1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 15: A family's cooking skills are never bad!

Xia Yao wore a yellow floral maxi dress today, with a light beige knitted cardigan over it, and black Mary Jane shoes. Her long hair was braided into two pigtails, with thin bangs. Her already pretty face was made even more youthful and beautiful.

She sat on a rock under a tree, holding her sketchbook, her pencil scribbling on the paper with a focused and serious expression.

The workers, dressed in uniform dark blue factory clothes, couldn't help but take a second look at this bright color.

College students from the city are different; they're fashionable and good-looking, and their skin is so nice, fair and smooth. I just don't know what they're doing writing and drawing on paper.

"Isn't that Deputy Factory Director Lin's niece? I heard she's a painter!"

"The artist is fashionable and good-looking, but what is she painting?"

The workers looked around and discussed it.

Someone with a curious eye peeked behind her and exclaimed, "Wow, it's really well drawn!"

A little girl holding a Coca-Cola bottle leaps off the page; the simple lines are incredibly lifelike and lively.

This exclamation of praise attracted many people, and those who came over to take a look couldn't help but praise it, saying that the painting was indeed very good.

Xia Yao is not used to being watched by people, especially when she is painting, it makes her feel uncomfortable, but when praised, she still politely smiles, nods and says thank you.

People gathered around, so she recommended Zhou Yan's restaurant: "Zhou Yan's noodles are delicious. My uncle and I love them. Everyone should try them; you definitely won't regret it."

Wang Laowu would occasionally shout out a few words, clearly targeting Zhou Erwa's restaurant, and Xia Yao naturally sided with her benefactor.

Upon hearing this, some onlookers actually went to try the noodles that the deputy factory director had praised, and this brought Zhou Yan some more customers.

Workers come and go, and once it's time for work, the factory gate quickly becomes deserted.

Zhou Momo sat at the entrance of the restaurant, holding up an empty glass bottle and staring intently at the sky with one eye closed.

After finishing his work, Zhou Yan came out for some fresh air and saw Xia Yao sitting under a tree painting. The dappled sunlight fell on her face, making her look serene and beautiful.

"Hey bro, this cola is so delicious!" Zhou Momo turned around when she heard footsteps, holding up the glass bottle and waving it at him. "The bottle is so pretty too."

Zhou Yan smiled, bent down, and patted her head. "I'll buy it for you next time."

Tianfu Cola is currently the best-selling cola in the Sichuan-Chongqing region, costing 25 cents a bottle. It must have been given to her by Xia Yao.

Xia Yao put away her sketchbook, got up and walked towards the restaurant, smiling as she said, "Good morning, Comrade Zhou Yan."

"Good morning, Comrade Xia Yao." Zhou Yan smiled and nodded, glancing at the sketchbook peeking out from her handbag. "I didn't expect you to be a painter."

“I’m a student in the Arts and Crafts Department of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, not a painter,” Xia Yao said.

"Oh, so you're a designer." Zhou Yan said thoughtfully.

Xia Yao looked at him in surprise: "You know about designers?"

She studied interior design, which includes brand design, packaging design and other fields. After graduation, she really plans to develop her career as a designer.

Whenever someone asked about her major, she had to go through a lot of trouble to give examples and explanations, and the other person might not even understand. She never expected that Zhou Yan would understand.

“I’ve read it in a book before,” Zhou Yan said casually.

He has a friend who studied visual communication design and complained to him that their department used to be called the Arts and Crafts Department, so it should be pretty much the same. He changed the subject: "Were you drawing Momo just now?"

Xia Yao took out a sketchbook from her bag, opened a page, and handed it to Zhou Yan: "Take a look."

The little girl holding a can of cola in the painting is Zhou Momo. Although there is no color, it is very lifelike, and her raised feet and smile make her even more lively.

"It's a really good painting," Zhou Yan exclaimed.

He didn't understand art, but he was deeply moved.

Zhou Momo was eating noodles at the door for a short while when Xia Yao finished her drawing, demonstrating her excellent drawing skills.

Xia Yao smiled slightly, put away her sketchbook, and reached out to rub Zhou Momo's head: "Momo is so cute and well-behaved."

"hey-hey."

Zhou Momo smiled, her eyes crinkling like a kitten enjoying being petted.

"Do you want noodles?" Zhou Yan asked again.

"Okay." Xia Yao nodded: "I'd like a bowl of pork rib noodles, the same as yesterday."

"Okay, come in and wait a moment." Zhou Yan nodded and turned to go into the kitchen.

"Xia's here! Come on, have a seat. Auntie will pour you some water." Zhao Tieying greeted Xia Yao warmly.

She had already noticed Xia Yao painting, and several customers said they came to eat noodles because of her recommendation, but she was too busy to serve her.

"Okay, thank you, Auntie," Xia Yao replied crisply.

Zhou Yan waited until Xia Yao finished eating her noodles before pushing his old bicycle out the door. He was going to the dock to learn how to make braised beef with ribs from Brother Jie, and also to check out the current level of braised beef with ribs stalls in Suji.

"Comrade Zhou Yan, are you going to town?" Xia Yao asked Zhou Yan, her bag slung over her shoulder.

“I’m going to the dock.” Zhou Yan looked at her and said, “Comrade Xia Yao, how about I give you a ride home to your family compound?” “Sure.” Xia Yao got into the back seat and said with a smile, “Just call me Xia Yao.”

“Okay, you can just call me by my name.” Zhou Yan nodded with a smile, pushed off with his foot, and the bicycle sped away. He glanced back at Wang Laowu’s noodle stall; half of the sauce and toppings had already been used up. Wang Laowu’s business was better than his this morning.

He sold a total of 32 bowls of noodles this morning, more than 20 fewer than yesterday. He's afraid he won't be able to sell all 100 bowls of noodles with toppings and sauces he prepared today.

A pot of minced pork sauce made from diseased pork.

A pot of leftover braised beef mixed with fresh beef...

……

As lines of appraisal notes popped up, Zhou Yan instinctively squeezed the brakes.

Caught off guard, Xia Yao instinctively wrapped her arms around Zhou Yan's waist, leaning forward and pressing her body directly against his back.

The warm, soft touch on his back made Zhou Yan's waist stiffen; he was now in an awkward situation.

"Wh...what's wrong?" Xia Yao released Zhou Yan's waist, her small hands gripping the car seat tightly, a blush creeping up her ears.

"Sorry, I suddenly remembered something and got distracted," Zhou Yan said hastily. He glanced at Wang Laowu's noodle stall one last time to confirm that the note was real, and then rode away on his bicycle.

This cleared up Zhou Yan's doubts. Wang Laowu was using diseased pork and even mixed the leftover toppings from yesterday with the new ones to sell together. That's why he dared to sell a bowl of noodles with a little over 50 grams of meat for 40 cents.

It seems that the knife maker Wang Qi and Wang Laowu are from the same village. The price that Wang Laowu can get should be lower than 1.4 yuan. He can make some money selling pork sauce and toppings, and then subsidize the beef toppings. So, he won't lose money.

Wang Laowu's idea was simple yet malicious: he could not make money, but if Zhou Yan did not make money, he would have to close down and get out.

Price wars are all about who has the most resources.

But Zhou Yan didn't think so. Since Wang Laowu was using diseased pork without any martial ethics, he was definitely going to make trouble for him.

The bicycle slowly came to a stop at the entrance of the textile factory's residential compound.

Xia Yao jumped out of the car and said gracefully, "Zhou Yan, thank you for driving me back. I'm going back to Jiaozhou to sketch this afternoon. See you next time."

"Okay, see you next time." Zhou Yan smiled and nodded, feeling a little regretful that he had lost a reliable customer, and rode away.

Xia Yao watched Zhou Yan's retreating figure as he rode his bicycle, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Xia Yao, I was just about to come find you. There's a meeting at the design institute at noon. Go back and pack your things and let's go." Meng Anhe's voice came from the courtyard.

"Okay!" Xia Yao replied.

……

There are many individual vendors setting up stalls at the Tsing Yi River Wharf, as well as laborers and crew members carrying goods. There are also many merchants coming and going. Having a simple meal at the wharf is a good option.

The noodle stall was cooking noodles and wontons in a steaming pot, while the stir-fry stall next to it was displaying a variety of fresh ingredients. The tofu rice stall had already sold out half of the tofu in its pot, and the Emei tofu pudding stall had a small flag standing on it, attracting many customers who brought their children to eat.

Villagers carried baskets on their backs to sell their own eggs, old hens, geese, vegetables, freshly caught river fish, and fresh eels, turning the place into a small market.

Because the produce is fresh, people from the town come to the dock to buy it, making it quite lively.

Along this stretch of river, the sounds of vendors calling out their wares rise and fall, creating a vibrant and lively atmosphere.

Zhou Yan pushed his bicycle along the way, looking around. In this era, there wasn't much technology or hard work. There were chickens, ducks, and geese that had never been fed commercial feed, wild eels and river fish, and rabbits that only ate grass...

All of these are very high-quality ingredients!
Stalls selling braised beef brisket were interspersed among these stalls, most of them displaying a sign or flag that read "Wednesday Baby Hot Pot" or "Wednesday Auntie Hot Pot"...

After the opening up of business, many Zhoucun residents returned to their old trade of selling soup pots, and have become quite well-known in the town.

Zhou Yan greeted those he recognized and smiled and nodded at those he didn't.

He quickly noticed a hot pot stall ahead, with a sign that read "Zhou's Hot Pot." The eight tables were full of customers, and the burly man cooking beef in front of the hot pot was Zhou Hai, who was in charge of greeting customers, serving dishes, and collecting money. The man with a big smile on his face was Zhou Jie.

This place is the most popular among all the food vendors on the entire dock.

Other hot pot restaurants only had a few customers here and there, and next door there was a "Zhou Liangliang Hot Pot" restaurant with only one customer.

Zhou Hai, with his keen eyes and ears, spotted Zhou Yan at a glance and greeted him with a smile, "Zhou Yan! Over here."

Zhou Yan pushed his cart over, and before he could even speak, Zhou Jie proudly introduced him to the customers at the stall: "This is my younger brother, Zhou Yan, a great hero who jumped into the water to save someone. The higher-ups are even going to award him an advanced worker award!"

“He’s my brother too.” Zhou Hai straightened his back and smiled broadly.

Upon hearing this, the guests all looked at Zhou Yan.

"You were the one who jumped into Bailatuo to save a female college student the other day? You were a true hero!"

"This young man is handsome and has the guts to back it up!"

Zhou Yan looked a little embarrassed by the praise.

“My brother is not only handsome, but also a very good cook. He opened a restaurant called ‘Zhou Erwa’s Restaurant’ near the textile factory, and he’s planning to sell hot pot next. If you live nearby, you can eat there. It’s the same thing.” Zhou Jie patted his chest and said, “It’s all family cooking, so it can’t be bad.”

(End of this chapter)