Believe it or not, chapter 35 is the title of the chapter.
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While marveling at Ren's artistic skills, Jada started to read the story very carefully.
The story takes place in SC Province, at the famous Kikkaro Restaurant restaurant in the Heavenly Dynasty.
However, while the original setting was during the Qing Dynasty, Ren replaced it with a fictional dynasty to avoid potential criticism over historical inaccuracies, such as characters in the Qing Dynasty sporting buzz cuts.
Kikkaro Restaurant is a royal culinary establishment, its head chefs through the generations have been renowned throughout SC Province.
After their mother, Pai, passed away, the siblings, Liu Mao Xing and his sister Liu Karin, took over the state-owned Kikkaro Restaurant.
Unexpectedly, one day, a former disciple of their mother, Shouan, came to the restaurant to stir up trouble, claiming he was the new head chef.
The narrative introduces Shouan's ungrateful past and emphasizes how well Pai had treated him.
This setup is typical for an action-packed mainstream manga: introducing the protagonist and then quickly bringing in an antagonist to kick off the main plotline.
Ren's portrayal of Shouan as a treacherous character immediately engages the readers, who eagerly anticipate seeing the protagonist defeat this ingrate, effectively capturing their attention.
Jada, with her years of reading manga, could easily spot these storytelling techniques.
The stage and characters were all set.
With this, the story officially began.
As the protagonist and the treacherous Shouan argued, a man riding a horse approached leisurely. This man was General Lee, who stopped the dispute.
He challenged Shouan to create a dish that would impress him.
The dish in question was fried rice! (Flipping through the manga, it seems different from the TV version, especially the iconic fried rice scene from season one, which I couldn't find. Many may not have seen the manga version of "Cooking Master Boy," so it's better to stick with the TV plot here.)
"Fried rice, what's there to compete with?" Jada was puzzled when she read this.
To her, fried rice was just about throwing leftover rice into a pan and stir-frying it. Even with variations like egg fried rice or beef fried rice, it seemed straightforward.
However, she soon read Shouan's explanation: "In Chinese cuisine, fried rice is fundamental, clearly demonstrating a chef's skills."
Though she had never cooked, this statement somehow made sense to her.
Shouan skillfully juggled ingredients with two cleavers, chopping them in mid-air with effortless grace, even the way he tossed the pan carried an air of authority.
Soon, Shouan's fried rice was served to General Lee, who seemed to see landscapes explode with his first bite.
As General Lee was about to declare Shouan the new head chef of Kikkaro Restaurant, which his mother loved, Liu Mao Xing couldn't sit still. After tasting Shouan's dish and feeling it matched his mother's cooking, he voiced his thoughts and gained General Lee's approval to cook as well.
Handling a wok with flipping motions and his egg-cracking hand moving so fast it blurred, Liu Mao Xing seemed to be enveloped in flames!
At that moment, Jada felt unexpectedly exhilarated.
Wait...
Why was a culinary manga making her feel this excited?
It was as if she was reading a battle manga.
What does a good culinary manga need?
Before Ren's manga, the answer seemed simple: realism.
Previous culinary mangas were quite bland, focusing on realistic street scenes and the appearance of the dishes.
The most popular was "Food Supplier," which won many foodies' hearts.
However, due to its monotonous plot, many readers abandoned it after a while. After all, many manga readers are young people, and while a fresh concept is appealing at first, it can become tiresome.
But from what Jada saw in Ren's work, it seemed to have captured the essence of energetic mainstream manga, making the reader feel fired up.
The following scenes shifted into high gear.
It was just simple fried rice, yet Liu Mao Xing managed to elevate it to the level of a rare delicacy.
Soon, Liu Mao Xing's fried rice was ready.
As General Lee lifted the lid, there was a burst of golden light, significantly enhancing the dish's presentation.
"Is the dish... glowing?"
Jada was stunned by Ren's audacious technique.
But as the food entered General Lee's mouth, he closed his eyes.
The familiar taste filled his mouth, bringing nostalgic tears to his eyes.
Simply put, it was delicious enough to make him cry!
Despite the exaggerated depiction, Jada didn't feel it was out of place.
When Liu Mao Xing produced a golden fried rice that reminded him of his mother's cooking, Jada felt a profound sense of satisfaction.
In one
word, thrilling!
Unfortunately, it was still just fried rice. Shouan, unconvinced, challenged Liu Mao Xing to a written test.
If one failed, they would lose their qualification as a chef forever!
Under General Lee's supervision, they agreed.
The theme for their culinary showdown was — Mapo Tofu.
This wasn't just any Mapo Tofu, but a magical Mapo Tofu.
General Lee even explained it.
Typical Mapo Tofu incorporates five flavors, but the magical Mapo Tofu he described combined six!
This grand statement left Jada feeling inexplicably impressed.
She searched on her phone what "five flavors" meant — spicy, aromatic, colorful, hot, and numbing — but could find no mention of what the sixth could be.
And she doubted most people knew what the five were.
This made her glance at Ren. He seemed to know a lot of odd things, from kuchikamizake to the five flavors, but mostly, it was his manga that fascinated her.
At that moment, Jada's curiosity and anticipation surged, eager to learn what this sixth flavor was.
This brought the first chapter of "Cooking Master Boy" to a climactic close!
However, it also signaled the end of the first chapter.
Jada flipped the page and breathed a sigh of relief to find more.
If it had ended there, she probably wouldn't have been able to sleep!
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