Reborn in Japan as a Chef God

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"You have received [Initial Task]."

"Hint: As a kitchen apprentice, you should strive for independence by creating a dish that satisfies both yourself and your guests."

"Reward: Recipe 'Magic Mapo Tofu' (Blue)."

Huh.

Xia Yu was happily marveling at the benefits of being a transmigrator when the Chef God System unexpectedly handed him a task.

An initial task, cook a dish?

That's not hard!

Xia Yu immediately grinned, only for the system to coldly remind him, "You must gain the satisfaction of the guest to complete the task."

"Guest? Where would I find a guest?" Xia Yu couldn't help but smile wryly.

His family's Chinese Restaurant barely opened once a month—not because it was too remote, but because the old man was too eccentric and fierce, causing all customers to gradually stop coming.

Xia Yu had tried to attract customers, but the old man only had a simple evaluation of his efforts—it was utterly useless.

Very direct, but Xia Yu could attest with a clean conscience that these were the exact words, without any exaggeration.

Lamenting how he ended up tied to such a stubborn old man, Xia Yu dared not linger upstairs too long. He hurriedly put a band-aid on the wound on his hand, changed out of his school uniform, and into a freshly washed work uniform still faintly smelling of sweat, then ran downstairs.

Sitting heavily on a small bench, Xia Yu began processing ingredients.

In fact, he handled a large amount of ingredients every night, ranging from fish and meat to various fruits and vegetables. Each evening after school, Xia Yu found the kitchen corner piled high with ingredients, though he had never seen the supplier who delivered them.

Moreover, although the restaurant had no business, the consumption of ingredients was astonishing. Xia Yu had experienced initial confusion and covertly searched for answers, but gradually lost interest in figuring it out.

In his heart, he labeled this as "The Second Unexplained Event of Xia's Chinese Restaurant."

The first unexplained event was, of course, that vat and the strange stone inside it.

"Clap."

A large chunk of fresh, succulent beef slapped onto the chopping board, and Xia Yu routinely sharpened his knife, standing before the board with the gleaming blade in hand.

Cutting beef required technique, a skill Xia Yu had already mastered. As the saying goes, cut across the grain for beef and lamb, and lengthwise for pork. He placed the knife perpendicular to the grain of the beef and sliced down, severing a large circle of meat.

After cutting the whole chunk of meat into rings, it was time to allocate them. Some of the beef was intended for pan-frying, while other pieces were cut into cubes and strips for making different dishes.

This step was pre-prepared, but with the fridge, there was no worry of the meat losing freshness. Xia Yu packed and sorted the sliced beef into categories, stored it in the freezer, and then proceeded to handle the seafood.

The fish needed scaling, gill removal, and gutting, while dealing with shellfish required more effort. Xia Yu sorted them into various large buckets, grabbed table salt from the countertop, sprinkled some into each bucket, took a bottle of cooking oil, and poured a small amount into each, just enough to cover the surface.

As everyone knew, oil floated on water would seal off oxygen. The shellfish in the buckets, short on oxygen, would open up their bodies to breathe deeply and continually expel fine sand, ensuring that post-cooking, customers wouldn't bite into any sand, resulting in rave reviews for the dish.

The busy work lasted until midnight. The antique clock on the store wall rhythmically chimed.

"Phew..."

He untied his apron, carelessly balled the apron stained with various juices and blood, and tossed it into the bathroom. Xia Yu filled a basin with clean water in the bathroom and began hopping around the shop, wiping down tables and chairs.

From the kitchen came the sound of frying, and Xia Yu looked back, unsurprised to find the old man heating the pan. This was always the happiest moment of Xia Yu's day!

Finally, he didn't have to gnaw on convenience store bread—there was fresh hot supper to enjoy!

At this moment, Xia Yu felt the urge to cry tears of joy, working with renewed vigor, his ears tuned to the kitchen sounds.

Bang.

Soon, two steaming bowls of noodles were placed on the counter. The old man removed his chef's hat, saying blandly, "Take it—"

Xia Yu eagerly rushed over, setting one of the bowls before himself.

In the cramped shop, there naturally weren't any tables or chairs. If you've seen the TV show "Midnight Diner," it's easy to picture the layout of the little restaurant.

Supper was a bowl of clear broth ramen. The old man considered everything, leaving out any additives that might upset the stomach. The soup surface glistened with oil and scallions, along with perfectly fried slices of fragrant, flavorful beef.

The aroma filled the shop, and Xia Yu clasped his hands around the chopsticks, closing his eyes in a prayerful manner, "I'm starting!"

He immediately tucked in, devouring mouthfuls.

A few noodles, followed by a sip of soup, and the piping hot food slid down his throat, leaving Xia Yu marveling, "Now this is food..."

He had knelt before the old man's culinary skills more than once, offering his integrity and admiration.

The old man's suppers almost always changed things up, making them Xia Yu's most plentiful meal of the day. For others like breakfast, lunch, and dinner, well, the first two were solved on the way to school or at the school store, and the last was handled on the way home from school.

Without this hearty supper, Xia Yu would have quit long ago!

In any lifetime, Xia Yu dared to say he never tasted food better than the old man's. The noodle soup was but one of the old man's signature skills.

The most unforgettable was the time he had seafood dumplings about half a year ago. Just recalling it made his taste buds flood with saliva. Xia Yu swallowed, quickly finishing a large bowl, then reached for the remaining bowl, only to hear sucking sounds nearby.

His expression darkened instantly.

Hey, hey, that was my noodles. Who might you be?

Looking at the empty counter, then at the guest sitting beside him without him noticing, head bowed, devouring a bowl of noodles, Xia Yu glanced up at the ceiling, fighting back tears.

"Delicious, delicious!"

The guest, even more offensively, praised aloud while eating, "Truly worthy of Boss Xia's skills, ha ha, what a treat tonight!"

His stuttering Mandarin told Xia Yu this impolite fellow was a Neon person. He almost never saw such brazen people who helped themselves to others' food in Japan. To Neon people, being a nuisance to others was wrong. Now, having his food stolen was more than just a bother, it was infuriating!

Huh.

Xia Yu's eyebrow twitched.

Sizing him up, he found the fellow rather odd, wearing a detective-like black trench coat during the hot summer, with a black hat and a high collar.

What's with the Sherlock Holmes cosplay? Want to add a prop pipe?

Given the situation, eating noodles would definitely make one sweat, given the cramped space and lack of a fan making it stuffy, but until this fellow finished the entire bowl, patting his belly, Xia Yu hadn't noticed any sweat on his exposed skin.

Sensing his gaze, the guest finally glanced up, flashing a smile.

A middle-aged man, quite gentlemanly and handsome.

A vein in Xia Yu's forehead pulsed. He restrained his urge to punch the guy, baring his teeth, "You've got scallions on your lip..."

"Really?"

The middle-aged man, maintaining an air of elegance, grabbed a napkin from the counter, gently wiped off the scallions, crumpled the napkin into a ball, tossed it into the trash bin, then sat back down.

Then, the middle-aged man looked at Xia Yu with intrigue.

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(PS: New author, new book, seeking recommendations and collections!)

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