Chapter 599: Chapter 598: The Nine Dishes for the Banquet (Part 1)

Xia Yu looked at this familiar group of graduates with fondness, as he was now a part of the Far Moon Kingdom himself.

“Kobayakawa, take them to the third floor.”

However, the graduates didn’t move.

The hot-tempered Kazasaki Tatsuki blurted out, “Instructor Xia, I would like to rent a storefront in your shopping street to open a restaurant.”

“That’s no problem at all!” Xia Yu cheerfully said.

“We also want to…”

Seeing this, each graduate started speaking up.

“As for the shopping street’s operation, I plan to hand it over to someone else, we can talk about it later, let’s dine first!” Xia Yu said with a smile.

No sooner had the graduates gone up the stairs, another batch of guests arrived.

Click!

The door opened, revealing a group of students from Polar Star Dorm, who also gathered around the outdoor cooking station chattering.

Among them, Yoshino Yuuki was the most active of all.

Of course, aside from Ichise Hui, Eriina, and Kobayakawa Ryodan, there were the other seven seats left.

“You guys go to the third floor.”

Xia Yu said, at last, as the newly arrived Seven Elites, only the “Alchemist” Rui Shan Zhi Jin Ye stayed in place without moving.

“Instructor Xia…” Rui Shan’s lips trembled, “I accept your invitation!”

Xia Yu didn’t respond and turned back to the charcoal furnace, stirring with a large iron rod.

“Am I late?” Rui Shan hung his head.

Earlier, before leaving for Sapporo, Xia Yu had sent invitations to both him and Ichise Hui simultaneously. Ichise Hui had become the director of Xia’s Farm, while the other invitation for the director of Xia’s Shopping Street was not immediately accepted by Rui Shan Zhi Jin Ye.

The reason being, Rui Shan originally favored his own interests, and at that time, because the situation in Far Moon was unclear, he had not made a choice. But once Xia Yu decisively defeated Tiqie Ji in the Sapporo Food War, Rui Shan no longer had the luxury of sitting on the fence.

Either he would wait to be challenged by newcomers, step down from the Elites, and fade into obscurity.

Or he would ride on the coattails of the Xia Family to be active in the Japanese Food Industry.

“We’ll talk about it later.”

Xia Yu said without turning back, leaving Rui Shan no choice but to leave unwillingly.

Bang!

Ichise Hui, Kobayakawa Ryodan.

And also Makki, Eriina were gathered nearby.

“Are the second and third floors full?” Xia Yu asked casually as he set up a boiling pot on the stove.

“Yes, all full!” Makki answered.

“Then close the door tightly, we won’t be receiving any more guests!”

The helpers did as instructed.

At that moment, Wu Yingying placed a freshly cleaned steamer on the cooking station across from Xia Yu and hummed, “I’m ready, what’s the first dish you’re going to make?”

“Why don’t you take a look—”

Xia Yu pulled out the “Jade Fragment Knife” and pointed to the pork on the chopping board.

“Pork… Double Cooked Pork?”

Wu Yingying looked curiously, her eyes twinkling as she noticed something odd about the pork. “What quality is this pork?”

“It’s from the ‘Cattle-Pig-Bird’.”

“Ah!”

Wu Yingying exclaimed, “Using fantasy pig meat to cook Double Cooked Pork?”

“What do you think? Ordinary pork is too easy,” Xia Yu smiled, “Besides, do you think ordinary ingredients would satisfy tonight’s guests?”

“What about food ethics, cooking passion?” asked Wu Yingying, puzzled.

“This is a banquet, not a cooking contest, let’s get back to the essence of the food!”

Xia Yu shook his head, held the “Jade Fragment Knife”, and began slicing the large chunk of blood-red pork into even pieces before sequentially dropping them into the water-filled boiling pot.

Into the pot full of pork, he added green onion segments, ginger slices, and Szechuan peppers. For seasoning, he sparingly added some yellow wine.

The fantasy version of “Big Blast Fried Pork” simply involved a revolution in ingredients.

Unlike the revised “Magical Mapo Tofu,” Shuangjiang Tofu had a taste and structure so different from traditional tofu that its striking aftertaste made it hard to blend with other ingredients.

However, the pork from the ‘Cattle-Pig-Bird’, this type of fantasy livestock, was different. Xia Yu, having dealt with it several times, especially during the Sapporo contest where he made blood sausage from ‘Cattle-Pig-Bird’s blood’, roughly figured out the characteristics of the ‘Cattle-Pig-Bird’s blood and meat.

For a skilled chef, one successful practice was often enough to master an ingredient.

Once you understand the ingredient, next is using it flexibly.

No difficulty at all!

Seeing Xia Yu effortlessly throw several chunks of blood-red pork into the cooking pots, and in total, there were three pots filled with pork… Wu Yingying pursed her lips, looked down at the ingredients arrayed before her, and felt inexplicably insecure.

“What are you planning to do?”

At a banquet, dishes must be served one by one, each clearly defined in their sequence. Therefore, Xia Yu moved with ease toward Wu Yingying’s cooking station.

“Ingredients, there’s pork, green peas, corn kernels, carrots.”

“Seasonings, there’s salt, white sugar, sesame oil, oyster sauce, pepper powder…”

Glancing over, Xia Yu exclaimed in surprise, “Dumplings?”

He laughed to himself.

“What are you laughing at!” Wu Yingying’s cheeks flushed red with irritation, and she snapped, “Don’t think you can beat me just because you used Fantasy Ingredients!”

This strong-willed woman bit her lip, unhooked the pouch she carried, and took out a small sealed iron box.

Upon opening the box, there was a clump of dark tea cake inside.

At the same time, a rich aroma of tea filled the air.

“What is this?” Xia Yu sniffed, his expression changing slightly.

“This is the Wu Family of Tianji Star’s secret tea!” Wu Yingying declared.

The Wu Family were masters of tea brewing; was their secret tea the key weapon for their culinary victories? Xia Yu thought to himself.

“Hey!”

Wu Yingying bluntly asked, “Do you have high-quality spring water for brewing my tea here? This tea needs to be brewed properly before it can be used in cooking. Ordinary water would ruin the good tea.”

“Spring water?” Xia Yu flashed a refreshing smile, “I have even better water…but, Wu Yingying, you coming here to challenge me, winning or losing, seems like I am at a loss either way.”

He spread his hands.

Wu Yingying was flabbergasted.

Before, it was always others challenging her, where she was the dominator. Now, the roles were reversed, and she had not yet adjusted to being the challenger.

“So, what do you want?” She frowned.

Xia Yu pointed at the tea box in her hand, “That…”

“No way! Absolutely not!”

Wu Yingying’s voice turned sharp as if triggered, “This is the Wu Family’s secret tea! It’s never disclosed!”

“I don’t want the tea cake, just the tea seeds,” Xia Yu coughed.

“Hmm?!”

Suddenly quieting down, Wu Yingying’s dark pupils swirled; the key to the Wu Family’s secret tea lay in the technique of making the tea cake, while the tea tree itself was secondary. Additionally, the anecdote of “orangery north of the Huai River” brought a sneer to her mind:

This guy wants to cultivate tea trees in Japan?

“No problem! Just tea seeds, I can give you those,” Wu Yingying said, adding mentally:

After all, you can’t nurture them.

Xia Yu nodded, stepped out, and when he returned to the courtyard, he brought a kettle full of water.

“Here!” He pushed the kettle.

“That fast?”

Wu Yingying looked skeptical, poured half a glass, and sipped lightly, then her eyes widened in surprise, “Such clear and crisp water!”

“Is the quality good?” Xia Yu asked with a smile.

“It’s excellent! Very excellent!”

Wu Yingying nodded eagerly.

Xia Yu no longer paid her any attention, returned to his cooking station, and after a while, steam started emanating from the three cooking pots. The night courtyard was soon filled with the rich scent of Fantasy Ingredients.

He opened the lid, skimmed off the layer of fat from the clear broth with a spoon, and estimated that the pork was about eighty percent cooked, Xia Yu called his assistants, “Drain the water, and take out the pork—”

Makki and Eriina rushed to help.

“I’ll help too!”

Kobayakawa Ryodan also rolled up his sleeves.

“Bang bang bang…”

Soon, the sound of knives striking cutting boards filled the courtyard, and chunks of boiled pork under Xia Yu’s hands turned into neat slices.

At this, one couldn’t help mentioning the beautiful color of ‘Cow Pig Bird’ pork.

Guests gathered on the open doors of the second and third floor terraces.

The third floor erupted with chatter.

Graduates and students mingled, discussing.

“Wow, look at that pot!”

“What a strange flame!”