I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 207: Chapter 203: A Satisfying Sale

About half an hour later, Li You and the group arrived at the village entrance.

”This is the entrance. Let’s head in,” Li You said to the group.

Everyone nodded. They followed Li You into the village, looking around as they walked.

The village was beautiful!

It had many poetic elements: small bridges, flowing streams, quaint houses, and more.

Ahead of them was a stone arch bridge. It was about two meters wide and five meters long. While not magnificent, it had a weathered, historic feel to it, suggesting it was an ancient bridge.

Many people were fascinated by the stone arch bridge. They stared at it endlessly and took out their phones to take pictures.

”Boss, how old is this bridge?” Xiao Yue asked Li You after she finished taking pictures.

Li You shook his head. ”I’m not sure exactly. But according to the village elders, it should be at least several hundred years old.”

Everyone, including Xiao Yue, nodded. It certainly looked the part.

Beneath the bridge was a small creek.

Not far away, a few children were flipping over stones in the water.

Some people didn’t understand. ’What are those kids doing?’

Others, however, had their eyes light up. Liu Xu, for example, said, ”They’re catching crabs, aren’t they? Boss, are there a lot of crabs in this creek?”

Li You nodded. ”Quite a few. But they’re all mountain crabs—small, with not much meat. People rarely eat them.”

Liu Xu said, ”Mountain crabs might be small and have little meat, but they have their own unique value. Plus, they have very high standards for their living environment. They’re very hard to find on the market, even if you want to buy them.”

Li You said, ”That’s true. Mountain crabs have a delicious, fresh flavor and are highly nutritious. More importantly, they’re believed to have properties that clear heat and improve circulation, and they work wonders for treating bruises and sprains. In folk medicine, they’re considered an excellent remedy for mending bones.”

Liu Xu said, ”Exactly. So you could say mountain crabs are quite precious.”

As the two of them conversed, the others listened on, only half-understanding.

’Is there any difference between these mountain crabs and the mitten crabs we usually eat?’

Li You smiled. ”Mitten crabs are a type of river crab. The two differ in their habitats, appearance, and size...”

Li You went on to explain the differences between the two in considerable detail.

Those who hadn’t understood before now nodded repeatedly.

’So that’s how it is.’

Then, someone else asked, ”I see the kids are all flipping over stones. Do mountain crabs always hide under them?”

Li You said, ”Yes, for the most part.”

”That sounds like fun,” many of them said. A good number were eager to try it themselves and wanted to get in the creek to have a go.

But, since time was limited, they ultimately decided against it.

They continued walking forward.

Along the way, they ran into many villagers. Seeing the large group with Li You, they all guessed he was bringing customers to the village again.

There were far more people than last time.

It was just that last time, it had been all young, beautiful women, which wasn’t the case this time.

This time, there were more men.

”Xiaoyou, are these all your customers too?” a villager asked Li You.

Li You nodded. ”They are. They’ve come this time to buy some grapes from Uncle Zhanghong and some plums from Uncle Jialiang.”

’So that’s why they’re here.’

Soon, word of why Li You had brought customers to the village spread.

The eyes of many villagers lit up.

’Who would’ve thought Xiaoyou’s business had the side effect of bringing customers to the village to buy things.’

’Since the customers are buying grapes and plums, might they buy other things too?’

’I should ask Xiaoyou about it later.’

Quite a few villagers were thinking along these lines.

Meanwhile, Li You had already led the customers to Liu Zhanghong’s house.

There were too many people to fit inside, so Liu Zhanghong invited everyone to rest in the courtyard.

He brought out a large basin of washed grapes and said with a smile, ”Please, help yourselves. Don’t be shy.”

The customers repeatedly thanked him but said they wouldn’t eat the grapes.

They felt it would be imposing.

Liu Zhanghong looked at Li You.

Li You understood what he meant and said with a laugh, ”This is a kind gesture from Uncle Zhanghong. Please, don’t hold back. Everyone, eat up.”

Only then did the customers start taking grapes to eat.

Li You ate some as well.

”Delicious, these are really delicious,” the customers all praised as they ate.

Liu Zhanghong was overjoyed to hear this and repeatedly urged everyone to have more.

After they finished the grapes, Li You said to Liu Zhanghong, ”Uncle Zhanghong, shall we go pick some grapes?”

Liu Zhanghong nodded.

Afterward, Liu Zhanghong grabbed a bunch of bags and led the group to the place where the grapes were grown.

A large field was filled entirely with Summer Black grapes.

The vines were heavy with bunches of grapes, looking incredibly tempting.

The customers were all beaming with joy. It was rare for them to see such a bountiful grape harvest in person.

’Choosing to come here to pick and buy them fresh was definitely the right decision.’

Li You, however, was a little surprised. He said, ”Uncle Zhanghong, I had no idea you grew so many grapes. I never noticed this huge vineyard here before. I thought you only had those few vines behind your house.”

Liu Zhanghong laughed. ”There aren’t many behind the house, only a hundred or two hundred bunches in total.”

Li You nodded and added, ”Growing grapes is a good business. With this many, you should be able to earn a decent income each year.”

Liu Zhanghong said, ”It’s hard to say. It all depends on the market. If the market is bad, you can’t sell much. The only other option is to wholesale them to fruit vendors, but the price is so low there’s barely any profit. So, Xiaoyou, I’m truly grateful to you for bringing everyone here to buy grapes.”

Li You replied, ”Don’t mention it, Uncle Zhanghong. It’s mainly because your grapes are delicious and reasonably priced. That’s why people are willing to come and buy them.”

While the two of them were talking, the customers had already grabbed bags and headed into the field to pick their grapes.

Originally, only fifty-some people had planned to buy them.

But now, the remaining thirty or so people were tempted as well.

’These grapes are so tempting. I might as well buy some to take back, too.’

And so, all of the customers entered the vineyard.

As for shears, there weren’t many, so everyone took turns using them.

After a flurry of activity, everyone had finished picking their grapes.

One by one, their hauls were weighed. The smallest was four or five pounds, while the largest was over ten, or even twenty pounds.

The final total came to around one thousand pounds.

A full 7,000 yuan in income.

Liu Zhanghong was thrilled as he held the money.

This was the most stress-free he’d ever felt selling his grapes. In previous years, even if he worked hard selling them every day from the beginning of the season to the end, he might not have made 7,000 yuan in total.

’Xiaoyou really helped me out a lot.’

Liu Zhanghong was extremely grateful.

Li You and the customers didn’t stay long, as they still had to go to Liu Jialiang’s house to buy plums.

After bidding farewell to Liu Zhanghong, Li You and the customers continued on their way to Liu Jialiang’s house.

When they arrived at Liu Jialiang’s home, his whole family gave them a warm welcome, bringing out washed plums for everyone to eat.

The customers were already quite familiar with Liu Jialiang.

So, this time, no one was shy; they all helped themselves to the plums.

Seeing everyone carrying bags of grapes, Liu Jialiang laughed. ”That old fellow Liu Zhanghong has a real knack for growing grapes. They’re not only plentiful but also delicious. But around here, it’s not easy to sell grapes well. I bet that old fellow is over the moon this time. Of course, it’s not easy to sell plums well either, which is why I’m so happy too.”

Li You listened with a faint smile.

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