1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 199 Dear Senior Brother, Is This How It Is? (6k-page compilation)

"Snowflake Chicken Noodles? This isn't a dish from our Kong School, is it? Using this dish to commemorate our advisor?" Zhou Yan's eyes widened, his expression slightly strange.

Xiao Lei shook his head and said seriously, "You just don't understand. Back then, the Luo family's lineage was cut off, which had a huge impact on my master. It was the fuse that made him decide to open a class at Leming Restaurant and bring out all the recipes from the Kong School."

For many years afterward, he studied the recipes left by Lao Luo, trying to recreate the Snowflake Chicken Noodles, but he never succeeded. He only managed to make the appearance, and the taste was completely different from what Lao Luo made. This became his regret. In his later years, he would often mention it to me, urging me to try it if I had the chance.

He said that dishes like Snowflake Chicken Soup, which are not commonly found in ordinary Sichuan restaurants, are not ordered by many people, require meticulous preparation, and are selective in their customers. They may be completely lost in the future.

I definitely can't learn this recipe from a book. But if you do, you can show off your skills in front of everyone, and if it gets featured in the Jiaozhou Daily, then the story of your master giving up his family's culinary tradition to start a class and pass on Sichuan cuisine will have a perfect ending.

Zhou Yan fell silent after hearing this, looking at Xiao Lei with some surprise.

Master is quite insightful.

The fact that the advisor Kong Huaifeng attempted to recreate the Snowflake Chicken Noodles was quite unexpected for him.

With the sudden passing of Mr. Luo and the young Mr. Luo still too young to carry on the family tradition, several classic dishes have lost their lineage in the Luo family.

To some extent, the traditions in Jiaozhou have been lost.

Snowflake chicken soup, braised pork in jars... these were all signature dishes of Leming Restaurant back then, high-end and classy. Leming Restaurant was definitely ahead of Feiyan Restaurant, and Lao Luo deserves half the credit for supporting half of Leming Restaurant's success.

The three members of the Kong family, father and sons, supported the other half of the Leming Hotel, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they were evenly matched back then.

Today, disciples of the Kong school are scattered throughout restaurants of all sizes in Jiaozhou and even Chengdu. There are highly respected master chefs like Kong Qingfeng, renowned masters like Fang Yifei and Song Bo, chefs like Xu Yunliang who have secured a place in Chengdu restaurants, and many other chefs who shine in various restaurants. They all bear the mark of the Kong school.

The Luo family is rarely mentioned anymore. The young Luo has grown into the old Luo, and now he works as a chef in the kitchen of Leming Restaurant, making excellent Kong-style dishes.

The fourth-generation disciples of the Kong school replicated the Snowflake Chicken Noodles that the Luo family used to excel at, creating a truly perfect closed loop.

Zhou Yan nodded: "Okay, then I'll make snowflake chicken soup."

"No, junior brother, you really know how?" Zheng Qiang asked in shock.

"What are the chances of success?" Xiao Lei was also somewhat surprised. He was just giving it a try; if it didn't work out, he could show off another dish.

Zhou Yan pondered for a moment and said, "It's hard to say. I think it's quite delicious. It meets the standards described in the recipe: 'You can't see the chicken when you eat it, you can't see the meat when you eat it, and it's tender, smooth, and fragrant.'"

Xiao Lei thought for a moment and nodded, "If you think it tastes good, that's fine! I believe in your abilities. Tomorrow at noon, once you've braised the meat, deliver it to No. 8 Linjiang Street in Linjiang Town. That's your advisor's old house, where the banquet is held."

Your grand-uncle said the notification was rather rushed. He told you to prepare the ingredients yourself for tomorrow's dishes, and to use your best skills. Preparing things yourself is the easiest, and if anything goes wrong, you can't blame anyone else.

“Okay.” Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. He only needed to prepare one young chicken, which he could bring along when he went grocery shopping tomorrow. However, he wasn’t very good at killing chickens. He turned to Zheng Qiang beside him and asked, “Senior Brother Zheng, do you know how to kill a chicken?”

“Killing chickens? I’m quite good at it.” Zheng Qiang nodded, his eyes filled with a hint of melancholy and vicissitude: “I’ve been killing chickens at a restaurant in Rongcheng for three years. My heart is colder than a knife.”

"Then can you kill a chicken for me tomorrow? I'm not very good at killing chickens yet," Zhou Yan said.

“There are fifty tables tomorrow, and I’m not sure I’ll have time to kill a chicken for you.” Zheng Qiang scratched his head. “Why don’t you just grab a senior brother to kill it for you tomorrow, or I can ask my master to kill it for you. I heard that my master will be coming tomorrow, and he’s going back to Jiaozhou this afternoon.”

"Master Xu is coming too?" Zhou Yan was a little surprised. Qian Siyuan was the master's nephew, and his return from searching for his relatives was a big deal. As the senior disciple of the Kong School, Xu Yunliang had to ask for leave to attend in person. That was a sign of responsibility.

"Letting my senior uncle do the killing, isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Xiao Lei said irritably, "If you know it's inappropriate, you should take some time to learn from your father how to kill a chicken. You sell three or four chickens every day for cold chicken dishes. Your father's chicken-killing skills are just as good as his cow-killing skills. Killing chickens, ducks, and even pigs are basic skills for chefs. They are tested in chef level exams. Once, the knife skills test involved deboning and cutting half a pig."

"I know, I know," Zhou Yan nodded repeatedly, not wanting to ask that one more question.

However, what the master said made a lot of sense. His knife skills were not bad, but he really hadn't handled live animals like chickens, ducks, and geese much.

His father was an expert at slaughtering cows, pigs, chickens, ducks, and geese.

Even with the best teachers right beside him, he should still humbly seek their guidance and study diligently.

There will definitely be exams for chef certification in the future.

What a prestigious title! When people introduce you as Mr. Zhou, the owner of a small restaurant, or Master Zhou, a national-level master chef, the difference is striking.

Zhou Yan couldn't possibly run a small restaurant in Suji forever. Without formal education, a professional qualification certificate was his stepping stone.

The chef grading exams in those days were still very strict, with a limited number of chefs at each level each year. This was unlike the later rise of short videos, where everyone became a first-level or top-level master chef.

For example, the special-grade chef assessment two years ago required applicants to have 20 years of work experience, a certain reputation, and experience cooking in large restaurants.

Finally, passing the assessment and obtaining the Special Grade Chef Certificate is highly valuable. It is usually awarded to head chefs of major restaurants who are already renowned masters.

It is said that the exam questions are very broad, requiring proficiency in both red and white dishes, which is a great test of a chef's comprehensive abilities.

This certificate is recognized by major hotels, and having it can raise your salary to the corresponding level.

Zhou Yan wasn't in a hurry about this. He didn't know much yet and needed to accumulate more experience.

Moreover, with only two and a half years of apprenticeship experience in the factory canteen, and now being self-employed, he probably doesn't even qualify to register for the Level 3 chef exam.

This matter will most likely require going through the teacher-student relationship and finding a solution from the Confucian school.

After all, the Kong school is full of talented people. Grandmaster Kong Qingfeng is a special level three chef, and Grandmaster Xu Yunliang is a level one chef. Grandmaster Fang Yifei and Grandmaster Song Bo are more famous than Xu Yunliang, but one is far away in the capital and the other has been with the leader overseas for many years and has not yet returned to take the level test.

If he can demonstrate a level of performance that satisfies the Confucian school, perhaps the registration issue can be resolved later.

To be a good blacksmith, one must be strong oneself; he himself must hone his basic skills.

Zhou Yan packed a bag of braised vegetables for his senior brother Zheng, who had been staring at the bowls of braised dishes and swallowing his saliva several times, and then smiled as he saw them off at the door.

"No wonder your master said you have a sweet tooth, he was absolutely right." Xiao Lei said, looking at Zheng Qiang who was already eagerly eating the braised vegetables.

"Wow! This braised tofu skin is so hot and dry! It's soaked up all the rich braising liquid, and every bite is bursting with flavor, it's incredibly delicious." Zheng Qiang looked at Xiao Lei and asked with a smile, "Uncle-Master, would you like to try some?"

Xiao Lei's throat bobbed, and he cleared his throat: "Then...then I'll also criticize one."

"Here you go, there's no one else around anyway." Zheng Qiang smiled and handed him a piece skewered with a bamboo stick.

"Yeah! It's definitely easier to dry things when it's hot!"

……

"Not open again tomorrow? Why don't we just stop operating on Sundays from now on? We can relax and have a good time, and our customers won't want to come over for meals on the weekend, so they won't keep thinking about it." Aunt Zhao looked at Zhou Yan and said seriously, "All in all, we've only opened twice and turned away our customers three times."

"If I'm free next week, I'll definitely open for business." Zhou Yan said with a smile, "You guys can have a good time tomorrow. I'll deliver the meat over and probably won't go home until tonight."

The wedding banquet tomorrow will have a very high budget, fifty tables. We'll need braised dishes for both lunch and dinner; just this one dish alone will weigh over a hundred jin (approximately 50 kg), which will cost over three hundred yuan. We can make over a hundred yuan profit.”

"As expected of a big boss, the meal allowance is too high!" Zhao Niangniang was delighted to hear this and said with a smile, "That's great. I'll have your old man help you deliver the meat tomorrow. More than a hundred pounds piled together will crush the meat. Two trucks will be just right."

“Linjiang is not close, more than 30 li away. I’ll go with you, so you can save your energy cutting meat and cooking,” Comrade Zhou also offered.

“Okay, it’s settled then.” Zhou Yan nodded. He figured he was taking Old Zhou to a banquet, and he could help kill the chicken tomorrow, which was better than having his senior uncle do it.

"Brother, can I go to the banquet?" Zhou Momo had been drawing nearby and overheard their conversation. She ran over and asked him with expectant eyes.

"This..." Zhou Yan looked at the expectant expression on the little guy's face, feeling a little reluctant to refuse, but also not knowing how to agree.

"You stay home tomorrow, and Mom will make you an egg pancake. We're not relatives, so it's not appropriate for us to just go and join in the fun at their banquet." Aunt Zhao bent down and picked her up, smiling as she said, "Mom will make you an egg pancake with braised meat, even better than the one your husband made at Lao Xiaoding last time."

"Really!" Zhou Momo's eyes lit up immediately, and she nodded her head: "Okay! Momo wants to eat it!"

"Brother, what delicious food do you have for the banquet tomorrow?" Zhou Momo turned to Zhou Yan and asked.

Without hesitation, Zhou Yan replied, "It's a banquet, with steamed pork with rice flour, braised pork belly, Dongpo pork knuckle..."

"Huh? You guys are eating so well and you didn't even take me! You're so mean!" Zhou Momo pouted, tears welling up in her eyes, her big eyes misty and looking extremely aggrieved.

Egg rolls with braised pork suddenly don't taste as good anymore.

"You know perfectly well that she's a glutton, and her cravings are like trying to thread tofu with bamboo strips—you can't even mention them, yet you still dared to say it. Now look what you've done, you'll have to coax her yourself," Aunt Zhao rolled her eyes.

"Don't cry, don't cry, I'll pack some for you to bring back tomorrow," Zhou Yan quickly coaxed with a smile.

Zhou Momo counted on her fingers and said, "Then I want to eat steamed pork with rice flour, braised pork belly with salt and pepper, and Dongpo pork knuckle..."

Well, they ordered a whole table of dishes, not missing a single one.

If I have this good memory when I study in the future, my grades will definitely not be bad.

"Okay, I'll pack a lot back for you." Zhou Yan agreed with a smile, and said he would bring a multi-layered lunchbox tomorrow and ask Senior Brother Zheng to help pack each dish.

As the saying goes, "If the cook doesn't steal, the harvest won't be good."

Zhou Momo eats little; one bite of each is enough. She'll let Mr. Qian know in advance, and it shouldn't be a problem.

At that moment, a car slowly stopped in front of the restaurant.

Secretary Xiao Wang got out of the passenger seat and entered with a smile, saying, "Mr. Zhou, tomorrow is the family reunion banquet. To thank you for your help, President Qian invites your whole family to attend. Here is the invitation. We hope you can accept the invitation."

"The whole family?" Zhou Yan took the invitation and saw that it indeed read "Sincerely invites Zhou Yan and his family." He smiled and nodded, "Okay, thank you for the invitation, Mr. Qian. We will attend tomorrow."

"Okay, then I'll head back now." Xiao Wang nodded and turned to leave. "No need to pack anymore, the whole family can eat together." Zhou Yan smiled and waved the invitation in his hand. Qian Siyuan was so thoughtful, inviting the whole family.

"Yay! Momo wants to go to the banquet too!" Zhou Momo clenched her little fists and happily raised them above her head, unable to contain her excitement. "Brother, shall we go now? I want to change into a pretty dress!"

"We'll go tomorrow." Zhou Yan smiled and tapped her head. The little one only listened to half of what he said, except when it came to food.

"They even sent out invitations for the thank-you banquet. This boss is really meticulous." Aunt Zhao took the invitation and glanced at it. The notification was rather rushed, but the invitation was still written quite formally.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Then you and Momo can come with us tomorrow morning."

“Okay, I have nothing else to do anyway, so going to the banquet is perfect.” Aunt Zhao nodded, put down the invitation, and looked at Zhou Yan, asking, “Should we give gifts?”

“The bosses of big foreign companies must be asking for money as a thank-you banquet,” Zhou Yan said with a smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll prepare a red envelope. If everyone’s giving gifts, we can give one too.”

The thank-you banquet is now set, and it seems Qian Siyuan even waited for his master's schedule.

We're determined to make him earn this money.

Fifty tables, at three yuan per table, that's one hundred and fifty yuan.

That was the price for a basic nine-bowl feast. Qian Siyuan's thank-you banquet was of a higher standard, and the dinner that evening was also quite good, so the price per table would probably be even higher.

The way wealthy people repay favors is always so endearing.

……

In the evening, Zhou Yan was writing down the ingredients and quantities to be used the next day, Old Zhou was maintaining his fishing rod that hadn't been in the water for several days, and Aunt Zhao was trying on the clothes she would wear for the banquet the next day.

This evening, Zhou Momo had a blast playing with a group of factory kids. She washed her face and dried her body, but before her feet were even dry, she fell asleep in Aunt Zhao's arms.

"Sanshui, do you think this outfit suits me?" Aunt Zhao asked Comrade Zhou, tucking the hem of her Dacron floral shirt into her suit trousers.

Comrade Zhou put down his fishing rod, looked at it carefully, and nodded, saying, "Okay, this looks smart and classy, ​​and it looks good with your leather shoes!"

Aunt Zhao smiled and nodded: "Okay, then I'll wear this outfit tomorrow, and wear a light cotton coat over it."

Zhou Yan was impressed by Old Zhou's response; he responded to every question with clarity and articulation, not just casually giving a perfunctory answer. This is something that is quite difficult to maintain in a long-term relationship between husband and wife.

Aunt Zhao looked at Zhou Yan and said, "Zhou Yan, I've already picked out your clothes. Just wear the new one. It's getting colder and colder these mornings, so take out that corduroy jacket and wear it too."

“Okay,” Zhou Yan replied.

The next morning, Zhou Yan and Old Zhou went to buy meat and also bought a young chicken.

They got home before dawn, and the father and son lit a lamp and began to prepare the pig's head.

With enough food for fifty tables, they need to allow enough time for preparation and cutting. Moreover, it's thirty li from Suji to Linjiang, and it takes them nearly an hour to ride there, so naturally the earlier the better.

"Old man, teach me how to kill a chicken later," Zhou Yan said to Old Zhou while scraping pig hair.

"I only kill two or three chickens a day, so I can just kill them while I'm at it. Aren't you busy cooking the toppings and sauces?" Old Zhou replied casually.

"Having more skills is never a bad thing. If I want to take the chef certification exam in the future, these are all basic skills," Zhou Yan said.

“Okay, then I’ll kill the chicken later next time so you can learn,” Old Zhou nodded.

After soaking for a sufficient time, the braised meat was gradually taken out of the pot. The inside of the bamboo basket was lined with two layers of gauze. The braised meat was then put into the bamboo basket, and another two layers of gauze were placed on top. A new straw hat was then placed on the bamboo basket to prevent dust.

Zhou Yan's car had two backpacks strapped to the back seat, while Old Zhou's car only had one strapped to one side, to make it easier for Aunt Zhao to ride.

"Let's go to the feast!" Zhou Momo shouted happily, sitting in front of Zhou Yan's old bicycle and clenching her little fist.

Zhou Yan said, "Old man, lead the way. I've never been to Linjiang before."

"Okay," Comrade Zhou replied, leading the way.

He traveled to almost every town and village in Jiaozhou to buy and slaughter cattle; he practically had a map in his head.

In an era when road signs were rare items, it was possible to find various villages by relying on memory.

After riding for fifty minutes, I arrived at Linjiang Town. Before I could even ask for directions, I saw a large crowd gathered on the street ahead. A row of temporary stoves were set up along the roadside, with steamers piled up more than a person's height, which looked quite spectacular.

"That's it." Zhou Yan said, rode his bike over, and soon found Zheng Qiang and his master in front of the stove, busy stir-frying toppings.

Surrounding him was a row of people dressed in chef's uniforms, including both middle-aged and young people. They were clearly chefs of the Kong school, and many of them were familiar to Zhou Yan.

"Zhou Yan is here!" Zheng Qiang, with his sharp eyes, called out.

A flurry of eager gazes immediately turned towards Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan was featured in the Sichuan Cuisine magazine, and his braised beef with skewers even made it to the cover, making him the most prominent figure among the fourth generation of Kong School disciples.

This season's issue of "Sichuan Cuisine" magazine in Jiaozhou has been sold out, thanks in large part to the outstanding contributions of chefs from the Kong school.

There's nothing we can do; we don't even know when the issue featuring the Confucian school will be published, and it certainly won't have a cover like that.

Having such a junior or nephew is something to be very proud of.

There were also senior members of the master's school and fellow apprentices who hadn't come last time and hadn't seen him. They were even more curious about Zhou Yan. How could a 20-year-old young man, who had been learning to cook for less than three years, be on a magazine cover?

Chefs are hard-working people and have never believed in geniuses.

No matter how talented you are, you still have to start by learning knife skills and techniques. Slicing and shredding both require practice, and seasoning and cooking time require a long time of exploration to master.

But if there really is a genius, everyone hopes that he will come from the Confucian school, and it would be even better if he were their own disciple.

Today, Zhou Yan was wearing a corduroy jacket that Aunt Zhao had made for him, with a white cotton-linen shirt underneath and suit pants on the bottom. He wasn't wearing leather shoes today because he was going to work, but a new pair of canvas shoes. He looked smart and handsome.

Even those who haven't met Zhou Yan in person have seen his photos in magazines, so they naturally recognize him.

Zhou Yan squeezed the brakes, stopped the bicycle in front of everyone, and greeted them with a smile: "Dear senior uncles, senior brothers, and fellow disciples, you've all arrived so early."

Zhou Momo greeted in her childish voice, "Hello, uncles, elder brothers~~"

Only then did everyone notice the little guy sitting on the front bumper of Zhou Yan's car. He was wearing a little leather jacket, had his hair in two braids, and tiger-head shoes. He had a chubby little face and very delicate features. He was a beautifully sculpted little guy, and he spoke in a soft voice.

So cute!

"Hey!"

Hello, children.

Everyone responded with smiles.

"This is my sister, and behind her are my parents. They've come to this thank-you banquet at Mr. Qian's invitation," Zhou Yan introduced with a smile, explaining that Qian Siyuan had invited them to avoid any misunderstanding that he was bringing his family to freeload.

"Stop standing around chatting, hurry up and help me put the braised meat in the pan, then get to work and start chopping!" Xiao Lei walked over and directed with a smile.

Everyone responded, and a group of fourth-generation disciples stepped forward to help unload the basket and carry it aside to prepare for cutting and cooking.

There are many chefs today, and Xiao Lei is in charge of all of them.

He hosted a month-long feast at the market, and had never fought such a lavish battle before.

Zhou Yan had prepared to bring Old Zhou along to help out, but now it seems he can't get involved at all.

Aunt Zhao took Zhou Momo aside to get some candy, while Zhou Yan and Old Zhou parked the car before returning to the stove.

"Cut half and keep half, we'll need this braised meat for another meal tonight! Cut the pig's head meat and beef into pieces the thickness of coins, and the ear pieces into thin slices..." Master Xiao gave instructions to everyone, stern and clear.

“Yes, we’ll do!” the young apprentices replied in unison.

"Zhou Yan, right? I'm Xu Yunliang." A slightly overweight middle-aged man with thick, curly black hair, dressed in a chef's uniform, walked over and spoke, a smile on his square face.

"Master Uncle, I am Zhou Yan, hello, hello." Zhou Yan quickly shook hands with him.

This was his first time meeting his senior master, Xu Yunliang. He looked somewhat like Zheng Qiang, and seemed quite approachable.

"You're so young and talented! You're only twenty and you've already been featured in Sichuan Cuisine magazine, and your dish even made the cover. You're incredibly talented," Xu Yunliang said, looking at him with admiration.

"You flatter me, Senior Uncle. I was just lucky," Zhou Yan quickly replied.

"A chef's dishes are all about skill; if they're delicious, they're delicious. There's no such thing as luck. You don't need to be modest. I'm very happy you're in the magazine; it's an honor for our Kong school," Xu Yunliang said with a smile, then glanced at Xiao Lei, who was busy beside him, his tone becoming slightly sour.
"It's your master who's a bit eccentric. Writing a letter is one thing, but he even sent me a copy of 'Sichuan Cuisine' magazine, as if he was afraid I wouldn't see it. He even put a bookmark on the page with your interview, cut from a wine box, about half the thickness of the magazine. He's so smug!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan's lips curled up slightly. He could almost picture his master's smug expression as he slipped the wine box into the magazine.

Dear senior brother, is this how you do it?

Xu Yunliang looked at him and asked again, "Your master said he's busy preparing a banquet today and wants you to cook a dish for him. What are you planning to cook?"

“I’m going to make snowflake chicken soup,” Zhou Yan replied.

　There will be an extra update today, but it might be a little late~~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)