Chapter 865: Chapter 864: The Name of Juxia Building
Earlier in the kitchen, Xia Yu felt a sense of familiarity with Liu Ying’s ramen, otherwise, with his usual temperament, he probably wouldn’t have interfered in a private culinary showdown to judge the winner, which is troublesome and stirs up hatred.
It was Liu Ying’s culinary work similar to “Treasure Cover Mushroom Noodles” that caught his interest.
Now, after some verification, Xia Yu was both surprised and delighted.
If Liu Ying wasn’t lying, then her culinary talent is absolutely top-tier, and with proper guidance, she could be a candidate for the “Five Chinese Talents.” If nurtured well, such a promising talent could support the rise and fall of a clan or a gourmet powerhouse in the future!
“The system task came in just at the right time!”
“This Liu descendant also came at the right time!”
Xia Yu checked the new tasks on the task panel.
“‘The Name of Juxia Building’ (1): Your culinary sanctuary, your place of belief, has been tainted. Please support a new Liu descendant as the head of Juxia Building.”
“Objective: Select a Liu apprentice and assist him/her in winning the final victory in the Lantern Festival culinary showdown.”
“Reward: Unlock the ‘Juxia Building’ management template and apply system upgrade projects.”
This is an ordained apprenticeship task.
The system explicitly stated that the proprietor of Juxia Building can only be a Liu descendant, other bloodlines are excluded, including his own as Xia Yu.
But the strange thing is, supporting his apprentice to become the head, and then Juxia Building falls under the system’s control?
Unlocking the management template and applying system upgrade projects…
All this made Xia Yu chuckle inwardly.
“Isn’t this a case of overdoing it? System, just tell me straight, I’m the real boss behind Juxia Building, right?”
“Supporting a Liu heir to become the new proprietor of Juxia Building is essential to unlocking the management template!” the system replied coldly.
Xia Yu shrugged, “That’s for sure, anyone can be the proprietor, as long as there’s a spot for me in the kitchen.”
Communication interrupted.
His consciousness returned to reality, and before him was a delicate face.
“Hey, who exactly are you?”
Liu Ying’s bright eyes were filled with curiosity and complexity.
“And, can you tell me, how simply controlling the amount of salt, scallions, garlic, and mushrooms can elevate the quality of the broth by several levels?”
“It’s incredible!” the questioning young girl added.
“Who I am is not important, what matters is I can use my hands to fulfill your dreams. So, what are your dreams?” Xia Yu asked with a smile.
Dreams?
Liu Ying answered without hesitation, “Of course, to reclaim Juxia Building and manage it well!”
“Why reclaim it?”
Xia Yu read the determination in her eyes.
“Because my father was the previous proprietor!”
“I see…”
After a pause, Xia Yu extended a finger and shook it, “Then what? After reclaiming Juxia Building, what other dreams do you have?”
“…”
Liu Ying was confused.
Ugh!
Seeing this, Xia Yu shook his head.
It seems Liu Ying’s obsession with culinary arts is entirely focused on Juxia Building. If this small goal is achieved, she could easily fall into a stagnating period of confusion.
Since he was thinking of taking on an apprentice, Xia Yu felt he should first cultivate the young girl’s interest in culinary arts.
Interest is the best teacher.
When she views researching recipes, developing recipes, and mastering new ingredients as an interest, and jumps with joy every time a new creation is made, that is when she is qualified to pursue the highest culinary path.
Xia Yu was really strict with his first apprentice.
Of course, his first disciple, a major student, definitely shouldn’t settle for mediocrity.
Ahem, the topic of dreams is not suitable for long conversations, so let’s moderately switch the topic back to cooking. Xia Yu beckoned to the questioning young girl, “Actually, changing the amount of ingredients and seasonings is just one direction of ‘control’. I have several other methods that can have similar improvements on your Treasure Cover Mushroom ramen, want to hear them?”
In a guiding, mysterious tone.
Zhu Qing listened with a snicker, very good at assuming the role of a mentor.
“What, there are several methods to achieve similar improvements?”
Liu Ying exclaimed in shock, trusting the young man in front of her, who was about the same age as her brother, nearly blindly. She quickly sat on a stool, her shapely figure slightly leaning forward, almost coming over, her eyes wide and fixed on Xia Yu’s face, so intense that even Zhu Qing felt pierced beside her.
“Yes, aside from the formulaic amounts of ingredients and seasonings, knife skills are also an entry point…”
The questioning young girl didn’t notice that when Xia Yu was speaking, his hand on the table might have subconsciously moved due to recent days of intense focus on ‘Divine Hand’ training.
However, Zhu Qing saw it and spat, rolling her eyes, “Starting from spice inequalities, there’s still the Bursting Flame level to talk about, yet he talks about knife skills! Surely, Yu, you’re walking farther and farther down the path of perversion, utterly beyond cure!”
…
Juxia Building’s back kitchen.
On the dining table, a plate of Mapo tofu and a bowl of noodles remained in their freshly cooked state, but the third dish, also a bowl of noodles, had already been shared and devoured by Liu Lan, Liu Jing, and Liu Feng.
“Ah!”
The little chubby Liu Jing was dazzled by the faint existence of a white silhouette in his vision.
“Gulp!” He touched his stomach, still craving food, and said to his father Liu Lan, “Dad, what do I do? I’m so hungry I feel I could eat a whole cow!”
Liu Lan chewed the last bite of mushroom ingredient in his mouth, swallowed it down.
“This mushroom was sun-dried before being soaked in hot water, then simmered in rich broth, possessing a mysterious and elegant aroma. No wonder Little Ying regards it as a ‘treasure’ in the bowl, treating it as a secret weapon!”
However…
Liu Lan picked up his chopsticks and finally took Liu Ying’s ramen, cooked with her own intention. The same small piece of mushroom in his mouth tasted increasingly unpleasant, finally forcing Liu Lan to hurry to the sink, spit out the food scraps, and flush them away.
Returning to the dining table, his gaze fell on his Mapo tofu, his arm trembling, but with great determination, he ate into the tofu.
“Ugh!”
Quickly rushing to the sink again, he spat out the food and rinsed his mouth repeatedly six or seven times, only then wiping the water from his lips. His face was pale, and he murmured, “That Demon King Xia is terrifying!”
“This wasn’t even a dish he personally cooked, it was suggested by him to guide Little Ying. The key is, this bowl of ramen is so harmonious, so smooth, as if it creates an ethereal Taiji Bagua in the mouth. Unless the skill levels are close, my dishes can’t breach such a fortress of taste…”
Cold sweat pouring from Liu Lan.
He secretly felt relieved, fortunate that the ramen Liu Ying competed with him wasn’t guided by Demon King Xia, otherwise, he would surely lose.
“Why is this happening…” Liu Lan was both shocked and fearful, “I am a top chef, yet Little Ying is still a significant distance away from being exceptional, and that Demon King Xia can close such a gap just by speaking?”
In reality, Liu Lan didn’t know that because Liu Ying’s dish resembled the ancient recipe “Treasure Cover Mushroom Noodles”, it blossomed with astonishing potential under Xia Yu’s brief guidance.
Juxia Building courtyard.
Lei Aoxue, who followed them all the way, leaned against the wall, overhearing Liu Lan’s mutterings, her brows furrowing tightly.
She was also frightened, her eyes filled with unsteady waves.
“Liu Lan’s culinary skills are roughly equivalent to mine, and if even he is overcome with cold sweat and lost fighting spirit, then wouldn’t I also…”
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