Chapter 56 Going Up the Mountain
The treehouse has two large windows, which Song Yushu will use as windows to sell drinks and snacks, essentially making it a small convenience store.
“It’s a pity this treehouse isn’t for living in,” Zhou Chengzhu said. She liked the treehouse as soon as she saw it and even wanted to spend the night in it.
"You can sell things in the treehouse then."
"That works too!"
"I've been too busy these past few days. I'm going up the mountain tomorrow, so I'll have to trouble you to run the restaurant," Song Yushu had originally planned to go up the mountain, but he had forgotten because he was busy.
With Wei's mother around, nothing bad happened at the restaurant, so Song Yushu went up the mountain with Wei's father the next day.
She mainly wanted to dig up some nice green plants to take back with her when she went up the mountain this time. Buying them would be too expensive, and those saplings had cost her a lot of money. Part of that wasteland was to be planted with vegetables, part with fruit trees, and of course, some flowers and grasses. She would also leave a patch for camping.
“We can’t go too deep into this mountain. Tell me what you’re looking for, and I’ll look around here,” Wei’s father said, not saying much, but he tried his best to meet Song Yushu’s requests.
"Find some ornamental plants, wildflowers, weeds, or saplings will do," Song Yushu said, curious about everything since it was his first time on the mountain.
The father and daughter didn't dare go too far, and instead looked around for something.
“Those wild azaleas are quite nice, come and take a look!” Wei’s father called out to Song Yushu.
Song Yushu looked in the direction he pointed and saw that the azaleas were blooming brightly, a sea of red.
“Okay! Let’s go dig!” Song Yushu was very satisfied with the few wild azaleas, so he took his tools and followed Wei’s father around to dig.
After digging up those few wild azaleas, we found a few more wild chrysanthemums and wild lilies that were growing well, so the harvest was pretty good.
Seeing that it was getting hotter and hotter, Song Yushu told Wei's father to take a rest.
"There's a mountain spring nearby, let's go there first," Wei's father said, as he was quite familiar with the mountains and led her to a cool place to rest.
"Are these enough flowers?"
"No, but I asked my uncle to keep an eye out for me. I've also placed an order with the orphanage," Song Yushu said. Of course, she didn't plan to find it herself, otherwise, she didn't know when such a large wasteland could be planted.
After a while, seeing that she had rested enough, Mr. Wei was about to take her for another walk.
"Wait! Let me pick up the snails in the stream first, I'll be done soon!" Song Yushu saw that there were many snails clinging to the rocks in the water, and thought of the snails he hadn't eaten in a long time.
"Why are you picking this up?" Wei's father asked, puzzled.
"I'll cook them for you as a snack with your drinks!" Song Yushu picked out the larger ones and quickly filled a small bag.
Mr. Wei had no choice but to lend a hand. The father and daughter spent about half an hour collecting snails and filled a small half-frame with them.
Only then was Song Yushu satisfied and followed Wei's father to explore other places.
They didn't find many flowers later, but they did dig up several kinds of herbs, which they didn't let go of and threw directly into their baskets. Song Yushu also picked up some pine cones to take back and use as decorations.
Seeing that it was almost time, the two descended the mountain.
"How are you? Tired, aren't you?" Wei's mother and the others had already cleaned up the restaurant when Song Yushu and his daughter returned.
"Not bad," Song Yushu said, taking the basket off his back and planting the wild azaleas before it got dark.
"The flowers delivered from the orphanage at noon are all here. Where would you like to put them?" Mother Wei asked, thinking that she could help her tidy up while there were still many people around.
"Move some of these to the treehouse, and leave some next to the windowsill of the new shop. I'll put them on a shelf later," Song Yushu said. After planting the flowers, she really didn't want to move anymore, but thinking of the snails in her basket, she had to ask Sister-in-law Wei to help her soak them in water first.
The result of a day of hiking was a strained leg muscle, but fortunately my hand was fine, and I was still able to cook in the kitchen.
After most of the guests had left, she took the snails out of the wooden basin, prepared the ingredients, and stir-fried them directly.
"Hey Mr. Wei, that's really unfair of you! Why are you hiding the good food from us? We've already eaten our fill before you cook it. That's not fair!"
The customers who had just finished eating at the restaurant smelled a spicy and fragrant aroma and said helplessly to Song Yushu.
"This is a stir-fry for my father to have as a snack with his drinks. It's not a large portion, please forgive me!" Song Yushu scooped out the stir-fried snails and took them to the backyard without any sympathy.
"Leave some for us! Just so we can taste it!"
Song Yushu had no choice but to pull out some snail meat and teach them how to suck it out.
"Slurp!"
"Hiss! So spicy, but so satisfying! Mr. Wei, I'll pay a high price for that plate of river snails! Hiss!"
The customer reluctantly stopped after sucking up several snails.
"I'm really sorry, but I'll see if I can get enough tomorrow. Remember to come early, first come first served!" Song Yushu didn't expect that these snails would make them so hungry. Seeing that stir-fried snails were quite profitable, he thought he could go to the village and ask someone to look for field snails.
"Okay! It's a deal! Save it for me tomorrow!"
After seeing the guests off, Song Yushu took the snails to the backyard. Not long after, Wei's father brought Wei's elder brother over for dinner.
"The taste is indeed excellent! Pour me another cup! Tomorrow your brother and I will go up the mountain to catch some!" Father Wei sipped his snails and drank his wine, feeling extremely comfortable.
"Dad, why don't you go to the fields and look for snails? If you're busy, ask around in the village if anyone's willing to catch them. I'll buy as many as they come," Song Yushu thought, remembering those customers and thinking that selling fried snails was a good idea.
"Okay! I'll ask around for you when I get back!" Father Wei agreed without hesitation, finished the stir-fried snails on the plate, leaving Brother Wei looking like he hadn't had enough.
Song Yushu was clearly surprised to find that there were so many snails that he hadn't noticed before. Early in the morning, several villagers came over carrying several buckets of snails.
Song Yushu accepted them all, paid them on the spot, and told them to send money over every day, accepting whatever amount they sent.
"Brother! Did we hear that right? This stuff can actually be sold for money!" Wei Xiaohu, who had been somewhat skeptical of what his father and the others had said, still couldn't quite believe it as he held the strings of copper coins in his hand.
"Really! We sold these buckets of snails for three hundred coins today!" Wei Yuan hadn't expected to earn money so easily.
"Quick! Let's hurry back and collect them! While not many people know about it yet!" Wei Yuan grabbed Wei Xiaohu and carried the wooden bucket as they rushed back to the village.
The restaurant's customers arrived exceptionally early today. Knowing they were craving stir-fried snails, Song Yushu had a bucket of snails brought out while she prepared the other ingredients.
Soon, plates of stir-fried snails were served, and the restaurant was filled with a spicy aroma.
"These snails look a little different from yesterday's?" The guest also noticed that the snails on the plate were different from those yesterday.
“We ate river snails yesterday, but these are called field snails. They have more meat and taste just as good,” Song Yushu explained to them.
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