Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 283 - 282: The Kitchen Heart of the Purple Frame!

Chapter 283: Chapter 282: The Kitchen Heart of the Purple Frame!

"There should be both, shouldn’t there? It’s not just about spiritual satisfaction or a full belly, is it?"

Eriina bit her lip in response.

"That’s because you, Eriina, have never had to eat food that you didn’t want to eat but had to swallow anyway," Xia Yu said with amusement.

The life experience of this young lady was just too immaculate. Born with a silver spoon in her mouth, in the realm of fine dining, her ’Divine Tongue’ had never been deceived, so it’s no wonder she couldn’t comprehend that kind of survival anguish.

In Xia Yu’s past life, he had legitimately lived in a school dormitory, through middle school and high school. The food in the school cafeteria was hard to describe—it was just something to fill the stomach, and spiritually, it was actually quite painful.

Later, when he got to college, his circumstances finally improved. He could leave campus to dine out, which also provided him with spiritual gratification. No longer eating merely to survive, he had reached a higher realm.

"Moreover, people have desires other than just hunger—so many more," Xia Yu shrugged and continued, "I let Mars switch roles in my cooking to awaken the other desires lying dormant in the heart. Once these other desires awaken, the appetite correspondingly weakens."

Having said that, and seeing the still perplexed expressions on Kobayakawa Ryodan and Tiqie Helinai, he decided to be outright.

"Have you ever been so engrossed in a book or an online game that your sense of hunger diminished?"

"This is also a technique of ’transference,’ where a person’s emotions, spirit, and interests shift to something else. In doing so, doesn’t their focus on the original thing decrease?" Xia Yu said with a smile.

"Spiritual narcotics!" Chiyoda Aichi blurted out impulsively, and realizing her rudeness, she quickly covered her mouth.

"What narcotics, it’s spiritual nourishment!" Xia Yu said with a black line on his forehead, "Come on, say it with me three times, spiritual nourishment—"

The hall was silent; no one followed along.

After a moment, Ichise Hui couldn’t help but look at Xia Yu with admiration and said, "Such unorthodox thinking could only possibly come from Instructor Xia. Even if we found the correct approach, we’d be helpless to execute it."

"Yeah."

Kobayakawa Ryodan took over the conversation, eyes locked on Xia Yu, and said dreamily, "Hey, Instructor Xia, how did you infuse the seven bags of seafood rice with seven distinctly different ’intentions’...?"

She had hit on the key point.

Not to confront directly but to satisfy the spiritual desires of the diners.

This technique is clearly a level above simply satisfying the culinary cravings of the guests.

"Um."

Xia Yu glanced at Liangzi Lina by his side and chose not to explain in detail.

At that moment, an unexpected knock on the door allowed Xia Yu to escape the scrutiny of the curious ones.

He went to answer the front door.

The food media had dispersed quite a bit, but if one looked closely, the number of cars parked in the shopping district had not decreased, but actually increased. People were hiding in their cars, closely monitoring Xia’s branch.

Outside stood Dojima Yin and Shinohara Shigetaro beside each other.

"How did it go?"

As he opened the door, Dojima Yin asked directly.

"It’s settled."

"..."

After a glance at each other, Dojima Yin asked uncertainly, "You satisfied him?"

"Sort of," Xia Yu scratched his face.

"I’ll go meet him!"

Dojima Yin and Shinohara Shigetaro removed their shoes at the entrance. After his overall physical quality improved, Xia Yu’s senses became so sharp that he could detect the eyes hidden in every car and van.

By now, quite a few food journalists must have taken pictures of Dojima Yin and Shinohara Shigetaro entering Xia’s shop.

Add to that Mars heading straight to Xia’s shop as soon as he got off the plane.

What could be anticipated was that Xia’s shop had become the focal point of numerous food news reports, food magazines, and periodicals.

A wave of free advertising, perhaps?

Xia Yu welcomed Dojima Yin and Shinohara Shigetaro through the door, and seeing that the press army had already dispersed, he casually left the door open. He let the reporters snap away with their cameras—the more photos, the better.

Let’s not forget, today was just a temporary trial opening. Tomorrow, Saturday, would be the auspicious day for the grand opening of Xia’s VIP branch!

...

The entryway.

Chiyoda Aichi and Dubian Yuuki put on their shoes and bowed in farewell.

"Thank you for your hospitality."

The two renowned food world goddesses left side by side.

Chiyoda Aichi got into the TV station’s car, gave a wave, and couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice, "When I get back to the station, I’m going to suggest to my superiors that we do a special feature on the restaurant."

Similarly, Dubian Yuuki got into the "Taste Weekly" car.

"In the next issue of the magazine, many people will know about this store!" Dubian Yuuki took a deep breath and declared.

"I’ll be coming back tomorrow, truly as a customer!"

Shortly thereafter.

Mars left through the side door, Lancelot had already received the message and was waiting.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, Lancelot looked at the rearview mirror inside the car, where Mars appeared relaxed and easygoing, showing none of the gloom that had been present upon his arrival by plane, indicating he was in a good mood.

Seeing this, Lancelot couldn’t help but feel a surge of happiness and asked,

"Instructor, how did it go?"

"This matter is now behind us..."

Blinking, Lancelot asked, "You, you made him lose his confidence as a chef?"

"No!"

Mars looked up at his proud pupil and shook his head, "You’ll fly back to the United States the day after tomorrow. Leave the search for the legendary cooking utensils to me; there’s no need for you to get involved. Focus on honing your culinary skills in the United States and stop getting distracted!"

His voice contained a hint of sternness.

"And these two stores, and the shopping district..." Lancelot’s gaze drifted outside the window.

Nearing evening, some diners were arriving one after another, entering the Xia’s Main Store.

"The shopping district, I gave it to him!"

"What?!" Lancelot was as if struck by lightning.

"Consider it the service charge for a great meal, I am very satisfied," Mars said casually.

Lancelot was speechless.

"Don’t worry, if the legendary cooking utensils truly exist, I won’t give up," Mars said, his gaze turning slightly colder.

...

Xia Yu was summoned to the front desk by Ichise Hui.

Ichise Hui handed a file bag to Xia Yu.

Glancing through the documents inside, Xia Yu’s face lit up with excitement.

"I’ve finally got it back!"

The process had gone surprisingly smoothly. Mars had kept his word, and Xia Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Ding.

Ding.

Two consecutive notifications for completed tasks.

The first was the task of [Satisfying the Demon’s Appetite].

"System: Random Forbidden Ingredient (Purple) has been unlocked."

"System: Culinary skill level lv30→lv32."

His culinary skill level had increased, and he was awarded 2 spare Talent Points, bringing Xia Yu’s total saved Talent Points to 20!

The second was the task of [Our Shopping Street] (Part 1).

Talent Points credited.

And the [Skilled Hands and Mind] purple talent had been unlocked and lit up!

"Holy shit, I suddenly have 30 Talent Points!"

Xia Yu was moved to tears.

Without saying another word, and without thinking twice, he quickly invested 20 Talent Points straight into [Heart of Cooking]!

His vision suddenly rippled like water.

The Talent Tree diagram popped up automatically.

As Xia Yu watched, the blue border framing the [Heart of Cooking] icon slowly deepened in color, eventually transitioning to a profound and regal purple.

The [Heart of Cooking] talent with a purple border!

Clicking to view the upgraded talent icon, Xia Yu then took a sharp intake of breath and said,

"To advance to the next level, a gold border, it will take 100 Talent Points?!"

He was speechless for a moment, but then it seemed only logical.

The transformation from a purple to a gold-framed divine level would surely not be easy to achieve.

"New task received — [Our Shopping Street] (Part 2)."

The system prompt resonated in his mind.