Chapter 34

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation

Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Xia Yu entered the kitchen and began to wash his hands.

There was a bit of quarrelling noises outside.

Under the menu wall, the Shibuya-style Japanese young man shouted loudly.

“…What’s the matter with these prices?”

“Fish-flavored shredded pork 3,000 yen, mapo tofu and chili and sour potato 2,500 yen.”

“Satay beef, sweet and sour pork with pineapple, and braised assorted vegetables with marinated tofu are all 3,500 yen… Are you sure that this isn’t robbing someone?”

The young man became more and more excited and he grabbed his girlfriend and walked out. “We can go to other places. There is a Chinese cuisine buffet restaurant in Ikebukuro. You can eat a set meal of ten dishes for 2,500 yen!”

“I’m going to eat here!” The girlfriend was obviously not a good-tempered girl. She was angry immediately.

“…”

Whilst listening to the quarrel, Xia Yu suddenly stop heating the pot and went to the counter outside.

“Sister Yue, you can order. What do you want to eat today?” He ignored the noisy couple.

Mu Xiaoyue withdrew her gaze from the quarrelling couple. She frowned slightly and showed a shallow dimple when she smiled. “Can I order all six dishes? Woo… I ate mapo tofu at noon and want to eat it at night too. What will my stomach do without you? You are now responsible for this sister!”

She used a coquettish tone which made Xia Yu shiver. 

“Stop!” 

Xia Yu put up his hand with a blank expression. 

“Only three courses, and it’s free of charge. It’s a reward for you. I won’t cook more even if you give more money…” 

“Won’t do it even with money?” Mu Xiaoyue grinded her teeth secretly. “Why?” 

“Because three courses with rice will make you two girls full. The fourth dish you order will be a waste!” Xia Yu said, “You also know the quantity of each course in our Xia’s shop.” 

Mu Xiaoyue looked at An Ya. She whispered to her. She came back after a while, and said, “What is boss’ recommendation today?” 

“I recommend all six courses.” 

“Okay… Then we want fish-flavored shredded pork and satay beef…”

As she said it, Mu Xiaoyue stopped and bit her thumb. It looked like it was hard to decide the third course.

‘Sweet and sour pork with pineapple, or braised assorted vegetables with marinated tofu?’ Mu Xiaoyue thought, as if the cooked dishes would just appear in front of her eyes. 

A dish appeared in front of her eyes. It showed a sweet and sour dish. It was sweet and sour pork with pineapple.

As for braised assorted vegetables with marinated tofu, Mu Xiaoyue had eaten it in China. It was Cantonese cuisine. In Hong Kong and Macau, it was a common clay pot dish with many ingredients.

“Braised assorted vegetables with marinated tofu!”

Mu Xiaoyue said the name of the third dish. There was a kind of pain in her heart. The plate of sweet and sour pork with pineapple that appeared in front of her quickly disappeared.

‘I’m sorry,’ Mu Xiaoyue said quietly in her heart, and clenched her fists. ‘I will definitely order you next time! Wait for me!’

“Look after the store for about 30 minutes for me.”

Xia Yu glanced at the couple who were still arguing and turned back to the kitchen.

“Aiya, annoying!”

Mu Xiaoyue was upset by the quarrelling couple and was not very happy anymore. She looked angry and pulled her female fan away. She said domineeringly, “If you believe in the signature of my Yueyue Food Blog, just wait a bit longer. You don’t need to order. Wait for the three dishes I ordered to be served. You can try it first…”

Huh!

She laughed out loud in her heart. Mu Xiaoyue admired her own wit.

She ordered three dishes. The couple could order the three other dishes. The four of them sat at a table. Then, they could share everything.

It could be said that she was the loyal fan of Xia’s cuisine, or Xia Yu’s first loyal customer. She was 100% confident in Xia Yu’s cooking skill.

If only the couple was willing to have a bite, she was sure that their hearts would be captured immediately. And the question of the price would be turned into a word of praise.

“You should tell your boyfriend that if he disagrees, then break up!” Mu Xiaoyue continued her dominance. She flicked her hands and sat back next to her girlfriend.

Then, the quarrelling couple took a breath and sat down.

The Shibuya-style young man felt bored while waiting. So, he took out his mobile phone, and pointed at the menu wall of Xia’s Chinese Cuisine Restaurant. He took a clear picture, and posted a picture on Twitter:

“There is heavy rain in Tokyo today. My mood is very bad. My girlfriend is a Chinese girl who strongly urged me to go to a small Chinese restaurant in Taidong District. The price is shown in the picture. Everyone can express your opinion…”

“In addition, the head chef of this shop may be a high school student. I asked, and he was not a student of Togetsu. Why does he have the courage to be the head chef at this age?”

After tweeting it, there were multiple reposts and replies immediately.

The Shibuya-style young man seemed to be a small celebrity on the Internet. His Twitter profiles showed that he was a well-known UP master of the Japanese barrage video site NicoNico Music Zone, with more than 200,000 followers.

“Pity Mr. Tianfeng!”

“This price is unbearable. Call the police now!”

A group of enthusiastic fans retweeted the reply. Similarly, this tweet was sent a few minutes after it was translated by domestic fans and sent to the QQ group, which immediately triggered a large-scale condemnation.

“This price is really expensive. What Chinese cuisine can be sold so expensively? An average of 180 yuan per plate is almost the same cost as a big hotel!”

“Hopefully, it’s a Chinese restaurant opened by a Japanese. Otherwise it’s really embarrassing.”

“Chinese cuisine in Japan? It means that mapo tofu has been changed to a sweet taste, sweet and sour pork with pineapple tastes strange. Dandan noodle has soup. The domestic steamed dumplings become luxury products… I will never admit that these things are Chinese cuisine!”

…

Xia Yu knew nothing about the sound of the outside world.

He focused on the world of cooking, and the kitchen counters were filled with main ingredients and side dishes that had been cleaned or cut.

Behind him, the reformed gas stove… All three stoves emitted blue flames. One of them was a casserole with a closed lid. There was a boiling whisper, and the smell of the fragrance permeated the kitchen.

The name of braised assorted vegetables with marinated tofu looked long, but it was a relatively easy dish.

He chopped the mushrooms, fat choy, water chestnuts, vermicelli, tofu skin, fungus, black fungus, carrots, and Chinese cabbage. The mushrooms, fungus, tofu skin, and fat choy had been soaked in water.

The second step was to prepare the key sauce, mash and mix the fermented bean curd, and put it aside for later.

The next step was to put the watered carrots, mushrooms, fungus, and tofu skin into the wok, stir fry, add the cabbage, and stir fry it again. The third stir fry was to add the pumpkin.

Heat control was particularly important for the process. He needed to stir fry it three times evenly, but not overheat it, otherwise it would be cooked. Finally, it was put in a casserole, and the ingredients would be cooked.

Snap!

Counting the time silently in his heart, Xia Yu turned around and turned off a coal stove. As the flame went out, the braised assorted vegetables with marinated tofu was completed!

There were two dishes left: satay beef and fish-flavored pork shreds.

Beef and shredded pork had been cut and marinated.

Xia Yu put on an apron. With a large frying pan in his left and right hand, and the pan was hot on the gas stove. He poured oil into it. His movements were smooth, his eyes were calm, and he had a kind of temperament of a master chef.

Both pots whispered.

Next, he stir fried the small dried chili and black fungus in one pot and poured the marinated pork into the hot oil and stir fried the other pot.

If there were other chefs here, they would know that Xia Yu was actually doing two things at one time.

Cooking two dishes at the same time!