Chapter 46: The Busy Yun Xuan

The next day, at Yun Xuan’s home.

“This dish is my drunken shrimp. I’ve already explained the preparation method to you; now, please have a taste.” Yun Xuan presented the drunken shrimp.

Drunken shrimp was among the few ordinary dishes in the Golden Recipe, as the key ingredient was a fine wine aged at least eighteen years. Yun Xuan had used only common wine from China, so the effect was much diminished.

Even so, the aroma of the wine and the flavor of the drunken shrimp astonished Ye Shan, Yuan Ting, and the others.

“Next, I’ll show you my innovative French and Japanese cuisine. These are my own creations—no other restaurant could imitate them, because the core is a powder blended from eighteen different spices.” Yun Xuan produced a small bottle of golden powder.

“Eighteen spices…” The three of them gaped.

“Let’s start with the first dish. I’ve made ordinary curry and curry enhanced with these spices. Please try them.” Yun Xuan’s hands moved swiftly, his knife work practiced and deft, giving the three an impression of a master chef.

In truth, the skill of a top chef equaled that of someone who had devoted twenty years to the culinary arts. Talent mattered, as did the dishes themselves.

Having become a senior chef, Yun Xuan’s culinary repertoire was quite different from this world’s. If he were to rate the local cuisine, he’d give it five to seven points.

Even the final four contestants in the Spirit of Cuisine competition—Yun Xuan could only score their dishes at six points.

Seven-point cuisine was exemplified by Dongfang Ao Xue’s French dishes, which Yun Xuan tasted while traveling. Dongfang Ao Xue had promised to let him try her cooking, and it was no empty boast.

After the two curries were finished, the three tasted them and looked at the dish containing the spice blend.

“I can only detect three spices. How is that possible?” Ye Shan asked in surprise.

“Huh? Ye Shan, I tasted five spices,” Sakamoto Ginzi said, puzzled.

“I sensed seven,” Alice said, closing her eyes.

“Each person’s sense of taste varies, so the number of spices perceived differs. Girls may have a slightly stronger sensitivity in this regard,” Yun Xuan explained.

“These eighteen spices blend seamlessly, without any conflict. How is that achieved?” Ye Shan asked, full of doubt.

“It’s all about the subtraction of spices. At most, you can use twenty in a dish. When spices are used to their fullest, the guest will only perceive a single flavor.” Yun Xuan took out his prepared spice blends, mixing according to his formula until he reached a harmonious blend of seven before stopping.

“When spices are maximized, their effect far surpasses the dish itself, captivating the guest even before tasting.” Yun Xuan watched the three ponder this, saying no more.

…

In just one day, Yun Xuan taught the three a great deal. As elites of the Culinary Academy, they quickly mastered most items on the menu, except for the sculpted dishes and drunken shrimp, which eluded their grasp.

Yun Xuan had no choice but to designate these as weekly specials prepared by himself.

At seven in the evening, Yun Xuan hosted the three for dinner before seeing them off.

Aside from mealtimes, Yun Xue spent the rest of her hours in her room writing her light novel.

Yun Xun’er had resigned from Manga World Publishing and was now responsible for the restaurant’s future.

Wen Xiaoya made a point of calling Yun Xuan to scold him for this.

After dinner, Yun Xuan showered and returned to his room.

Looking over his current tasks and responsibilities, Yun Xuan felt a headache coming on.

First, the main quest: within three months, raise a girl’s affection to eighty percent. Then the special tasks: the preliminary round of the Xingyue Cup in Fangyu City, Wen Xuan’er’s smile, and helping Qin Zhihua cancel her engagement.

Next, how to handle Liu Mengyan’s issue, correct Qin Yue’s possessiveness, and maximize the benefits from Wen Xiaoya’s commission and the current ten thousand exchange points.

Yun Xuan had Cat-Ear Meow Meow list everything, and concluded that special tasks were triggered by wishes and specific conditions.

Wen Xiaoya’s commission wasn’t a wish; she genuinely wanted to be with Yun Xun’er.

Reaching ten million fans earned ten thousand exchange points—an achievement task.

With ten thousand exchange points, he could exchange for a decent anime, a novel, or one of the Four Great Classics.

Yun Xuan’s intention was not to redeem the Four Great Classics, as they involved different histories and classical elements, which didn’t fit his current identity as a northern teacher.

It would be like a traditional martial arts novelist suddenly delving into the world of light novels—would it make sense? Of course not.

The Four Great Classics could wait; Yun Xuan wasn’t ready to release them.

The beloved Journey to the West he enjoyed as a child, in novel form, might not perform well among those accustomed to anime and fantasy novels.

“Let’s start with the recent tasks. I’ll leave the ten thousand exchange points untouched for now.” Yun Xuan turned his attention to taking first place in the preliminary round of the Xingyue Cup in Fangyu City.

…

Morning.

Yun Xuan opened his eyes and sat up.

After brewing a cup of coffee, he began to handle questions from the Northern Sauce public account.

When he finished dealing with the high-value inquiries, it was already ten o’clock.

Yun Xuan logged onto the Manga World website to check the performance of “Another.”

“Another” was the light novel he had uploaded.

At just fifty thousand words, it had already garnered a strong response on Manga World, breaking into the top five of the new book rankings.

It had amassed a staggering one hundred thousand favorites, even without any promotion from Yun Xuan’s public account.

“Another” was considered highly promising for anime adaptation.

As a classic suspense mystery anime in Yun Xuan’s world, its reputation was stellar.

Here, too, even at fifty thousand words, it had already impressed many readers.

Unlike his previous life, the legitimate readership here exceeded two hundred million; a new book with one hundred thousand favorites was merely among the best of the newcomers.

Reaching the top five of the new book rankings, with favorites increasing daily, was remarkable. Yun Xuan had already handed the novel over to his editor.

They were now discussing print publication, with “Another” expected to finish by the end of July and a physical book released in August. As for anime adaptation, that would depend on book sales.

If physical sales exceeded ten million, anime adaptation was almost guaranteed, so Yun Xuan was told by his editor.

He was very optimistic about “Another’s” prospects; for anime adaptation, the first opinion belonged to the original author.

According to Manga World’s rules, if the original author participated in anime production, he would receive a one million adaptation fee and ten percent of broadcast royalties; if not, the adaptation fee would increase by five hundred thousand.

This was the standard for new light novel authors. Established writers could command adaptation fees as high as fifty million.

(P.S.: The ten percent royalty is purely fictional; please don’t take it too seriously.)