SailorStar9: Well, I've uploaded Chapter 8, and here's Chapter 9. So, read and review. Come on guys and girls, is it so hard for you to leave a review other than put this on your favorited list and story alerts?
Disclaimers: Me no own, you no sue.
Chapter 9: Challenging Dream - The Super Chef Exam
"What's wrong, daddy?" the drunk Mei Li stumbled over to her father. "Why are you so deeply in thought? Drink with the rest of us."
"You reek of alcohol." Chouyu remarked.
"Is that so?" Mei Li wondered. "Anyway, Daddy, is the Super Chef Exam difficult?"
"Of course it is." Chouyu stood up. "You're sadly mistaken if you think it will be as easy as before. The Super Chef Exam in Canton is said to be the most difficult in China. That makes the honor and responsibility of becoming a Super Chef that much more serious."
"Tell me, Daddy." Mei Li prodded. "How was it when you took the exam?"
"The theme dish was congee." Chouyu recalled. "We has to express youth with it."
"Express youth with congee?" Mao echoed.
"So, what happened?" Mei Li pressed.
"It was very puzzling." Chouyu admitted. "So I..."
"Hey Mao, Ya Xue!" one of the cooks called. "There's a lady who wants to see you two."
"She wants to see us?" Ya Xue blinked.
"Looks like you made a fan with your performance at the dumpling tournament." Chouyu remarked.
"No way." Mao chuckled.
"Chouyu-sama, I mean no offense, but are you by any chance dodging the subject?" Ya Xue inquired.
"Did you want to see me?" Mao asked, greeting his visitor.
"Why, she's much old than you." Me Li remarked, peering closer at the female visitor. "I'm younger and look much more beautiful."
"Nee-chen!" Mao threw himself into his sister's arms.
"Karin-sama, why are you..." Ya Xue stammered.
"What?" Mei Li gaped. "You're Mao's sister?"
"I'm glad you're doing so well, Mao." Karin smiled. "You've worked hard, too, Ya Xue." she looked at the family's bond-servant.
"Nee-chan!" Mao sobbed. "It's really you, nee-chan!"
"You're Karin, Mao's big sister?" Mei Li blinked. "I'm..."
"You must be Mei Li." Karin looked at the younger girl. "Mao talks about you all the time in his letters. He says you take good care of him."
"This is my sister." Mao introduced Karin to the arriving Chouyu. "This is Chouyu-san, Mei Li's father and the assistant head chef of this restaurant.
"I'm Karin." Karin bowed. "Thank you for being so kind of Mao and Ya Xue."
"No, the pleasure is ours." Chouyu replied. "Welcome to Yousen Shuka."
"Nee-chan, is that?" Mao beamed, hearing the horse neigh and spotting the bags on the horse's back.
"That's right." Karin nodded. "It's your present."
"It's the bag that Mom kept her secret spices and cooking oils." Mao gushed.
"I thought you might find some use of them." Karin noted.
"Great!"" Mao beamed. "Mei Li, Ya Xue, please help me!"
"Now please." Chouyu gestured. "Make yourself at home."
"Mao, what's inside this?" Mei Li asked, dragging an heavy object on the floor. "It's way too heavy. For real..." she sighed and unsealed the bag. "What's this thing doing inside?" she wondered. "Heavy..." she winced, carrying the black slab of rock over to the bushes and dumping it.
"Everyone, we will now commence the exam." the official declared. "As usual, we will grade the dishes in the order of their completion. The time limit is until sundown today. Furthermore, only five contestants will pass this part of the exam. In other words, the exam is over when the first five people have passed. we'll now reveal the theme. The theme is..." he voiced, as his assistants rolled down a giant parchment from the top of the wall. "Noodles! Next, the content of the dish!" he added, a second parchment was rolled down.
"Country Scholar Without Peer." Mao read the words.
"Incomparable?" Ya Xue frowned.
"Bring your ingredients by noon, and give us your answer in the Cooking Arena." the official instructed.
"That's fast." Ya Xue blinked, seeing the other chefs running off to the market.
"What are you doing Mao?" Mei Li pressed.
"Wait a minute." Mao sighed. "What is this 'incomparable'?" he sat on the ground. "It's not the name of an ingredient."
"Xiao He once said, 'Every general is rare.'" a voice stated. "'But a man like Han Hshin is incomparable'."
"You're..." Ya Xue breathed. "At that time..."
"That was what Xiao He, the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, once said about the great general Han Hshin." Fei explained. "Incomparable. Someone so great that there's no one else like him in the country."
"No one else like him in the country..." Mao trailed.
"You made the 'Rising Dragon Dumpling'." Fei reminded. "It should be possible for you." with that, he walked off.
The future of Canton's cooking world is in here. Mao mused, mentally dejected when he saw the numerous cooks hard at work. They're taking the test with everything they've got. And I... I'm supposed to find my path, but I'm going to lose even before I start to fight.
"Where do the roots of your cooking lie?" Fei interjected. "When in doubt, it is best to return to your roots."
"The roots of my cooking." Mao found an empty stove and dug into the bag he brought along, bringing out Pai's kitchen knife. "That's it!" an idea struck him. "I got it. That's it. It must be in here." he dug into the bag once more.
"What are you looking for, Mao?" Mei Li asked.
"It's that thing." Mao replied, searching. "If I had it..."
"That's strange." Ya Xue frowned, taking a good look at the items Mao had upturned on the stove. "It's got to be in there somewhere."
"What exactly are you two talking about?" Mei Li inquired.
"Mei Li, is this everything Karin-sama brought with her?" Ya Xue asked.
"I think so." Mei Li replied.
"It can't be." Mao muttered. "How could it not be in here?"
"There was a knife, a soup ladle, spices..." Mei Li counted with her fingers. "There was some big black rock thing." she exclaimed.
"That's it!" Ya Xue shouted. "Where did you put it, Mei Li?"
"I thought it was just a rock, so I..." Mei Li stammered. "It was heavy, so I tossed it out in the yard. I'll go." she offered. "It's my fault. I'll be back so you can make it in time."
SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.