Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 640 - 639: Nijo Market (Part 1)

Chapter 640: Chapter 639: Nijo Market (Part 1)

"Pseudo-knowledge of the Yin Yang Five Elements was completely unnecessary for Xia Yu; he could pretend to be a mystic and bluff his way through conversations, guaranteed to dizzy plenty of chefs from the Chinese Realm."

"Reaching his level, it was hands-on experience that mattered, not idle boasting."

"Unfortunately, Yan Mo and Eriina clearly had their reservations."

"It was only natural, after all."

"Why would they reveal the notes and memos left by a former big boss of the Dark World to an outsider? Xia Yu was here on a mere detour, trying his luck; best to have some gains, but no regrets if there were none—with a stable mindset."

"Let’s go—"

He spoke to the driver, whom Dojima Yin had transferred from a holiday resort in Hokkaido, Far Moon Kingdom; reportedly a retired mercenary, trustworthy.

"Chairman Xia, where to next?"

The driver pulled away from the lodging manor of Bamenlou.

Xia Yu glanced at Tiqie Helinai, sitting next to him. "Didn’t you say you wanted to take me to the market?"

"Hmm..."

The girl who accompanied him, with a stern face, explained methodically, "The ingredients provided by IGO food stores can only ensure a quality above average and a high rate of premium goods. These are fine for everyday operations of high-end restaurants, but not quite sufficient for competitions!"

The ingredients for competitions were indeed different from daily foods.

Take "Gold and Jade"; even if Xia Yu was the creator of the recipe and had a stable channel for exchanging Forbidden Ingredients, he wouldn’t dare to cook a bowl for himself every day—it was too extravagant.

"Let’s head to Nijo Market!" Eriina then instructed the driver.

Upon hearing these words, the driver’s face reflected in the rearview mirror showed a hint of surprise.

Nijo Market, according to legend, started in the Japan Meiji Era and had grown into a massive, comprehensive market combining fish markets, pubs, and fruit shops; it wasn’t only well-known but had also become a popular travel destination, attracting many foreign tourists to sample the authentic seafood offered by unique small stores.

Speaking of the fish market, one couldn’t overlook the geographical conditions of Hokkaido.

The Hokkaido fishing grounds were the world’s largest, a fact true in another timeline on Earth, and certainly true on the Earth where Xia Yu currently resided—after all, the contours of land and ocean hadn’t changed, and with the cold and warm currents meeting at Hokkaido, they naturally formed an environment rich in fisheries resources.

"Hey, are you done? Hurry up, we are going to be late!"

Around nine in the morning at a corner of Nijo Market, Eriina tapped her foot impatiently and asked the boy with his back to her.

"Okay!"

Xia Yu turned around with a grin, his appearance altered; wearing a cap and big sunglasses that covered half of his face, his hands shoved in the pockets of his jacket, he blended with the crowd on the market street, definitely not standing out.

Eriina wore a knitted hat, her conspicuous golden curly hair cascaded over her shoulders, her upper body was in a snug down jacket while her legs were covered in a short skirt and wool leggings. A scarf wrapped around her neck slightly concealed her lower face; she twirled it intentionally to hide half of her face, making it difficult for passersby to recognize the young lady.

Checking out the attire of the streetgoers, then examining himself and the young lady, Xia Yu finally realized that Hokkaido was already in winter, not the autumn of September—he ought to add another layer of clothing.

"Ready? Then follow me!"

With her impatience dissipated, Eriina paced and spoke with a slight chirpiness in her step, clearly in a good mood.

Xia Yu walked shoulder-to-shoulder with her through the bustling market.

All along the way, seafood stalls were virtually everywhere, their shelves abundantly stocked and laid atop ice which emitted a chilling mist—all kinds of seafood you could name, from shrimp and crabs to squid, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers were readily available, some large sea creatures, such as the gigantic Emperor Crabs with their ferocious appearance, prominently displayed on crushed ice, drawing eyes.

Oh.

At a small roadside diner where people were queuing, Xia Yu stopped to check out their colorful poster displayed at the entrance:

"Crabmeat on Rice, 1480 yen."

"Three-color Seafood on Rice, 1880 yen."

"Seafood Sashimi Boat, 2550 yen."

The prices seemed quite reasonable!

Having casually glanced at three dishes, Xia Yu felt his stomach rumble, but as his eyes moved past the poster into the store, seeing customers filling up the bar and tables, he instantly dismissed the thought of trying them out.

"Stop dawdling!"

At that moment, Eriina scolded lowly, tugging his arm and urging, "The fish market auction has started—if we’re late, all the good stuff will be gone!"

The two made their way through the market to a relatively quiet warehouse.

From afar, the chatter and squabble erupted from a certain warehouse, but this area was enclosed by a fence, isolated separately, with several guards standing guard at the door with their hands behind their backs.

"Where is your special badge?" Eriina placed a card on a device that looked like an identity checker, beeped, and just like passing through a subway ticket gate, she squeezed through and asked on the other side.

"Identity verification?"

When the young girl had knocked on his door that morning, she had repeatedly reminded him. Xia Yu took out a small badge from his pocket, passed the check, and entered warehouse number one with the girl.

Upon entering, Xia Yu roughly understood the situation.

About a hundred people gathered around a small podium, where an auction worker was loudly calling out:

"Fresh Arctic shrimp from Qingchi, number 33, ashore for no more than three hours, a total of 5 kilograms, starting bid fifty thousand yen..."

"Fifty-one thousand!"

"Fifty-two thousand!"

Someone immediately raised a placard and shouted a bid.

Xia Yu located the seafood being auctioned, which was precisely a box of Arctic shrimp. Nearby, several middle-aged men dressed like chefs were also pointing and discussing this box of seafood.

"Hmm, the shells are bright red, transparent, and plump, indeed top-grade Arctic shrimp, enough to handle the competition at the gastronomy festival!" he murmured. After finishing, the chef turned around to join the bidding.

Eriina leaned close to him, her breath wafting over as she whispered softly, "’Qingchi’ is the fishing code; this might refer to a fisherman, or a ship, or a fishing company. Regardless, the seafood materials auctioned here are certainly the best of their kind, and the prices are generally very high!"

Xia Yu nodded.

He was aware of the prices of ’Arctic shrimp.’ Ordinary Arctic shrimp in Japanese seafood supermarkets cost about 500 yen per kilogram, approximately 30 RMB. However, these Arctic shrimp were small, with incomplete antennae and had been transported frozen for a long time, marking them as the lowest quality.

But in the Nijo Auction Market, Xia Yu glanced over the box of Arctic shrimp, totalling 5 kilograms, yet there were only about 80-90 shrimp in total, about eight or nine shrimp per kilogram, which implied the tremendous size of each shrimp.

Beep.

His gaze locked for a few seconds, triggering his long-unused visual talent— "Analyzing Eye."

"Collecting information."

"[Top-grade Arctic Shrimp] (Blue), average weight 59 grams, caught from Hokkaido fisheries, ashore time no more than 3 hours, high freshness, belongs to the highest quality of its kind, can cook higher quality seafood dishes."

Such Arctic shrimp, ten thousand yen per kilogram, even Xia Yu felt the urge stirring within him.

The chef’s pursuit of high-quality ingredients was like bounty hunters chasing treasure, and the heated atmosphere of the fish market auction proved this point.

"Look—"

Eriina suddenly shook his arm.

Following her pointing, Xia Yu saw a row of crab boxes waiting to be auctioned off. Each box, placed separately, contained a single red crab, its claws bound by rubber bands.

"Wow, that’s big!"

"Emperor Crab?"

But upon a closer look, Xia Yu widened his eyes: "No, these are hairy crabs, but damn, are hairy crabs this huge?"

He hadn’t yet reacted when he was dragged away excitedly by the girl. The two of them moved quickly, squeezing into the innermost layer to observe up close. Within two or three seconds, the area was surrounded by a crowd.

The auction worker who came by trailer declared with varying emphasis:

"Top-grade Hokkaido Hairy Crab, each one weighs 2 kilograms, each starting bid fifty thousand yen! An essential ingredient for cooking top-tier seafood delicacies, not to be missed!"

Xia Yu’s eyes sparkled.

The famous Hokkaido Hairy Crab!

This was the third among Hokkaido’s three famous crabs, after the Matsutake Crab and Emperor Crab.

Hokkaido Hairy Crabs cannot be artificially bred, and a 500-gram hairy crab in a pristine, unpolluted environment takes ten years to grow to such a size.

Thus, a 2-kilogram Hairy Crab utterly refreshed Xia Yu’s understanding of such seafood materials.

These ordinary seafood materials must have been affected by invasions, causing mutations, right?

Nevertheless, Xia Yu’s heart was thrilled.

Producing the "Four Divine Seafood Eight Treasure Soul Suppressing Dumplings" with a completion rate of 80% required, apart from the profound mystery of Yin Yang Five Elements and Yin Yang adjustment secrets, seafood materials as a critical factor.