CHAPTER 730: CHAPTER 729: TESTING THE TABOO (PART 2)

"Don’t rush to praise me; I failed," Xia Yu said awkwardly, waving his hand.

Hearing a Dragon Chef lavish such praise—and a leader of the Dark World at that—the other party was very likely to possess the same Bursting Flame skill.

Meeting a connoisseur, he feared being seen through.

So, the embarrassment lay in the fact that he was just doodling, really!

Having just learned the recipe, Xia Yu went straight to practicing ’Merck’s Stars’ without any grand delusions, merely with the intention to learn and accumulate experience, which was why his technique was so casual. The notion of being a Creator’s Hand was far too embarrassing.

"Fail? That’s not the case," Yan Qi shook his head.

At that moment, Chen Yang also snapped out of the beautiful scenes painted by the fragrance of spices and spoke up stiffly, "Excessive humility comes off as arrogance. That Creator’s Hand of yours—to be honest, it amazed me! I am not your equal when it comes to spices and controlling the flames!"

...

Xia Yu opened his mouth but found himself at a loss for words.

Fucking hell!

He couldn’t help criticizing inwardly, "What Creator’s Hand? It’s all mystical nonsense! I was simply trying to draw out every ’scent line’ to its fullest. Apart from ’Merck’s Stars,’ all other spices fully released their aromas!"

Thud thud.

There was a knock at the door, and the Yuchuan Sisters came in, carrying the ingredients to the workbench and standing by.

Then came the pastry-making.

Different from Chinese pastries, this time it was Western baking, but that didn’t pose a problem for Xia Yu. Without consulting the recipe, he deftly mixed the salt, granulated sugar, and all-purpose flour evenly. Of course, milk powder and dry yeast were indispensable.

For many Western pastries, milk powder is a must when making dough. Apart from its rich content in protein, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, adding milk powder when making dough also increases the dough’s water absorption, meaning—

With milk powder, the dough absorbs more water, expands more easily, and after baking, it significantly increases the yield!

Moreover, pastries containing milk powder greatly enhance flavor and aroma.

There’s not much to say about dry yeast—it’s essential for fermentation!

If possible, Xia Yu quite wanted to use a lump of ’thousand-layer old dough’ from the crock as a substitute. But that belonged to a more advanced level of recipe modification. Without knowing the characteristics of ’Merck’s Stars,’ random attempts would be a joke.

After kneading the dough, the butter had also softened slightly in the bowl. Kneading it a bit more, he obtained the dough that needed to rest and rise.

He would need to wait about half an hour for the dough to proof.

Xia Yu washed his hands, casually wiped them on the apron across his chest, and then joined Yan Qi in the adjoining branch store.

Room number 1.

He pushed open a floor-to-ceiling window, turned on the light, and gazed out into the deep courtyard at night.

"Mr. Yan, what did you want to talk about?" Xia Yu sat down and poured a cup of hot tea for the Eight-faced Building Owner.

Yan Qi didn’t take the tea, just stared at him for a while.

"You must be close to a breakthrough, right?"

The question was so sudden it made Xia Yu’s heart skip a beat.

"No need to answer me directly—you know your own progress best. If you want to return to your homeland, you at least need to have earned the title ’Lin’ to cause a stir back home," Yan Qi said, seemingly with deeper implications.

"And..."

Yan Qi surprisingly hesitated.

The Eight-faced Building Owner actually wanted to tell Xia Yu that the Dragon Chef was eager to meet him.

But up to now, Yan Qi still couldn’t figure out where exactly the Dragon Chef stood.

In the position of the Dragon Chef, there was no good or evil, only interests.

How would the Dragon Chef deal with the ’Jade Dragon Pot’... and this genius young chef who had made a connection with the ’Jade Dragon Pot’?

Xia Yu simply shrugged, seeing Yan Qi didn’t want to talk, he didn’t push for more.

A conversation that was neither here nor there.

Just like that, they whiled away half an hour.

Upon rising, as they headed back to their own shop, Yan Qi suddenly said, "If he decides to challenge you to a culinary duel, please make sure to knock some sense into this apprentice of mine!"

His tone shifted, becoming serious.

It was a request, from the leader of the Dark World!

"Apprentice?" Xia Yu’s steps faltered slightly as a look of realization flashed in his eyes. No wonder Yan Qi and Chen Yang came together today--there was indeed a mentor-apprentice relationship, cough, not an affair.

A subtle smile touched the corners of his mouth.

"I will!"

"Ha ha, to be honest, I also want to get rid of those folks who covet my treasure as soon as possible!"

Xia Yu’s hearty laugh made Yan Qi’s brows twitch.

...

When the two returned to their shop, Chen Yang was nowhere to be seen.

Yuchuan Meisha approached Xia Yu, who was scanning the area, and whispered, "He’s outside on the phone."

Outside the shop, by the fence.

Snap!

Turning off his phone screen, Chen Yang gazed down the bustling shopping street, a fighting spirit gradually building in his eyes.

The words of the mother from the Lin Giant culinary association still echoed in his heart:

"If you want to do it, give it your all to achieve it! Do not fear failure!"

"Your father rose from failure after failure to become an existence that even the Dragon Chef feared and was wary of; that’s why our Chen Family..."

Thud thud thud.

Rushing into the shop, Chen Yang still clutched his phone and spoke in a deep voice to the head chef in the open kitchen, "Let’s have a culinary duel!"

"I want to win the ’Jade Dragon Pot’ through a culinary duel!"

...

At these words, the look in the Yuchuan Sisters’ eyes turned odd.

Yan Qi shook his head, thinking, "This apprentice of mine really won’t turn back until he hits the south wall!"

Silence fell in the small shop.

For quite a while, Chen Yang received no response from Xia Yu.

He was about to take a deep breath and shout again when he saw Xia Yu look up, placing a finger to his lips, "Shh!"

"Now, please be quiet!"

Bowing his head, he placed the six or seven small balls of dough, weighing about 50 grams each, on a clean work surface. Xia Yu took a small dish filled with the previously prepared spice mix, pinched a little in his fingers, and evenly sprinkled it over each ball of dough.

He then gently combined the spices with the dough, his hand movements as if he were gently squeezing clouds, very soothing.

He further shaped each ball into a teardrop shape using plastic wrap.

Brushed with olive oil, laid on a non-stick lined baking sheet, the dough was left to rest a little longer. Xia Yu felt it was about time, and finally dusted them with a layer of flour. The oven preheated to 220 degrees Celsius, he put them in to bake for 10 minutes!

This was the simplest way to make ’Italian Herb Bread,’ skipping many ingredients and steps.

Ding!

After 10 minutes, Xia Yu put on oven mitts and took the baking sheet out.

"Cough, Xia’s Flowing Focaccia, is done!"

Meanwhile.

A golden glow danced in the open kitchen, casting a luminous sheen even onto the shopfront.

Yan Qi, Chen Yang, and the Yuchuan Sisters all stared unblinkingly at the baking sheet in Xia Yu’s hands. On it, six or seven teardrop-shaped herb breads shone like golden-haloed light bulbs, the sparkling effect almost dazzling to the titanium alloy eye.

Unlike glowing dishes, this light effect lasted for a full minute and only faded after the bread was out of the oven.

"Please taste!"

The dessert plates were set on the counter, Xia Yu changed gloves, and arranged the herb bread on them. With the food so close at hand, the rich tide of the spices surrounded him, and even Yan Qi, the leader of the Dark World and the Eight-faced Building Owner, showed a hint of shock in his eyes.

"Golden droplets!"