I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 211: Chapter 207: New Recipe Online

He brought the spicy crawfish and chilled cucumber to the table and called Ling Xiaoru over to eat.

Ling Xiaoru answered. When she walked over and saw the two dishes on the table, she was delighted.

”Want some wine?” Li You asked.

Ling Xiaoru asked, ”Are you having some, Boss?”

Li You nodded. ”I could have a little.”

Ling Xiaoru said, ”Let’s have some then. Half a bowl is enough for me. I still have to work this afternoon.”

”Alright.”

Ling Xiaoru wanted half a bowl, so Li You decided to have half a bowl himself as well.

He poured two half-bowls of wine, and he and Ling Xiaoru started to eat.

Ling Xiaoru picked up a piece of the chilled cucumber first.

After eating it, she said happily, ”It’s just as good as I imagined.”

Li You tried a piece himself. The flavor was indeed excellent.

”Oh, Boss, you have chilled cucumber today!” a customer who had just walked in exclaimed.

Li You smiled. ”A few cucumbers in the garden next door ripened. I just prepared one for myself.”

”Is that so!” The customer sounded a little disappointed. ”I thought you’d added it to the menu. I was planning to order a plate to go with my wine.”

Li You said, ”Well, if you want some, I can make it happen. I have one last cucumber, so I can prepare a plate for you.”

The customer’s eyes lit up. He said happily, ”Yes, please! I’ll take it.”

Li You smiled. ”Then have a seat. I’ll go make it for you right now.”

The customer said, ”Sorry to trouble you, Boss. I’d also like an order of twice-cooked pork with garlic shoots.”

Li You nodded. ”Alright.”

Then he told Ling Xiaoru to go ahead and eat without him.

Ling Xiaoru nodded and told Li You to take care of the customer first.

This was just how it was running a restaurant. When a customer came in, you had to cook for them first.

Li You went into the kitchen, took the last superior-quality cucumber from the Storage Pavilion, prepared it, and had Da Bai serve it to the customer.

After the chilled cucumber was served, the customer ordered a bowl of wine.

He first tried a piece of the chilled cucumber.

After tasting it, the customer was extremely satisfied. This chilled cucumber was truly delicious.

’Looks like the boss has a real green thumb, too.’

He took another sip of wine. It was pure bliss.

Speaking of which, chilled cucumber was considered an excellent bar snack. It was common in many places and, along with dishes like fried peanuts, chilled pig ears, chilled century eggs, and marinated beef, was known as one of the best appetizers to have with drinks.

Soon, the customer’s twice-cooked pork with garlic shoots was also served.

Li You walked out of the kitchen.

”Boss, the chilled cucumber is delicious,” the customer said to Li You.

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

He then sat down next to Ling Xiaoru and continued drinking and eating with her.

「A short while later.」

The customer who ordered the chilled cucumber finished his meal.

He went to pay the bill.

Li You only charged him for the twice-cooked pork, the wine, and the rice, not for the chilled cucumber.

This took the customer completely by surprise.

Li You smiled. ”The chilled cucumber isn’t officially on the menu yet. And aside from the plate you just had, I’m all out. So there’s no charge. Consider it on the house.”

The customer laughed heartily and didn’t protest further. He just thanked Li You, saying he was incredibly lucky today to have gotten the very last plate of chilled cucumber.

Li You told the customer there was no need for thanks and added that he would officially add chilled cucumber to the menu when the time was right.

The customer said he was very much looking forward to it. Then, he took his leave.

Not long after, Li You and Ling Xiaoru also finished their meal.

They rested for a while.

It wasn’t until three in the afternoon, at Ling Xiaoru’s urging, that Li You felt he had rested enough and it was time to get back to work.

The two of them went out to the field. First, they cleared the remaining stones they hadn’t gotten to yet.

After clearing the stones, they each grabbed a hoe and began to till the soil.

This was a very important step.

Ling Xiaoru’s movements as she hoed the soil were surprisingly deft. Li You was a bit surprised and remarked that he hadn’t expected her to be so skilled with a hoe.

Ling Xiaoru rolled her eyes at him. ”I was born in the countryside, not the city. My mom and dad still work the fields back home. Every time I go back, I help them out in the fields.”

Li You nodded. ”You’re earning good money now. You can have your parents plant fewer crops, or even stop altogether.”

Ling Xiaoru shook her head. ”That’s difficult. They can’t stay idle. I’ve told them to stop long ago, but they just can’t bring themselves to do it.”

Li You nodded again. ”I understand. My parents are the same. But you can still try to get them to plant a little less.”

Ling Xiaoru said, ”They are planting a bit less now.”

Li You said, ”That’s good.”

The two of them continued digging as they talked.

The tilled area grew larger and larger.

Suddenly.

”Congratulations, Host. Side Quest ’Vegetable Garden Expansion’ completed.

Reward Obtained: Lottery Chances x2, one pack of vegetable seeds (random variety).”

Li You was overjoyed. He immediately said to Ling Xiaoru, ”Miss Xiaoru, we’ve been digging for a long time. Let’s take a break.”

Ling Xiaoru nodded. ”Okay. I am getting a little tired.”

Li You said, ”Then let’s take a longer break. I’ll go get some plums. Oh, right, and some grapes.”

There were still two bunches of grapes in the Storage Pavilion from Liu Zhanghong that they hadn’t eaten yet.

Li You went into the kitchen, took some plums and a bunch of grapes from the Storage Pavilion, and arranged them on a plate.

He carried the plate outside the restaurant door for Ling Xiaoru to eat.

Ling Xiaoru’s eyes lit up. She picked a grape and ate it first.

After finishing it, she said happily, ”It’s so sweet and delicious. Boss, are these grapes also homegrown?”

Li You shook his head. ”Not these. A villager gave them to me. However, I do have grapes at home. They’re not this Summer Black variety, though, but an older heirloom type. They aren’t ripe yet; it’ll be a while before they’re ready to eat. I’ll pick some for you then.”

”Okay!” Ling Xiaoru was very happy.

Afterward, Ling Xiaoru continued eating the grapes and plums. Li You, on the other hand, opened the Storage Pavilion again. He wanted to check the quest rewards he had just received.

First was the pack of vegetable seeds. ’Let’s see what kind of vegetables there are.’

Li You found the vegetable seeds in the Storage Pavilion and opened the pack.

Inside were six types of vegetable seeds: celtuce, peas, eggplant, edamame, okra, and cauliflower.

With the exception of okra, which wasn’t as common, the other five were all very common vegetables.

Of course, though common, they were all good vegetables. And they could all be planted during this season.

’I’ll plant some of them tomorrow.’

’Time for the lottery draw. I’ve got two chances.’

’It feels like it’s been a while since I did a lottery draw. I’ve really missed this feeling.’

He opened the lottery interface.

The familiar four sections were there: Recipes, Ingredients, Cookware, and Other.

’Which sections will I get this time? This is exciting!’

He started the first draw.

After spinning rapidly, the wheel stopped, and the pointer landed on the ”Recipes” section.

A recipe! This meant he was about to master a new dish.

’Excellent.’

’Let’s see what dish it is.’

The familiar gift box appeared. Amidst fluttering ribbons, the box slowly opened.

”Chopped Pepper Fish Head!”

So it was Chopped Pepper Fish Head. Li You was pleasantly surprised.

This was another very famous dish, a traditional specialty from Xiang Province, belonging to the Xiang cuisine family.

Although it was a traditional dish from Xiang Province, it was famous all across the country.

Many people loved it, including Li You himself.

Li You wasn’t actually a big fan of fish head in general. But when it came to Chopped Pepper Fish Head, he loved it.

He was naturally delighted to have drawn such a dish.

...

Today is the Winter Solstice. I wish you all happiness and good health!

Did you all eat dumplings, lamb soup, or something else?

The customs for what to eat on the Winter Solstice vary by region. Where I am, we eat lamb soup and scrambled goose eggs with cilantro.

What about where you are?

...

A huge thank you to Book Friend 20181226123933347 for the multiple donations, totaling 2,800 coins!

Thank you, generous patron!

I wish you a happy Winter Solstice and good health, patron!

...