I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 375: Chapter 340: I’ll Pack Some Dishes to Take Home

Li You returned to the kitchen to get back to work.

At 7:00 PM, Ling Xiaoru and Chu Yiwei arrived together.

They were having spicy mountain crabs again tonight, so Li You had invited Chu Yiwei to join them for dinner.

Chu Yiwei accepted.

Li You took out two freshly boiled cobs of sweet corn, handed one to Ling Xiaoru and the other to Chu Yiwei, and said, ”Here, have one of these first.”

Both Ling Xiaoru and Chu Yiwei were surprised and amazed. ”Sweet corn? Is sweet corn already in season?”

”It is, but it’s still very rare,” Li You said. ”Grandpa Donghai from the village came by to sell some today, and he gave me four...”

Li You briefly explained how Li Donghai had come by to sell corn that afternoon.

Ling Xiaoru and Chu Yiwei understood. Then they both said, ”Thank Grandpa Donghai for the corn. And of course, thank you too, Boss.”

The two then added that they loved boiled sweet corn and hadn’t expected to eat it so early in the year.

They were overjoyed!

Seeing them so happy made Li You happy too. He took out two teacups, poured them some of the water the corn and its silk had just been boiled in, and handed them the cups. ”Here, have some of this to drink, too.”

”What’s this?” they both asked.

”Dragon Beard Tea! It’s good stuff!” Li You said.

”Oh, I know what this is,” they both said. ”It’s the water from boiling the corn.”

The water from boiled corn has a distinct quality. Anyone who’s ever boiled corn themselves would probably recognize it.

”Boss, why are you having us drink this?”

”This is water boiled with the corn silk. It’s very good for your health.”

”Really?”

”Of course. Corn silk is also called ’dragon beard,’ and it’s a real treasure.”

”Alright then.”

Neither of them refused. The water from boiled corn wasn’t unpleasant. ’If the boss says it’s healthy, then we’ll drink it.’

Then, the two of them took their corn and Dragon Beard Tea and went upstairs.

They went upstairs to eat, drink, and watch TV.

Li You picked up a cob of sweet corn for himself and started eating.

’This corn really is delicious. The aroma is so rich.’

’It’s hard to find corn this good in the city.’

After slowly finishing the corn, Li You also drank a cup of Dragon Beard Tea.

’It has a light, sweet flavor. Not bad at all.’

Time slowly passed. By 9:00 PM, the last group of customers had finished their meals and left.

Li You had already prepared their own dinner. In addition to the spicy mountain crabs, there was stir-fried bitter melon, crucian carp with patchouli, and a tomato and egg soup.

He closed up the shop. It was time to eat.

After they brought all the food upstairs, Ling Xiaoru said, ”Boss, that corn was amazing. Is Grandpa Donghai coming back to sell more tomorrow? If he is, I want to buy some.”

Li You said, ”He is. When he left this afternoon, he said he would come back to sell more tomorrow.”

”That’s great!” Ling Xiaoru was delighted. ”In that case, if I’m not here when Grandpa Donghai arrives tomorrow, could you buy some for me? Get ten. I’ll transfer you the money.”

”What are you buying so many for?” Li You asked.

”To eat! Ten isn’t that many!”

”Alright.”

Then, they began to eat. With spicy mountain crabs on the menu again, both Ling Xiaoru and Chu Yiwei were ecstatic.

...

「The next day.」

At 7:00 AM, not long after Li You woke up, Chu Yiwei got up as well.

It was Monday, so she had classes.

After they washed up, Li You cooked a small bowl of Yangchun Noodles. Chu Yiwei finished her meal, paid, and then said her goodbyes before heading back to school.

At 9:00 AM, Ling Xiaoru came downstairs, glanced out the door, and asked, ”Hasn’t Grandpa Donghai arrived yet?”

”It’s probably still too early,” Li You said.

Ling Xiaoru said, ”Well, could you buy them for me later then? I’ll transfer you the money. It’s 50 yuan, right?”

Li You nodded.

Ling Xiaoru took out her phone to make the transfer. ”And a small bowl of Yangchun Noodles this morning, so that’s 59 yuan in total... Okay, sent.”

Li You nodded. ”Okay.”

He then cooked a small bowl of Yangchun Noodles. After Ling Xiaoru finished eating, she took her leave.

At 10:30 AM, Li You was resting on the rocking chair in front of the shop.

A customer who had bought corn yesterday arrived.

The customer said to Li You, ”Boss, isn’t Elder Donghai supposed to come over and sell corn today? Hasn’t he arrived?”

Li You said, ”Not yet. But he should be here soon.”

The customer added, ”I cooked the two cobs I bought yesterday, and they were delicious. It’s rare to find corn that good. That’s why I plan on buying a few more today.”

Li You smiled. ”I agree, they’re delicious. The corn aroma is so rich.”

”Exactly, the aroma is so rich. I wonder what variety it is. It’s a bit like waxy corn, but not quite.”

”It doesn’t look like waxy corn to me, either. I asked Grandpa Donghai about it yesterday, but he doesn’t know the variety. He just saves the two biggest ears each year for seed, and then uses those seeds to grow seedlings the following year. By saving the best corn for seed every year, the corn has gotten more and more delicious over time. I’m guessing that’s the reason.”

The customer said, ”That’s incredible. Boss, don’t you grow corn at home too? Is it as good as Elder Donghai’s? If not, you should ask him to save a couple of extra seed cobs for you and buy them from him.”

Li You smiled. ”I was actually thinking the same thing.”

Just as they were speaking, they saw Li Donghai pull into the parking lot on his vehicle.

He really had arrived quickly.

Li You said, ”Grandpa Donghai’s here. I’ll go help him bring the corn over.”

The customer said, ”I’ll go help too.”