I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 374: Chapter 339: Bring More Corn to Sell Tomorrow

The customers who had returned from catching crabs, including the man in the black T-shirt, all nodded slowly after hearing the explanation.

So that’s what it was.

That explained it. They’d had a feeling it wasn’t quite time for sweet corn yet.

But that was also precisely why this sweet corn was such a rare treat right now.

So, everyone started asking, ”Does that elderly gentleman have any more sweet corn at home? Will he bring more here to sell?”

”He will. He should be here in a little while. We didn’t get to buy enough earlier, so we asked the old man to go back and pick some more to sell,” said a customer who had bought some corn.

”That’s great! I have to buy some later. I’m getting to eat sweet corn for the first time this year much earlier than usual.”

”I want to buy some too.”

”If everyone’s buying, then I’ll get some as well.”

”...”

The man in the black T-shirt and the other customers who had returned from catching crabs all said they wanted to buy some.

Meanwhile, many people were still in the gorge and hadn’t come back yet, including Liu Xu, Wei Ping, Xiao Yue, and the others from the county town.

Once they returned, a lot of them would probably want to buy some too.

A lot of people love sweet corn.

Li You thought, ’Maybe I should call Li Donghai and have him bring a lot more?’

’Otherwise, it definitely won’t be enough to sell.’

Li Donghai had a senior-friendly cell phone. Although Li You didn’t have his number, he could get it just by making a quick call.

’I’ll make the call.’

So, after getting Li Donghai’s phone number, Li You called him and asked him to pick more corn and bring it over—at least a hundred and fifty cobs.

Li Donghai was thrilled to hear this and readily agreed, thanking Li You profusely.

Li You told Li Donghai not to mention it.

...

「In the gorge.」

Liu Xu, Wei Ping, He Yang, Xiao Yue, Zhang Rui’Er, and the others had all managed a decent catch.

Liu Xu and He Yang had each caught around twenty crabs, while Wei Ping’s family had caught over thirty.

Xiao Yue, Zhang Rui’Er, and Ning Wan, the group of girls, had also caught over twenty crabs together.

They had caught them together, and they planned to cook and eat them together when they got back.

Eating together would be much more lively and fun than eating alone.

It was 4:30 PM; it was about time to head back.

Many of the people catching crabs in the gorge had already left.

The group put on their shoes and socks, picked up their respective catches, and started walking back.

Chatting and laughing along the way, they slowly made their way back to the restaurant.

Upon seeing Li You, Liu Xu laughed heartily. ”Boss, we’re back! Check out our haul.”

As he spoke, he showed Li You the crabs in his bag.

Wei Ping, He Yang, Xiao Yue, and the others did the same.

Li You looked at each of their catches. Everyone had done well. They would all have enough for a stir-fried dish when they got home.

He then smiled and chatted with the group for a while.

During this time, He Yang gave the crabs he had caught to Xiao Yue, Zhang Rui’Er, and the other girls.

The girls were delighted and thanked him repeatedly.

A little later, a customer said to Li You, ”Boss, Elder Donghai is here. He’s on a three-wheeler and just entered the parking lot. How about we go over there to buy? That way, he won’t have to carry the corn over. What do you think?”

Li You nodded. ”Sure! Of course, you can.”

Liu Xu, Wei Ping, He Yang, Xiao Yue, and the others looked completely lost and all asked, ”Go over there to buy what?”

Li You smiled. ”Cobs of sweet corn. Grandpa Donghai is here to sell sweet corn...”

He then briefly explained how Li Donghai had come by to sell sweet corn earlier but didn’t have enough, so he had gone back to pick more.

The eyes of Liu Xu, Wei Ping, He Yang, Xiao Yue, and the others all lit up.

Cobs of sweet corn, what a treat!

They hadn’t expected to find sweet corn for sale so early in the season.

Xiao Yue said joyfully, ”Boss, I love boiled sweet corn. I’m going to go buy some too.”

Liu Xu also said, ”I’m buying some too. I can’t believe we can eat sweet corn this early in the year.”

Wei Ping’s two children also said they wanted to buy some.

Even He Yang said he wanted to buy a couple. Although he was staying in a hotel and couldn’t cook for himself, he figured there had to be a way to boil two cobs of corn.

He couldn’t cook the crabs, so he had to give them up. But he wasn’t going to miss out on the corn.

In addition, many others like Xie Yunfei and Zhang Rui’Er also said they wanted to buy some.

Li You was delighted. ’I was right. Liu Xu, Xiao Yue, Wei Ping, He Yang, and the others are all interested in the sweet corn.’

’So many people love sweet corn.’

’This is great!’

Then he said, ”In that case, let’s all go over together. Oh, right, the price is five yuan a cob.”

”Five yuan a cob? No problem. Sweet corn is a rarity at this time of year, so five yuan a cob is a really good price,” said Liu Xu, Xiao Yue, Wei Ping, He Yang, and the others.

And so, a large crowd of people headed toward the parking lot together.

...

「In the parking lot.」

Li Donghai parked his three-wheeler.

The cargo bed of the three-wheeler was full of corn, more than a hundred and fifty cobs.

Li You had called and asked him to prepare at least a hundred and fifty. This made him incredibly happy.

If all one hundred and fifty of them really sold, that would be 750 yuan in income.

Adding the fifty he had sold earlier, his total income for the day would be a full 1,000 yuan.

He was so happy he could wake up laughing in his sleep.

’I need to hurry up and use the back basket to carry the corn to the restaurant entrance.’

’With over a hundred and fifty cobs, it’ll take two trips.’

Just as Li Donghai was about to load the corn into his back basket, he saw a large crowd of people walking toward him.

’Why are there so many people?’

’There weren’t nearly this many people when I came earlier!’

’Are there really that many people visiting the gorge?’

Obviously, these extra people were the ones who had been in the gorge and had now returned.

It was just that Li Donghai hadn’t expected so many people to be visiting the gorge.

’It seems this place is much more popular than I imagined.’

Li Donghai was surprised, but also very happy. He was happy for Li You. With so many people, Li You’s business must be doing extremely well.

’But what are all these people coming over here for? Could they be here to buy corn?’

The thought had just crossed Li Donghai’s mind when he heard a voice call out, ”Old sir, you don’t need to carry the corn over. We’ll come to you to buy it.”

’They really are here to buy corn.’

Li Donghai was overjoyed. After the crowd drew near, he said repeatedly, ”Thank you, thank you all!”

Liu Xu, Xiao Yue, Wei Ping, He Yang, and the others all saw the corn in the cargo bed.

In an instant, they grew even more delighted.

’This corn is huge! Five yuan for a cob this big? This is an amazing deal!’

”Sir, I’d like two. I’ll just grab them myself! I’ll pay you right away.” That was Xiao Yue’s voice.

”I’ll take four. Here’s the money, sir.” That was Liu Xu’s voice.

Wei Ping, He Yang, Xie Yunfei, and the others also chimed in, saying they wanted to buy some too.

’I have to buy them quickly.’

’Otherwise, I might not get any.’

’This truckload of corn doesn’t look like that much. With so many people wanting to buy, I’m afraid there won’t be enough to go around.’

’So, you have to be quick.’

Everyone else realized this too and quickly made their move.

The hundred and fifty-plus cobs of corn were quickly snatched up.

Many people were still left empty-handed.

Li You clicked his tongue. ’I was too conservative.’

’I should have asked Li Donghai to prepare two hundred.’

Li Donghai was indescribably happy at this moment. He was collecting cash, and for a moment, it felt like he couldn’t take the money fast enough. People were handing him money from all directions.

This was the first time he had ever experienced business being this good.

’When I get back to the village, I have to show off a little.’

”Sir, this still isn’t enough corn! How about you go back and pick some more?” said the customers who hadn’t been able to buy any.

”Well...”

Li Donghai hesitated. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to make more money. It was that there wasn’t enough time. It was already 5:30 PM. It was a bit too late to make another trip.

After all, going back and picking the corn fresh from the field was quite time-consuming.

At that moment, Li You spoke up, ”It’s getting late. Grandpa Donghai won’t be going back to pick more to sell for today.”

Li Donghai seized the opportunity and added, ”There really isn’t enough time now.”

”That’s true.” The customers who hadn’t gotten any corn all nodded. They hadn’t considered the time.

Since that was the case, there was nothing to be done.

Li You smiled and added, ”How about tomorrow? Grandpa Donghai, why don’t you pick some more corn to sell here tomorrow? You don’t have to go to the town market anymore. Just bring it here to sell directly.”

Li Donghai nodded repeatedly. ”Okay, okay! Then I’ll pick more and bring it here to sell tomorrow.”

The eyes of all the customers who missed out lit up. That would be perfect!

”Then I’ll be heading back now. Xiaoyou, and all of you, thank you!” Li Donghai said gratefully.

The customers all told Li Donghai not to mention it, saying they were also very happy to be able to buy such good sweet corn.

”Sir, if anything, we should be thanking you. Thank you for growing such early corn so we can enjoy sweet corn at this time of year,” another customer added.

Li Donghai was delighted to hear this and laughed heartily. ”Not at all, not at all. I should be the one thanking you.”

After that, Li Donghai got on his three-wheeler and slowly drove out of the parking lot amidst a chorus of ”Goodbye” and ”Drive safely.”

The customers then put the corn, or their crabs, into their own vehicles.

Cars, motorcycles, or electric scooters.

It was the same for Liu Xu, Wei Ping, He Yang, Xiao Yue, and the others.

They had all managed to snag some corn and were very happy.

After stowing the corn and crabs away safely, everyone headed back toward the restaurant.

Naturally, they all planned to have dinner before leaving.

Back at the restaurant, they started ordering food and eating.

Li You went into the kitchen and began a new round of work.

Liu Xu, He Yang, Wei Ping, Xiao Yue, and the others also began their meal.

He Yang was once again overcome with excitement.

After slowly finishing their meal, the group went to say their goodbyes to Li You.

He Yang said, ”Boss, I’ll be waiting for you in Chang’an. When you go to Chang’an, you have to let me know. I’ll treat you to our Chang’an specialties like roujiamo, liangpi, Qishan noodles, oil-splashed chili noodles, and more. And I’ll take you to the Great Tang All Day Mall.”

Li You smiled. ”Sounds great! I’ll definitely take you up on that when the time comes.”

He Yang said, ”Then it’s a deal.”

Li You nodded. ”Deal!”

And with that, the group took their leave.

...