Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 228 - 227: Festival by Lake Ashi (Part 1)

Chapter 228: Chapter 227: Festival by Lake Ashi (Part 1)

Chiyoda Shrine’s back hill.

Granny Chiyoda led the three qualified candidates to an ancient tree, lush with branches and leaves.

The tree resembled a giant umbrella, forcing one to look up when standing beneath it.

A breeze brought with it the faint sound of crisp bells; Xia Yu looked up and saw that several small bells, tied with red cords, were hidden among the branches and leaves, dancing with the movement of the leaves.

Moreover, tied to the branches with red cords were not only little bells but also small plaques resembling Wish Talismans.

"The second round’s challenge is up there."

The old woman slowly turned and said.

"Up there?"

Only Xia Yu looked astonished.

Takai Masashi and Hase Ichiro seemed to have some understanding of the second round’s process.

"Pick one," the old woman said, her eyes fixed on Xia Yu, "’Instant Admission’ is a special honor, but it also means the challenge will be much harder."

Damn!

A mess of thoughts fluttered through Xia Yu’s mind as he opened his mouth and then thought better of it, swallowing his words.

"Then, who is the examiner?" he asked curiously.

The old woman didn’t reply but instead had the icy-faced witch bring over three long bamboo poles for Xia Yu, Takai Masashi, and Hase Ichiro to each take one.

"Choose at your will."

Takai Masashi and Hase Ichiro, holding the bamboo poles, walked under the umbrella of the tree, circling a few times before settling on their targets. Using the sharp knives tied to the end of their poles, they lightly cut the red cords, and the plaques snapped into their hands.

Takai’s expression changed slightly as he looked at the Chinese characters on his plaque.

Hase Ichiro, on the other hand, looked confident and self-assured.

"It’s my turn."

Not one to dawdle and since it was a random selection anyway, Xia Yu held the bamboo pole and gently slid it, catching the falling plaque, his eyes showing a hint of joy.

"Fish!"

The plaque bore a single, ancient Chinese character.

Lucky!

His heart, which had been thumping wildly, calmed down upon seeing the character. Xia Yu decided on the recipe he would use.

"Prepare well, you can only bring your own seasonings and side ingredients!"

With that, the shrine master, assisted by the icy-faced witch, slowly departed.

Xia Yu returned to the shrine to ask Dojima Yin for some special cooking utensils.

As for the seasonings and side ingredients, the dish he planned was actually quite simple in terms of ingredients, so he would bring just the usual seasonings, and could even do without side ingredients.

...

The second round of the challenge took place at six in the evening that same day.

In fact, by just after five o’clock, a crowd had already gathered on the shore of Lake Ashi.

By the ’Bird House’ of Chiyoda Shrine, next to the torii gate, stood the arranged three altars.

These were more open-air cooking stations than altars, with stone-paved ground and three stone workbenches set up. When Xia Yu, Takai Masashi, and Hase Ichiro arrived, the locals from the Hakone area were already voluntarily cleaning the altars.

Each of the three had their own preparations.

Xia Yu chose an altar, placed his heavy box down with a click, opened it, and inside were bottles and jars filled with oil, salt, and a dazzling array of spices.

"The environment here is really strange."

Xingping Chuangzhen, who had come along, put down a large box, wiped his sweat, and looked around.

"Yeah, it’s so remote!"

Tanaka Hikari and Morioka Makoto, both carrying baskets, had fresh condiments inside like ginger, garlic, and green onion strips.

Vegetables included common tomatoes and onions.

Tiqie Helinai stood empty-handed on the altar, gazing at Lake Ashi with its rippling azure waves, her expression complex.

This site was a secluded corner of Lake Ashi, and looking back, Chiyoda Shrine on the hill was inconspicuous among the undulating mountains, about a ten-minute walk away.

It was evening, and the sun was setting, casting a dim orange glow over everyone.

Takai Masashi and Hase Ichiro’s logistics team were setting up the cooking stations with clear division of labor and high efficiency. In less than ten minutes, the cooking stations were filled with brand-new kitchen utensils, but given the outdoor setting, modern appliances such as ovens and freezers were definitely absent.

In front of the altar, an audience had already gathered early.

Among these people, some were locals from the nearby town, mostly older with white hair. The younger ones were disciples or apprentices of the researchers. The other nine researchers were there too; Dojima Yin and Liangzi Lina naturally included.

Suddenly, the crowd became noisy.

It turned out that Granny Chiyoda had arrived; a sedan parked on a nearby road.

"Chiyoda Witch!"

"Witch, my lord!"

The old town folk bowed their heads one after another.

The old witch and the icy-faced witch had both changed into more formal witch attire, white tops with intricate patterns, which are usually called "Chiyoda."

Tiara, floral hairpins—the old witch was in full festival attire, holding a Shenle Bell used for ritual dances.

"Let’s begin—"

the old witch said, scanning the three researchers standing separately on the altar.

"Where are the ingredients?"

Xia Yu’s mind was full of question marks.

It seemed as though in response to Xia Yu, a truck bearing the IGO logo slowly stopped on the road, followed by several black vans parked behind it; about twenty men in black alighted, moving boxes and boxes of ingredients from the large truck container to the site.

Hase Ichiro’s main ingredient was several bags of rice.

Takai Masashi’s main ingredient was freshly slaughtered chickens.

Xia Yu’s main ingredient was live Crucian Carp.

With all three contestants’ ingredients delivered to the site, the sun disappeared in the west and the sky gradually darkened. The old witch had IGO staff start a fire. Therefore, bonfires surrounded the three altars, brightly illuminating the lakeside.

Hase Ichiro and Takai Masashi started to get busy.

They both had their own logistics teams, brought their own professional kitchen stoves, and placed several barrels of liquid fuel ready for use beside the altars.

"Click"

Turning the valve, roaring flames surged up. Hase Ichiro nodded, ensuring the stove was functioning properly, then turned to fetch the polished rice.

He grabbed seven or eight pressure cookers, making several trips, and each time filled each cooker with a certain amount of raw rice.

Next came rinsing the rice.

Hase Ichiro maintained his own pace, almost monk-like, rubbing rice grains repeatedly in cold water with both hands. Despite proceeding at a brisk pace, he conveyed a sense of serene detachment.

Meanwhile, Takai Masashi concentrated on processing side ingredients.

Konjac, green peppers, lotus roots, red carrots.

His cooking station was piled with various vegetables.

Xia Yu turned to look at the fully engaged Hase Ichiro and Takai Masashi, feeling no rush, but silently waited.

In the afternoon, Dojima Yin and Liangzi Lina had explained the second round of the assessment process in detail to him. Without going into overly complicated matters, tonight’s altar was also a stage to showcase oneself, with the audience and judges being the same group.

At that moment, another truck parked by the roadside, catching the crowd’s attention.

This was not an IGO ingredient vehicle; the container outside bore the shiny Far Moon Group logo.

"Finally, they’ve arrived!"

Dojima Yin walked over smiling as a middle-aged man jumped down from the truck’s passenger seat, bowed to Dojima Yin. It was his assistant, Sena Hikari.

"Boss, the things you requested have been delivered, a full truck!" Sena Hikari led Dojima Yin to the back of the truck, pointing to the rear door that was now wide open, revealing layers upon layers of dry firewood packed into the vehicle.