Bang!

Pulling the door shut, they faced each other outside the private room, exchanging looks of uncertainty. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"What do we do?" Tiqie Helinai asked, biting her lower lip.

"This is the first time I’ve encountered someone who can eat so much!" Kobayakawa Ryodan lost her appetite for snacks, her elegant eyebrows furrowed as she supported her fair chin, thinking about how she would host such a voracious eater once she owned her restaurant.

After much thought, Kobayakawa Ryodan helplessly realized:

She was powerless!

Because the person inside the private room had become so picky that he only ate ’Fantasy Cuisine’!

The ’Shuangjiang Magical Mapo Tofu’ and the ’Great Magic Panda Tofu’ had already been removed, Xia Yu was carrying tofu molds, and Ichise Hui smiled wryly with a plate of Mapo Tofu in his hands, and asked, "Chef Xia, what should we do with this dish?"

"He has already paid, there’s no reason for a refund."

Xia Yu chuckled lightly and said, "In that case, send the Mapo Tofu to our main restaurant, and have Hattori, Igarashi, and Kogama help finish it. It’ll give them the energy to work tonight and won’t be a waste of food."

Everyone fell silent, accepting this solution.

"So, should we cancel the entire next course?"

Tiqie Helinai said reluctantly, "This is the fourth round. Only ’A Song of Ice and Fire’ and the ’Bordeaux Lamprey’ are left in the fifth, final round."

"Cancel it!"

Xia Yu strode to the front desk and tapped a string of numbers into the calculator.

"Ichise, you’ll go settle the bill later, the seven ’A Song of Ice and Fire’ dishes... I’ll prepare it!" Xia Yu said, leaving the others with his determined back.

"Settle the bill?"

"Seven ’A Song of Ice and Fire’ dishes?"

Ichise Hui was astounded.

Chiyoda Aichi and Dubian Yuuki glanced at the calculator displaying the bill amount, covering their mouths, shocked: "Thirty-five million yen?"

"Isn’t ’A Song of Ice and Fire’ listed as three million yen per dish on the menu?" the two questioned.

"Seven identical dishes, what is he thinking?"

"And the price went up by two million!"

Ichise Hui, Kobayakawa Ryodan, and Tiqie Helinai were also puzzled.

Repeating the same dish—not just once or twice—were they testing the customer’s patience?

Even the most delicious food, prepared by a Super Chef—no, by someone with high expectations like the ’Demon of Food’—would be too much if eaten seven times over. Was this deliberately stirring up trouble?

Cold sweat beaded on their foreheads.

Ichise Hui watched Xia Yu walking towards the courtyard, not knowing how the furious Mars would react, but even the mere thought of it sent shivers down her spine.

"This is the time to trust him!" Tiqie Helinai said with a complex tone.

She knew Xia Yu far better than anyone present.

’A Song of Ice and Fire’ could be said to be one of the recipes Xia Yu was currently using, on par with ’Shuangjiang Magical Mapo Tofu’.

More importantly, this recipe used a ’Fantasy Ingredient’ called ’Pitch-Black Rice,’ which fit Mars’s requirements perfectly!

But no matter how suitable the dish was, it couldn’t withstand the word "repeat."

The challenge was how to make Mars willingly eat seven identical dishes and feel satisfied.

This was a true test for any chef.

Thinking this far, Tiqie Helinai felt a profound sense of helplessness.

If it were her managing and cooking for this restaurant, she probably would have already been in utter disarray, thoroughly given up on trying to cope.

"Indeed, I’m still not ready or qualified to host great gourmets!" the Divine Tongue thought. Super restaurants and ordinary star-rated restaurants are worlds apart. She always felt that any famous, large-scale super restaurant must have experience in hosting a ’Demon of Food’ like Mars.

...

Leaving through the side door, he went to the main restaurant to fetch a sealed box of ingredients.

Upon his return, Xia Yu was accompanied by a woman.

Reiko Liangzi Lina walked with a knife in her hand, whispering softly, "Minister Shinohara and President Dojima have already rushed over."

"They came for what?"

Xia Yu paused slightly in his steps and shook his head, "Mars is my client for now."

"But..."

"You can’t satisfy him!" Liangzi Lina said seriously, "You don’t understand the appetite of these tycoons from the ’Gourmet Club’!"

"If they really let loose and eat, only those large restaurants with a dozen or more super chefs can satisfy their cravings. You alone can’t do it!" Liangzi Lina’s voice held a hint of urgency.

"How would I know if I don’t try?"

Even Xia Yu, as foolish as he might be, could guess that Mars was here to cause trouble, not simply as a diner.

The district’s property was the bait to lure him in.

But knowing it was a trap, Xia Yu still had to step into it. He now stood atop that trap; whether or not he could get past this hurdle, he was not sure himself. All he needed to do was try his best, and even if he failed in the end, it would still be a valuable exploration. Getting stuck in place and never reclaiming the district’s property was something Xia Yu had long since come to terms with.

He returned to the kitchen.

He took out all the spare skillets.

"Shrimp, scallops, squid, anago..."

"Simmer two types of stock, one with chicken bones and the other with fish heads."

"Chop onions, celery, carrots into sections!"

The kitchen efficiency had improved with the addition of new helpers.

Moreover, unlike Kobayakawa Ryodan and Tiqie Helinai, Liangzi Lina was a top-tier super chef who was barely touching the threshold of Lin Chef’s standards. When Xia Yu gave instructions, he only needed to say what ingredients he wanted and didn’t need to elaborate; Liangzi Lina could understand his intentions.

Two large stoves now accommodated seven skillets and two pots.

The pots contained chicken bone stock and fish bone stock. Xia Yu added spices, dividing a sprig of thyme in half and tossing it into the pots.

Then he moved on to processing the other ingredients.

When Kobayakawa Ryodan and Tiqie Helinai returned to the kitchen, what they saw was an almost silent scene.

Two people, merely a step apart, were focused on chopping ingredients at the kitchen counter.

One was cutting seafood, the other was cutting chicken.

Later, Xia Yu pointed at the ingredients that had been chopped. Liangzi Lina, who was already wearing an apron, nodded lightly and then turned on the valve to lightly sauté the ingredients in a skillet.

In front of Xia Yu, there were seven transparent glass bowls.

Cooked artichoke diced into one bowl, thyme juice into another, minced garlic into another, and spices like paprika and saffron were also placed separately in bowls.

He then turned around to help Liangzi Lina sauté the cut ingredients.

After the two had sautéed the ingredients for the ’Song of Ice and Fire’ seven times, such as the seafood and chicken, the stock pots on high heat were also producing billowing white steam.

Now it was time for the actual cooking!

"The three pots are yours, Liangzi!"

Xia Yu said to the woman behind him without turning his head, standing in front of the stove with four skillets in front of him, and under each skillet, blue flames were flickering!

He added olive oil to the hot pans and distributed the ingredients evenly among the four skillets.

He moved methodically at the counter, and ten minutes later, Xia Yu looked back to see the equally composed woman behind him and nodded silently.

"Eriina, Ryodan, bring the ’Jet-Black Rice’ over here!"

The about eight pounds of jet-black rice left on the counter were divided by Xia Yu into seven equal parts.

Kobayakawa Ryodan and Tiqie Helinai one by one handed over the containers holding the rice. Xia Yu poured the rice into the skillets and then ladled in the stock. Thus, the ’Jet-Black Rice’ in the four skillets was mixed with the ingredients to stew together.

Liangzi Lina repeated his process.

She was operating on three lines, while Xia Yu was on four, and the heat under all seven skillets was under Xia Yu’s control!

He added the spices and stewed until the water was almost gone.

"It’s ready—"

"Bring the aluminum foil bags over—"

They wrapped the seven portions of stewed rice in aluminum foil, and finally, it was time for the critical charcoal grilling step!

Half an hour later.

Seven sealed aluminum foil bags were placed on two large trays.

"Let’s serve!"

Xia Yu picked up one tray, Liangzi Lina took the other.

The two, one after the other, walked through the courtyard to the entrance of VIP Room No. 1 in the main hall.

Kobayakawa Ryodan and Tiqie Helinai followed closely behind.

"We’ve already settled the bill," Ichise Hui was waiting there and whispered as they approached, "He also went to the restroom again."

Outside the door.

Liangzi Lina stopped and finally couldn’t help but ask, "Can seven repeated dishes satisfy him?"

"Who knows..."