Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 313 - 312: Before the Storm

Chapter 313: Chapter 312: Before the Storm

"Ah, it’s ready!"

Exiting the small talk zone, the pot in front of Xia Yu was already steaming hot as he tasted a mouthful once more and then shook his head in frustration.

"The taste is all wrong!"

He furrowed his brows and asked the system.

"Completion rate of the dish: 68%..."

"This completion rate!" Xia Yu was at a loss for words, "is simply a waste of Fantasy Ingredients!"

With no choice but to turn his frustration into eating motivation, Xia Yu buried his head and ate. Fortunately, his physique had been strengthened, and he had quite a fearsome appetite, not at the level of Mars, but certainly surpassed that of an average adult.

In the worst case, he could trigger his strengthened state, rapidly consuming body heat and then replenishing it through eating. In short, a pot of barely palatable food shouldn’t be wasted.

Beep.

Suddenly, a clear and pleasant system alert sounded.

He glanced at the task bar.

Three shiny tasks hung there.

The first was a series of tasks for the shopping street construction, "A New Look," requiring him to renovate the old districts. The task was currently in progress and Xia Yu had entrusted the City Life Planning Company from Feng Zhizi with this task.

The second was the Far Moon teaching job, which hadn’t changed in a long time.

Guide a student to open up the bud of ’Heart of Cooking.’ This task was already taking shape, and Xia Yu was in no hurry.

The third was a task to perfectly complete the "Great Magic Panda Tofu" recipe with 100% completion rate, which was quite mystical. The difficulty lay in finding the Fantasy black soybeans needed to make the black tofu!

And now the fourth task had been added—

"Your Sukiyaki."

"Hint: Put your personal stamp on Female Special Chef’s ’sukiyaki’ dish. The prerequisite is to create a dish with at least a 90% completion rate and to integrate your personal ’Heart of Cooking.’"

"Reward: 5 Talent Points, unlocking the Fantasy Ingredients used in the dish."

As expected!

Xia Yu wiped the grease from his lips, already prepared for this.

However, the difficulty of researching "Sukiyaki" was far higher than that of "Spice Nine-layered Egyptian Roasted Chicken" and "Valencia Baaiya." How to balance two Fantasy Ingredients in one pot?

The point of balance was too difficult to grasp.

...

A week quietly passed by.

Time moved into late May, early June, summer was approaching, and the climate in Tokyo was gradually heating up.

On Saturday morning.

After class, Xia Yu had gathered Tanaka Hikari, Shen Liangzi, Yashan Liang, Xingping Chuangzhen, Tiqie Helinai, and so on—all of the top new students from Far Moon.

This was a spacious cooking room with ingredients already prepared.

"Instructor Xia, are we having a pop quiz?" Tiqie Ailisha asked as she approached, full of admiration for this young chef who had recently stirred up the Neon Food World, not hiding the excitement in her eyes.

Apart from the dazed Tanaka Hikari, the other students had already guessed the situation given the preparations, and Tiqie Ailisha was merely the one to ask out loud.

Xia Yu didn’t answer when Si Yingshi walked in from the door.

"Instructor Xia, I’m here," Si Yingshi said, scratching his head with a somewhat beleaguered air.

"Then let’s begin—"

Xia Yu nodded, scanning over the group of standout first-year students, and said, "It’s now June, and in a month, summer vacation will be upon us. But before the holidays, the list of contestants for the ’Autumn Election’ will also be decided!"

At the mention of the ’Autumn Election,’ including Tanaka Hikari, every first-year student showed a look of nervousness.

"The list for the Autumn Election only has 60 people."

As he said this, seeing the students staring intently at him, Xia Yu chuckled and shrugged, "Don’t look at me like that, I didn’t decide the list, but I do have a say. The General and General Dojima Yin are the final decision-makers."

Among these students, only Tiqie Eriina stood out, her face expressing indifference.

She had always been one of the Ten Outstanding Chiefs, holding the position of a challenge host, while these first-year students attending the ’Autumn Election’ were merely seeking the qualifications to challenge the Ten Outstanding Chiefs, each one fiercely competitive.

The disparity in status was clear from the start.

"Ahem!"

At that moment, Tiqie Eriina’s body slightly trembled as she became aware that Xia Yu’s gaze had settled on her, her expression immediately becoming unnatural.

"Eriina, you’ll also participate in the pop quiz during the class."

Xia Yu deliberately used a tone like one would with a child, and Tiqie Eriina shot him a fierce look, gritting her teeth as she said, "I know that. I will try... hard!"

"You might question the significance of this pop quiz."

"But I say, this quiz is for you to take one step further, to establish your competitive advantage before the ’Autumn Election,’" Xia Yu said with a smile.

With Morioka Makoto here, the ’Autumn Election’ next semester would surely differ from the original story.

She, who was close to grasping the Heart of Cooking, might even be a strong contender for first place.

Tanaka Hikari wasn’t far behind either.

Therefore, to make the ’Autumn Election’ more interesting and intense, Xia Yu felt it necessary to help more students gain an understanding of the embryonic form of the ’Heart of Cooking,’ or perhaps guide one student to hatch their own Heart of Cooking. Otherwise, the one-sided dominance of the two girls would be far too dull.

"And the topic is?"

Yashan Liang abruptly asked, holding a section of wood spice and lightly sniffing it.

"Topic?"

Xia Yu laughed heartily, without answering, and proceeded to the ingredients counter, selecting ingredients in a basket, then set up a cooking pot on the stove, immersing himself in preparing ’Sukiyaki’.

A crowd gathered around the cooking station.

They were not stupid; on the contrary, each was clever and sharp-witted. Seeing Xia Yu’s actions, they faintly understood the content of the topic.

Click!

After a short while, Xia Yu ceased the fire and pointed at the freshly made hot ’Sukiyaki’ on the stove.

"You all have a taste first——"

Si Yingshi timely moved over some bowls and chopsticks, this Ten Outstanding Chief was the helper Xia Yu had brought along.

Each person took a bowl, and Xia Yu was like the worker behind the school canteen window, using a ladle to distribute food to the students, eventually filling each bowl with plenty of ingredients.

There were no special ingredients, the beef was the commonly seen beef for the masses.

Things like ’Butter Matsutake’ were even more absent.

Yet, the students ate with extreme seriousness, chewing slowly and thoroughly, afraid of missing anything.

Soon, the expressions on the students’ faces became animated.

"Hmm!"

After eating a bite of beef, Tanaka Hikari’s beautiful eyes immediately brimmed with shining tears. She seemed to have returned to her hometown, wearing a yukata, and running on the festive streets filled with celebration.

When she paused, panting, and looked back, there was her mother also in a yukata, smiling at her amidst the crowd, her eyes full of doting and tenderness.

Beside her, Tiqie Eriina suddenly let out an uncontrollable scream.

Castle!

She was standing at the castle gates, at the triumphant entrance with a long red carpet spread on the ground, citizens gathering spontaneously on both sides of the road, all showing joy on their faces.

Soldiers with red cloth wrapped around their arms and red plumes on their helmets danced in the wind, while Tiqie Eriina became the queen waiting to welcome the Triumph General, wearing a sparkling gold crown, bedecked with jewels, her cheeks flushed with anticipation.

"My queen..."

The general finally climbed the castle gate, kneeling before her on one knee, kissing the back of Eriina’s hand, which was covered in a layer of silky smooth gloves.