Capítulo 41: Chapter 41: Expansion of the Tea Ceremony
Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
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TAKI-kun.
Bai Muying.
Following these two names, Xia Yu adeptly searched and immediately found blogs and Twitter profiles.
TAKI-kun's blog had a wallpaper of CG images from a certain otaku game, and a food blog post stood out conspicuously among the anime and game reviews and news.
Skimming through it, Xia Yu was taken aback.
The cooking wasn't the focus; this guy seemed to highly praise the tea at the small shop.
Closing the page, he switched to Twitter and searched for the user 'Bai Muying.'
Unlike the text-filled blog, 'Bai Muying's' Twitter mostly consisted of heart-racing, illicit images.
The tweet before the food post was an unfinished sketch of a female fanart character.
An R18 female artist?
A seasoned driver, guide me!
Xia Yu finally realized why it all felt so familiar.
The pen name Bai Muying came from "How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend." He thought this couldn't be a coincidence.
Driven by speculation, Xia Yu became more curious about 'Bai Muying's' food tweets and clicked to take a closer look.
It was about tea again!
The female artist's tweets rarely mentioned main dishes, only providing brief commentary with accompanying pictures, sparing with words.
But when it came to the small shop's tea, the female artist used many words of praise.
Tea of such high quality that even Far Moon Resort didn't have?
Xia Yu looked both amused and exasperated.
He'd been drinking this tea since he was a child; having never tried other teas, he couldn't really comment.
However, he did acknowledge the magical quality of his family's tea.
The tea leaves were decent, purchased from an old designated store by his grandfather's instructions, and not much was left.
Yet, the tea leaves and the skill of brewing weren't the key; the emphasis was on the water quality!
Last night, Mu Xiaoyue had asked him.
Why not use drinking-grade tap water?
In Xia Yu's subconscious, the water in that old relic of a water jar was of spring quality, perfectly suited for brewing tea!
"Right, that stone..."
Stuffing his phone into his pocket, Xia Yu dashed downstairs, headed to the kitchen, and reached into the cool water jar, pulling out a wet, slippery black egg stone.
Xia's Restaurant, one of the mysterious artifacts, was this stone!
Lately, so focused on culinary skills, Xia Yu had nearly forgotten about this stone. The old man was gone, but the stone remained, so he could research it with peace of mind.
"System, identify it!"
"Ding, unknown object. Establishing sample analysis, estimated duration 30 days."
The God of Cooking System's response left Xia Yu dumbfounded.
It would take 30 days just to analyze it?!
Wait!
Xia Yu held his breath, "System, are you saying this egg stone is a kitchen tool?"
"Yes."
"Preliminary analysis suggests that this stone has water purification effects and produces various trace mineral elements during purification. Please wait patiently for the final analysis result."
Receiving the system's answer, Xia Yu felt both excited and apprehensive.
He was thrilled because this was a kitchen tool even the God of Cooking System couldn't immediately identify!
And apprehensive because such an egg stone could purify water, which was unscientific.
Okay.
Considering his rebirth and the God of Cooking System, Xia Yu realized he was the most unscientific existence, and then he calmed down.
"Kitchen tools, huh..." Xia Yu pondered.
The Young Chinese Master Chef had legendary kitchen tools.
Toriko had all sorts of incredible Gourmet Hunters.
This was not an ordinary world.
He could be sure that those powerful Gourmet Hunters didn't exist, but he couldn't entirely rule out the presence of legendary kitchen tools.
With no leads, Xia Yu placed the egg stone back into the water jar, went to the courtyard, opened the well cover, drew two buckets of well water back to the kitchen, and filled the water jar.
Traditional Japanese homes usually had wells, with well covers usually added. In the event of a major earthquake and a break in water pipes, the well could ensure a stable supply of household water. In recent years, however, with the population explosion in Tokyo, traditional homes have become rare, replaced by apartments or condensed modern small residences.
Watching the full water jar, Xia Yu nodded silently.
Soon, the well water would undergo a qualitative change.
Water was not only the source of life but also the source of cooking.
If other chefs issued a food duel challenge to him, he would already have an advantage at the source.
Standing in the kitchen, with his focus returning to the substantial sum of Fame Points he had gained, Xia Yu hesitated, unsure how to effectively use this windfall.
Using it all to buy time in the God of Cooking Space would be too wasteful.
He remembered that an average blue recipe cost 500 Fame Points, while blue permanent kitchen tools and blue expansion skill books averaged 1,000 points.
"That's it!"
Xia Yu slapped his forehead.
With two famous figures from the ACG community praising the tea in the shop, didn't that mean he could develop more in this area?
A great restaurant wasn't just about the main dishes.
He wasn't like the old man's stern character. In this new era, he needed to keep up with the times. In his hands, the small shop couldn't treat customers as roughly as before.
Service came first!
Both the arts of making tea and coffee could be expanded; however, considering the shop mainly served Chinese cuisine, coffee could be set aside. Tea was more classic and suited the restaurant's atmosphere better.
Moreover, having been trained by the old man since childhood, Xia Yu also had a certain foundation in tea ceremony, making expansion in this area reasonable and logical.
Summoning the mall, his eyes were filled with dazzling items, Xia Yu swallowed and said, "System, filter out the tea art expansion skill books available for purchase for me!"
Beep.
After filtering, the God of Cooking Mall's items left only three ancient-looking books.
The first one was blue, Intermediate Tea Ceremony, priced at 1,000 points of Fame.
The second one was purple, Advanced Tea Ceremony, at 10,000 points.
The third one was golden, Divine Tea Ceremony, priced at 100,000 points.
"So expensive!" Xia Yu's face twitched, and he felt shaken inside.
The Intermediate Tea Ceremony skill book at 1,000 points was acceptable, but the prices for Advanced and Divine Tea Ceremony were terrifying.
"The host has already activated 'Basic Tea Ceremony' through life experiences. Now, you just need to purchase the Intermediate Tea Ceremony for direct learning."
The God of Cooking System chimed in, "This system suggests the host expand the tea ceremony. Estimated customer return rate increase of over 50%."
"Alright! Buy, buy, buy!" Xia Yu gritted his teeth, making up his mind.
In the culinary world, which operator wouldn't want to keep customers coming back?
Promotional advertising only worked for a while. If he couldn't retain customers, the hype would die down. Although the restaurant wouldn't return to its previous quiet state, its development would definitely be limited.
Either don't do it or do it to the best. Xia Yu's expectations for the restaurant weren't just to be famous in District 11; in the future, he aimed to attract food lovers worldwide and gain global acclaim.
That was the dream of a restaurant owner and professional chef!
"System: Purchase successful!"
"System: 1,000 Fame Points deducted."
A blue, ancient-looking skill book appeared in the inventory. Xia Yu reached in, tapped to use it, and immediately felt a torrent of information flooding his mind.
Closing his eyes.
After ten minutes, Xia Yu opened his eyes again, immediately filled a kettle with water, and placed it on the gas stove.
Before long, the kitchen was filled with the fragrance of tea. An Ya and Mu Xiaoyue, who were cleaning outside, followed the scent to the kitchen doorway, surprised to see the young man, with a serious look on his face, making tea at the kitchen counter.
His silhouette gave the two a strange sense of charm, like a tea art master, classical and elegant.
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-- Regalo
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