Chapter 75: Going Back to the Village to Treat Everyone to a Meal
After Xia Xiaoyue, Yu Wei, and the other girls left, Lin Guodong and his group also said their goodbyes and left.
They couldn’t wait to get back to their village and brag.
Then there were Ye Shengge, Zhao Yanglin, He Xianfei, and Qu Feng. The four of them had originally planned to head back today after eating the Mapo Tofu.
But it was already getting late, and rather than travel on the roads at night, it would be better to stay another night and leave in the morning.
So, the four of them said their goodbyes and headed into town.
Just as the four of them left, Liu Jialiang arrived, riding his three-wheeled cart.
Li You had called Liu Jialiang earlier, asking him to come over and haul the stone mill back.
As soon as he arrived, Liu Jialiang exclaimed happily, "Xiaoyou, the food you make is just incredible! Whether it was the twice-cooked pork or the shredded potatoes, everything was amazing. We’ve never eaten food this good in our entire lives. Li Zhong told me your cooking was delicious, and I was wondering, ’Just how good could it be?’ Now I finally know! Xiaoyou, I had no idea your skills were this incredible. No wonder you dared to open a restaurant here."
When Liu Jialiang had gotten home that morning with the three dishes Li You gave him, the moment he opened the takeout containers, he was hit by the incredibly rich aroma of the twice-cooked pork.
’This twice-cooked pork smells amazing! I’ve been eating twice-cooked pork my whole life, and I’ve never had any that smelled this good.’
Unable to resist the temptation, Liu Jialiang picked up a piece of meat with his fingers and popped it into his mouth.
An explosion of flavor instantly filled his mouth. It was even more delicious than he had imagined.
Liu Jialiang was both incredulous and delighted.
’I can’t believe Xiaoyou’s cooking is this good!’
When Li Zhong had told him that Li You’s food was delicious, Liu Jialiang had been skeptical.
He had thought, ’Xiaoyou is so young, and I’ve never heard of him formally studying cooking. Even if he’s a good cook, just how good can he be?’
Now, he was finally a believer.
’In fact, his skills are even better than Li Zhong described, aren’t they?’
Overjoyed, Liu Jialiang quickly called his wife and parents over to try the food.
After the three of them came over and each tried a piece of meat, they all exclaimed in disbelief at how delicious it was.
And so, the family quickly cooked the rest of their meal and ate lunch early.
They simply couldn’t wait until noon to eat.
Liu Jialiang’s parents were both nearly eighty. Although they were still spry, their appetites weren’t what they used to be, and they usually couldn’t eat very much.
But this time, they each finished a large, heaping bowl of rice.
This made Liu Jialiang and his wife very happy.
That was why Liu Jialiang had launched into such effusive praise the moment he saw Li You.
Li You smiled. "Uncle Jialiang, I’m glad you all enjoyed it. By the way, Uncle Jialiang, I’m heading back to the village tonight, too. I’ll make a few dishes, so you should have your wife, and Grandpa and Grandma, come over to my house for dinner. I’ll invite Uncle Zhong and Aunt Chen as well."
Li You’s original plan was to make the Mapo Tofu that evening and bring some over to Liu Jialiang’s and Li Zhong’s families. But now, he thought it would be better to just invite both families over for dinner instead.
Besides, his parents both loved a lively house. It would be nice to have a bustling get-together every now and then.
"Well..." Liu Jialiang started to politely decline, but the thought of Li You’s cooking made his mouth water. He really wanted to eat it!
So, after a moment’s hesitation, he laughed heartily. "In that case, I’ll take you up on that offer!"
Li You smiled. "That’s the spirit."
Afterward, the two of them worked together to lift the stone mill onto the three-wheeled cart.
"By the way, Uncle Jialiang," Li You added, "did you carve this stone mill yourself?"
Liu Jialiang was a stonemason, so the mill was likely his own handiwork.
And indeed it was.
Liu Jialiang nodded. "I carved it myself. Why do you ask, Xiaoyou?"
Li You said, "I’d like to ask you to make a stone mill for me."
Li You thought it would be a great idea to have a stone mill here for customers to look at.
After all, for people from the city, especially children, a stone mill was an absolute curiosity.
Besides, with a stone mill on hand, if the mood ever struck him to grind his own soybeans for tofu again, it would be much more convenient.
Liu Jialiang nodded. "No problem. How big do you want it?"
Li You said, "A little bigger than this one. Let’s go with a millstone diameter of 60 centimeters."
Liu Jialiang nodded again. "Alright, no problem. I’ll start tomorrow. It’ll probably take about a week."
Li You nodded. "Okay. Uncle Jialiang, how much will it cost?"
Liu Jialiang shook his head. "Xiaoyou, we don’t need to talk about money."
Li You insisted that he had to pay.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t ask for it.
Carving a stone mill was hard work; of course he had to pay for it.
Finally, thanks to Li You’s persistence, they settled on a price of 1,000 yuan.
Liu Jialiang had insisted on only 500, but Li You’s persistence won out in the end.
Li You knew that 500 yuan was nowhere near enough.
After that, Liu Jialiang rode off on his three-wheeled cart.
Li You first called his dad to tell him about the plans for that evening.
Then he called Li Zhong, inviting him and his wife over for dinner.
Li Zhong happily accepted.
Afterward, Li You took all the ingredients he would need for the evening out of the Storage Pavilion, packed them into a large bag, and tied it to the luggage rack on his motorcycle.
He locked up the restaurant.
Then he got on his motorcycle and headed home.
...
「Changle Village」
After getting home, Li You didn’t head straight for the kitchen. Instead, he went out to the courtyard and plucked a few plums from the plum tree to eat.
They tasted even better than they had a few days ago.
Seeing this, his dad said, "Pick some to take with you when you leave tomorrow."
Li You’s restaurant business was getting better and better. On his best day, his revenue had actually surpassed 8,000 yuan.
This made his parents ecstatic.
It seemed he wouldn’t need to go open a shop in the city after all.
Li You nodded. "Okay."
Just as he was eating, Li Zhong and his wife arrived.
Li Zhong laughed. "Xiaoyou, we decided not to stand on ceremony!"
Li You also laughed. "Uncle Zhong, that’s what I like to hear."
A short while later, Liu Jialiang and his family arrived.
Liu Jialiang’s wife and his parents couldn’t stop praising Li You’s cooking.
The courtyard was filled with lively chatter for a while.
Afterward, his parents chatted with the guests in the courtyard.
Meanwhile, Li You went into the kitchen and started cooking.
In addition to Mapo Tofu, he planned to make Cabbage in Broth, Twice-cooked Pork with Garlic Sprouts, Twice-cooked Pork with Green Peppers, and Stir-fried Shredded Potatoes.
And he would make large portions of everything so that everyone could eat to their heart’s content.
He also hadn’t yet cooked the Bamboo Mushrooms they had gathered with the guests in the mountain’s bamboo forest.
He would prepare them tonight as well.
These were fresh Bamboo Mushrooms, which could be stir-fried or used in a soup.
’I’ll make a soup.’
He could pair them with luffa to make a Bamboo Mushroom and Luffa Soup.
The soup was not only delicious but also highly nutritious, making it a perfect dish for his parents and the other elders.
He began to cook.
...
「Meanwhile, in Taoshan Village.」
Lin Guodong and his group were animatedly telling the other villagers all about their experience eating Mapo Tofu at Li You’s restaurant that day.
"Let me tell you, it turns out we’ve been making Mapo Tofu all wrong. The dish that young fellow makes follows an eight-character maxim. Do you even know what an eight-character maxim is?"
Everyone shook their heads.
’A dish has an eight-character maxim?’
"I knew you wouldn’t know. Come on, gather ’round and listen closely..."
Lin Guodong and his group were feeling quite smug.
This feeling of being able to boast was rather nice.
...