Reborn in Japan as a Chef God

"""

Turning his attention back to the ingredients, Xia Yu discovered that with IGO online, he could buy whatever he wanted.

Within Tokyo, the average delivery time was 2 hours.

Even for stores specializing in specialty foods from Osaka and Hokkaido, there were special delivery channels for next-day doorstep delivery.

Of course, express delivery was available, but it required extra shipping fees, and Xia Yu strongly suspected that IGO had built a global food logistics network. Ordinary services like Japan's Black Cat Delivery seemed to serve only the general public, while IGO chefs clearly had other channels.

IGO online made Xia Yu's perception of Tokyo, and even the world, waver and be almost overturned.

He was aware that this world was not as simple as it appeared.

However, he never expected that the high-energy international gourmet organization IGO in "Toriko" would actually appear in this world.

Didn't this mean that perhaps a real Chef God existed in this world, capable of using legendary ingredients to make those miraculous dishes that could enhance cellular activity, evolve life, and prolong lifespan?

Furthermore, since IGO appeared, the dark adversary force "Gourmet Club" might also exist.

Along with various gourmet hunters.

Could it be that besides the normal world, there was also a hidden culinary world?

Thinking of this made Xia Yu unable to remain calm and he couldn't help but ask Shinohara Shigetaro.

"Mr. Shinohara, have you been to the culinary world?"

Unexpectedly, this question led to a look from the middle-aged man that suggested he thought Xia Yu was an idiot.

"You don't actually believe those elusive legends, do you?" Shinohara Shigetaro smiled, "The God of Cooking did indeed exist. His disciples founded the international gourmet institution, but after World War II, the God of Cooking disappeared. Many people said he actually shattered the void and went to another vast culinary world. But according to our IGO's internal information, the God of Cooking is actually living in seclusion somewhere in the world, enjoying his later years."

"Then who is the current president of IGO?" Xia Yu asked with concern.

"Someone who excels at cooking with a variety of strong spirits, not too old. You will meet him," Shinohara Shigetaro chuckled.

"Well then… Mr. Shinohara, does this world have things that defy human logic? Like chefs actually knowing martial arts, with strong combat abilities, harboring demons within, who can smash an armored tank with a single punch…"

"..."

His question was met with a prolonged silence from Shinohara Shigetaro.

"Your imagination is vast, young one," Shinohara Shigetaro came to his senses, holding his forehead with a twitch in the corner of his mouth, "This world isn't as exaggerated as you imagine, but well, there are always things unexplained by science, though definitely not as you think."

Xia Yu heaved a sigh of relief.

It seemed that the high-energy combat system of "Toriko" hadn't been transplanted here. Otherwise, if chefs knew martial arts, who could stop them? Thinking like this made him understand why IGO in this world wasn't as powerful as in the original work.

Gourmet hunters lost their superhuman strength, so naturally, they couldn't fight national armies.

The IGO international gourmet institution in this world was probably just another form of the United Nations, turned into a venue for the political gladiation of powerful nations.

Shinohara's words contained some concealment, Xia Yu could tell, so he wasn't truly at ease yet.

Oh well.

He decided to temporarily put away his wild thoughts. No matter what may come, he had a small culinary shop to run, and he couldn't afford to lose to that little girl Tiqie Eriina in their bet.

"Is this bank card from my old man?"

Xia Yu glanced at the last item in the metal briefcase, picked it up, and examined it.

"Yes!"

"There's only one million yen in the card!"

Shinohara Shigetaro looked at Xia Yu with an expression of 'I sympathize with you,' patted his shoulder, and said earnestly, "This was instructed by your old man and has been linked to your IGO account. Work hard, and you can call my private number if you need anything…"

The middle-aged man, dressed like a detective, left his phone number and then waved goodbye in a breezy manner.

One million yen!

Damn it!

Xia Yu held the bank card, feeling utterly helpless.

This amount roughly equated to sixty thousand yuan.

He began to calculate carefully, knowing his shop didn't require rent, and that for the time being, he was the only employee, without any expensive hiring costs. So, he saved a lot on operational costs in the small culinary shop.

In the IGO online ingredient store, a highly-rated [Tokyo Seafood Products], a fresh large salmon, was priced at 4,000 yen, much higher than ordinary seafood market prices.

Processed pollock roe, the eggs of salted pollock marinated with spices, was a semi-finished ingredient costing 2,000 yen per small box.

Xia's shop mainly served Chinese cuisine and didn't currently need expensive seafood. Xia Yu searched the app store for a long time before finding a store specializing in freshwater fish, called "Green Field Fish Market."

Due to being near the sea and having abundant seafood, Japanese people rarely ate freshwater fish.

Of course, this was also related to the Japanese lifestyle. The earthy taste of river fish could be quite unpleasant if not cooked properly. The freshwater fish most commonly eaten by the Japanese was carp, but not those ornamental koi kept in ponds—rather, carp raised in mountain springs, used directly for sashimi, fresh and tender, far exceeding the price of many sea fish.

Xia Yu was genuinely worried he wouldn't find a store selling freshwater fish on IGO online, especially since Chinese cuisine actually used many dishes featuring freshwater fish.

For instance, the 'Squirrel Sea Bass' he had cooked for two female Chinese tourists the previous night wouldn't have been possible without the sea bass ingredient.

"So, the old man had been using the IGO store to buy ingredients, right?"

Another doubt in his mind finally unraveled.

Every evening when he returned from school, the kitchen would be piled high with various fresh ingredients, but Xia Yu had never encountered a supplier making home deliveries. Surely, the old man had deliberately made IGO's delivery personnel avoid ordinary people's timelines to prevent exposure to anything beyond the normal world.

Perhaps it was a form of protection.

After all, the original Xia Yu never showed a talent for cooking, but in the past week, through his actions and results, he had managed to change the old man's mind.

Buy, buy, buy!

First, he would plan out the menu for the coming week. With the convenient, ready-made IGO ingredient store offering high-quality ingredients, he was not about to scrimp on prices.

As the head chef and store manager, he believed that not using the best ingredients while choosing cheaper alternatives to minimize operational costs would be like tarnishing his own reputation!

He preferred to slightly raise the price of each dish on the menu rather than use inferior ingredients that would lower the culinary standard.

Hadn't Qian Rixiangzi's 'Mist House' and the various restaurants opened by Far Moon graduates been sourcing ingredients from the IGO market? As a dedicated chef and entrepreneur, one must be willing to invest. This was also taking responsibility for both his culinary skills and his customers.

In one fell swoop, he bought ingredients for three days. If it weren't for the insufficient size of the store's refrigeration units, Xia Yu would have bought a week's worth of ingredients to stock up.

"Your account balance is…"

Tens of thousands of yen disappeared instantly from the card, and Xia Yu glanced skyward with tears.

Would this one million last until April?

It looked doubtful!

At that moment, Xia Yu's mind was consumed with maximizing this capital to earn his first pot of gold and keep the restaurant going.

Summarizing these thoughts resulted in: "How to Use One Million Yen."

If the capital ran dry and the business situation showed no improvement, he would undoubtedly lose his bet with Tiqie Eriina.

"""