Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 116: The Upgraded Small Shop

Chapter 116: Chapter 116: The Upgraded Small Shop

In the three-dimensional holographic image, the detailed structure of the interior of the small cabin was clearly displayed.

The storefront, kitchen, ingredient area, courtyard, and living room were all there, but only the storefront had been upgraded. So, upon careful examination of the three-dimensional holographic image, it was not difficult to see the addition of some modules highlighted with red borders on the storefront.

The most obvious were the two sets of ventilation machines, totaling four machines, which were hidden in the four corners of the store’s ceiling and perfectly blended with the reinforced ceiling’s ventilation outlets.

The ceiling was still made of wood with its natural color, and the floor had also been painted with a wood-colored lacquer. However, the system’s painting was very skilled, not the bright, glossy modern style, but deliberately antiqued to give a sense of settled, profound age.

Then there were four lanterns that emitted a warm hue of light.

The four lanterns were conveniently suspended near the ventilation outlets, and when the lights were turned on at night, they would skillfully conceal the outlets, forming dead angles in the viewer’s perspective.

The design of the lanterns was simple and rustic, using several pieces of wood as a frame and covered with a layer of gauze, which was also why the light became warm rather than glaring. Xia Yu had disassembled the lanterns two days earlier and found that the inside of the lanterns did not have any special, fantastical structures, just an ordinary electric light. Of course, the electric wires were hidden in the hanging cords and connected to the ceiling.

If the light from the four lanterns was not bright enough, it was possible to switch on two rows of light tubes affixed to the center of the ceiling. Likewise, the tubes were protected by light covers and blended into the environmental style.

Unless one was extremely familiar with the small shop, these upgrades would not be noticeable. Xia Yu had become thoroughly acquainted with these changes only with the aid of the system-generated three-dimensional holographic detail map.

If there was to be a most significant change, it would be the disappearance of the large ceiling fan in the center of the ceiling, replaced by the light tubes, which greatly opened up the space. Moreover, the positions of the tables and chairs had also been reinforced and adjusted by the system, making the spatial layout more reasonable. As for the specifics, Xia Yu couldn’t articulate them, as he was entirely ignorant of design and renovation.

"The next step is to upgrade the kitchen."

Xia Yu glanced at the kitchen.

The storefront was where the guests dined, and the kitchen was his main battlefield. These two places had the highest priority in the upgrade sequence.

"System, upgrading the kitchen won’t require closing the business, right?" Xia Yu inquired of the system.

"Yes, Host, the initial upgrade of the kitchen does not require closure," the system responded diligently. "Are you sure you want to spend 1,000 Fame Points to proceed with the ’kitchen’ upgrade project?"

"Yes!"

"Please select an upgrade plan—"

Beep. Three different upgrade plans popped up in Xia Yu’s field of vision.

The first one was a traditional Chinese enclosed kitchen.

The second was a Japanese-style open-concept kitchen.

The third was a classic modern Western kitchen.

"Is customization an option?" Xia Yu scanned the options, unsatisfied with any of them, but the Japanese kitchen plan sparked an idea in his mind.

A traditional Japanese shop’s kitchen was open-concept, allowing customers sitting at the bar to watch the chef cooking dishes up close and converse with the chef—a cultural connotation in itself.

Of course, this open kitchen’s benefit came from the traditional Japanese dishes’ mild flavors, cooked without heavy smoke and oil pollution. Imagine cooking a dish like ’Big Blast Fried Pork’ in such an open kitchen; it’s hard to imagine the whole restaurant filled with dense smoke.

Xia Yu had already roughly conceptualized the direction of the kitchen upgrade.

The style would be Japanese open kitchen, but I’ll add sealed transparent glass above the bar to block the fumes.

As for his culinary skills, he had nothing to hide, so he simply decided to showcase them in the open kitchen, allowing the patrons who came to the small restaurant to enjoy not only the food but also to watch the performance of a superb chef. Cough cough. Xia Yu thought unabashedly to himself.

Thus, under the system’s custom mode, Xia Yu quickly finalized his upgrade plan. It cost him 1,000 Fame Points.

The original enclosed kitchen was set for major renovation; the existing counter in the small restaurant would be demolished, pushed back five or six meters. Then the kitchen walls needed to be knocked down and hollowed out, with the bar taking over the space of the walls, encircling the kitchen.

Pleased with his own plan, he freed up quite a bit of space in the store, enough to add at least two more tables and eight chairs. Moreover, the bar needed to be slightly extended. By then, the bar surrounding the kitchen would have individual stools, and food enthusiasts probably wouldn’t find a vacant seat as they would crowd around to watch his live cooking.

Xia Yu left such a big project to the system, not bothering to think too much about it himself. Since the system indicated there was no need to close for the upgrade, that was more than perfect.

"Mr. Sakamoto, what are you doing?"

Returning to the store, Xia Yu found Sakamoto standing at the entrance of the small restaurant, making a strange gesture with both hands extended in front of him, forefingers and thumbs forming a square in the air as if he were taking a photo. Sakamoto’s face was behind his fingers, glasses reflecting light, as though he was framing the space layout of Xia’s Chinese Restaurant through the square made by his hands.

"I am enjoying the aesthetics," Sakamoto said, his voice as neutral as always.

"Uh, aesthetics?"

"The aesthetics of life and space!" Sakamoto moved his hands, standing at the entrance, as if he was capturing the restaurant’s layout and furnishings within the frame of his fingers.

From his point of view, the small shop was filled with an incredible charm.

Take the entrance, for instance—a row of tables and chairs distributed along the wall on the right; about four or five square tables, arranged aesthetically. Sakamoto’s gaze stopped at the ancient clock on the wall, "Did Mr. Xia Yu come up with this space layout?"

"Just threw it together casually," Xia Yu shrugged, "In a few days it’s going to undergo another major renovation."

Sakamoto dropped his camera-like hand gesture, pushed up his glasses, and said, "Then, please forgive me for intruding again in a few days."

He picked up his backpack and left, Xia Yu saw him out.

Eh.

As soon as the two of them stepped out, they saw a red sports car parked at the entrance of the shop; Xia Yu knew who had come and shook his head.

Indeed, the female special grade chef Reiko Lina got out from the driver’s seat of the sports car. Behind her followed a black minivan, from which two IGO staff members carried a tightly sealed refrigerated box inside the small restaurant.

Reiko Lina glanced at Sakamoto, who had sat down on a bicycle, and didn’t even greet Xia Yu, entering the shop as if it was her own home, taking off her sunglasses.

"Mr. Sakamoto, bye-bye!"

Waving to the big boss, Xia Yu followed behind Reiko Lina.

This woman had been coming to his small restaurant every day for the past week, at the same time every day, delivering a whole box of fresh ’Shuangjiang Tofu.’

Fortunately, in the past few days, Xia Yu had gained some understanding of the use of spices, so his research work on improving "Magical Mapo Tofu" had achieved some minor results.

Today was just the right time to demonstrate his results and let Reiko Lina taste it, to find any inadequacies.

He entered the restaurant and, following behind him, was the sound of footsteps.

Looking back, he saw Sakamoto had returned; Xia Yu paused slightly, and at that moment, he didn’t have the extra energy to ask for his reasons. He entered the kitchen to clean his hands, took a deep breath to clear his mind and body, ready to cook.