In the afternoon, Liang Zhenhua went to the Dongmen Vegetable Market again. Not seeing Shen Yunzhao, he returned. "Mr. Liang, the red mushrooms have been delivered." As soon as Liang Zhenhua returned to his office, Fatty Xu knocked on the door. At noon, Liang Zhenhua had called several mushroom pickers he worked with and asked them to deliver fresh red mushrooms. They arrived around 3:00 PM, and Fatty Xu had personally inspected them. They were all fresh, newly harvested, and in excellent condition. Liang Zhenhua nodded, "You cook tonight, and make sure you satisfy Mr. Liao!" Fatty Xu patted his chest, "Mr. Liang, don't worry. I'll give it my best and guarantee Mr. Liao's satisfaction!" Liang Zhenhua nodded with satisfaction. Fatty Xu wasn't one to brag; his cooking skills were truly impressive. If he said he could do it, he would. As night fell, time seemed to pass by inordinately slowly. Liang Zhenhua would occasionally peer into the private room where Mr. Liao was staying, but there was no sound; it remained entirely quiet. After Mr. Liao had sent his client away, Liang Zhenhua followed closely behind him, a fawning smile on his face. "Mr. Liao, are you busy? Would you like to come to my office for a cup of tea?" Mr. Liao, his face flushed, glanced at Liang Zhenhua and uttered a soft "hmm." Liang Zhenhua was delighted. Mr. Liao's willingness to come to his office indicated his satisfaction with today's meal. "Come on, please!" Mr. Liao sat down on the sofa in the office, and Liang Zhenhua hurriedly made tea. "No, stop!" Mr. Liao stopped him, half-smiled. "Mr. Liang, do you have something against me?" Liang Zhenhua's heart sank. "Mr. Liao, that's too harsh! I..." "No problem? Didn't I tell you repeatedly at noon to make the same red mushrooms as for lunch? Why are you trying to fool me with those ordinary things tonight?" Mr. Liao was furious. His already rosy face flushed purple with anger, and his voice rose. "I highly recommended those three red mushroom dishes to Mr. Zhou tonight, telling him how delicious they were! But he only took one bite of each and left!" Thinking back to what had happened at the banquet, Mr. Liao felt completely humiliated. He had praised those three red mushroom dishes to the skies, praising them as heavenly delicacies, only to find them himself, just a few ordinary dishes. A big shot like Mr. Zhou, what good food had he not tasted? To him, those three red mushroom dishes were nothing more than ordinary bok choy. Remembering the way Mr. Zhou looked at him before he left, as if he were a country bumpkin, his cheeks flushed even hotter. "Liang Zhenhua, if your restaurant doesn't have that red mushroom anymore, just tell me. I've changed the menu! You're not trying to fool me with the regular stuff!" Mr. Liao slammed the table, growing increasingly angry. Cold sweat streamed down Liang Zhenhua's forehead. "Mr. Liao, I'm really not kidding! I wouldn't dare to do that even if I had ten times the courage! I didn't expect this red mushroom to be so different. This morning..." "Alright, stop explaining! I don't want to hear it!" Mr. Liao had already stood up and stormed towards the door. "Mr. Liao, wait a minute! Listen to my explanation! Mr. Liao, Mr. Liao..." Liang Zhenhua hurriedly caught up, apologizing profusely. Finally, before leaving the restaurant, Mr. Liao's anger subsided a little. "Mr. Liang, I'm not picking on you. This customer today is too important to lose even a little. So, I'll give you a way to salvage the situation." Mr. Liao paused, then continued, "Go buy those red mushrooms from yesterday's lunch, and make three more red mushroom dishes tomorrow night: red mushroom soup with a young hen, stir-fried red mushrooms, and red mushroom seafood noodles." Liang Zhenhua quickly nodded in agreement. "Don't rush to agree. If you can do it, do it. If you can't, forget it. Give me your answer by noon tomorrow." Liang Zhenhua hesitated for a moment. "Then I'll call you tomorrow at 1 p.m.?" "Okay." Seeing Mr. Liao agree, Liang Zhenhua breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't afraid of Mr. Liao making demands; he was afraid he'd just walk away without making any demands. That would be the end of the situation. "Mr. Liao, may I ask why it has to be those three red mushroom dishes?" "Because Mr. Zhou's father is from here. Mr. Zhou's father has loved eating red mushrooms since he was a child. Before he was healthy, he would fly back every year. But in recent years, his health has not been good, and he hasn't been back for five or six years. This year, Mr. Zhou's father had to come back no matter what. Mr. Zhou happened to be here on a business trip, so he brought his father here to taste the flavors of his hometown." After seeing off Mr. Liao, Liang Zhenhua immediately called Fatty Xu over. "Is there such a huge difference in taste between the red mushrooms at noon and at night?" Fatty Xu looked confused. "No, right? Aren't all red mushrooms the same? How big of a difference could there be?" Liang Zhenhua asked again. "Really?" "No." "Didn't you try the red mushrooms at noon?" Fatty Xu blinked guiltily. "Well, Mr. Liang, I've had a sore throat these past few days. My mouth feels bitter and I can't taste anything." Every summer, Fatty Xu would make the same red mushroom dishes. At first, he'd try them, but then he got tired of them and didn't even want to try a single bite. Liang Zhenhua said angrily, "If you have a sore throat, drink more cold soup! You're a chef, how can you tell if a dish is good if you don't taste it?" Despite being angry, Liang Zhenhua told Fatty Xu exactly what had upset Mr. Liao today. Fatty Xu was stunned. "No, they're all red mushrooms. How can the taste really be that different? It can't be that way?" Liang Zhenhua also wanted to know the answer, but no one else knew except Mr. Liao, who had tasted both types of red mushrooms. After a brief discussion, the two finally decided: Tomorrow we must buy at least 100 kilograms of red mushrooms to satisfy Mr. Liao! ... "I never imagined there were so many wealthy people in our small county!" Shen Fugui exclaimed upon returning home. Zhou Xiuqin, who had just brought out a plate of stir-fried vegetables, curiously asked, "What happened? Did you see any wealthy people?" "Of course, and more than one! You have no idea how crazy those wealthy people are when it comes to spending..." It turned out that he had brought three Ganoderma lucidum to the store that afternoon. He was a little nervous, unsure if he could sell them at 600 yuan per kilogram. So he tried calling the customers he had contacted earlier to tell them he had the Ganoderma. When they arrived, he showed them the Ganoderma before arguing with them. Instead, they didn't even bargain, but instead started arguing! Yes, a real argument! They all wanted to buy, but there were only three Ganoderma lucidum, and there were four of them. It was a struggle, so Shen Fugui suggested drawing lots. I got four balls of paper, three of which were written on them, and one was blank. Whoever caught the blank ball of paper would not have the chance to buy it.
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