Chapter 32: This Land is Perfect for an Orchard
The parking lot.
After the two young women parked their electric scooters, one of them looked toward the restaurant and said, "Weiwei, I can’t believe there’s actually a restaurant here."
The woman called Weiwei was named Chu Yiwei.
She was the same woman who had walked past Li You at the town market, carrying groceries.
She was a primary school teacher at Wenxian Town Central School.
Ever since hearing from Li You the day before yesterday that he had opened a restaurant in Jiulong Gorge, she had been incredibly curious.
She really wanted to know if there was truly a restaurant here.
It was just simple curiosity.
So, she had asked a close colleague—the one who had just spoken, named Lin Xin—to come with her to Jiulong Gorge to see for herself.
So, after their morning classes ended, the two of them each rode their electric scooters here.
And it turned out there really was a new restaurant here.
’This place isn’t too far from town. Why open a restaurant here instead of in town?’
’So strange.’
Neither of the two women could figure it out.
However, it was none of their business.
They had only come to satisfy their curiosity.
And now, they had their answer.
"Weiwei, so are we heading straight back? Or should we take a look inside before we go?" Lin Xin asked.
Chu Yiwei thought for a moment, then said, "It’s already noon. Why don’t we go take a look inside? If it seems decent, we can eat here before heading back."
Lin Xin said, "That works. I didn’t feel like cooking today anyway. But let’s see what they have first and check the prices. A restaurant like this probably doesn’t get many customers, so I’m worried the boss will overcharge us."
Chu Yiwei said, "Of course."
The two of them walked to the restaurant’s entrance and peeked inside.
It seemed empty.
Lin Xin was just about to shout and ask if anyone was there.
Chu Yiwei tugged her sleeve, looked in a certain direction, and said, "The boss is over there."
Just a moment earlier, Chu Yiwei had turned her head and seen a young man walking toward them. It was the same man who had helped her pick up her potatoes at the town market.
Without a doubt, then, that man was the owner of this restaurant.
’So it really was him who opened a restaurant here.’
...
Li You had been keeping an eye on the two women while clearing some weeds.
When he saw them walk straight to the restaurant, he stopped what he was doing and started walking back as well.
"Hello, Boss. I came to have a look. And, thank you for what you did last time," Chu Yiwei said once Li You was closer.
Li You smiled. "That was nothing, just a small thing. Please don’t worry about it. Welcome to my place. Would you two like something to eat?"
Chu Yiwei replied, "We’ll take a look first."
Li You nodded, then pointed to the "Today’s Menu" sign and added, "Our menu is quite limited at the moment. We only have these three items."
Chu Yiwei and Lin Xin took a look and saw the prices were very reasonable. They couldn’t help but breathe a secret sigh of relief.
The limited menu wasn’t a problem.
The two women conferred in low voices for a moment.
Then, Chu Yiwei said, "Boss, we’ll have two small bowls of beef noodle soup."
Li You nodded. "No problem. Please have a seat. It’ll be ready in a moment."
With that, he walked into the kitchen.
The two women found a table and sat down, speaking in hushed tones.
Li You quickly prepared two small bowls of beef noodle soup and brought them out to the two women.
When they saw the bowls, both women let out a small, surprised "Huh?"
Chu Yiwei said, "Boss, this beef noodle soup looks delicious!"
Li You smiled. "I hope you enjoy it."
The two women couldn’t wait to dig in.
After the first bite, they were pleasantly surprised. When had they ever eaten noodles this good?
’The boss’s shop is so unassuming and out of the way, but the flavor of these noodles is absolutely incredible!’
Lin Xin said excitedly, "Weiwei, I’m so glad you asked me to come with you today. Otherwise, I never would have known there was a restaurant here with such amazing noodles."
Chu Yiwei said, "I didn’t expect the boss’s noodles to be this delicious either."
Both of them were thoroughly surprised and delighted.
’Thank goodness we didn’t go straight back. We would’ve missed out on this amazing beef noodle soup.’
’The boss’s skill is on another level.’
Neither of them could quite believe it. Then, they stopped talking and focused on eating their noodles.
After they slowly finished their meals, both felt incredibly satisfied.
It was the first time in their lives they had ever eaten such delicious noodles.
Chu Yiwei said, "Boss, I never imagined your noodles would be this good. I’m going to recommend this place to all the teachers at our school."
"Teachers?" Li You asked. "You’re both teachers?"
Chu Yiwei nodded. "We’re both teachers at Wenxian Town Central School. My name is Chu Yiwei, and she’s Lin Xin."
Li You said, "Oh, so you’re teachers. It’s a pleasure to meet you."
Chu Yiwei smiled. "Nice to meet you too, Boss."
Then she scanned the QR code to pay.
The total was 22 yuan.
With this 22 yuan, the main quest progress was now at 1,795 yuan, with only 205 yuan to go.
The two women walked out of the restaurant. They had to get back to school.
They still had classes in the afternoon.
Seeing the loquat tree in front of the shop, Chu Yiwei commented, "Boss, your loquat tree is bearing a lot of fruit."
Li You smiled. "It’s not bad. Do you two teachers like loquats? Feel free to pick some and eat."
Chu Yiwei waved her hand. "Oh, no, that’s alright. It just reminded me of the loquat tree at our school. We have one too, but it barely has any fruit on it."
Li You said, "It’s normal for a loquat tree at a school to not bear much fruit. I’ll pick a few."
With that, he walked to a loquat tree and picked a few fruits.
He handed them to the two teachers.
Seeing this, Chu Yiwei and Lin Xin said in unison, "Well, thank you, Boss."
Then they reached out and took the loquats.
All three of them started eating.
While eating, Chu Yiwei said, "Boss, it’s nice that you’ve planted some fruit trees out here. It’s convenient for having your own fruit to eat."
Li You nodded. "It is. That’s why I’m planning to clear this patch of land and plant a few more types of fruit trees."
Chu Yiwei said, "Oh, that’s a great idea! You could have an orchard here. It would be beautiful, and you’d have all sorts of fruit to eat. It sounds wonderful just thinking about it."
Li You smiled. "That’s the plan. I just don’t know where to buy fruit tree saplings around here."
Chu Yiwei said, "One of my students’ families grows a lot of fruit trees. They probably sell saplings. What kind of fruit trees are you planning to plant, Boss?"
Li You said, "Things like plums, grapes, cherries, kiwis, apples, pears, and oranges."
Chu Yiwei said, "Would you like me to ask them for you and see what kind of saplings they have for sale?"
"Yes!" Li You said. "That would be great. Thank you for the trouble, Teacher Chu."
Chu Yiwei said, "It’s no trouble at all. You’re being too polite, Boss. I’ll call him right now and ask."
"Great! It would be best if they’re mature saplings—the kind that can bear fruit the year after you plant them."
"Okay!"
Chu Yiwei took out her phone and dialed a number.
"Hello, Teacher Chu."
"Hello, Luo Yang’s father. Here’s the situation..."
She explained the situation over the phone.
After hanging up, Chu Yiwei said, "His family has plum, grape, kiwi, and ponkan orange saplings for sale. They’re all mature saplings, and he said they’re guaranteed to bear fruit next year."
Li You said, delighted, "That’s fantastic. Can you give me his number? I’ll contact him later."
"Sure, let me give it to you. His surname is Luo, and his name is Luo Yunlin."
"Okay."
After Li You wrote down the phone number, Chu Yiwei and Lin Xin said their goodbyes and left.
"Oh, by the way, Boss, I’ll definitely recommend your shop to the other teachers. Your beef noodle soup is seriously delicious," Chu Yiwei said, turning back after taking a few steps.
Li You smiled. "Then I’ll have to thank you for that, Teacher Chu."
"You’re welcome."
...