CHAPTER 818: CHAPTER 817: STRANGE RECIPE

"The second round of the Chinese New Year’s selection has concluded, with the names of 302 young heroes as follows..."

The female announcer said on the evening news two days later.

The list slowly unfolded, with the image effect of an ancient scroll, and Xia Yu’s name appeared at the very first position in the first row, very eye-catching.

Meanwhile, discussions about this round of selection, both online and offline, showed no signs of dying down in the past two days, instead becoming increasingly intense. From popular topics on Weibo to more private circles in moments, people voiced their opinions.

Five years later, the New Year’s selection once again featured a perfect score classic creation, and naturally, the young renowned chef who created it became the focus of attention.

The media was vigorously promoting him, with CCTV’s food channel recently broadcasting exciting footage of Sapporo events. Those classic masterpieces born at Xia Yu’s hands, like the stunning debut "Ox-Pig-Bird Blood Sausage" or the battle with Li Han’s "Xia’s Seven Kingdoms United Fried Noodles," have all become popular search terms online.

While there is no Neon’s Taste Weekly in the Chinese Realm, other equally influential food channels exist, such as CCTV Food Channel, and self-media like Mu Xiaoyue’s established "Classic Witness." Naturally, these well-known media have complete records of Xia Yu’s culinary performances, so much so that relevant recorded webpages often experience server crashes due to overwhelming crowds.

Of course.

Xia Yu’s personal social media platform undoubtedly became the focal point of this wave of attention. His most recent post on Weibo and Twitter was a photo taken upon his return to the country, with the shot being quite cryptic, capturing the price menu at a domestic airport restaurant, accompanied by a surprised expression emoji.

The original thousands of replies surged in the past few days, the heat enough to make top celebrities feel envious.

...

"Hey!"

As the center of public opinion, Xia Yu was at Zhao’s Vineyard, not stepping out for several days, simply becoming a homebody.

In the evening, Zhu Qing stood outside the bedroom with her hands on her hips, "You have a guest. Are you going to see them or not? Say something!"

"Who is it?"

A lazy voice came from inside the room.

"A great beauty!" Zhu Qing had a playful smile on her face, "A leading lady from the Yunmengze Chef Alliance!"

Before Xia Yu could respond, the woman beside Zhu Qing quickly waved her hand, her pretty face showing a hint of embarrassment, "Teacher Zhu, you flatter me. There are quite a few female chefs in the Yunmengze Alliance who are better than me."

She bit her lip and glanced at the still-closed door, full of regret, "Since Chef Xia is inconvenient, I will take my leave."

As the sound faded, there was a click, and the door unexpectedly opened.

"Oh, it’s you indeed!"

The neatly dressed youngster stepped out, rubbing his eyes as if just waking up.

Xia Yu looked over the woman a few times, his gaze slightly clearing.

The female reviewer had clearly dressed up intentionally, with light makeup on her rosy cheeks. A lady’s small suit accentuated her curvaceous figure, especially highlighting the perfect lines of the tight pants stretched over her long legs, inviting more admiration.

Fan Jiaorou was pleasantly surprised, but she was here on business. She respectfully handed over an envelope first, "This is the subject for the third round of competition. Please have a look, Chef Xia. Additionally, the third round of selection will commence three days later, with a change of venue. Three matches will take place on the same day, at the same location. You’re assigned as number 1 in the first match, Chef Xia."

Regarding the numbering and order of appearance, there was no room for complaint. Xia Yu blandly took the envelope but didn’t open it, nodding at Fan Jiaorou, "Thanks for the trouble."

"There’s another matter."

Fan Jiaorou gathered her courage, slightly biting her rosy lips, "I truly admire your spice skills. In this field, you’re my senior, so I have a presumptuous request—"

"Presumptuous request?" Xia Yu raised a hand, "Stop!"

"If it’s about asking for a spice formula or the secret behind certain spices, then I must refuse."

The allure of her appearance was one thing, but Xia Yu wasn’t generous enough to casually bestow his formulas on others.

Moreover, knowledge of Fantasy Spices and Taboo Spices can’t be bought with money; they are priceless.

"No, it’s not!"

With a hint of shyness in her brows, Fan Jiaorou hesitantly took a neatly folded white note from her coat pocket, and Xia Yu noticed her fingers slightly trembling, "It’s like this, I’ve encountered difficulties in the field of spices. A new formula has issues, but with my current skills, I can’t identify the problem. Please help me find a solution!"

"Oh—"

Xia Yu finally relaxed his vigilance, extending his hand, "Let me take a look."

Unfolding the white note, it was filled with delicate plum blossom characters, with spice names and amounts clearly written.

However, after just a few glances, Xia Yu returned the note, "A new formula?"

He chuckled, didn’t expose the falsehood, and closed the door.

Zhu Qing then sent the bewildered Fan Jiaorou off, entered Xia Yu’s room, noticing him at his desk, just having set down his pen and muttering with a frown, "Didn’t expect to encounter a strange recipe just after returning to the country. Douchi, garlic, scallion, perilla, gardenia, mint, burdock, almond, a total of 8 ingredients, not that complicated. Douchi can blend five flavors and is used the most, so it’s likely the leader of this formula? An ingredient formula for some douchi spice?"

Closing his eyes, then opening them again after a few seconds.

"I can’t understand it!"

Now Xia Yu’s tone was unexpectedly surprised.

"If even you can’t understand it, it must be a bunch of nonsense," Zhu Qing interrupted, glancing at the note on the desk with words inscribed, showing little interest. She wasn’t concerned about Xia Yu secretly noting other’s formulas, not even asking.

Outside Zhao’s Vineyard.

Inside a silver-white sedan.

Bang!

As soon as Fan Jiaorou got in the car, she slammed the steering wheel hard, lamenting, "As expected, he figured it out. I should’ve been clear, shouldn’t have hidden anything, after all, asking someone to help restore the ancient Fan Family formula."

In reality, Fan Jiaorou had reasons for her caution. She still remembered her grandmother, also a renowned chef of the Xiang cuisine, years ago, in her hometown, dying on the sickbed while orally passing down the ancient formula to her.

Of course, the formula had flaws, not perfect, requiring correction by the Fan Family’s descendants. This was also something her grandmother regretted during her culinary career.

"Forget it!" Fan Jiaorou pressed the accelerator.

"Forget it!"

In the bedroom, Xia Yu’s furrowed brows suddenly relaxed, crumpled the paper on the desk into a ball, and tossed it into the trash can, "Perhaps it’s just a casually scribbled recipe without any structure, not to be taken seriously!"

After spending a few days researching the purified "Jade Dragon Pot," the gains were nearly zero, leaving Xia Yu feeling a bit stifled.

"Ah!"

Turning to check the personal panel.

His culinary level had increased from lv62 to lv65, with 3 free Talent Points gained. All were allocated to Chef’s Heart, bringing the upgrade progress to 94/100, almost reaching perfection, yet the final step was frustratingly elusive.

Thinking of this, Xia Yu felt even more stifled, "System, I need a task!"

"Since returning to the country, not a single task has been triggered!"

"I need Talent Points!"

The system responded surprisingly promptly, with a "ding" sound notification.