"I believe Wendy's words!"
"I believe too. Whatever our goddess says must be true."
"Yes, Wendy would never deceive anyone!"
What those few owners didn't expect was that the surrounding students all believed Wendy's words, despite not knowing her personally. They were unaware of Wendy's popularity and influence at Princeton University.
"Even if what she said is true, it doesn't prove that there are no issues with the seasonings at this barbecue stall."
"That's right. The skills of this barbecue owner were quite rusty not long ago, and now suddenly they're so good. Isn't that suspicious?"
"Exactly. We are saying this for your own good." The barbecue stall owners clearly didn't like seeing Jake getting out of the crisis, so they recklessly criticized the ingredients used by Jake, implying that he added improper substances.
Their words did cause some hesitation in some people, especially those who had eaten at Jake's stall before. They shared the same doubts – Jake's skills were not that impressive in the past, and now the improvement was quite drastic.
It is possible for someone's cooking skills to improve through continuous practice, but such a sudden and significant improvement, like Jake's, is indeed uncommon, if not unheard of. Now, with the words of these owners, some people started to have doubts about Jake.
"You say I added something, so I did?" Jake looked at those owners.
"Isn't that the case? Otherwise, how do you explain the sudden leap in your barbecue skills?"
"Because I'm not as clueless as you. Because I have a natural talent in this area. Is that not allowed?" Jake said calmly.
Talent is an elusive thing, and no one can explain it clearly. With Jake's response, others didn't know how to refute him.
"Yes, my master's talent in culinary arts is beyond what any of you can compare," Alan also spoke up in defense of Jake.
Alan admired Jake's talent in culinary arts, and he naturally had no good feelings toward those who wanted to frame Jake and himself.
Hearing Alan address Jake as "master," Wendy was slightly surprised. How come the head chef of Kailomen was assisting Jake? And why did he call Jake "master"?
"This is all nonsense! Even if you have some talent, it's impossible to improve so rapidly!" One of the barbecue stall owners protested.
"Alan, go to this owner's stall and bring some seasonings here," Jake suddenly turned to Alan and said.
"What do you want to do? Unlike you, my seasonings are absolutely fine, and I haven't added anything improper!" The owner raised his voice.
"Can you lend me some? Is that alright?" Jake asked.
The owner didn't know what Jake intended to do, but he was confident that his seasonings had no issues and wasn't afraid of Jake's accusation. "Alright, I'll lend them to you!"
"Get some ingredients too," Jake told Alan. Then he looked at the owner and said, "Don't worry, I'll pay for these things as if I'm buying your barbecue."
The owner didn't know Jake's plan, but since Jake was willing to pay, he had no reason to refuse. He also wanted to see what Jake was plotting.
Alan quickly brought back some ingredients and seasonings from the owner's stall, and Jake took them in hand and started grilling at his own stall. At this moment, some astute individuals had already understood Jake's intention.
"You said there's an issue with my seasonings, so fine, I'll use yours. Furthermore, I'll also use the ingredients from your stall. Now, you can't say there's an issue with my ingredients, can you?"
The onlookers were now interested and didn't leave; instead, they were waiting for Jake's barbecue to be ready. They wanted to see if Jake's improvement was due to adding improper substances or his powerful talent.
The few barbecue stall owners also understood Jake's intention, and their expressions became somewhat complex. In their hearts, they didn't believe that Jake's skills had improved so dramatically. They preferred to believe that Jake had added something else to make his food taste better. However, they also feared the unexpected. What if Jake had genuinely experienced an enlightenment in his skills? They didn't want to be embarrassed if that turned out to be true. However, Jake had already begun grilling, and if they were to intervene now, They'll look unreasonable.
"He definitely couldn't have had an enlightenment. No one's culinary skills can improve that quickly. He must be pretending. Yes, that's it. He's deceiving us, waiting for us to speak up!" The barbecue stall owners thought to themselves.
"Wendy, do you know this owner?" While Jake was focused on grilling, Wendy's roommate finally couldn't resist her curiosity and asked Wendy in a low voice.
"I've seen him a few times," Wendy said casually, her eyes still fixed on Jake. His serious demeanor was so captivating.
"Just a few times?" Wendy's roommate didn't believe it.
"Mhmm."
"Alright." Since Wendy wasn't willing to say much more, her roommates didn't press further. However, they couldn't help but speculate about Wendy's relationship with Jake in their hearts.
Jake didn't pay attention to the surrounding gazes and focused on grilling. Before long, the aroma wafted from the food in front of him.
"The smell is so fragrant."
"I told you, the owner really has skills."
"I can't resist it. I want to buy all these barbecues!"
"Me too!"
The customers in front of the stall were drawn in by the enticing aroma of the barbecues. Some of them couldn't help but salivate. The expressions of the few barbecue stall owners turned even worse.
"Alright!" Before long, Jake finished grilling the food and handed it over to Alan, saying, "Distribute these to everyone, and don't forget to set some aside for Several Barbecue stall owner."
After giving the food to Alan, Jake said to the crowd, "These are on the house. I kindly ask all of you to be judges this time."
"I want to be a judge!"
"Me too!"
"Give me some; I'm willing to be a judge!"
Many customers volunteered to be judges and wanted to get their hands on the barbecues that Alan was holding. Alan quickly distributed the food to everyone. Of course, as instructed by Jake, he set aside a few skewers for the barbecue stall owners.
Holding the food in their hands, the stall owners felt their emotions becoming more complex. Even without tasting it, just the aroma and appearance already exceeded their expectations. They were starting to have a bad premonition.