Chapter 315: Chapter 16: Magical Cuisine (4th update, bonus for monthly pass)
Su Xiao draped his jacket over his shoulder, took out a map, and after confirming the direction, left the open space.
He was going to eat, but it wasn’t just for food. He was also looking for someone, a master hidden in the City of Seven Seas. Of course, whether this master was real or not, he would have to judge for himself.
Half an hour later, Su Xiao arrived at the east side of the City of Seven Seas. In a wide waterway, a small boat was docked at the shore.
This boat was not for going out to sea but was a small restaurant built on the boat.
In the cabin, there was a low dining table that could seat at most three people. At one end of the table were cooking utensils, with pots, bowls, and pans neatly arranged.
There were no guests on the boat. A skinny old man was leaning against the head of the bed, sleeping soundly, with drool slipping out. He was at most 1.2 meters tall, with limbs like sticks, a face full of wrinkles, and only a few sparse teeth left amidst his white hair and beard.
The old man slept sweetly, holding an empty wine bottle in his hand, seemingly without any defense. Yet, for some reason, Su Xiao hesitated to approach him.
That old man was like an aged lion. Although he was old, his formidable presence remained.
Su Xiao stepped onto the boat and just sat at the dining table, not waking the old man.
About ten minutes later, the skinny old man seemed to choke on his saliva, waking up with a start.
The old man groggily opened his eyes and instinctively raised the wine bottle to drink, but it was empty.
"Hmm?" The old man, eyes bleary with sleep, looked at Su Xiao.
"We don’t serve guests at noon. Come back in the evening."
The old man seemed uninterested in cooking and closed his eyes, wanting to continue sleeping.
"I heard there’s a skilled chef here who loves wine. I brought a good bottle as payment."
Su Xiao took out a bottle of wine, on which were the large gilded characters "Wuliangye"!
Upon seeing the bottle in Su Xiao’s hand, the old man shook his head. He hadn’t seen this wine before, but even if he hadn’t drunk it, he’d heard of all the good wines in the world.
"Come back in the evening..."
The old man stopped mid-sentence as Su Xiao had already opened the bottle of Wuliangye, and the unique fragrant aroma of white liquor spread out.
Compared to the wine in the Pirate World, the brewing method of white liquor was more unique and refined, making the aroma richer and more tempting.
"What kind of wine is this?"
The old man swallowed and, with some difficulty, stood up, trembling as he walked towards Su Xiao with the aid of a cane.
Seeing the old man’s steps, Su Xiao felt a bit ashamed. The man’s stick-thin legs seemed as if they could break at any moment.
"Let me have a taste, and I’ll cook for you later."
Su Xiao handed over the Wuliangye. The old man took it with trembling hands and drank a big gulp.
White liquor went down his throat, and the old man’s face turned red, eyes wide open.
"Gulu."
The old man swallowed the large mouthful of white liquor and let out a long belch.
"Such a strong drink."
The old man swayed a bit; he had drunk at least half a bottle in one gulp.
The old man fell to the ground with a thud, emitting a steady snoring sound. Miraculously, the wine bottle’s opening was pointed upward. Su Xiao was speechless; he had drunk himself unconscious.
Ignoring the old man, Su Xiao turned his gaze to the two photographs inside the cabin. One photo depicted the sea, while the other was a group photo.
In the group photo, a man with an afro had his arm around the neck of a blond-haired teenager, who seemed to be struggling, with scratches on his face as if he had just been in a fight.
The man with the afro in the photo was the old man on the boat, and the yellow-haired teenager was named Zhefu, a pirate.
Red-footed Zhe Fu once roamed The Great Route for a year. Later, he left The Great Route for unknown reasons and returned in one piece. His strength was unknown, but definitely not weak.
In the original story, Sanji had visited this restaurant ship. To the old man, Zhefu, who had once been a pirate, was just a brat.
Based on Su Xiao’s estimation, this old man’s strength in his youth might have matched pirates with bounties over a billion Belli, or even stronger, due to that photo of the sea.
If he guessed correctly, the sea in the photo was every chef’s dream sea, "ALL BLUE"!
Of course, this was only Su Xiao’s guess. If he was right, the old man’s identity was certainly extraordinary, and it wouldn’t be impossible for him to wield Dual-color Haki.
After waiting for about an hour, the old man slowly woke up.
"Getting old, can’t handle as much wine anymore."
The old man shook his head. Besides the wine breath, there were no other signs of disorder. His body seemed frail, but it wasn’t.
The old man wobbled to the stove, took up a knife with shaking hands, and began to cook.
Su Xiao wasn’t too interested in cooking; as long as the food wasn’t terrible, he was fine. He didn’t plan to delve into culinary arts.
A few minutes later, a steaming plate of seafood noodles was placed in front of Su Xiao.
"I won’t drink your wine for nothing, have a taste."
The old man shakily returned to the bow of the boat, sipping the Wuliangye with a look of enjoyment. This wine from Earth quickly conquered this drunkard.
Su Xiao was also a bit hungry. He took a bite of the seafood, and three seconds later, he was stunned.
He had always thought the phrase "so delicious it explodes" was an exaggerated description, but these seafood noodles were truly explosively delicious. They were the most delicious food he had ever tasted, without comparison.
"Hahaha, my culinary skills aren’t bad, are they? Is there more of that wine left?"
Su Xiao shook his head, knowing he couldn’t rush negotiations with the old man.
"What a pity." The old man fell silent. Su Xiao quickly finished the seafood noodles, stood up, and prepared to leave, still yearning for more.
"Kid, your purpose here isn’t just for the food, is it?"
Su Xiao halted, glancing sideways at the old man.
"I’m a swordsman."
Su Xiao left this enigmatic comment and turned to leave.
The old man licked the slightly spicy liquor on his lips, also somewhat unsatisfied.
"Kid!"
The old man called out, and Su Xiao turned back, puzzled.
"When practicing Taijutsu, pay attention to your areas of focus, and don’t be too hasty. You’re rushing too much; your ankle is injured, isn’t it? Come back to me at night, and I’ll make you some Secret Medicinal Cuisine."
Su Xiao felt secretly pleased, but his expression remained unchanged.
"Thank you for the guidance."
Su Xiao took out a bottle of Wuliangye and placed it on the boat’s railing.
"Didn’t you say earlier you didn’t have any more?" The old man looked thoughtfully at Su Xiao.
The old man grinned.
"This kind of wine is very rare. I only got it by chance; I only have a few bottles."
The old man didn’t doubt him, as he hadn’t seen this wine before.
"Come more often."
"Mm."
Su Xiao turned and left. He was now certain that this old man was no ordinary person.
The entire afternoon, Su Xiao practiced shaving. Following the old man’s advice, he rested after every two-hour session.
By five-thirty in the evening, Su Xiao arrived at the old man’s restaurant as agreed.
The old man was cooking a pot of thick soup. Seeing Su Xiao, the old man ladled a big bowl of thick soup.
"Try it."
A big bowl of thick soup appeared in front of Su Xiao. He vaguely saw mushrooms and some herbs in the soup.
He took a sip of the thick soup. The taste wasn’t great, slightly bitter, but it wasn’t poisonous.
With a few gulps, he finished the thick soup, exhaling deeply. At that moment, a prompt from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Hunter has consumed ’Secret Medicinal Cuisine’, Life Value permanently +10, Physical attributes slightly increased, not enough to show in personal information. This effect only applies upon initial consumption.]
A warm feeling emerged in his stomach. Su Xiao felt an all-over comfort, and the soreness in his ankle from practicing ’Shave’ eased.
"How’s my Medicinal Cuisine? Back then, even Golden Lion and Roger used to come to my shop for it, all for the Medicinal Cuisine."
The old man seemed to have seen through Su Xiao’s intentions.
"I really like your wine. Come to me every night, and I’ll make you Medicinal Cuisine in exchange for a bottle of that wine."
Su Xiao didn’t mind being seen through. Rather than pretending to be friendly, it was better to choose mutual benefit. His attitude at noon reflected: give him benefits, and he provides good wine. With only 5 Charm Attributes, there was no chance for plot characters to help him actively. Su Xiao’s greatest strength was his self-awareness.
He took out a bottle of ’Moutai’ and handed it to the old man. Up to now, he still didn’t know the old man’s name, so he simply called him the Old Man of Medicinal Cuisine.
He wasn’t interested in the old man’s name or origin, as long as he knew the old man was once strong and could make Medicinal Cuisine.
"Burp~ It tastes good. Even though it’s different from the wine at noon, each has its own charm."
The Old Man of Medicinal Cuisine drank some Moutai and was very satisfied. Su Xiao was equally pleased; the day’s training fatigue was erased after drinking the Medicinal Cuisine.
There were still three days until the Straw Hat Pirates arrived on the island. Su Xiao had to seize the opportunity to gain benefits, at least achieving a basic mastery of ’Shave’. With the help of the Old Man of Medicinal Cuisine, it wasn’t too difficult.
PS: (Asking for monthly tickets)