Who said running a restaurant is impossible relying solely on cooking skills?
Even on Earth in my previous life, according to the Michelin inspector's rating standards, the food of a restaurant accounted for 60%, while the dining environment and service accounted for only 20% and 10% respectively.
Just rely on the food to crush the past. In terms of dining environment and service, the narrow Chinese Restaurant certainly couldn't compare with those high-end restaurants.
The God of Cooking System was Xia Yu's source of confidence, and under the guidance of the system these days, he could be said to be reborn, waking up every day with new progress in his culinary skills.
"System, you have a new task."
The system very timely came out to disrupt.
Xia Yu opened the task he had just received, his face full of black lines.
"[Bet with the Divine Tongue]."
"Hint, the host should quickly improve cooking skills to level 10, learn more recipes, master the advanced talent of 'Heart of Cooking', attract more diners to the restaurant, and defeat Tiqie Helinai in the bet."
"Reward, one system roulette lottery chance."
Hmm.
Besides the bet with Eriina, Xia Yu also saw a second task listed below.
"[Showing Initial Edge]."
"Hint, serve thirty ordinary diners in 7 days and make them satisfied and give a thumbs-up."
"Reward, recipe 'Stir-Fried Qingjiang Vegetable' (Blue)."
A new recipe?
Xia Yu's eyes lit up.
He was familiar with Stir-Fried Qingjiang Vegetable and had experimented with it before, but of course, it didn't have the exaggerated culinary glow seen in animations.
Speaking of which, he also really wanted to taste the Stir-Fried Qingjiang Vegetable he made after mastering the recipe. Thinking of that unique refreshing vegetable flavor, Xia Yu's salivary glands became active.
The various vegetable cooking techniques were also a specialty of Chinese cuisine not to be overlooked.
At the same time, Xia Yu was also eager to defeat Tiqie Helinai in the bet.
A chance at a roulette lottery!
Xia Yu clearly remembered the scene when he used the 'Starter Gift Package' reward to open the roulette wheel for free.
It was with the help of the [Mirror Crystal] he drew that he successfully made a qualified dish, completed the system's initial task, and got the first blue recipe of his life.
He remembered the major categories of items on the roulette wheel, which included ingredients, kitchenware, recipes, consumables, and special categories.
If luck was overwhelming, there was a chance to draw a Divine-level Chef talent similar to the [Divine Tongue] from the special category!
It was impossible for Xia Yu not to envy Tiqie Helinai's tongue.
Yuan Yue Academy also had a [Divine Nose] Yashan Liang, who, before the protagonist Xingping Chuangzhen of Food War Spirit, entered the 'Ten Masters of Far Moon' and took the ninth seat originally belonging to the Alchemist Rui Shan.
If he accidentally drew a Divine-level Chef talent, no matter what it was, Xia Yu would wake up laughing even in his dreams.
It wasn't the time to compete for talents now, but isn't it always good to be prepared and have more skills?
…
Watching Tiqie Helinai and Niho Fuyuka get into the car and walk away in the rain, Xia Yu then turned back into the store.
"Hehe, your girlfriend seems a bit willful."
Mu Xiaoyue made a funny face at him.
"Girlfriend? I don't have such a girlfriend; who can stand bickering every day." Xia Yu pouted.
"Having an angelic appearance should be enough, right? Appearance, ah, appearance, that's the true charm, small tempers are killed by the appearance." Mu Xiaoyue tilted her head, scrutinizing him with bright eyes, who knows what she was thinking.
Xia Yu didn't want to continue this topic, so he changed the subject and asked, "Which was tastier, the Magical Mapo Tofu or last night's Husband and Wife Lung Slices?"
"Magical Mapo Tofu!"
Mu Xiaoyue was stunned for a moment, then answered without thinking.
"Huh..." Secretly heaving a sigh of relief, Xia Yu was really afraid that his glowing dish would still be overshadowed by an old man's casually cooked dish in the eyes of professional food critics.
That kind of embarrassment would be too much, having your signature dish being outdone by a simple family dish would seriously damage anyone's confidence.
They chatted for a while, and the heavy rain outside showed no sign of stopping.
Mu Xiaoyue and An Ya couldn't play around Tokyo in such bad weather, so they simply surfed the internet at the shop, while Xia Yu turned and went into the kitchen, laying out a bunch of small wooden cards with dish names on them on the counter, holding his chin as he stared.
When the old man was around, the small shop supplied twelve different Chinese cuisine dishes every day.
These twelve dishes were selected from the traditional eight cuisines, for instance, today would see three dishes from Sichuan cuisine, Shandong cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, and Su cuisine, tomorrow would see selections from Zhejiang cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Hunan cuisine, and Anhui Cuisine.
In the past, Xia Yu didn't think it was much, half-understanding, and every day he hung the signs on the wall under the old man's orders. But now, being the shop manager and main chef, he realized the heavy weight of each sign.
The black calligraphy on the sign represented a traditional dish.
Xia Yu had mastered only a portion, those he could present.
Some others he dabbled in or was practicing and had certainly not reached the level where they could be paid to be eaten.
Taking a light breath, a glimmer of determination flashed in Xia Yu's eyes, deciding to reduce the twelve daily dishes to six.
Two cuisines, three dishes from each cuisine.
After the reduction, the pressure on his shoulders sharply decreased.
The old man could choose and hang the signs at will according to his mood, letting customers order, but Xia Yu's culinary foundation was too shallow and could only first choose the dishes he was good at, placing them on the counter.
Secondly were those he was about to master and would soon receive a 60-point qualified evaluation from the system.
The last were those planned for learning.
He intended to plan out the daily menu for the upcoming week in advance.
But before compiling the menu, Xia Yu realized he had overlooked a very important issue.
Who supplies the ingredients?
The menu was based on the availability of ingredients on the day.
"Ah..."
Rubbing his hair in frustration, Xia Yu was indeed a bit agitated, the old man left too hastily without explaining anything.
Moreover, damn, where was the money? Was he supposed to purchase ingredients with his head?
Veins throbbing on his forehead, Xia Yu took out his phone to make a call, beep beep beep, it was still busy. His expression was really a bit dumbfounded... hey hey, was that old guy really boarding a plane or did he just pull out the SIM card?
Knock knock.
Someone suddenly knocked on the door of the shop, bringing Xia Yu out of his thoughts with a cold sweat, he shook off the random thoughts and walked from the kitchen to the front desk.
"Mr. Shinohara?"
Seeing a middle-aged man with a smiling face entering the door, wearing a black-gray coat, a high hat, brown leather gloves, and a classic British detective style, Xia Yu was stunned.
"We meet again, young man."
Shinohara Shigetaro took off his hat and sat at the counter.
He casually placed a metal suitcase on the counter, and Xia Yu noticed that the surface of the suitcase was engraved with three conspicuous silver letters:
IGO!
His mind seemed to be jolted by these familiar letters, but Xia Yu couldn't remember what the letters represented and could only look at the middle-aged man with a strange gaze, "Mr. Shinohara, have you come to dine, or..."
"I'm here to deliver something to you."
He hadn't finished speaking when Shinohara Shigetaro interrupted him with a wave.
The uncle with the detective look had a slightly intriguing smile on the corner of his mouth, and he pointed to the metal suitcase on the counter, "This is something your grandpa asked me to run errands with, open and take a look."