I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 370: Chapter 336: A New Guest From Shan Province (2)

”Then let’s have it again tomorrow.”

”No problem.”

...

「The next morning.」

After breakfast, Ling Xiaoru and Chu Yiwei headed back to town together.

They had spent all of yesterday having fun here, so today it was time to get back to their own business.

After finishing his chores in the kitchen, Li You sat on the rocking chair by the door, scrolling through his phone.

As he was relaxing, a large group of people approached from the parking lot. It was Liu Xu, Xiao Yue, Zhang Rui’Er, and the others from Changxi County, along with Wei Ping’s family.

They were here again.

Li You was delighted to see them. These people were some of his restaurant’s very first customers.

Especially Wei Ping. He was the very first customer the restaurant ever had.

Li You still remembered the day Wei Ping first came to the restaurant as if it were yesterday.

They were more than just customers; they were old friends.

Seeing them always made Li You happy.

He stood up and walked over to greet them.

Liu Xu, Xiao Yue, Zhang Rui’Er, Wei Ping, and the rest of the group stopped by the fish pond.

They hadn’t been here for a week, and now there was a huge fish pond.

The pond was massive, and the rockery in the middle was beautiful.

’It must have just been built,’ they thought. ’It probably needs to cure for a few days before it can be filled.’

Once it was filled with water and stocked with fish, it would surely be even more beautiful and full of life.

They had to admit, building a fish pond here was an excellent idea.

This pond was a great addition!

Seeing Li You approach, Liu Xu smiled and said, ”Boss, we’ve only been gone a week, and you’ve already added such a big fish pond.”

Li You laughed. ”You’ve got to move fast. What do you all think of having a fish pond here?”

”It’s fantastic! With this pond, the whole place will feel even more alive.”

”This spot is perfect for a fish pond, absolutely perfect!”

”...”

Everyone voiced their approval.

Li You let out a hearty laugh, overjoyed.

”Oh, by the way, Boss,” Liu Xu added, ”we have a new guest today. Let me make an introduction.”

At this, Liu Xu gestured to a young man around thirty years old and continued, ”This is He Yang, from Shan Province. He works in Chang’an City and is here in Changxi County on a business trip for a few days. He has some business dealings with our company.”

”Yesterday, he asked us what good food there was in Changxi County. I told him I was going to a restaurant today, but it was a bit far. I asked if he wanted to come along, and he said yes. So, we all came together.”

After the introduction, he turned to He Yang. ”This is the Boss Li You I was telling you about. In all of Changxi County, Boss Li You’s food is the best.”

Li You was, of course, delighted to have a new customer. He said to He Yang, ”Mr. He, a warm welcome to you! My place is a bit remote. It must have been a long trip for you.”

He Yang smiled faintly. ”To be honest, it is quite far. When Liu Xu told me it was ’a bit far’ yesterday, I figured it would be somewhere on the outskirts of town at most. I never imagined it would be a two-hour drive. But since it’s so far and so many people are willing to come all this way to eat, it must mean your food is truly exceptional, Boss. I’m really looking forward to it!”

Li You smiled. ”I don’t think you’ll be disappointed, Mr. He. That is, if you’re accustomed to our local cuisine.”

”Oh, I’m used to it, I’m used to it,” He Yang said quickly. ”I’m fine with both northern and southern food. In fact, I really like Sichuan cuisine. There are Sichuan restaurants in Chang’an City, and I go there often.”

Li You nodded. ”Then there shouldn’t be any problem. Actually, the food from your home, Shan Province, is excellent too. You’ve taken noodles, cold-skin noodles, and even potatoes and found countless creative ways to prepare and eat them. Not to mention dishes like gourd chicken, milky soup pot fish, and meatball spicy soup—all very distinctive specialties.”

He Yang was very pleased to hear Li You say this.

Who doesn’t like hearing their hometown’s cuisine praised?

He Yang laughed heartily and said, ”I never expected you to be so knowledgeable about the food in Shan Province, Boss Li You. If you ever visit Shan Province, you must let me know. I’ll treat you to our local specialties.”

”Sounds great!” Li You replied. ”I’ve actually been wanting to take a trip to Shan Province for a while now. I’d love to see the stunning Qin Shi Huang’s Terracotta Warriors and experience the romance of the Great Tang All Day Mall. And then climb to the summit of Huashan to see the place where the Five Greats duelled over their swords.”

He Yang was even more delighted, saying repeatedly, ”Excellent, excellent. Shan Province welcomes you, Boss Li You.”

The two of them hit it off right away. The others also joined in the conversation.

”I’ve actually always wanted to see the Great Tang All Day Mall, too. The videos I’ve seen online look absolutely beautiful!”

”Me too. Why don’t we organize a group trip sometime?”

”Yeah! Let’s do it. It’s not too far from here, either.”

”I only knew that Shan Province was famous for its noodles and cold-skin noodles. Are their potatoes famous too?”

”They are. They have so many ways of eating potatoes there. Besides the more common vegetable-style preparations like potato starch noodles, shredded potatoes, potato chunks, and potato strips, they also have dishes like grated potato hash, potato slice buns, potato mochi, and thick potato soup. We’ve never even heard of most of these preparations.”

”I’ve definitely never heard of a lot of those. ’Grated potato hash,’ for example? What is that? What a weird name. Even though I know it’s just potatoes, calling it that still sounds odd.”

”It’s made by cutting potatoes into slightly thick shreds, then mixing them with dry flour so that each shred is evenly coated. Then they’re steamed. Once cooked, they have a golden-brown color and a faint, oily sheen. When you take a bite, it has the texture and chewiness of french fries, but with the savory flavor of minced meat and red peppers. The mouthfeel is excellent.”

”Really? I’ve never had it. I’ll definitely have to try it if I get the chance.”

”You should. Shan Province has a lot of good food.”

”That’s for sure. Every place has its own local specialties.”

”Indeed.”

”...”

After the lively discussion, the group slowly made their way to the front of the restaurant.

Seeing the arcade machines in the gaming area, Liu Xu’s eyes lit up. He turned to He Yang and asked, ”He Yang, have you ever played arcade games?”

He Yang’s eyes lit up as well. ”They even have arcade cabinets here? Of course I have! I loved them when I was a kid.”

Liu Xu added, ”Do you play *The King of Fighters ’97*? Come on, let’s play a round.”

He Yang replied, ”I prefer *The King of Fighters ’98*.”

Liu Xu said, ”’98 works too. Let’s play ’98 then.”

He Yang nodded. ”Alright.”

The two of them started a match on one of the machines.

The other three machines were quickly occupied as well.

At that moment, Wei Ping said to Li You, ”By the way, Boss, I saw in Liu Xu’s food group that someone mentioned you’re working on a new dish featuring pig offal. Are you planning to release a dish with offal as the main ingredient? Is that true?”

Li You nodded. ”That’s right. Do you enjoy eating offal, Master Wei?”

Wei Ping replied, ”I do. I especially like stir-fried pork intestines. What kind of offal dish are you planning to release, Boss? Have you decided yet?”

Li You said, ”I have. It’s a traditional, famous dish from Lu Cuisine called Nine-Turned Pork Intestines.”

”Nine-Turned Pork Intestines?” Wei Ping shook his head. ”I’ve never heard of it. But since it’s a famous traditional dish from Lu Cuisine, it must be delicious. And since you’re the one making it, Boss, it’s guaranteed to be incredible.”

”I know Nine-Turned Pork Intestines,” said Xie Yunfei, who often came with Liu Xu. ”I had it once on a trip to Lu Province. It’s really good. But if the boss makes it, it’ll definitely be on another level.”

Li You chuckled. ”Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I haven’t even officially launched it yet.”

”So when are you planning to launch it, Boss?” Xie Yunfei asked.

Li You replied, ”Sometime in the next few days.”

Hearing this, both Xie Yunfei and Wei Ping said, ”Does that mean we should be able to try it when we come back next weekend?”

Li You replied, ”Barring any surprises, that should be no problem.”

Xie Yunfei, Wei Ping, and several others in the group all expressed their anticipation.

Of course, everyone else had overheard the conversation between Li You, Xie Yunfei, and Wei Ping.

Among those who were excited, there were some who didn’t normally like pork intestines.

But if it was pork intestines made by Li You, they might just end up loving it.

And so, they were looking forward to it as well!

...