Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 464 - 463: Unexpected Lin Chef (Part 1)

Chapter 464: Chapter 463: Unexpected Lin Chef (Part 1)

The pot of thick soup was eventually shared by everyone.

Aoki Motota half-unwrapped his monk’s robe and sat nearby, with Yuchuan Meisha bringing him a standing fan. The cool breeze continuously blew out, leaving the sweaty monk visibly refreshed.

"Delicious, but too overpowering," he murmured, glancing at the soup pot on the shelf with a lingering trace of fear, obviously finding Xia Yu’s culinary illusions far more terrifying than Sekiya Takashi’s version.

There were indeed roaring sounds.

Hum, hum.

The sounds from the deep sea still faintly echoed in his ears.

Among the three, Liangzi Lina acted most normally, her only sign of discomfort being sweaty cheeks.

"Cough!"

Wiping his sweat and putting away his handkerchief, Shinohara Shigetaro composed himself.

Eriina and the Yuchuan sisters automatically dispersed, as it was time for serious discussion, with Yuchuan Meisha closing the door as she left.

"You’ve heard about the Sapporo Legendary Culinary Tools Competition, haven’t you?" he started with a question.

Xia Yu nodded.

"Then, have you accepted the invitation from Far Moon?" Shinohara Shigetaro asked with a hint of urgency.

"I’m still considering it," Xia Yu said diplomatically.

Shinohara Shigetaro sighed in relief, paused for a few seconds to gather his words, then slowly said, "That legendary culinary tool was found in Neon itself. In principle, we at the IGO Neon Department follow the headquarters’ directive, and the headquarters has decided that this time, the IGO competition delegation will be sent by the Neon Department alone, without dispatching a second team from headquarters..."

"What do you mean?" Xia Yu frowned slightly.

"IGO is the official organization for this international competition, and our Neon Department is actually representing the local food scene in the contest..."

"I think I understand what you mean."

Xia Yu massaged his temples, "Minister Shinohara, I’m very sorry, but I might not be able to join the IGO Neon Department in this competition. After all, you are an official organization, and..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over, then shook his head with a smile, "Your Neon Department must be carrying out a mission for the government, right?"

Shinohara Shigetaro, upon hearing this, was momentarily startled.

In principle, Xia Yu could still accept participating as a Far Moon instructor, but joining a team with the backing of the Neon Government was something he could not convince himself to do.

The old man had given him a master’s role.

Far Moon was just a facade of the Xia Family; the reason he said he was considering was to see which great master would arrive in Tokyo from Lin Chef in three days.

The old man had kept too many things from him, and Xia Yu was also troubled.

"Sorry!"

Standing at the entrance of the restaurant, Xia Yu bowed slightly, watching Shinohara Shigetaro lead his team away, and smiled inwardly with anticipation, thinking, "I guess when we meet again in Sapporo, they’ll be the opponents."

IGO Neon Department, Far Moon.

The two known major forces of the Neon Food World competing, what about Shi Lin Temple, and the Four Noble Families?

Getting into the car, Shinohara Shigetaro looked through the window at the He Feng Building, now bearing the sign "Xia’s Chinese Restaurant," and sighed, "It was just a trial, not unexpected to be rejected."

"Minister, you are participating personally this time, along with me and Liangzi, that makes three main players. We don’t need to be too picky about the remaining two; with the three of us maintaining an undefeated streak, we’ll fear no match!" Aoki Motota touched his bald head, his confidence evident on his face.

"On our end, Lin Chef Qiushan Hong will be participating, right?"

Liangzi Lina suddenly said.

Shinohara Shigetaro nodded, "Just Qiushan Hong, and it seems Lady Indira has also decided to participate. Thus, our IGO Neon team will have two Lin Chefs. If we can secure two of the top three positions, even if we suffer a crushing defeat in the premium stage, we can still maintain strong competitiveness for the legendary culinary tool..."

"The final hunting stage."

With that, Shinohara Shigetaro smiled.

"Hunting area covers the entire Hokkaido, and when it comes to understanding Hokkaido, we local chefs definitely have an absolute advantage. As long as we rank at the top in the first two rounds, the third round of hunting will be unbeatable!"

"How about we pick the remaining two special chefs from Shi Lin Temple?" Aoki Motota propped his chin.

Reiko and Shinohara exchanged glances.

"I would be delighted!"

It seemed that Shi Lin Temple was not planning to compete.

...

Sapporo wasn’t a place one could simply decide to visit.

Though his heart had flown to Hokkaido, Xia Yu had to stay calm and handle many follow-up matters.

The restaurant could be temporarily managed by the Yuchuan Sisters, and renting out the shopping street wasn’t something that could be done in a hurry—it would have to wait until Xia Yu returned from Hokkaido to oversee it personally. He had fought for the shopping street initially because he wanted to preserve this area, which carried memories and cultural charm, as much as possible. Therefore, setting low rents randomly was definitely not an option—he had to personally vet every tenant.

That day, after seeing off three IGO members, he didn’t expect that in broad daylight, the restaurant would continue to receive several batches of distinguished guests.

Three of the four prestigious families, the Dubian family, Hasegawa family, and Chiyoda family, came together, deciding to form a joint competition team, selecting the most elite special chefs to participate. They issued Xia Yu an invitation, which, unsurprisingly, he declined.

As evening approached, Mr. Yuchuan from the Yuchuan family arrived.

Xia Yu and he talked for a long time in a private room.

"Chef Xia, are you sure? Our Yuchuan family has already contacted and signed a cooperation agreement with an individual Lin Chef who will represent our family in the competition. If you and Ayaka join the team, then our Yuchuan representative team will have two top-tier special chefs mastering ’fatal’ recipes!"

"Join our team!"

Mr. Yuchuan pleaded once again.

"Mr. Yuchuan, your prestigious families shouldn’t really need any legendary culinary tools, right?" Xia Yu was puzzled.

"An international competition like this one, the prize matters less. However, if the Yuchuan team successfully wins, obtaining the legendary culinary tool will allow us to establish exchanges with multiple organizations..."

Xia Yu understood the implied meaning in his words—it was nothing more than stealing the culinary tools and then raising their price.

After all, legendary culinary tools were national treasures of the Hua Country.

Batch after batch of distinguished guests only strengthened Xia Yu’s resolve to obtain the legendary culinary tools.

Although he temporarily didn’t understand what help the ’Jade Dragon Pot’ could provide to the Xia family.

But... seize it!

...

Three days later.

Autumn Selection’s quarterfinals concluded today.

The final four winners were Tanaka Hikari, Yashan Liang, Morioka Makoto, and Xingping Chuangzhen.

Xia Yu personally judged the subsequent two matches, where Tanaka Hikari against Heimuzhang Liang and Yashan Liang against Niho Fuyuka were both very exciting.

Heimuzhang Liang was unjustly defeated, facing Tanaka Hikari who was about to hatch her culinary heart, and was easily beaten.

As for Niho Fuyuka, although she interned at Xia’s shop and exchanged many ideas about medicinal cuisine with Xia Yu, she ultimately failed to grasp her own culinary heart. Facing ’Servant of Spices’, ’Incarnation of Spices’ Yashan Liang, she was likewise defeated.

It seems Niho Fuyuka was the only one among the quarter-finalists without her own culinary heart.

After this defeat, Niho Fuyuka needed to look back at her past path and cast her sights on the future. Xia Yu had a long conversation with her after the battle—this young woman’s devotion to serving Eriina was showing signs of transformation.

Airport.

Xia Yu stood at the exit holding a sign that bore a single Chinese character in regular script—

Xia.

After a while, someone silently patted his shoulder from behind.

He turned around, eyes wide in astonishment.