I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 266: Chapter 253: Want Some Swamp Eels?

Chen Wen, He Xianfei, Yu Hong, and Qu Feng all smiled at Li You’s words, expressing their hopes for good luck today.

Then, each grabbing a bag, they eagerly entered the bamboo forest.

After the four men went in, Ye Shengge asked, ”Boss, should we look for some Bamboo Mushrooms to take back with us?”

Li You nodded. ”Since we’re already here, we might as well. Let’s find some to take back, too.”

”Okay.”

Ye Shengge, Ling Xiaoru, Chu Yiwei, and Lin Xin were all quite interested as well.

They all went into the bamboo forest and began searching for Bamboo Mushrooms.

Gradually, everyone started finding them.

Two hours later, the group gathered back at the spot where they had entered the forest.

Every one of them had a decent haul.

Chen Wen’s bag held at least a few dozen Bamboo Mushrooms. He showed it off to the group, saying joyfully, ”What a place, what an amazing place! I never thought we could find so many Bamboo Mushrooms in just two short hours. And their quality is outstanding. Boss Li You, this place of yours is a real treasure trove.”

He Xianfei, Yu Hong, and Qu Feng had all harvested a similar amount.

The three of them were equally delighted.

For a chef, there was nothing more exhilarating than personally foraging for so many rare delicacies.

He Xianfei laughed heartily. ”They say the Shunan Bamboo Sea is famous for its abundance of Bamboo Mushrooms, but I think the yield here at the boss’s place might be even higher. I’m not talking about the total output, of course, but the yield per unit area.”

Yu Hong said, ”The yield per unit area is definitely higher here. I’ve never had such an easy time finding wild Bamboo Mushrooms before. With all these, we’ll be able to enjoy several wonderful meals back home.”

Qu Feng added, ”Boss Li You, I bet the delicacies here aren’t just limited to Bamboo Mushrooms, are they?”

Li You replied, ”There are indeed quite a few other types of mushrooms.”

The eyes of Chen Wen, He Xianfei, Yu Hong, and Qu Feng all lit up. They all declared they would definitely have to come back and explore more in the future.

Li You smiled and said they were welcome anytime.

Ye Shengge, Ling Xiaoru, Chu Yiwei, and Lin Xin had also gathered a good amount of Bamboo Mushrooms.

While not as much as the four chefs, they each had around twenty to thirty.

As for Li You himself, he had found over fifty.

This was more than enough.

Chatting and laughing, the group slowly made their way back to the restaurant.

After a short rest, it would be time for dinner.

The four chefs were leaving the next day, so Chen Wen announced he would be treating everyone to dinner that evening, a chance for one last good round of drinks.

He Xianfei, Yu Hong, and Qu Feng were delighted with the idea. Li You didn’t stand on ceremony either.

Since Li You had agreed, Ye Shengge, Ling Xiaoru, Chu Yiwei, and Lin Xin naturally agreed as well.

Chen Wen was overjoyed.

At 5:30 PM, Li You went into the kitchen to start preparing the meal.

Start early, eat early. That way, they could take their time and enjoy a long meal.

Chen Wen didn’t order specific dishes, instead telling Li You to decide on the menu. The only condition was that there had to be plenty of food.

Since the variety of dishes on offer wasn’t extensive, it was easy enough to plan.

He decided on spicy crawfish, braised chicken, braised chicken feet, Chopped Pepper Fish Head, crucian carp with patchouli, mapo tofu, and stir-fried shredded potatoes.

Li You also planned to make a Bamboo Mushroom and chicken soup.

Since they’d found so many Bamboo Mushrooms, they had to eat them right away.

The Bamboo Mushroom and chicken soup was delicious and highly nutritious; he was sure everyone would love it.

He wouldn’t charge for the soup.

Even though Chen Wen was treating, Li You, as the restaurant owner, wanted to make a gesture. Gifting a dish was the least he could do.

He began to cook.

As the dishes came out one after another, the group began to eat and drink.

Finally, the Bamboo Mushroom and chicken soup was brought to the table.

Everyone was full of praise for the soup.

The top-tier ingredients, combined with the boss’s top-tier culinary skills, made the soup indescribably savory and delicious.

At eight o’clock, Chu Yiwei and Lin Xin were once again the first to leave, heading back to school. They both had classes on Monday.

After eating and drinking for a while longer, everyone was finally full and satisfied.

Chen Wen settled the bill. Then he called two motorcycle taxi drivers to come pick them up.

Li You closed up the shop and went upstairs with Ye Shengge and Ling Xiaoru.

The night for the three of them was as wonderful as ever.

...

「The next day.」

In the morning, Chen Wen, He Xianfei, Yu Hong, and Qu Feng came to the restaurant again for beef noodle soup.

They had eaten Yangchun Noodles the previous morning, so today they switched to beef noodle soup.

The flavor of the beef noodle soup once again left Yu Hong deeply impressed.

’Beef noodle soup can be found all over the country. It’s hard to say which region’s is better, and no single place would dare claim to have the best.’

’That’s how it was supposed to be.’

’But from now on, perhaps the beef noodle soup here could dare to make that claim.’

’The best in the entire country.’

Yu Hong was once again completely won over by Li You’s skill.

After finishing their noodles, the four chefs said their goodbyes.

Li You walked them to the parking lot.

They waved and said their farewells.

It felt less like a goodbye and more like a ’see you later,’ because all four of them had said they would be frequent visitors.

Even Yu Hong, who lived in distant Zhejiang Province over 2,000 kilometers away, insisted he would be a regular.

Li You was very happy to hear this, saying he looked forward to their next meeting.

The four men slowly drove away.

Li You went back inside the restaurant just as Ye Shengge and Ling Xiaoru were coming downstairs.

”Have Master Chen and the others left?” Ye Shengge asked.

Li You nodded. ”They just left. What do you two want to eat?”

”Fermented rice with poached eggs, I think,” they both said.

Li You nodded.

’Oh, right,’ he thought. ’I said I’d make fermented rice again and let Ye Shengge watch the whole process. Today would be a good day for that.’

When he told Ye Shengge his idea, she was pleasantly surprised. ”Oh, yes! Thank you, Boss!”