I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 388: Chapter 348: Boss, We’ll Treat You to Mushrooms

When a customer saw Li You splitting bamboo strips, his eyes lit up. ”Boss, you know how to do this too! What are you planning to weave?” he asked.

Li You smiled. ”I can weave some simple things. Nothing too complicated. The old fish trap broke, so I’m making a new one.”

”You mean the fish trap you keep in the canyon? Did you weave that yourself?” the customer asked.

Li You nodded. ”That’s right. I wove it myself.”

”Very impressive,” the customer praised. ”That trap isn’t simple at all. The number of people who can weave with bamboo strips is dwindling these days. Especially among young people, there are very, very few who know how.”

Li You nodded. ”That’s true. Almost no young people are willing to learn this anymore.”

The customer said, ”This is an ancient and traditional craft in our country. It would be a real shame if it were lost one day.”

Li You sighed. ”Aside from some rural areas that still use bamboo products, they’ve almost completely vanished from the cities. If bamboo products disappear entirely one day, there’s not much that can be done. I just hope that day never comes.”

Thinking about it, Li You felt a deep sense of regret.

’These days, many young people have probably never even heard the term ”bamboo weaver.” So how could the number of people who know this craft not be dwindling?’

’In reality, many tools woven from bamboo are incredibly useful, much better than their non-bamboo counterparts.’

’For example, a bamboo brush for scrubbing pots is far better than many of those so-called ”miracle pot scrubbers.”’

’I hope this craft of weaving tools from bamboo can be passed down forever.’

Since a customer had arrived for a meal, he decided to stop for the day. He would continue weaving tomorrow.

Li You gathered the split bamboo strips, as well as the semi-finished ones, and placed them by the house in a spot sheltered from the rain.

The semi-finished strips were those where the green outer layer and the yellow inner layer of the bamboo had not yet been separated.

Ling Xiaoru arrived as well.

Since both Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye were here today, she had made a point to come earlier than usual.

When the three of them met, they shared a warm, affectionate greeting.

Then they went upstairs together.

Li You went into the kitchen and got busy.

He worked nonstop until eight in the evening.

Then he started preparing a meal for himself, Xia Xiaoyue, Mu Qingye, and Ling Xiaoru.

Tonight, he was treating the three lovely ladies.

He prepared a full five jin of spicy crawfish, along with steamed sea bass, Longjing Shrimp, Chopped Pepper Fish Head, mapo tofu, stir-fried shredded potatoes, and a tomato and egg soup. He also stir-fried a separate dish of bitter melon.

That should be more than enough.

After everything was ready, the last group of customers finished their meal and left.

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

...

「Up on the second floor.」

”Boss, what a feast!”

Xia Xiaoyue, Mu Qingye, and Ling Xiaoru all said this with delighted expressions as they looked at the dishes placed on the coffee table.

Li You waved it off as nothing, then asked Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye, ”Would you two like some wine?”

They were both university students and already adults. They were old enough to drink.

Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye had long known that the wine here was exceptionally good, hailed as the finest in the world.

In fact, they had always wanted to have a taste.

It was just that on their previous visits, they always came and left on the same day, and Xia Xiaoyue had to drive, so she couldn’t drink.

Their other classmates didn’t drink either, so Mu Qingye felt it would be awkward to drink by herself.

So, up until now, neither of them had ever tried the wine here.

Of course, they didn’t really drink alcohol at all to begin with.

But the wine here was an exception.

Xia Xiaoyue asked, ”Boss, are you and Sister Xiaoru going to drink?”

Li You nodded. ”We have a little almost every evening.”

”Then we...” Xia Xiaoyue looked at Mu Qingye.

Mu Qingye chimed in, ”Then we’ll have a little too.”

Li You nodded. ”Okay, I’ll get you each half a bowl to start. That’s about an ounce or so.”

”Okay!”

Soon, two half-bowls of wine were brought over.

”Have a taste first. If you can handle it, drink it. If not, don’t force yourselves,” Li You said.

Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye both nodded. Then they each picked up their bowl and tentatively took a small sip.

A moment later, they both exclaimed in pleasant surprise, ”It really is delicious! It’s so smooth, not harsh on the throat at all.”

Li You nodded. ”That’s good. You can finish this half-bowl then. That should be enough for you. Don’t drink too much.”

Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye both nodded. They knew their tolerance for alcohol was low—practically nonexistent, in fact. They definitely couldn’t drink much.

”By the way, Sister Xiaoru, how much can you drink now?” Xia Xiaoyue asked Ling Xiaoru.

Ling Xiaoru held up three fingers. ”Three bowls are no problem.”

”That much?” Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye were both a little surprised.

Ling Xiaoru shook her head. ”I’m nothing special. Miss Ye is the truly impressive one.”

”Really? How much can she drink?” Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye both asked.

They knew she was talking about Ye Shengge.

Ling Xiaoru shook her head. ”I don’t know. All I can say is that for her, three to five bowls might just be a warm-up.”

”She’s that incredible?”

Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye both gave a thumbs-up.

They continued eating and drinking.

”Xiaoyue, Qing Ye, you two should have more bitter melon. The boss says it’s great for your skin.”

”But we don’t like bitter melon.”

”The bitter melon the boss makes isn’t bitter at all, and it’s delicious.”

”Really? I’ll have a taste then.”

After Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye tried it, their eyes brightened. It really wasn’t bitter at all, and it was delicious.

’If it’s good for our skin, we should eat more of it.’

Slowly, Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye finished the wine in their bowls.