Chapter 248 - 243: Into the Mountains to Find Wild Fruit Trees, Part 2

Chapter 248: Chapter 243: Into the Mountains to Find Wild Fruit Trees, Part 2

He had heard the customers talking about it during the day, and then asked Li You for confirmation.

At that moment, Chen Wen, like everyone else hearing about it for the first time, was utterly shocked and incredibly excited.

When he had first arrived last night, he had actually already noticed the painting. He had thought to himself at the time, ’This painting is really well done.’

He never imagined it was actually a work by Guyi!

And Guyi had painted it right here in the restaurant.

On this point alone, Li You’s restaurant surpassed every other hotel and eatery in the country.

This was the only establishment in the entire country with an authentic Guyi hanging on its wall.

It wasn’t just limited to hotels and restaurants, either. It was every kind of establishment, no matter the type.

Before, people said the Hundred Fruit Garden, the wild fruit orchard, the vegetable garden, and so on made all the hotels envious, including all the five-star ones.

And now, Chen Wen could only think that Master Guyi’s painting would also make all hotels, including all the five-star ones, burn with envy.

Li You’s small restaurant was probably going to become the stuff of legends.

Chen Wen had spent the whole afternoon marveling over the story of Guyi’s visit to the restaurant.

Bringing it up again now, he was filled with wonder once more.

They continued to eat and drink.

Slowly, they finished a bowl of wine. Ling Xiaoru stopped drinking. Li You, Ye Shengge, and Chen Wen had another bowl.

After they finished this bowl, Chen Wen saw that Ye Shengge showed no reaction at all and couldn’t help but say in surprise, "Miss Ye, you seem to be a very good drinker!"

Ye Shengge smiled faintly and said, "It’s decent."

Li You then said, "Master Chen, I can tell your tolerance is also excellent. Another bowl?"

Chen Wen asked, "What about you two?"

Ye Shengge looked at Li You and asked, "What about you? Are you having more?"

Li You shook his head. "I’ve had about enough. You two can have another bowl."

Ye Shengge said, "Then I’ll stop too."

Li You looked at Chen Wen.

Chen Wen said, "In that case, maybe I’ll stop too. Two bowls is about right."

Although he said he was done, it was clear that Chen Wen hadn’t had his fill yet.

Li You hesitated for a moment, then said, "How about we all have one more bowl then."

Li You’s alcohol tolerance had increased quite a bit, so one more bowl wouldn’t be a problem.

Ye Shengge looked at Li You and said, "Are you sure you can have more?"

Li You nodded. "One more bowl is fine."

"Alright then," Ye Shengge said.

Chen Wen said with delight, "Then let’s have one more bowl."

The three of them continued to drink.

After slowly finishing this bowl, Li You had well and truly reached his limit.

Chen Wen had also drunk to his heart’s content.

It was already nine-thirty at night. It was about time to call it a day.

That was the end of tonight’s dinner.

Chen Wen declared it was one of the most enjoyable dinners he had ever had.

He then took out his phone and called the motorcycle taxi driver from yesterday, asking him to come and pick him up.

It was so late, he didn’t want to intrude on the private world of Li You, Ye Shengge, and Ling Xiaoru.

...

「The next morning.」

Li You had just opened the restaurant doors when Chen Wen arrived again.

He was here for breakfast once more.

After breakfast, he had to return to the provincial capital.

It was still a small bowl of beef noodles, plus a small bowl of Yangchun Noodles.

While Li You cooked the noodles, he also made a small bowl of Yangchun Noodles for himself.

Neither Ye Shengge nor Ling Xiaoru were up yet today. They would probably wake up a little later.

After two consecutive days of hard work, they deserved to sleep in.

So, Li You ate breakfast by himself.

Not long after he finished, Chen Wen finished as well.

Chen Wen wanted to pay, but Li You refused. Today’s breakfast was on him again.

Chen Wen laughed heartily and didn’t stand on ceremony. "Well, thank you, Boss Li You. Boss Li You, I’ll be heading out now."

Li You nodded. "I’ll walk you to the parking lot, Master Chen."

"Alright."

The two chatted as they walked to the parking lot.

Chen Wen got into his car, said his goodbyes again, and added, "Either tomorrow or the day after, I’ll come back with Yu Hong. And Lao He should be coming too."

Li You nodded. "You’re all welcome anytime."

"Goodbye then, Boss!"

"Goodbye!"

After watching Chen Wen’s car drive away, Li You returned to the restaurant.

As usual, he started a pot of braised dishes.

...

At 11:00 AM, Ye Shengge and Ling Xiaoru finally came downstairs.

At this hour, they would probably have breakfast and lunch together.

Sure enough, when Li You asked if they still wanted breakfast, both of them shook their heads and said no.

"Has Chef Chen gone back already?" Ye Shengge asked.

Li You nodded. "Yes, but he’ll probably come back with Yu Hong tomorrow or the day after."

Ye Shengge said, "For Yu Hong to be able to beat Chef Chen, he must be incredibly skilled. But after trying your mapo tofu, he’ll probably concede defeat willingly."

Li You said, "That’s hard to say. We’ll see when the time comes. Whether he concedes or not, we have nothing to fear."

Ye Shengge and Ling Xiaoru both agreed that was for sure.

A short while later, customers started arriving for lunch.

Li You got busy. Meanwhile, Ye Shengge and Ling Xiaoru went to the wild fruit orchard.

They wanted to have another look around.

At 12:30 PM, Li You found a moment to prepare their meal and went to the wild fruit orchard to call Ye Shengge and Ling Xiaoru back.

Time to eat.

Li You had originally planned to treat Ye Shengge and Ling Xiaoru to this meal as well.

However, Ye Shengge insisted on paying today. She said that since they weren’t even working, they couldn’t keep letting the boss treat them.

In the end, Li You didn’t insist.

’Oh well,’ he thought. ’I’ll just treat them another time.’

After the meal, Ye Shengge and Ling Xiaoru went back to the wild fruit orchard.

Li You continued to stay busy in the kitchen.

The last wave of customers finally finished their meals and left at two-thirty in the afternoon.

Next up was a trip into the mountains to look for wild fruit trees.

Ye Shengge and Ling Xiaoru were already looking forward to it.

And so, they set off.

Li You carried tools like a hoe, gloves, rope, and a machete.

If Li You were going alone, he wouldn’t need the rope. He could just find a wild fruit tree, dig it up, and place it directly into the Storage Pavilion.

However, with Ye Shengge and Ling Xiaoru along, he couldn’t just put the trees into the Storage Pavilion.

He would have to use tools like the rope to bring them back.

The number they could bring back in one trip would be very limited.

But that was fine. They would just bring back as many as they could.

’There’s no rush anyway, we can take our time. When I’m alone next time, I’ll go into the mountains and get more,’ he thought.

"Oh, right, Boss. Should we go get the black tiger vines first? The place where I picked them last time. There were a lot of them there," Ye Shengge said.

Black tiger is a vining plant, so the three of them would be able to bring it back.

The only issue was that the black tiger vines were currently bearing fruit, which meant it wasn’t the best time for transplanting.

But that wasn’t a problem. Li You had the fruit tree fertilizer gifted by the system. Even if they transplanted the black tiger vines now, the fertilizer would ensure they grew very well.

’Since it’s fruit tree fertilizer, it should work on wild fruit trees too, right?’

So, Li You nodded and said, "Let’s head in the direction of the black tiger vines. We’ll see if we find anything else along the way."

Ye Shengge said, "Okay. I’ll lead the way."

"Alright!"

The three of them set out, with Ye Shengge in the lead, and Li You and Ling Xiaoru following close behind.

After walking for a short while, Ling Xiaoru suddenly pointed somewhere and exclaimed in delight, "Boss, there are a lot of chestnut roses over there!"

"Let me see."

Li You followed her finger and sure enough, he saw a cluster of shrubs about a meter tall.

The bark was grayish-brown, the leaves were oval, and there were thorns at the base of the branches.

It was indeed the chestnut rose.

Ye Shengge saw the shrubs too and said, "I know chestnut roses. They’re yellow, spherical or oblate, and covered in thorns. I’ve tried them before. They taste very sour and astringent, not what I’d call good. I’ve seen the trees before, too. That shrub doesn’t look much like one!"

Li You smiled. "You probably saw them in midsummer or autumn, when the chestnut rose fruits are already ripe. But it’s only early summer now, so the plants are still in their flowering period. The plant’s appearance at this stage can feel a bit different compared to when its fruit is ripe. Of course, it’s just a difference in how it feels to look at it."

"Oh, I see!" Ye Shengge nodded slowly. "That’s why it didn’t look like the chestnut rose trees I know. If I were by myself, I wouldn’t have even recognized it."

Li You said, "You haven’t spent much time in the countryside, so that’s perfectly normal."

...