Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 638 - 637: 80% Completion of Effort (Part 1)

Chapter 638: Chapter 637: 80% Completion of Effort (Part 1)

Summoning!

Ferrying!

Xia Yu, Zhu Qing, and Saito Chiyokuro left the backstage together, ready to take a car from the underground garage and leave.

"Hey!"

While opening the door, a voice from behind called out to him. Xia Yu turned around and saw that it was the Li Family’s young master, Li Han. He waved friendly, "Yo, Little Lizi, you looking for me?"

Little Lizi was a term of endearment for Li Han that Xia Yu found on his personal social media platform. It just slipped out naturally.

Li Han’s forehead creased with annoyance: "I hate that nickname!"

"But now is not the time to be fussing over nicknames—" he suddenly leaned in, examining Xia Yu’s face closely and staring into his dark, bright eyes with suspicion, "I see a kind of state on you... no, it should be called an aura..."

Xia Yu took a step back, closer to the car door, "Speak normally!"

"Really!"

"This kind of aura, it’s called ’confidence in one’s own ability’!"

Li Han stared at him, pausing between each word, and seeing that Xia Yu’s face remained unchanged, he knew he couldn’t bluff anything out of him. With a nonchalant demeanor, as if nothing had happened, he put his hands in his pockets, turned his back to Xia Yu, and waved coolly:

"I’ll repeat what Aqiong said backstage."

"I don’t want to lose to you for a second time!"

Xia Yu chuckled.

Li Han, Yuqiong, each of them had made a provoking statement to his face. As the once-victorious winner who had defeated them, he undoubtedly held the psychological edge. He shrugged and said, "I welcome your challenges."

"But this time, you might lose even more badly."

There’s no need for harsh words, keep it classy.

During the return journey, as Zhu Qing and Saito Chiyokuro saw his calm demeanor, they looked at him strangely.

The competition ended at 3 p.m., but by the time they returned to the villa, it was already evening. Xia Yu got out of the car, pushed open the hall door, and was about to head straight up the stairs when he abruptly stopped.

"Huh!"

There was an unidentified suitcase at the stair entrance, leaning against the wall.

Xia Yu went down, but ran headfirst into a girl who was rushing out of the side hall. The girl held her cleanly struck forehead with an ’ah’ and took two steps back. Upon recognizing who it was, the indignation on her face was swept away, and the shift from dark to sunny was breathtaking.

"Eriina, how did you come from Tokyo? Just arrived?" Xia Yu’s eyes also widened.

Seeing the surprise on the young teacher’s face, Tiqie Eriina stood firm, primped her hair, and said with dignity, "Just arrived, Grandpa asked me to come over..."

Then, her phone rang. Eriina took the call and handed the phone to Xia Yu.

Over the phone, Tiqie Xianzuowen made it very clear.

"Want me to look after Eriina?"

Xia Yu was astonished, "Expose her to the existence of the mysterious side?"

Following that, he looked troubled, wondering where to find those nomadic spirits and ghosts.

Putting that issue aside for now, Xia Yu beckoned to the unexpectedly arrived ’Divine Tongue’: "Eriina, your timing is perfect. Help me taste-test some new dishes first and see where they might have flaws."

New dishes?

The girl’s eyes lit up at the mention, "Are these for the competition?"

Xia Yu just smiled and did not reply.

He led her to the second-floor kitchen. Upon entering, he locked the door with a code to prevent disturbances. There were plenty of ingredients leftover from practice over the past few days, and Xia Yu had Eriina help him tidy the kitchen.

As he washed the sand pot, Xia Yu’s heart was eager. He conversed with the system again and opened the task bar.

Ignoring the task of purifying the Jade Dragon Pot.

The new task for this competition, hanging high above, read:

"[The Bai Luo Family’s Supreme Secret]."

"Instruction: Please use the ’Four Divine Seafood Eight Treasure Soul Suppressing Dumplings’ recipe during the Sapporo competition’s final showdown and successfully cook a dish with no less than 80% completion."

"Reward: 10 Talent Points, unlock the Taboo Spice ’Merck’s Stars’."

He read it once and a passionate flame flickered in his eyes again.

He didn’t even mention the Talent Points that were currently scarce and that he was saving to sprint towards the Qilin level, the unlocking of the Taboo Spice "Merck’s Stars" alone was worth him risking his life for.

"Merck’s Stars" had been used by Ghost Father Tiqie Ji, but he didn’t master it perfectly. Xia Yu felt that with sufficient materials, he could try using the "Spice Inequality" to control this Taboo Spice and could definitely add another lethal recipe to his arsenal.

He washed the pot and arranged eight clay pots on the stove. Tiqie Eriina stepped aside without distracting him as he busied himself.

"Sea cucumber, abalone, shark fin, scallop, crab, shrimp roe, squid, flounder."

"A total of 8 kinds of premium seafood ingredients."

Xia Yu muttered as he started by processing the sea cucumber.

Swish!

His knife swung, casting a bright silver light, and the dark sea cucumber on the chopping block was split open, its innards and sand removed.

This was the first ingredient. Once done, he threw it into the clay pot, poured in clear water, and with a click, he ignited the fire.

Next came the cleaning of the abalone. The fresh abalone had already been soaked. Still using a small knife, he pried the shell, extracted the abalone flesh, and meticulously cut away the unnecessary internal tissues.

The Golden Recipe called for meticulous preparation of ingredients. Xia Yu, after all, had his share of experience. Even in practice, he poured his full attention into it.

The 8 kinds of seafood ingredients were cumbersome to deal with and demanded time.

Eriina watched for a while, then pulled up a chair and sat down. She didn’t feel bored; her eyes followed the earnest young chef moving around and gradually became entranced. Memories of the Flame World from that bowl of fried rice surfaced in her mind.

She walked on a bridge, appreciating the magnificent fantasy world. A grand palace gradually unveiled itself before her eyes as if waiting for its queen.

Roughly two hours later.

"It’s ready!"

A voice awakened Eriina.

Huh?

Just waking up, her cute little nose couldn’t help but inhale sharply as her eyes widened at the sight of a basket of buns that had appeared on the table.

Yes, a basket.

Steaming hot buns sat in a green bamboo basket, not the common white ceramic plates used in kitchens.

The buns came in four colors: white, black, red, and green.

In the recipe for the "Four Divine Seafood Eight Treasure Soul Suppressing Dumplings," the four colors represented the four Divine Beasts: White Tiger, Xuanwu, Vermilion Bird, and Azure Dragon. Therefore, these four buns were the White Tiger Bun, Xuanwu Bun, Vermilion Bird Bun, and Azure Dragon Bun.

The appearance of the buns was ordinary, with no extra adornments, only ancient characters on the skin, forming the names of the four Divine Beasts...

At least, this appearance did not meet Eriina’s past aesthetic standards for refinement. However, the aroma wafting from the buns completely captured her attention. At this moment, aesthetics and beauty were nothing compared to the allure of the scent.

"Four colors, four flavors..."

"Sour, sweet, bitter, spicy?"

The girl’s mouth watered, she swallowed, and hunger rushed to her head, driving her to disregard everything else. Without a closer look, she first grabbed a white White Tiger Bun and bit off a large chunk, puff!

The sponge-like soft bun skin burst open, releasing a rich broth and seafood filling that mixed with the skin, dancing on the tip of her tongue.

"Hoo—"

She exhaled breathlessly, her face flushed with perspiration, and her exhalation was full of spiciness.

She had flown to Sapporo just that afternoon, and the journey had been hasty. She was still wearing Far Moon’s autumn and winter long-sleeved uniform, and now her body was hot all over, sweating from everywhere as if she were in a sauna. Subconsciously unbuttoning her clothes, she draped her Western-style jacket over her shoulders, and the red checkered bow at the collar was also taken off and carelessly tossed onto the table. She continued unbuttoning her inner shirt...

"Spicy?"

Another voice made her nod as she ate, immersed in the experience, "Spicy!"

Hearing that, Xia Yu frowned slightly, not quite satisfied.

"Too stimulating?" He grasped a red Vermilion Bird Bun and took away the half-eaten White Tiger Bun from the girl’s hand, "Then taste this one!"

He calmly stuffed the Vermilion Bird Bun into Eriina’s slightly open mouth.

"Umph!"

Her mouth instantly bulged, and before even biting, the bitter taste that hit her mouth made the girl’s pretty face scrunch up, "No, no more!"

"Really?"

"...Well, I’ll take a bite, ah, don’t move, just one bite, really!"