Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 336 - 335: The Old Man’s Phone Call (Part 1)

Chapter 336: Chapter 335: The Old Man’s Phone Call (Part 1)

Evening.

Tiqie Mansion.

Today was out of the ordinary; after being out on an internship for a month, Tiqie Eriina dragged her luggage back home.

"Miss——"

Niho Hizaki greeted her at the mansion’s front gate, took the suitcase from Eriina’s hands, and said in a low voice, "The General is waiting for you in the living room."

It was Sunday, and also the last day of the first ’Xia’s Interns Program.’ Within the first group of seven interns, including four of the Ten Masters of Far Moon—Ichise Hui, Koga Shoji, Kobayakawa Ryodan, and Tiqie Eriina—all learned a great deal.

Nodding her head, Tiqie Eriina suddenly said, "Hizaki, prepare for the next interns program well, I will secure a spot for you!"

"But..."

A flash of joy spread across Niho Hizaki’s face, it seemed she too was eager to go, but being a first-year student, she was not eligible to sign up for the interns program.

"No buts! I will persuade Grandfather to open up the rules!"

Tiqie Eriina waved her hand, tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder with a confident gesture, and stepped through the doorway.

Watching Eriina’s retreating figure. Niho Hizaki always felt the young lady she had served since she became aware of the world suddenly exuded a mature air. She seemed to have grown up overnight since before the internship, which felt odd.

As Tiqie Eriina’s best friend and personal life secretary, Hizaki certainly knew that beneath the lady’s queenly exterior was a playful girlish heart. Her liking for girl’s manga was evidence of that.

So, what had she experienced to mature so rapidly?

At this moment, Hizaki suddenly regretted not following the lady closely this past month.

The main living room of the mansion.

"You’re back?"

Just as she entered, a steady voice came from the shadows.

The ’Food Demon King’ of Neon Food World, Tiqie Xianzuowen, came in from the side room, seemingly just finished a phone call, casually placing his mobile phone on the living room table.

"Yes, Grandfather."

Tiqie Eriina took off her shoes at the entrance, knelt down in front of the main room’s tea table.

The teapot on the table was still hot, Xianzuowen leisurely poured two cups of hot tea, drank one himself, and watched as Eriina drank the other before slowly asking, "Did you learn anything this month?"

If it was any other time, Tiqie Eriina would have definitely denied it vigorously.

But now, Eriina wanted to express her thoughts candidly.

"Grandfather, I think I have gained something this month that I will probably cherish for my entire life," Eriina said earnestly.

"Oh?"

Xianzuowen raised an eyebrow, showing a curious expression.

"Just wait a moment!"

Eriina did not explain further, but bowed slightly in an apologetic manner, then hurried into the mansion’s kitchen.

A quarter-hour later, she returned with freshly made tea snacks.

They weren’t any precious delicacies, just a plate of ’和果子,’ but the pastry inherited Eriina’s usual delicate craftsmanship. Its attractive appearance, along with the lacquered tray, indeed had a notable visual impact.

’和果子’ is a general term for a part of Japanese sweets, the perfect companion to tea, and with the sweeping popularity of tea ceremony throughout Neon, it also possesses a long history.

"A snack fitting for summer?"

Tiqie Xianzuowen smiled slightly, his gaze scanning the tray filled with sweets and casually picked up one that bloomed like a sunflower, with a salted egg yolk in the center, and put it in his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

Upon tasting, his facial expression changed.

It was vivid.

"Wow"

The Far Moon General suddenly stood up, his upper garments loosening, revealing a broad and muscular torso.

"The Queen’s Table!"

"And another kind of culinary essence in its formative stages, what is it?"

Tasting, pondering.

Tiqie Xianzuowen even forgot to pull up his clothes and stood shirtless in front of his own granddaughter, lost in thought for a long while.

"Eriina, is this your gain?"

Xianzuowen sat back on the cushion, clapped his hands, and laughed. "Excellent! Absolutely excellent! You’ve finally reached the starting line to advance toward the special class. You have the qualifications to sprint toward the special rank now!"

Had this been before, Tiqie Eriina would have been as proud as a golden peafowl, but now, her grandfather’s praise sounded so unpleasant to her ears.

Qualified to sprint toward the special rank?

But, that guy, he had already squarely crushed two special chefs!

Thinking of Takai Masashi and Hase Ichiro leaving in dejection, Tiqie Eriina’s eyes lit up, and she said, "Right, Grandpa, I have a video of a cooking battle that you’ll be interested in!"

Without another word,

Tiqie Eriina took out a well-hidden cartoon U-drive from the pocket of her checkered skirt, stood up, and inserted it into the data port of the living room TV.

She turned on the TV and accessed the data on the U-drive.

When the kitchen scene from Xia’s branch appeared on the screen, Eriina finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good, the data that my senior copied for me can be used!"

Eriina silently thanked the clever Kobayakawa Ryodan.

Xia Yu had explicitly told them not to spread videos of private cooking battles indiscriminately, but Kobayakawa Ryodan and others had secretly recorded the video. With so many people present, it was beyond his control.

"Oh?"

Seeing the young chef on the screen, Tiqie Xianzuowen’s attention was immediately diverted.

...

Phew.

After sending off the last batch of customers from the main store.

Returning to the store, he glanced at the clock, which showed precisely midnight.

"So tired!"

Xia Yu casually stretched, at around eight in the evening, he had sent the interns away, and the main store returned to normal. It was just him alone holding down the kitchen, so, he returned to his previously busy life.

These past few days, Liangzi Lina had gone back to her IGO department to report.

Since Mars had made his goodwill clear to Xia Yu, and the shopping street was truly under Xia Yu’s ownership, the "Culinary Association" had quieted down completely and stopped making any moves, making Lina’s presence unnecessary.

However, Xia Yu had been practicing the two recipes that the Female Special Chef had left behind in order to improve his proficiency.

First to the kitchen to wash dishes, the plates and utensils left by tonight’s customers could only be taken care of by him, the head chef and store manager. Xia Yu was determined that in the future he definitely needed to find permanent staff—what kind of situation was it for the head chef to be doing odd jobs?

Just as he had put on gloves, his phone in his pocket started to vibrate.

"Who is it, in the middle of the night?"

Annoying!

Xia Yu didn’t answer and washed a few dishes, but the phone kept vibrating, showing no sign of giving up.

So he took off his gloves and took out his phone, but when his eyes swept over the string of numbers displayed on the screen, Xia Yu’s hand shook violently, and the phone almost slipped out of his grasp.

"0086..."

These four digits were the beginning of the number.

is the international dialing code.

is the dialing code for China.

He instantly judged that this was a call from the mainland of his homeland, and Xia Yu took a deep breath.

Who else could it be?

He had no friends in China, the only people he knew were the two sisters he had served during the spring break opening, but they had never contacted each other by phone, so that could be ruled out.

"It’s quite clear."

Xia Yu thought resignedly, pressed the answer key, and switched on speakerphone.

Beep.

There was silence on the other side, and Xia Yu said nothing, put his gloves back on, and continued washing dishes.

After a good few minutes, an elderly voice finally came through with surprise, "... You’ve closed for the day?"

"I mean come on, old man, are you dumb? Neon is one hour ahead of China. It’s eleven o’clock there, but it’s already midnight here; of course, all the customers are gone!"

Xia Yu said very disrespectfully.