Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 337 - 336: The Old Man’s Phone Call (Part 2)

Chapter 337: Chapter 336: The Old Man’s Phone Call (Part 2)

An hour earlier?

The old man, returning to his country for the first time since moving to Japan, seemed to have just realized this issue.

"Oh, right."

His voice was indifferent, revealing no emotion.

Xia Yu rolled his eyes. This old guy just liked to play it cool. While washing dishes, he couldn’t help but ask a few questions.

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"There’s the ancestral home. With a little cleaning, it’ll be livable."

"Ancestral home?" Xia Yu was curious. Was the Xia Family once a noble and wealthy household? In this day and age, having an ancestral home meant they were definitely part of the landlord class.

"When will you come back?"

This second question led to a long silence from the other side.

"I’m not sure, but it probably won’t be soon."

The aged voice spoke with a hint of fatigue that couldn’t be concealed, and Xia Yu also detected a trace of apology in the words.

"It’s okay, old man. Just stay in the country and take care of yourself. I’ll handle the shop here—" Xia Yu immediately discarded the resentment in his heart, nearly pounding his chest as he promised.

Another silence.

After a while, the other side asked:

"... I heard you’re going to take the special chef exam?"

"Yeah. It must have been the General who told you." Xia Yu stacked the washed plates in the cabinet, listening intently to movements on the other end of the call.

"Not bad!"

"Looks like you’ve been working hard these days!"

The old man’s next words left Xia Yu astonished.

"I say, old man, aren’t you curious why I’ve been progressing so quickly?" Xia Yu laughed, but he was actually quite nervous inside.

"Curious?"

It was the old man who seemed curious, with a hint of puzzlement in his voice.

"Those Chef Gods of the past, at 13 and 15, were already famous chefs worldwide. Now you’re 16! Reaching the special chef level at your age is actually a bit late, but still, it’s okay, barely passable."

The old man half praised and half criticized, "If we follow the modern chef hierarchy, those geniuses reached the special chef level a hundred years ago and then became Lin Chefs within half a year to a year, Drago Chefs in two to three years, and approached the Heavenly King field around thirty, eventually becoming Chef Gods."

"As for you, in terms of talent, you’re far from those prodigious chefs!" The old man was surely shaking his head on the other end.

"Come on!"

Xia Yu simply rolled his eyes.

It turned out he was the one worrying for no reason. His old man was quite calm, comparing his grandson to prodigious chefs from a century ago, not with the current generation of culinary talents.

With such a comparison, the halo above Xia Yu’s head dimmed immediately.

"Don’t lose heart either. At least you’re better than me. I was 18 when I passed the special chef exam on the mainland. You’re indeed my grandson!" The old man’s voice finally carried a hearty laugh.

The conversation between the grandfather and grandson revolved around life and culinary skills.

Xia Yu asked about the old man’s life in the country, while the old man inquired about Xia’s shop. Xia Yu didn’t hide anything and explained his accomplishments over the past three months as if pouring out beans.

"Shopping street?"

When Xia Yu mentioned taking over the shopping street, the old man pondered and said thoughtfully, "It’s good that you took it over. Governors of Tokyo have never dared to intervene in that street, and there are historical reasons for it. The current governor will probably be very grateful for you handling this mess. It will count as a significant political achievement."

Xia Yu felt puzzled, but the old man’s lips were sealed tight.

The call lasted nearly an hour, and before hanging up, the old man suddenly said:

"By the way, go to the attic. I left some things in the ceiling compartment for you. They might help with your special chef exam."

As soon as these words were spoken, the line went dead.

Huh?

Blinking, Xia Yu understood the old man’s hint. He quickly took off his gloves and raced upstairs.

The attic was an easily overlooked place. Xia Yu had cleaned it twice before, but just superficially, without thorough cleaning.

Arriving at the attic, as the floor wasn’t high, Xia Yu didn’t even need to stand on a stool to reach the ceiling. He probed piece by piece until he revealed a smile. With a click, he removed a wooden ceiling panel, and dust fell but he ignored it, reaching into the dark space.

"Got it!"

A wooden box was in hand. After placing the panel back, Xia Yu ran to the second floor without a glance back.

A while later, on the tea table in the living room, there was a book and a small bronze tripod resembling a model.

"What’s this?"

After fiddling with the small tripod for a while without figuring out its significance, Xia Yu could only give up and attentively began reading the other book.

It wasn’t long before the system popped a prompt:

"An unknown chef’s notes detected. Do you want to record and organize it?"

"Organize it!"

Xia Yu let out a breath, eyes widened in astonishment.

This book spanned from the year Fantasy Ingredients invaded Earth up to last year. Every year, the latest Fantasy Ingredients announced by the IGO international organization and released to the market were studied by the author of this notebook.

The book had been compiled over decades...

No!

Xia Yu shook his head; the term "compiled" was incorrect since this notebook was still being written, not completed.

He turned to find another notebook left by the old man, placed the two books together, and found the handwriting to be very similar, thus identifying the writer. Considering the old man’s age, Xia Yu was even more certain.

With the old man’s age, he indeed witnessed the Fantasy Ingredients invasion, yet Xia Yu could tell from the words in the notes that his grandfather was delighted at the appearance of these Fantasy Ingredients. A sentence in it left a deep impression on Xia Yu:

"This is the most precious gift the Creator has given to chefs."

Stroking the decades-old book, which was two to three times older than his body, Xia Yu’s heart felt heavy. He couldn’t help but express a sigh, "My old man is... incredible!"

He could imagine that if the old man kept writing, this book would likely be hailed as a classic in the culinary world.

Inside were organized systems of Fantasy Ingredients. Each Fantasy Ingredient was clearly annotated with uses, taboos, and attributes. Somehow, Xia Yu suddenly thought of the "Compendium of Materia Medica," and perhaps this book had the potential to become a classic.

And he was the second reader, following the old man.

Lucky!

Xia Yu was overjoyed, turning to the book’s end. There were special recipes attached. Some were completed, while others were still speculative, needing key Fantasy Ingredients to fill in the gaps.

"Medical Culinary Record... Are they all medicinal recipes using Fantasy Ingredients?" Xia Yu’s eyes twinkled.

A while later, he went to the bedroom and retrieved two more notebooks.

These were the spoils left by Takai Masashi and Hase Ichiro after losing the Food Duel competition.

"An unknown chef’s notes detected. Do you want to record it?"

"Record it!"

Allowing the system to continue recording and organizing, this required time. Xia Yu went to close the shop’s front door and sat steadily in the living room on the second floor, carefully reading the books.

Three chef’s notes gained in one day.

Xia Yu’s mood at that moment could be described as satisfied and confident.

Especially the extensive work left by his old man—it was incredibly useful!

If he could manage to organize and absorb its content, what would the special chef exam even count as?

On the Chinese Continent.

In reality, the old man was not in the ancestral home in Shu Territory but instead in Beijing.

After setting down the phone, he turned it off.

A silver-haired yet still energetic elderly man stepped out of an enclosed room, gazing at an ancient palace complex shrouded in darkness.

This was the Forbidden City, an inner sanctum where purple energy simmered.

Not far away, a towering pavilion on a white jade high altar stood, and at its base were rows of armed guards standing upright, making the surroundings impenetrable.

"Senior Xia..."

At this moment, a staff member from the Food Duel Administration came running up, drenched in sweat. He stopped before Xia Qing, not daring to breathe heavily, and respectfully announced: "The Food Duel is about to begin. No. 1 Leader has already arrived at the White Jade Tower."

Xia Qing merely nodded faintly.

"And my opponent?"

"They have arrived..."