Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 343 - 342: The World of a Grain of Rice

Chapter 343: Chapter 342: The World of a Grain of Rice

"Move! Move faster!"

In front of their television sets, countless viewers cursed.

No matter how many channels they switched to, the camera angles remained fixed; the audience had no idea what was happening. They only saw the chefs on screen, as if by some arrangement, all showing intoxicated expressions of intense pleasure on their faces.

"Why aren’t they moving?!"

Alice gritted her teeth in frustration.

Eriina’s pretty face also showed a hint of irritation.

A good five or six minutes passed before the chefs gradually came to their senses. Only then did the camera operators hurriedly swing their lenses to focus on the man who slowly stepped onto the stage, placing a pot of hot rice on a small table, his face half-hidden by a gas mask.

"This is the rice cooked with ’Jile Rice’!" Shinohara Shigetaro said with a faint smile to the six assessors. "You can try it. After tasting, it will be the third segment!"

"During the assessment, you must stay in your own sealed room, isolated from the outside world. The IGO Neon Department will supply each of you with a maximum of twenty pounds of ’Jile Rice,’ so cherish the ingredients while practicing! There’s not much material!"

The six assessors immediately gathered around the table.

Each one held a pair of chopsticks.

Xia Yu watched them hesitate, so he took the initiative, scooping up about half a bowl of rice with a rice spoon and moved to a corner of the stage.

Dozens of television cameras followed him, but at that moment, Xia Yu had no concern for the outside world. Once he positioned himself, he didn’t rush to eat. Instead, he took a deep breath and carefully examined the cooked rice in his bowl.

At first glance, the ’Jile Rice,’ this rice of dreams, looked no different from pure white pearl rice. But upon closer observation, one could see a faint golden glow wafting within the grains!

While growing on the plant, it shimmered with colorful light.

Now, as grains in a bowl, they carried an inner glow of Buddha light.

The so-called ’Paradise’ must be named after this subtle, divine golden light, thought Xia Yu.

"[Eyes of Analysis]!"

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he continued to focus with his left eye. Following a slight prickly sensation, the inner view of the rice unfolded before Xia Yu’s eyes, but he was taken aback; the view was very blurry, scrambled by spheres of light.

He could only silently lament the pity. Xia Yu temporarily gave up trying to dissect further and took a cluster of rice with his chopsticks, bringing it to his mouth.

Hmm!

His Adam’s apple bobbed, his eyeballs involuntarily bulged, dilating.

The taste was indescribable.

As he chewed, Xia Yu’s expression became as divine and pure as that of a high monk.

"I’ve been to the pure land of Paradise!"

After a long silence, a shout broke the quiet in the assembly hall.

Nakajima Sei had grains of rice lingering on his lips, yet he was oblivious, lost in his unconscious shouting.

Viewers in front of their televisions were taken aback.

"Is it really that exaggerated?"

Alice murmured.

Tiqie Xianzuowen chuckled, "Eating a grain of ’Jile Rice’ indeed feels like ascending to the pure land of Paradise; the deliciousness is indescribable! The value of one grain of rice is immeasurable!"

Beside him, Eriina caught the implications of his words.

If a single grain of rice could have such a terrifying effect, then how would a chef use more rice to integrate it into a dish, creating their own cuisine?

Framework!

Control!

These two words flashed through Eriina’s mind in an instant.

’Jile Rice’ is rice, not some obscure and rare ingredient, but could the experience and routines previously used for cooking ordinary rice truly be adapted to this completely new fantasy rice?

Imagining herself as one of the contestants in this summer’s assessment, Eriina suddenly felt at a loss.

The third segment needed no introduction; it was time to assign rooms!

Since it was about isolation and real-time surveillance, all the rooms were more or less the same. Xia Yu was assigned to Room 1.

The environment was, of course, refined and elegant.

First was the kitchen. Xia Yu’s first task upon entering was to familiarize himself with his battlefield, his stage. There was basically no need to look at the bedroom. From 3 p.m. that day to the same time the next, the six assessors would likely not sleep. At most, they might take a brief rest by dozing off on a kitchen table if they grew weary.

The professional kitchen spanned over a hundred square meters, spacious and bright, with three cooking counters and all kinds of neatly stacked kitchen utensils.

Ovens, freezers, microwaves.

And so on.

Whether commonly used or obscure, the kitchen was fully equipped with every imaginable amenity.

"Good!"

Xia Yu expressed his satisfaction with the kitchen setup in just one word.

Of course, high-definition cameras were installed in every corner of the kitchen, allowing the outside world to follow the movements of the six examinees through live feeds.

At that moment, the voice of Shinohara Shigeto came over the kitchen’s loudspeaker:

"The limited 20 kilograms of ’Jile Rice’ will soon be delivered to the kitchen by our staff."

"In addition, if you have any special requests, please use the external intercom. Our staff is at your service 24 hours a day to fulfill any of your needs."

Thoughtful!

After nodding to himself and walking through the kitchen to memorize the locations of the freezers, ovens, and various tools, like the plates, Xia Yu laid down his carry-on bag without any hint of anxiety.

Every chef had brought a carry-on, which had been thoroughly searched.

In the bag, of course, were knives, which chefs regarded as precious as life itself!

"Sui Yu Knife, Breaking Army Saber, Wenqu Saber..."

If there had been a counterfeit Tanlang Knife of Purple Quality, Xia Yu would definitely have brought this large cleaver, regardless of anything else.

Three Purple Quality knives were neatly arranged on the empty knife rack.

Beep!

After that, Xia Yu turned to locate the communications pager and lightly pressed a button. Picking up the handset that resembled a landline phone, he heard a respectful female voice on the other end:

"Chef Xia, what do you need?"

"I need a large stove, and the very finest charcoal," he said.

"Could you please be more specific?"

The female staff member asked nervously, "A stove; do you mean a charcoal one? What specific size? And how much charcoal do you need?"

"Size?" Xia Yu visualized for a moment, then unsurely added, "I might need a charcoal stove capable of supporting a large water tank..."

There was a brief silence on the other side before she hurriedly acknowledged the request and ended the communication.

A charcoal stove?

His activities in the kitchen were clearly captured from multiple angles by the sound-enabled cameras and transmitted to the screens in the hall.

At this time, the other examiners had just entered their respective enclosed rooms and were getting acquainted with the environment. No one expected the youngest examiner to make such a definitive request to the IGO organization so soon.

There was a buzz of conversation in the hall.

The audience, who hadn’t left their TV sets, was equally surprised.

"Whoa!"

In the venue, Chiyoda Aichi exclaimed, "Has the youngest examiner already come up with a plan for his recipe structure?"

"Minister Shinohara, what’s your take on this?"

She immediately stretched the microphone towards Shinohara Shigeto, who had not yet left the stage.

Shinohara Shigeto regained his composure and spoke assuredly, "It’s too early to say; nothing is set in stone yet."

"A single grain of ’Jile Rice’ contains an entire paradise. The first step for a chef who wants to use ’Jile Rice’ to create their dish is to tame it!"

"Tame it first, then talk about how to use it!"

He looked intently into the camera and stated deeply.

Tame it?

Tiqie Eriina bit her lip, watching the relaxed young chef with his hands clasped behind his back stroll through the kitchen on the TV screen.

"Go for it!" she said to herself.

"Instructor Xia, go for it!"

Alice simply shouted her encouragement in the comfortably seated in her home’s living room.

The Far Moon Commander watched his granddaughters with a smile, when suddenly, the black phone on the tea table vibrated. The screen lit up with an incoming international call starting with the country code 0086, sending a shiver through him.

He snatched up the cell phone and strode away.

Neither Eriina nor Alice, who were intently watching the television screen, even noticed Tiqie Xianzuowen leave.