Chapter 408 - 358: Another Room Rented Out

Chapter 408: Chapter 358: Another Room Rented Out

After he finished chopping, he heated some oil in a wok.

He used a large wok.

It needed a generous amount of oil. Once the oil was hot, he added the minced meat and stir-fried it over medium-low heat.

He added a bit of chili bean paste, five-spice powder, and scallion segments...

Finally, he added the chopped preserved vegetables.

The aroma instantly filled the air.

"It smells so good!" Ling Xiaoru said happily, appearing at the kitchen doorway. "That’s the smell. It’s so pleasant."

A moment later, she added, "I sent the photos and videos to Xiao Yue and Qing Ye. They were absolutely stunned and said they’ve never seen such beautiful fish. They also said they want to come see them in person. They’re on their way over right now."

"They’re coming now?" Li You was a little surprised. "In such a hurry?"

Ling Xiaoru smiled. "Well, the fact that the two fish are gorgeous is one reason. But they were probably just looking for an excuse to come eat here again. The fish gave them the perfect one. They can come without a reason, of course, but sometimes it’s nice to have one."

"Is that so?" Li You chuckled. "Well, that’s fine by me. As it happens, I have two Wuchang Fish today. I’ll treat them to dinner tonight."

Ling Xiaoru nodded. "That’s a great idea."

Li You continued stir-frying the seasoned minced meat.

Soon, it was ready.

Ling Xiaoru said, "It smells incredible. Boss, can I try a little?"

Li You said, "Help yourself. You can even have a bowl of rice with it if you want."

Ling Xiaoru said, "No rice, thanks. I just want a little taste."

She then picked up a pair of chopsticks, took a small bite, and her face lit up. "This is even better than my mom’s cooking!"

Of course, Ling Xiaoru already knew it would be.

Li You smiled, grabbed a pair of chopsticks himself, and tried some. It was indeed incredibly fragrant and delicious.

Of course, eaten on its own, it was a little salty.

It wasn’t because Li You had added too much salt; the preserved vegetables themselves were naturally quite salty.

However, it was perfect as a topping for rice.

Afterward, Li You divided all the seasoned minced meat into two portions. He kept one for himself and set the other aside for Ling Xiaoru to take with her tomorrow.

...

「7:00 PM」

Li You was busy in the kitchen.

Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye arrived. The first place they went was the fishpond.

Ling Xiaoru was there too.

Looking at the two Blood Red Dragon Fish in the pond, both Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye were quite excited.

Compared to the videos and photos, seeing them in person was something else entirely. They were more beautiful, larger, and had a much greater visual impact.

Of course, it wasn’t just the two Blood Red Dragon Fish. The other goldfish and koi were also much more beautiful and stunning in person than they appeared in the photos and videos.

Seeing so many beautiful fish in person was a truly delightful experience.

Xia Xiaoyue said, "This fishpond is going to be incredibly popular. I bet most of the customers who come to eat will stop by to see the fish every single time."

Mu Qingye said, "Definitely. These fish are incredibly eye-catching. The boss must have spent a fortune on them."

Xia Xiaoyue said, "Absolutely. Forget the two Blood Red Dragon Fish for a moment; even the other goldfish and koi must be quite valuable. The boss is so generous!"

Ling Xiaoru said, "If he weren’t so willing to spend, it wouldn’t have turned out this well."

"That’s true," Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye both agreed.

After watching the fish for a long time, the three of them finally left the pond and headed toward the restaurant.

"Xiao Yue, Qing Ye, are you two planning to stay the night? You’re not going back, are you?" Ling Xiaoru asked.

"We both have classes tomorrow morning," Xia Xiaoyue said. "But if we stay here tonight and leave early, we can still make it. It’s just... we feel a little bad about imposing again."

"Well..." Ling Xiaoru said, "I’m sure the boss would be happy to have you stay."

"But we still feel awkward about it. By the way, Sister Xiaoru, how much is your rent for the room here per month?" Xia Xiaoyue asked.

"A thousand yuan," Ling Xiaoru replied. "Miss Ye pays a thousand too. Xiao Yue, don’t tell me you’re thinking of..."

Xia Xiaoyue nodded. "Actually, on our way over, Sister Mu and I were talking about it. We were thinking, maybe we should rent a room here too. That way, we wouldn’t feel awkward whenever we want to stay the night. We can just rent one room and share it."

Ling Xiaoru nodded. "That’s a good idea. It’s definitely better to have your own room."

Xia Xiaoyue said, "Then let’s go talk to the boss in a bit. We can start renting today."

"Sounds good," said Ling Xiaoru. "We’re having Wuchang Fish tonight. The boss said it’s his treat."

"Wuchang Fish?" Xia Xiaoyue asked. "Is the boss selling Wuchang Fish again?"

Ling Xiaoru shook her head. "Not exactly."

She then briefly explained what had happened with the Wuchang Fish the day before.

So that’s what happened.

Both Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye nodded.

Then, Mu Qingye said, "Wild Wuchang Fish must be pretty rare around here, right? Sister Xiaoru, it’s amazing you can catch them in the river in your village. The ecosystem there must be excellent!"

Ling Xiaoru nodded. "The fishing there is really good. A lot of people from my village fish in the river regularly, and they say they almost always have a good catch. There are a lot of big fish in there, too. I heard someone once caught a black carp that was over thirty pounds."

Mu Qingye said, "That’s huge! Sister Xiaoru, how about we visit your village sometime?"

"Of course!" Ling Xiaoru was delighted. "Anytime. You’re more than welcome."

"That’s great!"

Both Mu Qingye and Xia Xiaoyue were thrilled.

"Oh, right! The boss also planted two mangosteen trees today," Ling Xiaoru said. "Come on, I’ll show you."

"Mangosteens?"

The eyes of both Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye lit up. Mangosteens were a real treat, and they both loved them.

They were pleasantly surprised that the boss had actually planted mangosteen trees.

’But... mangosteen is a tropical fruit. Isn’t it unsuitable for the climate here?’

"It doesn’t matter whether it’s suitable or not," Ling Xiaoru said. "He’s trying it out first. What if it succeeds? And even if it doesn’t, there’s no real loss. That’s what the boss said, and I think he has a point."

Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye thought about it and had to agree.

’Who cares if it’s suitable or not? Just plant it and see what happens.’

The three of them walked into the Hundred Fruit Garden and soon came to the two mangosteen trees.

’So this is what a mangosteen tree looks like.’

Both Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye circled the trees, examining them closely. They had eaten plenty of mangosteens, but they had never seen what the trees looked like.

’So this is what they look like.’

They didn’t look much different from ordinary fruit trees.

’It’s just, for having just been planted, they’re already so big. He must have planted young trees, right? You could hardly call them saplings.’

Ling Xiaoru laughed. "I think they were young trees, too. But all the fruit trees the boss has planted were like this. So it’s pretty normal around here."

Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye both nodded. "Well, ’normal’ for here, at least."

After wandering around the orchard for a little longer, the three of them left.

They then went into the restaurant and over to the kitchen doorway.

Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye told Li You they wanted to rent a room and asked if that was possible.

Li You was a little surprised, but of course it was possible.

In fact, Li You was quite happy about it. He told them there were two empty rooms and they could pick whichever one they liked.

With Li You’s agreement, both Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye were delighted.

Then, Xia Xiaoyue asked if they could pay the rent quarterly. Paying for a full year at once would be difficult for them.

That was no problem at all. Li You said that was perfectly fine; they could even pay month-to-month if they wanted.

Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye thanked him.

Xia Xiaoyue immediately transferred three months’ rent—3,000 yuan—to Li You.

Afterward, the three women went upstairs.

Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye chose one of the two empty rooms.

...

「9:00 PM」

The last of the customers finished their meals and left.

Li You had also finished preparing their dinner for the evening.

There were the two Wuchang Fish—one steamed, the other braised in soy sauce. He had also prepared three pounds of spicy crawfish and a tomato and egg soup.

He also brought out a bowl of the seasoned minced meat. It would be a fantastic topping for their rice!

Ling Xiaoru had paid for the two Wuchang Fish, so he decided to treat the three women to dinner tonight.

He’d consider it a welcome gift for Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye becoming tenants.

He closed up the restaurant and carried all the dishes upstairs.

Ling Xiaoru, Xia Xiaoyue, and Mu Qingye were watching TV. When they saw Li You coming upstairs with the food, they all got up to help.

They set all the dishes on the coffee table.

Time to eat.

Since Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye had to leave early the next morning, they decided not to drink.

Li You and Ling Xiaoru had a little.

Those who weren’t drinking could focus on the food. Both Wuchang Fish, steamed and braised, looked absolutely delicious.

They couldn’t wait to dig in.

After the first bite, it was just as they expected—no, even better. Both the steamed and the braised Wuchang Fish were more delicious than they could have imagined.

The incredible flavor was mainly due to Li You’s culinary skill, but the excellent quality of the Wuchang Fish itself also played a part.

Xia Xiaoyue said, "Boss, this Wuchang Fish is delicious, and it doesn’t have too many bones. I think you could officially add this to your menu."

Mu Qingye added, "I agree. I think this is my first time eating Wuchang Fish, and it’s really good."

Li You nodded. "I’ll consider it. Wuchang Fish is definitely a good option. You all eat up."

"You too, Boss."

"Alright!"

"This seasoned minced meat is so fragrant, too. Incredible!" Xia Xiaoyue exclaimed. "I’ve never had any that smelled this good. It’s perfect over rice."

"This is my first time trying it too, and it’s amazing," said Mu Qingye. "Boss, are you going to sell this to customers?"

Li You shook his head. "No, this is just for us. Miss Xiaoru brought me some preserved vegetables from her hometown today, so I decided to fry them up like this."

So that was it.

Both Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye nodded in understanding.

"When I was a kid living in the countryside, my grandparents used to make preserved vegetables every year, too," Xia Xiaoyue said. "But they don’t live in the countryside anymore, so they stopped making them."

Li You said, "If you’re not living in the countryside, it makes sense you wouldn’t make them anymore. If you girls like this seasoned minced meat, I can pack some up for you when you leave tomorrow morning. You can take it back to school with you."

"Really, Boss?"

Both Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye were pleasantly surprised. They really did love the seasoned minced meat. If they took it back to school to eat with their meals, they’d probably end up eating an extra bowl of rice every time.

Li You smiled. "Of course. I’ll pack some for you in the morning."

"Thank you, Boss!"

Xia Xiaoyue and Mu Qingye said in a sweet voice.

...