A customer named Xie Feng said, "Speaking of the scenery at Jiulong Gorge, I've heard it's incredibly beautiful. I've actually been wanting to take a trip there for a while. After all, Jiulong Gorge is right here in our own Changxi County. We really should go see it."
This sentiment was shared by all the other customers in the shop.
Everyone chimed in, saying they'd also been thinking of visiting Jiulong Gorge.
Xie Feng said, "Well, in that case, let's plan a time and go to Jiulong Gorge together. It'll be more fun with a group. And while we're there, we can stop by Boss Li's place to check it out. What does everyone think?"
"Sounds good. Count me in."
"I'll go too."
"Me too."
"..."
Everyone eagerly agreed to go.
Seeing this, Xie Feng added, "Okay, I'll create a group chat. Everyone join, and we can make plans in there."
"Okay, okay."
"Sure, sounds good."
"..."
Xie Feng created a group chat, and all the customers in the shop promptly joined.
After joining the group, they all went back to eating their noodles.
A faint smile appeared on Jiang Caidong's face.
'It's good that these guys are willing to go,' he thought. 'They're going to be blown away by Boss Li's restaurant.'
'They'll also be glad they took my recommendation.'
'And when they get back, they'll definitely come back here to tell me all about it.'
'I can't wait!'
...
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Li You was discussing beef noodle recipes with Liang Heng and the other chefs.
Making delicious beef noodles was actually quite difficult.
First, the noodle-making process itself was very particular.
To start, the choice of flour was crucial.
Then came the steps of mixing the dough, letting it rest, stretching it, and pulling it. Every single step was critical.
If any step was done incorrectly, the final texture of the noodles would be compromised.
Once the noodles were made, preparing the beef broth was equally important and critical, and also very difficult to get right.
Therefore, it was very hard to make a delicious bowl of beef noodles.
After the discussion, both Liang Heng and the other chefs felt they had learned an immense amount.
The things Li You had told them were truly priceless.
Therefore, Liang Heng and the other chefs were all incredibly excited, thanking Li You profusely over and over again.
Li You waved his hand, gesturing that they didn't need to be so formal.
He had only shared a few simple things.
As for how much progress the chefs would make with their beef noodles, it all depended on each person's aptitude and dedication.
It was hard to say for the other chefs, but Li You was confident that Liang Heng's improvement would be significant.
Amidst the chefs' gratitude, Li You took his leave.
Liang Heng saw Li You out of the kitchen, and then he and Jiang Caidong walked Li You to the front door of the shop.
"Boss Jiang, Master Liang, you're welcome to visit Jiulong Gorge whenever you have time."
"Definitely, definitely."
Even if Li You hadn't said anything, Jiang Caidong and Liang Heng would have gone to Jiulong Gorge at any time.
They couldn't resist the delicious food at Li You's restaurant.
...
After leaving Mianwei Jia Noodle House, Li You didn't delay any further and went straight to the parking lot where his motorcycle was parked.
He got on his motorcycle and set off for the ingredient wholesale market.
After arriving at the ingredient wholesale market, Li You began selecting his spices.
After walking through the entire market, he finally bought all the spices he hadn't been able to find at the town market that morning: star anise, cinnamon, dried tangerine peel, black cardamom, and more.
They were all of medium quality.
The county's ingredient market was, after all, much better than the one in town.
He had now bought all the ingredients needed to make the braising liquid.
This meant he could officially launch the braised dishes tomorrow.
Li You was quite looking forward to it.
'Now to the meat market to buy some ingredients for the braised dishes.'
'Chicken feet, pork jowl, chicken, duck, goose—anything will do.'
'I'll just buy whatever I can find.'
It wasn't easy to find medium-quality ingredients like these in the market.
It all depended on Li You's luck today.
He got back on his motorcycle and soon arrived at the nearest meat market.
This meat market was quite large, with a wide variety of meats. It had common meats like pork, lamb, beef, and rabbit, as well as all sorts of common poultry.
But the vast majority was of low quality.
After walking through the entire market, Li You ended up buying only five kilograms of chicken feet.
Only these five kilograms of chicken feet were of medium quality.
'That's too little!'
But there was nothing he could do.
It was already 4:30 in the afternoon.
There was no more time to go to other meat markets.
'Oh well, time to head back.'
'If five kilograms of chicken feet is all I have, then five kilograms it is. I'll just sell these tomorrow.'
'I'll just treat it as a trial run for the braised dishes.'
Time to go home.
...
By the time he got back to the restaurant, it was already 6:30 PM.
Luckily, it wouldn't get dark until around 8:00 PM. If it were winter, it would have been pitch-black by now.
Many customers were waiting in front of the restaurant.
When the customers saw Li You return, their faces all lit up with joy.
The boss was finally back.
Of course, the reason they were waiting here was that they had learned from Da Bai and Xiaohai that Li You would be back at the restaurant around 6:30 PM.
Otherwise, they certainly wouldn't have been waiting around foolishly.
While they were very eager to eat here, it wasn't an absolute necessity.
Now that the boss had really returned at 6:30, it was just perfect.
The customers were delighted and crowded around him, asking, "Boss, did you get all the ingredients for the braising liquid?"
The customers had, of course, also learned the purpose of Li You's trip to the county from Da Bai and Xiaohai.
They were all incredibly excited and full of anticipation about it.
'The boss's braised dishes are going to be absolutely delicious.'
'Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.'
Li You nodded. "I got them all."
Hearing this, the customers grew even more surprised and excited. They all asked, "So, Boss, when are you planning to officially launch the braised dishes? Tomorrow?"
The customers were, of course, all hoping it would be tomorrow.
Li You nodded. "Tomorrow. But for now, I only have five kilograms of chicken feet."
"Only five kilograms of chicken feet?"
"That's way too little! A single person could buy all five kilograms!"
At this rate, it was highly likely they wouldn't get to have any.
"Boss, isn't five kilograms too little? If you're only selling braised chicken feet tomorrow, you should prepare at least fifty kilograms!"
"Yeah, Boss. Five kilograms is way too little. I'm afraid they'll be sold out before we even get here."
"Boss, you should make more! There are plenty of chicken feet at the market! It's not like it's a hard-to-find ingredient."
"..."
The customers were fine with only braised chicken feet being sold tomorrow.
But there had to be more of it!
Five kilograms was too little!
Li You gave a wry smile. "I wanted to prepare more. But I went through an entire meat market today and could only find five kilograms of suitable chicken feet. There was nothing I could do."
"Oh, is that so?"
Hearing Li You's explanation, the customers quieted down.
Then, they all slowly nodded.
'So that's how it is.'
All the customers knew that Li You was extremely demanding when it came to his ingredients.
And they felt that was how it should be.
As a top-tier chef, it was only natural to have high standards for ingredients.
The customers now realized they had overlooked the issue of ingredient quality.
There were indeed plenty of chicken feet in the market, but their quality might not have been up to the boss's standards.
He went through an entire meat market and only managed to select five kilograms of chicken feet in the end.
What did that show?
It showed that the boss had very high standards for his ingredients.
This was not only to ensure the quality of the braised dishes but also to be responsible for the food safety of his customers.
A boss like this was truly rare.
After all, even if the boss used just any random chicken feet, regardless of their quality, the final braised product would still taste amazing.
They would never even know that the chicken feet were of poor quality.
The boss could have easily done that. He would have earned a lot more money that way.
But he didn't.
Thinking about this, the customers were all filled with emotion.
'A boss like this is really one of a kind!'
If there were only five kilograms of chicken feet tomorrow, then that was perfectly fine.
If they missed out tomorrow, they could just eat them the day after.
Thus, not only did the customers stop asking Li You to prepare more chicken feet, but they also began to thank him.
They thanked him for always putting ingredient quality first.
Because of this, they could eat here with complete peace of mind.
...