Chapter 97: The Bear Cubs Stole Food Again

Before the meal was served, these people went to the other side of the sweet potato vine and picked a lot of tender stems. Liu Heming did not expect that this would be so popular among them.

Not to mention him, even the two Bear Cubs nearby could not understand why these people liked eating these leaves so much. To be honest, they found the taste just average when they ate them.

Liu Heming placed his high hopes on the pan-seared flatbread once again. Whether he could complete the task directly depended on it.

The surfaces of the pan-seared flatbread pieces were still coated with vegetable soup. Liu Heming cut each of them a few times, dividing them into small pieces. The inside of the bread was exposed at the cut edges, looking as white as jade.

“Everyone, try it and see how it tastes,” Liu Heming said as he placed the flatbread on the table. Then he went back to serve the stir-fried dishes.

This way of eating was a first for all of them. The flatbread looked somewhat similar to pizza, as it was also cut into pieces, but it didn’t seem as easy to hold as pizza.

Ignoring the heat, George picked up a piece with a fork and took a bite. He immediately gave a thumbs-up. It was very chewy, with a flavorful broth, and the piece had many thin layers inside.

“What does everyone think of the taste? Could it be sold in restaurants in the future?” Liu Heming asked after placing the stir-fried sweet potato vine on the table.

He was still a bit frustrated. Although everyone seemed to be enjoying the food, the task completion notification had not appeared. This meant that, at best, his daughter only liked it a little—it was not her favorite yet.

Still, he wanted to make one last effort. Maybe if everyone praised it, his daughter would become a bit more interested and try it carefully.

“Dexter, this way of making flour-based food is very innovative, and the flatbread tastes quite good. However, I don’t think it’s suitable for you to promote as a fast-food product in the future,” Lewis said after taking another bite.

“First, the preparation time is much longer than for dumplings. Also, this kind of food is fine to eat occasionally, but if eaten often, it would lose its novelty. If you open your own restaurant in the future, I think it would be a great dish.”

Liu Heming thought for a moment and nodded. Lewis’s words were very honest. The pan-seared flatbread was indeed more troublesome in terms of preparation and ingredients.

It seemed his spontaneous idea was not going to work. The food was delicious, but it was not suitable for promotion. He glanced over at his daughter again. She had eaten more than half of a piece of the flatbread, but now the little one was focusing more on the ribs on her plate.

Liu Heming finally understood why the sweet potato vine and the pan-seared flatbread did not win his daughter’s favor. She was truly a little meat-loving cutie. How could flatbread and vegetables compare to a piece of richly braised, fragrant rib?

After some thought, Liu Heming pushed aside his slight disappointment. For this task, he was just the executor—his daughter was the main character. There was only one dish left, so there was no need to rush. He would take it slowly.

“Dexter, I think you should introduce another fast-food item that’s suitable for sales. Only with more variety can you earn more money,” Lewis said after eating for a while.

“Let me think about it. I still have some vegetables to sell. Your restaurant doesn’t need much, so it seems I should plant less next year,” Liu Heming nodded and said.

“Actually, your vegetables taste very good. The only problem is that it takes a lot of time to pick them every day,” Lewis thought for a moment and said.

“If you want to sell them, you can check out the market in Glent Town. There are always many people shopping there. It’s better than letting all these vegetables go to waste, but it would require you to wake up even earlier every day.”

“That’s fine. What matters is that these vegetables can earn some money. I’m just worried that my output is too small, and probably very few people would buy them,” Liu Heming said with a smile.

“It never hurts to try,” George chimed in.

“Actually, it’s because there are too few people in Xiangshui Town. In the past, no matter how many vegetables we had, we could consume them locally. But now? Our lives have become very inconvenient. Even when some facilities need repairs, we have to wait a long time for workers to come.”

The others also looked a bit downcast. In areas with more people versus fewer people, the services available always differ. Now, Xiangshui Town was in such a bad state that George held all the public positions in the town. Calling it a town was a stretch—who knew when the county government might take it back.

“Don’t think about these things too much. Things will get better slowly. Xiangshui Town prospered because of water, and now it’s declining because of water issues. Maybe in a couple of years, the weather will become favorable again, and more people will gradually return to Xiangshui Town,” Liu Heming comforted everyone.

He didn’t have many comforting words, but to truly free Xiangshui Town from the drought, having this lake of his alone wasn’t enough—they still needed God to send down plenty of rain.

“George, no matter what, this year’s harvest in the town was quite good. Things will get better in the future,” Lewis also offered some comfort.

George smiled sheepishly. He had made the atmosphere at the gathering quite gloomy because of himself.

“Dexter, where are the Little Bears?” George looked around and realized the Bear Cubs were not there. They had been eating with everyone just a while ago.

“Lately, they’ve been very active. After eating, they go outside to play for a while. I’m starting to worry that, in the future, to expand their territory, they might get into fights with other animals outside,” Liu Heming said with a bitter smile.

“Probably not, but bears do have large territories. You should still be careful,” George nodded.

Just as they were talking about the Bear Cubs, the Bear Cubs wandered back from outside. Liu Heming waved them over, intending to give them a warning. But when they came closer, Liu Heming froze.

The Bear Cubs had some wet and dirty spots on their bodies, and there was blood at the corners of their mouths.

“Did you get into a fight with someone?” Liu Heming asked the Bear Cubs with concern.

The Bear Cubs blinked their eyes, acting innocent.

Liu Heming didn’t bother eating anymore. He carefully checked the Bear Cubs’ bodies but found no other wounds. It was then that he caught a faint fishy smell coming from the corners of their mouths.

He pried open Xiong Da’s mouth and looked carefully. Between its teeth was a strand of fish flesh. He felt helpless—these two Bear Cubs had gone stealing food again.