I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 270: Chapter 256: This Is Too Much

Before long, they arrived outside Lin Xiao’s courtyard.

The house was a small, two-story building that looked relatively new, as if it had been built just a few years ago.

After Li You stopped the motorcycle, Lin Xiao was the first to call out toward the courtyard. ”Grandpa! Grandma! I’m home! Mr. Li You brought me back.”

Then she hopped off the motorcycle and, after telling Li You where to park, invited him inside to sit down.

The young woman was very well-mannered.

Li You smiled and agreed. After propping the motorcycle up, he began to untie the suitcase strapped to the back rack.

As he was doing so, Lin Zhonghai and his wife hurried out of the courtyard.

Upon seeing Li You, Lin Zhonghai said gratefully, ”Xiaoyou, not only did Xiao’Er eat at your place, but you also brought her all the way back. We’ve troubled you far too much.”

Li You laughed. ”Please, sir, don’t be so formal. It was nothing, really, all on my way. I’m very fond of Lin Xiao, so I was happy to treat her to a meal and bring her home. It’s no trouble at all.”

Li You had spoken casually, but his words made Lin Xiao blush.

The young woman was at an age where crushes began to bloom, and with Li You being only a few years older than her, his words couldn’t help but make her heart flutter.

She quickly turned her head to the side, not wanting anyone to see her flushed cheeks.

Lin Zhonghai was very pleased to hear Li You’s words and chuckled. ”Still, it was a lot of trouble for you. Come in, come in and sit down.”

Li You replied, ”Then I’ll take you up on your offer.”

”What’s all this about being a bother?” Lin Zhonghai said. ”Come on, this way.”

The suitcase was now untied. Lin Xiao picked it up herself, while Lin Zhonghai ushered Li You into the main room.

The main room was simply furnished, containing little more than a square dining table, a few long benches, and a sofa.

But it was kept impeccably clean and tidy.

”Xiaoyou, have a seat, have a seat. I’ll make you a cup of tea,” Lin Zhonghai offered.

Li You quickly replied, ”Oh no, please don’t trouble yourself. Sir, you don’t have to be so formal. All this hospitality is making me a bit embarrassed. I’m fine just sitting for a moment. Besides, you know I’m not much of a tea drinker.”

Lin Zhonghai then said, ”Well, then let me pick some plums for you. We grow them ourselves, the tree isn’t far from the yard.”

Earlier that afternoon, Lin Xiao had mentioned that her family also had a plum tree.

’Eating a few plums would be fine, though.’

Just then, Lin Xiao spoke up, ”Grandpa, I’ll go pick them.”

Li You said, ”Then let’s go together. I’d like to see your family’s plum tree.”

Lin Zhonghai nodded. ”Alright, alright.”

Lin Xiao grabbed a back-basket and beckoned for Li You to follow her out of the courtyard. Lin Zhonghai came along as well.

The three of them left the courtyard and turned left.

Once they were past the courtyard wall, they came to a patch of land. At its edge stood a very tall, large plum tree.

It was much taller and larger than the plum tree at Li You’s own home.

Li You was amazed. ”Sir, how old is this plum tree? How did it get so big?”

Lin Zhonghai chuckled. ”More than ten years. You really don’t see plum trees this big very often.”

Li You nodded.

The three of them gathered under the tree. It was laden with fruit, and nearly all the plums were perfectly ripe.

It was about time to harvest them all.

”Xiaoyou, pick some and have a taste,” Lin Zhonghai said. ”Oh, right, let me go back and get a bucket of water. You should wash the plums before you eat them.”

With that, he turned to leave.

Li You quickly stopped him. ”Sir, no need, really! Don’t go to all that trouble. They’re fine just like this. I’ll try one.”

As he spoke, Li You reached up, picked a plum, gave it a quick wipe with his hand, and took a bite.

The flavor was excellent, on par with the plums from his own tree.

After finishing the fruit, Li You said with praise, ”Xiaoxiao was right, your family’s plums are delicious too!”

Lin Xiao explained, ”Earlier at his place, Li You treated me to some plums from his tree. I told him then that our plums were just as good.”

Lin Zhonghai was delighted. ”In that case, Xiaoyou, you must eat more! And pick some to take home with you later.”

Li You said, ”Oh, there’s no need to take any back. My dad and I just finished harvesting all the plums from our own tree this morning.”

”The plums at your home are one thing, but these are from here,” Lin Zhonghai insisted. ”Look how many are on this tree—we can’t possibly eat them all. They aren’t that easy to sell, either. If you take some, you’ll be helping us out. Otherwise, they’ll probably just go bad. What a shame that would be.”

Lin Xiao chimed in, ”That’s right, Mr. Li You, please take some with you. They’ll just go to waste if you don’t.”

”Well...” Li You hesitated for a moment before nodding. ”In that case, thank you very much.”

Both Lin Zhonghai and Lin Xiao were delighted to hear his agreement and told him not to mention it.

Then, Lin Zhonghai added, ”Alright, let’s all pick some. We’ll choose the big ones and get a good amount.”

Li You quickly interjected, ”Not too many! Just a few will be plenty.”

’While it was true they might not be easy to sell, they could probably still sell them all eventually.’

’That’s why I can take a few, but I shouldn’t take too many.’

So, when the three of them had picked about ten pounds of plums, Li You repeatedly insisted that it was enough.

But Lin Zhonghai kept saying, ”How could this possibly be enough? Just a few more, just a few more.”

Bit by bit, they kept picking until the back-basket was nearly full. There had to be at least seventy or eighty pounds of plums.

Only then did Lin Zhonghai feel that this was a barely acceptable amount.

Li You could only thank him again and again.

Carrying the full back-basket, the three of them returned to the courtyard.

Lin Zhonghai found a sturdy sack in the house and transferred all the plums from the basket into it.

This way, when Li You left, he could just tie the sack to the back rack of his motorcycle.

Just then, Lin Guodong arrived, a back-basket strapped to his shoulders.

It was filled to the brim with potatoes, weighing at least a hundred pounds.

When Lin Zhonghai saw him, he was confused at first. ”Guodong, what’s all this?” he asked.

Lin Guodong grinned. ”I brought these for Xiaoyou to take home.”

He then explained how he had run into Li You in the village earlier.

Understanding dawned on Lin Zhonghai, and he remarked on how thoughtful Lin Guodong had been.

Li You, however, was stunned. ’He’s not planning on giving me this entire basket of potatoes, is he?’

’This is way too much.’

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