Gourmet of Another World

The Spring Festival was a traditional holiday passed down through the generations ever since the Light Wind Empire was first founded. It was one of the most festive days in a year within the empire. Every household would gather together and celebrate the start of a new year. Simply put, this was a day where the entire empire celebrated.

Within the empire’s majestic palace, the opulent structures were barely noticeable under a layer of snow. Inside the Main Hall, the entire imperial court was respectfully assembled in front of the new emperor sitting on the throne, Ji Chengxue.

Ji Chengxue was sitting on the throne, wearing a golden dragon robe and a golden crown. With a stern expression on his face, the imposing aura of an emperor was fully demonstrated and somewhat resembled Emperor Changfeng.

One of the high-ranking court official stepped forward and bowed toward Ji Chengxue. He said, ”Your Majesty, tomorrow is the day of the Spring Festival which coincides with Your Majesty’s enthronement. Should the scale of the Hundred Family Banquet this year be expanded?”

”The Hundred Family Banquet?” Ji Chengxue thought for a moment and immediately understood the intention behind the official’s question. There was a significance to this Hundred Family Banquet as well. It was an event held on the day of the Spring Festival by the Light Wind Empire’s imperial family. A hundred tables would be set up at the Gate of Heavenly Mystery and famous chefs from all over the imperial city would be invited to cook for one hundred households chosen through lottery.

This was also the most popular event during the Spring Festival because all of the chefs in the imperial city would be present, including the chefs from the imperial kitchen.

Tasting dishes made by the imperial kitchen was something that commoners would never dare to think about and they were basically not qualified to taste the dishes of the imperial chefs. And so, the Spring Festival was the only chance for them to taste delicious dishes that they would never forget for the rest of their life.

The purpose for holding this event was to reward the citizens for their year-long hard work, giving them a stable life under the empire’s protection.

This was a good thing for both the citizens and the Light Wind Empire… As for the other chefs located in the imperial city, this was a rare opportunity as well.

The Hundred Family Banquet was a chance for them to display their culinary skills because the emperor himself would personally attend the event. If their talents were recognized by the emperor, they could become an imperial chef and bring honor to their ancestors!

Ji Chengxue nodded as he looked toward the court official with interest and asked, ”Expand the scale? In what way do you think the scale should be expanded?”

The court official was immediately overjoyed. During the fight over the throne between the three princes, he was supporter of the crown prince, However, the crown prince lost his power and became a mere figurehead. As a court official, he was obviously fearful of making any mistakes and be demoted by Ji Chengxue.

Even though the current situation of the imperial court was going well, each of the court officials was apprehensive about their future. After all, since the emperor was going to foster his own faction, he would definitely need to remove some of the older court officials. During this period of time, he had already seen quite a number of court officials getting demoted...

”This humble subject has already passed down an order a few days ago to select the top three chefs of each region to cook for this year’s Hundred Family Banquet. Furthermore, the scale of the Hundred Family Banquet would increase to three hundred tables and three hundred households would be chosen, which exactly reaches the maximum limit of the Gate of Heavenly Mystery.

”In addition, the best chef would be selected through voting. The chef who has received the most amount of votes from the households would obtain the title of the best chef and receive a reward as well,” the court official respectfully said.

The moment his plan was revealed, a commotion spread throughout the entire imperial court and everyone was whispering to each other.

This was a bold plan and also proved that this court official had placed everything at stake in order to earn some achievements.

Ji Chengxue narrowed his eyes and pondered for a moment. The corner of his lips curled up as he nodded. This was a rather good plan. Since he had just ascended the throne, the public’s sentiment of him was still not stable. Hosting such an event would shape his image in the eyes of the public.

”A contest between chefs…” As Ji Chengxue thought about this matter, Bu Fang’s figure appeared in his mind and his expression became somewhat odd.

”If Owner Bu could be persuaded to participate in the Hundred Family Banquet, this year’s event would definitely be very exciting. With Owner Bu’s culinary skills, he would definitely be able to conquer the preferences of the three hundred households.”

Therefore, Ji Chengxue turned toward the court official who was feeling rather proud at the moment and asked, ”This is a very good idea. Let me ask you, have you invited Owner Bu? Or rather, has Owner Bu agreed to participate?”

The court official was surprised for a moment. Thereafter, his expression slightly changed and became somewhat unsightly.

”Your Majesty, the black-hearted… Erm, this humble subject has also sent someone to invite Fang Fang’s Little Store. However...”

The expression on the court official’s face became somewhat odd and he hesitated to continue speaking.

Ji Chengxue suddenly became extremely curious and asked, ”What’s going on? What’s the result?”

”The person that this humble subject sent… came back naked. Owner Bu… did not agree,” the court official hesitantly said, seemingly embarrassed by the topic.

With those words, the entire imperial court all exchanged looks. Came back naked? Was he stripped naked?

”Hahahaha! Owner Bu. If my guess is right, the person you sent was definitely a pompous person and didn’t understand Owner Bu’s temperament.” The moment Ji Chengxue heard the court official’s report, he could not hold in his laughter and suddenly started laughing.

The expression of the court officials attending the imperial court became extremely odd. ”Why is His Majesty laughing? Is he laughing because of nude streaking? Could it be... His Majesty loves to watch others run in the nude?”

The court official nodded and said, ”The person sent by this humble subject is indeed rather pompous, but… the fact that Fang Fang’s Little Store stripped him naked is still indecent.”

”All right, I know what you’re trying to say. You don’t have to send anyone else either. You don’t need to worry about inviting Owner Bu to participate in the Hundred Family Banquet,” Ji Chengxue said while waving his hand. Thereafter, he looked toward the drowsy Ouyang Zongheng.

”General Ouyang, regarding the matter about inviting Owner Bu, you shall personally invite him... How about it?” Ji Chengxue asked.

Ouyang Zongheng suddenly lurched forward and woke up from his doze. There was still saliva on his beard as he asked with a dazed expression, ”Which rebel do you want me to catch? Give me an order, Your Majesty! This old subject will definitely not take even half a step backward”

Seeing his comical appearance, the court officials could not hold in their laughter.

”General, isn’t your daughter, Xiaoyi, working as a waitress in Fang Fang’s Little Store? I’ll leave in your hand the matter about inviting Owner Bu to participate in the Hundred Family Banquet,” Ji Chengxue said with a chuckle. Thereafter, he left after dismissing the imperial court, no longer paying any attention to the bewildered General Ouyang.

...

As the winter wind rustled, the snow swirled in the air and fell.

After Bu Fang finished cooking all of Fatty Jin’s orders, he was free once more. He walked toward the entrance and cozily sat down on a chair, leaning on the backrest. In his hand, he was holding a cup of boiling water provided by the system. It was boiled using spring water from Tianshan and contained a faint amount of spirit energy. In addition, the water was both sweet and refreshing.

After taking a small sip of the water, Bu Fang let out a deep breath with a satisfied expression on his face.

Suddenly, ripples formed on the surface of the water in his cup. As the ripples faded away, a slight vibration came from the direction of the alleyway.

Bu Fang puzzledly looked up and saw a crowd of figures in a distance.

Ouyang Xiaoyi was skipping ahead while her three bestial brothers followed behind her...

Furthermore, around the three barbarians of Ouyang, there was still a dense crowd of people, both men and women…

Bu Fang expressionlessly watched as the large crowd of people rushed toward the store...

”What’s going on? Xiaoyi is coming to work… while bringing her family?”