CHAPTER 713: CHAPTER 712: HEAVENLY COUNTRY (PART 2)

"Heaven!"

This was Lei Zhe’s first thought as the strains of string music wafted through the air and the scroll of exquisite cuisine unfurled before him.

Suddenly, he soared into the sky.

At the same time, noodles, tofu, and the chewed fragments of dried beancurd melted on his tongue, vanishing into his throat and disappearing without a trace as they dissolved.

Whoosh.

High above, the wind blew.

The string music became clearer, so even Lei Zhe, a Westerner, could easily identify it as a mix of three string instruments: the erhu, pipa, and guqin.

The erhu, with its distant and desolate sound, matched the amazingly elastic tofu noodles.

The pipa, sounding like pearls falling on a jade plate, corresponded perfectly to the dried tofu.

Besides the fragrance of beans, mixed with mashed taro and deep-fried, then sautéed along with the noodles and tofu, the scent of the taro could be described as wave after wave of lingering flavor.

The most central "thickened tofu" corresponded to the deepest sounds of the guqin.

Listening to the music, Lei Zhe looked up in astonishment to discover that the sky was raining flowers.

Flower petals, white and pale pink, floated down, their fragrance overwhelming. Lei Zhe was immediately thrilled and exclaimed, "This scent, where have I tasted this before?"

He unconsciously chased the lingering taste in his mouth.

"It’s the sauce!"

Lei Zhe finally realized that these flowers matched a certain mysterious floral scent in the sauce.

No wonder the tofu was smooth and even softer after being sautéed; this was definitely the doing of the sauce. Lei Zhe was certain that these petals played a key role!

Whoosh—

Another gust of wind, and Lei Zhe felt as if he melted, drifting with it.

Mists scattered beneath his frame.

A land of abundance spread out before Lei Zhe’s eyes.

Rolling green fields, one after another, Lei Zhe inhaled the rich aroma, his voice trembling, "Corn, sweet potatoes, radishes, cauliflower, cabbage, pumpkins, potatoes..."

He named the vegetable and fruit scents his nose detected, and his mouth, in response, seemed to produce these flavors.

It was too real!

Even Lei Zhe couldn’t help but be bewildered, intoxicated by the richness of the sky above.

He watched the farmers work, saw the waterwheels turning, observed the old oxen leisurely grazing on the green grass...

A feeling named fulfillment, heavy and profound, occupied his heart.

After a while.

"Full yet?"

A voice asked him.

Lei Zhe opened his eyes, shook off the vision of abundance, and his face returned to its usual coldness.

"Sorry!" His eyes shimmered with faint scorn, "The Food Tyrant’s Stomach of a Qilin rank doesn’t get satisfied that easily... Your concept is indeed clever, but haven’t you heard that no matter how exquisite the technique, it doesn’t compare to raw power!"

"Heh, after all, just a special-grade chef. The cuisine lacks the soul-shaking culinary power of a true Qilin rank. Don’t delude yourself into thinking that skill and ingredients alone can compensate!"

"Admit defeat!"

His gaze settled faintly on Xia Yu.

Snap!

At that moment, Andrea set down her white bowl, her sniffling and teary eyes needing to be wiped dry.

She was crying, a fair number of tear stains on her pretty face.

Lei Zhe was taken aback.

Andrea, without looking at him, sniffled as she offered her tasting feedback, "Honestly, I don’t know how to describe it!"

Her voice trembled faintly.

Xia Yu shrugged noncommittally.

"Be more specific!" Aoki Motota was anxious.

"Yes, for instance, what exactly was that floral scent just now?" Tang Yuqiong echoed, equally anxious.

"Floral scent?"

Andrea looked at Xia Yu, uncertain, "Is it some kind of floral sauce?"

Xia Yu shook his head, stood in the kitchen and brought out three small glass bottles that were easy to overlook.

One bottle contained a light golden liquid with floating flower fragments. It looked like osmanthus jam.

The second bottle had candied fruits.

The third bottle simply contained flower petals.

"This is osmanthus jam!" the hostess pointed to the first bottle.

"The second one is... pickled plums?"

"Correct!" Xia Yu gave a thumbs up to the hostess.

"And the third?"

Osmanthus jam and plum fruit leather were the ingredients to create the sweet and sour taste of "Thickened Tofu," which everyone could understand, but the third floral ingredient was a mystery to all.

"Hibiscus mutabilis!" Xia Yu didn’t hide it.

"Eh!"

Tang Yuqiong exclaimed, "Can this flower also be eaten?"

For the Hibiscus mutabilis, Western chefs like Lei Zhe and Andrea were clueless.

Hibiscus mutabilis is also native to China and had later spread to Japan and various parts of Southeast Asia. In any case, even in the East Asia region, only a few chefs who study edible flowers are aware of its true nature.

After a moment of surprise, the female protagonist said, "Indeed, Hibiscus mutabilis can be eaten. I once used it as an ingredient to create a dish of hibiscus flower tea bowl steamed cuisine. Such edible flowers, combined with eggs, tofu, and the like, can enhance the taste, making it silky and refreshing."

A moment of silence.

"You had these ingredients prepared in advance?" Dojima Yin asked.

"Cough!"

Xia Yu just coughed and gave no answer.

He surely couldn’t say that he had prepared a trump card for the opening of his restaurant.

Since he had secured "Tofu Trio" a few days ago, and having studied it thoroughly, Xia Yu figured the system would issue a task, so it was natural to be prepared, just in case.

And sure enough, this preparation met the mark!

"Forget about the flowers and all that!"

Andrea waved her hand, eyes intense, "When you cooked the tofu, did you use vegetable broth? Why is the vegetable flavor so rich... it could even be described as splendid!"

Xia Yu was about to answer but was interrupted by a scoff.

"What splendid? It’s nothing more than a haphazard pile of ingredients!"

Lei Zhe declared, "I don’t agree with this dish cooked by stewing a bunch of ambiguous ingredients together! There’s no order to it! Speaking of ingredients, just the ’Shuangjiang Tofu’ alone can defeat all sorts of splendid tastes!"

"Such a disappointment!"

He scoffed, "I thought it was some remarkable cantata, but it turns out to be just something ordinary made with ordinary ingredients..."

"Uh!"

He was stopped midsentence.

"If one bowl isn’t enough, then here’s a second bowl!" Xia Yu presented another bowl of the dish to Lei Zhe, the corners of his mouth curling into a playful arc, "You, who stand there ready to pick holes, do you dare to have another taste?"

Even a clay figurine has a spark of anger.

Andrea, without inherent psychological resistance, succumbed.

But Lei Zhe’s resistance was clearly not lacking.

Xia Yu’s thought was simple: there’s no issue that can’t be solved by adding more. If one bowl doesn’t work, then try a second, and if that’s still not enough, then serve up the whole dish!

"Stop your futile struggles!"

Lei Zhe laughed heartily.

"Eat then—"

"So be it, I’ll let you give up completely!"

As he took the second bowl, Lei Zhe continued his boorish way of eating, swallowing nearly half the noodles and tofu in one bite.

The mocking smile froze on his face.

It was still that land of abundance, but what was different now was the vision of an ancient and weathered Chinese restaurant appearing in Lei Zhe’s sight.

On the main entrance of the building hung a signboard with the words ’Juxia Building.’

Suddenly, Lei Zhe’s gaze was captivated by a woman.

Her appearance wasn’t refined, and she wore the simple clothing of a common family, but her unique, gentle, and soft beauty was absolutely celestial.

This woman, as she opened the door and saw Lei Zhe, called out to him in a soft voice, "Would you like to dine, sir?"

Lei Zhe didn’t even know how he had entered the restaurant.

A steaming plate of tofu dishes was placed on the table in front of him, which he began to eat, yet sweat beaded on his forehead.

Picking up the chopsticks felt heavier than lifting a mountain—no, it was like picking up a chunk of tofu as heavy as a mountain.

The tofu dissolved in his mouth, drilled deep down his throat, and plummeted into the abyssal world of his stomach, but Lei Zhe was horrified to find his stomach rapidly expanding.

Thump!

Thump!

The world inside his stomach was collapsing, and the delightful string music he had heard before had turned into a chilling battle anthem.

"Why!"

Finally, in a panic, Lei Zhe dropped his chopsticks and couldn’t sit still, his voice echoing inside Juxia Building, "How can it fill my ’Food Tyrant’s Stomach’? Ordinary ingredients, an ordinary dish; it’s simply not possible!"

A distant voice replied:

"Because it carries a certain taste!"

Beside him, a young man appeared out of nowhere, and the gentle woman in simple attire was just smiling and beside the young man, gradually faded, and finally disappeared.

Thud!

Lei Zhe collapsed to the floor, weighed down by his heavy stomach.

The young man turned his back to him, pushed the door even wider open, and pointing to the scenery outside, he said, "Moreover, what you are eating is this land of abundance, it’s called the Heavenly Country..."