CHAPTER 602: CHAPTER 601: A SETBACK?

In private room number one, Tiqie Xianzuowen was seated at the same table with Luther and Adelaide.

Alice and that girl with the smoky makeup, Cecilia, were nowhere to be seen.

The ’Food Demon King’ and the two Lin Giants were all holding bowls, eating earnestly with their heads bowed. They would chew thoughtfully for a while, then pause, deep understanding gleaming in their eyes.

Upon hearing footsteps, all three looked up to see Xia Yu approaching. Smiles appeared on their faces.

"Chef Xia!"

Adelaide set down his bowl, which had been wiped clean of rice and fried pork. The porcelain bowl and chopsticks were stained with red oil and would not be clean until a special cleaning agent was used after the feast.

"Thank you for the hospitality!" he said, bowing slightly to show his satisfaction with the first course, ’Big Blast Fried Pork’.

Luther and Xianzuowen also set down their bowls in succession.

"It’s just a small dish; if it’s to your liking, that is endorsement enough for my humble establishment," Xia Yu said modestly.

There was no helping it. Setting aside "one of their own," Xianzuowen, Luther and Adelaide were the true giants of the Lin, and they hailed from IGO—probably having tasted all sorts of incredible fantasy ingredients.

That the ’Big Blast Fried Pork,’ with its strong popular appeal, could satisfy their picky palates was truly remarkable.

Xia Yu removed his shoes before entering the room and sat a few steps away from the main table, with the courtyard behind him.

He slightly restrained his smile and said seriously, "Since you have enjoyed the tasting, I’d ask that you give some feedback. I believe that there must be serious flaws in this ’Big Blast Fried Pork’."

None of them had expected Xia Yu to say this.

Luther and Adelaide were quite surprised.

"No, no, Chef Xia, your dish doesn’t have flaws!" Adelaide hurriedly said.

"Indeed!" agreed Luther.

But Xia Yu stubbornly shook his head: "Both of you have tasted my ’Gold and Jade’ fried rice, as well as the ’Xia’s Seven Kingdoms United Fried Noodles.’ Do you really think the ’Big Blast Fried Pork’ can compare with the previous two dishes?"

At his words, the two Lin Giants choked up.

"It’s not a matter of comparison like that."

They couldn’t articulate their reasoning, but clearly, they felt the ’Big Blast Fried Pork’ didn’t measure up to the two previous dishes.

"General..." Xia Yu met Xianzuowen’s probing gaze.

"Could you perhaps offer some guidance?"

He used the word "guidance," indicating a lowered stance.

"Hehe."

Xianzuowen chuckled and said, "You are encountering only the kind of issues and confusion faced by Lin Chefs when they aspire to reach greater heights."

"Huh?!" Xia Yu thought he had misheard.

Luther and Adelaide were even more stunned.

"Aren’t you experimenting with integrating ’Qi’ with culinary skills?" Xianzuowen asked at a leisurely pace.

"You noticed?"

"Of course!"

The old man was nonchalant, gazing deeply at him and said, "Don’t you even know what kind of trials and practices you are undertaking?"

Xia Yu was inexplicably shocked.

’Qi’ was actually connected to realms such as the Qilin Realm and even higher? Then why hadn’t the system...

"So, General, could you point out where my ’Big Blast Fried Pork’ fell short?" This time, Xia Yu earnestly sought advice, ready to listen like a student.

"To not dwell on the superflities, there’s just one point..."

"It’s not enough!"

Xia Yu’s face was a mask of frustration.

"I know it’s not enough!"

"But... exactly what is not enough?"

A voice close by answered for them: "It lacks evolution... It’s too crude and primitive!"

The group turned to see Yan Mo and the red-dressed Lin Giant.

From a distance, Yan Mo said, "What do you think is the difference between a dish cooked with a mixture of ’Qi’ and culinary techniques and ordinary dishes?"

"Um?"

Xia Yu frowned, unable to answer the question.

"Wait a second!"

Yan Mo and the one in red took their seats near Xia Yu, bending their legs to sit down.

Just as Xia Yu was bewildered, a bright, youthful voice echoed through the courtyard:

"The dishes are ready, Wu Family tea dumplings!"

And so, Ichise Hui and the Yuchuan Sisters assisted, bringing over steaming dim sum baskets.

"Tea dumplings?"

Dim sum baskets were placed in private room number one. Xia Yu lifted the lid of a basket, and inside, there were five tiny, exquisite green dumplings. Upon opening the basket, a strong and fragrant tea aroma immediately wafted out.

Xia Yu asked Ichise Hui to bring another dish of "Big Blast Fried Pork."

Tea dumplings and fried pork were placed at the same time.

"Please enjoy—"

Wu Yingying came over and sat at the sliding paper door.

Everyone gathered here began to pick up their chopsticks.

Xia Yu also began to eat, staring at the delicate green dumplings on his chopsticks. He sniffed and couldn’t help but say,

"Tea can be both drunk and eaten. Before the Tang Dynasty, tea was often described as something to ’eat’. The term ’eating tea’ was used then, and it wasn’t until after the Ming Dynasty that ’drinking tea’ became more common. The ancient tea meal was called tea food, which was a general term for cakes and pastries including tea..."

Given that Xia Yu had mastered the "tea ceremony" skill, he was very familiar with tea-related knowledge.

Eating tea was also a way of embracing a natural diet, and there were many ways to ’eat’ tea leaves. Today, Wu Yingying’s tea dumplings were just one kind. Others included black tea-smoked fish, oolong tofu soup, and Tieguanyin braised pork ribs...

Actually, Xia Yu had many similar recipes in mind.

"Try it!"

He gently bit into the tea dumpling. As soon as the dough broke, a faint fragrance endlessly tantalized the tongue, giving an impression of a lingering and harmonious melody, profound and refreshing. At that moment, Xia Yu couldn’t help but exhale a refreshing breath, imagining himself wandering barefoot in a bamboo forest, dipping his feet into a stream, playing in the crisp water.

"Ah, was the dough kneaded with tea water?"

His expression changed slightly.

The dumpling filling chewed in his mouth reverberated with a fresh taste, a very clean fragrance that was all-natural yet irresistibly pleasant. Xia Yu chewed thoughtfully, tasting and savoring carefully.

"Were the brewed tea leaves chopped up and mixed into the filling to create this ’freshness’?"

After a while, he opened his eyes in surprise and stared at Wu Yingying.

"The taste is unassuming yet stimulates the appetite... Remarkable!" he couldn’t help but praise.

The other giants opened their eyes too.

"Try your own fried pork now," said Yan Mo.

Despite his confusion, Xia Yu did as instructed.

He picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and placed it in his mouth without hesitation.

Crunch!

His tongue curled, and the slice of meat seemed to disappear in his mouth. At the same time, the mental image of food in his head suddenly splashed with water droplets.

The grating sound of a pig squealing.

In the clear bamboo forest stream, a strange "pig" suddenly appeared, with the head of a pig, the body of a cow, and the wings of a bird, looking incredibly bizarre. It had only just appeared before it started fluttering its wings, splashing the water.

The young man, who was sitting on the riverbank playing with stones and casually dipping his bare feet in the water, was caught off-guard and instantly turned into a drowned rat!

The pig, furthermore, charged at him aggressively, and the young man had no choice but to flee in panic!

The tranquil bamboo forest scene turned peculiar with the intrusion of the monster.

"Incredible—"

Crying out in disorder, Xia Yu awoke and looked down at the two dishes on the table, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"What an affront to elegance!"

He pointed at his own fried pork and cursed.

Yan Mo, the lady in red, and Tiqie Xianzuowen laughed on hearing this.

"Do you understand now?" Yan Mo asked.

"It seems... I do," Xia Yu replied awkwardly.

"Life force and culinary skills need to be blended like the strokes of a paintbrush. By pursuing the pure original flavor too aggressively, the inherent image of the ingredients naturally intrudes into the culinary world, resulting in an incongruous mess," said Yan Mo.

"Heh!" another female Lin Giant chuckled lightly at this point, "An incongruous mess is the normal scenario, isn’t it? A special chef attempting unbelievable trials and practices by crossing boundaries is too reckless."

"However, the result is not bad. The attempt is half-failed rather than completely failed, and at least the dish agrees with my palate," stated the lady in red, glancing at Xia Yu.

"If you had used regular pork instead of Fantasy Ingredients pork, this blunder..."

She didn’t finish her sentence before Xia Yu interrupted her with a wave of his hand.

"I’m going to prepare the ninth dish."

Everyone was astonished.

"Straight to the ninth dish?"

"Why?"

"Because I want to prove that the pure original flavor is not an incongruous blunder!"

The female Lin Giant raised her eyebrows sharply.

"Are you dissatisfied with my evaluation?"

Xia Yu left her only with his back.