Chapter 106: A Hearty Dish for Drinks Has Arrived
Li You told the bosses there was no need to be so formal.
He then refilled each of their glasses.
"Take your time, everyone."
"Alright, alright. Thank you, Boss Li."
Just then, a voice came from the shop’s entrance. "Huh? Boss, are you selling alcohol now?"
It was Xia Xiaoyue’s voice.
He turned to look and, sure enough, saw Xia Xiaoyue, Mu Qingye, Yu Wei, and a group of other young women walking into the shop.
It wasn’t just Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye. Yu Wei and the other girls had come along too.
There were about twenty of them in total, all familiar faces.
The group of girls all had long legs, slender waists, and great figures. They wore a dazzling mix of jeans, long skirts, and short skirts.
"Boss, we’re here too! We want to try your fermented rice. Is that okay?" Yu Wei and the others chimed in.
Li You smiled. "Of course."
Then he added to Xia Xiaoyue, "I just started selling the alcohol today."
Xia Xiaoyue nodded. "The aroma of this alcohol is so strong. We could smell it from so far away. And it doesn’t smell harsh at all—it’s very mellow and fragrant. Not like a lot of other liquors that just smell unpleasant."
Mu Qingye, Yu Wei, and the others nodded in agreement.
Li You asked, "So, would you like to try some?"
The group of girls all shook their heads, saying they didn’t drink.
Li You nodded.
’These girls are still students. It’s right for them not to drink.’
’Well then, time to serve the fermented rice.’
"Yay! Thank you, Boss!" The girls were all happy and excited.
Li You told the girls to make themselves comfortable. He then walked into the kitchen. He pretended to get the fermented rice from the kitchen, but he was actually retrieving it from the Storage Pavilion.
He brought it out to the girls.
When the girls saw the fermented rice, they couldn’t help but let out a collective "Wow!"
"This fermented rice is so beautiful! It looks so appetizing."
"This already looks way better than the jarred stuff they sell at the supermarket!"
"Homemade fermented rice really is the best."
...
The girls were all pleasantly surprised, especially Mu Qingye.
This was the fermented rice she had personally helped make from start to finish. She couldn’t believe that in just two days, the glutinous rice from before had fermented into something so tempting.
It was a magical transformation of the same ingredient into a different form.
’Incredible!’
’I want to take a big bite right now.’
Li You didn’t keep the girls in suspense. He brought out a dozen or so bowls and spoons.
He said, "Anyone who’s driving can’t have any. Xiao Yue, you’re driving, right? Who else is driving?"
Even though it was just fermented rice with a very low alcohol content, it was still a risk he wouldn’t take.
’They’re my customers, so I have to be responsible for their safety.’
Upon hearing this, Xia Xiaoyue and a few of the other girls looked very disappointed. But they didn’t insist on eating it. Instead, they nodded and agreed not to.
Seeing this, Li You said, "How about this? I’ll give each of you a bowl to go. You can take it with you and eat it when you get back to school."
"Really? That’s great! Thank you, Boss!" Xia Xiaoyue and the other girls were thrilled and thanked him profusely.
Li You told them not to worry about it. He then told Mu Qingye and the remaining girls to help themselves to the fermented rice.
They could eat as much as they wanted.
"Thank you, Boss!"
After thanking him, Mu Qingye and the other girls began to ladle out the fermented rice.
Each of them took about half a bowl.
Then, they eagerly started eating.
The moment it entered their mouths, they were all once again completely amazed.
It was even more delicious than they had imagined.
"Boss, this is too good! I’ve never had fermented rice this delicious before," all the girls, including Mu Qingye, exclaimed.
This made Xia Xiaoyue and the other girls who were driving swallow hard.
’We want to eat it too!’
But there was nothing to be done. They would just have to wait until they got back to school.
Seeing how much the girls were enjoying it, Li You was also very happy. He said, "If you like it, have some more."
Mu Qingye and the other girls nodded repeatedly.
After finishing what was in their bowls, they all went back for another half bowl.
Even after finishing the second serving, they still wanted more.
But they didn’t take any more.
’They couldn’t just eat to their hearts’ content, after all.’
’Well, time to eat a proper meal.’
The girls started ordering their meals.
After jotting everything down, Li You went into the kitchen and started cooking.
As he was stir-frying, the teachers from the school—Zhang Qinghe, Chu Yiwei, Lin Xin, Cai Peng, and others—arrived.
The moment the teachers walked in, the bosses who were drinking and eating noticed them.
Zhao Yu stood up and called out in pleasant surprise, "Teacher Zhang, Teacher Cai, and all you other teachers! Come, come, come over here and have a bowl! The boss just launched a new fine alcohol today. It’s an absolute top-shelf brew, the likes of which you’ve never tasted before!"
"Fine alcohol? A top-shelf brew?"
Hearing this, Zhang Qinghe, Cai Peng, and the other male teachers all grew excited.
They had just been wondering why they seemed to catch a whiff of alcohol as they approached the entrance, even before stepping inside.
’So the boss had launched a new fine alcohol.’
’This aroma really travels far! It’s drifting all the way outside the shop.’
’It must be good stuff!’
Zhang Qinghe, Cai Peng, and the other male teachers quickly walked over to where Zhao Yu and the other bosses were sitting.
After seeing the alcohol in the bosses’ bowls, they all felt an inexplicable urge to have a taste.
The alcohol looked truly tempting.
"Teacher Zhang, Teacher Cai, all you teachers, come, have a seat, have a seat. Let’s all drink together this afternoon. The more the merrier!" Zhao Yu gestured eagerly, arranging seats for the teachers.
Deng Luping, Xie Hai, Wang Dongliang, and the other bosses also enthusiastically invited the teachers to join them.
Drinking was always better with a bigger crowd.
The teachers happily accepted.
It was the weekend anyway, and they had no classes in the afternoon. A little drinking at noon was perfectly fine.
Then, Zhao Yu shouted to Li You in the kitchen, "Boss, add three more orders of every dish we have! And bring us another six bowls of alcohol!"
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Li You was also quite delighted.
Because of the system’s voice in his head.
"Congratulations, Host. The current main mission, ’Reach 500 customers within one week,’ is complete.
Reward granted: One recipe, two lottery chances."
It was only noon, and he’d only had three groups of customers so far. Yet the total number of guests had already reached 48.
’Business is really pretty good now.’
He had finally completed another main mission.
One recipe and two lottery chances.
’Awesome.’
’So, what kind of recipe will it be? And what prizes will I get from the two lottery chances? This is really something to look forward to!’
’I’ll do the lottery draws later. First, I need to take a look at this recipe.’
With that in mind, Li You summoned the Storage Pavilion and saw the unopened recipe he had just received.
Without further hesitation, he chose to open the recipe.
"Recipe: Spicy Crayfish!
Learn now?"
’Spicy Crayfish?’
’It’s actually Spicy Crayfish?’
Li You was incredibly surprised.
He had just been thinking that he hoped to get a hearty dish that would go well with alcohol soon.
He never expected it to arrive so quickly.
Spicy Crayfish was an absolutely perfect and satisfying dish to have with drinks.
’This recipe couldn’t have come at a better or more perfect time!’
The more Li You thought about it, the more delighted he became.
...