Chapter 1

This is a night market near the university town. Every night, groups of students wander around the night market, which is a common form of entertainment for college students. The night market sells a wide variety of items, including clothes, jewelry, and dolls, but the majority are food stalls. There are fried stinky tofu, hot dry noodles, mung bean cakes, grilled wheat gluten, stir-fried cold rice noodles, and more.

There are countless varieties of food stalls, enough to satisfy the taste buds of most people.

However, a strange event has occurred at this night market near the university town over the past few days—a new food stall has opened. This night market has at least dozens of food stalls, and this new one looks quite ordinary. Yet, in just a week, it has become the star of the night market.

"There are so many delicious things, I don't know what to eat."

"Looks like you haven't been to the night market in a long time. Come, I'll take you to a good place."

"What's so good about it?"

"Hehe, this food stall has only been around for a week, but the food is absolutely worth trying. You won't be disappointed."

"Is it really that good?"

"If I'm lying, I'm a puppy!"

This was a couple on their first date. After saying this, the boy led the girl to an inconspicuous corner of the night market. Despite its inconspicuous location, this spot had the most people gathered. Usually, even the most popular night market stalls wouldn't have more than four or five people waiting, but here, there were about forty to fifty people, forming a long queue. If the stall weren't in such a remote spot, it might have affected the entire night market's traffic.

The girl, who was very familiar with the night market, asked the boy curiously while they waited in line, "What could be so popular that so many people are buying it... Wow, this smell is so strong, it's making my mouth water."

"I came to this food stall on its first day and fell in love with it right away," the boy said proudly. "At first, I just tried a couple of skewers, but I couldn't stop. It may look simple, but the taste is absolutely top-notch."

"Is it really that amazing?" The girl, looking at the long queue, was already eager. "Tell me quickly, what's the name of this food?"

"Hehe, I've never heard of this before. It's called—grilled lamb skewers!"

...

Grilled lamb skewers, something he had never heard of?

When Ye Chui mentioned grilled lamb skewers to people half a month ago, he was even more surprised and incredulous than this girl when he found out that no one had heard of this classic snack. How could such a simple and common food be unknown? However, after further understanding the situation in this world, Ye Chui's doubts gradually dissipated.

This was a parallel world vastly different from the one he knew, a world undergoing a "culinary renaissance" in a strange and seemingly familiar way!

Ye Chui originally did not belong to this world. In his original world, he was a renowned master chef at the age of thirty, known for his exquisite culinary skills. Despite his humble background, he had won top prizes in numerous domestic and international cooking competitions. A famous saying among food critics and gourmet diners was, "If you haven't tasted his food, you can't claim to have tried all kinds of delicacies."

Some media even called him a "food god."

As the saying goes, "It's hard to please everyone," and different people will have different tastes. In the culinary world, reaching the absolute pinnacle is extremely difficult. However, Ye Chui earned the title of "food god" and gained widespread recognition, which was a rare and commendable achievement, demonstrating his profound culinary skills.

Since childhood, Ye Chui had a dream: to recreate the Manchu Han Imperial Feast, considered the pinnacle of Chinese cuisine. The Manchu Han Imperial Feast consists of 328 dishes, each exquisitely crafted, with some already lost to history. Ye Chui spent a great deal of effort, using his exceptional culinary skills and relentless experimentation, to gradually unveil the mysteries of this imperial banquet.

On his thirtieth birthday, he finally fulfilled his dream by presenting this luxurious feast at a grand hotel. The banquet was attended by celebrities from various fields, and the invitations were highly sought after. Who wouldn't want to taste this most authentic and sumptuous meal?

This feast created a legend in the culinary world, but it also marked a tragic end at the peak of his career. To prepare for this feast, Ye Chui had poured his heart and soul into it. At the moment of its resounding success and praise from the elite, he collapsed in a fit of joy, having achieved his lifelong dream...

When he woke up again, Ye Chui found himself reborn in this strange world.

Perhaps it was fate, but the body he had taken over was also named Ye Chui, a seventeen-year-old boy whose parents had died when he was very young. He grew up in an orphanage, where, despite a modest life, he was well-provided for due to welfare policies. However, two years ago, the orphanage went bankrupt, leaving him and other orphans without a home.

He was somewhat ambitious and dropped out of school to work, supporting himself and his two younger sisters.

However, he was just a teenager, and two years of hard work had taken a toll on his body. One evening, after finishing his night shift and returning home exhausted, he fell into a deep sleep and never woke up. By a twist of fate, Ye Chui took over his body and was reborn...

This world was not much different from Ye Chui's original world in terms of technology, history, and national conditions. However, about half a century ago, the course of the world diverged significantly from his original world, due to a "vegetarian movement" that began about eighty years ago.

Vegetarians, as the name suggests, are groups that primarily consume plant-based foods and strictly avoid animal products, including meat, poultry, and fish. Some strict vegetarians even refuse to eat eggs and dairy products.

In Ye Chui's original world, there were vegetarians, but they were not as fanatical as in this world. Eighty years ago, a virus called "vegetarian" began to spread rapidly worldwide. This virus, allegedly developed by a wealthy strict vegetarian, was harmless to humans and animals but caused animal flesh to produce a toxic protein. This protein was highly toxic to humans!

This viral disaster resulted in the death of more than a third of the world's population and the extinction of many carnivorous animals. The toxicity of animals was a nearly hopeless situation for countless meat lovers...

It wasn't until two years ago that the situation improved significantly. With advances in technology and the implementation of quarantine measures, the vegetarian virus was effectively controlled, and pure meat animals were cultivated. People could finally enjoy meat again after a long absence. However, eighty years of isolation had made many people unfamiliar with meat.

Since humans learned to use tools, the pursuit of food has become increasingly refined. No one can deny that meat has become an indispensable part of human survival, and many delicious dishes are based on meat. However, with the rise of the vegetarian movement, humans experienced a profound unfamiliarity with meat for the first time in history. Even after the vegetarian virus was eradicated, people were surprised to find that they had forgotten how to prepare meat, and many classic dishes had been lost.

Humans urgently needed to relearn how to cook meat, and thus, a "culinary renaissance" era began...

It was in this context that Ye Chui, the "food god," was reborn.