The delicacies of the heavens begin with obtaining gem meat.

Chapter 215 The Second Day of the Moon Festival

After leaving Nao Satsuka's stall, Jiang Yan continued to sample the dishes.

I quickly bought a freshly baked fruit tart from a stall.

With one bite, the flaky pastry crumbles between your teeth, and the creamy custard sauce, mixed with the sweetness of mango and blueberries, melts on your tongue.

Jiang Yan slowly ate his fruit tart and soon arrived at the busiest shop in the main street area—the temporary branch of the Aldini Restaurant.

Inside the shop's open kitchen, Takumi held a frying pan, his movements swift and fluid.

A group of girls surrounded Takumi, who was cooking, and occasionally let out a soft cheer.

After Jiang Yan finished the last bite of the fruit tart, he wiped his mouth, glanced at Takumi from head to toe, and pursed his lips.

"Takumi is surprisingly popular with girls."

Just then, Takumi looked up and met Jiang Yan's gaze. He paused for a moment, his face full of surprise.

"Jiang Yan? What are you doing here?"

Takmi looked at Jiang Yan with a puzzled expression.

After all, he knew that Jiang Yan's shop was located in the Linshan area.

"My shop is a self-service snack shop, so I don't need to be there all the time. I just come out for a stroll."

Jiang Yan explained.

Upon hearing this, Takmi was speechless for a moment, staring at him without saying a word for a long time.

I never expected Jiang Yan to set up a self-service snack shop.

Despite the unexpectedness, Takumi thought about it carefully and realized that this was exactly in line with Jiang Yan's personality.

In Takumi's view, Jiang Yan was a person who hated trouble, so it was already surprising enough that he was willing to put in the effort to open a shop.

Opening a self-service snack shop is exactly in line with Jiang Yan's personality!

Without saying anything more, Takumi turned around and brought out a plate of freshly made Italian almond cake, placing it in front of Jiang Yan.

The cake's surface was baked to a beautiful caramel color, and the cut surface was fluffy and moist, mixed with the aroma of roasted hazelnut pieces and almond slices, and garnished with the bright yellow of candied orange peel. The aroma of butter and nuts was irresistible.

Jiang Yan picked up a fork, forked a piece, and put it in his mouth.

The cake is as soft as a cloud, melting in your mouth. The rich butter and egg flavors blend perfectly, the crunch of the nuts balances the sweetness, and the refreshing taste of candied orange peel spreads in the aftertaste, just right to suppress the heaviness. Every bite has just the right balance.

"Hmm, not bad. It seems you haven't been slacking off lately, Takumi."

"The flavor is stronger than when it was selected in the fall."

Jiang Yan nodded in agreement.

"Of course, I haven't dared to slack off for a single moment."

Takumi straightened his chest, but his fingers tightened slightly, a bitter feeling rising in his heart.

Since the end of the autumn selection, he has been working very hard to hone his skills in order to catch up with Jiang Yan and Yukihira Soma.

However, both of them grew up very quickly.

Jiang Yan, in particular, has now secured a place among the Ten Elites of Totsuki Academy, a pinnacle that countless Totsuki students may never reach even after a lifetime of hard work.

Takumi was very confident in his talent, but he also knew that there was still an invisible chasm between him and the Elite Ten.

However, Takumi never considered giving up.

Of course, before formally challenging Jiang Yan, his first task was to defeat Yukihira Soma.

"Okay, keep it up."

Jiang Yan responded, his fork never stopping, and quickly finished the whole plate of cake.

He wiped his mouth, took out the corresponding ticket, placed it on the table, and waved to Takumi.

"I'm leaving now."

With that, Jiang Yan turned around and plunged into the bustling crowd to continue his "street sweeping" mission.

Jiang Yan ate his way through the streets, from grilled Wagyu beef skewers to freshly fried meatballs, from freshly squeezed juice to freshly baked crepes. His mouth never stopped moving.

When Jiang Yan reached the other end of the main road area, he looked up and saw the sign for "tide Jian Research Association".

To Jiang Yan's surprise, the stall, which was deserted yesterday, now had a queue of a moderate length, and many customers were eating at the tables next to it, indicating that business had improved significantly.

"Oh, so you've turned over a new leaf?"

Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but mutter something under his breath.

It seems yesterday's warning wasn't in vain; Alice and the other two have finally stopped fighting amongst themselves, and they shouldn't make a fool of themselves with a deficit today.

I walked over, peered at the menu, and saw that the main dish was chocolate curry rice.

Behind the counter, Hayama Akira was serving curry with his head down. He had dark circles under his eyes, his hair was messy, and he looked listless and lacked energy. He had obviously stayed up all night revising the recipe and refining the process.

"Give me a curry rice."

Jiang Yan shouted.

Hearing the voice, Hayama Akira looked up and saw that it was Jiang Yan. He didn't even lift his eyelids, but just responded weakly. He turned around, picked up the plate, quickly filled it with rice, poured curry on it, and handed it to Kurokiba Ryo.

Kurokiba Ryo placed a delicate chocolate flower in the curry rice and pushed it in front of Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan picked up his plate, found an empty seat, and looked at the food. At this moment, under the residual heat of the curry, the chocolate flower made with 3D printing technology was slowly melting.

The deep brown chocolate flowed slowly down the curry, quickly melting into the thick curry sauce. The rich aroma of cocoa mingled with the spiciness of the curry, wafting out.

I scooped up a spoonful and put it in my mouth.

The curry base is a sweet and spicy flavor with fruity notes. Hayama Akira's expert spice blend is still impeccable. The aromas of cardamom, cinnamon, and fennel develop in layers, but they don't overpower each other at all, perfectly highlighting the freshness of the ingredients.

The melted chocolate brings a slightly bitter aftertaste, which neutralizes the spiciness of the curry, making the sauce even more creamy and rich. Even the rice is coated with a rich cocoa aroma, creating a surprisingly complex and delightful flavor profile.

Jiang Yan finished the whole curry rice in a few bites and nodded in satisfaction.

Compared to the chaos of everyone doing their own thing on the first day, this chocolate curry rice was quite good.

After finishing his chocolate curry rice, Jiang Yan said goodbye to the three people who were busy greeting customers, and then turned around to continue shopping.

He didn't return to his shop until the sun was setting in the afternoon. As expected, the Baofen in the vending machine was sold out again.

They quickly and efficiently counted all the tickets and delivered them to the college's revenue statistics office.

Time flew by and it was already 7 p.m.

Just like yesterday, the broadcast started.

Jiang Yan was sitting at a roadside stall at the entrance of the Linshan area, holding a bowl of freshly cooked oden, biting into a radish soaked in broth, and listening to Kawashima Rei's passionate voice on the radio.

"First, let's announce the rankings for the main road area!"

"Third Place - Rice Bowl Research Club!"

"Second Place—Shiomi Research Club!"

"And the top spot in the main road area on the second day still belongs to—the temporary branch of the Aldini Restaurant!"

"Next up is the central region!"

"Third Place—Western Cuisine Research Association · Yangyangxuan!"

Second place – Spanish Cuisine Research Association ELFuego!

"The top-selling restaurant in the Central Region for the second day remains—Kuga Restaurant, Chinese Cuisine Research Association! It has maintained its number one position for two consecutive days!"

"Finally, the area near the mountains!"

"The third-highest selling self-service snack shop in the Linshan area on the second day—one of the top ten!"

"Um?"

Jiang Yan, who was eating a soft-boiled egg, froze for a moment, stopping what he was doing.

He scratched his head, then belatedly realized that this casually chosen name seemed to be for his shop.

"Third place? That's a bit of a surprise."

Jiang Yan smiled and didn't take it too seriously.

He knew that most of the restaurants in the Linshan area were high-end restaurants that operated on a reservation basis, with their core business hours in the evening, and the statistics were based on the turnover up to 6 p.m.

He secured third place entirely through daytime vending machine sales, which can be considered a clever trick.

He slowly finished his bowl of oden, then casually picked up a newly printed ranking newspaper from a nearby stall and began to walk deeper into the mountainous area while flipping through it.

He had an appointment today, and the person he was supposed to meet was Tsukasa Eishi, the number one of the Elite Ten.

To be honest, Jiang Yan had been looking forward to Si Yingshi's cooking for a long time.

I've never tasted a cooking style that "only showcases the ultimate deliciousness of the ingredients themselves, completely erasing the chef's personal presence," and just thinking about it makes me very interested.

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