Chapter 208 Culinary Skills
The villagers heard Ulysses's words and found them reasonable.
"Of course, we're sorry for disturbing you tonight."
They had come in such large numbers without warning.
Candice didn't blame them and still offered to provide free medical treatment, so everyone happily handed over the food they had brought.
"It's great that you can treat us. If you don't mind, please keep these."
The elderly in the village were all simple and kind-hearted.
Once one person took the lead, the others followed suit.
Seeing this, Candice quickly stopped them and said, "There's no need for this. Even without these, we would still provide free medical consultations for everyone!"
The villagers in front waved their hands and said, "This is everyone's sincere wish. Please accept them."
"But it's so much food, we can't possibly eat it all."
"You can. These are vegetables we grew ourselves. You must try them."
"These eggs are from my own chickens."
"These are ducks we raised ourselves."
The scene became chaotic.
Before Candice could refuse again, everyone left the courtyard after putting down their food.
After they left, the table was piled high with food.
The guests looked at the scene in astonishment.
Phaedra couldn't help saying, "There's so much here, we couldn't eat it all in several days!"
Pearl smiled and praised, "Candice is amazing!"
Others agreed enthusiastically!
Only Vesper's expression remained stiff, forcing a smile.
But she couldn't bring herself to say anything complimentary about Candice.
Fortunately, no one was paying attention to her.
Vance cheerfully announced, "Now that the results have been announced, everyone needs to prepare their own dinner. Please return to your homes to cook."
With this announcement, Pearl was stunned. "We have to cook for ourselves? My brother and I don't know how to cook! I'm afraid we might burn down the villagers' kitchen, which wouldn't be good, right?"
Xavier also looked dumbfounded. "I don't know how to cook either."
Vesper, standing beside him, actually knew how to cook.
After all, she had grown up in difficult economic circumstances, so how could she not have learned such skills?
But to maintain her image as a pampered young lady, she pretended she couldn't cook and said, "I don't know how either."
Vance, wanting to create more interesting content for the show, didn't let them off easy.
He immediately said, "If you don't know how to cook, you can try. If you really can't manage, see if you can join the other guests for dinner?"
When Vance said this, everyone instinctively looked toward Phaedra and her mother, as well as Sawyer and his wife.
It seemed that only Phaedra's mother and Sawyer's family knew how to cook!
"We don't mind. Anyone who wants to join us for dinner is welcome," Sawyer and his wife generously offered.
Pearl immediately raised her hand and said, "We'll go! We'll go! Mr. Diaz, we can help prepare the ingredients!"
Sawyer smiled and said, "Sure, come on over!"
Seeing that Pearl had chosen Sawyer's family, Xavier quickly said, "Then we'll join Mr. Lawson and Mrs. Lawson! Is that okay?"
"Welcome!" Phaedra didn't refuse.
Seeing this, Ulysses immediately said, "Mr. Diaz, can we join you for dinner too? The more the merrier!"
He wasn't very good at cooking himself and didn't want Candice to work too hard.
Sawyer didn't know what he was thinking, so he said, "Come on, you two siblings have a lot of ingredients! Let's not stand on ceremony with each other!"
So, they split up and busied themselves in separate kitchens.
In Candice's group, the division of labor was clear. They first sorted and washed the vegetables together.
The preparation of chicken, duck, fish, and meat was left to the men.
Of course, most of the work was done by Sawyer himself.
Ulysses, being clumsy, created quite a few laughable moments and was chided by Sawyer several times.
On the women's side, everything went smoothly. They chatted happily with Sawyer's wife, creating a harmonious atmosphere.
In the other kitchen, the atmosphere wasn't as pleasant.
Xavier truly didn't know how to do anything, and when tasked with preparing the poultry, he turned the entire kitchen upside down.
Vesper knew what to do, but she picked vegetables very slowly, afraid of dirtying her meticulously manicured nails.
Several times, Phaedra couldn't stand it and couldn't help saying, "For shows like ours that require completing tasks, it's better not to have very long nails. Otherwise, if they break accidentally, you could easily get hurt."
She spoke tactfully, but her expression revealed her dissatisfaction with Vesper's slow pace.
In the end, almost all the work in their kitchen was done by Phaedra and her mother.
After watching this, viewers online began to sympathize with Phaedra.
[Phaedra and her mother are working so hard.]
[Yes, even if they're sharing their food, the others shouldn't take it for granted.]
[They really can't do anything properly.]
[This practical show isn't meant for showcasing beauty. Future guests should take note and not wear long nails when participating.]
[If it were me, I'd be too embarrassed to eat this meal.]
Meanwhile, in Candice's group.
With so many people, there were many dishes to prepare. If they relied solely on Sawyer and his wife to cook, it would be very late before they could eat.
Seeing this, Candice decided not to wait and began cooking for herself.
As the first dish went into the wok, everyone was once again shocked.
Initially, everyone thought that Candice, being a delicate young lady, definitely wouldn't know how to cook.
Sawyer's wife, Fallon Mitchell, seeing Candice preparing to cook, asked, "Are you trying to learn how to cook?"
Candice smiled and said, "No, I'm helping to cook together so we can finish faster."
Hearing this, Fallon worriedly asked, "Do you know how to cook? Please don't hurt yourself."
Candice nodded with a smile and replied, "Don't worry, I know how."
With that assurance, Fallon didn't say anything more.
Sawyer also didn't discourage her enthusiasm and said, "Well, let's see what you can do!"
Candice smiled and began to showcase her skills.
As one exquisite dish after another came out of the wok, everyone was amazed.
Pearl couldn't resist stealing a taste and immediately widened her eyes, exclaiming, "Oh my goodness, your cooking is incredible! It's really delicious!"
"Fallon, you must try this shrimp Candice made. It tastes amazing!"
Pearl gave Fallon a shrimp and also gave one to her brother, eagerly sharing.
They couldn't stop eating even before the dishes were served at the table.
Even Sawyer was urged to try some.
Sawyer was also surprised and couldn't help asking Ulysses, "Your sister's cooking is so excellent, why did you come to our place for dinner?"
Ulysses replied matter-of-factly, "I was just worried about Candice getting tired."
Sawyer laughed, "You're quite honest. Worried about Candice getting tired, but not about me and Fallon?"
"That's why I've been helping so much, haven't I?" Ulysses said with a straight face.
Sawyer retorted, "You mean hindering?"
"I can see that Uly really cares about Candice! But Candice is indeed very likable!" Pearl teased from the side.
Everyone laughed at this comment.
Amid the laughter and conversation, dinner was soon ready.
Pearl and her brother helped serve the dishes, but Candice seemed to have lost her appetite.
Perhaps it was because she had just finished cooking, but the smell of food was making her feel unwell.
She decided to go back and take a shower first, letting the others eat and just saving a little for herself.
"Then we'll wait for you to come back before we start eating."
"Yes, you contributed the most to this meal today. We'll wait for you!"
Candice naturally disagreed, "These dishes taste best when they're hot!"
Ulysses, who understood Candice well, said, "Let Candice go take a shower. I'll save some food for her."
Then he explained to everyone, "Candice is like this at home too. She's used to it, so please don't mind."
"Why would we mind? If it weren't for Candice, could we enjoy such delicious food tonight?" Sawyer said.
Pearl nodded in agreement, "Exactly. If it weren't for Candice, Mr. Diaz, and Mrs. Diaz, my brother and I would probably go hungry tonight."
No one could find fault with Candice, so they let her go!
After saying goodbye to everyone, Candice headed back to Ulysses's accommodation.
The house assigned to them by the production team wasn't far from this courtyard, just a few turns away.
Ulysses had initially arranged for a staff member to accompany Candice, but she refused.
"It's so close, and I'm not a child. Go ahead and eat!"
With her insistence, Ulysses had to agree.
Candice waved goodbye to him and quickly left the courtyard.
Since she was going back to take a shower, the cameraman naturally didn't follow her.
Today, Candice had finished her filming tasks.