I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 286: Chapter 270: Starting with Planting Soursop

After chatting for a while longer about birds, Ye Shengge said, ”Boss, is that fermented glutinous rice we made last time ready to eat?”

Li You said, ”It should be about ready. Let’s go take a look.”

”Okay.”

The three of them went back into the shop. Li You brought out the jar of fermented glutinous rice and lifted the lid.

A mellow, fragrant aroma of fermented glutinous rice quickly filled the air.

Ye Shengge and Ling Xiaoru were both delighted. ’It should be ready to eat, right?’

Looking into the jar, they saw that the original glutinous rice had completely transformed into fermented rice. It was snow-white, looking beautiful and tempting.

”Boss, is it ready to eat now?” Ye Shengge asked impatiently.

Li You nodded. ”I’ll go get three bowls. We can all have a taste.”

”Okay.”

Li You went to the kitchen and came back with three bowls and three spoons.

Each of them scooped half a bowl.

They took a taste.

’It tastes pretty good. About the same as the last batch I made.’

Ye Shengge and Ling Xiaoru were even more pleasantly surprised.

Ye Shengge said, ”This is delicious! It’s so much better than the canned stuff they sell at the market. This is my first time having fermented glutinous rice that’s this good. It seems you really have to make it yourself.”

Ling Xiaoru also said, ”This is my first time having such delicious fermented rice, too. It’s just as good as the last batch you made, right, Boss?”

Last time, Ye Shengge and Ling Xiaoru had only eaten it in a dish with poached eggs, not plain.

That was why they said this was their first time having such delicious fermented rice on its own.

Li You nodded. ”Yeah, it’s about the same.”

Ye Shengge added, ”Boss, I want to have this with a poached egg for breakfast tomorrow.”

Ling Xiaoru said, ”Me too, Boss.”

Li You smiled. ”No problem.”

The three continued to eat the fermented rice. After finishing their bowls, they each scooped some more.

After they finished eating again, Ling Xiaoru said her goodbyes and left.

She had to get back to work. She would come back again tonight.

Ye Shengge went upstairs. In two more days, she would be leaving as well.

’Even though I love it here, I can’t stay forever, can I?’

Li You went outside the shop, leaned back in his rocking chair, and listened to the birdsong as he waited for the next customer to arrive.

A short while later, Chu Yiwei arrived at the parking lot on an electric scooter.

She was alone today.

Li You’s eyes lit up. Seeing Chu Yiwei always put him in a good mood.

Chu Yiwei’s beauty was on par with Ling Xiaoru’s; she was stunning.

Beautiful women always put one in a good mood.

Her only slight imperfection was that her thighs were a little too slender, making them a tad less alluring than Ling Xiaoru’s.

Of course, compared to most other women, they were already perfect.

In Li You’s opinion, the only ones more alluring than Chu Yiwei were Ye Shengge, Xia Xiaoyue, Mu Qingye, and Ling Xiaoru.

’Speaking of which, it’s been a while since Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye came by.’

They had both been busy with their studies lately.

Although they hadn’t come to the shop, they always chatted with Li You on WeChat.

So, Li You was well aware of how they were doing.

After parking her electric scooter, Chu Yiwei took a bag from it and walked over, carrying it in her hand.

’I wonder what’s in the bag?’

When Chu Yiwei got closer, Li You stood up to greet her. ”Teacher Chu, you’re by yourself today!”

Chu Yiwei usually came with Lin Xin. It was rare for her to come alone.

Chu Yiwei nodded. ”I’m alone today. Boss, I brought you a couple of fruits. A classmate of mine from Zhejiang Province brought them for me.”

’Fruit?’

’So that’s what was in the bag. Fruit.’

’But what kind? For her to make a special trip to bring it over...’ Li You was a little curious.

Just then, Chu Yiwei handed him the bag. Li You took it, opened it, and his eyes instantly lit up.

Chu Yiwei said, ”This fruit is pretty rare around here, so I brought a couple for you.”

Li You smiled. ”It’s not just ’pretty rare,’ it’s ’very rare.’ You’re too thoughtful, Teacher Chu.”

It was soursop!

It was also known as Buddha’s head fruit, sugar-apple, custard apple, or sweetsop.

It got its name because it looks a bit like a Buddha’s head, and also a bit like an oversized lychee.

It’s an aggregate fruit, spherical or heart-shaped and conical, with a diameter of over ten centimeters. The skin is yellowish-green.

The fruit’s most distinct characteristic is its sweetness. It’s incredibly sweet.

It’s hailed as the sweetest fruit in the world.

It’s also a famous tropical fruit. It only grows in coastal regions and isn’t found here in Chuansheng Province.

Here in Chuansheng Province, many people have never seen it, heard of it, or, needless to say, tasted it.

You can hardly even find it for sale in the markets.

At least, Li You had never seen it in any market within Chuansheng Province.

So, it was indeed very rare.

The reason Li You recognized it was because he had traveled to the coastal areas before and had eaten it there.

The taste was extremely sweet, like eating pure honey. It was delicious, but eating too much could be cloying.

However, it was wonderful if you only ate a little at a time.

The fruit is high in fiber, which can effectively promote intestinal peristalsis and help clear out accumulated waste in the colon.

At the same time, it’s also an excellent antioxidant-rich fruit, capable of effectively slowing skin aging, whitening the skin, and more.

All in all, it was a fantastic fruit.

He hadn’t eaten this fruit in several years. He never expected Chu Yiwei to bring him two today.

Li You was overjoyed and thanked Chu Yiwei repeatedly.

Chu Yiwei told him not to be so polite, saying it was just a couple of fruits. Then she added, ”Boss, have you thought about trying to grow this fruit in your Hundred Fruit Garden? If you succeed, it’ll surely be a bigger draw than your other fruits. After all, it’s pretty rare around here.”

Li You’s eyes lit up again. ”That’s an idea. I think I could give it a try. But it’s a tropical fruit, so the chances of it growing successfully here probably aren’t high.”

Chu Yiwei said, ”If anyone else tried to grow it, the chances would definitely be slim. But if you’re the one growing it, Boss, I think the chances are much higher.”

”Oh?” Li You chuckled. ”You have that much faith in me, Teacher Chu?”

Chu Yiwei smiled back and said, ”I do! Look at all the vegetables, fruit trees, and wild fruits you’ve grown—they all grow so well. I just get the feeling that anything you plant always grows exceptionally well. Besides, I heard they’re already growing Soursop in Yunnan Province. If they can do it there, we should be able to do it here too.”

”They’re already growing it in Yunnan Province?” Li You was a bit surprised.

Chu Yiwei nodded. ”I specifically looked up some information about Soursop before, and I saw that they have it in Yunnan Province. But is that really true? I can’t say for sure.”

Li You said, ”If it’s in the research materials, it’s probably true. In that case, I’ll give it a try. The next step is to find a way to get a couple of saplings.”

Chu Yiwei nodded, showing that she was very much looking forward to it!

In truth, Li You was quite confident about growing the Soursop. It wasn’t because Chu Yiwei mentioned they were growing it in Yunnan Province, but because he had the fruit tree fertilizer rewarded by his system.

’A fertilizer from the system is bound to have effects that defy common sense. Successfully growing a Soursop Tree shouldn’t be a problem.’

In fact, Li You had always wanted to try growing fruit trees that weren’t originally suited for the local climate.

That way, the Hundred Fruit Garden would be more charming and appealing to his customers, and there would be more to see.

After all, if the Hundred Fruit Garden was only filled with common local fruits, people’s interest would surely wane.

Therefore, planting more rare fruits not found locally was the top priority.

’Alright, let’s start with the Soursop.’

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