Chapter 49: The Guests Are All Puzzled by the Kaishui Baicai
The time slowly crept toward nine in the morning.
Ye Shengge’s car pulled into the parking lot.
After getting out, she walked over and called out to Li You from a distance, "Boss, one small bowl of Yangchun Noodles. I haven’t had breakfast yet."
When Ye Shengge got closer, Li You asked, "Didn’t you grab a bite at the market?"
Ye Shengge shook her head. "Since I was coming here anyway, I had to save room to eat at your place."
"Thanks for your business, Miss Ye." Li You walked into the kitchen and continued chatting with Ye Shengge as he worked. "Did you buy anything at the market today?"
"I did!" Ye Shengge said, quite excited. "Green-head mushrooms. Someone was actually selling green-head mushrooms today. There were over twenty of them, all good quality. And they were only eighty yuan a jin. I bought them all."
Li You said, "That’s a good find. Green-head mushrooms are great stuff."
Green-head mushrooms are a type of greenish-blue, globoid fungus. They might look poisonous, but they are actually a non-toxic and delicious edible mushroom.
Ye Shengge said, "Exactly! They’re absolutely top-tier. You can hardly find them for sale anywhere else. I also bought some bamboo shoots. Moso bamboo shoots, they looked really good."
Li You said, "Moso bamboo shoots? You don’t actually have to buy those. There are tons in the moso bamboo forest on the mountain behind us. You can just go and break some off."
"Really?" Ye Shengge asked. "But you can’t just take them without the owner’s permission, can you?"
Li You smiled. "It’s a wild bamboo forest; there’s no owner. You can definitely go pick some. Bamboo grows incredibly fast. Picking a few shoots won’t do any damage to the forest."
"For real?" Ye Shengge was thrilled. "Then I’ll go pick some today! I buy bamboo shoots all the time, but I’ve never actually picked them myself in a bamboo forest. I want to experience it."
Li You said, "Sure! Just be careful."
Ye Shengge asked, "How do I get there, exactly?"
Li You thought for a moment and said, "How about this? If it’s not busy this afternoon, I can take you."
"That would be great! Thank you, Boss." Ye Shengge grew even more excited.
Li You said, "It’s nothing. I can pick some bamboo shoots to bring back, too."
Just then, the noodles were ready.
He served them to Ye Shengge.
"Thanks, Boss. I’m going to dig in. I’m really starving," Ye Shengge said.
Li You smiled. "Go ahead and eat."
...
「The County Seat.」
Mianwei Jia Noodle House.
After finishing a bowl of Yangchun Noodles, Yang Zheng, who was fond of plaid shirts, said to the owner, Jiang Caidong, "Master Liang’s Yangchun Noodles are getting more and more delicious."
Jiang Caidong smiled. "We have Boss Li from Jiulong Gorge Restaurant to thank for that. His Yangchun Noodles gave Master Liang a lot of inspiration."
Yang Zheng said, "That’s also because Master Liang has a talent for making noodles. Someone like me probably couldn’t learn even if Boss Li taught me step-by-step."
Jiang Caidong nodded. "That’s certainly true."
Yang Zheng added, "By the way, Boss Li has launched a new dish. Did you know, Boss?"
"A new dish?" Jiang Caidong asked, pleasantly surprised. "What is it? We haven’t heard."
Yang Zheng said, "Cabbage in Clear Soup."
Jiang Caidong was even more surprised to hear this. "It’s actually Cabbage in Clear Soup! That’s a famous state banquet dish that seems plain but is actually incredibly complex! Boss Li is truly in a league of his own. By the way, how did you find out? Have you tried it?"
Yang Zheng nodded. "I had it yesterday. It’s 568 yuan per serving. Very expensive, so a few of us split one. The flavor... it was indescribably delicious."
Jiang Caidong said, "Boss Li’s Cabbage in Clear Soup must be the authentic version. 568 yuan per serving isn’t expensive! Not at all. In fact, you could say it’s very cheap."
Yang Zheng said, "For a dish like Cabbage in Clear Soup, it’s certainly not expensive. But if you just look at the price tag, it’s a bit steep for us."
Jiang Caidong nodded. "That’s true."
After exchanging a few more words, Yang Zheng left.
Jiang Caidong went into the kitchen and said to Liang Heng, "Master Liang, come on, let’s go to Jiulong Gorge Restaurant. Boss Li has launched Cabbage in Clear Soup."
"Cabbage in Clear Soup?" Liang Heng was just as surprised. "Let’s go, let’s go. We have to go try this dish."
"Let’s go. Right now."
"Okay."
...
「Jiulong Gorge.」
"Uncle, we’re here!"
Two children ran up to Li You and said excitedly.
They were Wei Ping’s two children.
The older one was named Wei Yu, and the younger one was Wei Yuxi.
Wei Ping had brought his family again.
His two children, his wife, and his parents.
"Yu, Xiaoxi, you’re so well-behaved." Li You was quite fond of the two little ones.
Wei Ping, his wife, and his parents also walked over.
Wei Ping smiled. "Boss, we’re back again."
Li You also smiled. "You’re always welcome, Master Wei."
He then greeted Wei Ping’s wife and parents.
Wei Ping’s wife and parents both responded with smiles.
"Huh? We haven’t been here in a few days, and you’ve already added several new dishes, Boss!" Wei Ping said with surprise and delight as he looked at the "Today’s Specials" board.
The last time Wei Ping’s family had come was last Saturday.
At that time, Yangchun Noodles was the only dish on the menu.
The Beef Noodles and Stir-Fried Shredded Potatoes were launched the next day.
Li You smiled. "Yes, I’ve added a few new dishes."
"But," Wei Ping asked, confused, "why is this Cabbage in Clear Soup so expensive?"
Cabbage in Clear Soup is a rather special dish. You could say it’s very famous, and it is.
But often, it feels like it’s not famous at all.
In fact, many locals from Chuansheng Province itself don’t even know that such a renowned dish exists in Sichuan cuisine.
This might be because the dish is not down-to-earth and can’t be a common homemade meal.
Another reason is that this dish is very light, elegant, and fresh, whereas Sichuan cuisine generally gives the impression of being numbing and spicy.
But in reality, not all Sichuan dishes are numbing and spicy.
Li You gave them a rather detailed explanation of Cabbage in Clear Soup.
Wei Ping’s family listened, looking very surprised and faintly excited.
’So there’s such an incredible dish in Sichuan cuisine!’
’As people from Chuansheng, we feel a little proud!’
’Shouldn’t we order a dish that makes us proud and give it a try?’
Wei Ping really wanted to order it, but he hesitated.
The dish wasn’t cheap.
In the end, Wei Ping decided to order one.
If it were just him, he definitely wouldn’t have ordered it.
But since his whole family was here, he would order one for them to try.
Even though it pained him to spend the money, it was worth it for his family.
Besides the Cabbage in Clear Soup, he also ordered a serving of Stir-Fried Shredded Potatoes.
Then, a bowl of Beef Noodles for everyone: large bowls for the four adults and small bowls for the two children.
It was only ten-thirty in the morning, still a bit early.
Li You asked, "Do you want to eat later, or right now?"
Wei Ping replied, "Right now. We can’t wait. It’s ten-thirty; that’s not too early."
Li You smiled. "Alright then."
Then he went into the kitchen.
After he had been working for a little while, another large group of people arrived outside the restaurant.
"Holy crap! There are new dishes!"
"Haha! There are Beef Noodles! I love Beef Noodles. The boss’s version must be even more delicious."
"There’s Stir-Fried Shredded Potatoes, too. That’s great, I love potatoes."
"But, what kind of dish is this Cabbage in Clear Soup? Is it just cabbage boiled in plain water? Why is it so expensive?"
"568 for cabbage boiled in water... that is really strange."
"..."
The newly arrived group was none other than Liu Xu, Xie Yunfei, Xiao Yue, Zhang Rui’Er, Ning Wan, and the others.
The weekend had finally arrived again.
They had rushed over, eager to eat Yangchun Noodles.
When they got here and saw that there were three new dishes, they couldn’t help but be pleasantly surprised.
But along with their surprise, they were equally puzzled by the Cabbage in Clear Soup.
Seeing this, Wei Ping stepped out of the restaurant, laughed, and said, "That Cabbage in Clear Soup isn’t actually cabbage boiled in plain water."