Bab 20: Chapter 20: Inheriting the Shop (Seeking Recommendations)
Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Downstairs, the old man was already in the back seat of the luxury car.
Xia Yu knocked on the window, but the old man didn't roll it down. He calmly nodded at him from inside the car.
The sound of the engine roared to life, and the Far Moon Commander inside instructed the driver. The black stretch limousine then slowly drove away from the old shopping street under Xia Yu's watchful eyes.
Standing there until the car disappeared, Xia Yu finally turned back.
Uh.
The "Divine Tongue," Tiqie Eriina, stood with her arms crossed in front of the restaurant, coincidentally catching his gaze.
"I've already called Hizaki to pick me up..." she said blandly.
"...I want to ask why you're here?"
Xia Yu spread his hands. Why did this arrogant girl come with the car but not leave with it? However, the old man's departure left him in no mood to tease her, so he casually shoved his hands into his pockets and went back into the store.
"Standing outside is tiring. You should come in and sit."
Without waiting for Tiqie Eriina's response, he clomped upstairs, closed the restroom door, and washed his face and brushed his teeth.
Looking at his youthful face in the mirror, his eyes showed no confusion, only helplessness.
The old man's departure was two days earlier than planned. Just last night, he had completely digested the contents of the cooking manual and was preparing to show off to the old man. Unexpectedly, the man left hurriedly this morning.
In such a rush to return to the country?
Xia Yu shook his head, dispelling miscellaneous thoughts, as a look of eager anticipation appeared in his eyes.
Starting today, he was the owner and head chef of Xia's Chinese Restaurant!
"System, task [Inherit the Chinese Restaurant] completed."
"Reward received: [Jade Fragment Knife] (Purple Cookware)."
"Your culinary level has increased to LV6, gaining 1 unallocated Talent Point."
As expected, while Xia Yu was brushing his teeth, a line of information popped up from the system.
"Xia's Chinese Restaurant data has been fully modeled. The host can view the restaurant panel through this system."
"The rewarded cookware has been recorded in the personal items tab."
Restaurant panel?
Xia Yu tried to open it, then opened his mouth wide, full of white foam.
The Chinese Restaurant materialized into a holographic projection in front of him, with every area labeled with text: the restaurant's sign at the entrance, dining area, kitchen area, food storage, the living quarters on the second and third floors, and the backyard.
On a chair in the dining area, he found the "Divine Tongue," feeling slightly restless and constantly changing her sitting position.
Tiqie Eriina's face had a gnashing expression, her enticing red lips opening and closing as if venting curses. Xia Yu perked his ears and vaguely heard, "...That commoner actually left me here!"
"Damn it!"
"Why hasn't Hizaki arrived yet?"
The three-dimensional holographic image, combined with sound, left Xia Yu dumbfounded.
This was complete surveillance!
With this kind of monitoring system, Xia Yu, now the restaurant owner, was instantly filled with a sense of security.
"Upgrade?" In the dining area, his gaze swept over the tables and chairs, and Xia Yu discovered a strange option: "This upgrade requires 1000 Fame Points..."
Are you kidding?
When will I ever save up a thousand points?
"The host currently has 220 Fame Points," the system reminded.
"Why did it increase by 210 points?" Xia Yu was astonished.
Then, a system log popped up:
"The cuisine gained promotion on social media platforms like Weibo and forums, making more people aware of the restaurant and your existence, Fame +10."
There were many such logs, each adding +10, totaling twenty-one entries.
Glancing at it roughly, Xia Yu couldn't help but slap his forehead, recalling that travelogue written by the Chinese girl last night after tasting the cuisine.
Last night, he had already followed and been followed back by the two of them.
With that in mind, Xia Yu rinsed his mouth, wiped his face, returned to his bedroom, and found his phone. Skillfully logging into Weibo, the most user-rich platform in the homeland, he navigated to the account ID 'Yueyue Food Street' among his followers.
A long post was pinned at the top, with over a thousand reposts and several thousand comments.
"With only 600,000 followers, the repost and comment numbers are so high..." Xia Yu was surprised. The data indicated that the Chinese girl's fan engagement was very high—in other words, they were of high quality and very loyal.
Opening the comments section, there were all sorts of comments present.
"Are you sure these pictures are authentic, not edited afterward? The dishes look so appetizing it makes my mouth water just looking at the images."
"Yikes... Neon Tokyo Ameyoko? What to do, it's pretty close, but it's so expensive. Yueyue, come out and let me whack you. This month's food expenses have already exceeded 100,000 yen, help..."
"Rich guy above, take me with you. Study abroad dog +1."
Smack.
Locking his phone screen, Xia Yu only skimmed through a few comments, understanding how those extra Fame Points came about.
Changing out of his pajamas, he went downstairs to the restaurant counter, finding Tiqie Eriina still sitting there.
The "Divine Tongue" might not have realized how provocative her sitting posture was at the moment. Her long legs were crossed, her already short checkered mini-skirt slightly raised, and Xia Yu glanced over, first noticing the long legs covered in black thigh-high socks, leading up to the white expanse of her upper thighs.
Just a bit more, and he would have reached the girl's forbidden zone.
He chuckled, "Eriina, have you had breakfast? Want me to make an extra serving?"
"Please address me by my last name. We aren't familiar," the "Divine Tongue" expressed disdain. "Besides, I ate breakfast two hours ago and am not hungry now."
"You've been here twice, and we aren't familiar? I prefer calling people by their names; it feels more intimate."
Xia Yu stood at the kitchen counter, reached into the God of Cooking System's inventory, and retrieved a small knife forged like white jade.
The knife's width was estimated at just two fingers, its blade long and narrow, seemingly just a fruit knife at a glance—of course, that was ignoring the material.
What was most incredible was that the white chef's knife emitted continuous wisps of cold air, as if it had just been taken out from the fridge.
"[Jade Fragment Knife] (Purple), you may think it's a fruit knife, but it can cleave mountains and break stones. When used on meat ingredients, the knife's cold air can temporarily lock in the freshness, allowing the meat to stay fresh for up to seven days without freezing."
What a good knife!
His eyes lit up, and Xia Yu turned to pick up the tofu he prepared last night from a wooden tray beside the kitchen counter.
Thud, thud, thud...
The Jade Fragment Knife was very lightweight, making the tofu cutting effortless for Xia Yu. As the tip of the knife tapped the chopping board, tofu slices as thin as noodle strands scattered under his hand, amounting to about half a bowl of shredded tofu on the board.
Whew. Standing with the knife lowered, Xia Yu lifted the long strands of tofu with his fingers, unable to hide the excitement in his eyes.
The knife's improvement to his skills was different from the improvement gained from allocating Talent Points. It's like even a master chef would frown at a dull knife; cookware to a chef is similar to the Yitian Sword or Dragon Slayer Sword to a swordsman—extremely significant.
He tossed the knife back into the God of Cooking System's inventory. When he wanted to use it, he could summon it with a mere thought.
It was approximately 10 a.m. Feeling ravenous, Xia Yu showcased a bit of his culinary skill, using the tofu pudding he made last night to prepare two bowls of red sugar tofu pudding. It remained vegetarian, without shredded meat, only walnut bits and fried peanuts.
"Do you want some cilantro?"
Bringing out the two bowls of tofu pudding and placing them on the counter, Xia Yu asked the "Divine Tongue."
"..." Tiqie Eriina had a vein throbbing on her forehead. "I told you, I already had breakfast!"
With that, she grew more haughty.
"I had a French breakfast: toast, milk, and fried eggs. What is this, tofu cuisine? Surely commoners' food..."
-- Hadiah diterima