Chapter 25

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation

Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“Tofu is not the type of food of commoners. The origin of this ancient ingredient is in the second century BC. It was written that tofu was invented by the grandson of Emperor Gaozu of Han Liubang, the king of Huainan.

“But at that time, tofu was crude. The texture was not good. It was not a good material to cook and didn’t become mainstream. When it was Tang and Song Dynasty, tofu was something for the kings and people. Everyone enjoyed it. The Japanese people thought the Jianzhen monk in the Tang Dynasty was the ancestor of Japanese tofu. In fact, this is correct too. As Jianzhen came to Japan and brought many skills…”

Xia Yu talked about the history of tofu in a normal tone. 

Xia Yu was not worried at all as he did the research about the history of this world. Before the modern era, the history of the two worlds almost perfectly matched. But after the modern era, there were different branches.

Color, fragrance, taste, culture, shape and health.

Culture referred to the cultural connotation of cooking.

Xia Yu didn’t care if the Tongue of God was listening or not. He grabbed a handful of chopped parsley and sprinkled it on two bowls of tofu flower.

“Hey, please enjoy!”

Xia Yu made a polite gesture and then smiled while pushing the bowl to her. “In the future, please don’t say that tofu is ordinary people’s cooking. In my opinion, there is no high or low in cooking. People’s original purpose in cooking was to fill the stomach. On this basis, we can talk about taste, color and presentation.”

Rina was startled.

Xia Yu said it with a smile, but she felt his seriousness.

A sneer and her sarcasm were stopped halfway. Rina twitched her lips, and she did not even look at the tofu flower on the table directly. She intended to show her firm attitude by her actions. 

“You really don’t want to eat?” Xia Yu felt that she was funny. 

“No!” 

“Ok…” 

Xia Yu didn’t continue to persuade her. He did not have the idea of forcing her mouth open to eat either. He took a small spoon and ate it slowly. 

Xia Yu ate half a bowl in one breath and muttered to himself, “It’s delicious. It has a heart-warming taste.”

The Tongue of God smelled the spreading fragrance in the air, and she also felt that the saliva secretion in her mouth accelerated. Chefs normally had a sensitive sense of smell that was different from ordinary people. This made Rina more irritable in her heart. 

“That sweet taste is the brown sugar water?” 

“The tofu’s bean flavor is so strong…” 

“Why does coriander completely show off the flavor of this dish?” 

Occupational habits were shown again. Rina couldn’t help biting her thumb’s nail. There was a complex look on her face.

Knock, knock!

At that time, there was someone knocking at the half-covered shop door.

“Hello, is anyone there?”

“Is Ah Yu here? I am your sister, Mu Xiaoyue!”

Xia Yu knew who it was when he heard the voice. He swallowed the tofu flower in his mouth. “I’m here, come in.”

So, the two Chinese tourists whom he met yesterday opened the grey curtain of the shop door and walked into the shop.

Mu Xiaoyue was the well-known food blogger. The food travel diary she sent out overnight had been too powerful and had made a lot of fans hungry. So, Xia Yu got up today and gained fame of more than 200 points.

Speaking of this, Mu Xiaoyue also checked out last night. That food article was basically a strong wave of advertising that was free of charge for Xia’s restaurant.

“Huh…”

As soon as Mu Xiaoyue entered the door, she smelled a scent spreading in the air. She was like a puppet controlled by a string as she walked all the way to the counter and stared at a bowl of intact tofu flower. Her eyes shone. “Wow, tofu flower. Did you make this?”

“Yes, for breakfast.” Xia Yu nodded.

“Can I eat it? You seem to have eaten a bowl. You should be full.” Mu Xiaoyue was full of expectations. With big clear eyes, a cute dress and appearance, she looked like a lolita asking for sugar.

In the corner of the storefront, Rina raised her ears as if she sensed the enemy.

“Sure!”

Xia Yu casually said, “A bowl of tofu flower is a snack. It’s nothing. Later, when it’s lunch time, I have to make a few dishes to thank you for what you have done.”

“No need. Let me finish eating this bowl of tofu flower!”

Mu Xiaoyue took it easy after hearing those words. She reached out and asked Xia Yu for two clean spoons. She handed one spoon to her girlfriend who was beside her and revealed a shallow dimple when she smiled. “Xiao Ya, let’s eat together!”

She put a spoonful of white and brown sugar mixture into the dish and sent to her mouth. And the next was a wonderful expression. 

Xia Yu was at the counter and watched the expressions of the two Chinese ladies change. He found it very interesting. Especially Mu Xiaoyue. While she was eating, she used various professional vocabulary to praise the food. 

“Tofu flower!” 

“What kind of soybean is this tofu flower made of? It’s too fragrant. If I can have the soymilk made from this kind of soybean for breakfast every day, I will definitely be very happy!” 

Quickly, a bowl of tofu flower was bottomed out. Mu Xiaoyue put down the spoon and stared firmly at him. 

“You are such a well-known food blogger!” Xia Yu praised her with a thumbs up. “The soul of this tofu flower was the soybean made of tofu flower.” 

“But unfortunately, the soybeans that we make tofu or tofu flower from are nothing special. You can buy it at the shopping street outside.” Xia Yu said this and deliberately made her confused. 

He secretly said sorry to the old man.

The recipe of tofu flower was actually stolen from the old man. He had eaten the tofu flower and was surprised. Xia Yu thought about it for some time. Finally, he understood the secret of tofu flower through the function of identifying ingredients in the Chef God System.

Mu Xiaoyue found a chair and sat down. She gave a strange glance to Rina and immediately ignored the beautiful girl who looked like an angel. She pointed to the wall on the left. “Where is the menu?”

“This morning, Xiaoya and I have intentionally left our stomach empty just to come to you and try authentic Chinese food.”

Xia Yu’s mouth twitched and coughed. “This shop is not open yet. When opening the shop, we will naturally hang the 12 dishes of the day on the wall for guests to choose.”

“Not open yet?” Mu Xiaoyue opened her eyes. “Isn’t it almost noon now?”

“Normal business hours are from six o’clock in the evening to four o’clock the next day. A total of ten hours.”

“…”

“It’s understandable to do night shift business from 6pm to midnight. But what the hell is four o’clock in the middle of the night… After midnight, will anyone find such a remote place and spend a lot of money on Chinese food?” Mu Xiaoyue’s face was full of confusion.

“This is the business hour set by our old man. This has been the case for more than ten years. I don’t plan to change it. It’s good.” 

Xia Yu was telling the truth. 

The small restaurant was not used to do daytime business. These few days, Xia Yu also thought about whether or not to change the business hours after inheriting the small restaurant. 

However, considering that after spring break, he would go to high school… He would spend most of the daytime in school. Xia Yu simply didn’t plan to change business hours. That was fine.