I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

As the five students discussed Jiulong Gorge Restaurant, their car pulled up to the mouth of the gorge.

"We’re here. This must be the place. There’s a parking lot and a restaurant," said a student named Zhou Yang.

The driver nodded and pulled into the parking lot.

After getting out, all five of them were surprised.

’Why are there so many cars?’

In addition to cars and minivans, there were also motorcycles and electric tricycles.

’Are all these people here for the wild Red-crowned Cranes?’

The five of them frowned.

With so many people around, the wild Red-crowned Cranes might not even show up.

And even if they did, the crowd would inevitably interfere with their shoot.

Still, it wasn’t like they could ask anyone to leave.

They could only lament that Saturday wasn’t a good time to visit. Maybe they should have waited until Monday.

But since they were already here, they had to at least try their luck.

"Come on, let’s go eat first," Zhou Yang said.

The other four nodded in agreement.

The five of them walked slowly to the restaurant’s entrance.

When they saw the restaurant was packed, they froze. ’Why are there so many people here?’

’Does everyone else have the same idea to eat here?’

’The owner really picked the right spot for this restaurant.’

Just then, Lin Guodong, Lin Zhonghai, and the other villagers from Taoshan Village were finishing their meal.

Every one of them had eaten several bowls of rice and felt completely satisfied. It had really hit the spot.

After paying the bill, one of them said, "Well, young man, we’ll be on our way."

"Alright. Take care, Uncle Guodong, Uncle Lin, and everyone."

Lin Guodong, Lin Zhonghai, and the other villagers from Taoshan Village walked out of the restaurant.

They saw Zhou Yang and his four friends standing at the entrance.

They all thought, ’Looks like the young man has more customers.’

Lin Guodong had an additional thought. ’These five aren’t very old; they look like students. Could they be classmates of Xia Xiaoyue?’

Lin Guodong had gotten to know Xia Xiaoyue, Yu Wei, and the others fairly well after making tofu with them here last time.

With this in mind, Lin Guodong nodded to the five students. "Hello there. You must be classmates of Miss Xiao Yue, right?"

Zhou Yang and his friends were taken aback.

Of course they knew Xia Xiaoyue. Even though they were in a different major and a year ahead of her.

After all, Xia Xiaoyue was the most beautiful girl in the entire Xingshui Academy of Fine Arts—no one even came close. She had a great figure and was tall, too. How could they not know her?

In fact, they didn’t just know of her; they were quite smitten with her.

Or, to be more precise, most of the male students at Xingshui Academy of Fine Arts were smitten with her.

’But the real question is, why is this man asking?’

’Does he know Xia Xiaoyue? Has she been here before?’

’Right, Mu Qingye seems to be good friends with Xia Xiaoyue. Did Mu Qingye come here with her yesterday?’

’And then they ran into this man?’

’But even so, they probably wouldn’t know this man very well!’

’The way he’s asking... it sounds like he already knows Xia Xiaoyue really well. How?’

’Could he be talking about a different Xia Xiaoyue, not the one from our academy?’

The five of them were completely confused.

Zhou Yang asked, "Sir, are you talking about Xia Xiaoyue from the Xingshui Academy of Fine Arts?"

Lin Guodong nodded. "That’s the one!"

’So it really is her.’

The five students exchanged glances.

Then, Zhou Yang added, "To be precise, we’re her schoolmates. We’re in a different major and a year ahead of her. Sir, do you know Xia Xiaoyue?"

Lin Guodong replied, "So you really are students from Xingshui Academy of Fine Arts. I thought so. Miss Xiao Yue comes here to eat often, so we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well. We even made tofu together here with the owner last time. She’s a very nice young woman."

Zhou Yang and his friends were even more stunned to hear this.

’Xia Xiaoyue comes here to eat *often*? And she’s made tofu here?’

’What’s that all about?’

’It’s at least a two-and-a-half-hour drive from the academy!’

’Coming here often to eat and make tofu?’

’Wait a minute... could the rumors spreading around the academy about this place having unbelievably good food have something to do with Xia Xiaoyue?’

’What’s her connection to this restaurant?’

All five of them pondered this question.

Seeing the five of them lost in thought, Lin Guodong found it a bit strange. He couldn’t very well ask what they were thinking, so he just said, "Well, you’re welcome to try the food. We’ll be on our way."

"Oh, okay. Goodbye, sir," the five of them said in unison.

"Goodbye!"

Lin Guodong, Lin Zhonghai, and the other villagers from Taoshan Village departed.

Zhou Yang said, "Let’s go in and eat first. While we’re there, maybe we can ask the owner what his connection is to Xia Xiaoyue."

"Okay," the other four agreed.

The five of them entered the restaurant.

Li You had already noticed what was happening outside. But since Lin Guodong had been talking to the group, he hadn’t stepped out to welcome the new customers.

Now, he walked over with a slight smile. "Welcome, please come in!"

Li You, of course, had already guessed that these five were likely Xia Xiaoyue’s classmates or schoolmates.

When the five students saw Li You, they were shocked all over again.

’This is the owner? He’s so young! He can’t be more than a few years older than us!’

’And he’s really good-looking, too!’

’Xia Xiaoyue comes here to eat all the time... could it be because of this owner?’

This thought left a sour taste in their mouths.

They all let out a long, silent sigh.

’Oh well. Let’s just eat for now.’

After murmuring a "thank you," the five of them found an empty table and sat down.

"Boss, we’ll have one Mapo Tofu, one Green Pepper Twice-cooked Pork, one Stir-fried Shredded Potatoes, and rice," Zhou Yang said.

They had seen the "Available Today" sign at the entrance.

The selection wasn’t large, but it was acceptable.

As for the "Cabbage in Boiling Water," they weren’t about to order something so expensive.

’Besides, there’s no way it could be the real, authentic version.’

’Whoever orders it is getting ripped off.’

Li You nodded. "Alright. Please wait a moment, it’ll be out shortly."

With that, he turned and went into the kitchen.

Around this time, Liu Xu, Xiao Yue, Zhang Rui’Er, and the others, as well as Wei Ping’s family, were all finishing up their meals.

So satisfying!

It had been a whole week, and they’d finally had another truly satisfying meal.

"By the way," Liu Xu said, "should we go back to that bamboo forest this afternoon and catch some bamboo grubs to roast? I definitely didn’t get my fill last time."

"HA! I was just about to suggest that. I didn’t get enough last time either."

"Let’s do it. We’ll rest for a bit and then head out. I’m already getting impatient."

...

Everyone, including Wei Ping’s family and the people who had come for the first time today, agreed enthusiastically.

The newcomers hadn’t been there last time, but over the past week, they had heard Liu Xu, Xiao Yue, Zhang Rui’Er, and the others talk endlessly about their adventure catching and roasting bamboo grubs.

The stories had piqued their interest.

Now that they finally had a chance to join in, they were more than willing—they were thrilled and full of anticipation.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yang and his four friends were completely baffled by what they were hearing.

’Catching bamboo grubs to roast and eat?’

’What’s that all about now?’

’They knew what bamboo grubs were, but... are those things edible?’

’And another thing, aren’t all these people here for the wild Red-crowned Cranes? Why are they going to catch and roast bamboo grubs instead of looking for the cranes?’

They couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

...