Capítulo 118: Chapter 118
At the huge plaza in front of Yujing Terrace.
A sea of people, exceptionally lively.
"Welcome everyone to the finals of this year's Liyue Chef's Championship. I am Yanfei, invited by the organizing committee to serve as this competition's notary and host."
"Let me introduce today's judges. They are divided into two parts - on-stage judges and audience judges. There are three on-stage judges:"
"Lady Ningguang of the Tianquan!"
"Lady Keqing of the Yuheng!"
"And veteran gourmet, Uncle Tian!"
"Besides these three, the committee will select ten people from the audience to taste the contestants' dishes and vote."
"With thirteen judges total, both on and off stage, thirteen valid votes will be cast between the two contestants. The one with more votes will be today's champion!"
"Now, let me introduce our two finalists."
"From Wangshu Inn in Dihua Marsh — Knife-Born Fragrance, Quick-Blade Chef, Yan Xiao!"
"From Wanmin Restaurant in Liyue Harbor — Swift as Rain, Wonderful Chef, Xiangling!"
Yaoyao stood on tiptoes, her little face flushed as she waved her arms and cheered for her senior sister along with everyone else.
Madame Ping watched the lively scene with a smile, her expression somewhat nostalgic.
Oh another side of the crowd, Xingqiu was also watching with interest, with a light-blue-haired young friend standing beside him.
"Xingqiu, you told me before about an exorcist expert at Wangshu Inn. I tried my best to find them, even spent a fortune buying information about supernatural occurrences, but it was all for nothing."
"Chongyun, it's a festival today. Just enjoy yourself and stop thinking about exorcism."
"Sigh..."
"I was planning to take you for some good drinks, but unfortunately that shop is closed today. We'll have to go in a couple of days."
"No! Last time you said you'd take me for good drinks, we went to Yanshang Teahouse, and they put Jueyun Chilis in the tea. It was torture!"
"Chongyun, you have to believe me, that tea was recommended by my brother, and I didn't know either since it was my first time. This is different - I've been to this shop and tried it myself. I have to say their juice is really delicious. You'll definitely like it."
"No..."
"Chongyun, yesterday some merchants told me about a haunted house in a village they passed through..."
"Oh? Which village?"
"I can't quite remember right now, but they say the juice from that shop helps with memory and mental clarity. Maybe after a couple of drinks I might remember..."
"...Where is this shop?"
"Right next to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, but it's closed today for the holiday."
"Then let's go tomorrow!"
"Good, we should go early. There are many customers, and we'll need to queue."
"Queue? Is it that popular? What kind of juice do they sell?"
"Well, you'll find out when we go tomorrow."
--
At Summer Shop, everyone was sitting together chatting.
Ganyu talked about battles during the Archon War, Zhu Zi shared folk tales about the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons from Inazuma, and Xia Zhi added his own modified version of Journey to the West. As for Shenhe and Qiqi, the two quiet girls sat silently listening.
There wasn't much to do in the shop, so everyone could only chat to pass time.
This world had a popular card game called "Genius Invokation TCG," and Xia Zhi had heard customers mention that a limited edition rare card could sell for as much as 100,000 mora.
But with Xia Zhi's current persona as a blind person, he couldn't play such card games.
The other girls hadn't played much either and weren't very interested.
His original world had many things to play with friends, like various board and card games, but for a blind person to participate, mahjong might be the only suitable option.
He could feel which tile was which by touch.
The [Shop] sold mahjong sets for just 1 point like other common items, though the numbers "one" through "nine" on the character tiles were different from Liyue's common numerals, which might seem strange to people of this world.
After chatting for two hours, around four o'clock, Xia Zhi went to the kitchen to prepare dishes, with the three girls helping.
Qiqi sat alone in the front hall, waiting to open the door for visitors.
With more people coming for dinner, Xia Zhi planned to make sixteen dishes.
Among them, the magical mapo tofu was specially prepared for Yanfei who loved tofu, so even though he'd made it for lunch, he would make it again for dinner.
For the remaining fifteen dishes, Xia Zhi planned to make them different from lunch, mainly recreating Liyue cuisines.
After all, the Moon Chase Festival was Liyue's major local holiday, and they should follow local customs.
Moreover, since Mr. Zhongli was likely Rex Lapis, Liyue cuisine should suit His taste best.
Grilled Golden Bass, Spicy and Numbing Chicken, Rising Dragon Crystal Shrimp, Jade Medley Pouch, Cold Mixed Vegetables...
At five-thirty, Madame Ping, Yaoyao, Xiangling, Yanfei, and Guoba arrived together.
"Big Brother! Senior Sister won the championship!"
"Congratulations, Miss Xiangling."
"Hehe, it's thanks to Mr. Xia's help these past days!"
"Wow! Xiangling is now the Chef Champion!"
"Miss Zhu Zi, please don't call me that! I still have so far to go! Ah! Guoba! Stop! Don't sneak into the kitchen!"
"Mmm!..."
"You're trying to steal food again! Guoba, bad!"
"Mmm!..."
Xiangling quickly grabbed Guoba.
Guoba wore a pitiful expression.
Everyone couldn't help but laugh at this amusing scene.
Yanfei walked over holding an elegantly wrapped small bag.
"Mr. Xia, I'm very sorry. I was invited by the Qixing to host today's cooking competition, so I couldn't come for lunch and didn't have time to let you know."
"It's fine, Miss Yanfei, don't worry about it. Lunch or dinner is the same, I'm glad you could come."
"I recently helped a client from Fontaine with a case. She happens to make glasses, and since I noticed Mr. Xia seems to like black glasses, I asked her to make a pair. Consider it a return gift for the mooncakes."
"Thank you, Miss Yanfei."
Xia Zhi accepted the small bag with a smile of thanks. He didn't really care about return gifts, what mattered was the thoughtfulness of friends.
"Please sit everyone. Once Mr. Zhongli arrives, we can start eating."
--
At Liuli Pavilion, in a private room.
The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor staff were having a gathering.
Hu Tao coughed and began speaking as the Director: "Everyone at Wangsheng, thank you for your hard work. Today, let's..."
After saying a few simple words, just as they were about to start eating, Hu Tao suddenly realized someone was missing.
"Where's Zhongli?"
"Mr. Zhongli just left, said someone invited him to dinner and he had to go."
"Huh?"
Isn't the food at Liuli Pavilion good enough?
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