I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 260: Chapter 250: The Longjing Shrimp Competition

After picking a few of the fruits, Ye Shengge popped one into her mouth.

After eating it, she said happily, ”It’s actually really sweet, and the texture is great. So this kind of fruit really is delicious.”

Ling Xiaoru said, ”Not only is it delicious, but it’s also quite nutritious. And it can be used for medicinal purposes. Right, Boss?”

Li You nodded. ”That’s right. The roots, leaves, and fruit can all be used in medicine. It can lower blood sugar and blood lipids, has antioxidant properties, and acts as an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever.”

Chu Yiwei said, ”This is what you’d call a small wild fruit with great uses.”

Li You smiled. ”Indeed.”

Chen Wen, He Xianfei, Yu Hong, and Qu Feng all strongly agreed with this sentiment.

The group continued to pick and eat the fruit as they talked.

Normally, it would be better to wash the fruit after picking it.

However, there was no water here, so they had no choice but to eat them unwashed.

Eating them once in a while like this wouldn’t hurt.

Speaking of which, it had been many years since Li You last ate this kind of fruit.

Eating it again now, it tasted exactly as he remembered. Nothing had changed.

Slowly, everyone had eaten their fill.

They had eaten about enough.

Next, it was time to dig some up to take back.

This was an upright shrub that could grow three to four meters tall and had thorns. Working with it would be a bit difficult.

He needed to choose one that was easy to dig up.

”Boss, let’s dig this one up. This one will be easy,” Chen Wen said, pointing to one of the bushes.

Li You took a look. The bush was about three meters tall with many branches, making it a relatively large specimen of a Yangnaipao fruit tree. However, it grew by itself, providing plenty of room to work. No branches from other trees were entangled with it, so it would indeed be easier to dig up—even easier than some of the smaller bushes.

’That’s the one, then.’

Li You chose his spot, swung the hoe, and began to dig.

After he had been digging for a while, Chen Wen asked, ”Boss, why don’t you take a break? Let me dig for a bit.”

Li You wasn’t tired at all, but seeing Chen Wen’s eager expression, he handed the hoe over with a smile. ”Then I’ll have to trouble you, Master Chen.”

”You’re too kind, Boss.”

Chen Wen took the hoe and continued digging. After a while, He Xianfei, Yu Hong, and Qu Feng also took turns.

After digging for quite some time, they finally unearthed the entire Yangnaipao bush, roots and all.

Next, they would use the old method: find a long bamboo pole to carry it back.

Although the Yangnaipao bush was three meters tall, it was a shrub, so it wasn’t too heavy. Two people could definitely carry it.

And with so many people, they could take turns. Carrying it back wouldn’t be a problem at all.

A shrub is a woody plant that lacks a distinct main trunk and grows in a clustered form.

Many flowering plants, like roses, azaleas, peonies, and Chinese roses, are all types of shrubs.

’Is there a bamboo forest nearby?’

’There should be.’

After scanning the area for a moment, Li You indeed spotted a bamboo grove not far away.

Pointing toward the grove, Li You said, ”I’m going over there to cut a bamboo pole. You all wait here for a bit.”

But everyone said they wanted to go with him.

So, they all went together.

The group arrived in front of the bamboo grove. It was a Moso bamboo forest.

His luck wasn’t as good as last time. Last time they found Hard-headed Yellow Bamboo, but this time it was Moso bamboo.

For carrying things, Moso bamboo was much inferior to Hard-headed Yellow Bamboo.

But there was no other choice. They would have to make do.

He needed to pick a stalk that wasn’t too thick but was hard enough for the job.

”Boss, are there any Bamboo Mushrooms in here?” Ye Shengge asked.

Li You said, ”This grove isn’t very large. The chances are slim, but you can have a look.”

Ye Shengge nodded.

After walking a lap around the bamboo grove, Li You finally selected a stalk.

When Chen Wen, He Xianfei, Yu Hong, and Qu Feng saw it, they all agreed it was a good choice.

Li You gave a slight smile, chopped it down with his machete, and dragged it out of the grove.

He cut off a section about four meters long.

Now they had their carrying pole.

Just then, Ye Shengge also walked out of the bamboo grove, shaking her head. ”Sure enough, there aren’t any.”

Li You smiled. ”This grove is too small. To find Bamboo Mushrooms, we’d need to go to that huge bamboo forest I took you to last time.”

Ye Shengge nodded.

At this, the eyes of Chen Wen, He Xianfei, and Yu Hong all lit up.

Chen Wen asked, ”Boss, is there a bamboo forest near the restaurant where we can find Bamboo Mushrooms?”

Li You nodded. ”There is! And there are quite a few of them, too.”

Chen Wen’s eyes shone even brighter. ”Then can we go look for some? An ingredient like Bamboo Mushroom is very hard to buy on the open market.”

Li You said, ”Of course, you can. We probably won’t have enough time after we get back today. How about tomorrow? I’ll take you tomorrow afternoon.”

”Great! Thank you, Boss!”

Chen Wen, He Xianfei, and Yu Hong were all overjoyed.

It wasn’t that they absolutely needed an ingredient like Bamboo Mushroom right now, but for high-level chefs, the opportunity to find a rare delicacy was incredibly exciting and made them eager to try.

Li You told the three of them not to be so formal. He then shouldered the bamboo pole and returned with the group to where they had dug up the Yangnaipao tree.

Once again, they used rope to tie up the Yangnaipao tree, then threaded the bamboo pole through the ropes.

Once it was secured, they were ready to carry it.

Li You lifted one end himself. Just as he was about to ask someone to help with the other side, he heard He Xianfei say, ”Boss, I’ll carry it with you.”

Li You quickly thanked him.

Seeing this, Chen Wen, Yu Hong, and Qu Feng said that they would take turns later.

It wasn’t excessively heavy, but it was a two-kilometer walk, so they would definitely need to rotate.

And so, the group started on their way back.

Li You, Chen Wen, He Xianfei, Yu Hong, and Qu Feng took turns carrying it.

In truth, Li You wasn’t tired at all and didn’t need to switch out.