Everyday Life Starting with Food Wars

Tadokoro Megumi was so excited that she even covered her mouth. She looked at Chen Yuxing standing next to her, her admiration almost overflowing.

Chen Yuxing nodded, but before he could turn around, he heard Inui Hinako add, "By the way, you just said this dish is called 'Mountain Stream Blood Jade Whirlwind Omelette Rice,' right? After the training is over, I want to make a proper replica to treat the kitchen staff in my shop as a thank you. I'll treat you to a good meal, so remember not to leave beforehand."

Chapter 22 Steak Set Meal

Around 4 p.m., the grand banquet hall of Totsuki Palace gradually filled with first-year students returning from various subject conferences.

The air was filled with the smells of sweat, cooking fumes, and mountain winds blowing in through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The originally spacious hall felt stuffy and crowded as nearly a thousand people poured in at the same time.

Some people squatted in the corner without any regard for their image, drinking water and rubbing their legs; some leaned against the wall, closing their eyes and panting heavily; and some simply sat down on the ground, still wearing their aprons with mud stains that hadn't dried.

Chen Yuxing and Tadokoro Megumi walked back from the F group's project meeting. Megumi followed closely beside Chen Yuxing, carrying a small bamboo basket containing some leftover ingredients from the assessment.

Although Xiaohui still looked tired, her steps were much lighter on the way back than on the way there. When she was about to reach the hall, she suddenly raised her hand and gently patted her cheeks. Then she took a deep breath, switched the bamboo basket to her other hand, and her steps became a little more steady.

"Ah Xing! Xiao Hui! Over here!"

With a clear shout, Yoshino Yuuki burst out from the crowd in front of her, rushing towards Tadokoro Megumi like a small cannonball, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her vigorously.

"Why are you two back so late! I was so worried! Was the project difficult? Did Chef Hinako Inui give you any trouble?" Her voice was crisp and quick, but she was careful and measured in her movements while holding Megumi Tadokoro, making sure to avoid the bamboo basket she was carrying.

Tadokoro Megumi stumbled a half-step to the side from being tackled by her, but she just smiled and patted Yuuki's hand, her voice still a little embarrassed.

"It's alright, Yuuki. Thanks to Hoshino's guidance, we both passed smoothly. Chef Inui Hinako may have high standards, but she's a very nice person."

After letting go of her, Yuuki held her hand and looked her up and down to make sure she wasn't injured or had been secretly crying. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief and pat her chest in relief.

Ryoko Sakaki stood behind Yuuki, holding her ever-present thermos. She nodded to the two of them with a faint smile on her lips.

Just then, Soma Yukihira squeezed in, his apron tied crookedly around his waist, his forehead still covered in slag from the stove. "I heard Chef Inui's assignment is to have you go to the mountains and find your own ingredients? What did you do? Ibuzaki and I were assigned to work on Sekimori Heitaro's sushi assignment, and our hands are practically cramping from making sushi."

"Omelette rice," Chen Yuxing said.

"Omelette rice? Omelette rice made with ingredients from the mountains?" Soma Yukihira was stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh. "Wait, did you guys gather a lot of good ingredients?!"

"Yes, there are sweetfish, wild pheasant, matsutake mushrooms, duckweed, and angelica root."

Soma Yukihira covered his face and let out an exaggerated wail, it was hard to tell whether he was envious of them being able to handle the ingredients themselves, or regretting that he was unlucky enough not to have drawn this type of topic.

Just as everyone was chattering away, Ibuzaki Shun walked back from the edge of the crowd, holding his phone to his ear. He whispered a few words, "Hmm," "Okay," and "Confirmed," before hanging up.

He put his phone in his pocket, raised his eyes (mostly hidden by his hair), and scanned the people present.

Ryoko tacitly screwed the lid of the thermos on, Yuuki let go of Tadokoro Megumi's hand, and Yukihira Soma straightened up, his playful expression gone.

Ibuzaki Shun's voice was not loud, and as calm as usual: "I just told Isshiki-senpai that everyone in the Polar Star Dormitory passed the first day."

"yeah!!!"

Yoshino Yuuki jumped up on the spot, Ryoko breathed a sigh of relief, unscrewed the thermos and took a sip of hot tea, Yukihira clenched his fist and cheered excitedly, and Megumi closed her eyes, her lips slightly raised, and she gently patted the edge of her apron with her fingers, her previously anxious heart finally at ease.

"boom!"

Just as everyone was celebrating, Marui Zenji suddenly fell straight down from the side, like a sapling that had been cut down, lying flat on his back with a thud, and even his glasses were askew.

Daigo Aoki jumped in fright: "Hey! Marui, what's wrong with you! Don't die!"

Shoji Sato squatted down and poked Marui's face with his finger.

Marui opened his mouth wide, and after a long while, he finally let out a muffled groan.

"I...I'm almost dead from exhaustion...I've been running around in the mountains all day...searching for ingredients everywhere...and I almost got chased and pecked by wild ducks..." Marui closed his eyes, his breath coming in a weak whisper, as if he were about to die at any moment.

Yukihira squatted down and looked at Marui's lifeless expression, scratched the back of his head and muttered, "Shouldn't everyone's topics be about the same?"

"Absolutely not! That's not how it is!!"

Yoshino Yuuki, hands on her hips, corrected me angrily, "You have no idea what we've been through! My assignment was to find ingredients in the mountains to cook wild game. The instructor was Kakuzaki Taki, that smiling shrew, but she said I didn't pluck the fur off the rabbit I caught fast enough, so she made me squat by the stream and pluck it again for twenty minutes. My fingers are still sore!"

She held up all ten fingers and waved them in front of Yukihira's face; the pads of her fingers were noticeably red, as if she had been kneading dough for a long time.

Ryoko Sakaki chimed in, "My topic is the preparation of French soups, and the instructor is Fuyumi Mizuhara. The classroom is indoors, so we don't have to go to the mountains to find ingredients ourselves, but we need to prepare different clear soups within a limited time. The requirements for temperature deviation are also very strict. If it's even slightly off, you'll fail. I heard that the failure rate in our exam room is as high as 20% to 30%."

"Compared to that, Yukihira and I are relatively lucky," Ibuzaki Shun said slowly, leaning against the pillar. "At least the only problem with Director Sekimori is making sushi. They don't treat students like low-level employees, and the attrition rate isn't very high."

Daigo Aoki, clutching his head, yelled from behind, "Hey! Is that the point?! No—is nobody even showing any sympathy for Marui lying on the ground?!"

Marui then got up from the ground, took a breath, took off his glasses, and weakly wiped the lenses with his sleeve. "Well... as long as I can get through this... tonight will be my free time. Just thinking about going to the large public bath at Totsuki Imperial Palace to soak in the natural hot springs, and then lying on the luxurious six-star hotel bed for a good night's sleep, and eating the hotel's lavish meals... I feel like I can still be saved..."

Hearing this, Yoshino Yuuki's eyes turned into stars, and she cupped her cheeks in her hands, starting to fantasize wildly, "Yes, yes, yes! A super luxurious meal! A hot spring bath! A super luxurious suite in a six-star hotel! I want to eat caviar and foie gras! I also want to sleep on a luxurious soft bed that I can sink into as soon as I lie down!"

Before she could finish speaking, a series of loud footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.

It wasn't just a few people, nor even a few dozen—it was the sound of hundreds of people simultaneously stepping onto the marble floor, echoing in the grand banquet hall of the Far Moon Palace. The sound came from outside the door, and the ground trembled slightly.

The first-year students, who had been chatting idly in the hall, almost simultaneously shut their mouths and looked in the direction of the door in horror.

"boom!"

The banquet hall doors were pushed open from the outside, and then groups of college male students, dressed in various sportswear and with muscular builds that seemed almost superhuman, filed in.

Leading the way were the bald, muscular men from the bodybuilding club, their muscles bulging like hills under their tight vests, their pectoral muscles jiggling as they walked; followed by the tall, strong members of the rugby club, their shoulders so broad they could block half a door, and the wrestlers with red marks on their necks from training.

The smells of sweat, grass, and cheap sports drinks mingled together, instantly filling the entire space. There were probably a hundred or so people, crowding the banquet hall to the brim.

"What... what's going on?! Did the bears from the zoo escape?!" Daigo Aoki exclaimed, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

Just as all the students were dumbfounded, Guan Shouping walked out of the side door with his signature squinty eyes. He walked slowly up to the podium and reached out to adjust the microphone.

"Everyone, please be quiet. Let me introduce you to the members of the bodybuilding, rugby, and wrestling clubs from the nearby Shangwan University. They are currently conducting physical training nearby."

Guan Shouping's voice was transmitted to the students through the loudspeaker.

"The next task is simple. Each of you needs to prepare fifty steak meals for the members of these sports clubs. Only after all the meals for these sports clubs have been completed and everyone is full can you rest and prepare your own dinner."

The entire place was deathly silent; even breathing seemed to have stopped.

"Students who fail to complete fifty steak meals within the sixty-minute time limit will be expelled from school."

After about two seconds of silence, Yoshino Yuuki let out a scream that seemed to come from the bottom of her throat: "Wait! Captain Sekimori! What about our deluxe dinner?!"

Guan Shouping didn't even turn his head. As he walked off the stage, he coldly said, "There is no such thing. During the accommodation and training period, the trainees will be responsible for their own meals. They can take the ingredients from the cold storage next door, and the kitchen is also available for their use."

He walked to the edge of the stage, suddenly stopped, and turned his head to the side. "Oh, right, the timer is already running. Sixty minutes, it started when I said 'start the timer'."

"No!!!"

The first-year students, who were just fantasizing about enjoying six-star hotel services, exploded like a hornet's nest that had been poked.

Yoshino Yuuki's luxurious fantasy shattered into pieces. As she rushed to the stove, she muttered through tears, "I have to make fifty steak sets. I'm going to die!"

Daigo Aoki and Shoji Sato had already pushed and shoved their way into the cold storage to grab the better quality steaks.

Tadokoro Megumi took a deep breath, suppressing the panic in her heart, and began to quickly plan out the preparation process in front of her stove.

Chen Yuxing wasn't in such a hurry. He followed the group into the cold storage and retrieved the appropriate number of steaks.

He then tied on an apron and walked to his own stove. He habitually touched the edge of the stove to make sure it was clean, and then glanced at the spice rack—salt, pepper, butter, garlic powder, onion, everything was there, all the most basic steak seasonings.

"Fifty servings, to be completed within sixty minutes, averaging about one serving per minute. However, these athletes usually expend a lot of physical energy, so they shouldn't have high requirements for plating. As long as the energy and taste can appeal to their taste buds, that should be enough."

Chen Yuxing quickly thought it over in his mind, then reached out and turned on all three stoves in front of the kitchen counter.

Three dark blue flames shot up simultaneously.

He first took three large frying pans from the side and heated them on the stove.

Taking advantage of the brief moment the pot heated up, Chen Yuxing turned around and grabbed a large amount of pre-cut steak from the ingredient cart he had brought back. These steaks, which required a large supply, were mostly shoulder cuts or regular sirloin steaks.

Chen Yuxing quickly and neatly placed the steaks on the seasoning plate, working with both hands simultaneously to sprinkle salt and black pepper, each movement fluid and without a moment's pause.

When the pan was hot enough that the oil was just starting to smoke, he picked up the steaks and laid them out one by one in the pan.

"Fuck!"

The moment the steak touches the scalding hot pan, the high temperature causes the moisture on the surface of the steak to evaporate rapidly. As the food heats up, the caramelized aroma produced by the sugar and protein mixes with the smell of oil, exploding in the air like a bomb.

Each pan can cook two steaks at a time, so three pans can cook six steaks at a time.

The hot pan was seared to seal the surface and lock in the juices inside the steak. As the hot plate sizzled, Chen Yuxing pulled out a small iron pot from under the counter and started heating oil.

He quickly chopped the onion slices and poured them into the oil. When the onion slices were fried until golden brown, he poured in clear broth and reduced the sauce over high heat. Then he added soy sauce, mirin, and a little bit of black pepper.

Bring the sauce to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add a small piece of butter and turn off the heat. Let the butter melt into the sauce with the residual heat. Use a spoon to quickly stir the sauce around the edge of the pot until the oil and sauce are fully combined. This amount is just enough to make 50 servings of sauce.

"Time's up, flip it over."

Chen Yuxing timed it perfectly, picked up the tongs, and flipped all the steaks in the pan over.

The side that was originally deep red with a blood-red hue now has a layer of burnt brown crust, making it look very appetizing.

While the other side of the steak was searing, he used tongs to pick it up and quickly dip it in the sauce pan next to him. Then he placed it in a serving plate that already contained rice and broccoli. Finally, he picked up a spoon and scooped a small spoonful of thick sauce over the rice.

"Round 1 complete."

Chapter 23 Dojima Silver

By this time, the sports team members, who were already starving and their eyes were practically glowing green, had begun to line up at various windows with empty plates in hand.

A bald, burly man from the rugby team standing in front of Chen Yuxing's stove took the steaming hot set meal with sauce covering the rice and steak. Smelling the rich aroma, he involuntarily swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

He couldn't even wait to get his food back to his seat; he stood right next to the food counter and started eating, quickly cutting off a piece of steak with his fork and eating it along with the rice covered in sauce.

Biting into the steak reveals juicy beef and a savory flavor blended with butter, onions, and soy sauce.

"Ughhhhhhh!!!"

The bald, muscular man's eyes widened the moment he tasted the steak, and his muscles trembled.

He quickly swallowed the steak in his mouth and exclaimed, "Damn! This is so delicious! It's a hundred times better than the restaurants I've been to downtown! This sauce is absolutely divine!"

The steak paired with the honey sauce tasted like an angry bull rampaging through his body, shattering the fatigue of a day's training and replacing it with pure enjoyment.

"Excuse me, could I have another one? I've already finished mine. Yours is just so delicious."

The bald, burly man returned with the plate that had been licked clean, his eyes filled with longing for another serving.

Several more members followed suit, carrying plates and eating as they walked, filling the air with the aroma of charred beef and the sweet and savory scent of butter sauce.

Someone mumbled between chewing bites, "With this sauce, I could eat three bowls of rice in one go."

"This beef is fried so well, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside."

Time passed by, and in less than fifty minutes...

Chen Yuxing put the last steak set meal into a plate and pushed it onto the front serving counter.

"Bah."

I turned off the stove and casually wiped the grease off my fingers with the hem of my apron.

Almost at the same time, he heard the sound of Soma Yukihira turning off the fire from not far to his right.

Chen Yuxing turned his head and glanced at Tadokoro Megumi on the stove next door. She still had about four or five dishes left to finish, but what was gratifying was that her hands were very steady and she was not flustered at all. At this moment, she was flipping the last piece of steak over and sprinkling black pepper on it.

Chen Yuxing soaked the used tongs and oil brush in the sink, dried his hands, and then walked to Tadokoro Megumi's stove. She was plating a steak. The edge of the plate was neatly arranged, and the blanched broccoli and sweet corn kernels were neatly piled up in a small bunch. The rice was not soggy. Although her meat-cutting speed was still a bit slow, the edge of the plate was clean and not a drop of sauce was spilled when she plated it.

"The craftsmanship has improved a lot."

Chen Yuxing walked over and praised Xiao Hui by the stove.

Tadokoro Megumi paused for a moment, looked up at him, and her cheeks flushed slightly.

"These are all... little tricks that Ryoko-nee taught me before. A-Xing, have you finished?"

"Okay, then there's nothing for me to do. No rush, there's still plenty of time. We'll meet in Marui's room when we're done."

Megumi Tadokoro nodded heavily, a beautiful smile curving her lips. She then lowered her head to continue plating, gently patting her cheeks after placing a steak on the counter, and then letting out a long sigh.

"Ah Xing!"

Soma Yukihira had already taken off his apron and ran over quickly, a few beads of sweat on his face, but he was even more excited than when he came down. "You're done, right? Come on! Before everyone else is finished, let's go to Marui's room and reserve a spot!"

Chen Yuxing and Yukihira Soma walked out of the banquet hall side by side, through the corridor towards the elevator. The wall lamps on both sides of the corridor had just been turned on, casting long shadows on the dark wooden floor.

Soma Yukihira put his hands behind his head, kicking the carpet as he walked, muttering to himself, "I'm exhausted. I made fifty steaks in a row, and my hands are still shaking. The bodybuilding team captain has a terrifying appetite. He took three steaks by himself and even asked if he could pack a few more to take home for a late-night snack."

Chen Yuxing didn't say anything, but simply unzipped his jacket a little to let the steam from the stove dissipate.

"But then again..."

Soma Yukihira turned to look at him. "Isn't it a bit too early for us to go to Marui's room now? Everyone still won't be able to finish gathering for a while. We can't just sit in an empty room and wait for them to come back, can we?"

Chen Yuxing stopped and pointed to a wooden sign hanging on the left wall of the corridor.