Chương 52: He Really Eats the Pancakes

Zhou Yan bought thirty-seven catties of meat, twenty-odd catties of beef offal and tendon, a few bundles of small green vegetables, and two cabbages today, filling his basket to the brim. Looking at Zhou Momo sleeping soundly in the basket next to him, he was a little troubled.

"I'm done here too. Give me the basket, I'll take it back for you. You take Fourth Aunt and Momo." Zhou Jie walked over with a smile, took the heavy basket from Zhou Yan's hands, and casually put it on his back.

"Okay, take it easy." Zhou Yan greeted him with a smile, and then carried Zhao Niangniang and followed behind Zhou Jie. Although the old bicycle was good, it was still a bit overloaded to carry both people and goods. On the way, Zhou Yan thought about either getting Zhao Niangniang a bicycle, or modifying the back seat, like those peddlers, with two baskets fixed directly on both sides. The back seat would be a little uncomfortable, but it could hold a lot of things.

The tricycle could carry goods, but the country roads weren't so easy to ride these days; a bicycle was more practical. He couldn't entrust the task of sourcing ingredients to someone else. With his talent for judging quality, he could tell the difference between good and bad ingredients at a glance—a skill honed through countless trials and tribulations by experienced chefs.

High-quality ingredients were one of the restaurant's competitive advantages, a crucial element in differentiating it from other restaurants and street vendors. Back at the restaurant, Zhao Hong and Zhou Lihui were already there, helping him lift the basket.

"Auntie can sleep so well! She can even fall asleep on the bus," Zhou Lihui peeked into the basket, where Zhou Momo was peeking out.

"When your child was little, she slept even more. She ate and slept all the time, and then woke up and ate again," Zhao Hong laughed.

"Wouldn't she be a pig spirit then?" Zhou Lihui scratched his head.

"Brother Jie, are you managing things with Brother Haizi these past few days while you've been learning?" Zhou Yan asked casually as he lifted the basket off Zhou Jie's vehicle.

"Your two sisters-in-law can help, and my mom can help with the dishes too, no problem at all," Zhou Jie laughed.

"But this morning he's taking my mom to the county to buy wedding candy and stuff, not to set up a stall. If she comes back early at noon, she said she wants to come over and learn."

"If there's anything you need me to do, just let me know. As the younger brother, I'll definitely do my part," Zhou Yan laughed. Right now, the most important thing for the Zhou family is Zhou Hao's wedding, and Zhou Hai, Zhou Fei, and the other brothers are all very enthusiastic. They probably think Zhou Yan is busy at the shop, so they haven't asked him to do anything yet.

"Nothing much, everything is almost ready. We're just missing a little bit of wedding candy and odds and ends. My mom will go buy them all today," Zhou Jie waved his hand and said seriously, "Your restaurant business is just picking up, so you just need to manage the restaurant well. Any of us brothers can go and run errands."

"Okay," Zhou Yan nodded.

"Did you sell all the vegetables you prepared yesterday? How was business tonight?" Zhou Jie asked with concern. He had gone home after finishing his work at noon yesterday, and Zhou Yan hadn't sold a single crucian carp yet.

"Yes, they're all sold out, which is why I brought so many vegetables today, ready to make a big splash." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.

"I reckon business will be even better today."

"Great! People still know how to appreciate good food!" Zhou Jie clapped his hands, beaming.

"I'll help you wash the vegetables, and I'll clean the offal very thoroughly on the second wash." Zhou Jie was a skilled worker, helping to clean the oxtail, bones, and offal, greatly improving efficiency. Apprentice Zhou Lihui was also full of energy, carrying buckets of well water into the large pot, becoming increasingly proficient. Today, Zhou Yan directly let Zhou Jie do the cooking of this broth, while he provided guidance. Zhou Jie was an experienced broth maker with two and a half years of experience.

He had carefully studied the instructions in his notebook yesterday, and today he immediately started cooking with great skill, barely needing any prompting from Zhou Yan.

"Zhou Jie learns much faster than me; he's almost mastered it in just one day," Zhao Tieying remarked, watching from the side.

"It's all thanks to Master Zhou's excellent teaching. He explained things so clearly; I understood immediately," Zhou Jie said with a smile, skimming the foam off the surface.

"Then you stay here and skim the foam off the surface; I'll go stir-fry the toppings and meat sauce," Zhou Yan said with a smile, turning and walking towards the kitchen. He called Zhou Lihui, who was reciting multiplication tables nearby, into the kitchen as well.

"Uncle, when do I start learning to cook?" Zhou Lihui looked at Zhou Yan expectantly.

"You've been learning since you stepped into the kitchen," Zhou Yan said seriously.

"First, you'll learn how to light the fire. This step will help you develop your control over the heat, which will be very useful when you practice cooking."

"Oh, I see!" Zhou Lihui's eyes lit up, and he immediately crawled behind the stove.

"Then I'll light the fire first!"

"No rush. Come and watch me chop the vegetables. Today I'll teach you how to cut beef," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"Can I cut the beef too?"

"No, every piece of beef here is for a big purpose. When radishes, which cost only a few cents a pound, are in season, you can practice your knife skills with radishes."

" Oh..." It wasn't that Zhou Yan was stingy; he was just genuinely poor. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Besides, when he was learning to cook in the factory canteen, his master had him practice by cutting radish and potato shreds, not beef right away. Zhou Lihui, on the other hand, was very attentive, standing straight beside him, watching intently and occasionally asking questions.

Zhao Hong entered and exited the kitchen several times, her steps lighter, a smile playing on her lips. Today, Zhou Yan still prepared eighty servings of noodles, but added twenty bowls of braised beef. He also prepared thirty servings each of braised beef with bamboo shoots and stir-fried beef with two kinds of peppers, twenty servings of crucian carp, and twelve servings of spare ribs.

The eight servings of spare ribs prepared yesterday sold out, but Zhou Yan believed that was a compromise after most customers had no other options, and didn't mean that braised spare ribs were a bestseller. The one-yuan servings of stir-fried beef with two kinds of peppers and braised beef with bamboo shoots seemed more cost-effective. Or, for an extra four cents, you could get a serving of crucian carp with mint, a generous portion that goes well with rice.

The braised pork ribs are savory and sweet, kids love them—the factory manager's table yesterday proved that. Once there are more family gatherings, they should sell well. Adjusting the daily menu flexibly is something a competent business owner should do. The reason Xiao Zhou lost so much money is because he was too honest and had no restaurant management experience; he was wasting a lot of ingredients every day. Business this morning was similar to yesterday; eighty bowls of noodles sold out.

The number of customers coming for noodles is stabilizing, and it's unlikely there will be a significant breakthrough in the short term. (The latest novels are first published on 69shu. com!) Zhou Yan was quite satisfied with this number; customers didn't have to wait too long, the restaurant had enough seating, and the overall dining experience was good.

The workers had all gone to work, and Zhou Jie helped clear the table, remarking with some emotion, "Business is really good; I didn't expect everyone to love noodles so much."

"Want to learn?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile.

"I can't learn a thing," Zhou Jie shook his head vigorously.

"Let alone your amazing noodle-pulling skills, I can't even make the meat sauce and toppings properly. Your stir-fried beef with chili peppers is simply divine. I'm not afraid of embarrassing myself; I'm afraid of losing face if people say you taught me."

" I'll be content if I can make a good soup pot. Quality over quantity," Zhou Jie grinned confidently.

"A lifetime, one pot of soup—if I do it well, I think I can make money."

"That makes sense. From now on, you'll be the King of Beef Noodles," Zhou Yan laughed.

"No, no," Zhou Jie shook his head, pointing to the pot by the door, "This is your improved version of Qiaojiao Beef. You are the King of Qiaojiao Beef, I am at most a general. You point and I go."

"Now everyone's life is getting better and better. If we save money these two years, we can open Qiaojiao Beef in Jiaozhou and Chengdu. We'll buy cars and live in apartments." Zhou Yan smiled and painted a picture of the future.

"Cars? Apartments!" Zhou Jie's eyes lit up.

"Okay!" He really wanted the promise. … The fact that the factory director ate at Zhou Erwa's restaurant yesterday and gave it high praise has become anecdote. It's even more interesting to eat it together with the gossip about the canteen farce yesterday. Gossip doesn't discriminate by era. The factory's handling of the canteen is still pending, and the food there is still terrible. The fact that Zhou Erwa's restaurant has defeated the canteen has become a joke among everyone when they're slacking off at work.

The old story of Zhou Yan standing up for his master and beating up Wang Defa, which resulted in his dismissal, has also been dug up and has spawned multiple versions of rumors, which are getting more and more outrageous. At lunchtime, the restaurant was bustling with customers who had come specifically to try it. Zhao Dong was one of them.

"Comrade Zhou, you've finally started serving stir-fries and braised dishes!" Zhao Dong greeted Zhou Yan with a handshake as soon as he entered the restaurant. As the catalyst for yesterday's canteen incident, he had been reprimanded by Deputy Factory Director Liu Yusheng, publicly criticized at a meeting, and forced to write a thousand-word self-criticism. He was feeling rather depressed.

Of course, it was common knowledge that the canteen's stir-fries and communal dishes were terrible; even the deputy factory director admitted it. The criticism was mainly for leading the disturbance as the workshop director, showing a lack of organization and discipline. Writing a self-criticism was the least of his worries; he wasn't given a demerit because he hadn't raised his hand during the vote. While everyone outwardly disapproved of Zhao Dong's actions, they secretly gave him a thumbs-up after the meeting.

Who wouldn't be furious after eating in the canteen? This morning, he heard that Zhou Erwa's restaurant had new dishes, and even the old factory director praised them. Who could stand that? As soon as the bell rang, Zhao Dong grabbed a lunch buddy and hurried over for a meal. He, Zhao Dong, was determined to be at the forefront of the effort to bring down the factory canteen!

"After the factory manager finished eating yesterday, which dish did he say was the best?" Zhao Dong asked Zhou Yan. The guests who followed him in also looked at him, equally expectant. (End of Chapter)