PNB Chapter 111 Wild Vegetables
Chapter 111 Wild Vegetables
After hearing Li Mu's words, everyone was eager to try and expressed their desire to pick wild vegetables with him.
They divided the work among themselves: some were responsible for digging wild vegetables, some for clearing weeds, and some for putting the picked wild vegetables into baskets.
Before long, they had picked a large basket of wild vegetables, including purple-backed amaranth, shepherd's purse, purslane, dandelion, daylily, and many others. The variety was great, and the vegetables were growing well.
"Alright, let's stop picking here for today. These wild vegetables should be enough for us to sell for a while."
The next day, Li Mu brought a cart full of wild vegetables to the Lakeside Hotel. Coincidentally, Brother Dahei was there as well, which saved him the trouble of explaining the characteristics and benefits of these wild vegetables to Brother Dahei again.
Li Mu unloaded the wild vegetables from the car one by one and arranged them neatly in the restaurant's kitchen.
Jin Dachuan and his group of chefs gathered around. Big Black Brother, who didn't like wild vegetables, chimed in with a few questions.
"Muzi, is this the new gadget you were talking about?"
"Yes, Brother Dahei, look at these wild vegetables. My brothers and I picked them from the mountain. They're very fresh. I was thinking that our restaurant could offer some dishes featuring wild vegetables so that our guests can try something new."
Jin Dachuan picked up a purple-backed amaranth, examined it carefully, and then smelled it.
"After eating so much meat and fish, it's nice to have some wild vegetables once in a while to change things up. This purple-backed amaranth looks quite fresh, so I'll try making a few wild vegetable dishes."
Li Mu nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Jin."
He looked at Big Black Brother: "Big Black Brother, what do you think?"
Big Blackie frowned: "Can these wild vegetables really be sold for money? Will the customers be willing to eat them?"
Li Mu laughed and said, "Brother Dahei, don't worry. Nowadays, people pay attention to healthy eating. These wild vegetables are all natural and pollution-free, so they will definitely be popular. Moreover, we can first turn these wild vegetables into some specialty dishes so that our guests can try them out. Once they like them, we can introduce more wild vegetable dishes."
"Brother Jin, what do you think of this cold purple-backed amaranth salad? It's crisp and refreshing, perfect for summer. We can try making a cold purple-backed amaranth salad; it's sure to impress our guests."
Jin Dachuan's eyes lit up when he heard Li Mu's words: "Hmm, that's a good idea. Purple-backed amaranth has a crisp texture and should taste great when served cold. Add some minced garlic, vinegar, and chili oil, and it will definitely taste amazing."
Big Black looked at them with some skepticism: "Alright then, you can give it a try. But if the guests don't like it, don't blame me for not warning you."
Li Mu smiled confidently: "Brother Dahei, don't worry. These wild vegetables are all natural, and they taste and are very nutritious. As long as we cook them well, our guests will definitely like them."
After saying that, Li Mu and Jin Dachuan got busy, selecting some fresh wild vegetables and starting to prepare the dishes.
Before long, a series of dishes featuring wild vegetables were presented to everyone.
There are dishes like cold purple-backed amaranth salad, stir-fried shepherd's purse, and dandelion omelet, all of which look delicious and are sure to whet your appetite.
"Big Blackie, you should try some."
Li Mu handed a plate of cold purple-backed amaranth to Big Black Brother.
Big Black looked at the dish in front of him, still with some doubts. He picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of purple-backed amaranth, and chewed it carefully.
A moment later, a look of surprise appeared on Big Black Brother's face. He quickly picked up a few more pieces with his chopsticks and put them in his mouth, nodding as he ate: "Hmm, this wild vegetable has a crisp texture."
He picked up other wild vegetables and tasted them. Big Black Brother couldn't help but give Li Mu a thumbs up: "Mu'er, you found good wild vegetables! The texture and taste are both excellent! I think our restaurant should promote more wild vegetable dishes in the future."
"That only works in the summer; in the winter, you should eat something hot."
Zhou Li followed the aroma and came over: "I could smell it from up ahead, it smells so good! Mu Zi, what delicious food are you making?"
"Sister Li, how about you try these?"
Zhou Li glanced at it a few times: "It's still a bit lacking in presentation. Let me help you arrange it on the plate to make these wild vegetables look even more appealing."
As she spoke, Zhou Li picked up a plate and began to arrange the wild vegetable dishes in a neat and orderly manner, then garnished them with a few fresh flowers to make the whole dish look more beautiful.
Looking at Zhou Li's skillful technique, Li Mu couldn't help but admire her secretly; she really was a professional.
Before long, thanks to Zhou Li's skillful plating, the already colorful, fragrant, and delicious wild vegetable dishes looked even more tempting.
Each dish is like a work of art, making it almost too beautiful to eat.
Zhou Li casually picked up a daylily, blew on it gently, and then put it in her mouth to chew.
"Hmm, these daylily buds taste pretty good too, fragrant and delicious. Mu Zi, where did you pick these wild vegetables? I'd like to go and see."
As Zhou Li savored the daylily, she asked a question.
Li Mu smiled and said, "Sister Li, these wild vegetables were picked by my brothers and me from the mountain. The place is very secluded; most people can't find it."
He was careful not to tell Zhou Li the specific location, after all, these wild vegetables were a new way for them to make money, and they couldn't easily let others know.
Zhou Li listened and didn't ask any more questions. She clapped her hands and said, "Then I'll buy all the remaining wild vegetables! How much do you want for them?"
Big Black Brother had the same idea, and when he heard this, he got anxious: "The price I'm offering won't be lower than those fish!"
Zhou Li scoffed and gave Big Black a disapproving look: "Big Black, what do you mean by this? I saw it first, so naturally I buy it first. Mu Zi, don't you think that makes sense?"
Li Mu watched the two vying for it, secretly pleased.
He had already seen the value of these wild vegetables, and now that Brother Dahei and Zhou Li were both vying for them, it proved that his decision was correct.
"Sister Li, Brother Dahei, don't argue. My brothers and I have picked quite a few wild vegetables, enough for both of your restaurants. How about this, I'll divide them up for you, and each restaurant will get some. What do you think?"
After hearing Li Mu's words, Dahei and Zhou Li both agreed.
Li Mu then divided the wild vegetables into two portions, giving one portion to Brother Dahei's restaurant and the other to Zhou Li's restaurant.
"Wild vegetables are 50 cents a pound at the market, but I'll give you a discount to 30 cents a pound. We all want fresh and cheap vegetables, how about that?"
After hearing this, Dahei and Zhou Li both felt that the price was reasonable and decided to pay by weight.
Li Mu ended up with 300 yuan, which was actually a considerable income, considering that they had picked all the wild vegetables themselves, so there were no costs involved and all the profits were pure profit.
Zhou Li and Da Hei Ge agreed to send another batch up the day after tomorrow, and Li Mu readily agreed, driving his tricycle back to Lijia Village.
Before even reaching the village entrance, a group of people were seen gathered there, with curses and women's shrill cries mingling with men's angry shouts, making the whole scene even more chaotic.
Li Mu frowned slightly, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.
He sped up, wanting to get to the crowd as quickly as possible to see what had happened.
The tricycle bumped along the rough dirt road and finally arrived at the village entrance.
Li Mu jumped out of the car and squeezed into the crowd.
A woman, disheveled and tear-streaked, was sitting on the ground. A middle-aged woman was grabbing her hair and slapping her face, yelling, "You stole my man! You shameless bitch!"