I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Xia Xiaoyue was quite disappointed to hear this.

After thinking for a moment, she said, "Boss, there’s no way you can eat all these crayfish by yourself! Come on, just sell some to us."

Li You said, "I’m still working on a crayfish recipe. I haven’t perfected it yet. Once I’ve got it just right, I’ll give you a free tasting. How does that sound?"

Xia Xiaoyue’s eyes lit up, and she said happily, "Then it’s a deal, Boss!"

Li You smiled. "Deal. By the way, why are you two here so early today?"

Xia Xiaoyue said, "My senior wanted to take some photos, so we set out first thing in the morning. Oh, right, Boss, let me make an introduction. This is my senior, Mu Qingye. She’s a photography major. She needs to shoot a set of canyon landscape photos, so I recommended Jiulong Gorge to her. And I figured I’d bring her along to try your food."

Mu Qingye, standing beside her, gave a slight smile and said, "Hello, Boss. I’ve heard so much from Xiao Yue about how everything you make is incredibly delicious. I’m glad I finally have the chance to try it."

Li You said, "I hope you won’t be disappointed, Mu."

Mu Qingye said, "I’m sure I won’t be."

Xia Xiaoyue chimed in, "You’re being too modest, Boss. I don’t think any customer who walks into your restaurant could possibly be disappointed, no matter who they are."

Li You chuckled and said, "I certainly hope you’re right, Xia."

Xia Xiaoyue said, "I’m sure of it. Well, Boss, we’re heading into the gorge now."

Li You nodded. "Alright. Stay safe!"

"Alright. Thanks, Boss!"

The two of them walked toward the gorge.

Li You went back to cleaning the crayfish. He planned to get through the whole batch.

’Two meals’ worth. Simply perfect.’

Over half an hour later, he had finished cleaning all the crayfish. After rinsing them, he placed them in the Storage Pavilion to be used later.

Next, Li You went over to the nearby vegetable patch.

The patch had four types of vegetables growing in it: tomatoes, cucumbers, luffa, and bitter melons.

Except for the tomatoes, the other three were all vining plants that needed a trellis to flower and bear fruit properly.

It was now time to set up trellises for all three.

Li You decided to take advantage of the current lull in customers to get the trellising done.

’These seeds were a reward from the system, so I have to take good care of the plants.’

’The ingredients they yield should be at least medium-grade.’

’I might even get high-grade, or perhaps even premium-grade, ingredients. It’s not out of the question.’

Li You had already prepared the thick bamboo strips for the trellises; they were lying right there in the patch.

Alright, time to get started.

The work didn’t require any special skill, just a bit of patience.

Half an hour later, the job was done.

...

「It was nearly noon.」

「On the streets of Wenxian Town.」

After their classes ended, Chu Yiwei, Lin Xin, Zhang Qinghe, and the other teachers once again set off for Li You Restaurant.

They planned on something simple for lunch today; just a bowl of noodles would do.

They found themselves eating at Li You Restaurant more and more often.

It couldn’t be helped.

After all, whenever mealtime rolled around, they couldn’t resist the urge to head for Jiulong Gorge.

As they reached the market entrance, Zhang Qinghe said, "You all go on ahead. I’m going to buy a pack of cigarettes."

With that, he parked his motorcycle by the roadside, entered the market, and walked over to the shop where he usually bought his cigarettes.

"Teacher Zhang, you’re here!" the shop owner greeted him warmly.

Before Zhang Qinghe could even say a word, the owner had already pulled out a pack of his usual brand.

Zhang Qinghe took the cigarettes and smiled. "Thanks, Boss Zhao."

He then scanned the QR code to pay.

The owner’s name was Zhao Yu, and he knew Zhang Qinghe fairly well. He added, "By the way, Teacher Zhang, have you been buying groceries less often lately?"

Previously, Zhao Yu would see Zhang Qinghe at the market buying groceries almost every day.

But he had rarely seen him lately.

So, Zhao Yu found it a little strange.

Zhang Qinghe nodded. "You’re right, I have been buying less. It’s mainly because I’ve been eating out more."

Zhao Yu chuckled. "Looks like you got a raise, Teacher Zhang!"

Zhang Qinghe said, "I wish, but no such luck. It’s not because of a raise; it’s because the food at this one restaurant is just too delicious. Now, whenever mealtime comes around, we just want to run over there. Like today, for lunch, we’re all going there for noodles."

"’We?’" Zhao Yu asked, puzzled. "You mean there are other teachers, too?"

Zhang Qinghe nodded. "Lots. Teacher Chu, Teacher Lin, Teacher Cai, and so on. There are at least a dozen of us every time."

Zhao Yu grew more and more surprised as he listened. "Which place is it?" he asked.

Zhang Qinghe said, "It’s out by Jiulong Gorge. A new place, right at the entrance to the gorge. By the way, have you heard of it, Boss Zhao?"

"’Out by Jiulong Gorge?’" Zhao Yu was even more stunned.

’Isn’t that the place everyone was talking about this morning? The restaurant opened by that young fellow?’

’Everyone said they couldn’t understand for the life of them why the kid would open a shop way out there.’

’In a location like that, how many customers could he possibly get in a day? He might not even get a single one.’

Zhao Yu had completely agreed with that sentiment.

But now, it seemed reality was quite different.

Zhao Yu said, "I hadn’t heard of it before, but I did hear some talk this morning."

Zhang Qinghe nodded. "Then you probably haven’t eaten there yet, Boss Zhao. I highly recommend you give it a try. Whether it’s the noodles or the other dishes, everything is incredibly delicious. I guarantee you’ve never tasted anything like it. Anyway, I have to go now, Boss Zhao. Teacher Chu and the others are already far ahead."

"Oh, right, right. Take care, Teacher Zhang."

"See you."

"See you."

Zhang Qinghe left, but Zhao Yu was still reeling in astonishment.

He couldn’t imagine just how "incredibly delicious" the food Zhang Qinghe described truly was.

But he figured it had to be delicious on a whole other level.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for so many teachers to stop cooking for themselves and travel all that way to eat, not even minding the distance.

A full five kilometers—that was definitely far.

’Looks like everyone’s initial assessment was wrong.’

With this in mind, Zhao Yu went to Deng Luping’s jar shop and said, "Boss Deng, about that young fellow’s restaurant... I think we might have been mistaken."

"Hm?" Deng Luping was very confused. "Why do you say that, Boss Zhao?"

Zhao Yu then recounted, in great detail, what had happened when Zhang Qinghe came to his shop to buy cigarettes and everything he had learned.

As he spoke, the liquor shop owner, Xie Hai, and other owners from the surrounding shops all gathered around.

After Zhao Yu finished his story, everyone was completely surprised and astonished.

’For real? Is that kid’s cooking really that good?’

Deng Luping mused aloud, "Now that I think about it carefully, since that young man bought such a large pickling jar, it really doesn’t seem like his business would be doing poorly. Could his business actually be good?"

Zhao Yu said, "With so many teachers going there to eat every day, his business can’t be that bad, no matter how you slice it. I’m really curious now. Just how delicious can his food be to make all those teachers stop cooking and willingly travel five kilometers to eat? And just for a bowl of noodles, no less! Not to mention, Teacher Zhang was so certain when he said it’s a flavor I’ve never experienced before."

"Now that you mention it, I’m getting a little curious myself," said Deng Luping.

"Me too," Xie Hai and the other shop owners chimed in.

"In that case, why don’t we go check it out for lunch today?" Zhao Yu suggested.

"Alright, let’s go," Deng Luping agreed.

"Then let’s go."

"Fine. I’d like to see what this ’flavor we’ve never experienced before’ is all about."

"..."

The group of shop owners all agreed.

...