Reborn in Japan as a Chef God

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"Who said running a restaurant with just cooking skills doesn't work?"

"Even on Earth in a previous life, according to the Michelin inspector's scoring criteria, a restaurant's food accounted for 60% of the overall weight, while the dining environment and service only accounted for 20% and 10%, respectively."

"Relying on the food to sweep the competition is enough. In terms of dining environment and service, the small Chinese Restaurant is, of course, far inferior to those high-end restaurants."

"The Chef God System was Xia Yu's source of confidence. Under the guidance of the system these days, he had gone through a transformation, with new improvements in his culinary skills each day after a good night's sleep."

"'System: You have a new task.'"

"The system came out to cause trouble in a timely manner."

"Xia Yu opened the newly received task with a face full of dark lines."

"'[Bet with the Divine Tongue].'"

"'Tip: The host should quickly upgrade culinary skills to lv10, learn more recipes, master the 'Heart of Cooking' advanced talent, attract more customers to the restaurant, and defeat Tiqie Helinai in the bet.'"

"'Reward: 1 chance to spin the system's wheel of fortune.'"

"Huh."

"Besides the bet with Eriina, Xia Yu also noticed a second task listed below."

"'[First Show of Talent]'."

"'Tip: Within 7 days, serve thirty ordinary customers and achieve their satisfaction and likes.'"

"'Reward: Recipe "Stir-fried Qingjiang Vegetable" (Blue).'"

"A new recipe?"

"Xia Yu's eyes lit up."

"He knew stir-fried Qingjiang Vegetable and had tried it before, though it didn't emit the exaggerated culinary glow as in animations."

"Speaking of which, he also wanted to taste the stir-fried Qingjiang Vegetable after mastering the recipe. Thinking of that unique refreshing vegetable flavor made Xia Yu's salivary glands become active."

"Various vegetable cooking methods were also a unique skill of Chinese cuisine that couldn't be ignored."

"At the same time, Xia Yu was eager to defeat Tiqie Helinai in the bet."

"A chance to spin the wheel!"

"Xia Yu recalled vividly the time he received the 'Starter Gift Package' reward, which allowed him to spin the wheel for free."

"It was by relying on the [Mirror Crystal] that he successfully made a qualified first dish, completed the system's initial task, and obtained his first blue recipe."

"He remembered the major categories of items on the wheel: ingredients, kitchenware, recipes, consumables, and special items."

"If luck was on his side, he might draw a special item, similar to the [Divine Tongue] talent of a Divine-level Chef!"

"To say Xia Yu wasn't a bit envious of Tiqie Helinai's tongue would be a lie."

"In the future at Yuan Yue Academy, there was also a [Divine Nose] Yashan Liang, the guy who entered the 'Ten Masters of Far Moon' before Xingping Chuangzhen, snatching the ninth seat originally belonging to the alchemist Rui Shan."

"If he accidentally drew a divine-level chef talent, whatever it was, Xia Yu would grin from ear to ear even in his dreams."

"It wasn't the time to compete for talent, but it was always good to prepare and have skills."

"…"

"Watching Tiqie Helinai and Niho Fuyuka get in the car and drive away in the rain, Xia Yu turned back into the restaurant."

"'Hehe, your girlfriend seems a bit spoiled.'"

"Mu Xiaoyue made a face at him."

"'Girlfriend? I don't have a girlfriend like her. Who can stand arguing every day?' Xia Yu pouted."

"'Isn't an angelic appearance enough? Looks, that's the truth. With such looks, any little temper gets instantly defeated.' Mu Xiaoyue tilted her head to look at him, bright eyes twinkling, who knows what she was thinking."

"Xia Yu didn't want to continue this topic, so he changed the subject, 'Which dish was tastier, the Magical Mapo Tofu or last night's couple's sliced lungs?'"

"'Magical Mapo Tofu!'"

"Mu Xiaoyue was stunned for a second, then answered without hesitation."

"'Phew...' Xia Yu quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He had feared his glowing dish would still be beaten by the old man's casually cooked dish in the eyes of professional food critics."

"That would be too demoralizing, having a signature dish dominated by a simple home-cooked dish, anyone would have a seriously bruised self-esteem and start questioning their life."

"After chatting for a while, the heavy rain outside showed no signs of stopping."

"Mu Xiaoyue and An Ya couldn't possibly go out to explore Tokyo in such bad weather, so they stayed in the restaurant to use the internet. Xia Yu, meanwhile, turned into the kitchen, laid out a bunch of wooden plaques with dish names written on them on the counter, and rested his chin, staring at them."

"When the old man was around, the small restaurant served twelve different Chinese cuisine dishes every day."

"These twelve dishes were selected from the traditional eight major cuisines. For instance, today three dishes each were selected from Sichuan, Shandong, Cantonese, and Su cuisines; tomorrow, choices were made from Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan, and Anhui cuisines."

"Xia Yu hadn't thought much of it before, understanding only vaguely. Under the old man's instructions, he hung the plaques on the wall every day. But now, as he took on the role of head chef and manager of the store, he realized the weight each plaque carried."

"The black calligraphy on the plaques represented a traditional dish."

"Xia Yu had only mastered a small portion of them, the kind that could be presented."

"The rest were either partially explored or were under practice but far from being customer-ready."

"Taking a deep breath, Xia Yu's eyes showed determination as he decided to reduce the twelve daily dishes down to six."

"Two cuisines, three dishes each."

"Reducing it instantly lifted a load off his shoulders."

"The old man could choose and hang the plaques at will based on his mood, allowing customers to order as they pleased. But Xia Yu's culinary foundation was too shallow, so he could only first choose the dishes he was skilled at and lay them out at the counter."

"Next were the dishes he was about to master, those on the verge of receiving a passing grade of 60 from the system."

"Lastly were the dishes he planned to learn."

"He intended to plan the daily menu for the upcoming week in advance."

"But before that, Xia Yu realized he had overlooked a very important issue."

"Who would supply the ingredients?"

"The menu relied on having a sufficient supply of ingredients for the day."

"'Ah...'"

"Rubbing his hair, Xia Yu indeed felt a bit vexed. The old man left too hurriedly without leaving any instructions."

"And damn it, where was the money? Was he supposed to bang his head against the wall to purchase ingredients?"

"Veins on his forehead bulging, Xia Yu pulled out his phone and made a call, beep beep beep, still the busy tone. His expression was genuinely a bit puzzled... Hello, did that old guy board the plane, or did he pull out the SIM card?"

"Knock knock."

"Someone suddenly tapped on the door of the restaurant, and Xia Yu woke up from cold sweat, abandoning his wild thoughts and walking from the back kitchen to the front."

"'Mr. Shinohara?'"

"Seeing a smiling man enter, dressed in a black-gray coat, wearing a high hat, and brown leather gloves, looking like a classical British detective, Xia Yu was stunned."

"'We meet again, young man.'"

"Shinohara Shigetaro took off his hat and sat at the counter."

"He casually placed a metallic briefcase on the countertop. Xia Yu noticed the briefcase's surface emblazoned with three striking silver letters:"

"'IGO!'"

"His mind seemed jolted by these familiar letters, but Xia Yu couldn't immediately recall what they represented, so he could only look at the middle-aged gentleman with a confused expression, 'Mr. Shinohara, are you here for a meal, or...'"

"'I'm here to deliver something to you.'"

"Before he could finish, Shinohara Shigetaro waved his hand to interrupt."

"The detective-like gentleman had a playful smile on his lips and pointed to the metallic briefcase on the counter, 'It's something your old man asked me to run an errand for, go ahead and open it.'"

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