Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 622 - 621: Lack

Chapter 622: Chapter 621: Lack

The camera locked onto the scene, the judges looked at her, and a group of Lin Giants also watched her from the side and behind.

Zhu Qing was calm and composed.

To some degree, Zhu Qing was very similar to Xia Yu—of course, this referred to the big-hearted performance on stage. When she heard Nuliang asking, she chuckled lightly without any signs of stage fright, and said, "Actually, it’s not complicated. For the ’Rainbow Wine,’ I contributed a part of its culinary meaning, and my little partner contributed another part."

Little partner?

This time, everyone’s gaze swiftly turned toward cooking station number 8.

"Culinary meaning!"

Li Han, Tang Yuqiong, Wu Yingying, and others gathered around, also looking at Xia Yu in surprise.

"My culinary meaning is ’transformation’ indeed, but transformation is elusive; you have to find the right point to exert force. The ’Rainbow Fruit’ was provided by my partner, and the inspiration to master the seven stages of flavors corresponding to the changes of the seasons also came from him," Zhu Qing said with a smile like a fox.

"Is that so?"

Nuliang turned her attention to the competition area.

Thus, the old and the young locked eyes across the emptiness.

This was a Lin-level battlefield, and Xia Yu was unsatisfied with Zhu Qing’s scheme that incidentally involved him. He had gained enough fame in the first stage and now what he needed was to accumulate and settle, not to seek more fame and fortune. Otherwise, a sudden rise would mean he’d have to face many giants. Currently, he lacked the boldness to shake the giants, both in terms of culinary skill and power.

"Well, actually, I also have to thank Main General Liangzi for providing the base wine," Xia Yu said briskly, shedding the burden with practiced ease.

"Ah..."

The camera shifted again, to the female lead commander.

On the stage, at cooking station number 20, she was discussing something quietly with Indira; upon hearing the mention, she looked up in astonishment.

"What does this have to do with Liangzi? Base wine?"

Kogawa Shinyiro picked up the topic.

"Ahem, in fact, the mixing base wine for the ’Rainbow Wine’ is the sake that Main General Liangzi gifted me a few days ago. Its quality far exceeds any top-tier daiginjo I’ve tasted, so I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Main General Liangzi!" Xia Yu said earnestly.

She hadn’t mentioned it yet, but once he did, Liangzi Lina seemed perplexed, her exquisite brows slightly furrowed.

"The inspiration to master the ’Rainbow Fruit’ also came from her sake," Xia Yu added.

His words were sincere, not at all feigned.

When the entire audience focused on her, even the host handed her the microphone, Liangzi Lina could only say helplessly, "My sake isn’t that magical. The change in the taste of the wine depends on the temperature as a prerequisite, and various techniques are needed, such as warming the sake or chilling it in ice water, to increase or decrease the temperature, instead of drinking it and letting it naturally produce different stages of flavor within the body..."

With her saying this, even the most clueless among the audience began to realize.

Yes.

Drinking sake warm or chilled, the taste and texture are indeed different.

But at this moment, the ’Rainbow Wine’ blended by Zhu Qing and Xia Yu did not need any preconditions, and it naturally changed, giving people a culinary impression of the changing seasons and the passage of time.

This was abnormal.

In the end, the audience still didn’t understand what contribution Xia Yu had made to the culinary meaning of the ’Rainbow Wine.’

But the judges scored the ’cooperation’ segment of the special chef round at 50 points, which meant Xia Yu got the other half of Zhu Qing’s full score, not a point more.

"20 points, 20 points, 20 points, 20 points...19 points!"

Chiyoda Aichi stared at the scoring board on the screen, reading the scores in one breath, her eyes written with shock. She had thought the ’20’ would continue until the end for each judge’s full score, but the last big ’19’ made her choke.

"99 points? 1 point away from perfect, such a pity!"

"Why not 20 points!"

The crowd looked towards the final judge, who was always hidden under a black cloak.

"To me, within perfection, there remains a slight regrettable flaw," the female judge had only this to say.

Zhu Qing spread her hands helplessly, "Blame me, huh!"

Below the stage, Xia Yu was also secretly wiping sweat.

Like the rowdy audience said, just 1 point away from perfection, he didn’t know whether to be happy or annoyed.

points!

Lei Zhe glared, "Why?!"

His "Dragon God Wine," with its score of 92 points, was above the excellent threshold, but there was still a significant gap to perfection.

Zhu Qing glanced at him sideways, not bothering to engage, and the judges treated him as if he were air.

"So, next..."

The judges looked at the dish Lan Chuhai had placed in front of them, a large plate of drunken shrimp.

"Petals?" The Nuliang elder picked up his chopsticks, ready to grasp a crystal-clear, alcohol-soaked river shrimp, only to discover some unique, finely chopped ingredients underneath the dish.

He picked up a petal with his chopsticks, sniffed it, and his eyes revealed surprise: "Plum blossoms!"

"Plum!"

Lan Chuhai explained softly, "The fruit of the plum tree can be made into jam, juice, and is also used for soaking to make plum wine. But plum blossoms can be used similarly, containing the same citric acid and malic acid found in plums... they can make plum blossom wine, plum blossom sauce. This jar of plum blossom wine was made from the blossoms I collected last April, using whole petals, washing them, draining them, and soaking them in homemade 30-degree liquor!"

Flower wine!

Hearing this, the judges realized, and Zhu Qing applauded and laughed beside them, "No wonder! I couldn’t even detect the plum blossom wine used in these drunken shrimp earlier!"

Xia Yu at the scene felt a novelty.

There are too many types of wines; fruit wines are countless, and flower wines are similar, with plum blossom wine being one of them.

"Just wine, no vinegar, no garlic, and certainly no chili, the only seasoning used was wine. Don’t you think the dish is too plain this way?" Zhu Qing asked, puzzled, with the corners of his mouth turning up slightly, "Moreover, as far as I know, plum blossom wine is very aromatic, which would destroy the freshness of the drunken shrimp and completely ruin the dish..."

"The fragrance of plum blossom wine is indeed rich, but you see..."

Lan Chuhai gave a light laugh and stopped speaking.

One by one, the judges reached for the shrimps. As the transparent shrimps were picked up, some of the liquor would drip from their bodies, and flecks of petal crumbs would splash back onto the plate with the droplets, blurring the sight for a moment, as if one could faintly envision the shrimp swimming carefree in a stream filled with floating plum petals.

"Hmm?"

Xia Yu’s pupils constricted.

"A familiar sensation!" he thought to himself, "The shrimp... comes back to life!"

Meanwhile, in front of Xia’s Main Store’s TV, Yuchuan Meisha covered her mouth and said, "Sister Ayaka, does she also have ’Super Hearing’? Why does it seem like the shrimp has come back to life!"

Yuchuan Ayaka replied, "That’s not ’Super Hearing’; it’s the Lin Chef’s mastery and control over the ingredients!"

"It’s quite normal for a Lin Chef with the Kingly Way of Gastronomy ethos to establish communication with ingredients!"

As the two talked, on the screen, the judges had already savored the shrimp.

"So cold—"

The redhead judge shuddered, "This plum blossom wine, it’s chilled!"

"Ugh!"

Before he finished speaking, he clenched his teeth tightly, his pupils dilated. The shrimp he’d just swallowed seemed to be wriggling around inside him. His entire tongue, invigorated by the shrimp’s continuous permeation of cold, went through throbs and spasms.

"Of course!" said the Nuliang elder, struggling to speak with the shrimp in his mouth, "The plum blossom wine has been slightly diluted with ice cubes, making the alcohol smoother, more refreshing, and the excessive fragrance is covered up!"

"Not only that!"

The third judge, a monk in a conical hat, suddenly jolted, being pulled into a food fantasy.

No wind nor rain.

In a valley, a hidden paradise, the monk found his staff transform into a fishing rod, and the long silken fishing line cast into an ancient, secluded pond. Suddenly, small ripples graced the pond’s surface, and the monk instinctively lifted the rod, only to hook a fresh river shrimp.

The shrimp was placed in a small bamboo basket. After catching about half a pound, the monk sang as he returned to his secluded thatched hut. He fetched a jar of this year’s newly-brewed plum blossom wine, cleaned the sand and dirt from the shrimp after removing their heads and tails, and placed them in a bowl filled with plum blossom wine before covering it. When the shrimp ceased movement, resting peacefully, several guests knocked on the wooden gate of the hut.

Back to reality.

The five judges chewed on the river shrimp, their facial movements suddenly softened, becoming gentler, and an indistinct air of detachment enveloped them.

After a moment, the Nuliang elder in the center was the first to open his clear eyes.

"Incredible!"

He said, lowly.