Chapter 171 - 168: I’m Not Telling You the Answer
Upon reaching the village entrance, Li You got on his motorcycle and set off.
The girls followed in their car.
By the time they returned to the restaurant, it was nearly six in the evening.
A good number of customers were already in the restaurant, waiting for dinner.
The customers had learned from Da Bai and Xiaohai why Li You wasn’t at the restaurant.
This made them quite envious.
It was a group of young, beautiful college students.
They wished they could be the ones taking that group of college girls to catch crayfish.
Just imagining being surrounded by such a dazzling array of beauties was a blissful thought.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have the chance.
All they could do was watch in envy.
’Speaking of which, it’s almost six o’clock. Why isn’t the owner back yet?’
Just as the customers were grumbling about this, they saw Li You and the group of college girls arriving at the entrance.
Speak of the devil.
Upon seeing the college girls, the customers’ eyes lit up.
One of the customers called out, "Hey, Boss! How’d the harvest go? How many did you catch?"
Li You smiled. "It went pretty well."
Then he turned to Xia Xiaoyue. "Xiao Yue, show everyone what we brought back."
Xia Xiaoyue was holding the bucket of crayfish.
Xia Xiaoyue nodded, then placed the bucket on the ground. "Everyone, take a look!"
All the customers crowded around to see.
When they got a clear look at the crayfish in the bucket, their eyes lit up again.
"Wow! Not a bad haul at all! That must be about five or six pounds, right?"
"You guys are incredible. Did you catch them in the paddies? Or did you fish for them?"
Xia Xiaoyue said, "Both. We caught some in the paddies and fished for the rest."
"Impressive!"
The customers all gave a thumbs-up. "We never thought a group of pretty college girls like you would be brave enough to get down in the paddies and catch crayfish."
Hearing this, the girls beamed with delight.
Li You then said, "Hand the crayfish over to Da Bai and Xiaohai. Let them prep them first. Once they’re done, I’ll make spicy crayfish."
"Alright!"
The girls all nodded in agreement.
Da Bai and Xiaohai walked over.
Xia Xiaoyue handed the bucket to Da Bai. "Da Bai, Xiaohai, thanks for your hard work."
"Don’t mention it!" Da Bai and Xiaohai said in unison.
With that, they took the bucket to the kitchen and began prepping.
Li You went into the kitchen as well and started cooking.
The customers in the restaurant had already placed their orders.
The order slips were sitting on the kitchen counter.
Soon, the customers’ orders were being sent out one after another.
Da Bai and Xiaohai had also finished prepping the crayfish.
Li You began to cook the crayfish.
The crayfish were ready.
Out of the wok, they filled a massive platter.
Li You carried the platter of crayfish out of the kitchen himself.
The girls had been eagerly awaiting the crayfish.
Now, seeing Li You emerge from the kitchen with a platter of crayfish, they knew their prize was ready.
They were instantly overjoyed.
After Li You brought the platter over and set it on their table, they all thanked him profusely.
They also invited him to eat with them.
Li You nodded. "Alright, I’ll have a taste of the crayfish you all caught."
"Have as much as you want," the girls all said.
Then, they each took a crayfish and began to eat.
With the first bite, their faces lit up with delight.
In terms of flavor, these crayfish were, of course, no different from any others served here.
But somehow, they seemed to taste just a little bit better.
Just then, Chu Yiwei and Lin Xin walked into the restaurant.
Seeing them, Xia Xiaoyue quickly called out, "Teacher Chu, Teacher Lin, come have some crayfish! We caught these ourselves this afternoon in the owner’s home village."
Chu Yiwei and Lin Xin were delighted to see Xia Xiaoyue, Yu Wei, Mu Qingye, and the other students there as well.
They were even more intrigued after hearing what Xia Xiaoyue said.
The two of them walked over.
Chu Yiwei smiled faintly. "So you even went to source your own ingredients?"
"Yep!" said Xia Xiaoyue. "We caught them in the paddies and fished for them, too. It was a lot of fun. Teacher Chu, have you ever caught crayfish in a paddy? Or fished for them?"
Chu Yiwei replied, "I’ve never caught them in a paddy, but I have fished for them. Quite a few times, actually. Back in the day, whenever we craved crayfish, we’d often just find a spot to go fishing and then cook them ourselves."
For some reason, Xia Xiaoyue and the other girls felt a wave of envy upon hearing this.
Then they once again invited Chu Yiwei and Lin Xin to have some crayfish.
After thanking them, Chu Yiwei and Lin Xin each took a crayfish and began to eat.
Of course, they tasted absolutely incredible!
Five and a half pounds of crayfish was a lot, but with so many people, it was gone in no time.
Even though it wasn’t enough to completely satisfy them, everyone had a wonderful time eating.
Now it was time to order some proper dishes for their meal.
After eating, it would be time to head back to school.
Chu Yiwei and Lin Xin ate with them as well.
They ordered Mapo Tofu, Twice-cooked Pork, and Stir-fried Shredded Potatoes. They also had to get the two new dishes from today again: Steamed Pork with Preserved Greens and Tomato and Egg Soup.
Li You went into the kitchen and got to work.
Before long, all the dishes had been served.
"Boss, when are you going to eat? Are you eating now? If so, eat with us!" Xia Xiaoyue said to Li You.
Li You shook his head. "You all eat first. If more customers come, I’ll have to get busy again."
"Alright then, we’ll start without you."
"Okay. Take your time and enjoy."
"Okay!"
And sure enough, more customers arrived soon after, and Li You went back into the kitchen to get busy again.
After he had cooked and served dishes for several more waves of customers, Xia Xiaoyue, Mu Qingye, Ling Xiaoru, Chu Yiwei, and the others finished their meal.
"Boss, we’re heading out now. Back to school. We’ll come back to your village to fish for crayfish again sometime!" Xia Xiaoyue said.
Li You smiled. "Sounds good. You’re welcome anytime."
"Bye, Boss!"
The girls all waved goodbye.
"We’ll miss you, Boss!"
Many of the girls chimed in with this.
"The boss will miss you, too."
That wasn’t Li You speaking. It was a few other customers who happened to be leaving the restaurant at that very moment.
Li You couldn’t help but smile.
The girls across from him burst out laughing.
The customer then turned to Li You with a grin. "Boss, you’ll miss them too, right? We’re not wrong, are we?"
Li You couldn’t exactly tell the customer he was wrong.
So, he nodded. "You’re not wrong."
Hearing his reply, the girls across from him laughed even more gleefully.
The customers roared with laughter before taking their leave as well.
Ling Xiaoru, a smile lighting up her face, then said to Li You, "Boss, I’m heading back too."
Li You nodded. "Alright. Thank you for the painting."
Ling Xiaoru was delighted. "I’m just glad you like it."
Li You said, "I’ll hang it up tomorrow for everyone to see."
Ling Xiaoru was even more thrilled. "Okay! Well, goodbye, Boss!"
"Goodbye!"
Chu Yiwei then chimed in, "You’re quite popular, Boss! I think those girls really do like you."
Li You laughed. "They just like my cooking. Doesn’t Teacher Chu like it too?"
Chu Yiwei smiled faintly. "Liking your cooking is a given. I do, too. But perhaps what they like isn’t *just* your cooking."
"Is that so?" Li You looked at Chu Yiwei and added, "Then what about you, Teacher Chu?"
"Me?" Chu Yiwei smiled again. "I’m not telling."
Beside her, Lin Xin covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.
With that, the two of them also took their leave.
Li You smiled and went back inside the restaurant.
After several more waves of customers came, ate, and left, the sky had finally grown completely dark.
Another day had passed.
It had been a rather fulfilling day.
’Time to make some spicy crayfish and watch some TV.’
...