CHAPTER 673: CHAPTER 672: THE HOSPITALITY OF THE BLACK BEAN (PART 2)

The bike came to a stop.

Glancing at the closed sign hung outside the fence, Nishimura Eiki said hesitantly to his companion in the black-framed glasses, "Mr. Sakamoto, maybe we shouldn’t go in. Shouldn’t we give a heads-up first?"

Boss Sakamoto didn’t reply, peering through the half-open door of the small shop, inhaling the faint soy aroma in the air with a look of intoxication.

"Who are you?"

A crisp female voice came from behind.

Nishimura Eiki turned his head, and when he clearly saw who it was, he stammered, "You, you’re the head chef of Fog House, a Far Moon graduate, Qian Rixiangzi?"

The star chefs of the Far Moon system always had high profiles.

Qian Rixiangzi clapped her hands together, her characteristic squinty eyes smiling warmly:

"Ah!" She looked at their uniforms and then at the chest badge. "Are you students from White Seagull High School? Do you know Mr. Xia Yu? Oh, could you be Mr. Xia Yu’s classmates? Please, come in—"

Her body flickered past the fence, and she gestured them inside with a beaming smile.

"Classmates visiting, Mr. Xia Yu will definitely be happy!"

Seeing how calm and casual Qian Rixiangzi was, Nishimura Eiki stood there dumbstruck.

"This, this,"

"This what?"

Another calm male voice.

Nishimura Eiki turned around to see a man in pristine white chef attire with a red collar, sporting fashionable pink hair... It was none other than the famous French chef Shigong Xiaoci Lang.

Shino’s branch outlet had made quite a name for itself in this neighborhood. Even a gamer like Nishimura Eiki knew of such a famous restaurant. And of course, every break time, he would overhear the girls in class chattering, discussing Chef Shigong Xiaoci Lang’s handsome features on the covers of gourmet magazines, leaving a deep impression on him.

"Hmm, high school students?" he said with a cool reminder, indifference on his face, "At this hour, you’ll be late for school soon!"

"Isn’t White Seagull High School close by? I remember it’s just around the corner."

"I can assure you, they can get to school within 10 minutes on their bikes, just barely making it on time is a high schooler’s daily life, right?"

Other voices approached from afar.

One by one, Far Moon graduates who had opened branches in the shopping street popped out.

The one with short blue hair, expressionless, and short in stature, was Mizuhara Fuyumi.

The one who gave Nishimura Eiki a fierce look, standing with arms crossed and full of presence, was Kazasaki Tatsuki.

Then there was a graduate with big eyes and a somewhat cute and dazed look, almost making the gamer high schooler’s nose bleed with excitement, he shouted, "Ah, it’s Chef Kikuchi Sankaku! I’m a fan of hers!"

Dizzy, Nishimura Eiki found himself following the group of graduates into Xia’s Restaurant through the slightly ajar door.

Inside the restaurant, the thrill of walking with idol chefs was soon replaced by hunger.

"Growl!"

His stomach protested loudly; Nishimura Eiki, embarrassed, clutched his belly and shrank behind Boss Sakamoto, but the graduating chefs with him didn’t glance his way, each finding a spot at the bar to sit.

"Okay—"

Just then, a voice suddenly came from the kitchen.

Xia Yu had fried the last batch of bean dregs cake to a golden brown, plucked them out with chopsticks, and set them in a large bowl. The ceramic bowl was quickly filled with black patties, about five or six of them.

"Look!" someone patted his shoulder, Zhu Qing pointed towards the kitchen window, Xia Yu looked up to see a group of graduates, but wasn’t too surprised; these guys had been frequently dropping by for a free feed these past few days.

"Yo, this early?" he greeted.

"Yeah, I rented a place nearby. I hadn’t even opened the shop by 7 am, and I saw your lights were on. You really have a regular life, Mr. Xia Yu!" Qian Rixiangzi said with a grin.

"The branch will definitely be slammed for the next few months, we can’t do without a head chef, so we’re ready for a long-term stay!" Mizuhara Fuyumi said, resting her chin in her hand, face as impassive as ever.

"Planning to stay for a while?" Xia Yu laughed.

Chef Shigong Xiaoci Lang wasted no time on idle chatter, pointing to the open kitchen counter where bowls upon bowls of black pancakes lay, "What are these?"

This time, he had used about 5 jin of ’Big Tuna Belly Soybeans,’ resulting in quite a lot of bean dregs, which he combined with other ingredients to make the bean dregs cakes. There were so many that several bowls were filled.

"Have a taste and you’ll know. Just some snacks that could pass for breakfast!" Xia Yu was generous, handing out two bowls in succession.

The graduates, abandoning their pretense of reserve, scrambled, pushed their chairs back and crowded in to make short work of the black pancakes, leaving Nishimura Eiki and Boss Sakamoto on the outskirts, looking on longingly.

"This is for you guys..." he offered them the third bowl.

"Wow!"

Here, Qian Rixiangzi let out an exclamation, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the black pancake in her hand that was missing a corner, "Delicious!"

"The ingredients are flour, eggs, there’s the taste of green onions and onions, chopped up really finely, huh? No wonder you can’t tell..." Mizuhara Fuyumi chewed and spoke, then took another bite of the pancake, "No, wait!"

"Did you add brown sugar? I can understand the strong tofu residue flavor, but why does it get sweeter the more I chew?"

Kikuchi Sankaku found it sweet and cloying, her big eyes misty with tears.

Even Kazasaki Tatsuki, who normally had a fierce aura that made him seem unapproachable, couldn’t help but let his facial lines soften.

Shigong Xiaoci Lang’s mouth moved slowly, seemingly savoring each chew, but his heart was deeply shaken.

Rich natural bean fragrance, it felt familiar!

"Big Tuna Belly Soybeans!"

In an instant, Shigong Xiaoci Lang seemed to return to the dormitory study night that deep into the food battle.

It was also "Big Tuna Belly Soybeans."

But the difference was, this time the soybeans weren’t made into tofu but just soy pulp, and yet compared to the magical ’seven-flavors-in-one’ Mapo tofu, Shigong Xiaoci Lang had a strange sensation of tasting—

A simple breakfast pancake, yet it contained a power that could compete with top-tier delicacies!

"What is it!"

Hmm!

Another bite. Although it was just a mix of ordinary ingredients and the soy pulp, which is often discarded as "trash" after filtering soy milk, was the main ingredient, Shigong Xiaoci Lang found himself getting more and more addicted, silently praising, "Now this is a classic vegetarian breakfast treat!"

Eggs, flour.

Green onions, onions.

The only seasoning used was salt.

Seemingly plain, yet when combined with the protein-rich soy pulp, the quality of this breakfast was in no way inferior to eating a few meat buns.

The graduates ate two or three soy pulp pancakes in a row, feeling a sense of ’quiet’, that peacefully flowed through their hearts.

"I should get back to work—"

Qian Rixiangzi finished her cup of hot tea and hopped off the stool.

"Thanks for the treat!" Mizuhara Fuyumi’s face was expressionless as she left with Qian Rixiangzi.

In an instant, the shop was left with only one graduate, Shigong Xiaoci Lang.

"Chef Shigong, do you have anything you’d like to say?" Xia Yu looked at him curiously.

His lips moved, Shigong Xiaoci Lang hesitated several times as if he had much to say, but in the end, it turned into a sigh of relief, "That’s right, no wonder I couldn’t grasp it, you’ve already begun to sprint towards a higher realm!"

"Thank you!"

He turned his back, "Now, no matter how full the restaurant gets, I won’t feel irritated anymore!"

The graduates came suddenly and left just as quickly, after all, they were a group of busy people.

"Xia, Mr. Xia Yu, we’ll take our leave too—"

Nishimura Eiki drank his tea, his hands joined together in satisfaction.

"Hey! Wait!"

Yet Xia Yu came out from the kitchen, smiling, and handed them a unique wooden lacquered lunch box, "Inside are some tofu dishes I’ve been practicing on my own, you’ll probably like them. Take it, I’ve added a few pieces of charcoal between the layers, so it will keep warm until lunchtime, no problem!"

Nishimura Eiki was moved and rushed forward, wanting to give Xia Yu a hug, "This is the exclusive benefit of being classmates, right? Awesome!"

"Off you go!"

Pushing the gamer away, Xia Yu handed the lunch box to the taciturn Boss Sakamoto and waved to the two, "Hurry to school. It’s the perfect timing now!"

"Oh right!"

Nishimura Eiki turned back at the door of the shop, asking naively, "Mr. Xia Yu, the autumn term is about to end, aren’t you planning to return to class and take exams?"

"Class and exams?"

Xia Yu blinked, "Once I’m through with this busy period, I’ll return to school."

After seeing off the two classmates, Xia Yu clapped his hands and went back to the kitchen.

Smack smack!

The sound of someone sneaking a bite, Zhu Qing ate with relish.