Chapter 542: Chapter 542: I’m Worried
Of course, these spices didn’t naturally grow here; they were planted in the soil by the organizers.
The big screen sometimes switched between contestants and sometimes showed every contestant in a split screen.
The audience members who previously discussed and agreed with Blake Walker’s analysis had their faces burning as if they had been slapped when they heard what Cindy Clarke and the other contestants said.
“This is just Cindy’s guess; who knows if it’s true? Let’s wait until she actually finds something,” some stubborn audience members said.
There were many such comments in the barrage.
Who would have known, just as the words fell, Cindy suddenly strode towards the tree.
She squatted down, and the camera followed her line of sight.
In front of Cindy, various plants that looked like wild weeds and vegetables grew in the soil.
The leaves’ size and shapes were all different.
Obviously, the non-professional audience didn’t recognize them.
But Cindy did.
She immediately picked a few of each, carefully identified them, and even tasted them to confirm.
Fearing the audience wouldn’t understand, Cindy introduced them one by one: “This is Vanilla.”
Audience: “…”
My goodness, she just said that Cindy’s guess might not be correct, and then she finds Vanilla.
Did she hear the discussions in the audience?
“This is parsley.” Cindy took a few steps and made another discovery.
Audience: “…”
“Cindy just has good eyesight, so she may be getting lucky,” a stubborn audience member said.
“I found Rosemary!” Cynthia Florine happily picked the rosemary and put it in her bag.
Audience: “…”
“I found fresh pepper!” Parker Honi said at that moment.
Audience: “…”
You guys must be here to slap us in the face!
“Cindy was really right.” Jasmine Hudson carried her bone-cleaving knife and nodded in satisfaction.
At this point, those who had previously questioned her had nothing more to say.
Along the way, Cindy had found Vanilla, parsley, Thyme, and Rosemary.
She even discovered fresh pepper.
Other contestants who had heard Cindy’s analysis also found a lot.
The only one who didn’t find anything was Blake Walker.
Because he never thought that spices arranged by the organizers would be hidden in those corners.
Blake Walker focused all his energy on finding ingredients.
But Cindy didn’t rush; instead, she collected as many spices as possible first.
Afterward, she searched for ingredients.
As expected, due to limited space, Cindy unknowingly reached the end.
She discovered the large screen hidden behind plants and trees, scrolling through a blue sky and white clouds background.
At this point, Cindy was completely sure of her guess.
She smiled and continued searching.
Finally, following the sound, Cindy arrived at a place where many chickens and ducks were free-roaming.
Although they were scattered, these chickens and ducks didn’t run everywhere, just pecking at the ground from time to time.
Cindy took a deep breath; even as a chef, these were necessary skills.
However, she had always bought chickens and ducks already prepped by stores.
Some were cleaned and frozen from the supermarket; some were live chickens or ducks at the market stall. However, the bosses would have them killed and cleaned, so she didn’t need to do it herself.
Now, for Cindy to do this, she felt some psychological pressure, as she couldn’t get past her own mental barrier.
At that time, Yellen Brooks and Ava Brown also arrived.
The two girls looked at the live chickens and ducks before them, hesitating.
“Do we have to kill them ourselves?” Yellen Brooks asked in disbelief.
“Actually, didn’t we think about this before?” Ava Brown sighed, “I hope we’re really on a desert island or something. At least I could catch some fish and shrimp.”
“Have you never killed them before?” Yellen Brooks turned and asked Ava Brown.
“No,” Ava Brown sighed.
“I thought that you guys from Pingla Academy could do everything related to cooking,” Yellen Brooks said.
“But killing live poultry isn’t something we’d do in the kitchen,” Ava Brown said, feeling her scalp go numb from looking at them.
“Cindy, what should we do now?” Yellen asked Cindy again.
“We have to toughen up,” Cindy said, “I’ll give it a try.”
With that, Cindy took a deep breath and stepped forward.
Cindy prepared to choose a chicken.
Duck meat is more fishy than chicken, and it has more fat.
The cooking conditions for this competition are limited, so chicken is safer.
There’s no need to take unnecessary challenges for this competition.
However, catching chickens wasn’t easy.
Yellen Brooks and Ava Brown saw that Cindy was taking action, so they looked at each other and went in together to catch chickens.
The three girls were making a mess but couldn’t catch them.
These chickens were running too fast.
The scene was chaotic.
“This isn’t working; why don’t we cooperate?” Cindy said, “The three of us can surround the chickens to prevent them from escaping, and another person can catch them. This will be faster.”
“Okay,” Yellen Brooks and Ava Brown both nodded.
The two trusted Cindy and let her catch the chicken first.
The cooperation was indeed much faster.
Although they were still a bit clumsy, Cindy managed to catch a chicken.
She held the chicken by the neck to prevent it from moving.
Afterward, they helped Yellen Brooks and Ava Brown each catch a chicken.
They caught the chickens, but the next step was the most difficult.
“I guess I’ll give it a try.” Cindy took a deep breath, looking down at the struggling rooster in her hands.
“We shouldn’t film this part; I think it might be too bloody,” Cindy said, “It’s not suitable for the children in the audience to watch.”
The camera operator agreed and contacted the director to switch to another contestant.
They would continue filming this side to ensure that Cindy and her team didn’t cheat.
Cindy took out the knife tied to the outside of her backpack, holding the chicken while trembling.
As the chicken squawked furiously in her hand, she reluctantly placed the knife on its neck.
She was on the verge of crying, trembling all over, with a pallid face.
Since the live broadcast couldn’t show Cindy’s side, the audience didn’t know what was happening.
Adrian Zhekova suddenly stood up.
Victoria Wheeler, startled, asked, “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to check; I’m not at ease,” Adrian Zhekova said.
Cindy, a young girl, was a wonderful chef, but she had never killed live poultry before.
These days, when cooking, who needs to kill their own poultry?
Ordinary housewives who went to the market had stall owners handle it for them.
Restaurants had their own supply channels, so chefs didn’t need to do it.
It wasn’t even necessary for apprentices, let alone head chefs, to do such work.
Adrian Zhekova only knew the overall planning of the competition.
He hadn’t asked about the details.