Chapter 87: I’m Sorry, These Lobsters Are Not for Sale, but for My Own Meal
Although he couldn’t figure it out, the owner didn’t ask why. Nor did he ask if business was good.
It was obvious business couldn’t be good.
Asking when you already know business is bad would probably just annoy the guy.
So, the owner just said, "Young man, I’ve brought the jar. Where do you want it?"
Li You said, "Right here is fine. Thanks for the trouble, Boss."
The owner said, "Don’t mention it."
He then took the jar out of the large wicker basket on his back and set it on the ground.
Then, he saw the "Today’s Menu" sign. ’Noodles and stir-fried dishes... a decent variety,’ he thought. ’But I wonder why this Boiled Cabbage in Clear Soup costs so much?’
The owner had stumbled upon another puzzle, but again, he didn’t ask why.
He simply said, "Well, young man, I’ll be heading back. I wish you prosperous business."
Li You nodded. "Take care, Boss. I wish you prosperous business as well."
"Great, great. May we all have prosperous businesses."
With that, the owner got on his motorcycle and departed.
After the owner left, Li You pulled out a water hose and thoroughly cleaned the jar, inside and out.
Then, he filled the jar with water and let it sit.
It was best to soak a new pickle jar full of water for a day or two before using it.
...
「In the Wenxian Town market.」
The owner who had just delivered the jar was named Deng Luping.
Deng Luping had now returned to his own shop.
The owner of the neighboring general store said, "Boss Deng, you’re back. So, a restaurant really did open up out there?"
The news that Li You had bought a jar and had Deng Luping deliver it to a restaurant at the mouth of Jiulong Gorge had already spread through the neighboring shops.
These shop owners were always gathering to chat and shoot the breeze, so any unusual news spread like wildfire.
Deng Luping nodded. "It’s true. It’s got noodles and stir-fried dishes. Looks pretty legitimate, actually."
"Opening a shop out there? He might not get a single customer all day. What on earth was that young man thinking?" another shop owner said, walking over.
Soon, the owners from the surrounding shops had all gathered around.
None of them could understand what the young man was thinking.
Deng Luping said, "What’s even harder to wrap your head around is this: his other noodles and stir-fries are all priced normally. But he has this one dish, called Boiled Cabbage in Clear Soup or something, that he’s selling for 568 yuan per serving."
"Boiled Cabbage in Clear Soup? You mean cabbage boiled in water? Why would that sell for so much?"
The shop owners looked at one another, even more baffled.
However, not every owner was in the dark.
A liquor store owner named Xie Hai spoke up. "I know why Boiled Cabbage in Clear Soup is so expensive. It’s because that dish is anything but simple. It’s quite surprising that the young man’s restaurant even serves it."
All the owners, Deng Luping included, turned to Xie Hai. "Boss Xie, what’s not so simple about this Boiled Cabbage in Clear Soup?"
Xie Hai smiled faintly and proceeded to give them a fairly detailed explanation of Boiled Cabbage in Clear Soup.
Deng Luping and the other owners finally had their moment of realization.
It turned out they had simply been ignorant.
’That young man can even cook a famous state banquet dish? Is he that incredible?’
"But," Xie Hai continued, "it’s not easy to make this dish well. Many intermediate, and even some high-level, chefs can’t get it right. Most likely, that young man’s version isn’t all that great."
Deng Luping and the others all nodded. That sounded more plausible.
In fact, it wasn’t just "most likely"—it was *definitely* not very good.
The young man was just using the dish’s reputation to find suckers, planning to rip off anyone who fell for it.
But would there really be any suckers out in a place like that willing to spend 568 yuan on a single dish?
The young man was being a bit naive.
The owners chattered amongst themselves for a while. And as they talked, details about Li You Restaurant slowly began to spread throughout the entire market.
...
「Jiulong Gorge.」
Li Zhong rode his motorcycle up to the restaurant and handed a large sack to Li You. "Xiaoyou," he said, "you want these?"
"What is it?"
Li You asked as he took the sack and opened it to look inside.
It was crayfish.
Each one was pretty big. In total, there must have been five or six pounds of them.
Li You grinned. "Uncle Zhong, crayfish are a hot item these days. Did you catch these in the paddies? Or did you fish for them?"
Li Zhong replied, "I was clearing out a ditch next to one of the fields yesterday afternoon and just grabbed them as I went. I figured you young folks like to eat them, so I brought them over for you. You can eat them yourself or sell them, whatever you want."
The crayfish would indeed sell very well if he put them on the menu.
At some point, eating crayfish had become more and more popular, with an ever-growing number of people developing a taste for them.
However, now wasn’t the right time to start selling crayfish.
It wouldn’t be too late to start selling them once he got a crayfish recipe.
So, for now, any crayfish he got were destined for his own stomach.
And of course, Li You himself loved eating crayfish.
"Uncle Zhong, you and your wife must like crayfish too. Why don’t I take half, and you can take the rest back for the two of you to eat," Li You said.
Li Zhong laughed. "We’re not that crazy about them. It’s probably because we don’t know how to cook them well. Besides, Xiaoyou, you know how it is. In our village, the paddies are teeming with crayfish. If we want some, we can go catch a few pounds anytime we like. So, just take them all. I brought them over especially for you."
Li You tried again, "Then how about this? I’ll cook the crayfish right now. Once they’re ready, you can take some back to eat with your wife."
"No need for that either," Li Zhong said. "Next time, Xiaoyou. We’ll have your crayfish some other time. I have to go now. I still need to buy a few things in town."
With that, Li Zhong turned his motorcycle around, said another, "I’m off," and rode away.
’Oh well, I’ll just have to treat Uncle Zhong to crayfish next time,’ Li You thought.
As for these crayfish, he wasn’t going to hold back.
He’d have crayfish for lunch today.
Li You was delighted.
"System, what’s the quality of these crayfish?"
"Ingredient: Crayfish.
Quality: Medium."
’Medium quality. That’s pretty good.’ The village had a great environment, and the fields were free of any pollution, so the quality of the crayfish was naturally guaranteed.
He brought two large basins out from the kitchen and poured all the crayfish into one of them.
He started to prepare the crayfish.
Just as he was in the middle of cleaning them.
"Whoa! Boss, are you selling crayfish today?"
A voice filled with ecstatic surprise reached his ears.
It was Xia Xiaoyue’s voice.
Xia Xiaoyue was back. But this time, only two people had come.
Xia Xiaoyue and another girl with an unfamiliar face.
She was probably a classmate or schoolmate of Xia Xiaoyue’s, but she’d never been here before.
She was also very beautiful, though not quite on Xia Xiaoyue’s level. She was more or less on par with Chu Yiwei.
As the two of them drew closer and saw Li You cleaning the crayfish, Xia Xiaoyue was absolutely thrilled.
Clearly, the girl was a big fan of crayfish.
Too bad these crayfish weren’t for sale.
Li You smiled. "Nope. These aren’t for sale. I’m eating them myself."
...