Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 305 - 304: Influence (Part 1)

Chapter 305: Chapter 304: Influence (Part 1)

Manga is also a form of promotion.

Especially if the works of Mashiro Takumi and Takagi Shuutoku became widespread across Neon and gained international traction, once the main character’s name became well-known, his neighborhood, and the shop he vowed to protect, naturally gained fame as well.

Take for example Makoto Shinkai’s recent work, "Your Name." Although it is an anime, not a manga, the promotional intent is the same. Fans should be familiar with the concept of a "pilgrimage to holy sites." As "Your Name" became a hit both domestically and internationally, the real places featured in it immediately became popular tourist destinations.

Bringing it closer to home, there’s "Your Name," but look further back, and there are works like "Slam Dunk" that have undeniably made places like Kanagawa Prefecture, Xiangbei High School, Kamakura, and so on, increasingly known to the public.

Xia Yu was looking to make an investment.

He didn’t even have to expend any tangible resources, just use his culinary expertise to help Mashiro Takumi and Takagi Shuutoku create a mainstream manga about chefs/cuisine, and then just quietly wait for a rich harvest. Even if the investment failed, he stood to lose nothing. But if it succeeded, and the manga became popular, followed by an anime adaptation...

Just thinking about it allowed Xia Yu to imagine a surge of tourists flocking to the shopping district. One must never underestimate the world’s pursuit and respect for cuisine.

He brought the two upstairs and discussed the matter with them in detail.

It was nearly ten at night and considering Mashiro Takumi and Takagi Shuutoku were only high school students and lived in Saitama Prefecture, outside of Tokyo, they should be catching the train at this time. Xia Yu saw off the excited manga artists.

They had already exchanged emails and Line contacts and could reach each other at any time.

The manga business was thus concluded for the time being. Mashiro Takumi and Takagi Shuutoku were the ones who needed to work hard as creators. Xia Yu didn’t have experience in this creative field and couldn’t help them.

He went downstairs.

The branch was closed today, but the street outside remained noisy.

"Hello, our shop operates on a reservation-only basis, we do not serve walk-in customers, we are very sorry..."

Third-year student at Far Moon, Hattori Ken, stood at the door, bowing to a group of people who looked like reporters, keeping them outside the shop.

"I am a reporter from the television station..."

"I’m a reporter from the newspaper!"

Their voices carried into the restaurant, inevitably affecting the patrons who were dining.

Hattori Ken and Igarashi Daisuki exchanged looks, both of them having a sense of helplessness in their eyes. They were well aware of the smear campaign against Xia’s Restaurant on the internet. As of tonight, the voices of slander led by the Food Review Conference had completely overwhelmed the positive ones. The dining customers had been whispering among themselves all evening.

"Make way!"

A voice came from behind.

"Instructor Xia..." Hattori Ken and Igarashi Daisuki stepped aside, realizing who it was, and were immediately surprised.

By that time, Xia Yu was already standing at the entrance.

The Food Review Conference had exposed Xia’s shop’s kitchen information and, combining it with ACG circle promotions from the main shop, the media knew that the young man standing before them, the restaurant manager and head chef were one and the same!

The crowd immediately surrounded Xia Yu.

"Chef Xia, what is your opinion on the Food Review Conference’s review of your restaurant?"

"Excuse me, Manager Xia, may I disturb you to talk about Xia’s branch?"

The questions were tightly centered around Xia’s branch. Without a doubt, the most popular and talked-about restaurant in Tokyo these recent days was Xia’s branch. Mars’s arrival straight from the airport, followed by Dojima Yin, Shinohara Shigetaro’s successive visits—these well-known culinary industry heavyweights coming to support the restaurant added an aura of mystery to Xia Restaurant.

In the eyes of the public, the Food Review Conference wasn’t deliberately malicious; they had "solid content" to back themselves. The Editor-in-Chief, Baishi Jianyilang, was certainly impressive as the collector of the data. He did a splendid job; before he wrote his scathing article, he made sure to do his homework. First, he collected identity information about the operators and head chef of Xia’s Restaurant. When he discovered that the head chef and the operator were the same person, an underage high school boy, he must have been thrilled.

An underage head chef.

Underage business owner.

The subject of much discussion, but also gave the public an extremely unreliable impression.

"Food Review Conference? I’m sorry, but I only learned of the existence of such a food media today. You ask me my opinion of the article, what opinion could I have?"

Xia Yu displayed an innocent expression and spread his hands, "The mouth is on somebody else’s face, right?"

The journalists, including Hattori Ken and Igarashi Daisuki, weren’t expecting Xia Yu to be so composed.

Indeed.

He didn’t show a trace of anger, even after being smeared.

Very strange.

The journalists looked at each other, having come eagerly, they now faced this nonchalant response. In the journalists’ minds, with Xia Yu’s youthful vigor, just a slight provocation in their words would likely make the high school boy curse in the streets, providing a topic for them to write about, and by tonight, food portal websites would probably feature headlines of sensational news.

"Then may I ask Manager Xia, is today’s restaurant closure due to public opinion?"

A young female journalist pushed forward.

"Influence?"

Xia Yu glanced at her curiously and replied, "The decision to close the shop was made on our own. It wasn’t influenced by anything."

"Right!"

Before anyone could speak, Xia Yu said, "Early this morning, the VIP reservation section of Xia’s shop official website went live, and we will release reservation seats for the coming month."

With that, he squeezed out through the crowd.

...

Late into the night.

The office area of the Food Review Conference.

There were more editors staying late than usual tonight, including chief editor Baishi Jianyilang, rushing to finish the second round of reviews.

Xia Restaurant remained the focus of reviews, it couldn’t be helped, the restaurant had gotten too popular recently, coinciding with Far Moon’s and Orlando’s exchange conference, attracting figures like Mars and Dojima Yin, naturally drawing public attention, and discussions had long since extended beyond the ACG community.

The glow from the computer screens illuminated Baishi Jianyilang’s slightly gloomy face.

"Click!"

After pressing the enter key, Baishi Jianyilang scanned the latest review article rushed onto the page, and his face finally squeezed out a smile.

He leisurely picked up the coffee cup on his desk and took small sips of the hot coffee his assistant had just brought. Baishi Jianyilang felt refreshed, put down the cup, and said to himself, "Dojima Yin, Shinohara Shigetaro, let’s see how you save him this time!"

The wave of public opinion had already been stirred up, and once the public had a deeply rooted bad impression of a restaurant, any later attempts at whitewashing would be of little effect. That was the power of the media!

Heh!

A hint of mockery glinted in Baishi Jianyilang’s eyes.

So what about the IGO organization, he hadn’t slandered the chef directly but critiqued the restaurant from a gourmet’s point of view. Therefore, even though he frequently clashed with the Far Moon Group, Dojima Yin couldn’t do anything to him.

Moreover, it’s not necessarily the case that the Food Review Conference didn’t have its own backing.