I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: These Noodles Are So Delicious, Off to the Gorge to Catch Some Fish

Li You also walked into the restaurant. After showing the customer to a seat, he went into the kitchen.

After a series of practiced movements, a large bowl of Yangchun Noodles was ready.

He brought it out to the customer.

”It smells amazing!” Wei Ping was extremely surprised.

’Are Yangchun Noodles supposed to smell this good?’

It also looked incredibly appetizing; he had a feeling it would be delicious.

Wei Ping was pleasantly surprised. These noodles were much better than he had imagined.

He quickly took a bite.

The moment he tasted it, he couldn’t help but yell ’Holy crap!’ in his mind.

’It’s unbelievably delicious.’

It was both fragrant and savory. He had never eaten such delicious noodles before.

’What an unexpected and delightful surprise!’

He took several large bites in a row, and it only got more delicious with each one.

He then took a sip of the broth.

His entire palate was filled with the fragrant, savory flavor.

’This is pure bliss!’

Wei Ping had never imagined that eating a bowl of noodles could be such a blissful experience.

”Boss, this is just too good. I’ve never had Yangchun Noodles before. Are they always this delicious? Or is it because you’re such a good cook?” Wei Ping couldn’t help but ask.

Li You smiled. ”It’s a bit of both.”

Wei Ping said, ”So that means your skill has a lot to do with it. Boss, with a talent like this, why don’t you open a shop in the county seat? If you did, you’d definitely be packed with customers every single day.”

Li You said, ”I prefer the mountains and countryside over the county seat. Here, all you have to do is look up to see beautiful scenery. It’s relaxing and puts you in a good mood.”

”Well...” Wei Ping glanced at the scenery outside the restaurant. ”The view here is indeed gorgeous. It’s just...”

Wei Ping wanted to say more, but he held his tongue.

’To each their own, I guess.’

Besides, he didn’t know the boss well. It wasn’t his place to say too much.

He went back to eating his noodles.

Soon, he had finished all the noodles and broth, without leaving a single drop.

He was completely satisfied.

He was mostly full, but he hadn’t had his fill of the taste yet.

”Boss, I’ll have another small bowl.”

”Alright, please wait a moment.”

A short while later, Li You placed another small bowl of Yangchun Noodles on Wei Ping’s table.

Wei Ping immediately dug in.

It was just as delicious as the first bowl.

’The boss’s skill is very consistent.’

After finishing this small bowl as well, Wei Ping was a little stuffed.

Now he was truly satisfied.

”Boss, your cooking is really...” He said, giving a thumbs-up.

Li You smiled. ”I’m glad you’re satisfied.”

”Satisfied! Very satisfied!”

After speaking, Wei Ping took out his phone to scan the code and pay. The total was 21 yuan.

”Congratulations, Host, on successfully selling two bowls of Yangchun Noodles. Forty-eight bowls remaining to complete the mission.”

It was a good start.

Li You was very happy.

”By the way, Boss, how much farther is it to Taoshan Village from here?” Wei Ping asked.

Li You replied, ”About seven or eight kilometers.”

Wei Ping nodded. He said his thanks and left.

After Wei Ping left, Li You decided he should make a trip to the market in town. He needed to buy rice, oil, and some seasonings he didn’t have.

That way, he could go home and grab some ingredients from his fields.

Not to sell to customers, but for himself to eat.

Yangchun Noodles were delicious, but he couldn’t eat them for every single meal.

Li You wouldn’t sell any dishes to customers if he hadn’t mastered the system’s recipe for them, even if he had the ingredients.

His own cooking skills were average.

Without mastering a system recipe, any dish he made would surely taste average.

If he sold something like that to customers, it would ruin his reputation.

He decided to go at once.

Li You closed the restaurant door and set off on his motorcycle.

It was about five kilometers to town, and he arrived in about ten minutes.

At the entrance to the town, the two words ”Wenxian Town” were carved into a simple, timeworn stone archway.

It had a strong sense of history.

The town wasn’t large and had a certain rustic charm.

Market day fell on odd-numbered days of the month, meaning there was a market every other day.

Today was a market day.

However, the market had already closed for the day.

Even though the market was over, he could still buy things like rice, oil, and various seasonings.

Li You went straight to the market area and bought rice, oil, and seasonings like Sichuan peppercorns, dried chilies, cumin, star anise, and fennel.

After leaving the market, he returned to the Jiulong Gorge Restaurant.

He put everything he bought into the Storage Pavilion.

This was not only convenient for use but also allowed the items to be stored for a long time without spoiling.

Items from the outside world could also be placed in the Storage Pavilion.

He opened the restaurant door and once again waited for customers.

Unfortunately, not a single other customer showed up, even by six in the evening.

Of course, this was perfectly normal.

Li You was already thrilled to have had even one customer on his first day of business.

He closed up shop and went home.

Li You took some noodles and broth out of the Storage Pavilion, placing them in separate containers.

’I’ll let Mom and Dad try the Yangchun Noodles tonight.’

Then he got on his motorcycle and rode home.

After getting home, Li You explained that he had made broth and noodles for Yangchun Noodles today and had brought some back specially for his parents to try that evening.

His parents were delighted, saying they would have to give it a proper taste.

The stove at home was a traditional rural wood-fired stove.

Wood-fired stoves were actually very effective, and Li You quite liked using them.

After lighting the fire, washing the pot, and going through the motions, three large bowls of Yangchun Noodles were ready.

He brought them to the table.

His parents were very surprised. ’This kid’s Yangchun Noodles look amazing!’

They smelled fragrant, too.

’Time to see how they taste.’

After one bite, his parents were even more incredulous.

’Since when did this kid have such skill?’

’With talent like this, if he opened a noodle shop in the city, he’d probably earn more than he would at a regular job, right?’

His father grew excited. He stopped telling Li You to find a job and instead urged him to open a noodle shop in the city.

Li You chuckled. ”My restaurant in Jiulong Gorge just opened. I can’t just close it down right after opening, can I? I have to keep it running for at least two or three months.”

His father nodded. Now that he knew Li You had this skill, he wasn’t in a hurry anymore.

Opening in Jiulong Gorge for a couple of months before moving to the city was also an option.

In high spirits, his parents finished their large bowls of noodles and both asked if Li You had used up all the noodles he’d brought back.

If not, he should go make them some more.

Li You smiled and said he hadn’t.

He then went into the kitchen and made another bowl for each of his parents.

With two bowls of noodles in their stomachs, his parents were both happy and satisfied.

...

「The next day.」

「Morning.」

Li You went to his family’s vegetable garden and picked some eggplants, green peppers, cabbage, and lettuce, placing them in the Storage Pavilion.

Then he rode his motorcycle to the Jiulong Gorge Restaurant.

He opened for business.

’I hope I get at least one customer today, too.’

After lounging in his rocking chair for a while, he still hadn’t seen a single person.

Then he suddenly had a craving for fish.

’I’ll go catch some fish in the gorge for lunch, then.’

’If I’m lucky, I should be able to catch some.’

He closed the restaurant door.

Li You grabbed a winnowing basket woven from bamboo strips and a small bucket, and headed to the gorge.

This wasn’t the same section of the gorge where Li You had caught the two crucian carp the day before yesterday.

However, this part of the gorge also had deep pools and shallow flats.

There were also plenty of fish.

Li You went to a shallow area.

This shallow flat had many small rivulets, and quite a few fish liked to linger in them.

He just needed to block the upstream and downstream ends of a rivulet with stones, and he’d be able to catch fish in it.

Li You spotted signs of fish in one of the rivulets.

He then used stones to block the upstream and downstream ends, one after the other.

Just like that, the fish in the rivulet were trapped like turtles in a jar.

Just as Li You was about to step into the rivulet to start catching fish, he saw several figures appear at the mouth of the gorge.

They looked like tourists who had come to the gorge for a visit.

The scenery here was exceptionally beautiful. Sometimes, people from the city would come to sightsee.

Li You’s eyes lit up.

Because these tourists were all his potential customers.

...