Food Wars!: Delicious Food of the Heavens

The next morning, when Tadokoro Megumi got up, she found a rich aroma coming from the kitchen.

She thought it was Grandma Wenxu making breakfast, but when she turned around, she found Grandma Wenxu sitting at the table drinking tea.

"Grandma Fumio, who's in the kitchen?"

"Who else could it be? That kid Lin Yu, of course?"

Ōmiya Fumio blew on the hot tea, took a sip, and then slowly began to speak:

"That guy suddenly said this morning that he wanted to make some of his own seasonings, and he made a whole bunch of stuff. I don't know what he was fiddling with in the kitchen."

Tadokoro asked, "Didn't you go in and take a look?"

Fumio Oomido waved her hand, indicating that she wasn't interested. "I'm just an old woman, I don't have that kind of strong curiosity."

"Then I'll go take a look."

Tadokoro Megumi curiously walked into the kitchen and found Lin Yu standing in front of the stove, guarding a soup pot, while holding a long-handled soup ladle and stirring the pot continuously.

Tadokoro Megumi smelled the scent wafting in the air and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"It smells so good!"

Lin Yu turned around when he heard the voice. "Xiao Hui, you're awake?"

Tadokoro Megumi nodded. "Hmm, it smells so good, I couldn't resist coming to the kitchen. Lin Yu-kun, what are you making?"

Tadokoro Megumi leaned closer to the soup pot, looked at the pitch-black liquid inside, and took a careful sniff.

"soy sauce?"

"It seems to be a little sweet, and besides that, it has a very complex flavor."

"That's right, it's soy sauce."

Lin Yu, without looking up, observed the changes in the soup pot while explaining to Tadokoro Megumi.

"If it weren't for the hawthorns we found at the last minute, the dish probably wouldn't have reached that level of perfection in yesterday's class."

"After I got back, I thought I should make some seasonings that I'm used to using, so that I won't be helpless in the future when I encounter similar situations."

"After all, you can't always be so lucky as to find the materials you need."

"So what are you doing now?" Tadokoro asked.

"This is a cloned soy sauce."

"This is a special condiment in Sichuan cuisine. It is made by simmering high-quality soy sauce with brown sugar and various spices, resulting in a very rich flavor."

Lin Yu scooped up a spoonful of soy sauce from the pot, tilted the spoon slightly, and let the soy sauce flow in a silky stream before falling back into the pot.

Looking at the viscosity of the pot of replicated soy sauce and smelling the rich aroma emanating from it, Lin Yu smiled.

This pot of soy sauce is now ready.

Lin Yu looked at Tadokoro Megumi, "Want to try some?"

"Um."

Megumi Tadokoro nodded cutely.

Lin Yu took out a small dish, scooped out a little soy sauce with a spoon, poured it into the dish, and handed it to Tadokoro Megumi.

Megumi Tadokoro took a small sip, and her beautiful eyebrows immediately lifted.

"This... is amazing!"

The initial taste is the rich, salty, and savory flavor of soy sauce, but unlike bottled soy sauce sold in supermarkets, it is not overly salty and has a much smoother texture.

After the saltiness subsided, what Tadokoro Megumi then tasted was a gentle, subtle sweetness, very subtle, but it perfectly balanced the saltiness of the soy sauce. It was a complex flavor that emerged from the interplay of salty and sweet tastes in the soy sauce.

Upon closer tasting, the complex aroma composed of various spices lingers on the tongue, and even after swallowing soy sauce, this fragrance remains on the tongue, leaving a long-lasting aftertaste.

"Wow, Lin Yujun is amazing!"

Megumi Tadokoro didn't hold back her praise, saying, "This soy sauce tastes so much better than the soy sauce you buy in the supermarket. Even some big brands of soy sauce can't compare to this."

"That's natural."

Lin Yu smiled and said, "After all, it took me time and effort to make this. If it's not good enough, it would be more convenient to just go to the supermarket and buy ready-made bottled soy sauce."

Tadokoro Megumi was a little embarrassed. "Lin Yu-kun, that's not what I meant."

"Okay, I know you didn't mean any harm, just kidding."

Lin Yu teased Tadokoro Megumi for a moment, then asked.

"Why are you up so early today? Are you hungry in the kitchen?"

"no."

Megumi Tadokoro shook her head. "It's the weekend, and everyone has agreed to work in the fields at Polar Star Lodge. I'm planning to prepare lunch for everyone."

"Won't it bother you if I occupy the stove?"

"It's alright, Lin Yujun."

Tadokoro waved her hand, indicating to Lin Yu that there was no need to rush.

"Everyone was working in the fields at noon and didn't have time to come back to cook, so we ate in the fields."

Lin Yu thought for a moment, "That makes sense. In that case, it's not suitable for making anything too complicated or soupy. It also needs to be easy to eat and suitable for cold dishes, so that the taste won't be affected even when it's cold."

"Lin Yujun is amazing; she can pinpoint so many key points in one go."

Lin Yu flicked Tadokoro Megumi's forehead. "Are you teasing me? By the way, what are you planning to do, Megumi?"

"Lin Yujun!"

Tadokoro Megumi was both embarrassed and angry, and rubbed the spot on her forehead where she had been flicked.

"It's nothing complicated, just making some rice balls. I'll also prepare two pots of tea in a thermos later."

"Rice balls."

Lin Yu seemed to have thought of something and looked at the soy sauce simmering in the soup pot.

"Perfect timing! Then what I made this morning can come in handy. Let everyone in Polaris Dormitory try my cooking. After all, everyone here is easy to get along with, and I have a good impression of them."

Tadokoro Megumi looked at the heavy soup pot that was still simmering.

"soy sauce?"

"Lin Yujun, are you going to mix soy sauce into the rice and make rice balls?"

Lin Yu shook his head. "If you just mix it into the rice, too little soy sauce will make it bland, and too much will make it too salty. The moisture in the soy sauce will also make the rice soggy and sticky, affecting the texture of the rice balls."

"Besides, this is too simple and doesn't fully bring out the flavor of my replicated soy sauce."

Hearing Lin Yu's words, Tadokoro Megumi asked with some doubt, "So, what does Lin Yu-kun plan to do?"

Lin Yu smiled and said, "Don't ask yet, go cook a pot of rice, you'll find out in a bit."

Just as Tadokoro Megumi obediently went to cook, other people from the Polar Star Dormitory also left their rooms.

"Grandma Wenxu, what delicious food are you making now? I could smell it from my room!"

Yoshino Yuuki excitedly ran into the kitchen, but did not see Oomido Fumio. She only saw Tadokoro Megumi cooking rice and Lin Yu standing in front of the stove, guarding a soup pot and stirring it with a long spoon.

Yuuki took a deep breath into the air, confirming that the aroma that had whetted her appetite and woken her from her sleep was coming from the soup pot in front of Lin Yu.

"Lin Yujun, what delicious food are you making?" Yoshino Yuuki walked up to him with a smile.

"I'm making a kind of soy sauce, not for eating, but as a homemade condiment."

"Reconstituted soy sauce? What's that?"

Faced with Yoshino Yuuki's explanation, Lin Yu could only offer another explanation.

"That's a condiment popular in Sichuan, China. It's made by simmering soy sauce with brown sugar and spices, which gives the soy sauce its unique flavor."

Yoshino Yuuki's eyes lit up instantly. "It sounds amazing! The smell alone makes me hungry!"

Lin Yu smiled and said, "Xiao Hui is cooking. I heard everyone is going to do farm work in the fields at Polaris Lodge today. Xiao Hui will make rice balls for everyone at noon, and we'll be using my soy sauce. How about looking forward to lunch?"

"Great! Hooray!"

Yoshino Yuuki shouted "Hooray!" but the next second she came over with a grin.

"But it smells so good!"

"Lin Yujun, could you make me something to try, even just something to fill my stomach?"

"It's so painful to have to wait until noon to eat something that smells so good!"

"No!"

Lin Yu refused Yoshino Yuuki's request without hesitation, "It's not ready yet. Besides, Xiaohui will need it later. Can't we just wait patiently until noon?"

"Noon? It's still that long?"

Yoshino Yuuki started throwing a tantrum, constantly pestering Lin Yu.

"Lin Yujun, please, just do something simple, even just a little bit!"

Lin Yu said helplessly, "I already said I'd wait until noon."

"But noon really lasts forever!"

Yoshino Yuuki's voice was trembling with tears, her eyes brimming with emotion, as if she were about to burst into tears at any moment.

"It's torture to be able to look at such delicious food but not eat it! Lin Yujun is so mean!"

Lin Yu was somewhat on edge and almost couldn't help but curse.

"You're so annoying!"

"Alright, Yoshino-kun, you're getting bothered by Lin Yujun. Lin Yujun, please don't find Yoshino-kun annoying. He's just being curious."

Tadokoro Megumi came over and comforted Yoshino Yuuki.

"Actually, it's not just Yoshino who's craving it; the aroma alone makes me curious to try dishes made with the soy sauce that Lin Yu-jun has carefully simmered. What would they taste like?"

"I've already cooked the rice. How about you make some soy sauce rice later, Lin Yujun? It's very simple, it only takes a minute or two to make, and you can make it as breakfast for everyone this morning."

"How is it?"

Upon hearing Tadokoro Megumi's words, Yoshino Yuuki chimed in from the side.

"Xiaohui, you're my lucky star! You're so gentle!"

Moved, Yoshino Yuuki rushed forward to protect Tadokoro Megumi, while looking at Lin Yu with teary eyes.

"Lin Yujun, look what Xiaohui said! Please grant my wish! Otherwise, I'll have no motivation to work all morning!"

Lin Yu sighed, "Is it really that exaggerated?"

Yoshino Yuuki nodded dramatically, her voice trembling with tears. "It's so exaggerated! It's like I've given up on life!"

Lin Yu was finally defeated by the quirky and mischievous nature of the girl in front of him.

"Hey~ I can't do anything with you guys."

He sighed.

"Go and wait! The soy sauce rice will be ready soon!"

"Oh! Long live!"

Seeing Lin Yu agree, Yuji jumped up happily, and the grievance on her face just now disappeared without a trace, leaving only a mischievous smile of triumph.

Lin Yu revealed an expression that said, "I knew it."

"I knew it!"

"Hehe! I'll be very grateful for Lin Yujun's kindness!"

Yoshino Yuuki patted Lin Yu on the shoulder with a smile, seemingly unconcerned that her act of feigning helplessness had been exposed by Lin Yu.

Clearly, she was used to playing the victim and didn't feel uncomfortable at all.