Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

Bai Yuan revealed his plan: to take this opportunity to hone the members of the Dark Cuisine World and teach them that there are always people better than you.

Although these strong individuals were very powerful, the new generation that emerged later was generally not as strong; otherwise, they wouldn't have sent Liu Yu and the others.

Although he is a top-notch chef, he is not a master chef. In the past few months, only Liu Yu's skills have improved slightly.

"Also, although the daily and overall rankings for this assessment are published, only the top ten are announced. In other words, there are more than forty people behind who are in a state of anxiety about whether they will drop out or not, so they will naturally do their best to avoid being eliminated."

You're so mean!

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Sakaki Ryoko's mouth slightly opened, and she couldn't help but utter such a sigh.

If the other party hadn't brought it up, she would never have discovered that Bai Yuan, this seemingly respectable guy, would actually come up with such a wicked idea.

By casting a shadow over the rankings, students become confused and develop suspicions about each other.

So, on the surface, they all seem to be competing to be the worst, but behind the scenes, they're all incredibly cunning.

Fearing that they would be the ones eliminated while their good brothers stayed, this move was undeniably cunning, perfectly capturing everyone's psychology.

"This is a reasonable use of the rules."

If the full rankings were released, only the bottom 20 students would feel threatened. But if only the top 10 students are released, all the students below the top 10 will feel anxious because they can't see their scores.

This is also known as the information asymmetry effect in psychology. Fear becomes their driving force, prompting them to strive forward.

When I came to my senses, I found myself in a place I could never have imagined before.

Bai Yuan simply smiled faintly at this.

As a powerful figure who emerged from the world of dark cuisine, his methods of training chefs are far superior to those of a half-baked amateur like Totsuki.

With a slight move, he could easily manipulate those students, making them constantly improve themselves out of fear.

"In this way, everyone will strive to be in the top ten, and the top ten will work even harder to earn points so as not to fall behind."

The students ranked higher were already arguing fiercely for the top three prizes, so they weren't going to relax either...

Ryoko Sakaki thought even more deeply; the release of this dusty ranking list could practically get everyone involved.

It has to be said that Bai Yuan is an absolute genius when it comes to evoking emotions; he even found such a niche method.

"What are you talking about? You all seem so excited."

As they were talking, Yoshino Yuuki came over with two boxes of stinky tofu, handed one of them to Shirabuchi, and looked at Tadokoro Megumi and Sakaki Ryoko with curiosity in her eyes.

"We were talking about this field study program."

No wonder.

"Speaking of which, Mr. Bai Yuan, what do you think about me opening a stinky tofu stall? It would definitely be a huge hit!"

Upon hearing Ryoko Sakaki's words, Yuuki Yoshino immediately thought of stinky tofu. Since the theme of this event was setting up a stall, why didn't she try stinky tofu?

"Of course you can. As long as your sales volume and profits are among the top in the rankings, you can sell whatever you want. If you sell well, I'll even praise you for your good choice."

"Then let's sell stinky tofu. I've already gotten the recipe from the owner, I'll go back and put it into practice. Then Ryoko and Megumi can stand together..."

Seeing Yoshino Yuuki's excited expression, Bai Yuan didn't tell her that making proper stinky tofu requires more than ten days of settling. The fermentation of the stinky tofu itself takes a lot of time, and there is no good solution unless you buy it from outside.

Of course, his rotating pot can speed up the fermentation time of ingredients, but no one who has not been approved by the rotating pot can operate it.

"No way, something that smells so bad will definitely affect the sale of my food."

On the other side, upon hearing Yoshino Yuuki's suggestion, Sakaki Ryoko shook her head vigorously.

It's fine if this guy sells other dishes; although it might affect his business, it's just a matter of money flowing between his own hands. Customers are constantly moving around, and it won't scare them away like stinky tofu does.

"Xiao Hui."

As she spoke, Yoshino Yuuki cast a pitiful look at Tadokoro Megumi.

"I don't want to either, unless you turn stinky tofu into fragrant tofu, otherwise whoever is with you will be unlucky and it will affect the business."

Tadokoro Megumi refused without hesitation, not indulging Yoshino Yuuki out of sisterly affection.

Her goal was to be in the top three of the program, and she wouldn't allow anything to disrupt her plans, because only then could she earn Professor Baiyuan's reward.

Although the information mentions rewards from Totsuki, since Bai Yuan was the one who set the rules, it shouldn't be a problem to ask him for the rewards.

"Fragrant tofu...?"

Yoshino Yuuki wasn't stupid. The repeated rejections brought her back to reality from the fantasy that stinky tofu was popular. She then began to consider the feasibility of Tadokoro Megumi's words and to turn stinky tofu into fragrant tofu.

"Since stinky tofu is made with brine, it uses a fermentation technique."

How about making fragrant tofu? Replace the brine used for pickling stinky tofu with regular braising liquid, and then fry the fragrant tofu using the same method as making stinky tofu.

While eating stinky tofu, I was thinking about the process of making fragrant tofu.

Ryoko Sakaki offered her suggestion: to make stinky tofu smell like fragrant tofu, the first thing to do is to change the brine from the root.

Traditional stinky tofu brine is made by fermenting strong-flavored ingredients such as fermented black beans, winter bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, amaranth stems, white wine, and salt.

But tomorrow, after the trial period ends, it will be the day for setting up stalls, so there obviously won't be much time to wait.

In comparison, the preparation of braised food does not require such a long wait.

The ingredients used are mostly spices.

In any case, braised tofu, once deep-fried, can't possibly taste any worse than stinky tofu!

"I also think Ryoko makes a good point, but we'll have to try it out to see how it tastes."

Yuuki, you can first buy ready-made tofu at the market to experiment. Once you succeed, you can grind soybeans and make tofu yourself, and then improve your cooking at your stall.

At this moment, Megumi Tadokoro also offered her advice.

It's unrealistic to expect to achieve everything in one step; they're not Bai Yuan, they don't have that kind of power, but they can work hard to improve it.

"That's what I think too. In short, let's first determine the general outline."

Yoshino Yuuki nodded to indicate that she understood; this was also her initial thought.

"Go ahead and try it. Fifteen days of practice will be enough for you to create a dish that far surpasses your current level. This will be an important experience for you."

After the three finished their discussion, Bai Yuan's voice rang out, subtly revealing a hint of anticipation.

The fifty-odd students of Far Moon Academy ranged in strength from the weakest to the strongest, who had reached the level of a three-star chef.

Bai Yuan was extremely eager to see what kind of changes such a team would bring to the bustling square.

"It's getting late, and it looks like it's going to rain soon, so I'm going back."

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Bai Yuan looked up at the sky.

The sky, which should have been clear enough to see the moon, was now a hazy gray, and although there were streetlights around, they weren't particularly bright.

It's obvious that it's going to rain soon.

Is it going to rain? The sky is so dark!

After Bai Yuan's reminder, Tadokoro Megumi and the others also looked up and noticed the sky. Although no raindrops had fallen yet, they had that feeling.

The air humidity was exceptionally high, making them feel sticky and uncomfortable.

When we were chatting, this feeling wasn't very strong, but now that we've calmed down, it's become much more pronounced.

"In that case, I won't say any more. See you tomorrow."

"Indeed, since we can meet in the square, there's no need to linger for a little while longer."

"See you tomorrow, Xiaohui; see you tomorrow, Teacher Baiyuan."

As they spoke, Yoshino Yuuki and Sakaki Ryoko exchanged a glance, neither lingering any longer, leaving the two of them in their private space.

They knew it very well.

This guy came because of Tadokoro Megumi.

Chapter 336 Shy Tadokoro Megumi Buys a Mobile Stall

"Should we go straight home now?"

After Yoshino Yuuki and Sakaki Ryoko left, Tadokoro Megumi came to Shirabuchi's side, her voice tinged with shyness and a strong sense of anticipation.

"If you want to experience a walk in the rain, we can continue to stroll around outside and go back whenever we want."

Hearing Tadokoro Megumi's question, Bai Yuan was speechless. As he spoke, he reached out and rubbed her head. Today, she was unusually not wearing a ponytail.

Her long blue hair was spread out, and she wore a white dress. Although the outfit was simple, she looked exceptionally pure, giving people a feeling of first love.

"Then you'd better hurry back, lest you get soaked to the bone and catch a cold later."

Feeling the warm touch on her head, Tadokoro Megumi realized she had said something inappropriate, so she took Shiro's large, kind hand and spoke considerately.

"I don't mind, and don't you think walking in the rain is quite romantic?"

Bai Yuan said half-jokingly that it didn't matter to him whether he went back in the rain or now; the key was which way Tadokoro Megumi wanted.

"It wouldn't matter under normal circumstances, but tomorrow is the day I set up my stall, and catching a cold wouldn't be good. So, Brother Bai Yuan, did you come here specifically to keep me company?"

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Tadokoro Megumi raised her head with a touch of naivety and spoke quite earnestly.

If it were any other time, strolling around in the rain with your loved one would be nice, but the problem is that tomorrow is the field training.

"It's fine to say that I came here specifically to keep you company, since I haven't spent much time with you and I feel a little guilty about it."

I thought you might be thinking of me too, so I came over. But you seemed to be doing alright, and you weren't particularly surprised to see me.

Seeing Tadokoro Megumi's slightly shifting eyes, Bai Yuan didn't lie and revealed all his inner thoughts, as he had come with a sense of guilt.

Of course, besides guilt, there was also the purest longing for Tadokoro Megumi; otherwise, simple guilt wouldn't have made him travel all this way.

Ultimately, it's true that such a lovely girl like Megumi Tadokoro has suffered a bit following him.

Does it look good?

Perhaps it's because I've always been thinking about Teacher Baiyuan, and I've held onto the hope of meeting him until now.

Now that my wish has come true, I seem to be in good spirits. As for why I'm not overjoyed, it's mainly because I had a great time on the journey.

Tadokoro Megumi's clear voice explained the reason for her condition to Shiroyuki, and her experiences during this period also came to mind.

After being comforted by Bai Yuan that day, her restless heart, which had been agitated by not being given important responsibilities, quickly calmed down and returned to its original state.

In cooking, this translates to greater stability.

"Then walk home slowly and tell me about your experiences during this time."