Chapter 142: Liu Jingshan’s Troubles

After breakfast, Li Yi set off with Tang Xue and his father, driving the big red mule cart.

Since they weren’t making liangpi today, Third Sister was left at home.

On the way, Li Shankui told Li Yi about the wedding gifts from yesterday—they’d collected a total of 982 yuan!

Among them, Old Man Wang, Wang Anmin, Wang Anguo, Li Gang, Liang Yukuai, and others each contributed 50 yuan.

Liu Jingshan, the friends from the state-run restaurant, and the various officials from the sugar factory all contributed 10 yuan.

The two brothers-in-law, plus Third Sister Li Na, each gave 50 yuan, while the villagers contributed between 1 and 5 yuan per household.

Basically, families with children working alongside Li Yi all gave 5 yuan, while those without gave anywhere from 1 to 2 yuan.

All in all, the gift money collected yesterday was more than double what had been expected.

To be honest, Li Yi was a bit surprised.

Before the wedding, he thought it would be great to receive 500 yuan in gifts, but he never expected there to be so much.

But when he thought about it, Old Man Wang and his sisters alone had contributed nearly 400 yuan—roughly half of the total.

With this thousand yuan, most of the wedding expenses were covered.

When they arrived at the state-run restaurant, Liu Jingshan was somewhat surprised to see Li Yi.

“Hahaha, I thought you weren’t coming today, you rascal!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “No way! If I didn’t come, that would be breaking my word!”

“Alright, let’s get you weighed right away. I’ve got to swing by the back field in a bit!” Liu Jingshan said.

“What are you going to the Back Pastures for?”

The so-called “back pastures” is the local term for the grazing areas. Although they’re all within the same county, they’re quite a distance from the county seat,

and the roads are rugged and difficult to navigate; in many places, there aren’t even any roads to speak of. Even by car, it would take at least six or seven hours round trip.

Liu Jingshan gave a wry smile. “I’ve got no choice. The County Party Committee Office called yesterday and said a high-ranking provincial official is coming down for an inspection today, and they want us to make sure we handle the reception properly!”

“You certainly can’t take a provincial official’s inspection lightly. Are you planning to slaughter a cow or a sheep out there?” Li Yi asked.

“A sheep, I suppose. A cow is too expensive, and it’d be a hassle to transport back!”

“Wouldn’t local sheep do?”

“The County Party Committee Office specifically instructed us that the high-ranking official is of Mongolian ethnicity. Local mutton isn’t the same as that from pastoral areas—the official would taste the difference the moment he took a bite!” Liu Jingshan explained.

Liu Jingshan sighed and said, “This is such a hassle.

” He could only offer some consolation: “The bigwigs are magnanimous; they won’t hold a grudge against little people like us. Just do your best!”

“I suppose that’s the only option. That’s why I was thinking of getting the leaders some authentic grassland lamb—hoping they’ll be satisfied!”

Li Yi thought for a moment, then said, “Brother Liu, you really don’t need to go to all this trouble!”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it—what kind of mutton hasn’t he tasted? So even if you really do get him some grassland mutton, he might not be satisfied!”

“You’re right, but…”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Actually, the type of sheep doesn’t matter. What matters is how it’s prepared. As long as the preparation is innovative and the flavor is good, the rest doesn’t matter!”

Liu Jingshan thought of Li Yina’s mysterious and unpredictable methods, and his eyes lit up immediately. He hurriedly said, “Brother Li Yi, you’ve got to help an old friend out here!”

“Alright, let’s weigh it and then head to the kitchen to talk!”

“Don’t worry about the heavy lifting—let Little Li and the others handle that. Let’s head to the kitchen right now!”

Before Li Yi could say a word, Liu Jingshan dragged him into the kitchen, leaving Li Shankui and Tang Xue standing there, completely baffled.

Once in the kitchen, Li Yi asked right away, “Brother Liu, do you know how many officials are coming this time?”

“Not really sure—they didn’t say!”

Li Yi frowned and said, “If we don’t know how many people are coming for the meal, that’s going to be a problem!”

“Why don’t I go ask?”

“Don’t ask. If we ask the County Party Committee, they’ll think we’re incompetent—that we have to keep asking about something like this. It’ll look bad!”

“Then what should we do?”

“Let’s have a plan B!”

Li Yi then explained, “I’ll teach you two different recipes in a moment. The first is our specialty grilled meat, and the second is a modern-style hot pot!”

“Serve the specialty grilled meat when there are fewer guests, and the modern hot pot when there are more!”

After that, Li Yi had the staff at the state-run restaurant bring over beef and lamb, and he also had some pork sliced up.

Next, they brought over scallions, ginger, garlic, and various seasonings to begin marinating the meat.

At the same time, Li Yi had them freeze some beef and lamb in the refrigerator, and he specifically had them freeze a few teacups of water as well.

To be honest, Li Yi felt somewhat relieved—thankfully, this was a state-run restaurant; otherwise, you wouldn’t find a refrigerator like this in most places.

Don’t let its modest 150-liter capacity fool you—it cost over 800 yuan, equivalent to two years’ wages for an ordinary worker.

Moreover, even with the money, you couldn’t necessarily buy one—you also needed a purchase quota voucher.

While the beef and lamb were marinating, he had someone set up a simple grill—essentially a clean iron plate placed over a charcoal brazier.

Finally, he prepared the dipping sauces, mixing up separate batches of dry seasonings and sauces.

By this point, the meat was nearly ready, so Li Yi gave Liu Jingshan and the others a live demonstration.

First, he brushed the iron plate several times with sesame oil, then placed a plump, marinated slice of pork belly on it.

Instantly, the sizzling sound of the meat hitting the hot surface filled the air, and the rich aroma of the meat quickly filled the entire kitchen.

In less than two minutes, the pork belly was cooked.

Li Yi picked up a piece of the cooked meat with his chopsticks, dipped it in some secret sauce, and popped it into his mouth.

Mmm, that’s the taste!

He immediately urged Liu Jingshan and the others to give it a try!

Everyone followed Li Yi’s lead and reached for their chopsticks.

When the rich aroma of the meat, combined with the scent of the secret sauce, fully stimulated their taste buds, everyone was stunned.

It wasn’t that they’d never had grilled meat before, but the flavor was completely different.

Next, Li Yi grilled some lamb and beef for them, and even threw in a few vegetables—each dish drew gasps of admiration from Liu Jingshan and the others.

After finishing the specialty grilled meat, Li Yi immediately asked Liu Jingshan, “How’s the taste? Is it good enough to serve to high-ranking officials?”

“Absolutely, absolutely! If you keep doing it this way, it’ll definitely work!” Liu Jingshan said excitedly.

“It’s good, but if you want the leaders to praise you, the grilling tools need to be a bit more sophisticated!”

Li Yi then fetched some paper and a pen and sketched out a modern-style barbecue grill and griddle right there on the spot, telling him to hurry up and have someone make a few.

After tasting the specialty grilled meat, Liu Jingshan also developed a keen interest in Li Yi’s other new-style hot pot.

Just as Li Yi had anticipated, while grilled meat was delicious, it wasn’t really suitable for large groups.

On the one hand, it takes a long time to cook, and on the other, the current selection of ingredients is limited and lacks variety!

“Brother Li Yi, that new-style hot pot you mentioned…”

Li Yi smiled and said, “You’ve probably had lamb hot pot before, but have you ever tried ice-boiled lamb?”

“Ice-boiled lamb?”

“Alright, enough with the small talk. It’s almost noon, and my wife and dad are still waiting outside. I’d like to borrow your kitchen and ingredients today to cook a nice meal for them. No objections, right?” Li Yi asked.

“No problem!”

“Great!”

Li Yi immediately began mixing various seasonings and set them aside in a large bowl.

Next, he had someone fetch a small pot and place it on the charcoal grill they’d just used for barbecuing.

He then took the beef and lamb—which were frozen but not quite rock-hard—out of the freezer and cut them into chunks, strips, or slices.

Next, as everyone stared in astonishment, he dropped several chunks of rock-hard frozen meat into the pot, followed by the various seasonings and nearly a pound of lamb chunks…

While the meat was simmering, Li Yi began preparing the dipping sauce.

By the time the dipping sauce was ready, the meat was nearly done.

Li Yi immediately called Liu Jingshan, his father, Tang Xue, and the others to the table to dig in…

……