Chapter 247 - 243: Going into the Mountains to Find Wild Fruit Trees

Chapter 247: Chapter 243: Going into the Mountains to Find Wild Fruit Trees

At 12:30 PM, Li You used the spare moments while cooking for his customers to also prepare lunch for himself and the others.

First were the spicy crayfish and twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts that Chen Wen wanted to eat.

He made five and a half pounds of spicy crayfish and one serving of twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts.

Then there was also a braised chicken and a serving of stir-fried shredded potatoes.

Chen Wen hadn’t tried either of these two dishes yet, so Li You made them both.

Finally, there were four servings of Cabbage in Clear Broth, one for each person.

This much should be enough.

He called Ye Shengge, Ling Xiaoru, and Chen Wen to eat.

Ye Shengge and Ling Xiaoru came down from upstairs. Chen Wen was still in the Hundred Fruit Garden.

After coming out of the Hundred Fruit Garden, Chen Wen praised it profusely again. He said that a garden like this would make any hotel green with envy.

Of course, the same went for the wild fruit orchard and the vegetable garden.

Afterwards, he was even more delighted when he saw the dishes Li You had prepared. In addition to the spicy crayfish and twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts, there were also braised chicken and stir-fried shredded potatoes.

This meant that after this meal, of all the dishes available here so far, the only one he hadn’t tried was the steamed salty pork.

Li You hadn’t made any steamed salty pork in the past two days, so Chen Wen couldn’t have it even if he wanted to.

’What a pity.’

’But no matter, I can just have it next time I visit.’

"Master Chen, would you like a drink?" Li You asked Chen Wen.

Chen Wen replied, "I still have work to do this afternoon, so I’ll pass for now. Let’s drink tonight."

Li You nodded and smiled. "Then I’ll be sure to have a good drink with you tonight, Master Chen."

Chen Wen nodded, showing he was quite looking forward to it.

Of course, Ye Shengge and Ling Xiaoru wouldn’t be drinking either.

So, they began to eat.

The four dishes Chen Wen hadn’t tried yet—the spicy crayfish, twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts, braised chicken, and stir-fried shredded potatoes—each one left him amazed.

The flavor of every dish was top-tier, the pinnacle of what that dish could be.

Chen Wen’s own versions of these four dishes were also quite good. But compared to the ones before him now, there was a clear gap.

Chen Wen finally understood now. Every single dish Li You offered was at that pinnacle level.

It was very likely the best in the entire country, bar none.

’This is just too incredible!’

Chen Wen was once again overcome with an unprecedented level of admiration. At the same time, he felt proud that their Chuansheng Province had such a chef.

They continued eating.

After they slowly finished their meal, they rested for a while.

After all the customers had finished eating and left, the four of them—Li You, Ye Shengge, Ling Xiaoru, and Chen Wen—went back to the wild fruit orchard to continue clearing the land.

After today’s afternoon of work, they would be basically finished. The remaining tasks could be done while transplanting the wild fruit trees and making further improvements.

Time passed slowly, and at 5:30 PM, Li You announced that the work was complete.

Looking at the nearly completed wild fruit orchard, Ye Shengge and Ling Xiaoru felt a strong sense of accomplishment. This was the result of two busy days of work, and it felt pretty great.

Chen Wen also looked at the wild fruit orchard and said, "I look forward to seeing more and more types of wild fruit here."

Ye Shengge then asked, "Boss, does that mean we can go into the mountains tomorrow to look for wild fruit trees?"

Li You nodded. "We can. We’ll go tomorrow afternoon."

"Great!" Ye Shengge was very excited.

Ling Xiaoru added, "I’ll go with you all too."

Li You said, "Sure!"

Chen Wen was also very interested in going into the mountains to find wild fruit trees and wanted to go along.

However, he had to go back tomorrow. Yu Hong was still staying at their Jincheng Hotel.

’I’ll go back and find Yu Hong first, then bring him here. If there’s still a chance later, it won’t be too late to join them in the mountains then.’

’Of course, I could also just call Yu Hong, explain the situation, and have him come here on his own while I wait.’

’Yu Hong would probably come.’

However, Chen Wen didn’t plan to do that. He wanted to go back and tell Yu Hong about this in person.

’It would be better to tell him in person.’

The four of them returned to the front of the restaurant as dinner customers began to arrive one after another.

Li You again had Ye Shengge, Ling Xiaoru, and Chen Wen rest while he went into the kitchen to get busy.

He also took advantage of the spare moments to start preparing dinner for his group.

’We’re drinking tonight, so I can make a few extra dishes.’

Eleven pounds of spicy crayfish, four servings of Chopped Pepper Fish Head, four servings of crucian carp with fragrant herbs, one serving of mapo tofu, half a braised chicken, twenty braised chicken feet, and a tomato and egg soup.

’That should be enough.’

When it was almost 8:00 PM, the last wave of customers finished their meals and left, and Li You had also finished cooking for his own group.

It was time to eat.

’Since Master Chen is here tonight, we won’t eat upstairs. We’ll just eat down here.’

The four of them sat down.

On the table, besides all the food, were four bowls of liquor.

When Chen Wen saw this, he was pleasantly surprised and asked, "Are Miss Ye and Miss Xiaoru going to drink as well?"

Li You nodded. "That’s right. They’re drinking too."

Chen Wen was delighted and laughed heartily. "To be drinking with two such beautiful ladies, this is truly exciting!"

Ye Shengge and Ling Xiaoru both smiled faintly and said in unison, "We hope you have a good time, Mr. Chen."

Chen Wen said, "A good time? Absolutely. I’m already delighted, and we haven’t even started drinking yet."

Li You raised his bowl of liquor and said, "Thank you all for your hard work today. Let me toast the three of you!"

"You’re too kind, Boss," Ye Shengge, Ling Xiaoru, and Chen Wen said in unison.

Then they also raised their bowls. The four bowls clinked together, and each person took a sip.

Chen Wen repeatedly exclaimed, "Good liquor!" and added, "No wonder even Master Guyi praised it as something that should only exist in the heavens."

Chen Wen now knew that Guyi had visited the restaurant before.