I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 376: Chapter 340: I’ll Pack Some Dishes to Take Home (Part 2)

”Alright then.”

The two of them walked toward the parking lot together.

When they reached the parking lot, they both greeted Li Donghai.

Li Donghai was delighted and greeted them back.

Then, the three of them worked together to move all the corn to the front of the restaurant. There were over 150 cobs in total.

”By the way, Grandpa Donghai,” Li You asked, ”how many more of these ready-to-eat cobs do you have at home in total?”

Li Donghai replied, ”I planted about two-tenths of a *mu* of this corn, which should yield around 900 cobs. Counting what I sold yesterday and these ones today, that’s over 360. I still have more than 500 left.”

Around 900 cobs in total. If he sold all of them, he could earn about 4,500 yuan.

That was a pretty decent income. It was far better than waiting to harvest and sell dried corn later.

For dried corn, a harvest of 300 *jin* from two-tenths of a *mu* would be considered a high yield. Even if he sold it at two yuan per *jin*, that would only be 600 yuan.

It wasn’t even in the same league.

So, why didn’t everyone just sell fresh, tender corn on the cob?

The simple answer was that fresh corn wasn’t that easy to sell, especially when it flooded the market in large quantities.

Moreover, the window for corn to go from tender to old was very short—only about ten days.

At that point, although the cobs weren’t ready for harvesting as dried corn, they were no longer suitable to be boiled and eaten as fresh corn.

It wasn’t that they were inedible, just that they didn’t taste good anymore.

Therefore, the time available to sell fresh corn was limited.

And so, making a profit from selling fresh corn wasn’t easy.

Of course, many people who grew corn intended to harvest it dry from the start anyway.

”Sir, your corn is delicious. I’ll buy four more today,” the customer said.

Li Donghai was thrilled and quickly agreed. He then took a bag and put four cobs in it for the customer.

After handing them to the customer, he took out another six cobs and gave them to Li You, telling him to take some more to eat today.

Li You didn’t refuse. After taking the corn, he said, ”Grandpa Donghai, a customer asked me to buy ten for her. She’s already paid me, so I’ll need ten more.”

With that, he took out 50 yuan and handed it to Li Donghai.

Li Donghai hesitated for a moment. ”Xiaoyou, did a customer really ask you to buy these for them?”

Li You smiled. ”Of course! I even have the transaction record on my phone where she sent me the money. Here, I can show you.”

Only then did Li Donghai happily accept the money, saying there was no need to look as long as it was true.

He then got another bag, filled it with ten cobs, and handed it to Li You.

Li You took the bag and brought it back into the restaurant to store.

Before long, more customers began to arrive.

Some of them had wanted to buy corn yesterday afternoon but had missed their chance. Seeing Li Donghai back again today selling corn made them very happy.

’Finally, I can get some!’

They all rushed forward to buy some.

There were also returning customers, like the one from before, who had bought some yesterday, found them delicious, and came back for more today.

Finally, of course, there were new customers who hadn’t been there yesterday and were unaware of the situation. They were surprised to see someone selling corn here.

They were also surprised that fresh, tender corn was already available this early in the season.

Seeing how many people were buying, and thinking five yuan a cob wasn’t too expensive, they decided to buy some as well.

Li Donghai’s corn sold out quickly. Before it was even noon, all 150 cobs were gone.

This made Li Donghai indescribably happy.

It wasn’t just that he had easily sold another 150 cobs today; it was because, at this rate, he was certain he could sell all of the remaining 500-plus cobs.

Originally, based on his experience selling corn in town yesterday morning, Li Donghai had thought selling half of his 900 cobs would be the best possible outcome.

The prime window for selling fresh corn was only about ten days. After that, the corn would get old and become increasingly difficult to sell. In the end, he’d have no choice but to let it dry out for harvest.

The town market was only held every other day. Even though he could try to sell on non-market days, it would be even more difficult.

Therefore, selling half of his 900 fresh cobs would have been quite an achievement.

But who would have thought that by setting up a stall in front of Li You’s restaurant, he had effortlessly sold over 300 cobs between yesterday afternoon and today?

Looking at the situation, the remaining 500-plus cobs would absolutely sell out with ease.

That was what truly made Li Donghai the happiest.

He would go back for now and pick some more to sell in the afternoon.

Li Donghai walked into the restaurant and told Li You he was heading back for now and would be back in the afternoon.

Li You urged Li Donghai to have lunch before leaving. It was almost noon; he should definitely eat before heading home.

Li Donghai waved his hands repeatedly, saying he couldn’t possibly eat here. Not unless he paid for it himself.

Li You said, ”Grandpa Donghai, you’re being too formal. You’ve given me so much corn both yesterday and today. It’s only right that I treat you to a meal. I’ll just whip up a couple of simple dishes, nothing fancy.”

Li You wanted to treat Li Donghai to a meal not just because he had given him corn yesterday and today. It was also because when the restaurant had just opened and business was slow, Li Donghai and a few other villagers had made a special trip to eat there to support him.

Li You had always been grateful for that.

So, no matter what, he had to treat Li Donghai to a meal today.

In the end, Li Donghai agreed.

Li You was delighted. He told Li Donghai to go rest for a bit and that lunch would be ready soon.

Li Donghai told Li You not to rush, to serve his customers first. He said he could eat anytime.

Even though Li Donghai said that, Li You used the gaps between cooking for his customers to quickly prepare a meal of three dishes and a soup.

They were Mapo Tofu, Longjing Shrimp, Steamed Mandarin Fish, and Tomato Egg Drop Soup.