Chapter 86: What Kind of Move Is This, Opening a Restaurant Here?
Liu Jialiang said, "Xiaoyou, we’d like one Mapo Tofu, one Twice-Cooked Pork with Garlic Sprouts, and one Stir-fried Shredded Potatoes. And then a small bowl of beef noodles for each of us. We’ll have noodles instead of rice."
This was clearly something they had all discussed beforehand.
Li You nodded, "No problem. Just take a seat for a bit. It’ll be ready soon."
With that, he walked into the kitchen and started cooking.
He intentionally made the portions for each dish and the noodles a little larger than usual.
By the time the dishes and noodles were ready, the teachers had already finished their meals.
Every single one of them was stuffed.
That Mapo Tofu was simply too good with rice.
After scanning the QR code to pay, they didn’t leave immediately.
They rested for a while before leaving.
Li You brought the noodles and dishes to Liu Jialiang and the other villagers.
Liu Jialiang said proudly, "Everyone, first take a look at these noodles, and all these dishes. Don’t they just look like they’re going to be incredibly delicious?"
The villagers all nodded. It was indeed plain to see.
This surprised them all. ’It seems Xiaoyou’s cooking skills really are something else.’
So, they eagerly took a taste.
With the first bite, Li Donghai and all the other villagers found it absolutely unbelievable.
None of these three dishes were exotic delicacies; they were just very common, everyday meals they often ate.
But now, the flavor and texture... they felt it was even better than any exotic delicacy.
They had this feeling despite never having eaten any real exotic delicacies.
’Could an ordinary dish be this delicious?’
It was simply hard to believe!
And the beef noodles... They’d lost count of how many times they’d eaten beef noodles at other restaurants.
But the gap between those and these was just immense.
’To be able to make the most ordinary dishes taste better than exotic delicacies... where on earth did a kid like Xiaoyou learn to cook like this?’
’Were his cooking skills just good?’
’No.’
’They were exceptionally, unbelievably good!’
The villagers were in disbelief.
At the same time, they finally understood why the teachers would go to the trouble of coming all this way just to eat here.
For food this delicious at such normal prices, a bike ride of ten-or-so minutes wasn’t far at all.
No wonder the restaurant was a success.
’With cooking skills like these, how could it possibly fail?’
’Of course, if he opened the shop in the city, business would be much better. He’d be far more successful.’
’What they didn’t get was why Xiaoyou insisted on opening his shop out here.’
The villagers pondered this as they ate.
Meanwhile, after resting for a bit, the teachers got up, said their goodbyes, and left.
Not long after the teachers left, the villagers also finished eating.
Li Donghai sighed emotionally, "Ever since I stopped having to worry about having enough to eat, this has been the best meal I’ve ever had."
The other older villagers shared his sentiment.
Liu Jialiang laughed. "Now you all must believe what Li Zhong and I said, right?"
Li Donghai and the other villagers nodded repeatedly.
Liu Jialiang was very satisfied with everyone’s reaction, and then said to Li You, "Xiaoyou, what’s the total?"
Li You said, "125."
"Huh?" Liu Jialiang said, puzzled. "Xiaoyou, that can’t be right, can it? How is it so little?"
Li You smiled. "I gave you a fifty-percent discount."
Liu Jialiang repeatedly said he couldn’t accept the discount and that they should pay the full price. "Xiaoyou, I know you already gave us extra-large portions. How can you give us a discount on top of that?"
Li Donghai and the other villagers also insisted that he couldn’t give them a discount.
But in the end, Li You insisted on only taking 125 yuan.
"Well, thank you so much, Xiaoyou," the villagers said, thanking him profusely.
Li You told everyone there was no need to be so polite.
After that, the villagers said their farewells; they were heading back to the village.
Liu Jialiang and two other villagers had come on motorized tricycles, so everyone else hitched a ride with them.
"Be careful on the road, you three."
"Alright. We’ll be heading off then."
"Okay! Goodbye!"
"Goodbye!"
After seeing the villagers off, Li You returned to the kitchen and made himself a serving of Mapo Tofu.
He was also eating Mapo Tofu tonight.
...
「The next morning.」
After finishing a bowl of Yangchun Noodles, Li You got on his motorcycle and set off.
He was going to town to see if there were any suitable pickle jars.
Even though it wasn’t a market day, shops that sold things like jars would still be open for business.
Ten-or-so minutes later, he arrived at the town market.
After parking his motorcycle, he went to a shop that sold pottery jars.
Inside, there were all sorts of jars in various sizes and for various purposes.
Buying a pickle jar required a great deal of skill and experience.
Only with a good jar would the resulting pickles taste good.
Otherwise, no matter how good your pickling technique was, it would be for nothing.
"Young man, what are you buying a jar for?" The owner was very enthusiastic.
"To make pickles. I need a big one."
"Sure, sure. Take a look at this one. What do you think?"
"Let me take a look first."
Li You actually didn’t really know how to pick jars.
However, he had the System.
So, it wasn’t a problem at all.
’System, check if any of these jars are good for making pickles.’
In the end, with the System’s help, Li You selected a jar.
This jar was 60 cm tall, with a mouth diameter of 20 cm.
This size was about right.
"Sir, how much is this one? Do you deliver?"
To carry a big jar like this, you needed a large back-basket. Li You didn’t have one at his shop, so he could only ask the owner to deliver it.
’As long as it’s not too far, the owner should be willing to deliver.’
’Business is tough these days; you have to be competitive to make it.’
The owner laughed, "Young man, you’ve got a good eye for jars! This one is indeed excellent for making pickles. You’re my first customer today, so I’ll give you a discount. 400 yuan, how about it?"
’The price is decent.’
However, Li You felt he could probably haggle it down a bit more.
As expected, the owner eventually agreed to a price of 380 yuan.
As for delivery?
The owner asked, "Where to?"
Li You said, "Not far. About five kilometers. Head out of town towards Jiulong Gorge. There’s a restaurant right at the mouth of the gorge. Just deliver it to the restaurant’s entrance."
"A restaurant?" the owner asked, puzzled. "Young man, are you sure there’s a restaurant there?"
Li You smiled, "Of course I’m sure. Because I’m the one who opened it. It just opened recently, so it’s normal that you don’t know about it, sir."
"Opening a restaurant in that location?" The owner truly couldn’t understand Li You’s logic.
But he didn’t say much more. It had nothing to do with him.
As for whether he would deliver?
Of course he could deliver to that location.
That location was actually considered close. As long as the road was good, he would even deliver to places farther away.
’Business is tough these days!’
The owner said he could deliver.
Li You nodded, scanned the code to pay, and said, "Then I’ll head back first and wait for you, sir."
The owner said, "Alright. I should be able to get it to you soon."
"Okay, I’ll be troubling you then, sir."
"Not at all."
After saying goodbye to the owner, Li You left the market, got on his motorcycle, and returned to the restaurant.
About twenty minutes later, the owner also arrived on a motorcycle.
He was carrying the jar on his back in a large back-basket.
When he saw Li You’s restaurant, the owner was still taken aback, even though he’d been mentally prepared.
’He really did open a restaurant here.’
’How many customers could he possibly get in a day here?’
’I really don’t get it.’
...