HLnovel Chapter 457 The Idea of Reform
Chapter 457 The Idea of Reform
“Oh, Mr. Mischel, you are in a bit too much of a hurry.”
After an awkward silence following Fan Wei's speech, the chairman asked everyone to take a break, then walked around the scattered chefs and pulled Fan Wei aside to sigh.
“I understand that you want to implement new changes.”
"We can't ignore the feelings of our fellow travelers."
The chairman looked at the chefs who were discussing among themselves, his eyes filled with undisguised worry. "They took a risk by stepping forward at this time, and we need to give them time to adjust."
"How about we take it slow..."
Looking at the mature and composed chairman who embodied the doctrine of the mean, Fan Wei felt quite helpless.
He could understand the chairman's good intentions, but he simply couldn't accept it, because some mistakes should never be made in the first place.
The current situation is actually quite simple, but the chefs stuck in the old order don't understand it.
They harbored, to varying degrees, naive fantasies about the nobility of the capital.
Many chefs believe that by possessing the power of culinary magic, they will be accepted and become the new nobility!
However, in the eyes of the nobles of the capital, chefs were nothing more than special pets.
Who lets their pets be in charge?
This is a struggle between power and class, with absolutely no room for compromise. Any wishful thinking, weakness, or pandering will jeopardize the final victory.
So from the very beginning, from the moment the food association was established, Fan Wei was preparing for a real 'war'!
As a chef, he simply disliked fighting and killing.
At the same time, the situation in the capital city meant that they were the weaker party, and a direct confrontation was not realistic.
Therefore, combining reality and experience, the road to victory needs to take a detour, heading towards the opposite of war god socialism and elitism.
—The mass line.
Fan Wei chose the mass line not simply because he came from a country of revolutionary origins, nor just because of lofty ideals and slogans, but because he understood it.
All victories are essentially due to the superiority of new things and new methods over old ones.
Elitism has its advantages; it naturally occupies a high position, equivalent to a 'consumer' in the food chain, while the common people are the 'producers' who are consumed.
But perhaps no one understands the importance of 'food' better than a chef.
In the past, 'food' was scattered, lacked awareness, and could be preyed upon at will.
Fan Wei's current idea is to manage all the food, making it something that predators covet but can no longer easily devour.
Ultimately, they were forced to compromise for survival and 'hunger'.
With the power to resist, rights are born; this has been true throughout history and across the world.
Besides being fundamentally feasible, doing so has another very obvious advantage.
There are some very magical and idealistic aspects to this world. For example, although ordinary people lack power, their faith is a very high-end means of production!
A powerful deity is the ultimate form of faith.
Therefore, Fan Weicai proposed to treat everyone in the capital to a meal, which was the first step in influencing people's beliefs.
At the same time, he combined his ideals, weakened the Empire's war potential, strengthened his own faction, Gonia, laid the foundation for the development of the Gourmet Society, and expanded the results of his New Year's activities, among other goals.
From this perspective, his insistence was absolutely correct.
However, Fan Wei was also having a headache about how to persuade these chefs, not because he was unwilling to reason with them or appeal to their emotions.
But he understood that ideas can be as stubborn as stone!
People who are truly willing to listen to others and reflect on themselves when there is a conflict of ideas and no oppression of their status are very rare.
Fan Wei's actions, in particular, largely shattered the inherent notions, sense of superiority, and complacency of chefs in the capital, disrupting their comfort zones and their pride in their status.
Advising is probably pointless, so let's not try.
You can't learn by being taught, but you can learn by being taught.
Seeing that Fan Wei remained silent, the chairman's worry deepened. He thought that Misser Fan probably had the arrogance of a genius and wouldn't listen to advice, especially young people.
However, the halftime break cannot be delayed indefinitely.
Fan Wei had thought through the plan thoroughly and comforted the chairman, who was caught in the middle and in a dilemma, saying, "Don't worry, Mr. Chairman, I will come up with a solution."
He walked back to the center of the room, and all eyes turned to him.
Fellow comrades.
Fan Wei began, “Regarding the development of the Food Association, I think we will all agree that what we need is a clear, well-defined, efficient path leading to ultimate victory.”
"And I believe that my proposal represents that path."
"Hmph, arrogant."
Someone whispered a comment, but Fan Wei ignored it and continued, "Let's get rid of this pointless arguing. As the vice president, I'm now giving you the opportunity to take on this challenge."
"If you can beat me, you can take over the position of vice president and implement your ideas!"
"Is this really true?" an old chef asked in a deep voice.
"Of course, but on the contrary, I need your cooperation in my work."
The chefs exchanged glances and stepped forward. "Then we'll challenge you together!"
A person's name is like a tree's shadow; chefs can tell from what they've heard that Fan Wei's cooking skills are quite good. But as the saying goes, there is no absolute first place in literature, and the same applies to cooking.
Unless there is a significant difference, cooking skills are difficult to evaluate absolutely.
Every chef has their signature dish, and everyone's tastes are different. Years of research have made these veteran chefs deeply understand this.
Moreover, they plan to team up and challenge Fan Wei alone!
"You are the darling of the God of Gourmet Food, and you must possess powerful divine abilities bestowed by the gods. Therefore, we will collectively challenge you, and to avoid subjectivity, all rules and evaluations will be determined by everyone together."
"I have no problem."
Fan Wei agreed with a very calm demeanor, so calm that it made the challenger somewhat uneasy.
But nobody believed that he alone could defeat a team of highly respected veteran chefs who had been immersed in culinary arts for decades! Moreover, the scoring criteria were determined by everyone!
"Then let me propose a rule first: First, you cannot use the magic of food."
The gray-eyed old chef stared at Fan Wei and said, preparing to cut off his most powerful arm.
"Okay," Fan Wei replied with a slightly strange look in his eyes.
“I have a second point. Since you mentioned quantity, Mr. Mischel, the number of dishes made in the same amount of time should also be a criterion for evaluation,” said a slightly plump chef with impeccable manners.
“This…of course, no problem.” Fan Wei seemed hesitant.
"Thirdly, the appearance of the food is also important. This is my specialty. If you don't mind, could this also be used as one of the criteria?"
"Okay, okay..."
Fan Wei's tone was strained, and everyone felt that Misser Fan seemed to finally waver!
"Fourth, blind vetting must be conducted... For fairness, all ingredients must be the same..."
"...Are you sure?"
The chefs were secretly pleased; Misr Van must be feeling pressured for asking such a question.
"Fifth, complex dishes test true skill. I can share some of my collected recipes, Mr. Misser, you don't mind, do you?"
As the rules were presented one by one, Fan Wei looked at each chef with an indescribable expression.
These chefs are so good to him! The rules don't even affect him, and they're the ones he's good at and likes!
"I agree to everything. If there are no problems, can we begin?"
At this moment, opinions about Misr Van’s pride and arrogance arose in almost everyone’s mind, but everyone’s feelings were different.
The president was extremely worried, fearing that this darling of the gods would fall too hard.
Some of the other chefs were secretly annoyed, thinking that Misel Van was too pretentious, while others thought that his ability to maintain his pretentiousness to the end was quite charming and truly showed the domineering aura of a leader.
Only the eloquent head chef, Twari, was secretly having doubts.
He was completely convinced when he was defeated by Fan Wei last time and had to give up his ranking.
Although he felt that challenging so many chefs working together was almost impossible, he secretly believed that the other person would win!
In the blink of an eye, seeing Misr Van's strikingly charismatic and upright figure, the chefs, acting as the judges, brought out the ingredients.
"Once you've made your selection, you can begin."
“Mr. Misel, do you need some time to study the recipe?”
"No need."
Fan Wei walked to the wooden table where a large amount of ingredients were placed. Without even drawing his knife, he slammed his palm on the table. Instantly, all the ingredients and seasonings were divided into two equal portions, spontaneously decomposing into their most perfect form.
All the supernatural energy that had been harnessed was incorporated into the cooking. In just a few breaths, a table full of food radiating strange light and color appeared before everyone's stunned eyes!
The positive effects of skills are mutual. Fan Wei's recent increase in strength has led to a significant improvement in his cooking speed, making it effortless for him to achieve this level of skill.
"You...didn't it say you were forbidden from using culinary magic?!" The old chef stammered, dumbfounded.
"I didn't use it."
Fearing that the God of Gourmet Affairs might betray them, Gonia directly blacklisted Fan Wei from the divine magic system. It could be said that among everyone present, he was the only one who didn't have any divine power in gourmet affairs at all!
"Impossible! This...this can only be a gift from God!!"
Even the fat chef couldn't maintain his perfect posture. What's the point of competing like this? He finished cooking in just a few seconds—that alone is something no mortal can surpass!
Faced with the doubts, Fan Wei calmly turned his head and said, "Mr. Michael, I don't need a god to do very well."
"You're too arrogant, Mr. Mischel!"
Failure before even starting was the first step; faced with such an absurd result, the veteran chefs were utterly enraged.
"I cannot accept this outcome!"
"We absolutely will not accept this!!"
(P.S. 2025 has ended, and we've entered 2026. Wishing all my readers a Happy New Year! May the new year bring you happiness, success, and all your endeavors! Overcome all challenges and become the best version of yourself!!)