Chapter 12: The Five Lakes Restaurant

"Warm Sister, pick some to take home and eat, and I'll pick a bit to try selling in town!"

Chen Dabao handed An Nuan a large bag of strawberries, then went back to get a big vegetable basket, filling it to the brim, preparing to take the strawberries to town.

"Be careful on your way!" An Nuan saw Chen Dabao off at the village entrance, then headed toward the clinic carrying the strawberries.

Just as she returned to the clinic, she saw a plump, fair-skinned middle-aged woman waiting there.

“Oh, Doctor An, I’ve been waiting for you ages! Were you out picking strawberries? These look quite good!” The woman, familiar and forward, grabbed a strawberry and popped it straight into her mouth.

The moment she tasted it, her eyes lit up.

“These strawberries are really delicious, Doctor An. Where did you pick them?”

This middle-aged woman was named Ma Jinlian. Many villagers secretly called her Little Pan Jinlian. She was the wife of Li Youcai, the village accountant.

Rumor had it that when she was younger, Ma Jinlian worked outside, involved in certain illicit services in Dongguan style. Later, as she aged and after being cracked down on by the police, she returned to marry Li Youcai.

An Nuan’s brows furrowed sharply, nearly tossing the strawberries away.

“From the fields!”

Thinking that Chen Dabao had given her the strawberries, she refrained from throwing them out. Instead, she placed the strawberries carefully into the cabinet, her tone somewhat cold.

“Aunt Ma, I can’t treat your illness. You should go to the hospital in the city. This disease is contagious. Whoever you’re in contact with, gather them all and go together!”

At this, Ma Jinlian instinctively scratched herself in the groin area.

Then she hurriedly denied, “Doctor An, don’t say such things. I’m a decent woman. Apart from my husband, I don’t even glance at other men. You can’t slander my purity out of thin air!”

“That’s best. Hurry and take your husband to the hospital,” An Nuan replied coldly.

Ma Jinlian’s reputation was thoroughly ruined in Taohua Village. It was said she’d been involved with the three Zhao brothers and had even rolled around in the straw piles at the threshing ground with them a few years back.

An Nuan had been in Taohua Village for a year and had heard plenty of village gossip.

“I’ll go to the hospital in a couple of days, Doctor An. This little bubble itches a bit. Could you prescribe me some anti-itch medicine again?” Ma Jinlian asked, licking her lips.

“All right,” An Nuan frowned, taking two bottles of medicine and placing them on the table. “This is anti-inflammatory and anti-itch medicine. It only relieves symptoms but doesn’t cure the root cause. Use it first.”

“Thank you so much, Doctor An! I’ll be going now!”

Ma Jinlian took the medicine and left without paying.

An Nuan didn’t bother arguing. She took the strawberries out of the cabinet, soaked them in salt water, and washed them carefully.

Ma Jinlian’s illness was a venereal disease, highly contagious.

Meanwhile, Chen Dabao mounted the family bicycle, with a basket of strawberries on the back seat, and pedaled over ten miles of mountain roads to the town.

Having cultivated the Celestial Secret Technique, Chen Dabao didn’t feel tired after cycling that far.

Today was market day in Qingshan Town. The streets were bustling with people: vendors selling mountain goods, chickens, ducks, fish, meat, fruit—you name it.

Chen Dabao looked around and noticed quite a few stalls selling strawberries. After all, it was strawberry season, with prices ranging from twenty to twenty-five yuan per jin.

The better-looking berries were pricier, while the less attractive ones were cheaper.

Each stall claimed to sell “milk strawberries.”

But that was just a gimmick. There was no such variety as “milk strawberry,” and no one really watered strawberries with milk every day.

Chen Dabao thought for a moment, tore a piece from a cardboard box, and wrote a few large characters:

“Premium Strawberries, Fifty-One Yuan per Jin!”

“Brother, why are your strawberries so expensive? Were they planted by the Queen Mother of the West?” A sun-darkened old man selling fish nearby looked curiously at Chen Dabao.

“They’re not from the Queen Mother, but if she tasted them, she’d probably find them delicious,” Chen Dabao joked.

“Then you’d better sell them to her! Who in Qingshan Town can afford that price?” The old man shook his head, thinking Chen Dabao was a bit silly.

Qingshan Town wasn’t a wealthy place; who could afford fruit at fifty-one yuan per jin?

Sure enough, after waiting for over an hour, not a single person even inquired, let alone bought a pound of strawberries.

Did he really have to go to the city to sell them?

Chen Dabao felt torn, unsure whether to head to the city or lower his price.

Meanwhile, the old man’s business was thriving. One fish after another was sold. Although the fish from Dahekou wasn’t as good as those from Bailong River, Dahekou had a large reservoir with excellent water quality, making the fish inside exquisitely fresh—far beyond what ordinary fish farmers could offer.

“Dabao?”

Suddenly, a surprised voice called out. A fair, plump young man holding two fish looked at Chen Dabao in astonishment.

“Li Zhuang?”

Chen Dabao looked over, equally surprised.

He hadn’t expected to meet his old middle school classmate here.

Li Zhuang and Chen Dabao had attended Qingshan Town Middle School together. After graduation, Chen Dabao went on to a high school in the city, while Li Zhuang dropped out to learn to be a chef.

Back then, they got along quite well.

“Dabao, are you better now?” Li Zhuang asked, surprised. Last year he had seen Chen Dabao in town—by then, Chen Dabao was dazed and didn’t recognize him.

Now, seeing Chen Dabao alone selling strawberries in town meant he must be healed; otherwise, a fool wouldn’t be selling strawberries.

“Yes, I’m better!” Chen Dabao nodded, filled with emotion. So much had changed over the years.

“That’s good, that’s good!” Li Zhuang said excitedly. “Dabao, when you were sick, I really felt sorry for you. You were the top student in our whole middle school class, and it took so much effort for you to get into that prestigious university. I’m now a chef at Wuhu Restaurant. Come on, let’s go have some tea there!”

“Maybe next time. I still have to sell strawberries!” Chen Dabao hesitated and shook his head.

Wuhu Restaurant had opened about three years ago and was the highest-end banquet hall in Qingshan Town. For villagers from nearby areas hosting weddings or funerals, holding the event there was a matter of pride.

But Chen Dabao’s pockets were empty. He had no money to eat out and didn’t want to burden Li Zhuang.

Li Zhuang was just a cook there, working for someone else. Since Chen Dabao wasn’t going to spend money, there was no need to go.

“Fifty-one yuan per jin for strawberries?” Li Zhuang glanced at the sign and was stunned. “Dabao, at that price, who in Qingshan Town would buy them?”

His boss liked strawberries but wouldn’t pay such an exorbitant price to be ripped off.

“Try them!” Chen Dabao smiled, handing over two berries.

“They’re all strawberries. What makes yours so different?” Li Zhuang shook his head, popping a strawberry into his mouth. After biting into it, his eyes widened.

“Dabao, your strawberries are amazing! Our boss loves strawberries. I’ll take you to sell them to her!”