I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 204: Chapter 200: Which Art World Master Did the Boss Hire?

Li You worked in the kitchen, and time passed bit by bit.

By 10:30 AM, he had already prepared 1,000 marinated chicken feet and 20 marinated chickens.

’This much should be enough for today.’

Just then, over a dozen vans and cars pulled into the parking lot one after another.

A large group of people got out of the vehicles.

It was Wei Ping and his family, along with Liu Xu, Xiao Yue, Zhang Rui’Er, and the others.

Every Saturday, unless something came up, they would come here to enjoy the gourmet food.

They spent all week, from Monday to Friday, looking forward to it!

This time, their anticipation was even greater. They knew Li You had launched new marinated dishes: marinated chicken and marinated chicken feet.

They had learned that Li You was planning to introduce marinated dishes when they ran into him outside Jiang Caidong’s noodle shop last time.

Ever since then, they had been looking forward to trying the marinated dishes at Li You Restaurant this Saturday.

Then, two days ago, they found out through Liu Xu’s foodie group that Li You had officially launched the marinated chicken and chicken feet.

This news thrilled Wei Ping, Liu Xu, Xiao Yue, Zhang Rui’Er, and many others in the group.

This meant that when they visited Li You Restaurant this Saturday, they would actually get to eat the marinated dishes.

And both marinated chicken and marinated chicken feet were undoubtedly among the most delicious of all marinated dishes.

The anticipation was immense!

Now, Saturday had finally arrived. And they were finally here again.

”Let’s go! Time to eat some marinated chicken and chicken feet!” Liu Xu exclaimed.

”Let’s go, let’s go! I feel like I could eat a whole chicken by myself.”

”We’re finally about to eat the most delicious marinated chicken and chicken feet in the world. This is so exciting!”

”I wonder how much marinated chicken and chicken feet the owner made today. I just hope there’s enough for us!”

”What’s there to worry about? If there isn’t enough, we can just ask the owner to make some more. It’s still early, after all.”

”True.”

...

The group chattered excitedly as they walked toward Li You Restaurant.

They had only taken a few steps when a rich, savory aroma suddenly wafted over them.

”Holy crap! I smell it! The aroma of the marinated dishes. How can it carry this far? It smells incredible!”

”It’s this fragrant all the way out here. If we get any closer, the smell will be to die for! Truly the best marinated food in the world. Awesome!”

”C’mon, c’mon, everyone, pick up the pace!”

...

Spurred on by the rich aroma, everyone quickened their pace.

The aroma made them even more desperate to eat Li You’s marinated chicken and chicken feet.

Soon, the group reached the entrance of the restaurant.

Before they even stepped inside, someone couldn’t wait and yelled, ”Owner, we’re here! Is the marinated chicken and chicken feet ready yet?”

Inside the restaurant.

Hearing the voice, Li You looked toward the entrance.

It was Wei Ping and his family, and Liu Xu, Xiao Yue, Zhang Rui’Er, and the others had arrived.

Li You was delighted to see the familiar faces and went to greet them with a smile.

”Hi, Uncle Li You!”

As always, Wei Ping’s two children were very affectionate when they saw Li You.

”Yu, Xiaoxi, it’s good to see you two!” Li You replied with a smile, greeting the two kids.

He then exchanged pleasantries with Wei Ping, Liu Xu, Xiao Yue, Zhang Rui’Er, and the rest of the group.

After the greetings, Liu Xu said, ”Owner, the marinated chicken and chicken feet should be ready now, right? We could smell them from a long way off.”

Li You nodded. ”They’re ready. You want to eat now?”

’It was only 10:30 in the morning; a bit early for a meal.’

Liu Xu nodded. ”Yes, we’ll eat now. We’ll start with the marinated chicken and chicken feet, and then have a proper lunch later.”

”That’s right! Let’s eat the marinated chicken and chicken feet first.”

...

Everyone agreed; they wanted to start with the marinated chicken and chicken feet.

After smelling such a powerful aroma, they couldn’t possibly wait.

Li You nodded with a smile. ”Very well. I’ve made 20 marinated chickens and 1,000 marinated chicken feet today. How much would you like?”

’Only 20 marinated chickens? That’s not a lot!’

Liu Xu said, ”We’ll take all 20 marinated chickens. As for the chicken feet, let’s start with five per person for now.”

Li You was taken aback. ”My chickens are quite large—even after cooking, they’re about four pounds each. You have a big group, but won’t 20 chickens be too much?”

Liu Xu shook his head. ”Not at all. Even at four pounds each, 20 chickens is only eighty pounds. There are more than 80 of us here. That’s less than a pound per person on average. It’s not too much at all.”

”Don’t worry, Owner, we can finish it. If I have my way, I’ll eat at least two pounds myself.”

”Forget two pounds. I bet I could finish three!”

...

Hearing this from the crowd, Li You nodded.

’Since they all said they could handle it, he was more than happy to sell it to them!’

’He had just been thinking that 20 chickens would be enough for the whole day, but Liu Xu’s group was about to wipe out the entire stock.’

’Looks like I’ll have to make at least two more batches.’

’Of course, that was a good problem to have.’

Da Bai began to chop the marinated chicken into pieces, while Xiaohai brought five marinated chicken feet to each person.

’The chicken had to be chopped, so they’d start with the chicken feet.’

As soon as they got their chicken feet, everyone dug in without a second’s hesitation.

This included the women like Xiao Yue and Zhang Rui’Er.

Faced with such tempting chicken feet, they completely forgot about maintaining their composure.

And naturally, the flavor of the marinated chicken feet sent a thrill of excitement through everyone.

They just knew they’d be eating the world’s best marinated chicken and chicken feet today.

And the chicken feet had already proven it.

There couldn’t possibly be a more delicious marinated chicken foot in existence.

Everyone was certain of it.

The owner truly was a legend, no matter what dish he made.

”Huh? There’s a new painting on the wall,” Wei Ping remarked, chewing on a chicken foot.

The others looked and saw that he was right.

They had been so focused on the food that none of them had noticed the new painting on the wall.

Looking at it closely now, they were pleasantly surprised.

’Isn’t this painting of Jiulong Gorge?’

’It has to be. It’s definitely Jiulong Gorge.’

’And what’s more, the owner’s restaurant was in the painting too! The restaurant in the picture was bustling, filled with people drinking and celebrating.’

’Did the owner commission this painting?’

’What a great idea!’

’Absolutely perfect!’

And the painting itself was incredible. It didn’t just perfectly capture the beauty of Jiulong Gorge; it imbued it with an ethereal, almost mystical quality. The artistic mood was profound!

The artist was clearly a master among masters—truly exceptional.

Even they, who knew nothing about art, could tell that much at a glance.

This was especially true when they compared it to the other painting in the restaurant.

Before, they had thought the other painting was the work of a highly skilled master.

It was just so well done!

But now, comparing the two, the first one seemed worlds apart in quality.

Only a true master of masters could create a work that made another, previously impressive painting look so inferior by comparison.

Therefore, the artist behind this piece had to be a master among masters.

’They must be a grandmaster from the Art World, right?’

The owner really was something else, being able to commission a master from the Art World.

However, none of them—not Wei Ping, Liu Xu, Xiao Yue, or Zhang Rui’Er—asked Li You which master from the Art World he had commissioned.

They knew that even if Li You told them the name, they most likely wouldn’t recognize it.

In the entire Art World, they only knew of one master: the number one figure in the Art World, the contemporary Painting Saint, Guyi.

’But there’s no way the owner could have commissioned Guyi.’

’No matter how incredible the owner was, he couldn’t possibly get someone like Guyi to paint for him.’

...