconsciously gulped as he watched the live-stream.
It actually looked quite tempting!
The photographer took close-up shots of the pancakes, and the sound of the pancakes making sizzling sounds was very appetizing.
The number of viewers in the live-stream increased.
"Holy sh*t, it looks so delicious! Am I hallucinating?"
"It's quite formal. Luxury hotels, uniform chef uniforms, judges' comments... These should all cause some psychological hints."
"Psychological hints are definitely only one aspect. However, these vendors' skills are definitely not bad! I might not be able to eat them but look at their method of making pancakes. The color and texture of the pancakes are definitely not bad!"
"Of course, this Food Competition selects the most outstanding vendors from all over the country. They are all slightly famous locally. There might even be those popular snacks that can only be eaten after queuing for a long time. How can their skills be bad?"
"I'm so envious, I really want to eat it!"
Most of the viewers in the live-stream had only entered because they were curious: they were all food from roadside stalls selling things like pancakes. How could they let the judges decide?
However, many viewers were already treating it as a proper food program. They were even eager to try it and even wanted to order a pancake to try.
Of course, it was useless to think about it. After all, the pancakes that most people could order would definitely taste far worse than those on television.
The number of viewers in the live-stream began to increase rapidly, and the bullet screen comments became even denser!
The living area was originally an area on the live-stream platform to show what was popular now. Food was also the eternal topic of people's attention.
The Street Food Contest was not only interesting but also down-to-earth and professional. It was also a food program in the living area, so it quickly attracted a large number of viewers!
It might be Monday afternoon, and the entire website was slightly more deserted but this meant that there were not many major streamers and not much high-quality content.
The officials soon noticed this as well. Seeing that the Street Food Contest was so effective, they immediately transferred a lot of resources to the front page!
"...I didn't notice it for a while. Why is it so popular?!"
Pei Qian looked around casually. He had just flipped through the work reports of the various departments. When he returned, he saw that the number of people in the live-stream had doubled!
The popularity of the live-streaming platform was increasing. Obviously, the official platform was pushing for resources.
Pei Qian could not help but feel shocked. "There are so many people watching Monday afternoon? Don't you guys have to work?"
"Or are they all secretly watching it at work?"
"They're all talents! It's a pity that I can't contact them and recruit them to Tengda."
Pei Qian instinctively panicked. No matter what it was, as long as it had something to do with popularity, nothing good would come of it.
However, on further thought, Pei Qian thought that it would be best if the Competition did not become popular. However, even if it did, it would not affect him much, right?
Pei Qian had already informed the judges not to brag about the Cold-Faced Lady and not direct consumers to the stall to spend money there.
Even if there was popularity, it would dissipate after the competition ended. What was there to worry about?
After some thought, Pei Qian decided that there was no need for him to worry. Thus, he continued reading.
...
After the competition for the pancake group ended, it was time for the competition for the scallion pancakes, grilled squid, and roasted gluten.
The judging process was exactly the same. No one knew the final results. It all depended on the judges and audience's taste.
However, they could still make a difference although they were simple and common roadside snacks.
After all, there was a saying that one should not use one's hobbies to challenge the profession that others relied on for a living.
There were so many small vendors in the country. All of them woke up early and worked till late at night to sell snacks to make money. They would make hundreds or thousands of servings everyday. Those which did not taste good would have been eliminated long ago.
The participants this time were all famous vendors from all over the country. They were one in a hundred, and each of them had their own unique skills.
In other words, it was nothing but hands-on familiarity.
The competition took a long time because it was divided into many groups. All the audience had to eat it. Coupled with the judges' comments and the stall owner's self-reports, the time quickly passed.
From 2 PM all the way till 6 PM.
It was almost time for dinner and many people had already knocked off. The live-stream for the Street Food Contest had also reached a peak!
The bullet screen was almost filled with bullet screen comments.
Next was the selection of the Roasted Cold Noodles Group, followed by the selection of the rare local snacks, and finally the overall review.
The overall review segment was to compare the ratings of the different types of snacks and find the top few rankings of the different types of snacks to help the vendors win trophies and prizes.
The audience who were still in the live-stream were basically waiting for the overall review segment to see which stall owner would be the last to laugh.
Chapter 824: The Spectator Mistook the Script
Meng Chang was the one who arranged for the ratings of the cold noodles to be placed in the second last segment with a selfish intent.
The only reason Meng Chang organized this Street Food Contest was to market Cold-Faced Lady.
Putting the ratings of the cold noodles at the back would leave a deeper impression on the audience. However, it would not be appropriate to place it at the end. That would be too obvious.
Putting it in the second-to-last order with the last to appear as rare local snacks. That would ensure that the audience would not be too disgusted and would have a deep impression of the cold-faced lady. At the same time, the judges would brag about the cold-faced lady's roasted noodles. Compared to other cold noodles, it would strengthen the impression that the cold-faced lady's roasted cold noodles had the best taste.
That was all tricks.
However, Boss Pei had already seen through Meng Chang's trick. The ratings for the cold noodles would definitely not develop like the script he had written.
Soon, the stall owners of the Cold-Faced Noodles were ready, what was different this time was that the chef of the Cold-Faced Lady was also cooking on the spot and competing with the other stall owners.
The camera panned to the Cold-Faced Lady's chef. The audience in the live-stream instantly rebelled.
"Holy sh*t! I was caught off guard!"
"This is an advertisement for Cold-Faced Lady! I've been f*cking watching it for hours!"
"So you were waiting here. I was wondering why the Cold-Faced Lady had nothing better to do than organize this competition. It was to advertise for herself..."
Many viewers realized what was going on the moment they saw the Cold-Faced Lady participating in the competition.
It turned out that there were so many food stalls set up just to serve as a contrast for the cold-faced lady!
Many viewers felt disappointed and left the live-stream.
The key to this competition was fairness and justice.
It would be too disgusting if they squeezed out the most outstanding competitors in the end.
Many viewers had already foreseen the upcoming script. They felt that it would be meaningless to continue watching, so they all left.
In fact, according to Meng Chang's original plan, as long as the program was recorded and edited, the audience would not be so disgusted.
However, the situation was completely different now that it was live-streamed.
The number of people in the room dropped by thousands in an instant when Pei Qian saw the Cold-Faced Lady appear. What's more, it continued to drop. He could not help but be overjoyed.
Great!
At first, he had been worried because the room was too popular. Now, everyone has left!
The competition continued.
The cold noodles were cooked very quickly. The staff also delivered special trays to the judges and audience.
The judges looked at each other and started tasting.
The bullet screen comments in the live-stream could no longer be seen.
"Black screen! Strong protest!"
"Heh, there's no need to look. Cold-Faced Lady is definitely the first. Anything else is fine."
"From the looks of it, the judging panel will greatly appreciate the cold-faced lady's taste. The chef will speak with emotion, and the host will advertise the cold-faced lady..."
"Sigh, it was a good competition. Everything was going well in the beginning, but it ended up like this."
"Alright, alright. Stop advertising. Hurry up and skip to the next segment. I want to know which snacks are there in the rare local snacks."
The viewers in the live-stream already thought that the judges were going to brag.
However, they had all guessed wrong, and it was a huge mistake!
The first judge took the microphone and began to evaluate the roasted cold noodles in front of him.
"All in all, I think booth number six's cold noodles tasted the best."
"Booth number six's roasted cold noodles have traditional sweet and sour taste. Compared to other cold noodles with sour and sweet taste, its greatest characteristic is that the amount of seasoning used is very precise. It can be said to be just right."
"Sweet and sour roasted cold noodles should have more vinegar instead of sugar. That's because the high temperature of the iron plate would cause the vinegar to dissipate. At the same time, it would make the cold noodles taste even more flavorful. If you put too little, there would be no sour taste, only sweetness. The taste would completely change."
"The amount of seasoning added must be matched with the timing on the ironing board. Otherwise, the texture and taste of the cold noodles would be different. Therefore, to me, the taste of the roasted cold noodles from booth number six is the best."
"As for booth number one's cold noodles, which is Cold-Faced Lady's cold noodles, I think there is a problem with the amount of seasoning used: there is too little vinegar. I guess that they did not take into account the high temperature of the iron plate and affected the taste of cold noodles."
Immediately after, the second judge started speaking.
"I agree with the first judge. The cold noodles served by booth number six is indeed very good, but I think booth number three's cold noodles taste better."
"I specially observed the cooking process of all the vendors. Everyone was spraying water on the surface of the noodles while roasting the cold noodles. That's right. That's because the right amount of water can make the skin soft and tough. The texture would be better. The timing and volume of the water being sprayed on by booth number three's vendor is just right. Therefore, booth number three's roasted cold noodles is the best in terms of texture."
"As for the Cold-Faced Lady's roasted cold noodles, I don't think it's very bad in terms of texture, but it's not outstanding either. It gives people the feeling that it's just average and doesn't have any obvious memorable characteristics."
The judges commented one by one.
What surprised the audience in the live-stream was that the "awkward bragging" that everyone had expected did not happen.
These judges' comments highlighted one point. They were nitpicking and did not show any mercy!
Many viewers only realized that there were so many tricks behind the simple roasted cold noodles after hearing the judges' comments.
The temperature, heat, the amount of water sprayed during the process, the amount of condiments... Any slight deviation would affect the final product's taste.
According to the judges, the Cold-Faced Lady's roasted cold noodles was obviously not done to the extreme. Compared to these experts who roasted the cold noodles, it immediately paled in comparison.
This undoubtedly answered the question that had been debated online: Was the roasted cold noodles served by the cold-faced lady actually delicious?
The answer was that it was not awful, if it was compared to the roasted cold noodles at roadside stalls which had a huge change in taste, it might indeed be more delicious. However, it was not as delicious as Meng Chang made it out to be. It was still worlds apart from the realm of the so-called God of Roasted Cold Noodles.
In the end, Cold-Faced Lady's roasted cold noodles did not perform well in the selection. Her overall score was almost at the bottom.
Objectively speaking, this result was rather bad. Cold-Faced Lady's roasted cold noodles did not taste that bad. The main reason was that everyone of the judges singled out the Cold-Faced Lady to criticize. This had a certain impact on the audience and caused Cold-Faced Lady's rating to be very low.
The host felt a little awkward and looked at Qi Yan.
According to the original process, there would be an interview with the Cold-Faced Lady Chef after the results were out. They would briefly praise the Cold-Faced Lady's unique cooking method and publicize it.
In the end, the script had completely changed. The Cold-Faced Lady's rating was at the bottom. How could they interview her?
Wouldn't it become public flogging if they were to interview them now?
Qi Yan quickly waved her hand, gesturing for the host to skip this segment and continue walking.
The host was quick-witted. He immediately understood and entered the next stage of the rare local snacks.
Compared to the previous teams, the unpopular snack teams looked rather strange. They were all very rare street snacks.
Take the Whirlwind Potato for example. Its raw material was an entire potato. It was cut into a spiral-shaped thin slice with special knife skills. After being strung together with bamboo skewers, it could be lengthened to 30 centimeters without snapping. It could be eaten after being fried in the oil pan and sprinkled with sauce. It looked very good.
Another example would be fried bananas. They would be wrapped with flour or bread dough outside the bananas. They would be golden in color, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It was very delicious.
Apart from that, there was also fried yogurt, rice wrapped in chicken wings, and seaweed rice cake. All of them were unique.
There were naturally no unified rules since they were rating different types of food. The scoring depended on the taste of the judges and audiences.
...
The live-stream had already entered the next stage, but the bullet screen comments were still discussing the roasted cold noodles.
"Huh? I guessed it wrong?"
"Isn't this an advertisement for the Cold-Faced Lady? In the end, not only did they not advertise, they were actually criticized?"
"Am I seeing things? This is a competition organized by Cold-Faced Lady, right!"
"They spent money to organize a competition to scold themselves? That's too awesome!"
"What the hell is going on? I'm going crazy..."
The viewers were all dumbfounded. They did not understand what kind of script this was.
Why did Cold-Faced Lady organize this food competition?
It would have been acceptable if they had wanted to advertise their roasted cold noodles. However, not only did they not do any advertisement, they even criticized their own store!
It did not conform to common sense or logic because Cold-Faced Lady needed not have done something like that.
There was a huge difference between good food and bad food, but most of the audience were in front of the screen and could not eat or taste it. Delicious or not actually depended on the judges' tastes, right?
They could have made it not so obvious and gave the Cold-Faced Lady a second or third place and pick a few inconsequential problems to ensure the fairness of the competition.
Was there a need to be so strict?
Some people who had eaten Cold-Faced Lady before even felt that the rating was too low. Cold-Faced Lady might not be as delicious as Meng Chang bragged, but it was better than a roadside stall!
All of a sudden, the viewers in the live-stream room fell into a daze. They were all discussing the reason behind the Cold-Faced Lady's actions. No one was paying attention to the competition of the rare local snacks.
...
The food competition finally came to an end at 7PM.
After the selection of the rare local snacks, it was time for the final round of reviews.
The officials ranked all participating vendors according to their ratings and awarded prizes and bonuses to the winners.
Cold-Faced Lady's Roasted Cold-Faced Noodles was not selected without a doubt. It was at the bottom in the Roasted Cold-Faced Team. There was no chance at all in the overall review.
The winners were elated. They took the trophies and prizes from the staff and proudly waved at the camera.
The other vendors who did not win the prize were also applauding and giving their blessings. The entire Street Food Contest ended after an afternoon of intense competition.
Qi Yan heaved a long sigh. The event was finally done no matter what!
As long as nothing went wrong.
She still had to organize these videos and get someone to edit them and upload them to Aili Island and other video websites to achieve a secondary effect.
However, Qi Yan was as confused as the audience.
Why was Boss Pei doing this?
Wouldn't it make things worse for Cold-Faced Lady if the judges criticized it for tasting bad?