Chapter 240 - 236: The Best Chopped Pepper Fish Head is in Jiulong Gorge

Chapter 240: Chapter 236: The Best Chopped Pepper Fish Head is in Jiulong Gorge

Ling Xiaoru said happily, "Boss, these wild ground melons are growing so well. Can we keep them?"

Li You nodded. "Of course. I was already planning to transplant some wild ground melons. This is perfect—now we don’t have to."

To find a wild fruit right as they started clearing land for the orchard was undoubtedly an excellent start.

Ling Xiaoru was overjoyed. "Once these wild ground melons are ripe, I want to come pick and eat them. Is that okay, Boss?"

Li You smiled. "Of course."

Then, he turned to Ye Shengge. "You should come pick some too, Miss Ye."

Ye Shengge nodded. "Alright. I’ll see then if they’re really as delicious as you claim."

"You won’t be disappointed," Li You said.

Ye Shengge said, "I trust you."

After a moment, she asked, "Are we keeping this entire patch of wild ground melon vines?"

Li You nodded. "All of it. We have plenty of land, so we don’t have to worry about them taking up space."

"Alright," said Ye Shengge. "Then I’ll just clear out the weeds among them."

"Okay. Thank you," Li You said.

Ye Shengge shook her head, as if to say it was nothing.

The three of them continued working.

...

「Southwest Film and Television Base.」

Many people from Zhang Hongyi’s film crew, including stars like Yu Hai and Liu Zelin, were telling everyone they knew about Li You Restaurant.

Although their listeners were all highly skeptical, the crew members remained unabashedly enthusiastic.

It didn’t matter if people believed them; all that mattered was that they were willing to listen.

They just couldn’t help but show off.

Liu Zelin ran into an actor from his hometown named Lu Yuan.

"Old Lu," Liu Zelin said, "I hear you’re a huge fan of Chopped Pepper Fish Head. Let me ask you, where can you find the best?"

Lu Yuan replied, "Do you even need to ask? Chopped Pepper Fish Head is a famous dish from our Xiang Province. So naturally, the best is in Xiang Province! But if you’re asking which specific restaurant has the best... that’s impossible to say. Xiang Province is huge; you can’t just name one place as the absolute best. Lao Liu, why do you ask? Got a craving for some? If you do, you can get it right here at the film base! It’s just that the flavor can’t hold a candle to what we have back home."

Liu Zelin shook his head with a smile. "I’m not craving it. I just wanted to tell you where to find the best Chopped Pepper Fish Head in existence."

"Oh?" Lu Yuan’s interest was instantly piqued. "Lao Liu, it sounds like you’ve made a discovery. Well, spill it. Where in Xiang Province is it?"

Liu Zelin shook his head again. "It’s not in Xiang Province. It’s right next door, in Chuansheng Province. In Changxi County, there’s a small town called Wenxian Town. About five kilometers from the main street, there’s a place called Jiulong Gorge. And there, you’ll find a restaurant. That restaurant serves the best Chopped Pepper Fish Head in the entire country."

Lu Yuan was stunned. "Lao Liu, how do you know it’s the best? Have you been there?"

Liu Zelin nodded. "Just yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Lu Yuan was even more bewildered. "That place you’re talking about must be pretty far from here, right? You traveled all that way just for a meal yesterday?"

Liu Zelin said, "Over 600 kilometers, so yeah, it’s a bit of a drive. Our film crew had a group dinner yesterday, remember? That’s where we went."

"You guys really traveled that far just to eat?" Lu Yuan was incredulous.

"Because they have the best food and the best wine in the entire country," Liu Zelin said. "It was a long trip, but it was absolutely worth it."

Lu Yuan still found it hard to believe. He didn’t buy Liu Zelin’s claims about the best food and wine in the country.

But that wasn’t the main point.

The Chopped Pepper Fish Head was.

Lu Yuan continued, "Even if their Chopped Pepper Fish Head is really good, Lao Liu, how can you claim it’s better than every version in all of Xiang Province? There are countless restaurants in Xiang Province that make amazing Chopped Pepper Fish Head, and I bet you haven’t tried them all, have you?"

"It’s true there are many places in Xiang Province with delicious Chopped Pepper Fish Head, and I haven’t been to all of them," Liu Zelin admitted. "But I don’t need to. I already know the answer. Because no matter how good those other places are, they could never possibly be as good as the Chopped Pepper Fish Head at that restaurant in Jiulong Gorge."

Lu Yuan stared at him skeptically. He couldn’t understand how Liu Zelin could be so certain.

’No matter how good that restaurant’s fish head is, they wouldn’t dare claim it’s better than every version in all of Xiang Province!’

’Besides, Chopped Pepper Fish Head is a famous Xiang Province dish. The idea that the best version isn’t in Xiang Province, but in Chuansheng Province... that’s just bullshit, isn’t it?’

’It just shouldn’t be possible!’

’And as someone from Xiang Province, it was hard to accept.’

Liu Zelin seemed to read his mind. He smiled faintly and said, "Old Lu, I know it’s probably hard for you to accept the idea that the best Chopped Pepper Fish Head isn’t in our home province, but in Chuansheng Province. That’s a perfectly normal reaction. But think about it from another perspective. If that restaurant’s fish head is good enough to beat our entire province, it means their chef must truly love our dish and spent a long time perfecting it. We should be proud of that."

"Well..." Lu Yuan nodded slowly. "That’s one way to look at it. But I still don’t believe that one restaurant’s Chopped Pepper Fish Head could be better than what our entire province has to offer. One restaurant, better than a whole province? That’s just a tall tale."

"It does sound like a tall tale," Liu Zelin said. "But it’s the truth. Once you try it for yourself, you’ll know I’m not exaggerating. Old Lu, the only reason I’m telling you this is because I know it’s your favorite dish. As someone who loves Chopped Pepper Fish Head that much, wouldn’t it be a huge regret to never taste the absolute best version?"

Lu Yuan nodded. "You have a point there. In fact, I’ve always dreamed of finding the very best Chopped Pepper Fish Head."

"And I hope you get to eat it," Liu Zelin said. "That’s why I’m telling you about this place. You have to go try it. 600-plus kilometers isn’t an impossible distance."

Lu Yuan considered this for a moment. "I’ll see. If I get the chance, I’ll definitely go. Lao Liu, thanks for the tip."

Lu Yuan didn’t show any strong desire to go.

Liu Zelin wasn’t surprised.

He knew Lu Yuan still didn’t believe him, so of course he wouldn’t be eager to go.

Still, Liu Zelin didn’t plan to press the issue.

He’d said all he needed to say; there was no point in going on. ’We’ll just have to see if Old Lu is fated to taste the best Chopped Pepper Fish Head or not.’

’I’m sure he’ll end up going eventually.’

Liu Zelin took his leave.

...

A huge thank you to Qieyi Miao for another 100-coin tip!

Thank you, generous patron!

...