I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

By now, Jing Wenbo and Liang Shui were mostly convinced.

They were dying to go see for themselves.

"Old Wei," they both said, "how about we go to that restaurant together?"

"No problem."

Wei Yang certainly wasn’t going to refuse. He was eager to go back, too.

"Then how about we head out right after we finish eating?" Jing Wenbo asked.

Wei Yang shook his head. "Let’s go first thing in the morning, as soon as the sun’s up. If we leave now, it’ll be dark by the time we get there. The owner will probably have closed for the day."

"That works," Jing Wenbo and Liang Shui both agreed, nodding. "We’ll set off at dawn tomorrow."

Then, they all looked at the exquisite wine in their cups, once again overcome with amazement.

They felt that after drinking such a fine wine, they could die without any regrets.

When it came to wine, at least.

Jing Wenbo had originally planned to show off his own collection today, but now his wine had been reduced to a mere supporting act.

It didn’t matter, though.

It was no disgrace to play second fiddle to a wine this magnificent.

"Old Wei, come on, let’s have a toast! You win today. What do you say we finish off this flask of yours?"

"No way. I’ve got to save at least some to take home."

Wei Yang was in an excellent mood.

But he wasn’t about to let these two finish off his flask.

"Old Wei, don’t be so stingy! It’s beneath a man of your stature."

"I don’t have any stature to begin with."

"Old Wei, I’ll order two more of the best dishes on the menu."

"No matter how good the food is here, it can’t compare to Owner Li You’s cooking."

"..."

...

「Jiulong Gorge.」

Customers came and went in waves. After the last group had eaten and left, Li You asked Ye Shengge what she felt like eating.

Ye Shengge said she wanted mapo tofu and told Li You to pick a dish for himself, adding that it was her treat.

Li You decided to make twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts and also stir-fry the largest of the termite mushrooms.

He’d save the chanterelles for dinner.

He would split the rest of the mushrooms with Ye Shengge, half for each of them.

Ye Shengge was heading back tomorrow or the day after.

All the mushrooms would last until it was time for her to leave.

The mapo tofu and twice-cooked pork came out of the wok one after the other. Finally, he started on the termite mushrooms.

As one of the most exquisite and flavorful mushrooms in the world, termite mushrooms could be prepared in many ways.

But no matter how they were cooked, they were always incredibly savory and delicious.

So, Li You opted for a simple stir-fry, a very convenient method.

When they were done, they filled an entire plate.

He and Ye Shengge sat down to eat.

They both decided to try the termite mushrooms first.

One bite was all it took to know they were absolutely delicious.

’High-end ingredients really are on another level. Even without studying a specific recipe, the flavor is still top-notch.’

’Of course, if I had a proper recipe, it would taste even better.’

After they finished their meal, Ye Shengge paid the bill.

Li You only charged her for the mapo tofu and the twice-cooked pork.

Ye Shengge had originally asked Li You to put a price on the stir-fried termite mushrooms so she could pay for everything, but Li You shook his head.

He wouldn’t charge for the stir-fried termite mushrooms.

They had foraged for the ingredients together. He had just done the cooking. It wouldn’t feel right to charge for that.

In the end, Ye Shengge didn’t insist.

"By the way, Owner," Ye Shengge asked, "the crucian carp you use for your Agastache Crucian Carp—do you catch them in the deep pools here in the gorge?"

Li You nodded. "That’s right! Why do you ask all of a sudden?"

’Although some of the crucian carp in the Spatial Fish Pond were from the ’Boonie Bears’ world, I couldn’t exactly tell her that.’

’Besides, the carp I caught in the ’Boonie Bears’ world were almost all high-grade, and I haven’t been willing to use them.’

The crucian carp he’d been using were, in fact, all from the deep pools in the gorge.

’There aren’t many left. I’ll have to find some time to go catch more.’

Of course, he usually found a few crucian carp every time he checked his fish traps.

But those were all too small to be suitable for his Agastache Crucian Carp.

Ye Shengge asked, "So, do you have many carp left? When are you planning to go fishing again?"

"Not many," Li You replied. "I was just wondering when I should go catch some more in the next day or two."

Ye Shengge’s eyes lit up. "In that case, how about we go this afternoon?" she said happily. "I’ll go with you."

Li You was a little surprised. He smiled and said, "You’re interested in fishing?"

Ye Shengge nodded. "A little. Sometimes, when the mood strikes, I get the urge to go fishing."

Li You nodded. ’That sounds a lot like me,’ he thought.

He wasn’t obsessed with fishing and could go long periods without it. But when the urge hit, he really wanted to go.

’Fishing this afternoon, huh?’

’I could do that.’

’There are hardly any customers in the afternoon anyway. If I’m not fishing, I’d just be playing video games or something.’

"Do you have a fishing rod?" Li You asked.

"I have one in my car," Ye Shengge replied.

’Keeping a rod in her car at all times... She really is a bit of an angler.’

Li You smiled. "Then go grab it, and we can head out. I only have one rod myself."

"Okay, I’ll go get it right now," Ye Shengge said, looking very pleased.

While she was gone, Li You took his fishing rod and a landing net from the Storage Pavilion.

’Better bring the landing net. If I hook a big one, I’ll need it.’

’As for bait, I definitely won’t use the Seven-Orifice Fish Bait this time. Regular bait will do.’

’I’ll just dig up some earthworms.’

He grabbed a hoe from the Storage Pavilion and started digging in the vegetable patch next to the restaurant.

When Ye Shengge returned with her fishing rod, she saw Li You digging in the vegetable patch. "Owner, are you digging for earthworms?" she asked.

Li You nodded. "We’ll use them for bait."

Ye Shengge shook her head. "I can’t bring myself to use earthworms. I have some proper bait right here, you just have to mix it with a little water. Of course, if you want to use worms, Owner, you can just dig enough for yourself."

’Ah, I see.’

Li You wasn’t surprised.

’It’s a bit much to ask a girl to hold an earthworm and thread it onto a hook.’

’Forget girls, even I get a little creeped out when I see those long, thick ones and hesitate to pick them up.’

’Then I won’t dig for worms. We can both just use her bait.’

Li You climbed out of the vegetable patch. "In that case, I’ll use the proper bait too," he said. "Where is it? Hand it over, and I’ll mix some up."

"Okay!"

Ye Shengge handed the bait to Li You.

’This bait looks expensive. The fish will probably love it.’

He mixed a portion of it in a bowl and handed the rest back to Ye Shengge.

"If you don’t mind, Owner," Ye Shengge said, "you can have what’s left."

Li You certainly didn’t mind.

’This bait looks expensive. I probably wouldn’t have been willing to buy it myself.’

So, with a laugh, he said, "In that case, thank you, Miss Ye."

"You’re too kind, Owner."

"Let’s go."

"Okay."

Li You grabbed his fishing rod, the landing net, and a bucket, and headed into the gorge with Ye Shengge.

He left the restaurant door open as usual.

Da Bai and Xiaohai were there to guard the place.

On the way, Li You walked ahead, with Ye Shengge following behind.

As they were walking, he suddenly heard a slight panic in Ye Shengge’s voice. "Owner, wait a second."

Startled, Li You quickly turned around.

"What’s wrong?"

The words had barely left his mouth when he understood the reason for her panic.

A bee was buzzing around her face.

It wasn’t an ordinary honeybee, but a rather large Horned Bee.

A sting from one of these was not only incredibly painful but also highly venomous.

Ye Shengge stood frozen, not daring to move. "I don’t know why, but it just keeps buzzing around my face," she said nervously. "Owner, can you please make it go away?"

...