Chapter 419 - 363: I’ll Make Wensi Tofu for You to Try

Chapter 419: Chapter 363: I’ll Make Wensi Tofu for You to Try

But Guyi and Liu Bai politely declined.

They didn’t just turn down the girls, but everyone who wanted to treat them to dinner.

Tonight, everyone would be eating on their own.

The girls started ordering.

First, they got thirty catties of spicy crayfish, then some steamed mandarin fish, Longjing Shrimp, mapo tofu, and more.

Once the order was in, Li You went into the kitchen and got to work.

As the other dishes were ready, he brought them out to the girls one by one.

The cold-dressed houttuynia was also served. All that was left was the fernbrake soup.

Fernbrake is the tender stem and leaf of the fern plant. It’s a very common wild vegetable found in the mountains and fields.

It has a decent texture, a fresh fragrance, and a smooth mouthfeel. Most people should find it palatable.

Besides its edible tender stems and leaves, the fern’s rhizome can be made into a starch called fern-root starch. It also has medicinal uses, said to clear heat, lubricate the intestines, descend qi, and resolve phlegm.

Furthermore, fernbrake can also be used as an insect repellent, and it works quite well.

Li You began to make the fernbrake soup.

First, he blanched the fernbrake, then soaked it in water and removed all the tough parts.

Then, he chopped up the remaining tender parts.

Next, he prepared some pork, which he also boiled and then minced.

He set aside the water used to boil the pork.

He mixed the chopped fernbrake and minced pork, then seasoned it with a suitable amount of minced scallion, minced garlic, and pepper.

Finally, he added the mixture to the reserved pork stock and continued to cook it.

More water could be added if needed.

At the end, he added a bit of soy sauce, and it was ready.

He divided it into three portions, as the girls were sitting at three tables.

He served the soup.

Li You walked out of the kitchen and went over to the girls’ tables. "You may have had fernbrake before," he said, "but probably never as a soup. Give it a try and see what you think."

Some of the girls had eaten fernbrake before, while others hadn’t. But for all of them, this was their first time trying fernbrake soup.

It looked pretty good.

"Boss, did you add meat to the soup?" Xia Xiaoyue asked.

Li You nodded. "I added pork. You can make it without, of course, but the texture won’t be as good."

The girls all nodded, picked up their spoons, and began to ladle out the soup.

It was a little hot, so they blew on it to cool it down before taking a sip.

The moment the soup touched their lips, all the girls’ eyes lit up. It was much tastier than they had imagined, with a delicate, fresh aroma.

’Fernbrake makes for a pretty amazing soup! It feels like it’s even better than eating it as a cold salad or stir-fried.’

Although the girls had eagerly gathered so much fernbrake to eat that evening, they had done it mostly for fun and to try something fresh.

It wasn’t because they were particularly fond of fernbrake.

To them, the taste of fernbrake was just average—palatable, but nothing to get excited about.

Even the girls who had never tried fernbrake before didn’t expect it to be particularly delicious.

So, the fact that this fernbrake soup tasted so good was a pleasant surprise for all of them.

’So there really is a delicious way to eat fernbrake after all.’

Of course, it was definitely so delicious because Li You had made it. If someone else, or even if they themselves had cooked it, the flavor would surely be much worse.

Still, they were certain that this method of preparation was inherently tastier than making a cold salad or a stir-fry.

Of course, this was just their opinion.

Other people might prefer it as a cold salad or stir-fried. That was perfectly normal.

But regardless, they really enjoyed the fernbrake soup today.

"Boss, this fernbrake soup is delicious," Xia Xiaoyue and the other girls said.

Li You smiled. "Then have some more."

"Okay!"

"Huh? Boss, you can make soup with fernbrake?" a customer who had just walked in asked Li You, having overheard the conversation between him and the girls.

Li You nodded. "You can! Just chop up the fernbrake, add a little minced meat, and cook them together."

"This is the first time I’ve ever heard of that. I’ll have to find some fernbrake and try it myself someday," the customer added.

Li You smiled. "Go for it! But you’d better be quick. It’s getting harder to find tender fernbrake now."

The customer nodded. "Alright! I’m here to eat, too. Boss, I’ll have an order of mapo tofu."

"Of course, please have a seat anywhere," Li You said with a smile.

After that, more and more customers began to arrive and order their meals.

Guyi and Liu Yuan stopped playing chess and were chatting with some of the customers.

A short while later, Xia Xiaoyue, Mu Qingye, Yu Wei, and the other girls finished their meal, paid the bill, and got ready to head back to school.

They first said their goodbyes to Guyi and Liu Bai.

Guyi and Liu Bai both smiled and nodded. "Be safe on your way."

"We will. Thank you, Ancient, Elder Liu."

Then, they took their leave of Li You. "Boss, we’re heading out now. Back to school."

"Okay, drive safely."

"We will!"

After seeing the girls off, Ling Xiaoru went upstairs. She had already eaten with Xia Xiaoyue, Mu Qingye, Yu Wei, and the others.

Afterward, customers who finished their meals left one after another, bidding farewell to Guyi and Liu Bai as they went.

At seven in the evening, Guyi and Liu Bai also ordered their dinner.

Tonight, it was just the two of them eating.

After a leisurely meal, Guyi went to find Li You to settle the bill for both lunch and dinner.

The total came to a little over 130,000 yuan, but Li You just took an even 130,000.

130,000 might seem like a lot, but when you broke it down, it was less than 200 yuan per person. And that was mainly because everyone had had a lot to drink.

Guyi paid directly via bank transfer.

After paying, Guyi informed Li You that he and Liu Bai would be leaving tomorrow after breakfast.

Li You was a little surprised. "You two aren’t staying a few more days this time?"

Guyi smiled faintly. "We’ll be back again, so we won’t stay too long this time."

Li You nodded and added, "In that case, when you come for breakfast tomorrow, I’ll prepare a serving of Wensi Tofu for you to try."

"Wensi Tofu?" Liu Bai’s eyes lit up, and he asked joyfully, "Are you ready to add that dish to the menu?"

Li You nodded. "The ingredients are all ready, and I’ve more or less perfected the recipe. I’m planning to launch it in the next few days."

"Excellent! Wonderful!" Liu Bai laughed, extremely pleased.

Wensi Tofu belongs to the Huaiyang Cuisine of his home, Jiangsu Province. The day before yesterday, when he had just arrived, he and Li You had discussed Huaiyang Cuisine and specifically mentioned Wensi Tofu.

At the time, Liu Bai had been greatly looking forward to Li You introducing Wensi Tofu soon, so that the customers here could also experience the charm of Huaiyang Cuisine.

Of course, on a personal level, he was also very curious to know what Li You’s Wensi Tofu would taste like.

Now, Li You had given him a pleasant surprise.

A very pleasant one indeed!

Guyi was, of course, just as surprised.

Although he had actually been hoping to see Li You introduce more dishes from Lu Cuisine, he was equally surprised and happy to see a dish from another culinary tradition.

He was, of course, very familiar with Wensi Tofu. He’d had it many times and knew its taste was quite excellent.

’So, just how delicious would Li You’s version be?’

It was undoubtedly something to be curious and excited about!

Receiving this news just as they were about to leave was indeed a huge surprise.

Both men expressed their great delight, saying they would be waiting to savor it tomorrow morning.

Li You said with a smile, "I hope I won’t disappoint you two."

"We have faith in you, Boss," both of them said.

After that, the two left, once again taking a motorcycle taxi back to town.

...

At nine o’clock at night, after the last group of customers had finished eating and left, Li You closed up the shop. He carried a plate of twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts, a bowl of tomato and egg soup, and some rice upstairs to eat.

Ling Xiaoru had already eaten earlier with Xia Xiaoyue, Mu Qingye, and the other girls.

So tonight, he was eating alone and decided not to drink.

Ling Xiaoru was lounging on the sofa, playing on her phone with the TV on.

Seeing Li You come up, Ling Xiaoru sat up and asked, "Have all the customers left?"

Li You nodded. "They’re all gone. I’ve already closed up."

Afterward, Li You told Ling Xiaoru that Guyi and Liu Yuan would be leaving tomorrow morning after breakfast, and also that he had invited the two elders to try Wensi Tofu.

Ling Xiaoru was also a bit surprised. "They’re leaving so soon this time?"

Li You nodded. "They’ve always been elusive, wandering through the mortal world as they please. It’s perfectly normal for them to leave tomorrow."

Ling Xiaoru nodded. "That’s true."

As for Wensi Tofu, Ling Xiaoru thought for a moment and said, "I think I’ve heard of that dish before."

...