I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

They were both a little dizzy.

But it was fine. The dizziness would pass after a little while.

…

「The next day.」

In the morning, after waking up and getting ready, Li You went downstairs and opened the shop door.

The first thing he did was add an item to the “Today’s Specials” menu:

“Nine-Turned Pork Intestines: 45 yuan per serving.”

Starting today, Nine-Turned Pork Intestines was officially on the menu.

At nine in the morning, Xia Xiaoyue, Mu Qingye, and Ling Xiaoru came downstairs together.

They were going mushroom hunting together that morning.

Ling Xiaoru was going too, just as they had all agreed the previous night.

The three of them had really wanted Li You to go with them, but he was keen on finishing the fish trap he’d started weaving the day before, so he decided not to go.

He let the three of them go by themselves. Ling Xiaoru knew the area well, so with her along, Li You wasn’t worried.

“Nine-Turned Pork Intestines for 45 a serving? Isn’t that a little on the cheap side?” Ling Xiaoru asked, noticing the price of the newly added dish.

She had found out the previous night that he was adding Nine-Turned Pork Intestines to the menu today.

Li You said, “It’s a fair price. Not too low.”

Ling Xiaoru nodded.

“What can I get for you all?”

“A small bowl of beef noodles!” the three of them said.

Li You prepared three small bowls of beef noodles.

After they finished eating, Ling Xiaoru paid.

Then, they got ready to head out and hunt for mushrooms.

“Boss, we’re heading out now. If we have any luck, we’ll treat you to mushrooms for lunch.”

“Great. I’ll be waiting for your mushrooms, then. I hope you find a lot.”

“Okay!”

After the three of them left, Li You went back to weaving his fish trap, hoping to finish it by the end of the day.

He continued splitting the bamboo strips into green and yellow slivers.

This step required considerable experience and skill.

The green slivers were tough and flexible, making them the primary material for weaving.

The yellow slivers were less durable and didn’t have many practical uses.

They were only occasionally used for weaving simple, low-quality fences.

For children in the countryside, however, the yellow slivers were a toy.

They could be used as whips or fashioned into toy guns.

A yellow sliver, a dozen or so centimeters long, was folded in half.

Not enough to break it, but just enough to form a “V” shape.

And just like that, the gun was ready.

But how did it fire a bullet?

You’d break off another piece of yellow sliver, about two centimeters long. That was your bullet.

To fire, you’d wedge the “bullet” vertically into the open end of the “V-shaped gun.”

Then, you’d pinch the spot just behind the bullet and squeeze hard, sending the projectile flying.

Some could even fly several meters.

It had to be the simplest toy gun in the world.

Though it was just a sliver of bamboo folded in half, it was surprisingly fun.

The village kids would have endless fun shooting at each other with these guns.

Li You had played with them plenty as a child.

‘He reminisced about making guns from the yellow slivers, but his hands never stopped moving.’

Before long, he had separated all the bamboo into green and yellow slivers. The strips for the trap’s “skeleton” were also ready.

Now he could officially start weaving the fish trap.

Time flew by, and in a flash, it was already 11 AM.

The basic shape of the fish trap was complete. The rest of the work would go much faster.

Another customer arrived. Seeing the fish trap Li You was weaving, he commented, “You’ve already gotten so much done. You’re a fast worker, Boss.”

Li You laughed. “My speed is decent. It’s just a bit crude, though. Not much to look at.”

The customer smiled back. “It looks fine. It might not be a work of art, but I wouldn’t call it crude.”

Li You thanked the customer for his kind words.

Just then, more customers began to arrive.

They all watched Li You work with great interest.

At the same time, they all noticed a new addition to the “Today’s Specials” menu: Nine-Turned Pork Intestines.

Everyone was instantly delighted. He really had added Nine-Turned Pork Intestines to the menu today!

At 45 yuan per serving, the price wasn’t expensive.

In that case, they would definitely be having Nine-Turned Pork Intestines for lunch.

Whether they’d like it or not, they had to at least give it a try.

So, the customers began to place their orders. Every single one of them ordered the Nine-Turned Pork Intestines.

Seeing the influx of orders, Li You decided to put his work on hold. He could continue weaving in the afternoon once the lunch rush was over.

However, just as he set his tools down and stood up, a customer spoke. “Boss, let me help you with that for a while. I used to do a bit of weaving myself, though it’s been many years. I’d love to get the feel for it again.”

Of course, Li You wasn’t going to refuse an offer like that. He smiled. “Sure! Thank you so much.”

The customer said, “Don’t mention it. I just hope you won’t mind if my work isn’t up to par.”

“Of course not,” Li You replied.

With that, he went inside the shop, walked into the kitchen, and started cooking.

Outside, the customer who had offered to help was already seated on the stool and had begun to weave.

The other customers continued to watch with great interest.

They chatted amongst themselves as they watched.

They all remarked on how few people knew this craft anymore, and they sincerely hoped this ancient tradition wouldn’t be lost to time.

Meanwhile, another customer picked up a yellow sliver, broke off a small piece, and folded it into a “V” shape. “You guys ever play with these as a kid?” he asked.

One person’s eyes lit up, saying he had and that it was a lot of fun.

Others looked puzzled. “You can play with this? How?”

The first customer laughed. “Never played with one? That means you probably didn’t grow up in the country. Most of us who did have played with these. Here, let me show you how it works.”

“Yeah! Show us! Show us!”

The customers who had never seen it before were all very interested.

After the customer’s demonstration, their eyes widened in understanding. It turned out the little thing was a “gun” that could shoot “bullets”!

‘Neat.’

‘I should try it.’

So, they too picked up yellow slivers, broke off pieces, and folded them into “V” shapes…

A sense of childlike fun instantly filled the air. It was a bit odd, but also perfectly harmonious.

…

Just then, Xia Xiaoyue, Mu Qingye, and Ling Xiaoru returned.

Ling Xiaoru was carrying an opaque bag that clearly had something inside.

It seemed the three had been successful.

The three were surprised to see that the person weaving the fish trap wasn’t Li You. They had assumed he was still at it, but it turned out a customer was helping him.

‘A customer helping to weave a fish trap? That’s interesting.’

When the customers saw the three women returning, and noticed the bag in Ling Xiaoru’s hand, they had a good idea of what they’d been doing.

One of the customers called out, “Xiao Yue, Mu, Miss Xiaoru, did you go mushroom hunting in the mountains?”

“That’s right!” The three of them nodded.

Then Ling Xiaoru opened the bag. “Let us show you what we found.”

“Let’s have a look.”

All the customers, including the one weaving the fish trap, gathered around to look inside the bag.

They were all curious to see what the three women had managed to find.

When they saw the contents, their eyes all lit up.

‘What a great haul!’

Inside the bag were three types of mushrooms: termite mushrooms, green-head mushrooms, and chanterelles.

And there was a good amount of them, too.

All three were prized delicacies, known for their exquisite flavor.

‘These young ladies are really something!’

The customers were all generous with their praise.

Xia Xiaoyue, Mu Qingye, and Ling Xiaoru were delighted by the compliments.

But Xia Xiaoyue demurred, “It’s mostly because the resources here are so plentiful, and we got lucky. Otherwise, we never would have found so many.”

“You’re being too modest, Xiao Yue!”

“…”

After the excitement outside died down, the three women took the bag into the shop, then into the kitchen. “Boss, come look at what we found!” they said to Li You excitedly.

As she spoke, Ling Xiaoru opened the bag.

Li You peered into the bag. His eyes lit up when he saw what was inside.

He had to admit, it was a truly impressive haul.

There were seven or eight termite mushrooms, a dozen or so green-head mushrooms, and several dozen chanterelles.

“You guys are incredible! You found so many,” Li You praised.

This made the three of them even happier.

Praise from Li You meant much more to them than the compliments from the customers outside.

“Boss, we promised to treat you to mushrooms, and here they are,” Xia Xiaoyue said. “We might have to trouble you to cook them, though.”

Li You laughed. “No problem at all. We’ll cook up all these mushrooms for lunch, and we’ll have them with the Nine-Turned Pork Intestines. You treat me to mushrooms, and I’ll treat you to Nine-Turned Pork Intestines.”

“Yay! Thank you, Boss!”

Xia Xiaoyue, Mu Qingye, and Ling Xiaoru were overjoyed and full of anticipation.

Then they left the kitchen so as not to disturb Li You.