I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 299: Chapter 283: Are You Interested in Lu Cuisine?

Overjoyed, the customers all expressed their thanks to Li You.

Seeing the customers so happy made Li You very happy as well.

’In that case, I’ll make two more servings of Longjing Shrimp and let everyone have a taste.’

Soon, two servings of Longjing Shrimp were ready.

He brought them out of the kitchen, placed them on a table, and said to the customers, ”Everyone, come and have a taste. If you have any issues or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to tell me.”

The customers were excited and quickly gathered around, bowls and chopsticks in hand.

However, there was no jostling. They were orderly, each taking a shrimp in turn before starting to eat.

Once they took a bite, they were naturally full of praise. The shrimp was not only crisp, tender, and refreshing, but it also carried a hint of tea fragrance.

Everyone had eaten river shrimp before, but never had they tasted river shrimp this exquisite.

The magic of the dish itself, combined with the quality ingredients and Boss Li You’s unfathomable culinary skills, created a flavor that was simply unparalleled.

Every single person was moved and filled with emotion. They felt so lucky to be able to eat such a dish.

Soon, the two servings of Longjing Shrimp had been completely eaten by the customers.

The customers were all extremely satisfied, yet they still wanted more. They hadn’t had nearly enough.

They would have to come back tomorrow, order two servings, and eat to their hearts’ content.

The customers thanked him again before returning to their original tables.

Li You then walked over to the table where Guyi and Ling Xiaoru were sitting.

Now, it was time for a proper meal.

Guyi said, ”Boss, the atmosphere in your restaurant is fantastic. An atmosphere this good must be one of the reasons everyone loves eating here.”

Ling Xiaoru also said, ”I think so too. The boss is just too nice!”

Li You smiled. ”When you run a restaurant, this is the kind of atmosphere you want. Earning a little more or a little less isn’t actually that important.”

After hearing this, both Guyi and Ling Xiaoru agreed that he had put it well.

The three of them ate and drank.

The other customers in the restaurant who were drinking also came over one by one to offer a toast.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was truly wonderful!

After they finished their meal at a leisurely pace, the customers began to leave one after another.

Guyi left as well.

Soon, only Li You and Ling Xiaoru were left in the restaurant.

Although it was no longer bustling, the night for just the two of them had only just begun.

He closed the restaurant door and went upstairs.

Their world for two was as wonderful as ever.

...

「The next day.」

「Morning.」

After opening the shop, Li You officially added a new item to the menu:

”Longjing Shrimp: 88 yuan per serving.”

Ling Xiaoru got up, ate a bowl of Yangchun Noodles, and then headed back to town.

She had to go back to work today.

Not long after Ling Xiaoru left, Guyi arrived.

Li You smiled. ”Ancient, good morning! Beef noodle soup for breakfast today, right?”

Guyi nodded and smiled back. ”Good morning, Boss! A small bowl will be fine.”

”Alright.”

Then, Li You went into the kitchen, cooked a small bowl of beef noodle soup, and brought it to Guyi.

’Finally, I get to eat the beef noodle soup here again.’

Guyi was in a pleasant mood. After eating for a while, he said, ”By the way, Boss, besides Sichuan cuisine, you’ve also introduced dishes from Xiang and Zhejiang cuisines. Are you considering dishes from other culinary schools next?”

”Of course!” Li You said. ”Among the Eight Great Cuisines, there’s still Lu Cuisine, Huaiyang Cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Fujian cuisine, and Anhui cuisine. I’ll definitely introduce dishes from all of them. I might even consider some famous dishes from outside the Eight Great Cuisines.”

Guyi nodded. ”That’s great! I’ll be waiting for you to introduce the first dish from Lu Cuisine.”

’Lu Cuisine, huh?’

’That’s right,’ Li You suddenly remembered. ’Guyi seems to be from Lu Province.’

’No wonder he’s looking forward to a Lu Cuisine dish.’

Li You said, ”Ancient, I seem to recall you’re from Lu Province. Is that right?”

Guyi chuckled. ”Indeed. What do you think? Are you interested in our Lu Cuisine?”

Li You said, ”Of course I’m interested! Lu Cuisine has a long history and a rich variety of techniques; it’s a cuisine that truly showcases a chef’s skill. It’s also the only one of the Eight Great Cuisines that developed spontaneously, without influence from other cuisines. It has many representative dishes. It’s even said to be the foremost of the Eight Great Cuisines, and the leader of the Four Great Cuisines. So of course I’m very interested.”

Guyi’s eyes lit up, clearly pleased, but he also added with a hint of regret, ”It’s true that Lu Cuisine is called the foremost of the Eight and Four Great Cuisines. But these days, in terms of fame, it’s fallen a bit behind Sichuan cuisine. Sichuan cuisine is now known throughout the world, while Lu Cuisine is comparatively less famous.”

Li You said, ”That’s actually debatable. There are also rankings where Lu Cuisine is number one in fame, and Sichuan cuisine is number two.”

Guyi laughed heartily and said, ”It doesn’t matter who ranks first. I wonder, Boss, which dish from our Lu Cuisine are you most interested in introducing?”

Li You said, ”I’m still thinking about it. The main issue is that there are just too many classic and famous dishes in Lu Cuisine. For example, Nine-Turned Pork Intestines, Yipin Tofu, Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin, Sweet and Sour Carp, Braised Prawns, Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallions, Quick-Fried Double Crisps, Stir-fried Pork Kidney, Ba Zi Rou... there are so many, it’s hard to choose. I need to pick one dish, study it thoroughly, and only then can I add it to the menu.”

Guyi nodded. ”All the ones you mentioned are classics of Lu Cuisine. They’re all excellent dishes.”

Li You asked, ”Which dish is your favorite, Ancient?”

Guyi pondered for a moment. ”That’s hard to say. I like many of them very much. If I had to choose just one... it would probably be Nine-Turned Pork Intestines.”

”Nine-Turned Pork Intestines?” Li You nodded. He was somewhat familiar with the dish.

Guyi continued, ”Not everyone likes this dish. Some people don’t eat pork intestines. Firstly, they dislike the taste, and secondly, they think it’s unclean. So, while some people avoid it like the plague, others consider it one of their absolute favorites. I belong to the latter group.”

Li You smiled. ”That’s perfectly normal. It’s like Houttuynia cordata here in Chuansheng Province. Some people love it, while others classify it as one of the worst-tasting vegetables. Okra is another example. Some people love it, while others call it one of the most disgusting things to eat.”

Guyi nodded. ”That’s true.”

At this point, Guyi had finished the noodles in his bowl and had also drunk a good portion of the broth.

He put down his chopsticks, took a short break, and prepared to welcome the grand lunch to come.

...

At 11 AM, the customers who had made plans last night to have lunch with Guyi today all arrived early.

”Hahaha! Ancient, we’re here!”

”Ancient, when should we start ordering?”

”Boss, did you prepare a lot of ingredients for the Longjing Shrimp? We’d like to reserve ten servings right now.”

”...”

Among these customers were some who had tasted the Longjing Shrimp last night, and some who hadn’t been there and missed out.

But regardless of whether they had tried it or not, everyone was now clamoring to reserve ten servings.

After all, they were all splitting the bill to treat Guyi, so they didn’t have to feel the sting of spending the money as they would if they were eating alone.

Li You smiled. ”Don’t worry, there are plenty of ingredients. You can have as much as you want.”

”That’s a relief.”

The customers were relieved.

Then, they continued to chat and make small talk with Guyi.

After chatting for a while, they crowded around Guyi, walked into the restaurant, and started ordering.

Drinking and chatting while you ate was the only way to go.

...