At the invitation of Professor Saito, Shuichi Hayashi and Kanako went to the Wind Forest Pavilion, which is nothing special from the outside, with a blue-gray wall separating the Wind Forest Pavilion from the outside world, and at the entrance is a wooden RB ancient style gate, the wood of the gate has been brushed with tung oil, and the color of the wood itself has been preserved. There were no signboards or plaques hanging here, and if it weren't for Professor Saito leading the two of them, Lin Shuichi would definitely think that this was the residence of some big man.

But when you walk into the Wind-Grove Pavilion, you will feel as if you have returned to the Edo period. There is only one traditional Japanese-style house in the large courtyard, and the courtyard is paved with gray-white fine stones to create the effect of water waves. In the middle of the courtyard is a small patch of dense moss, on which are placed two boulders, one standing and one sleeping, and some old podocarpus trees are planted around the courtyard. This is the unique dry landscape style of the RB garden.

Legend has it that the dry landscape originated in China and was inspired by Chinese bonsai, but of course this is no longer verifiable!" Professor Saito, a good teacher, explained to Hayashi Shuichi.

The path in the courtyard was a few rough stones, and Shuichi Hayashi and Kanako followed Professor Saito through the courtyard and into the pavilion.

Lin Shuichi and Kanako took off their shoes and were led through the corridor by the waiter to a room.

On the walls on the left and right sides of the room are scrolls of paintings, presumably related to Buddhist allusions, and in the center is a floor-to-ceiling window with flower arrangements. Outside the window is the courtyard I saw when I came here.

"Professor Saito, I've seen kaiseki cuisine in Tokyo, but it's the first time I've seen such high-end kaiseki cuisine!" Hayashi admitted honestly

"Kaiseki cuisine in Tokyo contains so much commercial flavor that it has lost its original meaning. Kaiseki tea cuisine originated in the tea ceremony, and how could a tea ceremony be without a tea room, scrolls, ikebana, and dry landscape garden?"

Lin Xiuyi knew that he did not have the artistic accomplishment of Professor Saito, although the dry landscape in the courtyard was very beautiful, but Lin Xiuyi could not see the Zen implied in it. So he focused his attention on the handwritten menu.

After enjoying the scrolls and the view of the garden in the studio, and then drinking a cup of Japanese matcha, the kaiseki cooking performance finally began.

First up is a bowl of rice with a bowl of soup and sashimi, which is served but not eaten immediately. The first thing to enjoy is rice and soup. The rice is only bite-sized and is arranged in a bowl. Whereas, the soup is a hoisin miso soup.

After eating the rice, drinking up the soup and taking a short break, the restaurant serves sake. Obviously, there shouldn't be sake in traditional kaiseki cuisine, and it seems that the wind forest pavilion has been slightly improved. There are four types of sashimi, and the red one is tuna with three slices. There are only two pieces of abalone in white, and there are also one slice of ebi and one squid sashimi. The four ingredients are delicately arranged in exquisite utensils, and the mere appearance is pleasing to the eye. In kaiseki cuisine, sashimi is called musuki, which means first course.

After eating Murifuki, the next thing to serve is RB stew called boiled food. The boiled food is served in a bowl-shaped vessel consisting mainly of fresh seasonal vegetables and a soup in the bowl. The amount of boiled food is also not much, and you can eat it in a few bites. I haven't eaten much until now, but kaiseki cuisine has a strong sense of ritual and it's not just the food that you really experience.

After cooking, the next dish is grilled fish called yakiniku. The fish is sea bream, and the meat is delicious. Lin Xiuyi used his chopsticks to gently cut the fish meat from the back of the fish, and was about to pick up a piece and put it in his mouth, when suddenly, he stopped his chopsticks and shook it.

What's next, is it tempura?

Lin Xiuyi patiently finished eating the roast, and after all the utensils were removed, it was indeed the tempura called Yangwu that was served again. Seeing this situation, Lin Xiuyi had a feeling of sudden realization. She suddenly remembered the set meal she had eaten at Umegaki House. At that time, Superintendent Mizukawa once praised Umagakiya's set meal as good as the kaiseki cuisine of Kyoto Ryotei. At that time, Lin Shuichi thought that Superintendent Mizukawa was deliberately praising the cuisine of Umegakiya and said exaggerated words. But now, after Lin Shuichi enjoyed the veritable kaiseki cuisine, he finally knew that Superintendent Mizukawa meant it when he said this.

Lin Xiuyi carefully recalled the set meal of Umegaki House, in which sashimi corresponds to Xiang Fu, fresh vegetables seem to correspond to boiled food, grilled fish corresponds to roasted food, tempura corresponds to Yangwu, and a serving of fried tofu, what does it correspond to?

Lin Xiuyi looked at the back of the menu and there were three dishes, namely sucking, incense, and confectionery. When the fried tofu known as suction was served, Lin Xiuyi was even more sure of his conjecture.

"Umegaki Juko, the female general of Umegaki House, is really not an ordinary person, she actually knows how to cook with food. It's really a real person who doesn't show his face!"

Lin Xiuyi muttered to himself in his heart, now his mind was no longer on this nostalgic meal, but on the set meal that was only a thousand yen in the Umegaki House.

Although Lin Shuichi is not an expert in kaiseki cuisine, he also understands that real kaiseki cuisine is known as one sauce and three dishes. Among them, it is indispensable to pay, cook, and burn, and the rest of the process is rich and thrifty. Strictly speaking, Umegakiya's set meals and Furintei's cuisine follow this principle. Even though the prices of the ingredients vary widely, the artistic conception of nostalgic cuisine is indeed the same.

……

After lunch, Shuichi Hayashi and Kanako bid farewell to Professor Saito and thanked him, and then set out on the journey back to Futu Village. On the way, Lin Xiuyi told Kanako about his discovery.

"No, it's unbelievable that the Senyen set meal we ate at Umegagaki House was kaiseki cuisine. It's incredible!" Kanako said in surprise.

"It's incredible, but it's true! I've always wanted to ask you what this Umegaki Juko is. Speaking of which, he has a close relationship with the deceased Ayu!" Lin Xiu asked Kanako about it.

"I don't know about this, when I was in Tokyo, I only knew that Juko Uragaki was the boss of the deceased Tamama, but I didn't know anything about her own situation. I wanted to interview Juko Uragaki, but she shirked it for various reasons!" Kanako had just finished answering when she saw a sign hanging on a pole in the distance that said Nagano Prefecture.

"What are you doing, this is the direction to Nagano!" Kanako reminded anxiously, thinking that Lin Xiuyi had taken the wrong path.

"I know, we are going to go to the hometown of the deceased Ayu next and ask her about her life!" Lin Xiuyi replied calmly.