章節 37: Chapter 37: Sen Tian Makoto (Part 1)
編輯: Dragon Boat Translation
An afternoon could be long or short.
In the information age with smartphones, time always slipped away while browsing forums and scrolling through Twitter.
At six o'clock sharp in the evening, as the orange sunset poured through the entrance of the store, there were also sounds coming from the back kitchen.
Under Xia Yu's instructions, Mu Xiaoyue hung today's six-dish menu on the wall's menu board. An Ya stood at the counter, holding notepads and pens, ready to take customers' orders.
"Indeed, not a single dish is priced below 2000 yen!"
"Vegetarian dishes average 2500 yen, and meat dishes average 3500 yen!"
An Yilun also stood with Sazuma Eri in front of the menu board.
Sazuma Eri seemed quite relaxed, and it wasn't just an act. Being the daughter of a United Kingdom diplomat, she had tasted numerous exquisite dishes, and was even a regular at many high-end restaurants under the Far Moon brand.
She had also tasted the dishes personally cooked by Tiqie Helinai and still savored the memory. Sazuma Eri glanced at An Yilun and knew that he worked hard at odd jobs and wasn't financially well-off, so she naturally said, "Since I'm the one inviting you, I'll pay the bill."
An Yilun gritted his teeth and insisted on going Dutch: "We'll each order two dishes!"
"Whatever."
Eri's lips twitched. She was naturally tsundere, so she didn't insist and turned to An Ya behind the counter, saying, "I want this one, and this one!"
An Ya couldn't understand Japanese, but she could distinguish gestures.
In fact, Ren Xue and Shuigu Jun had already ordered before them, so Eri knew the language barrier and simply used gestures.
"I'll have those two!" An Yilun also said right after.
An Ya carefully recorded the orders.
The slowest to order were three young girls, who stood in front of the menu board, chattering and taking a long time without making up their minds.
Two order slips had already been delivered to the kitchen by Mu Xiaoyue, and then she stood at the kitchen door, watching Xia Yu with keen interest.
The first task was chopping vegetables.
For home-style dishes, Xia Yu didn't use the [Jade Knife], only a regular kitchen knife. Ingredient after ingredient transformed in his hands—some diced, others shredded or sliced—all as if computed with precision, with no difference in size or shape.
Thud! Thud!
He placed two large woks on the blazing stove, pouring in cooking oil. The sizzling sound of boiling oil resounded throughout the kitchen.
By coincidence, a table of guests ordered the Squirrel Sea Bass, a Su Cuisine dish he excelled at. The boneless fish fillets had been deboned and marinated early; the timing for hot oil was just right.
A fish quickly turned golden yellow in the hot oil.
While frying fish, Xia Yu also worked on another large wok. A basket-full of large shrimp went into the wok in one go. With a sizzle, he deep-fried them for just five seconds, then used a colander to scoop them out, drained the oil, and set them aside.
At this moment, the Squirrel Sea Bass was still frying and not fully cooked. Xia Yu calmly poured the peanut oil used for frying the shrimp into a prepared wok, threw the quickly fried shrimp in, added various seasonings, and began to stir fry.
Mu Xiaoyue was captivated.
The knife skills during chopping, the ease and grace during stir-frying, made her mesmerized.
Especially when tossing the heavy black wok with prawns. It looked heavy, but the young chef seemed to stir-fry effortlessly.
She didn't know that Xia Yu had made great progress in physique today.
Handling them all was no problem.
The Su Cuisine spicy fried prawns were plated first.
The second dish was the same style, Squirrel Sea Bass.
The third was a Shandong cuisine dish, Assorted Seafood Tofu.
When Xia Yu instructed her to open a pot on the third stove, steaming for some time, and to serve a dish, Mu Xiaoyue realized in astonishment that the young chef was operating on three fronts!
The three dishes belonged to Ren Xue and Shuigu Jun's table; they ordered first and naturally tasted the dishes fresh from the kitchen.
"Time to serve—"
Xia Yu continued cooking while Mu Xiaoyue served the dishes.
With three dishes placed on the table, Ren Xue and Shuigu Jun enjoyed everyone's attention.
The aroma was overwhelming.
Fresh prawns, fried fish, squid steamed tofu.
Three entirely different scents wafted through the store.
Those three young girls, still undecided on what to order, drooled at the scene.
Ren Xue and Shuigu Jun couldn't wait for Mu Xiaoyue to serve the rice, their appetites whetted, unable to stop eating. The frequency of picking food with chopsticks, after one taste, sped up like a whirlwind, astonishing onlookers.
"Seems like we made the right choice!" Sazuma Eri was delighted. If the small store's dishes were delicious enough, she could find a reason to tease the noble Tiqie Helinai.
As for An Yilun, the aroma of the dishes stimulated his gastric juice to secrete rapidly. He lowered his head, continuously adjusting his glasses.
It proved that Xia Yu's intense training in the God of Cooking Space paid off. This time, for three tables of guests, he completed all the ordered dishes in just one hour. While efficient, he also maintained quality. Before letting Mu Xiaoyue serve the dishes, he made sure to have the God of Cooking System rate each one for approval.
"Click"
Before eating, Sazuma Eri changed the angle with her phone, taking many pictures of the colorful dishes on the table.
She ignored her "childhood friend."
An Yilun tightly gripped his chopsticks, his Adam's apple moved, and beneath his large black glasses frame, his face was slightly cloudy.
Soon, the dishes ordered by the three young girls were also served. The store fell silent, save for the crisp sound of chopsticks touching plates.
In the kitchen, washing the various utensils and discarding unused scraps, Xia Yu hadn't even caught his breath when today's second wave of guests arrived. The small store, quiet for a while, filled to more than half its seating shortly after opening at six.
Diners came and went, from six o'clock until midnight. No matter how many groups of guests came and went, none were lucky enough to see Xia Yu, who remained busy in the kitchen.
Late at night.
Xia Yu stepped out from the back kitchen to freshen up at the counter.
"Oh?"
He found that not all the guests had left. Ren Xue and Shuigu Jun had gone, but besides An Ya and Mu Xiaoyue, there was a lone girl with long black hair standing at the entrance with her back to him.
"The shop's closed."
Xia Yu smiled, glanced at the old clock in the store. There was still a quarter until midnight, "Ueno Station is nearby, You might still catch the last train if you head back now."
Upon hearing this, the girl turned around.
"Morioka Makki?" Xia Yu looked closely at the girl's face and slightly restrained his smile, "What are you doing here?"
"I savored delicious Chinese cuisine tonight, and I stayed on purpose to see what the chef looked like..."
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