The customers continued to ask, "Boss, is that master chef named Li You from our Changxi County? Why did he open his restaurant in Jiulong Gorge?"
Jiang Caidong said, "He is indeed from our Changxi County. From Changle Village in Wenxian Town. As for why he opened his restaurant in Jiulong Gorge?
There are probably two main reasons.
First, Jiulong Gorge is right next to Changle Village, and the scenery is incredible.
Second, even though his restaurant is in Jiulong Gorge, business is still amazing. Besides the local customers from Wenxian Town, many people from our county seat and even the city often go there.
For a boss like Li You, the location of his restaurant doesn’t matter. Forget Jiulong Gorge—even if he opened up in some remote, deep mountain forest, I bet his business would still be great."
The customers were all dumbfounded, and many said that was a bit of an exaggeration.
But Jiang Caidong just smiled faintly and added, "It’s really not an exaggeration at all. I can’t say it’s 100% certain, but there’s at least a 90% chance."
"You’re that certain, Boss?"
The customers were all astonished. They couldn’t understand why Jiang Caidong was so sure.
Jiang Caidong continued, "Once you understand the god-like culinary skills of Boss Li You, perhaps you’ll be just as certain as I am."
The customers were once again left speechless. ’Just how incredible must Boss Li You’s cooking be for the boss to say something like that?’
It did make them a little curious.
"Oh, right, Boss," one customer asked. "Since Boss Li You gave Master Liang pointers on the Yangchun Noodles and beef noodles, does his restaurant sell those two noodle dishes as well?"
Jiang Caidong nodded. "Of course."
"And the taste? Is it even better than Master Liang’s?" the customer asked again.
Jiang Caidong said, "Master Liang’s Yangchun Noodles have reached about 80% of Boss Li You’s skill. That’s Master Liang’s limit. As for the beef noodles, he’s currently at only about 40%."
His words made all the customers’ eyes widen in disbelief.
’The Yangchun Noodles are only at 80% of his skill?’
’And the beef noodles are even more outrageous, only at 40%?’
’Is he for real?’
They already thought the beef noodles today were incredibly delicious! It was already hard for them to believe beef noodles could taste this good.
But now they were being told that these noodles only had about 40% of Boss Li You’s skill.
If that was the case, just how delicious were Boss Li You’s beef noodles?
The customers couldn’t even imagine it.
Therefore, they remained skeptical of Jiang Caidong’s claims.
Jiang Caidong knew the customers didn’t believe him. He didn’t explain further, simply saying, "You’ll know once you go and try it for yourselves."
’Really?’
The customers were all wondering if it was really necessary to make a trip to Jiulong Gorge to try it.
...
At that very moment, another group of customers from Jiang Caidong’s restaurant had already gathered elsewhere, preparing to set off for Jiulong Gorge.
This was the group of customers that Xie Feng had gathered two days prior.
On that day, Li You had come to the county seat to buy spices for a braising liquid recipe. Because he had an arrangement with Jiang Caidong, he had stopped by Jiang Caidong’s Mianwei Jia Noodle House.
Back then, he had run into Liu Xu, Xiao Yue, Zhang Rui’Er, and the others right outside the restaurant.
After going inside and finishing his beef noodles, Li You offered to exchange some ideas about the beef noodle recipe with Liang Heng.
At the time, Liang Heng had been incredibly excited.
The customers eating in the restaurant at the time noticed Liang Heng’s excitement and asked Jiang Caidong who the young man was and why Master Liang was so worked up.
So, Jiang Caidong told them about Li You and the Jiulong Gorge Restaurant.
He not only mentioned that Liang Heng’s Yangchun Noodles were only at about 80% of Li You’s skill but also said that if those customers went to Jiulong Gorge Restaurant, it would open up a whole new world of food for them.
The customers were skeptical of Jiang Caidong’s words, thinking he was exaggerating.
However, since the scenery at Jiulong Gorge was exceptionally beautiful, it was worth a visit.
So, at the time, the customers all agreed they could go check out Jiulong Gorge and just treat it as a trip.
Then, a customer named Xie Feng created a group chat and added all the customers who were in the restaurant at the time.
There were over seventy people.
Everyone said they should pick a time to go to Jiulong Gorge together.
The more, the merrier.
And they ended up setting the date for today.
However, not everyone went—only about forty people.
The others didn’t have time today.
Now, the forty of them had met up and were ready to leave.
Xie Feng was leading the group.
Xie Feng said, "We’re going to Jiulong Gorge today mainly for the scenery. I know that for most of us, myself included, this is our first time there. But the views shouldn’t disappoint. As for Boss Li You’s restaurant, we can be a little hopeful. After all, Boss Jiang praised it so much, the food should be pretty good. Just let’s not get our hopes up too high, so we don’t end up disappointed."
The others nodded in agreement. That’s what they were thinking too.
Xie Feng then said, "Alright then, let’s head out."
"Alright!"
There were ten cars in total.
The ten cars set off one by one, making for a rather spectacular sight.
...
「Jiulong Gorge.」
The first batch of five chickens had finished braising and were out of the pot.
Li You quickly put in another five chickens to braise the second batch.
Looking at the five finished braised chickens, Li You was pleasantly surprised.
They looked so appetizing.
Their color was on a completely different level from the braised chickens you’d find at the market.
And the aroma was incredibly rich.
The sight and smell were enough to make his mouth water.
Li You picked up one of the braised chickens, twisted off a drumstick, and started to eat.
After all, he had already decided to save one for himself to eat tonight while watching TV and having a drink.
’This one will do.’
He’d just eat a drumstick now to taste it.
He took a big bite and was met with an aroma unlike any he’d known before. It was far more delicious than he’d imagined.
He had never eaten such delicious braised chicken before.
Li You was even more delighted. He walked over to the rocking chair at the restaurant’s entrance, eating as he went.
He sat down.
He took out his phone and fiddled with it while he ate.
Just as he was eating, a voice reached his ears. "Boss, you’re making that drumstick look way too delicious!"
Li You looked up and saw it was a regular customer. He smiled and replied, "It really is."
The customer added, "Is that a braised drumstick? Are you selling braised drumsticks as a new item today?"
Li You said, "It is a braised drumstick. But I’m not selling just the drumsticks. I’m selling whole braised chickens. I braised a few today to test them out."
The customer said in pleasant surprise, "Braised chicken! That’s great! Braised chicken is delicious. How are you selling it, Boss?"
Li You replied, "35 yuan a jin."
The customer was even more delighted and said, "That’s not expensive at all. In that case, weigh out half a chicken for me."
It was still early, and the customer had come to the restaurant for breakfast. He originally planned to have a bowl of noodles.
But now, seeing how heartily Li You was enjoying that drumstick, he changed his mind.
’I’ll splurge on breakfast today and have half a braised chicken.’
Li You’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t expected to make his first sale of braised chicken so early.
He immediately stood up and said with a smile, "Alright. I’ll go weigh it for you right now."
Normally, he could have Da Bai or Xiaohai do it, but since Li You wasn’t busy, he decided to weigh it for the customer himself.
The customer nodded. "I’ll have to trouble you then, Boss. Oh, and don’t chop up the leg, and leave a little extra on it."
The reason for this was that the customer also wanted to gnaw on a big chicken leg.
Li You understood what the customer meant and smilingly agreed that it was no problem.
Then he walked back into the restaurant.
...