I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 372: Chapter 337: Can I Set Up a Stall in Front of Your Store?

”Catching mountain crabs? Let’s go, too. I used to think mountain crabs had hard shells and little meat, so they weren’t worth eating. But now the boss says they’re delicious if you cook them right. Let’s catch some, then ask the boss for his recipe. We can make them when we get home.”

”I’m down for that. Let’s go, let’s go.”

”Let’s go.”

”...”

To Liu Xu, He Yang, Wei Ping, and the others, the meaning of this conversation was perfectly clear. The boss had gone to the gorge yesterday with Ling Xiaoru and Chu Yiwei to catch mountain crabs to eat.

Liu Xu, Wei Ping, Xiao Yue, and the others all knew there were lots of mountain crabs in the gorge.

Wei Ping’s two children had even gone to the gorge to catch crabs for fun many times. They would even bring a few back to play with.

But none of them had ever thought about catching a bunch to take home and eat.

They, too, believed that those crabs had hard shells and little meat, making them basically not worth the effort to eat.

When it came to crabs, only mitten crabs were truly delicious.

But now, it seemed their previous assumption was wrong.

”Hey, should we also go ask the boss for his mountain crab recipe? If we can make it at home ourselves, we could go catch some to eat. What do you think?” Liu Xu said.

”Yeah!” Wei Ping, Xiao Yue, Xie Yunfei, and the others all agreed.

Wei Ping’s two children were even more excited, because this meant they could go play and catch crabs in the gorge again.

The group went to find Li You.

Liu Xu said, ”Boss, we heard you went to the gorge with Miss Xiaoru and Miss Chu yesterday to catch a bunch of mountain crabs to eat. Is that true?”

Li You nodded. ”That’s right.”

Liu Xu asked again, ”So how do you cook the mountain crabs to make them delicious? Could you tell us, Boss?”

Li You smiled. ”Of course! The recipe isn’t complicated. You can make it yourselves at home. First...”

Li You explained the recipe for spicy mountain crabs in great detail.

After listening, Liu Xu, Wei Ping, Xiao Yue, and the others realized it really didn’t sound complicated. They could definitely make it at home.

Everyone got excited.

If that was the case, they were definitely going to the gorge to catch crabs. It was fun and interesting, and they’d get a delicious meal out of it. It couldn’t get any better than that.

Even He Yang looked eager to go.

Although he was in Changxi County on business and couldn’t cook for himself, that didn’t matter. He could just give the crabs he caught to Liu Xu, Wei Ping, and the others.

’Come to think of it, he’d only ever caught crabs when he was very young. He hadn’t done it since.’

’He never thought he’d get the chance to go crabbing again today.’

’Interesting.’

”Let’s get going,” He Yang urged.

Liu Xu, Wei Ping, and the others laughed. ”Alright, let’s go.”

The group got some bags for the crabs from Li You, then set off in a great, boisterous procession.

The scenery along the way was picturesque, with birds singing and flowers filling the air with their fragrance, leaving He Yang completely mesmerized.

When they reached the gorge, they could see from a distance that there were already quite a few people in the shallows, flipping over rocks to catch crabs.

Liu Xu said, ”Looks like the boss eating those mountain crabs got everyone excited about catching and eating them too.”

Wei Ping said, ”Look how enthusiastic everyone is. It seems everyone’s still a kid at heart.”

Liu Xu smiled. ”That’s true. Come on, let’s get in there.”

”Alright, let’s do it.”

...

Many of the customers went to the gorge to catch crabs, but some remained behind, playing games or wandering through the various gardens.

In front of the vegetable garden, a customer said to Li You, ”Boss, your tomatoes are ready for a harvest. A lot of them are perfectly ripe.”

Li You nodded. ”I’ve been picking them for the past few days. The tomatoes are ripening fast. By the way, want to eat a fresh one? If you do, feel free to pick one.”

The customer laughed. ”To be honest, that’s exactly what I was waiting to hear from you, Boss. These tomatoes are so perfectly red, they look delicious. They’re so tempting!”

Li You smiled. ”Go ahead and pick one. Don’t be polite.”

The customer thanked him profusely, then walked into the vegetable garden and picked a tomato.

Without even washing it, he popped it in his mouth and took a bite.

After finishing it, he said excitedly, ”Boss, this is incredible. I’ve never eaten a tomato this good.”

Li You said, ”The taste of these tomatoes is pretty good, I’ll admit.”

As he spoke, he walked over, picked a tomato for himself, and started eating.

These were top-grade tomatoes, and their flavor was indeed outstanding.

After another bite, the customer said, ”What do you mean ’pretty good’? These are super delicious, okay? Boss, how on earth did you grow these tomatoes?”

Li You said, ”Just the normal way! The seeds are probably good, and the soil conditions are good too. That must be why they’re so delicious.”

Li You wasn’t wrong. The seeds were a reward from the system, so of course they were excellent.

As for the soil, even though the land had been newly cleared, its condition was genuinely excellent.

The customer gave him a thumbs-up. He could only say one word.

”Awesome!”

Li You smiled faintly and continued eating his tomato. As he was eating, he saw a villager named Li Donghai walking over from the direction of the parking lot.

’I wonder if he needs something?’

Li You finished his tomato in a few bites, then told the customer he had to step away for a moment.

The customer nodded repeatedly. ”Go on, Boss. Go take care of your business.”

Li You apologized, then walked toward Li Donghai.

When he got closer, he said, ”Grandpa Donghai, are you looking for me?”

Li Donghai was in his sixties and was two generations older than Li You.

Li Donghai said with a smile, ”Xiaoyou, I was hoping to ask you for a little favor, if that’s alright. You see, the corn in one of my fields is ready, the tender cobs are perfect for eating. I picked some this morning to sell in town, but I didn’t sell them all and still have about twenty left. I was planning to wait for the next market day, the day after tomorrow, to sell the rest. But fresh corn on the cob can’t sit for too long; it won’t be fresh by then. That’s when I thought of your place. I was wondering if I could set up a little stall here and see if any of your customers are interested? Would that be okay?”

’So that’s what this is about.’

Li You smiled. ”Of course! Of course you can. Grandpa Donghai, there’s plenty of space in front of my shop. You can set up anywhere you like. Grandpa Donghai, is your corn really ready to eat already?”

Li You loved eating fresh corn on the cob. He had also planted corn at his own home.

But it wasn’t ready to eat yet.

Just yesterday, when he was on the phone with his mom, Li You had asked if their corn at home was ready.

His mom said they still had to wait at least another half a month.

He hadn’t expected Li Donghai’s corn to be ready already.

Li Donghai said, ”The crop from one patch is ready. I planted that patch with an early-season variety on purpose. It’s specifically for selling as fresh cobs. The earlier they are, the easier they sell, and for a good price, too. But they didn’t sell as well as I’d hoped today.”

Li You smiled. ”Don’t worry about it. Just set up your stall here and keep selling. I’m sure they’ll sell out. Where are the cobs? You didn’t bring them with you?”

Li Donghai said, ”I did. They’re on my tricycle.”

Li Donghai had a small electric tricycle. Li You knew this.

These days, electric tricycles were indeed an excellent mode of transportation for the slightly older folks in the village.

Li You said, ”Then I’ll go get them for you.”

Li Donghai said, ”Xiaoyou, I can get them myself. They’re not heavy.”

Li You said, ”It’s no trouble, Grandpa Donghai. I’ll go.”

Saying this, he strode quickly toward the parking lot.

Once in the parking lot, he quickly spotted Li Donghai’s tricycle. A large back-basket was sitting in the cargo bed.

The fresh corn cobs were obviously inside the basket.

Li You walked over and lifted the basket down.

He glanced into the basket and saw the cobs still had their husks and silk on. They were all large and long.

’This corn looks excellent!’

’Grandpa Donghai is a master at growing corn.’

Just then, Li Donghai walked over as well.

Li You said, ”Grandpa Donghai, you’ve grown this corn incredibly well. Amazing!”

His face beaming with a smile, Li Donghai said, ”They’re not that great. Just decent, I’d say.”

Li You added, ”You’re being too modest, Grandpa Donghai.”

Then he shouldered the back-basket and walked back to the front of the shop with Li Donghai.

”Boss, what’d you go and bring back on your shoulder?”

The customers in front of the shop all asked, including the one who had just been eating the tomato.

Li You smiled. ”Something good, of course.”

...