Chapter 79: I’ll Bring You Some Fruit Trees Tomorrow
He returned to the front of his shop.
Taking down the notice, he opened the shop door.
Since there were no customers yet, he decided to first plant the walnut tree he’d dug up on his way into the orchard.
He went to the orchard, chose a spot, and took a hoe from his Storage Pavilion to start digging a hole.
After a bit of work, he planted the walnut tree.
Then, he sprinkled on some fruit tree fertilizer.
Job done.
’Side Quest: "The Orchard in Front of the Shop (II)"... only three types of fruit trees left.’
Returning to the front of the shop, a motorcycle happened to pull into the parking lot right at that moment.
It was Luo Yunlin from Shuiyuan Village.
The same person who had sold Li You the fruit trees last time.
Li You was happy to see Luo Yunlin again. He walked up to greet him, smiling. "Brother Luo, good afternoon! It’s been a while."
Luo Yunlin smiled back. "Xiaoli, business must be getting better and better lately, right?"
Li You said, "It has gotten a little better."
Luo Yunlin said, "With your skills, Xiaoli, business is bound to get better and better. I came today to get five bowls of beef noodles to go. Large bowls. Ever since my son ate the beef noodles you gave us last time, he’s been clamoring to have them again every day. So today I’m going to indulge the little guy. Of course, we’ll all be eating them too. To be honest, my wife, my parents, and I have all been craving them as well. Haha!"
Li You smiled. "Alright, I’ll go make them right away."
Luo Yunlin said, "Thanks, Xiaoli. While you do that, I’ll go check on the fruit trees. Have there been any problems with them?"
Li You shook his head. "No problems at all. They’re all growing quite well."
Luo Yunlin said, "That’s good. I’ll go take a look anyway."
Li You nodded. "Thanks for that, Brother Luo."
Luo Yunlin said, "My pleasure."
Then, Li You went into the kitchen, and Luo Yunlin went to the orchard.
A short while later, the five large bowls of beef noodles were ready.
Li You had intentionally made the portions extra generous, adding more noodles and beef than usual.
He packed them all into take-out containers.
Just then, Luo Yunlin walked back into the shop. "Xiaoli, the fruit trees really don’t have any issues. In fact, they’re growing even better than I expected."
’They’re better than expected thanks to the fruit tree fertilizer.’
But of course, Li You wouldn’t say that.
Li You smiled. "I also feel they’re growing better than I imagined. It seems that plot of land really is well-suited for fruit trees."
Luo Yunlin nodded, then added, "There are several new kinds of fruit trees in the orchard since the last time I was here. Xiaoli, just how many types are you planning to plant?"
Li You said, "If possible, I plan to plant a hundred types and create a true Hundred Fruit Garden."
"A Hundred Fruit Garden?" Luo Yunlin was momentarily stunned, then laughed heartily. "Good, that’s great! Xiaoli, that’s a wonderful idea. Actually, I had a similar idea myself before. But for various reasons, it never came to fruition. Now I only grow about twenty-odd types. Xiaoli, I’m really looking forward to you successfully creating a Hundred Fruit Garden."
Li You said, "I’ll definitely do my best."
Luo Yunlin thought for a moment, then said, "Xiaoli, do you want apple, honey peach, apricot, and pomelo trees?"
Li You’s eyes lit up. These were four types of fruit trees he didn’t currently have in his orchard. ’Of course I want them!’
Li You said, "Yes. Do you have these four types of fruit trees for sale, Brother Luo?"
Luo Yunlin said, "Let’s not talk about selling. I’ll bring you one of each of these four trees tomorrow. Consider it my way of supporting your Hundred Fruit Garden."
Li You quickly said, "Brother Luo, I can’t do that. I have to pay you. Otherwise, I can’t accept them."
Luo Yunlin smiled. "I wasn’t planning on selling these four types of trees anyway. Otherwise, I would have told you they were available when you visited last time. So let’s not talk about selling. When I saw you wanted to build a Hundred Fruit Garden, it reminded me that I once had the same idea, and it made me want to participate with a few trees. In the future, when your Hundred Fruit Garden is a success, I can say I played a small part in it. That would help make up for some of my own regrets. So, Xiaoli, please don’t refuse."
"Well..."
Li You pondered for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Since you put it that way, thank you very much, Brother Luo."
Seeing Li You no longer refuse, Luo Yunlin was very pleased. "Then I’ll bring the trees over tomorrow around three in the afternoon."
Li You said, "Okay. Thank you, Brother Luo."
Luo Yunlin said, "You’re too kind, Xiaoli. Are the noodles all packed? I’ll head back then."
As he spoke, he was about to scan the QR code to pay.
Li You quickly told Luo Yunlin not to pay.
Luo Yunlin said, "Xiaoli, you’re running a business. How can I not pay?"
Li You said, "Brother Luo, I didn’t hesitate to accept your fruit trees. If you insist on paying for a few bowls of noodles, you’re treating me like a stranger!"
Hearing this, Luo Yunlin laughed. "Alright, then I won’t stand on ceremony. Thanks, Xiaoli."
Li You said, "I’m the one who should be thanking you, Brother Luo."
After that, Luo Yunlin took the noodles, went to the parking lot, and left on his motorcycle.
After Luo Yunlin left, more customers trickled in.
Every customer, after eating, naturally left feeling extremely satisfied.
...
「The next day.」
「In the morning.」
After breakfast, Li You went to the gorge to continue fishing.
This time, he tried a different deep pool.
His haul was still plentiful. Before 11 a.m., he had already caught 42 fish.
Adding the 158 from yesterday, the total number reached 200.
Unfortunately, there was still no sign of any rare fish.
Of course, Li You wasn’t in a hurry.
’I’ll just take it slow. I’m bound to catch one eventually.’
That was enough fishing for the morning.
He packed up.
Back at the shop, he put the 42 fish he caught today with the 158 from yesterday.
The 200 fish, big and small, were a delightful sight.
However, the fish tank wasn’t very big. With so many fish inside, the density was too high, and he feared they would start dying soon.
’I need to process all these fish as soon as possible.’
After processing them, he could put them in the Storage Pavilion.
’It would be great if the Spatial Fish Pond was unlocked. I could just put all the fish in there.’
At this moment, Li You once again hoped he could quickly complete the side quest "Aquatic Food Ingredients."
But rare fish weren’t something you could catch just by wishing for it.
Unless he tried the deep pools in remote, untraveled areas, but he didn’t want to go.
’Oh well, I’ll just let fate decide.’
’This afternoon, after Brother Luo brings the fruit trees and I get them planted, I’ll start processing the fish.’
After the lunch rush, it was soon three in the afternoon.
Luo Yunlin arrived, driving a motorized tricycle.
On the back, of course, were the four types of fruit trees: apple, honey peach, apricot, and pomelo.
There was one of each, and their trunks were about as thick as an arm.
Li You went to the parking lot and smiled. "Brother Luo, thank you for your hard work."
Luo Yunlin said, "It’s nothing. Come on, Xiaoli, let’s unload the trees together."
"Okay."
Working together, the two of them unloaded all four fruit trees.
Then, they carried them one by one into the orchard.
After choosing their spots, they worked together again to plant the trees.
"Congratulations, Host. Side Quest ’The Orchard in Front of the Shop (II)’ has been completed.
Reward obtained: 500 jin of tofu ingredients (medium quality), one lottery draw."
Even though he knew this voice would come, Li You was still overjoyed.
...