The meal lasted nearly two hours.

Feng Xiaoxiao and Liu Yunpeng talked with Fu Yu about the culinary association and the annual meeting.

Fu Yu felt he gained a lot.

As the meal was about to end, Fu Yu got up, pretending to go to the bathroom, intending to secretly pay the bill.

But as soon as he stood up, Liu Yunpeng grabbed his arm: "If you really need to go to the bathroom, go ahead. But if you want to secretly settle the bill, it’s unnecessary. Your Sister Xiao Xiao has vouchers from their store, so this meal is free."

Hearing this, Feng Xiaoxiao also added: "I once did a live store visit for their place, and they gave me quite a few vouchers, which I’ve never had the chance to use."

For well-known store visit streamers like Feng Xiaoxiao, dining out rarely costs them anything.

Fu Yu smiled sheepishly, "Then I guess I won’t go to the bathroom."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yunpeng and Feng Xiaoxiao exchanged smiles.

They were increasingly impressed by Fu Yu.

Before this meal, they weren’t very familiar with each other.

But after two hours of chatting and small talk, the distance between them had greatly diminished.

When they left the hotpot restaurant, Liu Yunpeng and Feng Xiaoxiao drove away on their own.

Fu Yu hailed a cab back to Qianlima.

It was still early, but since Zhao Meng had the early shift today, Fu Yu didn’t go to the kitchen. Instead, he returned directly to his dorm. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

He felt a bit excited and thrilled.

He never expected to join the culinary association so smoothly.

According to Feng Xiaoxiao, he should receive the membership notice in a couple of days, making the matter a sure thing.

Fu Yu pondered that the cooking video competition at the annual meeting must be significant, given how seriously Feng Xiaoxiao and Liu Yunpeng took it.

Moreover, Feng Xiaoxiao made it clear that there are opportunities for advancement within the culinary association.

Fu Yu was too shy to ask at the time, but what are the benefits of advancing in the culinary association?

Is there a stipend?

But for someone like Feng Xiaoxiao with a certain status and position, those meager stipends surely don’t matter.

As she said, winning awards in competitions or striving for advancement is all about earning reputation and building fame.

For chefs like them, only by establishing a reputation can their status and position rise accordingly.

To build one’s reputation...

Either you need networking to promote and advertise!

Or you must have the ability to command respect!

As for networking... Fu Yu could count his contacts on one hand.

And as for ability... that was more broad.

Fu Yu thought it over and decided that, given his current situation, the video competition at the annual meeting might truly be a rare opportunity to stand out within the culinary association.

Fu Yu’s eyes brightened.

If he could produce a cooking video that amazed everyone, the competition might truly attract the admiration of others.

But... what dish should he cook to draw the attention of those industry leaders?

Generally, the culinary association’s members come from two main fields.

First are the renowned chefs with excellent cooking skills and some degree of fame.

Second are successful individuals who love promoting cuisine and run culinary projects.

No matter their character, the only commonality is that they all have a keen interest in culinary arts.

To earn their recognition and support, one must first have exceptional culinary skills.

That’s why Feng Xiaoxiao repeatedly reminded him to focus on the quality of the video’s filming.

Fu Yu was quite confident in his appearance.

And in terms of culinary skills, there were quite a few dishes and techniques he could display.

He could choose a dish with a certain level of difficulty.

For example, the Braised Eggplant that Chef Yao just taught him, which showcases various skills.

Or the Pumpkin Chicken that Liu Yunong taught him hands-on.

The deboning and binding techniques there could easily impress and win over viewers.

Either of these two dishes could easily reach the level required to compete and win.

And the cooking video Feng Xiaoxiao mentioned can be edited and extended, so he could combine the cooking processes of both dishes.

Two signature dishes!

Showcasing no fewer than seven culinary techniques!

That should be enough, right?

However, he still needed to run this by Liu Yunong and Chef Yao.

Fu Yu messaged both of them.

He quickly received responses, both granting approval.

Fu Yu fiddled with his phone and decided to pull up some previously saved cooking video clips from his album to review.

The previous videos were recorded and edited with Liu Yuqing’s help. After completion, they were sent to him.

When watching, he was mainly focused on the details of his cooking techniques and hadn’t really noticed what edits the videos went through.

Moreover, editing videos likely requires specialized software, doesn’t it?

Fu Yu didn’t own a computer.

He hadn’t bought one previously to save money.

Now, with work being so busy, he had no time to use one.

With the video editing tools available on his phone, besides compressing the duration, there weren’t many other features.

As for those flashy phone editing apps, he didn’t know how to use them.

He tried downloading one, fiddled with it for a while, and found that instead of successfully editing the video, the original file somehow got lost during saving.

Fu Yu sighed helplessly and turned to message Liu Yuqing: [Are you awake?]

Liu Yuqing quickly replied: [I’ve decided. No spicy hotpot, no rice noodles, no Xinjiang fried noodles, I want Zhang’s authentic skewers!]

Fu Yu was taken aback: [Alright, but there’s something I want to ask you for help with.]

Liu Yuqing: [For errands, it’s a treat; for passing messages, it’s milk tea; for information, it’s a red envelope, or no deal at all.]

Fu Yu thought for a moment: [A barbecue meal along with a milk tea?]

Liu Yuqing: [You... who do you have a crush on that you want me to help you pursue?]

Fu Yu was speechless: [It’s nothing like that. I wanted your help in editing a video.]

Liu Yuqing: [The barbecue is from the side street Liu Family, plus three cups of milk tea!]

Fu Yu: [Deal!]

Thinking she got a great deal, the smile on Liu Yuqing’s face vanished the moment she saw the pile of video shooting and editing requirements Fu Yu sent afterward, leaving her instantly regretting it.

So shameless!

Just one lousy barbecue and three milk teas, and he wants her to work her butt off!

Two cooking videos combined into a collection, and the quality should meet competition standards!

Competition... prizes...

Forget it, Liu Yuqing turned on her computer and started searching all over the internet for relevant video references.

If you’re going to do it, you have to do it the best.

First, look at how other people’s competition videos are shot and edited.

With this busy task at hand, she lost track of time.

In her heart, Liu Yuqing, feeling exhausted with blurry vision and yawning non-stop, couldn’t figure out why she never thought of refusing Fu Yu’s requests...