CHAPTER 588: CHAPTER 587: BREAKFAST HOSPITALITY (PART 1)

The first stage of the Sapporo event had ended the day before.

Early in the morning, just as dawn broke, the streets were deserted, but Xia’s Main Store, which had been closed for some time, opened its doors early.

After two upgrades, the store had been aired out the night before, and cleanliness was not an issue that Xia Yu had to worry about anymore. After his morning exercise routine, which included boxing, he found a feather duster and dusted around, then wiped the tables, chairs, and bar counter with a towel until there was not a speck of dust left.

As soon as Makki and Eriina got up and gathered at the shop, Xia Yu treated them to a lavish breakfast.

The quiet of the morning did not last long.

Around eight o’clock, knock knock, someone knocked on the half-closed door of the shop.

A head popped in, looking around curiously,

"Excuse me, are you open for business as usual?"

The weather in Tokyo in November was neither cold nor hot, but a light sweater and long sleeves were necessary. The early morning visitor, a woman dressed in a shirt and a knitted sweater, paired with a trendy short skirt and tights, did not lose her poise.

"Eh—"

The voice sounded familiar. Makki, who was chatting casually with Tanaka Hikari and Eriina, was startled and turned around to find that it was the regular customer Ren Xue. She had come alone, without her boyfriend.

"Sister Xue, come on in."

Xia Yu called out upon hearing the voice, poking his head out from the open kitchen.

Ren Xue, flattered, walked straight to the bar and sat down. Xia Yu was washing dishes at the moment, with Yuchuan Meisha assisting him. As for Yuchuan Ayaka, she had returned to the Yuchuan Main House early, with Xia Yu’s consent, of course.

"I’ll have a cup of hot tea first."

He specially used the fresh spring water from the tank to brew a familiar cup of warm green tea for the regular customer.

Holding the tea cup, smelling the steam wafting from it, Ren Xue took a sip and lowered her head to drink. She couldn’t help but raise her hand to wipe the corner of her eye, and sniffed as she said, "The nostalgic taste. The tea leaves are ordinary, but the water used to brew the tea is extraordinary. Ever since I’ve had tea here, tasting tea in other restaurants or even making it myself just doesn’t compare..."

Her gaze fixed intensely on the young chef in the kitchen.

"Boss Xia, may I place my order..."

Before she finished speaking, there was another knock at the door.

This time it was not one or two people, but a large group. Ren Xue turned to look and found that, unbeknownst to her, the shopfront was packed, and the customers had formed a long, orderly queue on their own.

Xia’s shop usually opened in the evenings, and regulars were clearly aware of this rule. But the queue contained not only regulars but also many new customers drawn by the shop’s reputation. There were quite a few blonde-haired, blue-eyed foreigners, and many journalists with cameras and recording equipment mingled among them, showing signs of urgency but restraining themselves.

"So many people!"

Ren Xue was astonished, feeling secretly glad that she had arrived early.

In fact, anyone who had watched last night’s news knew about the Far Moon Team’s return to Tokyo, and the most dazzling star chef of the team had nowhere else to go but back to his own restaurant.

"What should we do?"

Makki, Eriina, Tanaka Hikari, and Yuchuan Meisha spontaneously lined up, waiting for Xia Yu’s instructions.

Zhu Qing, who yawned as she arrived, was stunned when she saw the crowd at the shop entrance. "It’s not even eight o’clock yet, right? You’ve got to tell them to disperse, or we’ll definitely be busy from morning till night."

That was true.

The number of people in the queue was still increasing, and an overhead view would reveal the crowd slowly gathering from the tram station toward the shopping street.

"Our Xia’s shop usually opens in the evening, that’s true..."

Xia Yu had already come out of the kitchen, propped his chin and said, glancing at Ren Xue, eager for his attention. After a night’s rest, he was in a good mood, and besides, those who could make it at this hour were doubtlessly a group of true fans. It wouldn’t be right to turn a cold shoulder to his fans’ warm hearts.

"Let’s entertain them!"

He decided, "But only a limited breakfast! Limited to the first 500 people, with each person getting a cup of hot tea and a pastry!"

"Hmm, as for the price, let’s go with a heartfelt approach to affordability, 2000 yen per person..."

"Oh!"

Ren Xue exclaimed excitedly, "Long live Boss Xia!"

She pushed her empty teacup forward and, with a thick skin, said, "That cup of tea just now is not included, right? Could I have another, please? I’ll pay!"

With that, she took out two one-thousand-yen bills and slapped them on the bar.

"500 servings for breakfast?!"

Zhu Qing, however, threw cold water on the idea, "That’s quite a lot. What do you plan to do? It certainly can’t be complex, but if it’s too common, it will only tarnish the gold signboard you’ve worked hard to build."

"You are, after all, the chef who gained the most fans after the first stage of the Sapporo event! My Chef Xia!"

She said with schadenfreude.

"In the team, there are quite a few journalists, and with fame comes gossip. Make sure they don’t catch you on any minor slip-ups—"

Xia Yu, upon hearing this, was utterly speechless.

His aunt meant well, but she definitely had a sharp tongue.

"Don’t worry—"

With a grand gesture of his hand, he declared, "I’ve ordered the ingredients; you all help out."

The shop still had plenty of flour in stock. Not to mention the main store, the branch’s underground food storage also had high-quality beef needed for the preparation. He first mobilized the women present to help with the cooking, some carrying flour, others thawing frozen beef.

As for Xia Yu himself, he summoned Aunt Zhu Qing and they both headed into the kitchen.

Two stoves were set up with four deep fryers, filled with the oil normally used in Xia’s shop for deep frying; no special preparation was needed.

On the remaining two stoves, Chinese stir-fry pans were placed.

Xia’s Restaurant began its long-anticipated hustle and bustle.

Outside.

About a quarter hour later, a packed minibus stopped at the curb.

A journalist, just getting off the vehicle and hurrying to join the queue, unexpectedly bumped straight into a tall man stepping off the minibus, yelping in pain before falling over.

Clutching his DSLR camera tightly, relieved to see the lens undamaged, he took a deep breath, looked up, and met the tall man’s indifferent eyes looming above, trembling with fear.

The tall man lost interest in the journalist, turned around, looking at Xia’s Restaurant surrounded by the crowd, and chuckled, "Looks like it’s not going to be easy to say hello to him today."

"You can say that again."

One by one, five or six oddly dressed men and women got off the bus.

These people were dressed in styles starkly different from those typical of the Tokyo Metropolis. There was a flower monk with a shaved head and a beard, wearing a string of large Buddha beads around his neck; a scholarly man in a long robe, with a headband over his tied hair showing refined elegance; and a graceful woman wearing an apricot-colored chiffon skirt, her upper body clad in a light crossed-collar shirt, holding an oil-paper umbrella.

The man leading the group turned around, wearing a black Crane Robe. The journalist caught a glimpse of the embroidered Kirin pattern on the back of the coat, and his pupils shrank, "They are—"

Apart from the leader, the others had changed into casual clothes and were unrecognizable.

"It can’t be wrong!"

The journalist got excited, keeping a little distance, he lifted his DSLR and started snapping wildly. At the same time, he was already thinking of a sensational headline. The less reputable the headline, the more attention-grabbing it would be.

"Eight-faced Tower Team making a strong entrance?"

"Making an entrance? That doesn’t seem quite enough!"

"Food Duels! Young star chef Xia Yu faces Food Duel challenge on the first day after the competition!... This might work..." The journalist decided on the spot, without further ado. A news story titled ’Food Duel’ would surely attract a lot of readers, and with readers comes traffic.