The peaceful days continued for half a month. Under the tireless efforts of Hoshino Sora and the girls, the Dimensional Restaurant's business became increasingly prosperous, and the sales of Zongzi grew daily due to their popularization.
In the first two days, the sales of various Zongzi were actually not much different, but as time went on, the sales of Three Delicacies Zongzi clearly surpassed other Zongzi by a large margin, more than double the sales of the fourth-ranked Zongzi.
"It's clear that the Three Delicacies Zongzi sells the best. Who invented this Zongzi?" Sitting in the restaurant's conference room, Hoshino Sora faced the girls and asked curiously, looking at the sales report on the wall.
At that time, he hadn't paid much attention, only thinking that this Zongzi tasted good and so he sold it in the shop. He hadn't expected it to sell so well, becoming the top-selling item in the shop.
"Hmm? No one invented it? Then how did it appear here? It couldn't have been brought in from outside, could it?" Seeing no one raise their hand, Hoshino Sora frowned slightly. If they hadn't invented it, could it be that someone brought it in from outside, and he just happened to taste it?
"I… Master, this was invented by me." Under Hojo Miyoko's urging, Merchant Xingchen, sitting in the middle of the crowd, weakly raised her small hand, looking quite shy. The Zongzi she had researched herself was number one in sales, which made her a bit disbelieving.
"You invented it? Excellent! Good, good, good! As expected of my disciple, truly amazing!" Hearing the voice from not far away, Hoshino Sora looked over. Seeing that the speaker was Merchant Xingchen, he said "good" three times in a row, a smile on his lips, his face full of admiration.
"It's all thanks to Master and all the Mistresses' excellent guidance. Most of this Zongzi was also innovated and improved jointly by Master and the Mistresses. I only provided a rough idea," Merchant Xingchen said with a satisfied smile on her face upon hearing Hoshino Sora's praise. Before she invented this Zongzi, she had asked Hoshino Sora what "Three Delicacies" meant, and he had spent an hour explaining it to her.
It was based on the answer to that question that Merchant Xingchen independently researched different ingredient combinations in the kitchen, finally inventing this Three Delicacies Zongzi.
Although the initial product was a bit rough, with the help of Hoshino Sora and the other Mistresses, the Three Delicacies Zongzi quickly approached perfection, so much so that the final product and the Zongzi she had invented were already two different things.
"We chose your Zongzi first, which is why we continued to research it on that basis.
Both the inventor and the improver are equally amazing. Don't underestimate yourself; your culinary skills are already better than most people your age, and it's hard to imagine you've only been learning to cook for two months," Erina Nakiri said softly, hearing the self-doubt in Merchant Xingchen's words. Her tone carried a hint of emotion. Sometimes, ideas are much more important than technique. At least concerning Zongzi, this little girl did better than all of them.
"It's all thanks to Master and the Mistresses' excellent guidance that I have achieved what I have today. The invention of the Three Delicacies Zongzi was also because Master gave me a detailed introduction to various Three Delicacies pairing formulas at the time."
"Then let's use this for tomorrow's Zongzi competition. It just so happens that Ya Xiang and Rika-nee are also on holiday and can come help for two days. Our Zongzi will definitely be very popular."
As Hoshino Sora spoke, he unwrapped the Zongzi prepared on the table and began to eat it heartily. Looking at the light soy sauce-colored glutinous rice in front of him, exuding a faint fragrance of Zongzi leaves, he took a bite, and the filling inside was revealed.
The "Three Delicacies" here referred to pork, shrimp, and shiitake mushrooms.
The fatty and lean pork belly, after marinating and pre-cooking, became tender and juicy wrapped in glutinous rice. The shrimp provided the unique deliciousness of seafood, leaving a lingering aftertaste while adding to the texture.
Shiitake mushrooms brought a unique aroma and a slightly chewy texture, making the overall flavor and texture of the Zongzi more rich and colorful. Paired with the slightly chewy glutinous rice, it was absolutely divine!
"I really like your Three Delicacies Zongzi. It's truly an excellent innovation. Although it's just a simple addition of a few river shrimp and chopped rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms to a fresh meat Zongzi,
the added texture and flavor from these simple ingredients are not simple at all. It has already achieved the effect of one plus one being greater than two. The rich texture and flavor within are enough to rival all the fancy ones," Yumeko Jabami also added. In fact, the original Three Delicacies Zongzi was not like this. The very first Three Delicacies Zongzi, whether it was the pork, shrimp, or shiitake mushrooms, were all the most ordinary kind.
The pork was not pre-treated, the shrimp were large shrimp, and the shiitake mushrooms were fresh shiitake mushrooms, which resulted in the final taste not being so outstanding.
After continuous adjustments by everyone, they made over a hundred different varieties of three-fresh zongzi using the same ingredients.
They then selected the best one, perfecting this zongzi and presenting it flawlessly to customers, making it the best-selling product of the season.
"Let's knock off early today and greet tomorrow's guests in our best state."
"Okay!"
After a simple, short meeting, Hoshino Sora announced their dismissal, and then they all disappeared into Dimensional Restaurant.
The reason for choosing this location was mainly because Hojo Miyoko and Merchant Xingchen lived together, and holding the meeting here was clearly more convenient and faster than going to their home and then returning.
"Let's wash up and go to bed early, for tomorrow's competition, for the zongzi competition championship! We're sleeping in separate beds tonight."
Looking at the girls who were eager after leaving Gourmet Manor, Hoshino Sora suddenly made a "no" gesture.
The competition was tomorrow, so it was best to get some good rest today.
"Eh, how could this be…"
"It was finally our turn, what a pity."
Looking at Hoshino Sora with a hint of resentment, Alice Nakiri and Shiina Mahiru wore helpless expressions.
According to the random draw, it was just their turn today, but then this happened.
"Relax, it's just postponed by one day, you don't need to draw again.
For tomorrow's competition, just bear with it a little longer.
You've endured for so long, what's a little more time?"
Looking at the two disheartened individuals, Hoshino Sora stepped forward to comfort them, reaching out to stroke their heads and letting them rest in his arms for a while before he entered the master bedroom on his own.
"He's already gone in, stop looking."
Looking at Alice Nakiri's wistful gaze, Erina Nakiri said 'gleefully' from the side.
Luckily, she had drawn yesterday's turn, otherwise she would have to wait another day to enjoy Hoshino-kun's service.
"Let's go back and rest.
I was lectured by Master Pingzuka all day today because there was a dish I couldn't get right.
I made that dish thirty-two times, and it required constant wok-tossing, my arms are dead tired."
"You're still lucky.
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