CHAPTER 717: CHAPTER 716: MIDNIGHT SNACK

Achieving an advanced level in pharmaceutical power, tonight was not only a harvest of culinary skills but of finances as well.

Xia Yu was just stepping forward when the system popped up a task settlement notification:

"Ding!"

"Yesterday’s business turnover has been tallied, achieving the task requirement ’The First Step of a Gold Medal Chef’ (one billion yen turnover), this task will now automatically settle."

"Received ’Enlightenment Crystal’ (gold) *1."

"Culinary skill level lv56→lv58."

The management task was completed after the first day of operation!

Moreover, upon checking the specific turnover amount, Xia Yu couldn’t help but grin broadly, "Truly devouring like a whale!"

The real gold mine!

Not to mention the contributions from a group of fanatic patrons, the gold cards left by Catherine and Andrea, these two business magnates, were enough to fulfill the task requirements.

An extra sum of money was added to the account, but it was still far from enough for the expansion needs of Xia’s Farm.

The two culinary skill level upgrades offered Talent Points were given directly to the ’Heart of Cooking.’

"’Enlightenment Crystal’ (gold): A one-time consumable item that can help the host quickly learn a gold-level recipe, but does not include ancient recipes (Chinese One System)."

Not usable on ancient recipes?

Disappointment was only momentary; after all, this item could still help him immediately learn a rare gold-level recipe, a treasure that should be used wisely!

He went to the tea room in the courtyard and sat on the tatami.

A maid served him hot tea, Xia Yu drank a cup to moisten his mouth, finally stealing a moment of leisure to look through the file folder left by Lei Zhe.

As expected, it contained a stack of property documents.

"This Lei Zhe, truly a sinister character," Xia Yu chuckled as he shook his head while putting down the documents.

To say he kept his promises and held integrity, yet the incident of him troubling a student a few days ago was still hotly debated online.

But at least, by satisfying his ’Food Tyrant’s Stomach,’ he had kept his promise, and this property was arguably the biggest gain from the first day’s operation.

Dum dum dum...

Outside the tea room, a series of footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Xia Yu looked up to see Tiqie Xianzuowen come in and sit directly across the tea table, immediately greeting him, "General, haven’t you rested yet?"

Xianzuowen didn’t respond, his oppressive gaze fixed on Xia Yu for a long while before he suddenly asked:

"Food Dominator?"

Xia Yu nodded.

"...Food Dominator?" The old man remained silent for a while before asking again.

Facing his stern face, Xia Yu coughed, realizing that vague answers wouldn’t work, he had to lower his head and affirm, "Yes."

"Qilin?"

The Far Moon Commander uttered this word, and the atmosphere in the tea room at night suddenly tensed.

"Qilin?" Xia Yu himself was puzzled, pausing for a good while before shaking his head, "Not yet, I suppose."

Speaking, he asked curiously,

"By the way, General, for Qilin level dishes, specifically Food Dominator Qilin dishes, are there divisions like one-star, two-star, three-star? Special grade dishes mainly rely on the ultimate taste for classification. But Qilin level dishes don’t have this so-called ultimate taste, even if they do, under the ’glory of Food Dominator,’ they are all dimmed."

Upon hearing this,

Tiqie Xianzuowen’s face revealed a faint smile.

"Food Dominator dishes indeed have a clear division from one-star to three-star, and Food Dominator Chefs correspond to this rating system."

"But for chefs exploring the Royal Way of Food Dominator, whether it’s dishes or culinary skills, the concept of level is much more vague. Who dares to say their understanding of Food Dominator is definitely stronger than others? Even if a dish is endowed with dual Food Dominator, it might not beat another’s single Food Dominator..."

Xia Yu nodded thoughtfully.

Using Forbidden Ingredients in Food Dominator Qilin dishes, it was indeed easier to classify levels.

But for Food Dominator dishes, what was contested was something beyond ingredients, if put in a very idealistic way, it would be a contest of pharmaceutical ability, truly a battle of the Medicine King.

Who could more profoundly touch the hearts of the diners with their Qilin dishes, naturally dominated.

"That... what’s the profound principle of the Dragon that surpasses the Qilin?" Xia Yu couldn’t help but ask.

"Hmm?"

Tiqie Xianzuowen’s gaze sharpened, fixing his eyes on him.

"That’s something even more formidable than the culinary justice..."

Coolly stating this, the old man fell silent.

Xia Yu hurriedly said, "It must be more incredible than culinary justice, but what exactly is it?"

"For you, it’s still too early to discuss this."

"...damn it!"

Xia Yu rolled his eyes, frustrated by such a response again.

As Tiqie Xianzuowen was about to continue, his eyebrows suddenly raised and after a couple of seconds, an argument could be heard outside the tea house, growing louder as it approached.

"Damn it! Eriina, what are you doing here?!"

A voice fraught with frustration.

"Hmm? I should be the one asking you."

"Goodness! Just get out of my way. I rarely cook a late-night snack for Grandpa, and I was in a good mood until I saw you, which just annoys me for no reason!"

"Same here!"

Whoosh.

The sliding paper door opened, and two girls, jabbering and elbowing, squeezed into the room.

Undoubtedly, they were the Tiqie sisters, Eriina and Alice.

Unlike their usual uniform attire in the campus district, both Eriina and Alice were in home clothes—Eriina was in a pure white princess-style nightgown, while Alice wore cotton clothes, befitting the deep winter night’s cold.

Xia Yu noticed that both held plates.

Attracted by the fragrance of cream, he first looked at the dish in Eriina’s hand.

"Cream stew?"

Hearing him, Eriina glanced at him briefly, and for some reason, her ears tinged red. She placed the plate on the tea table, but not looking at Xia Yu, she said to Old Master Tiqie, "Grandpa, this is a little snack I made for you."

"I made one too!"

Alice squeezed forward, placing her own plate down, but she turned her head to Xia Yu, made a teasing face, and laughed, "But my dish is especially for Instructor Xia!"

"For me?" Xia Yu blinked in surprise, looking into her eyes. "Did you know I was staying here tonight?"

"Just guessed."

Alice giggled, "Instructor, your Zhonghua Building runs until midnight, and you still have to deal with Lei Zhe’s trouble. You must be physically tired, and mentally too. Which is exactly why my late-night snack will help soothe your fatigue!"

"Ahaha..."

Feeling another set of somewhat prickly stares, Xia Yu could only respond with a forced laugh.

For now, ignoring Eriina, he focused on the lavish late-night snack Alice had carefully prepared, and couldn’t help but praise, "So sumptuous! Beautiful!"

A classic Japanese small dish platter, with sushi, a bowl of a small amount of Udon noodles, and a black lacquerware pot resembling a small bowl, filled with egg over rice.

The sushi had only three pieces, embodying the refined elegance typical of molecular gastronomy, with plump grains of rice. What was key was the "caviar" on the surface of the sushi.

Though called caviar, it was a masterpiece of molecular gastronomy in yellow, green, and pale red colors.

"Try some?" Alice asked, blinking.

"Sure, to be honest, I’m quite curious about how much your culinary skills have improved. Alice, how much better have you gotten since the autumn selection?"

As Xia Yu spoke, he observed Alice’s face suddenly tense up, and he chuckled inwardly.

See that.

The authority of the instructor had indeed taken deep root in their hearts.

He first tried the sushi topped with green "caviar." The food was exquisitely dainty, just a bite-sized amount which Xia Yu popped into his mouth. Aside from the faint acidity of the vinegar in the rice, as the "caviar" burst on his tongue, the mint’s refreshing fragrance immediately filled his senses. His eyes brightened as he swallowed after a few chews; oddly enough, his tightly strung nerves indeed felt relieved throughout the night.

"Is this artificial caviar made from the essence of mint tea?... Hmm, not just mint, there’s also a soothing floral aroma, it’s rose! No wonder, mint tea usually has a bitter taste, but mixed with rosewater, that sweetness... It’s simply killing two birds with one stone!"