Moments later, Xia Yu and Yuchuan Meisha returned, each pushing a small cart and chatting merrily.
The carts were loaded with a dazzling array of ingredients.
"Let’s serve the plump old lady first!"
Xia Yu thought as he picked garlic, onions, corn, carrots, and so forth, filling a whole basket with vegetables, before moving to the cooking station and pulling out the shining ’Breaking Army Saber’.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
In the night, the gleam of the knife and the moonlight complemented each other!
In just two or three minutes, Xia Yu, with a stern face, chopped up the fruits and vegetables, stuffed them all into a cheesecloth bag, and tied it up.
He then turned to fill a pot with water and placed it on the stove.
"Chicken bones! Pork bones!"
He continued to process the chicken and pork bones with the ’Breaking Army Saber’. Both types of bones needed to be blanched first before being thrown into the pot, the lid closed. After about ten minutes, when the steam made the lid clatter loudly, Xia Yu had also prepared the spice bag.
First, he threw in the pork bones and chicken bones into the hot water.
After finishing these tasks, Xia Yu set aside the vegetable bag and spice bag, turned around carrying a basin, and fetched some clean water.
Watching Xia Yu return, he moved a bag of flour from the cart.
Yuchuan Abbot’s eyes flashed with a hint of surprise.
Lord Li, the first seat judge, cackled, "Quite a clever approach!"
"If the noodle-making skills are proficient, ’noodles’ are indeed easy to produce in bulk." said the third seat judge, a bare-chested monk.
The fourth seat judge, the plump old woman, drooled incessantly.
Although it wasn’t appropriate to bring out a noodle-making rod in public, over the month, Xia Yu had fully mastered all the basic noodle-making techniques, and even with a regular rolling pin, he could still produce high-quality dough.
As Xia Yu busily kneaded the dough softly, he didn’t forget to glance over at Yuchuan Meisha.
Because Yuchuan Meisha was also making noodles!
But instead of kneading the dough, she was using vacuum-packed ramen!
Clearly, Yuchuan Meisha intended to focus more on the ramen broth and toppings rather than wasting energy on kneading and mixing the dough.
Xia Yu frowned slightly, sensing trouble.
The peculiar judges were all too familiar with Yuchuan Meisha, addressing her affectionately as Meisha.
Thus, Xia Yu naturally found himself at a disadvantage in understanding the diners.
Yuchuan Meisha knew better how to please the familiar diners.
He had thought he could easily outdo the inexperienced Yuchuan Meisha with his rich experience, but now, that thought had long flown off to Java!
Soon, the dough took shape under Xia Yu’s hands.
He covered it with cling film and left it to rest for 15 minutes.
During this gap, Xia Yu set about treating the broth.
He carefully scooped away the floating scum and fat, then added the vegetable and spice bags previously prepared to the pot.
He then turned back to the dough.
"Indeed the youngest special chef in the history of Neon!"
Watching Xia Yu skillfully spread a lump of dough into a thin sheet and then quickly slice it into continuous thin strips, which he layered in a large bowl prepared like a basin.
The judges looked at each other in amazement.
"It’s all because of that stubborn Dream Eater!" complained a red-clothed enchantress, "If I had successfully given that kid nightmares all night yesterday, he wouldn’t be so energetic today!"
Lord Li sympathized, "I only want to eat Meisha’s cooking, forget about the others! They’re tasteless!"
The other three judges said nothing.
Yuchuan Abbot glanced over, slightly furrowing his brow upon hearing the red-clothed woman’s muttering, but didn’t scold.
"Okay!" Yuchuan Meisha looked up.
Xia Yu declared, having filtered out the impurities from the broth, quickly filling a basin-sized noodle bowl with several large spoonfuls.
Almost simultaneously, Xia Yu and Yuchuan Meisha brought their respective dishes to the judges’ table, facing diners who were elderly women with large bellies.
Chinese noodles and Japanese ramen, not only did the noodles themselves differ significantly, but the broth was also different.
Xia Yu’s noodles were flat and thin, resembling seaweed at the bottom of a river in the slightly yellow, clear soup.
Yuchuan Meisha’s Japanese ramen, more precisely, were soy-sauce flavored noodles!
"Who’s first?" Xia Yu asked.
Yuchuan Meisha smiled, "This grandma can really eat!"
So, she and Xia Yu simultaneously handed chopsticks to the elderly woman with sparse hair and a wrinkled face.
Right hand, left hand, holding chopsticks at the same time!
The elderly woman skillfully wielded the chopsticks, sending noodles of different flavors into her mouth!
Her mouth opened unusually wide, and as the noodles entered, the elderly woman let out a long sigh of contentment, her entire wrinkled face twitching with each chew.
But soon, the speed at which the noodles were consumed differed between her left and right hands.
The elderly woman preferred Yuchuan Meisha’s Japanese ramen, finishing that bowl while more than half of Xia Yu’s remained!
Heart racing, Xia Yu didn’t know which part had gone wrong.
As Xia Yu’s half bowl remained untouched, the elderly woman handed her empty bowl to Yuchuan Meisha.
Pursing her lips, Yuchuan Meisha glanced briefly at Xia Yu and returned to her cooking station to continue her busy work.
Standing in front of the judges’ table motionless, Xia Yu bowed his head in thought.
The gazes of all five judges showed varying degrees of derision and amusement.
The red-clothed woman from the second seat woke him, smiling cheekily, "The youngest master chef in the history of Neon doesn’t seem so special after all!"
"From 8 am to 12 pm, a total of four hours," Lord Li from the first seat chimed in, "and you need to satisfy all five of our appetites! Watch the time, hahaha!"
Xia Yu ignored the mockery.
He was contemplating.
"Is the taste of ’Soul-Calming Noodles’ not appealing?"
"Change to a strong-flavored noodle!" Xia Yu decided, "And it’s time to show my real skills; it seems that unimpressive dishes can’t satisfy these foodie judges!"
Thinking to himself, he asked the Yuchuan Abbot, "May I go back to my room to get something?"
Thus, Xia Yu returned, and when he came back, he brought with him a black noodle rolling pin!
He repeated the previous noodle-making process.
And the broth changed as well, Xia Yu mixed a sauce rich in ocean flavors including clams, salted fish, and bonito flakes with the broth, also crafting a squid ink sauce with onions, butter, and white wine!
If ’Soul-Calming Noodles’ won’t do, use ’Galaxy Noodles’!
The elderly woman, her belly still large, finished Yuchuan Meisha’s second bowl of noodles and let out a satisfied burp.
"I’m very satisfied..."
She patted her stomach, about to hand a coin to Yuchuan Meisha, when Xia Yu suddenly appeared, presenting his freshly prepared dish, "My second bowl of noodles is ready!"