Chapter 110 Who is more evil-hearted?
It was still early after eating hot pot, and there was no rush to go back. Xia Wu took Yang Hongwen to a digital store and spent all the money he earned from selling apricots today. He also put in another two thousand yuan and bought his brother a new tablet with a flower card.
She has introduced her brother to watching documentaries. Since there is no TV at home to watch them, she sometimes needs to use the computer, but the mobile phone is too small, so a tablet is just right.
Yang Hongwen followed Xia Wu wherever he went. When asked if he liked it, Yang Hongwen never hesitated and said he liked it.
"Here it is, wrap it up for me."
Xia Wu paid promptly. The saleswoman smiled and said, "You're so lucky, handsome boy. Your sister is so kind to you."
When he's out and about, Yang Hongwen doesn't really talk to people, and doesn't seem to have any issues with his intelligence; he seems like a cool, handsome guy. In reality, he doesn't like to make eye contact, being lost in his own world. Unless someone is interested, you won't be able to call him out.
"Thank you, my brother doesn't like to talk."
The saleswoman seemed to notice something was wrong, so she handed the package to Xia Wu and personally escorted them to the door.
This is a large shopping mall. After buying the tablet, Xia Wu took his brother to the mall again. He hadn't shopped for a long time, so he wanted to buy everything he saw in the supermarket.
More than an hour later, Yang Hongwen carried the bags, and the two of them moved the things from the direct elevator to the basement garage. Seeing that it was past three o'clock, Xia Wu drove back to Donghua Town.
Before getting on the highway, we bought some food for Yang Hongwen at the KFC at the intersection to kill time on the way. The brother-loving man played music and was as happy and carefree as if he was in the American West.
When they returned to Donghua Town, the sky was filled with rosy clouds. Xia Wu's cell phone rang. She slowed down and answered without even looking. "Hello?"
"Xiao Wu, it's me," Ji Yunzhou's voice came from the other end of the line, sounding a little weak. Xia Wu glanced at the time. It had been more than twenty hours since Ji Yunzhou left. "You're here? Is everything going well?"
"Well, I changed planes twice and wasted some time. I didn't have time to send you a message. Now I have landed. Everything is fine. I missed you very much."
There is not so much noise at the private airport. Outside the mirror-like floor-to-ceiling windows is a clean view, with blue sky and white clouds, distant mountains and flocks of sheep. You can even see silver-white snow-capped mountains on the top of the mountains.
The scenery here is very similar to that of Yanggou Village, both are very clean, but Xia Wu is not here, and Ji Yunzhou misses her very much.
Xia Wu raised the corner of her mouth and said, "I miss you too, and I even find something to do to kill time. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll get annoyed if I keep messaging and calling you."
Ji Yunzhou chuckled: "Really? You haven't even posted it, how do you know I would dislike it?"
"Huh, I just know it."
"What do you do to while away the time?"
"I picked a truckload of apricots and took them to the city to sell. After selling them in the morning, I went to eat hot pot with my brother. After eating hot pot, we went shopping at the mall and bought a tablet and a bunch of daily necessities. It was quite busy."
"Do you have time to think about me?"
"Of course. When will you be back?"
"I'll do it as soon as possible."
Knowing that Xia Wu was still driving back, Ji Yunzhou hung up the phone after a short conversation, telling her to drive safely.
Xia Wu told him to have a good rest and contact him again after he had adjusted to the time difference.
After returning home and unloading the things from the car, Xia Wu distributed the money he bought to his family. After taking a shower, he lay comfortably on the bed, feeling his body relaxed.
He sorted out the photo album and organized the photos he took today into a nine-square grid and posted it on WeChat Moments. Feeling sleepy, Xia Wu turned off the lights, yawned, and fell asleep.
After seeing Xia Wu’s circle of friends, Xu Li realized that she had gone to Tong City to set up a stall to sell apricots. He immediately narrowed his eyes and tried to notice.
"How much is a pound of apricots?"
He commented below.
Xia Wu fell asleep, so of course she didn't reply to him.
It was rare for Xu Li to find Xia Wu's fan group. He was persuaded by Zhao Jing to join the group. He turned on the do not disturb function as soon as he entered. He usually didn't read messages or chat.
When he went to the group, he saw that everyone was chatting about family matters. After scrolling through the chatter, Xu Li found the news he was looking for.
"Three dollars and fifty cents a pound. Haha, you sell it to them for three dollars and fifty cents a pound, but you sell it to me for a few dozen yuan each. Am I the one who is more cruel or are you?" Xu Li secretly patted Xia Wu's head portrait, as if to vent his anger.
But he was just complaining, he was very happy in his heart.
After returning from Yanggou Village, he tinkered with several new products, especially apricots that cost dozens of yuan each. After he tinkered with them, their value increased dozens of times.
Xia Wu may not earn much, but he definitely earns a lot.
"Boss, Mr. and Mrs. Smith have a reservation for tomorrow. They said they want to see you. It's a pity that I didn't see you last time."
The assistant sent a message thoughtfully, and Xu Li said he understood.
The next day at noon, Xu Li prepared the meal, changed into clean clothes, and came from the kitchen to the luxurious and low-key restaurant. The restaurant was separated by Chinese elements, and the city was designed to be rockery, flowing water and green bamboo, giving people a feeling of tasting delicious food in the wild.
Only ten tables of guests are served every day, five in the morning and five in the evening. Anyone who wants to dine must make a reservation in advance. If you don’t show up on time, your reservation will be invalid and you will have to queue up again.
Currently, Xu Li’s restaurant reservations are booked until August.
The restaurant does not have a menu because everything depends on Xu Li's mood. The menu is drawn up one day in advance and under normal circumstances will not be changed within a week.
After a week it's hard to say.
"Hello, I'm the chef here, nice to meet you."
Xu Li greeted the two foreigners in fluent English. Smith was a newly famous painter. His wife was his assistant and agent. The two came to Shanghai to attend an art exhibition. The last time Smith came here to auction a painting, he sold it for a high price of 400,000 US dollars.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith had dinner at Xu Li's last restaurant and seemed quite satisfied with the meal. They contacted the restaurant across the Pacific Ocean and made a reservation for today's meal.
They ordered thirteen dishes in total, three of which were desserts. It sounded like a lot, but in fact the portions were very small. After finishing them, the two of them were probably just not hungry.
However, the purpose of eating at such high-end restaurants is not to fill your stomach.
Smith was probably young, in his forties, but looked more like he was in his fifties or sixties. He shook hands with Xu Li and replied in English, "Nice to meet you. My wife loves your food. They say you studied abroad at a Michelin restaurant. I think you must be a top graduate. Your food is better than many Michelin restaurants I've eaten at."
Xu Li was secretly happy but did not show it on his face. He nodded and admitted that he had indeed studied abroad for a period of time. However, before going abroad, he had already learned Chinese cuisine from a master for eight years. Without these eight years of training, he probably would not have reached this level.
Both sides expressed their affection in a friendly manner. Mrs. Smith pointed to an empty plate and asked excitedly, "Can you tell me what this dish is made of? I love it and would like to order another one, but the waiter told me that each person can only try it once. I'm so sorry because we're about to leave and your restaurant is fully booked. Will you still have this dish when I come next time?"
Xu Li really didn't know what the empty plate contained. He called the waiter to ask before replying to Mrs. Smith, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I don't know when you'll be back. This dish is called Volcanic Lava Ice Cream. It's made with apricots and has a unique taste. Our restaurant never uses out-of-season ingredients, so this dish will probably only be around for about a month."
"Oh~" Mr. and Mrs. Smith looked at each other, looking very disappointed. The foreign man spread his hands helplessly, "Okay, Mr. Chef, can't you really give us the same dish again?"
Xu Li thought about it for a moment with difficulty, and finally agreed to serve them each another portion.
Two foreigners each held a plate with half-cut and pitted apricots on the plate. It looked like apricots, but when you scooped it up with a special thin spoon, it had the same texture as ice cream, very smooth.
Looking at the appearance of apricots, they have nothing to do with volcanic lava. But after taking the ice cream in your mouth and closing your eyes to savor it, you really feel like you are in a hot crater, eating a bite of apricot ice cream.
After eating, the two silly foreigners gave thumbs up and recommended Xu Li’s restaurant to their friends.
When the bill came, the total cost of fifteen dishes was over 74,000 yuan.
The dish made with half-ripened apricots alone costs 3,900 per plate.
Selling such big apricots for 3900 is really a bargain. Didn’t you see they were scrambling for another portion?
"How much did you sell it for?"
Ma Xueqing couldn't even drink his tea and almost spit it out on Xu Li's face.
Xu Li was very calm, "Three thousand and nine."
Ma Xueqing: “…”
Who would spend 3,900 yuan on apricots when they have nothing better to do? 3,900 yuan, he wouldn't even dare to charge 39 yuan for a simple stir-fry, yet Xu Li dared to ask for such a high price just for apricots.
The key is that there are still people who buy it.
Ma Xueqing said with emotion, "Life is really good now. You have caught up with a good time, even better than your master's time. Fortunately, you have a sharp mind."
Xu Li smiled and said, "It's also thanks to my uncle who always thinks of me that I came to visit you. This is the high mountain ginseng I bought from a friend. I made a soup for you to nourish your body."
Ma Xueqing took a look at the high-end packaging box and didn't take it seriously. At his age and in good health, he didn't need to drink ginseng.
But after all, it was the kindness of his nephew, and Ma Xueqing appreciated it.
"By the way, Uncle Master, have you not been to Yanggou Village during this period?"
"Where do I find the time? My shop is small, but I'm incredibly busy every day."
This down-to-earth home-style restaurant has hundreds of tables of food every day. Especially since the weather has been hot recently, many people don’t want to cook and come out to eat, so business is even better and Ma Xueqing can’t leave.
"What evil ideas do you have?"
Xu Li smiled sheepishly. "The last time I went to Xiawu Mountain, I saw a lot of fruits there. I wanted to invite you to taste them and see which ones taste good. If you find any good ones, I'd like to develop some new dishes."
To paraphrase Xu Li, he wanted to earn more money.
Ma Xueqing drove him away, "Go, go, go. If you want to go, go by yourself. Don't bother me all the time. You don't dare to go. Are you afraid of getting beaten out of the village?"
Xu Li touched his nose guiltily. He was really afraid of being beaten.
The thing is, Xu Li's store has a special cold chain transport vehicle. He hired two assistants to go to Yanggou Village to buy vegetables once a week. When buying vegetables, he has to select them carefully and will not buy them if they are not up to standard. After all, the price Xia Wu sells him for vegetables is not cheap.
As a result, the two young men he sent were too cunning. They picked the vegetables too carefully. Not only did they remove the yellow and insect-infested leaves, they also discarded the ugly leaves. They only kept some vegetable hearts, cucumbers, eggplants and the like, and discarded those that did not grow straight.
Because of their picky nature, the employees working under Xia Wu were all resentful.
The employee came back and told Xu Li about this. Doesn’t Xu Li feel a little guilty?
Ma Xueqing waved his hand and said, "Take care of your own affairs. I don't care."
Xu Li had no choice but to pick a time to drive to Yanggou Village by himself.
He tasted the sweetness and made money, and he also knew that the vegetables grown by Xia Wu were of good quality and tasted good. He must be thinking about stabilizing the supply chain so as not to offend Xia Wu too much.
He also heard from his uncle that Xia Wu also raised bees in the mountains, and the honey was very pure and tasted good. If possible, he would also like to buy some.
Yang Guoen and his wife came back from outside and wanted to set up a barbecue stall. After a while, they prepared everything and it looked pretty good.
The stall is located at the intersection of Yanggou Village and Haotang Village. It has water and electricity, and there are rivers and willow trees nearby. You can sit at a table by the river, eat barbecue and enjoy the scenery.
Today was the trial opening day, and Yang Guoen and his wife invited Xia Wu's family to dinner. Many people in the village had received invitations, so Liu Guizhen didn't cook dinner. The whole family went there early to help set up the tables and chairs and chat.
Yang Guoen is very good at grilling. He also has a gas cooker next to him so he can make staple foods like fried rice and fried noodles. His son and daughter can also help to look after the stall and do their homework when no one is around.
The family looked very happy, and the two children smiled more than before.
During the trial operation period, we have prepared quite a lot of things. Various skewers are neatly arranged in the frozen restaurant. From top to bottom, there are vegetarian skewers, meatball skewers and meat skewers. Next to them are two pots of fried crayfish, one pot of garlic and one pot of braised.
Many people came from the village, mostly children, to show their support. Yang Guoen didn't expect to make any money today, so he specially treated everyone to a meal to get a good start.
After Haotang Village became famous, people who lived nearby often came here to play. When they left, they saw that Yang Guoen’s barbecue stall was crowded with people. Curious, they came over to watch the fun and couldn’t leave once they arrived.
The various skewers grilled using the barbecue recipe left by Ma Xueqing are fragrant. The crayfish caught by yourself are washed clean, with the heads and shrimp threads removed. They fill a large basin with red ones, which looks very appetizing.
Several tourists immediately decided to sit down here and eat barbecue skewers. Guests came on the first day of opening. Yang Guoen and his wife were both grinning from ear to ear. They entertained the guests first, and blew air into the barbecue stove with a blower, making the fire more vigorous. The fat of the freshly marinated barbecue skewers dripped onto the coals, giving off a pungent and intoxicating aroma.
Xia Wu sat under the tree, obsessed with peeling shrimps.
"Pa!" She slapped her calf. The weather was hot and mosquitoes came out to cause trouble.
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