1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 182 Running into the Bullets (7k Two-in-One)

Zhou Yan was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with joy.

Unexpectedly, this side quest resulted in a dish of shredded pork with garlic sauce!
Fish-fragrant shredded pork should be classified as a home-style dish in Sichuan cuisine, just like twice-cooked pork, which is a dish that ordinary families often make.

This dish is very common on the menus of Sichuan restaurants, usually listed together with twice-cooked pork and Mapo tofu.

However, this seemingly ordinary home-style dish is actually a Sichuan dish that truly tests one's seasoning skills, and it is also one of the must-have dishes for chef certification exams.

A dish named "Fish Fragrance" contains no fish at all. To outsiders, this is just as deceptive as "Husband and Wife Lung Slices" containing no husband and wife.

Besides shredded pork with garlic sauce, Zhou Yan also particularly likes eggplant with garlic sauce.

The fish-flavored sauce is just as good with rice as Mapo Tofu, but it's also milder in texture.

Salty, spicy, sour, and sweet, with a rich aroma, this is a treat for diners who don't like the numbing flavor of Sichuan peppercorns.

Just as Zhou Yan was about to open the menu, Zhao Niangniang's voice came from outside: "Zhou Yan! Mayor Huang is looking for you."

"Coming," Zhou Yan replied, glanced at his watch, half-opened the stove door, and got up to leave the kitchen.

Huang Chen was wearing a black jacket, followed by a young man in a navy blue Zhongshan suit, who was carrying a file bag.

"Mayor Huang, what brings you here?" Zhou Yan quickly stepped forward and said with a smile.

Huang Chen looked at him and said, "Zhou Yan, I'm here today to discuss with you the matter of vigorously developing and promoting Qiaojiao Beef, and I also brought you some good news."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan quickly said, "Please sit down, let me make some tea, and we can sit down and chat slowly."

"Won't it affect your braised meat?" Huang Chen glanced into the kitchen.

"It won't bother you, I'm keeping track of the time," Zhou Yan said with a smile. "I won't keep you for the braised vegetables later."

"Let's skip the tea and get straight to the point," Huang Chen said, pulling Zhou Yan to sit down at the table next to him. "Today we're going to talk about how to develop and expand the Qiaojiao Beef industry, and see what your ideas are and what we can do."

After a moment's thought, Zhou Yan began to speak eloquently: "I personally think that Qiaojiao Beef has great potential. Nowadays, our restaurant can sell 140 bowls of Qiaojiao Beef a day. My cousins ​​Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai also sell nearly 100 bowls at their stall at the dock."

Our prices are generally twice as high as other villagers selling hot pot in Zhoucun because we add more expensive hanging tenderloin and a variety of precious Chinese herbs and spices to our spice packets. We have won the approval of our customers because of our delicious taste.

This interview and cover story in Sichuan Cuisine magazine also confirms this point: my recreated and improved version of Qiaojiao Beef has effectively become a new culinary calling card for Suji.

With the magazine's endorsement, Qiaojiao Beef has become a brand with both reach and professional appeal. If it can maintain its reputation and continuously expand its fame, it may attract many tourists in the future, boosting the economic development of the entire Suji area.

Huang Chen nodded repeatedly as he listened, while the young man sitting next to him had already taken out his notebook and was scribbling notes.

“You have a very long-term vision. He Zhiyuan said something similar to me a few days ago. We held a special meeting to discuss this matter and plan to promote the Suji Qiaojiao Beef brand.” Huang Chen said to him, “In the past two years, with the successive issuance of cattle slaughtering licenses, the number of cattle slaughterers in your Zhoucun has reached nearly a hundred, slaughtering dozens of cattle every day and transporting them to various parts of Jiaozhou for sale.”

There are numerous offal and other byproducts from slaughtering cattle, but only a portion can be made into soup and sold; a significant amount is wasted every day. How to maximize resource utilization and generate income for cattle slaughterers is something we want to do.

We've already done some investigation over the past two days. There are a total of 48 hot pot stalls in Suji Town and along the Qingyi River. Most of them aren't doing very well, only selling a dozen or twenty bowls a day, and they can't even sell all the leftover offal from their own slaughtered cattle.

In your opinion, how can we significantly increase their sales?

Zhou Yan smiled and shook his head, saying, "In such a small town as Suji, with no tourists, there are forty-eight hot pot stalls. This is an unreasonable state of oversaturation. It's only because the weather is getting colder and it's the peak season for hot pot that most of the stalls can't even sell ten bowls."

I couldn't significantly increase their sales. The customers in Suji Town who like hot pot and can afford it regularly are fixed. Only by winning with taste can we win more customers in the fierce competition.

Customers are savvy; they will weigh taste against price. In the face of fierce competition, the price of two or three cents a bowl has no room to go any lower. Therefore, improving the quality of the soup pot and focusing on the taste has become the only way.

I can't share the recipe for Qiaojiao Beef with everyone; it's how our restaurant makes a living. But I don't mind if the villagers in Zhoucun who sell hot pot use our Zhouji Qiaojiao Beef as a benchmark to improve and enhance their dishes.

Once these 48 hot pot restaurants fully compete, and only 8 or 10 restaurants remain that each have their own unique flavor and are recognized by customers, the cluster effect of Suji Qiaojiao Beef will basically take shape.

Whether it's attracting tourists to taste the food or expanding beyond Suji to a larger market, there's great potential.

Those vendors who were eliminated could be provided with ingredients, which might earn them more and be easier than if they had to force themselves to set up stalls.

The catering industry may seem to have no barriers to entry, but in reality, the barriers are incredibly high. Even if you are willing to support them, not everyone can survive to the end.

Huang Chen's eyes lit up as he listened, and in the end he couldn't help but clap his hands and exclaim: "You really have to be an expert! We've been thinking about how to help vendors make more money, but we've overlooked the objective laws of the market. Your words have woken us up from our slumber."

You're right. Only flavors tested by the market can truly satisfy customers. Even with braised beef, each restaurant should have its own unique flavor and characteristics, so that tourists visiting Suji will be pleasantly surprised when they try different dishes.

“That’s exactly right.” Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. This was actually an experience he had learned from later generations. Later, when the Qiaojiao Beef restaurant couldn’t come up with any new variations on Qiaojiao Beef, they started adding other dishes.

Steamed beef with rice flour and braised pork intestines are nothing special, but stir-fried crispy intestines and tofu with pig brains are just some of the dishes that compete for attention. The main feature is that you can enjoy braised beef without missing out on other side dishes.

In fact, the current Zhou Erwa Restaurant is in this form.

It seems...not so pure.

But they do earn more.

In a small town like this, where they specialize in braised beef, Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai's stalls are the limit, making about 60 or 70 yuan a day.

“Okay, I need to have a meeting tomorrow to discuss this further.” Huang Chen nodded, took the file bag from the staff member next to him, opened it, and pulled out a stack of documents, saying, “We have prepared all the necessary materials for the three trademarks, ‘Zhou Ji Qiaojiao Beef,’ ‘Zhou Erwa Restaurant,’ and ‘Zhang Ji Braised Food,’ for you. You just need to sign them now, and I will have someone send them to the city. That way, you won’t have to worry about anyone misusing these three names.”

"Just a signature is all it takes?" Zhou Yan flipped through the stack of documents, which were indeed trademark application materials, with only the applicant's signature remaining. He couldn't help but feel a little touched.

Mayor Huang is incredibly efficient; he had actually considered the trademark issue as well.

But he's been too busy lately. In this day and age, getting a trademark definitely requires going to Jiaozhou, and he doesn't know what documents he needs or how many trips he'll have to make, so the matter has been delayed.

Unexpectedly, Huang Chen came to his door with documents, asking him to just write his name.

This kind of service was something he hadn't expected at all.

The other party's level of attention to this matter exceeded his expectations.

After carefully reading the document and confirming that there was nothing strange about it, Zhou Yan looked at Huang Chen and said, "Mayor Huang, I would like to apply for a separate trademark for 'Qiaojiao Beef'."

"If you apply for the trademark for 'Qiaojiao Beef,' will other people be unable to use it?" Huang Chen pondered.

"Don't worry, I won't monopolize this trademark. My concern is that if someone with malicious intent registers it, they won't be able to use it if people who actually make Qiaojiao Beef are willing to do so. As long as their soup pot meets the standards of Qiaojiao Beef, I will grant them permission to use it free of charge," Zhou Yan explained. "This is also a way to protect Qiaojiao Beef, preventing its reputation from being damaged before the brand is even established. Once more Qiaojiao Beef restaurants develop, we can establish a Qiaojiao Beef Association and register the trademark as a collective trademark."

Huang Chen nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, "That's something we hadn't considered. Your suggestion is very forward-thinking. We'll fill out an application form when we get back and bring it to you for your signature today."

"Okay, thank you for your trust, Mayor Huang," Zhou Yan said, unscrewing the pen and signing his name.

There was definitely a bit of personal motive involved.

How to leverage first-mover advantage: one step ahead leads to continuous progress.

His goal was simple: to make Zhouji Qiaojiao Beef the number one Qiaojiao Beef brand in Suji.

While making a big cake, you also need to take the biggest and sweetest piece.

Huang Chen got up to leave when a bicycle stopped at the door. A tall figure walked in and said, "Zhou Yan, Zhou Liangliang changed the signboard of our 'Zhou's Braised Beef.' Brother Jie asked me to come and ask you how to handle this. Should we just confront him directly, or give him a piece of our mind first?"

"What?! Zhou Liangliang, that bastard, would do such a shameful thing?! It must have been that shallow-minded, thin-skinned woman Gao Cuihua's bad idea. Instead of improving her skills, she only knows how to take shortcuts. She doesn't do things properly, she puts vinegar in the tofu!" Zhao Tieying, who hadn't said a word until then, stood up abruptly upon hearing this, her hand already gripping the cleaver on the cutting board.

"Is that so?" Zhou Yan chuckled upon hearing this and looked at Huang Chen beside him.

"Mayor Huang is here too." Zhou Hai was taken aback when he saw Huang Chen, and quickly greeted him.

Huang Chen said in a deep voice, "This kind of thing is really outrageous! We must crack down on it severely. We absolutely cannot allow Zhou Liangliang's behavior to disrupt the market and damage the brand image we have just established!"

"Mayor Huang is right." Zhou Yan nodded repeatedly. "Do you think we should handle this ourselves, or..."

“Fighting is inappropriate. If you get arrested, it will waste a lot of time doing business.” Huang Chen comforted him, “Don’t worry, leave this to us. We’ll make sure he changes the name back. Only you can use the Zhou Ji Qiaojiao Beef brand. No one else can use it without authorization.”

"Yes, I'm relieved to hear that," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

Huang Chen waved his hand and said, "You don't need to go over there. Just let Zhou Hai take me there."

Zhou Hai looked at Zhou Yan.

“Brother Hai, just go with Mayor Huang. He will uphold justice for us.” Zhou Yan patted his arm with a smile. “Tell Brother Jie not to take any action and to listen to Mayor Huang.”

“Okay.” Zhou Hai nodded and went out with Huang Chen.

Seeing Zhao Tieying carrying a kitchen knife and about to follow them out, Zhou Yan quickly stepped forward to stop her, smiling and asking, "Mom, where are you going?"

"Let's go fight!" Zhao Tieying said indignantly. "Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie are no match for Gao Cuiying. I'll go and support them so that Gao Cuiying won't twist the truth and end up taking over Zhou's Beef."

“We don’t need to go, let Mayor Huang go.” Zhou Yan smiled and took the kitchen knife from her hand. “If we go and argue with her in the street, she will lower our status and make it difficult for Mayor Huang and the others to handle the situation.”

"Can Mayor Huang handle this?" Zhao Tieying frowned. "I've been fighting in the village for over twenty years, and I've never seen any man who can beat Gao Cuiying. Only I can handle her."

“This isn’t a street brawl. Mayor Huang went to warn and correct her behavior. Her tantrums and unreasonable behavior won’t work,” Zhou Yan said with a smile. “You should focus on protecting your broth. My braised meat will be ready soon.”

Zhao Tieying nodded in agreement, “That’s true. This pot of soup costs more than eighty yuan. It’s not worth ruining a pot of soup by arguing with her!”

"Yeah."

"I was completely confused by what you were saying. What exactly does Mayor Huang mean? Does he want to support us, or does he want us to hand over the formula?" Zhao Tieying asked, looking at her.

"Mayor Huang didn't ask for the recipe; he supported us in building a good reputation for Qiaojiao Beef, expanding the market, and leading everyone to prosperity," Zhou Yan said with a smile. "You see, he helped us handle these things, allowing us to open our shop with peace of mind. Isn't that a form of support?"

Zhou Liangliang and his gang got themselves into trouble today. I reckon Mayor Huang will make an example of them to set a precedent for the soup vendors in Suji.

"Really?" Zhao Tieying was delighted to hear this and rubbed her hands together anxiously. "Now that you mention it, I'm even more eager to go and see. It's rare to see Gao Cuiying make a fool of herself in all these years."

Seeing that she was itching to go, Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Why don't you let the old man take you? I'll watch the fire; it's just a matter of adding a piece of firewood."

"Zhou Miao! Come on, hurry up and get on the bike," Zhao Tieying called out.

Comrade Zhou finished cutting the last potato, washed the knife, greased it, and hung it on the knife rack. He then came out with a smile: "Come on, I'll show you."

"Hurry up, or we'll miss it." Zhao Tieying jumped onto the back seat and put her arm around Zhou Miao's waist.

Zhou Miao hopped on his bicycle and headed towards the dock.

Zhou Yan watched the two figures disappear into the distance, a smile playing on his lips.

Comrade Zhou is like that; he never spoils Aunt Zhao's mood, and he's always enthusiastic and proactive whenever he can get something done.

Which Chinese person can resist watching a spectacle?

The gene for eating melons is ingrained in our bones.

Life is so boring, eating melons can save humanity.

If Zhou Yan hadn't been guarding a pot of braised meat, he would have wanted to go and take a look.

On the dock.

"Come on, come on! Authentic Zhouji Qiaojiao Beef! It's only 3.5 cents a bowl. Come and have a taste!" Zhou Liangliang was greeting customers, his face glowing with pride and high spirits, completely ignoring Zhou Jie's eye-rolling from the side.

There were already seven or eight customers sitting at the stall.

Gao Cuiying stood behind the stove with her hands on her hips, looking smug.

After changing the signboard, business did improve somewhat.

The name "Qiaojiao Beef" is indeed more appealing than "Soup Pot".

Zhou Jie's customers are hard to come by, but many customers who originally went to other hot pot stalls have been attracted to him.

She came here today to help her son and support him. Now that the signboard has been changed, given Zhao Tieying's personality, she'll definitely come and give him a piece of her mind.

She had thought of all the lines last night and rehearsed all night. She didn't get a good night's sleep and ended up with panda eyes.

However, she was full of confidence; if Zhao Tieying came today, she would definitely be able to beat her in a verbal battle.

Moreover, she not only wanted to win the argument, but also to steal the "Braised Beef with Pork Belly" signboard from the weekly diary.

We're all from Zhoucun, we share the same ancestor. This signboard was used by Zhou Yan, Zhou Jie, and now Liangliang from their family can use it too!
Zhou Hai had been riding his bike for a while, probably to invite Zhao Tieying.

Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai's mothers are both honest people; she can scold them until they cry even with her mouth half-closed.

In Zhoucun, only Zhao Tieying could barely put up a fight with her.

However, Gao Cuihua did not see Zhao Tieying; instead, she was met by Deputy Mayor Huang Chen and several uniformed officers.

The bicycle bell rang, and Zhou Hai returned with his men.

Zhou Jie was surprised to see Huang Chen and his group, and gave Zhou Hai a couple of meaningful glances.

"Zhou Yan brought reinforcements." Zhou Hai stopped the car and leaned over to whisper.

Huang Chen and his group parked their bicycles in front of Zhou Liangliang's stall, got off, and looked up at the newly made signboard on the stall:

Zhou's Braised Beef
The six large characters were painted in red paint, crooked and twisted, yet still very eye-catching.

Huang Chen frowned. The smell of paint hadn't dissipated yet; it was clearly a newly painted sign that had been hastily done last night.

Zhou Liangliang's smile froze, and he subconsciously took two steps back, glancing at his mother with a guilty look.

Why didn't Zhou Yan and her mother come, but the deputy mayor and Comrade Maozi did?

It's just changing a signboard, is it really that big of a deal?

Gao Cuihua's smile also disappeared. She was the village's women's director and often came to the town for meetings, so she was naturally familiar with Huang Chen.

The people were brought back by Zhou Hai. As soon as they arrived, they started looking at the signs, so they must have come for them.

The arrival of the deputy mayor with four officials wearing hats immediately attracted people's attention.

Especially the villagers from Zhoucun who sell soup pots at the docks gathered around to watch the spectacle.

Zhou Liangliang and Gao Cuihua's actions were dishonest. They're from the same village; how could they steal someone else's business?

It doesn't make sense either emotionally or rationally.

Grandma Zhang was a skilled homemaker and highly respected in the village.

The five Zhou brothers are all hardworking and down-to-earth people. They never shirk their responsibilities to help their neighbors whenever they need it.

However, the change in Zhou Liangliang's signboard had an immediate effect; business was much better than usual today, with more than ten bowls of soup sold out this morning alone.
Money can be a powerful motivator. Just look at how he managed to change his signboard and it had such an effect. Other vendors can't help but have their own thoughts about it.

Being honest won't put food on the table. If Zhou Yan and the others don't make a clean break and show their stance, they might all change their names tomorrow.

But why did the deputy mayor and the man in the hat end up here?

Why call the police just for changing a sign?

Gao Cuihua came forward with a beaming smile, "Mayor Huang, are you here to eat Qiaojiao Beef? Come on in, come on in. Our Qiaojiao Beef is the most authentic, a family recipe passed down through generations."

Huang Chen stared at her with a stern face, remaining silent.

Gao Cuihua's smile gradually faded, and she rubbed her hands awkwardly.

Her domineering nature in the village was completely rendered useless in front of Huang Chen and the man in the hat standing behind him.

"I believe your craftsmanship is inherited, but this signboard must have been copied yesterday, right?" Huang Chen said in a deep voice, "Gao Cuihua! You're supposed to be the women's director, how can you not even have a sense of shame?"

"Zhou Yan put up the signboard for Zhou Ji Qiaojiao Beef. The brothers Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai learned the craft from him, so they also used the same signboard. This was with his permission."

"What kind of business is this? You just slap some paint on it and dare to call yourself Zhou's Braised Beef? How is this any different from robbery and banditry?! You're going to ruin the reputation of Braised Beef!"

Gao Cuihua's face turned pale and then red as she listened. Being publicly criticized by the town mayor in front of so many people, she had truly lost all face today.

The vendors in Zhoucun also changed their expressions slightly upon hearing this. Mayor Huang had come to support Zhou Yan and Zhou Jie, and his words were quite harsh, showing no respect for Gao Cuihua, the women's director.

Zhou Liangliang and Wu Guihua shrank back, not daring to speak. This was the town mayor, after all; how could they dare to utter a word?

Zhao Tieying squeezed to the front of the crowd, pulled out a handful of sunflower seeds from somewhere, and started eating them with great relish, feeling incredibly satisfied.

She and Gao Cuihua had been fighting for years, and she had won more often than she had lost, but she had never been able to verbally humiliate Gao Cuihua to the point of being unable to lift her head or speak.

Mayor Huang may not be very skilled at cursing, but he certainly has a lot of official authority.

Even a single rank can be devastating; the difference in rank between this deputy town mayor and the village women's director is immeasurable.

Gao Cuihua was about to give in, but when she saw Zhao Tieying smugly eating sunflower seeds to the side, a nameless fire ignited in her heart. She retorted, "Mayor Huang, you're exaggerating. We're from Zhou Village too, from the same ancestor. If Zhou Yan can call his dish 'Zhou's Braised Beef,' why can't we? We're all just out here selling hot pot. Does he think he's more noble than us?"

“Exactly,” Zhou Liangliang echoed softly.

The onlookers remained silent, simply staring at Huang Chen. They wanted to see how the town would react to this matter.

"Shameless! Ignorant country bumpkin!" Huang Chen pulled a piece of paper from the file bag and said loudly, "Zhou Yan has applied for four trademarks: 'Qiaojiao Beef,' 'Zhou Ji Qiaojiao Beef,' 'Zhou Erwa Restaurant,' and 'Zhang Ji Braised Food.' No one else may use them without authorization except him and his authorized personnel, otherwise it will constitute infringement and lead to a lawsuit."

"You'll be sued!" Gao Cuihua's expression changed upon hearing this.

The crowd at the scene was in an uproar.

Using a signboard can lead to a lawsuit?

The consequences are far too severe!
"Is that so?" Zhou Miao asked in a low voice.

"I just found out too. No wonder Zhou Yan told me not to worry about it." Zhao Tieying stuffed a handful of sunflower seeds into Zhou Miao's mouth and started eating them even more enthusiastically. It felt so good.

"This is such a trivial matter that you want to go to court? Mayor Huang, don't try to fool me." Gao Cuihua's voice trembled slightly.

Zhou Liangliang and Wu Guihua looked terrified. They saw the man in the hat standing behind Mayor Huang and wondered if he was there to arrest them.

"I'm here today to educate you on the law. If you don't know, I'll explain it to you clearly. Trademarks are protected by law and cannot be infringed upon," Huang Chen said solemnly.

"Zhou Yan got Qiaojiao Beef on the cover of Sichuan Cuisine magazine and gave an exclusive interview, which made Qiaojiao Beef famous."

We attach great importance to this and are determined to take advantage of this opportunity to develop and expand our Suji Qiaojiao Beef industry.

However, the development of the industry requires reasonable and fair competition. We will severely crack down on any behavior that maliciously seizes the brand name and shamelessly claims to be the authentic Zhouji Qiaojiao Beef.

"Once an illegal act is committed, depending on the severity of the offense, a fine and revocation of the individual business license will be imposed!"

The room fell silent immediately after he said that.

What is most important for self-employed individuals?

It's just a business license!

Without a business license, it's illegal operation, and you'll be chased around every day.

The soup pot needs to be built on a stove; there's no way to escape it.

Gao Cuihua wanted to argue further.

Zhou Liangliang and his wife rushed forward, one covering the mouth and the other pulling the other back.

"Change it! We'll change the sign back right away! Mayor Huang, please be lenient!" Zhou Liangliang said hurriedly.

Even without changing the signboard, he could still earn three to five yuan a day, which was more than the wages of employees working in a textile factory.

If their business licenses are revoked, where will they make money?

The vendors who had initially considered it also backed down.

Zhou Yan has such a powerful backer, who can afford to offend him?

“I’ll come back tomorrow. I don’t want to see this sign again,” Huang Chen said to Zhou Liangliang.

"Okay!" Zhou Liang nodded vigorously.

"We're not targeting anyone in particular, but we hope that Qiaojiao Beef can become a calling card for Suji, bringing development opportunities to Suji and providing everyone with a chance to make money," Huang Chen said loudly, looking at the surrounding vendors.
"Next Monday, we will invite all individual hot pot vendors to a meeting to discuss how to develop and grow their businesses. As long as your hot pot tastes up to standard, you can use the name 'Qiaojiao Beef,' which will help build the Qiaojiao Beef brand."

Everyone's eyes lit up at this, and they all agreed, "Great!"

"Make sure you rectify things properly." Huang Chen warned Zhou Liangliang, then said a few words to Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai before leaving with his men.

"Instead of copying someone else's signboard, you should focus on figuring out how to make a good soup pot. A dung beetle wearing a mask—shameless!" Zhao Tieying sneered at Gao Cuihua before turning and leaving.

"Zhao Tieying, you...you shouldn't be so smug!" Gao Cuihua stomped her feet in anger.

"Mom, just say less." Zhou Liangliang tore down the signboard and said with a bitter face, "All the customers have left. Don't help anymore. Go home and take this with you."

"You dare to look down on your mother?" Gao Cuihua glared. "I'm furious!"

　Please vote with monthly tickets! I'll add an extra chapter tomorrow!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)