Chapter 28: The Deserted Bamboo Moon
"Meili! A super spicy Mapo Tofu, please!"
On a certain weekend, Naoto once again took Kuriko out to eat.
The dining location was still the Bamboo Moon that Naoto was so fond of.
At this time, there were only two customers in the restaurant, Naoto and Kuriko, making it seem a bit deserted.
Compared to the bustling restaurants outside that were always full, Bamboo Moon seemed a bit out of place.
After Naoto and Kuriko placed their order, Meili quickly came over with a super spicy Mapo Tofu.
This standard Sichuan-style Mapo Tofu was made by Boss Liu with the spiciest ghost peppers. Just looking at it made one's scalp tingle. To be honest, even Naoto, in the past, wouldn't dare to eat such spicy Mapo Tofu.
The white steam rising from it, just smelling it made one want to sneeze.
"Um, Kuriko, are you sure you want to eat this kind of thing?"
"Yes, this is fine."
Even though this food was feared by Naoto, Kuriko showed no fear at all. On the contrary, Kuriko was very interested in such extremely stimulating food.
Ever since Naoto took Kuriko to this restaurant to eat last time, Kuriko seemed to have fallen in love with the more stimulating dishes here.
Perhaps this was the difference between a psychic and an ordinary person. Well, at least she wasn't madly obsessed with foods like caviar.
At this moment, Kuriko used a spoon to scoop up a large piece of crimson Mapo Tofu, and then, under Naoto's horrified gaze, she put it into her mouth.
Just as Naoto thought Kuriko would need a glass of milk because of the spiciness, Kuriko instead showed a blissful smile. The smile here, so bright, it caused Naoto to freeze, and smile as well.
Clearly, this Mapo Tofu was very much to Kuriko's liking.
"Ah, that's really nice."
Just then, Meili sat on a chair nearby, watching Kuriko's blissful smile, and instead began to sigh.
"Meili, has something happened? I feel like you and Boss Liu haven't been in good spirits lately."
Seeing Meili's troubled expression, Naoto, being kind-hearted, asked about their situation.
As a regular customer during this period, Naoto had naturally become familiar with Meili and Boss Liu.
He also had some understanding of why they came to open a restaurant in Japan.
It was said that Meili and Boss Liu were childhood sweethearts. Boss Liu's parents were both famous head chefs in large restaurants in the Sichuan-Chongqing region. At a young age, he became the top chef among the younger generation.
However, being young and ambitious, Boss Liu was no longer satisfied with only mastering Sichuan cuisine. He then began to learn other cooking styles.
Upon hearing that foreigners didn't know much about Chinese cuisine, and with the idea of spreading culinary culture, he brought Meili to Japan, intending to start a new venture here.
When Naoto heard their story, he thought it was the plot of some urban feel-good novel.
The story of a genius chef traveling the world with his childhood sweetheart, intending to spread Chinese delicacies.
But unfortunately, as soon as they arrived here, they hit a wall.
The current dismal state of this restaurant pretty much showed it.
In fact, in Naoto's opinion, the biggest problem with the current Bamboo Moon was still in its decor, popularity, and lack of advertisement.
Things like the dishes, in Naoto's opinion, were already good enough, but for Meili and Boss Liu, the language barrier was also a big problem.
For someone like Meili, who barely understood Japanese, it took her a long time just to understand what the customer wanted to order. How could this keep regular customers coming back?
And most crucially, Japan now was not like Naoto's original era, where Chinese cuisine had already become popular.
In present-day Japan, traditional Chinese cuisine was not very sought after.
"Sigh, when Ah Xing Liu finally understands the difficulties here, he'll go back. Really, I don't know what he's doing here all day."
Meili was full of complaints about Boss Liu, who was still in the kitchen researching Japanese cuisine.
He was doing so well in China, what on earth possessed him to come here and open a restaurant?
"Naoto, is there any way to help them? It seems Miss Meili and they are very troubled."
At this moment, Kuriko, noticing Meili's dejected look, quietly asked Naoto.
Although Kuriko usually seemed unapproachable, in reality, her level of warm-heartedness was ridiculously high.
Let alone close friends, she would even kindly help strangers.
"Help them, huh..."
How could one help in the catering industry? He couldn't help with advertising or anything.
And even if Kuriko used her psychic powers, she couldn't just directly bring in a large number of customers, could she?
What could he do about this kind of thing?
"Wait a minute, advertising?"
At this moment, Naoto suddenly thought of something. He glanced at Meili, then at Boss Liu who was cooking, and a spark instantly flashed in his mind.
"Naoto, what's wrong?"
Kuriko looked at Naoto, whose eyes were like a cat's, and suddenly had a strange feeling. What crazy idea had he come up with now?
"Come here, Meili! Come over for a second!"
"Naoto, is there something you need? Do you want to order more dishes?"
Seeing Naoto call her, Kuriko temporarily put aside her displeasure and entered 'business mode'.
"Ahem, it's like this, I have a free promotion here, would you like to try it?"
"Free promotion?"
Meili felt a bit confused at this moment. What exactly was this so-called free promotion?
Boss Liu, who noticed their conversation, also cast a curious glance. What on earth was Naoto thinking?
"Oh, I forgot to mention, actually, I'm a manga artist, and I'm currently looking for inspiration. If you allow it, I could draw this restaurant into my manga. While I can't guarantee it will make your business better, it can at least let people know that such a restaurant exists."
"A manga artist? You..."
Hearing Naoto claim to be a manga artist, Meili couldn't help but look at Naoto with suspicion. After all, Naoto looked a bit too young, didn't he?
"Don't underestimate me! I'm currently the number one manga artist on JUMP's popularity rankings, so tell me, do you want it or not?"
"If it's free, then of course we want it. But let's be clear, we won't be paying you afterward."
"Of course not, am I that kind of person? As long as it works, just treat me to a good meal."
"Deal! Then I'll leave it to you, Naoto!"
Seeing the two of them reach an agreement, Boss Liu, who had been hiding behind, couldn't help but show a puzzled expression. If he remembered correctly, he was the owner of this restaurant, wasn't he?