1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 118 A Drawing Left Under the Meal! (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Xiao Lei arrived as promised at noon, and it was clear that he had a deep obsession with making a perfect stir-fried pork liver dish.

Zhou Yan was overjoyed that his master had come. After all, he was a man who cared about his work. He not only took care of all the stir-fried pig liver, but also helped with chopping side dishes.

Top-notch!

However, limits are always easy to approach but difficult to break.

At noon, ten more servings of stir-fried pork liver were made, showing subtle improvement, but the entries in Zhou Yan's eyes remained unchanged.

[An exceptionally good stir-fried pork liver]

"Master, your stir-fried pork liver is so delicious! Are you coming again tonight?" Zhou Yan asked tentatively. Obsessions are a very subjective thing. If he felt that he had succeeded, then the obsession would naturally disappear.

Wouldn't that complete his task?

"I think it's still a bit lacking." Xiao Lei put down his chopsticks and shook his head. "It's still not quite as good as what you make, and it's also not as good as what your master cooks. Let's continue tonight, and I'll come again when I have time. I don't believe that I can't do it even if it's just a tiny bit off."

"Sure! Come on over, you're welcome anytime." Zhou Yan smiled upon hearing this. His master's palate was truly discerning; he could taste even the slightest difference. He wasn't easily fooled.

"I saw your sign outside; you're accepting reservations for tomorrow at noon. You're trying to steal business from the state-run restaurants," Xiao Lei said with a smile.

“There’s no other way. The textile factory’s revenue has hit its peak. If we want to attract more customers, we have to find a way to expand our customer base and capture some of the people who gather for meals on weekends.” Zhou Yan looked at Xiao Lei and said, “Master, the state-run restaurant won’t be plotting against me behind my back, will it?”

"It's hard to say. If you make them go out of business, they'll definitely find a way to survive." Xiao Lei said with a smile, "Their head chef, Fan Qingfeng, is quite straightforward and has a lot of pride. He generally wouldn't do anything underhanded."

But the situation is less certain for the leaders of state-run restaurants. The number of people in Suji Town who regularly dine out is limited, and state-run restaurants have a survival threshold to support so many employees.

Zhou Yan seemed to be thinking about what he heard. In a small place, it's not just about fighting and killing, but also about human relationships and social interactions.

Now that his uncle has become the Minister of Armed Forces, he is not so afraid of the other party using connections to pressure him in Suji.

But the state-run restaurant has a dozen or twenty employees. If he were to lose his secure job, who knows what kind of trouble he might cause? Master's reminder does make some sense.

"What are you afraid of? There's a crackdown going on right now, what would they dare to do?" Seeing Zhou Yan's serious expression, Xiao Lei smiled and said, "Everyone's in business, the quality of the food is the original sin. If it's not good, just practice more. Do you think you can force customers to eat at your home with a knife?"

"Those bastards in state-run restaurants are just having too good a life. They have no competitors, so customers have no choice but to treat them to meals."

"Those waiters have their noses in the air. They ignore customers when they ask questions, and they even hit customers. Isn't that lawless?"

Xiao Lei became more and more agitated as he spoke, his words filled with disgust.

Zhou Yan was stunned.

As expected of his master, he has great insight!

It's also a bit wild.

“Work hard. If you’re too busy on weekends, just call me and I’ll help you. Just pay me the daily wage for the work. If you’re still too busy, I’ll call Zheng Qiang over for you too,” Xiao Lei said to Zhou Yan.

"Sure!" Zhou Yan nodded with a smile; there was really no way to refuse.

"By the way, the number of tables for the wedding banquet on the 8th has been finalized. We've added two more tables, making a total of twenty-two. I've written down the quantities of the braised dishes they need; just make them accordingly." Xiao Lei added with a smile, "I'll also promote it for you then, but I don't know how effective it will be."

"I can never repay my master's kindness," Zhou Yan said with emotion.

He's truly blessed to have such a master.

A wedding banquet with hundreds of guests, all of whom had tasted his braised meat, is an incredibly effective form of advertising.

In the past few days, Zhou Yan has seen several familiar faces who came for the braised pig's head.

Zhou Yan added, "By the way, Master, three more people came to book banquets yesterday. One had a time conflict and was turned down, but the other two had suitable times, so I accepted them for you. They are..."

The two, master and apprentice, one running a restaurant and the other working as a rural chef catering banquets, both have bright futures.

……

After closing for lunch, Xiao Lei went home for a nap.

Zhou Yan took off his apron and slumped onto a recliner by the door. A bicycle with two large green bags hanging on it stopped in front of him.

"Zhou Yan, you have a package. Please sign for it." The postman stopped his vehicle and said, taking something out of his bag.

Zhou Yan jumped up; he must have come from Shancheng.

A package? Isn't it a letter?
Did Xia Yao send him something?
The postman handed him a long, narrow package wrapped in several layers of oil paper and asked him to sign it.

Zhou Momo had already run out of the store excitedly, and went up to Zhou Yan, looking up at the package in his hand with her big eyes full of anticipation: "Brother, did Sister Yao Yao send this?"

Aunt Zhao, who was still holding a rag, also came over to take a look.

“Yes, it was sent by her.” Zhou Yan nodded with a smile, already recognizing Xia Yao’s familiar handwriting and signature.

The package wasn't big, but it was still a bit heavy. Zhou Yan found the edge and peeled off layer after layer of kraft paper, revealing a beautiful box of crayons.
"Is it something delicious? The box is so pretty." Zhou Momo leaned closer to look. "It's not food, it's crayons for drawing. Xia Yao must have sent it to you." Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"Really? Sister Yao Yao is so kind!" Zhou Momo's eyes sparkled, and she almost jumped for joy.

"Xia Yao is so thoughtful. When she saw that Momo was drawing for her with charcoal, she even spent money to buy crayons and send them to her. That must have cost a lot of money," Aunt Zhao said with a sigh.

There was also a letter under the crayon, in an envelope, but without a stamp.

This girl is smart; she knows when to save and when to spend.

Zhou Yan handed the crayons to Zhou Momo, smiling as she instructed, "Put them on the table and let Mom open them for you. These are crayons for drawing, absolutely no eating them, understand?"

"Okay! I understand!" Zhou Momo nodded, took the crayons with both hands, and turned to hand them to Aunt Zhao: "Mom, can you open it for me?"

"Come here." Aunt Zhao took the crayons, placed them on the table, and opened them for her. There were twenty-four crayons in two rows, which looked very exquisite.

"Wow! So pretty!" Zhou Momo climbed onto the bench herself, her eyes lighting up when she saw the crayons, and she swallowed hard. "They look so delicious!"

"Zhou Momo, I'm warning you! You can't eat this, it'll give you diarrhea." Aunt Zhao moved the crayon back a little and warned with a serious expression.

"Aww..." Zhou Momo nodded, leaning forward again, her eyes shining as she looked on: "So many colors! This is the color of persimmons, this is the color of the sky, this is the color of the roof, this is the color of Grandma's hair..."

Outside the door, Zhou Yan had already opened the envelope.

Zhou Yan:
Upon reading your letter, it felt as if I were seeing an old friend.

A few nights ago, a heavy rain fell in the mountain city, and the weather turned cool, finally giving it a touch of autumn.

A stray cat gave birth to a litter of kittens in the artificial hill behind our dormitory. The cat was too thin to raise all six kittens, so Deng Hong secretly took one back to the dormitory and raised it, and it survived. The little orange kitten is so tiny and cute.

I've read your suggestions and messages several times. Your insights and deductions about advertising have been a revelation, giving me a clear direction for my future career planning..."

Zhou Yan leaned back in his recliner, looking at the delicate handwriting, as if he could hear Xia Yao's voice in his ear, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.

Her writing remained lively, recounting many interesting stories from campus and expressing her gratitude for the suggestions he had made in his previous letter.

At the end of the letter, Zhou Momo was mentioned.

"Momo's drawings are so cute, full of childlike fun and love. I think she has a talent for drawing, so I sent her a box of crayons, hoping she can use them to draw even more interesting pictures."

I drew a picture with crayons and gave it to her. Please pass it on to her. I added colors to her picture.

Yesterday, I went for a walk along the Yangtze River with my roommate, and I couldn't help but miss the breeze along the Suji River.

Everything goes smoothly and without worry; all wishes are fulfilled.

Xia Yao. "

Zhou Yan stared at the last third line for a while, trying to analyze the emotions the author wanted to express.

Unfortunately, his reading comprehension skills were too poor, and he couldn't analyze the information.

Perhaps it's because the wind in Suqi is cooler than the wind in the mountain city that it evokes nostalgia.

The mountain city is like an oven in the summer.

Turn to the next page, and you'll find a folded painting depicting a small courtyard with a little girl in pigtails, an orange cat at her feet, and a goose spreading its wings nearby.

The drawing was done with crayons, and the overall layout was based on the drawing that Zhou Momo sent her.

The blurred lines and abstract people and animals in the charcoal painting become clear and lifelike, especially Zhou Momo in the painting, who is painted so realistically.

The childlike charm of the rural courtyard is vividly displayed.

Zhou Yan unconsciously sat up straight and stared at it for a while.

"Wow! Isn't this the painting I gave to Sister Yao Yao? It's gotten even prettier!" Zhou Momo exclaimed excitedly, appearing behind him without him noticing.

"This was redrawn by Xia Yao, wasn't it? It's so well done! This girl is so thoughtful." Aunt Zhao exclaimed, increasingly pleased with Xia Yao. What a pity, alas.

"This is a drawing that Yao Yao gave you. She said she received it and really liked it. She thinks it's amazing, so she gave you a box of crayons so you can draw with them next time." Zhou Yan smiled and handed the drawing to Zhou Momo.

"Mmm!" Zhou Momo carefully took it, her eyes shining as if she were looking at a treasure. As she walked into the restaurant, she muttered, "Crayons, colors, so pretty! But why are the flowers orange?"

Zhou Yan's lips curled up slightly, because Xia Yao and the others had hidden a little orange cat in the dormitory, and they probably thought that the cat at Grandma's house was also an orange cat.

"It looks really nice. Let me stick some rice on the wall for you so you don't tear it up in no time," came Aunt Zhao's voice.

Zhou Yan jumped up from his chair, turned around, and rushed into the shop: "Leave a painting after the meal!"

(End of this chapter)