Chapter 96 (Part 1): The Culinary Tycoon

Collaboration with Dahe

“Big Brother Yu, what do you have in mind?” Dahe asked.

Chang Le also looked curiously at Yu Qingze.

Yu Qingze glanced at the two of them and smiled, “Of course, I want to buy things that we don’t have here, mainly food items like vegetables, melons, and fruits. Anything that we don’t have but can be eaten will do.”

Dahe pondered for a moment and asked, “Big Brother Yu, do you want to buy them for planting or for consumption?”

Yu Qingze replied, “Both are fine. It usually takes you a long time to come back, and many things cannot be stored for that long, especially perishable food items. I reckon many things won’t last more than a month. For those that spoil easily, Dahe, when you buy them, ask if they have any seeds for sale. If they do, buy some. And if not, if any of the spoiled items have seeds inside, make sure to save the seeds. We can try planting them when we come back and see if they can grow. If there are no seeds, then there’s nothing we can do.”

Upon hearing this, Dahe nodded and agreed, “Alright, I’ll remember.”

“For things you find delicious, buy more, and for those that aren’t, buy a smaller quantity. As for other items,” Yu Qingze pondered for a moment. There were many things that Dahe might not be able to determine their usefulness, so he continued, “If you think they might be useful, you can buy them too. When I see them, I’ll figure out if they’re useful or not.”

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“Okay, I got it,” said Dahe.

Yu Qingze looked at the bag of sprouting potatoes and asked Dahe, “Dahe, how much did this bag of potatoes cost? I’ll buy it from you.”

Dahe immediately waved his hand and said, “Brother Yu, there’s no need. I brought it back for you to eat, no need to pay me. Besides, you haven’t eaten any yet…”

Yu Qingze glanced at him and smiled, “Alright. But I still want to give you money, wait here.”

“Eh, Brother Yu!” Dahe didn’t understand why Yu Qingze wanted to give him money again and became a bit anxious. However, Yu Qingze had already gone into the room, so Dahe could only look at Chang Le and said, “Brother Le, what do you think about this…”

Chang Le smiled and waved his hand, indicating that he didn’t know either.

Yu Qingze came out of the room with a bag of small silver coins and handed it to Dahe, who looked at him in confusion.

“What did you think I was going to give you money for? The potatoes?” Yu Qingze smiled and said, “Didn’t I just say that I wanted you to help me buy some things? How can you buy them without money? I can’t let you pay for me, right?”

Although he didn’t know how much Dahe earned in a month working on the boat, he felt it was only right to give him money when asking him to bring things. It was necessary not to make him pay upfront.

Dahe, upon hearing this, visibly felt relieved. He took a look at the bag of money and saw that there were about ten or so taels of small silver coins inside. He exclaimed in surprise, “So much? I didn’t know if I could even bring what you mentioned back. Aren’t you afraid I might run off with the money?”

“If you can say that, then I don’t need to worry,” Yu Qingze laughed heartily and continued, “We’ll settle any excess or shortfall later. I don’t know if it’s enough, mainly because I don’t know how many fresh things there are where you’re going.”

Dahe rubbed the back of his head and said, “Based on the places I’ve been, there are clearly more things in the south than in the north. During the last trip before the New Year, I brought back a type of edible vegetable from the south, but it spoiled halfway.”

Yu Qingze’s curiosity was piqued upon hearing this, and he asked, “Oh? What kind of vegetable was it?”

Dahe replied, “They were as big as plates or as small as bowls, yellow and white in color, and formed into a bunch. The locals call it cauliflower.”

It’s cauliflower!

Yu Qingze said, “Next time if you come across such vegetables, just buy the seeds and bring them back. The climate in the south is good, and there are many things that we don’t have here. When you see them, buy them all.”

Dahe nodded and said, “There are indeed many things we don’t have there. In the two cities I visited, I saw three or four different kinds, but unfortunately, they couldn’t be preserved for long, so I couldn’t bring them back.”

The two of them continued chatting for a while.

Yu Qingze looked at Dahe, this simple and honest young man whom he genuinely liked, and it wasn’t his fault that he liked Chang Le. If anything, it was probably his own fault for interrupting their relationship, even though Chang Le never had feelings for him.

He thought for a moment and asked Dahe, “Dahe, when is your next trip on the boat?”

Dahe replied, “We don’t know yet. We’ll find out tomorrow when the boss tells us.”

Yu Qingze said, “When you bring heavy items onto the boat, will the boss complain or charge you?”

“Usually not, and we don’t have many heavy items anyway,” Dahe shook his head, thought for a moment, and added, “Are you worried that the boss will charge us more?”

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “If he wants to charge, then you should pay him. Also, if you have extra money, you can try bringing back fruits or vegetables from other places that can be preserved for a long time and sell them. They should sell well, and you can earn some extra money.”

Dahe shook his head and said, “Usually, after reaching the destination, we only stay ashore for about four or five days before setting sail again. When we stop along the way, it’s mostly for loading and unloading cargo, and at most, we spend one night ashore. There’s no time to sell.”

Yu Qingze thought for a moment and said, “In that case, next time you bring them back, I’ll let you know if there’s anything that sells well. You can directly buy them for me to sell. But this means that some things may only be sold next year, as vegetables and fruits are not easy to preserve. Of course, if you’re bold enough, you can directly buy what you think is good.”

Dahe’s eyes lit up and he said, “Can I do that? Wouldn’t that be too much trouble for you? After all, those things might not be fresh anymore by the time I bring them back.”

“For fruits and such, when you buy them, get them slightly unripe, not fully ripe. That way, they can last longer,” Yu Qingze explained. In his past life, bananas, for example, were picked when they were still unripe and would ripen just in time to be sold when they reached different destinations. However, back then, transportation usually took no more than seven days, much faster than the shipping in this world.

“That’s a good method. I’ll pay attention next time I go and see if there’s anything suitable for long-term preservation,” Dahe said happily.

Yu Qingze nodded in agreement.

When the employees from the village finished their work and held a meeting, they all came to the backyard to chat with Dahe.

Chang Le got up and went to the kitchen to cook, leaving Yu Qingze to ask Dahe to stay for dinner later, which Dahe agreed to.

The employees didn’t chat for long as they needed to go home, so they bid farewell and left.

In the evening, Dahe had dinner with Yu Qingze and Chang Le, and they chatted for a long time.

After dinner, Yu Qingze asked, “Do you have a place to stay tonight?”

Dahe nodded and said, “Yes, there’s a big brother on the boat who takes good care of me. His house is conveniently located in the west of the city, and he happens to have an empty room. I’ve been staying at his place when I come back.”

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “That’s good then. I won’t keep you here.” If he insisted on Dahe staying, both of them would feel uncomfortable.

They agreed to have Dahe come over again when they knew the next departure date, and Dahe left.

The next day, Dahe came specially to deliver a wedding gift to Yu Qingze and Chang Le.

In the afternoon, after preparing the dim sum, Yu Qingze asked Brother Chang and Brother Chang’s mother to stay and take care of the shop for the night. Then he took Chang Le and Jiabao and went back home. It was Chang Hao’s birthday today, and they wanted to return early to celebrate with their younger brother.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: Poor Dahe. That’s what happens when you slow in love. Better luck next time, bro.