I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

Chapter 313: Chapter 296: Teacher Chu, Would You Like a Drink?

Li You was overjoyed. ’This is a wild softshell turtle, an absolutely great find.’

Although its value was generally only two to three hundred yuan per jin.

But even when you were willing to pay, it was very difficult to buy a truly wild one.

Most of the ”wild softshell turtles” for sale on the market weren’t actually wild.

’If I take this turtle home and make a soup for Mom and Dad, it’ll be incredibly nourishing.’

As Li You thought this, his hands never stopped moving, and he quickly pulled the softshell turtle onto the bank.

Even with the hook still in its mouth, the softshell turtle was ferocious after being brought ashore, snapping its jaws as if to bite someone.

’This is how a wild softshell turtle should be.’

Chu Yiwei squatted down, looking at the softshell turtle, and said, ”This turtle looks so fierce. I feel like softshell turtles are more aggressive than regular turtles. Is that right, Boss?”

Li You said, ”That’s right. Softshell turtles are fierce by nature and very aggressive. When they encounter danger or other creatures, they’ll proactively attack. Regular turtles, on the other hand, are timid. When they sense danger, they just quickly retract into their shells. Of course, I’m talking about most turtles. There are exceptions, like the alligator snapping turtle, which is quite aggressive.”

Chu Yiwei said, ”So softshell turtles really are more aggressive. Is this one about two jin?”

Li You said, ”About that. It should be around two jin. Not huge, but not small either.”

As he spoke, Li You began to remove the hook.

It wasn’t easy to get out.

It took Li You quite some time before he finally managed to get the hook out of the softshell turtle’s mouth.

He placed the softshell turtle in the bucket.

’I need to find a suitable rock to place over the opening. Can’t let the turtle climb out and escape.’

Li You found a flat rock nearby and placed it over the bucket’s opening. Then he resumed fishing.

He used the same old method again.

A new round of anticipation began for Chu Yiwei.

Li You, of course, was also full of anticipation.

Ten minutes later, he had another catch. This time, it was a mandarin fish.

’This is the real star I was hoping for today.’

The moment the mandarin fish broke the surface, Chu Yiwei was filled with delighted surprise.

’It’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone catch a mandarin fish! This mandarin fish isn’t small. It must be at least a jin, right?’

”Is it a jin, Boss?” Chu Yiwei asked.

Li You nodded. ”It should be about that. This size is perfect for steaming.”

Chu Yiwei said, ”How much does a wild mandarin fish like this usually sell for per jin?”

Li You said, ”It depends on the place. In town, it would probably sell for fifty to sixty yuan a jin. If you take it to the county seat, it’d be at least a hundred-plus a jin.”

Chu Yiwei nodded. ”This kind of fish is expensive to begin with. If the Boss offers steamed mandarin fish in the future, the price definitely won’t be cheap.”

Li You said, ”We’ll see when the time comes. But for one around a jin, the price would probably be around 100 yuan.”

Chu Yiwei said, ”It would have to be at least that price.”

At the same time, she felt a pang of regret. ’At that price, I couldn’t bear to buy it for myself. At most, I could split one with Lin Xin once in a while, just to try it.’

Just then, Li You said, ”Teacher Chu, let’s steam two more mandarin fish for dinner tonight. My treat.”

Chu Yiwei was pleasantly surprised. She really wanted to eat it but felt it wouldn’t be right. So she declined, ”Boss, no, no. I can just order it after you officially add steamed mandarin fish to the menu. It’s so expensive, you should save them to sell later.”

Li You said, ”There’s no need to be so formal, Teacher Chu. A mandarin fish is an ingredient; it’s meant to be eaten. Since we caught them, let’s eat them. Miss Xiaoru will be coming tonight too, so the three of us can eat together.”

”Miss Xiaoru is coming too?” Chu Yiwei asked.

Li You nodded. ”She’s basically been sleeping over here lately. Then she goes back in the morning.”

Chu Yiwei nodded. She knew that Ling Xiaoru also rented a room on the second floor. It was perfectly normal for her to sleep here.

’If Ling Xiaoru is joining us...’

Chu Yiwei was very tempted but still felt it wasn’t quite right. She hesitated, unable to make up her mind.

Seeing this, Li You added, ”It’s just one meal, Teacher Chu. Really, don’t worry about it. There’s no need for us to be so formal with each other. Besides, I might have things to ask your help with in the future.”

Hearing Li You put it that way, Chu Yiwei finally nodded and said, ”Then thank you, Boss. If you ever need my help with anything in the future, just let me know. I’ll definitely help.”

”Really?” Li You smiled. ”You’ll help with anything?”

Chu Yiwei said, ”Well, it has to be something I can actually do.”

Li You said, ”Of course. Don’t worry, it’ll definitely be something you can do.”

”Hm?” Chu Yiwei said. ”Is it something the Boss already knows about?”

Li You said, ”Not yet. I’ll tell you when something comes up.”

Chu Yiwei nodded. ”Alright then.”

Li You continued fishing.

A dozen or so minutes later, he landed another mandarin fish. This one was smaller, probably around six or seven liang.

It was a bit small, but still a pleasant surprise.

Li You was surprised, and Chu Yiwei was even more so.

He kept fishing.

And so it went until five in the afternoon. Li You had caught a total of seven mandarin fish, one less than in the morning.

Four of them were around a jin each. The remaining three were about six or seven liang each.

As for softshell turtles, there was still only the first one. He hadn’t caught any more after that.

Even though it was just one, it was more than enough.

This afternoon’s haul had been excellent.

Chu Yiwei was very excited and said, ”I can’t believe you caught so many again this afternoon. Boss, you’re amazing at catching mandarin fish!”

Li You laughed. ”Maybe I just got lucky. Look, even after we steam two for dinner tonight, we’ll still have five left. So what’s the big deal?”

Chu Yiwei said, ”You can’t put it that way, Boss. No matter how many we caught this afternoon, the value of two mandarin fish doesn’t decrease. So, I’m still just as grateful as before. Thank you, Boss.”

Li You laughed heartily. He had to admit, Chu Yiwei had a point.

Then he said, ”It’s already five o’clock. Let’s head back. By the time we get back to the restaurant, customers should be arriving for dinner.”

Chu Yiwei nodded. ”Okay.”

Li You packed up his fishing rod, picked up the bucket, and walked back with Chu Yiwei.

When they returned to the restaurant, there were indeed already customers waiting.

When the customers saw the mandarin fish and the softshell turtle in Li You’s bucket, it naturally caused another commotion.

After the excitement died down, Li You told Chu Yiwei to go upstairs and rest. He said they would eat on the second floor later, after all the customers had left. He added that it would be a bit late and asked if that was okay with her.

Chu Yiwei said it was no problem and that she was fine eating whenever.

Li You nodded. ”That’s good.”

After that, Chu Yiwei went upstairs, and Li You went into the kitchen.

He set aside two of the mandarin fish that were about a jin each. Then, he put the remaining five mandarin fish and the softshell turtle into the Spatial Fish Pond.

He began to prepare the dishes the customers had ordered.

Time passed, and at seven in the evening, Ling Xiaoru arrived.

She came to the kitchen doorway, poked her head in, and said, ”Boss, are we really having steamed mandarin fish tonight?”

Li You had sent Ling Xiaoru a message, telling her he was treating her to steamed mandarin fish tonight. He had also told her about fishing for them in the gorge with Chu Yiwei that afternoon.

Li You said, ”Of course! We’re steaming two that are about a jin each.”

Ling Xiaoru was thrilled and said, ”Thanks, Boss! Boss, you’re the best. Love ya! I’ve never even had mandarin fish before.”

Li You chuckled. ”Then you’d better enjoy it tonight.”

Ling Xiaoru nodded. ”I will! It’s going to be so delicious.”

After a moment, she added, ”I’ll head upstairs first, then. I’ll wait for you up there.”

Li You nodded. ”Okay. Teacher Chu is up there too.”

Ling Xiaoru pouted her lips, then said, ”Alright. I’ll go chat with Teacher Chu for a bit.”

”Okay.”

After Ling Xiaoru left, Li You continued to work, finding time to also prepare the dishes for the three of them.

Besides the two steamed mandarin fish, he also made five jin of spicy crayfish, a portion of mapo tofu, a dish of stir-fried shredded potatoes, and a tomato and egg soup.

’This much should be enough even if we have some drinks.’

Time slowly ticked by to eight o’clock. The last wave of customers finished eating and left. The dishes for Li You and the two girls were all ready as well.

’Time to close up shop and head upstairs to eat. This is Chu Yiwei’s first time eating here this late. After we eat, I should tell her not to go back. There are still two empty rooms upstairs; she can just sleep in one for the night. She probably wouldn’t dare to go back by herself anyway.’

He closed the shop door and carried some of the dishes upstairs.

Chu Yiwei and Ling Xiaoru were sitting on the sofa, watching TV.

The two were comparable in looks, both very beautiful. Among all the girls Li You knew, their beauty was second only to Ye Shengge and Xia Xiaoyue.

Other than Mu Qingye, who was on par with them, no other girl was as pretty.

As for their figures, Chu Yiwei was slightly inferior to Ling Xiaoru because her legs were a bit too thin.

A girl’s legs shouldn’t be too skinny. It doesn’t look good.

Of course, they can’t be too thick either. That doesn’t look good either.

Ling Xiaoru’s legs were perfect. Chu Yiwei’s were just a little too thin.

Incidentally, the legs of Ye Shengge, Xia Xiaoyue, and Mu Qingye were also perfect.

When Chu Yiwei and Ling Xiaoru saw Li You come up with the dishes, they both stood up in pleasant surprise and asked in unison, ”Have all the customers left?”

Li You nodded. ”They’re all gone. Let’s eat.”

With that, he placed the dishes on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Then he added, ”That’s not all of it. I’ll go get the rest.”

Chu Yiwei and Ling Xiaoru said in unison again, ”We’ll help too.”

Li You nodded.

The three of them went downstairs together.

Once downstairs, Ling Xiaoru said, ”Boss, want to have a drink?”

Li You smiled. ”Sure! Just try not to get drunk again.”

Then he turned to Chu Yiwei and asked, ”Would you like a drink, Teacher Chu?”

Chu Yiwei shook her head. ”I don’t drink. I’ve almost never had alcohol.”

Li You nodded. ’Since Teacher Chu doesn’t drink, then never mind. It’ll just be me and Ling Xiaoru drinking. Ling Xiaoru is a classic lightweight with a big craving these days. She can’t hold her liquor but still loves to drink. Of course, she only ever drinks here with me. She never drinks anywhere else.’

The three of them brought up the rest of the food, poured two bowls of wine, and returned to the second floor.

After placing all the dishes on the coffee table, Chu Yiwei said, ”Boss, this is too lavish!”

Ling Xiaoru also commented on how sumptuous it was, then looked at the steamed mandarin fish and said, ”It looks so delicious.”

Li You smiled. ”Then go on and try it. You too, Teacher Chu.”

Ling Xiaoru and Chu Yiwei both agreed.

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