Chapter 269 - 255: To Taoshan Village, and a Gift of Potatoes

Chapter 269: Chapter 255: To Taoshan Village, and a Gift of Potatoes

Just then, Ye Shengge walked out of the shop.

Upon seeing her, Lin Xiao said, "Sister Ye, you’re here too!"

The last time Lin Xiao went to school, she had eaten spicy crayfish at the shop. Ye Shengge had been there at the time, so the two already knew each other.

Ye Shengge had a good impression of the pretty young girl. Hearing her, she smiled faintly. "You’re back for your break. Did you just arrive?"

Lin Xiao nodded. "I just got here."

Ye Shengge added, "Stay and have lunch here. It’s my treat."

Lin Xiao said, "Thank you, Sister Ye. But I have my own money, over two hundred yuan."

Ye Shengge replied, "Save your money for when you go back to school. You should eat better there."

Just then, Li You said to Ye Shengge, "I already said I’m treating her. Why don’t you join us? I’ll treat you both."

Ye Shengge nodded. "That works too. Thanks, Boss!"

Seeing that Ye Shengge had agreed, Lin Xiao also said, "Then thank you too, Boss."

Li You smiled. "No need to be so polite."

He then helped Lin Xiao bring her suitcase into the shop to store it for the time being.

Afterward, he took out some plums and said to Lin Xiao, "Want some plums? They’re from my own trees at home."

Lin Xiao took two, thanked him, and then said, "We have a plum tree at my house too. When I left last time, they were barely edible. They should be fully ripe by now."

Li You smiled. "Then try these and see how they compare to the ones at your house. Which ones are tastier?"

"Okay."

After eating one, Lin Xiao said, "They taste about the same. Both are delicious."

Li You said, "Then have a few more. Oh, right, I’ve just set up a new wild fruit orchard. The raspberry bushes are bearing fruit. You can go pick some to eat."

"The raspberries are ready to eat?" Lin Xiao said joyfully. "Then I’ll go pick some. I haven’t had any this year."

Li You nodded. "Go on, then. Go pick some to eat."

Ye Shengge added, "I’ll go with you."

Lin Xiao said, "Okay, thank you, Sister Ye."

The two of them headed toward the wild fruit orchard.

Just then, customers arrived for a meal.

Li You went into the kitchen and got busy.

In between cooking for the customers, he also prepared the dishes for himself and the others.

Three catties of spicy crayfish, three servings of Chopped Pepper Fish Head, and a portion of tomato and egg soup.

Ye Shengge and Lin Xiao had returned from the wild fruit orchard.

Lin Xiao had picked some raspberries to eat, but she didn’t have many. It wasn’t because they weren’t tasty, but because she was deliberately saving room for the spicy crayfish and Chopped Pepper Fish Head at lunch.

Now, it was finally time to eat.

Seeing the spicy crayfish on the table, Lin Xiao was thrilled.

’I can finally eat the spicy crayfish here again!’ For the past month, Lin Xiao had thought about the spicy crayfish from this place almost every single day.

"Go on and eat. Have some more," Li You said to Lin Xiao.

"Thank you, Boss. I’ll dig in then."

With that, Lin Xiao picked up a crayfish and popped it into her mouth.

After eating it, she felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

After she had eaten several in a row, Li You added, "Try the Chopped Pepper Fish Head too. See if you like it."

Lin Xiao nodded. "Thank you, Boss. I will."

After speaking, she picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth.

After tasting it, she said joyfully, "It’s delicious! I never knew this dish was so good. No wonder it’s so famous."

Li You asked, "Do people in your village cook this dish?"

Lin Xiao shook her head. "I don’t know. But I don’t think so. A lot of people don’t even know you can eat fish heads this way."

Li You said, "This way of preparing it is indeed uncommon around here. Have some more."

"Okay. Thanks, Boss!"

Lin Xiao continued eating, and of course, Li You and Ye Shengge were eating as well.

After the meal, Li You returned to the kitchen to continue his work.

Meanwhile, Ye Shengge took Lin Xiao upstairs to rest.

At two in the afternoon, after the last wave of customers had finished eating and left, Li You decided it was time to take Lin Xiao home.

He wanted to get her back early to keep Lin Zhonghai and his wife from worrying at home.

Although Lin Xiao had called Lin Zhonghai that morning to say she’d be eating lunch here and returning in the afternoon, he knew the elderly couple would still be concerned.

Li You went upstairs and told Lin Xiao he was going to take her home now.

Lin Xiao really wanted to hang out a bit longer, but in the end, she just nodded and said, "Okay. Sorry to trouble you, Boss."

Li You smiled and said it was no trouble at all.

Then, he went downstairs with Lin Xiao.

Ye Shengge followed them down as well.

Outside the shop, Li You first removed the storage basket from the back rack of his motorcycle. Then he tied Lin Xiao’s suitcase onto the rack.

Once it was secured, he straddled the motorcycle.

He started the engine.

Lin Xiao swung her long leg over and got on as well.

Although Lin Xiao was only 17, her height was already over 165 centimeters. She already had a pair of long legs.

"Hold on tight. We’re off."

"Okay. Goodbye, Sister Ye."

"Goodbye. Ride safe and be careful on the road."

"Okay."

Li You set off with Lin Xiao. It was several kilometers from here to Taoshan Village, not a short distance.

A little over ten minutes later, they reached the entrance of Taoshan Village.

Li You had been to Taoshan Village once before, so he wasn’t completely unfamiliar with it.

"Where exactly is your house? Can the motorcycle go all the way there?" Li You asked.

Lin Xiao said, "It can. I’ll give you directions."

"Alright."

Following Lin Xiao’s directions, Li You continued riding the motorcycle forward.

They hadn’t gone far when they ran into an old acquaintance. The man was carrying a basket on his back and a hoe over his shoulder.

Li You was pleasantly surprised. He stopped the motorcycle and called out, "Uncle Guodong, where are you headed?"

The old acquaintance was none other than Lin Guodong.

Lin Guodong was equally surprised to see Li You. He quickly spotted Lin Xiao sitting on the back and instantly understood why Li You was in the village.

Then he said with a smile, "Xiaoxiao is back for a home-leave weekend already. Time really flies."

"Hello, Uncle Guodong!" Lin Xiao greeted him.

"Hello, hello. You’re back. Your grandparents must be happy," Lin Guodong said.

Then he said to Li You, "I’m off to dig up some potatoes. Xiaoyou, you use potatoes as an ingredient. I’ll dig some extra for you to take back later."

Li You quickly said, "No, no, Uncle Guodong. I have plenty of potatoes right now. You should keep them for yourselves."

Lin Guodong replied, "You having plenty is one thing. This should be your first time in our village, right? Since it’s your first visit, I should give you some potatoes. They’re not worth much. If you refuse, it’s like you’re looking down on us."

Li You said, "It’s my second time. This is my second visit."

Lin Guodong said, "Well, I didn’t know about the last time. So for me, this is the first time. Since it’s the first time, I must make a gesture. Unless you’re looking down on my offer."

"Well..." Li You hesitated for a moment, then nodded with a smile. "Then thank you, Uncle Guodong. But please, don’t give me too many. Just a few catties, maybe ten, just as a gesture is fine."

Lin Guodong was very happy to hear that and said, "Good, good. You take Xiaoxiao home first. I’ll bring the potatoes to her house in a bit."

Li You nodded. "Okay. See you in a bit, then."

"See you in a bit!"

After saying their goodbyes, Lin Guodong continued toward the potato field, and Li You set off again with Lin Xiao.

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