Everyone in the restaurant stopped eating, their gazes fixed on the plate of Mystical Mapo Tofu.
They had just seen the dish glow, which was simply... a magic dish, truly incredible.
And what was that aroma? It was too tempting.
It made people unconsciously addicted.
In fact, not to mention them, Liu Ming himself was startled. He hadn't expected the Mystical Mapo Tofu to actually glow.
Isn't this an effect only seen in anime? How could it appear in reality?
Just then, he suddenly felt several scorching gazes on him. He turned his head to look and saw Tadokoro Megumi, Tohru, and Kanna.
Seemingly noticing Tadokoro Megumi's shock and anticipation, Liu Ming gently ruffled her hair and then said, "As long as you study diligently, you'll be able to do it too in the future."
"En," Tadokoro Megumi nodded seriously. Was that the Light of Cooking just now? Her master was truly amazing.
Liu Ming ignored Tadokoro Megumi, who was lost in thought. He whispered to the other two foodies, "If you want to eat, go to the kitchen yourselves. I've already left your portions there."
"Xiao Ming, you're so nice." Tohru flashed into the kitchen like a fire.
"Thank you, Xiao Ming." Kanna's speed was also not slow, her short legs rotating rapidly like fire wheels.
"I won't be polite then." Natsuno Kirihime finally came back to her senses. She picked up a spoon and scooped up a spoonful, including both sauce and tofu.
First, it was hot—that was her initial sensation. Then came the spiciness, which activated all the senses on her tongue. Next was the aroma; the scent of garlic sprouts flowed down her tongue, into her esophagus, and reached her stomach, spreading throughout her entire body. Finally, there was the numbing sensation, which integrated all the flavors, forming waves that impacted her mind.
"It's truly delicious." Natsuno Kirihime's eyes sparkled. She had never tasted such a delicious dish before.
One bite, two bites... her movements simply couldn't stop.
Liu Ming was dumbfounded. Wasn't this a bit too exaggerated? An outsider might even think Natsuno Kirihime was an actress he hired.
Suddenly, he thought of something, immediately untied the apron from his waist, and quickly draped it over Natsuno Kirihime.
With a ripping sound, the phenomenon of clothes bursting actually occurred.
Isn't this a skill only the Demon King of Cuisine, Nakiri Senzaemon, possesses? Or is it that the dishes I make are really that amazing?
"Hey, wake up." Liu Ming shook Natsuno Kirihime. He didn't want others to misunderstand.
"Hmm?" Natsuno Kirihime was still in a semi-haze, her eyes blurry.
"Teacher Liu, why are you hugging me? Do you like me? This won't do, you know. You have to confess to me first, and then, after I agree, you can hug me as my boyfriend," Natsuno Kirihime said coquettishly.
Liu Ming could only give a wry smile. He clearly hadn't added any alcohol, so why was Natsuno Kirihime exhibiting a second personality?
Luckily, Tohru was in the kitchen now, otherwise, he'd have another headache.
"Teacher Liu, just give in to her, you two are quite a good match anyway." Hiiragi Suzuna, on the side, secretly teased him.
"You still have the nerve to sit here? Hurry up and help her to the kitchen," Liu Ming said grumpily.
It seems I need to set up a private room. Otherwise, what will I do if someone orders a special dish again in the future? I can't always stand by and watch. Beautiful women are one thing, but men, I'm not interested.
After some effort, Natsuno Kirihime was finally settled.
"This is the place."
"The aroma is coming from this restaurant."
"Quick, quick, go inside and see what kind of dish it is, it smells so good."
At this moment, a large crowd of people surged in from outside the door.
Because Tohru and the others were still in the kitchen eating Mystical Mapo Tofu, only Liu Ming and Tadokoro Megumi were left in the hall.
Tadokoro Megumi's personality hasn't changed much yet, and with so many people, she probably wouldn't be able to handle it, so Liu Ming had to deal with it himself.
"Everyone, the restaurant's business hours are over. If you wish to dine, please go elsewhere." Liu Ming showed no awareness of turning customers away, pointing smilingly towards the door.
"Isn't it only a little past 2 PM? Why are you closing so early?" one person asked anxiously.
"Exactly, aren't there still people dining here?"
"Our business hours are clearly marked in several places within the store. If you don't believe me, you can look around. Lunch hours are from 11 AM to 2 PM, and dinner hours are from 5 PM to 7 PM. Customers outside these hours will not be served."
"How arrogant."
"Aren't you afraid of offending customers by saying that?"
"I can't help it. Delicious food always takes time to prepare. You wouldn't want to eat inferior dishes, would you?" Liu Ming said, talking nonsense with a straight face.
Not far away, Tadokoro Megumi couldn't help but roll her eyes. She knew the situation in the store perfectly well.
That day, Liu Ming didn't get up until past nine, and the initial preparation of ingredients didn't take much time at all, so it wasn't as exaggerated as Liu Ming claimed.
But Liu Ming was her master, so how could she undermine him? And she also had a bit of selfishness; with fewer customers, Liu Ming would have more time to teach her.
"What you said makes a lot of sense. Are you the chef here? So young." That person nodded in agreement.
"I am Liu Ming, the owner and head chef here. May I ask who you are?" Liu Ming looked at the other person.
"I am Chitawara Natsume," the beautiful woman said.
"She's Chitawara Natsume, the Curry Queen, rumored to control a curry business market worth two hundred billion annually."
"It really is her."
"Earlier outside, I smelled a very delicious aroma, so I came in to take a look." Chitawara Natsume ignored the others and directly explained to Liu Ming.
"And then?" Liu Ming also remembered who the other person was.
She had appeared a few times in Food Wars, but since she was just a supporting character, his memory of her wasn't deep.
"What kind of dish was that?" Chitawara Natsume was a bit angry. Not to mention her status, just the fact that she was a beautiful woman meant he shouldn't talk to her like that, it was too infuriating.
"Just a Mapo Tofu," Liu Ming said calmly.
"Impossible, how could Mapo Tofu have that kind of aroma? Or did you use some special spices?"
"What's the point of me saying more now? Why don't you come and try it tonight?" This was a rich person.
"Not now? I still have work this afternoon." Chitawara Natsume frowned.
"Didn't I say, business hours are over."
"I can pay more." Chitawara Natsume exuded an aura of wealth.
Xu Ming shook his head and remained silent.
"Do you know who I am?"
"They've already explained it just now, but does that matter?" Liu Ming raised an eyebrow. He seemed to guess what the other party was about to say next.
"Do you believe I can just buy your shop?" Chitawara Natsume looked at Liu Ming provocatively.
"I don't," Liu Ming said calmly, as expected. The rich person's ultimate move: throwing money.
However, compared to him, Tadokoro Megumi on the other side was much more nervous.
"You!" Chitawara Natsume was furious, pointing a finger at Liu Ming.
"I'm just stating a fact, you don't need to be so angry. This shop isn't rented; it was bought by my grandfather a long time ago. So as long as I don't want to sell, you really can't do anything to me.
Of course, if you have too much money and buy up this entire area, according to the law, if it exceeds a specific amount, you can forcibly acquire my shop.
However, even so, you'd still have to compensate me. At that point, I'd just move to another place to open a shop. I really have nothing to worry about, unless you want to play dirty."
Liu Ming explained calmly. Not to mention his own strength, just the two dragons by his side were enough to put him at ease. Especially Tohru, she wasn't a kind dragon; she wouldn't hesitate to kill people.
"Hmph, I won't do that. Since you're so confident in your cooking, I'll try it tonight. If I'm not satisfied, you can forget about keeping your shop open."
"Miss, we still have to go to other places to investigate this afternoon."
"Cancel them."
"Yes."
"This young lady, please pay a deposit of 10,000 first," Liu Ming said calmly.
"You have to pay in advance to eat here?" Chitawara Natsume was even more displeased.
"What you ordered is a special dish, totaling 100,000, and it needs to be reserved in advance with a deposit of 10,000."
He had just come up with these rules, after all, special dishes require a lot of effort.
With these rules, fewer people would order it.
"Give it to him." Chitawara Natsume left a resentful remark and left with her people.
She secretly decided that if tonight's dishes didn't satisfy her,
She would definitely use her connections to promote it properly, so that the other party would have no business to do.