1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 244 Niu Hua Spicy Hot Pot (Bonus Chapter 464 for 4.6k Monthly Tickets)

Zhou Yan took Zhou Ming to Jiaozhou Wharf, parked the car in front of his house, and said with a smile, "This is it."

"This?!" Zhou Ming looked up, stared at the vermilion gate in silence for a moment, then turned to Zhou Yan: "Did you rob a bank?"

"Of course not, I'm a law-abiding citizen." Zhou Yan smiled and knocked on the door. There was no lock on the door, which meant someone was home.

Sure enough, the door opened from the inside shortly afterward.

Old Zhou looked at the two people standing outside the door and opened the door a little: "Park inside, so that thieves don't steal the car. It's very spacious inside."

"Okay." The two responded, lifted the car over the threshold, and parked it in the yard.

Zhou Ming looked around and exclaimed in amazement, "This house is so big! The door is so big, the yard is so big, and there are so many rooms!"

Zhou Yan nodded silently, which was quite in line with the Chinese language proficiency of a physical education teacher.

"Have you turned around all of them?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile.

Comrade Zhou nodded, a smile on his face, and said, "Yes, I've gone into every room to check. Your mother especially likes that sparkly wardrobe and has already decided which clothes to hang inside."

Aunt Zhao came out of the bedroom next door and glared at Old Zhou: "I was just saying, such a nice wardrobe will definitely be put in Zhou Yan's room in the future, for my daughter-in-law to hang her clothes."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "If you like it, then use it. We don't know when your daughter-in-law will arrive. Maybe she won't like these shiny things and will prefer a simple wardrobe."

"Zhou Ming is here too." Aunt Zhao greeted Zhou Ming.

Looking at Aunt Zhao, Zhou Ming exclaimed, "Fourth Aunt, your new house is so comfortable! It's so big and spacious; it can house so many people!"

"How about I give you the key, and you can bring a blanket from home and stay here from Monday to Friday?" Aunt Zhao said to him, "so you won't have to ride your bike back and forth so tiringly every day."

Zhou Ming paused for a moment, then smiled and shook his head: "No need, I'll pick up the bicycle tomorrow. I've ordered a Forever brand 28-inch bicycle, and the ticket is all ready. I like riding a bike, and I feel very comfortable going back and forth every day. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to sleep well at night."

"Sometimes when you get out of school late, you stay upstairs."

"No need, no need," Zhou Ming shook his head. "Such a big house, I feel a bit hot and bothered living alone."

Everyone laughed upon hearing this.

Zhou Yan looked around. You know what, once it got dark, living alone in such a big house with two courtyards inside and outside was really a bit unsettling.

"Guoguo! You're here!" Zhou Momo ran out from the backyard and jumped straight into Zhou Yan's arms. "The swing was so much fun! When are we going to move in?"

"That will take a while," Zhou Yan said with a smile. What child could resist a swing?

The little guy pouted, a little unhappy: "Then... we can only play on the swings on Sundays?"

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "A swing is easy. Go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a thick rope, and leave the rest to your father. I guarantee you'll be able to play on the swing in front of the restaurant tomorrow."

"Really!" Zhou Momo's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she immediately turned to look at her father, "Dad, is this true?"

Comrade Zhou nodded without hesitation: "No problem. There's a thick branch growing horizontally on that tree by the door. We can tie a wooden plank to it and it'll be a swing."

“I love you, Dad!” Zhou Momo raised her hands.

Aunt Zhao shook her head: "That won't do. She can't hold onto the rope. She needs a backrest and to be able to stay steady so she doesn't tip over. At least it has to be as stable as the swing in the backyard. If you put a swing at the door, who knows how many children will come to play on it. You have to ensure safety."

“I think you’ve thought this through very well. Safety is indeed the minimum requirement.” Zhou Yan nodded in agreement and looked at Comrade Zhou, saying, “This arduous task is entrusted to Comrade Zhou! Just tell me what parts you need, and I’ll buy them all in Jiaozhou.”

"In that case..." Comrade Zhou fell into deep thought and went to the backyard to study the swing there.

Zhou Ming followed him in, glanced at it, and shook his head, saying, "Fourth Uncle, I advise you not to make such a complicated swing. Based on my experience with those little kids, the more complex the structure, the faster it breaks, and the higher the danger."

Conversely, tying two ropes to a plank allows for more freedom and allows for longer swinging. Secondly, the ropes should be as short as possible to minimize the swinging amplitude and ensure safety.

“That makes sense.” Comrade Zhou nodded. “MoMo is still young, so small swaying motions are more suitable.”

Zhou Yan joined the group chat: "How about we install a sturdier rattan chair? We can reinforce the backrest with ropes..."

The three men spent half an hour working together to finalize the basic plan and write down the necessary components.

"Have you looked around all the way? There's a staircase over there that leads to the second floor; the view of the river there is beautiful," Zhou Yan asked with a smile.

“We went inside and checked out every room. Momo took us upstairs, and it was incredibly comfortable. Not only could we see the river view, but we could also see part of the Jiaozhou Buddha.” Aunt Zhao nodded and said with a smile:
"We also went over to take a look at the tiled houses in the back, and they are indeed next to each other. The front is a shop and the back is a residence. It's a good idea and very convenient!"

"You have a good eye, kid! This house is fantastic!"

Aunt Zhao's hair radiated satisfaction with the house, and she couldn't suppress the upturned corners of her mouth.

"It will be even more comfortable after we rebuild it later," Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.

I felt so happy. It's a different feeling when you buy something good and your family understands.

Zhou Ming followed Zhou Yan on a brief tour.

When he went up to the second floor and saw the river view, his eyes lit up.

"Holy crap! This scenery is absolutely amazing!"

It's rare for Teacher Zhou to swear, which means the scenery truly amazed him.

"Are you planning to tear it down and build a two-story building?" Zhou Ming asked, looking at him.

Zhou Yan nodded: "That's the idea. If we raise the first floor, the view from the second floor will be even more comfortable."

"If I have enough money, I plan to build a three-story house. I'll live on the third floor, and every morning when I wake up and open the curtains, I'll have a view of the river. It would be so peaceful to sit on the balcony, read a book, and drink tea."

After listening, Zhou Ming fell silent, looking at Zhou Yan with envy: "Your life is too good, brother."

"It's alright, I'll reserve a guest room for you, you can come and stay occasionally," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"You said it, I really will come then."

"Come on, I'm not kidding you."

After coming downstairs, Zhou Yan locked all the doors and went to a general store on East Street to buy a nylon rope and two iron rings.

The products are of good quality and reasonably priced, and it's more convenient than queuing at the supply and marketing cooperative.

After eating tofu pudding, Zhou Yan led everyone into a Niuhua Malatang restaurant on East Street.

"Isn't this a bit early?" Zhou Ming said, sitting in the shop and looking at the empty store.

"Four-thirty, not too early, not too late, just right. We can eat and go back before it gets dark. It's so convenient," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

The proprietress, a round-faced woman, came over carrying a deep pot of braising liquid and greeted us with a smile: "Come on, go over there and get your own skewers to cook. Long skewers for vegetables are one cent each, and short skewers for meat are three cents each."

The boss picked up a red-hot coal briquette, put it into the coal stove embedded in the table, placed the pot on it, and a rich aroma wafted out.

Niuhua Malatang is the origin of Malatang. When Zhou Yan used to come to Jiaozhou, he loved to explore the towns and villages, and Niuhua was one of his favorite places to go.

It's hard to imagine that the various towns and villages under the jurisdiction of a city could develop so many unique delicacies.

Niuhua Malatang, Suji Qiaojiao Beef, Linjiang Eel Strips, Mucheng Sweet Skin Duck... any one of these is a well-known name.

Niuhua Town prospered because of salt. There were salt fields here, so cattle were kept in enclosures to work.

The work at the salt fields was so strenuous that cattle and horses often died from exhaustion or were too old to work, and were then slaughtered for food.

Some of these were bought by butchers in Zhoucun, while others were slaughtered and eaten by saltworkers. Slices of beef offal and beef were skewered on thin bamboo sticks and then cooked in a boiling pot of spicy broth before being eaten, which gradually led to the creation of Niuhua Malatang (a type of spicy hot pot).

That's right, this is a little story that Zhou Yan saw at the Niuhua Malatang Museum.

Anyway, it has a long history.

"How do you eat mala tang? I've heard people say that Niuhua mala tang is delicious, but I've never tried it." Aunt Zhao sat a little awkwardly and asked Zhou Yan in a low voice.

"It's very simple to eat. Just go over there and get the skewers, put them in the pot to cook, dip them in the sauce, and you can eat them." Zhou Yan explained to her with a smile, "It's similar to cooking tripe and beef in hot pot. You just put the meat slices on skewers, control the heat well, and you're eating the ingredients and the cooking time."

Aunt Zhao and her family rarely go out to eat. In Jiaozhou, eating tofu pudding is considered a high expense. They usually just eat something simple at roadside restaurants or noodle shops.

Frugality is ingrained in the older generation.

"Is that all?" Aunt Zhao seemed thoughtful upon hearing this, and her illusion vanished instantly.

"Come on, let's get the vegetables." Zhou Yan pulled Aunt Zhao to get the vegetables.

No problem if you've never tried it before; practice makes perfect.

People who want to do business in the city in the future shouldn't be fooled by a small spicy hot pot.

Two women wearing aprons were skewering meat. The thinly sliced ​​beef had been marinated beforehand. They held it in their hands, pierced it with a bamboo skewer, and pushed it through, and two slices of beef were skewered.

There's pure beef, as well as cilantro beef rolled with cilantro, and houttuynia cordata beef rolled with houttuynia cordata. Fresh gizzard is sliced ​​thinly, with three slices skewered on a bamboo skewer, and kidney slices are cut into large, thin slices, with one large slice skewered on a bamboo skewer.

A row of bamboo winnowing baskets was laid out, piled up like a small mountain, categorized by type, with freshness as the main feature.

"Meat skewers are only three cents each, which isn't too expensive. And these skewers look so fresh and delicious." Aunt Zhao followed Zhou Yan, watching him stuff handfuls of meat skewers into the winnowing basket in his hand, and couldn't help but say, "You can't pack them like this! You've already made two or three hundred skewers, that's enough."

"It's rare for us to eat out, so let's let the owner make some money too," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

The boss was overjoyed. This was a big client! He brought over a tray with several dipping saucers and said with a smile, "This handsome guy knows how to talk. He's definitely someone who's going to do great things."

Aunt Zhao smiled upon hearing this and nodded, saying, "Well, those pork kidney slices look pretty good, get a couple more skewers for your old man. And those pigeon eggs, get two for Zhou Momo..."

After getting the skewers and returning to my seat, the red broth in the pot was almost boiling.

Zhou Yan took about three hundred skewers. In those days, people didn't have much oil in their stomachs, but he and Zhou Ming had big appetites. They could easily finish two hundred more skewers, let alone three hundred.

"Wow! So much meat! It's piled up like a mountain!" Zhou Momo exclaimed, her mouth agape, her eyes filled with surprise.

"So many!" Zhou Ming was also a little surprised. When they usually came to eat mala tang, they would usually order about a hundred skewers to taste.

"Eat as much as you want, and get more if you're still hungry. It's on me today," Zhou Yan said, waving his hand.

"Then I won't be polite!" Zhou Ming said with a smile and a nod.

"Then I won't be polite! I want to eat lots and lots of meat!" Zhou Momo said in her childish voice.

"Eat, eat, eat whatever you want," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

The once empty hall now has four or five tables of guests, and more guests are still coming in.

The owner greeted the customers with a beaming smile: "Please come in and have a seat, there are plenty of seats. Take a bag over there and choose your dishes..."

There are two dipping sauces: one dry saucer with bright red chili powder and golden brown crushed peanuts.

Another special dipping sauce features vibrant green scallions, cilantro, and golden minced garlic, all layered together. After stirring, the aroma is irresistible.

Niu Hua Mala Tang's soup base has a relatively refreshing flavor, quite different from the rich and fragrant old-style hot pot. It doesn't have a large amount of beef tallow in the pot, but uses clear oil instead, making it refreshing and not greasy. Each store's own secret dipping sauce has also become a core competitive advantage.

Zhou Yan had passed by this mala tang shop twice before, and it was always very popular, mostly with locals eating there.

Countless experiences have proven that restaurants frequented by locals are almost always delicious.

The spicy soup pot boils, the red waves roll, and the aroma immediately wafts out with the steam.

It smells good, with the aroma of cooking oil mixed with the fragrance of various spices. The base is probably bone broth, and you can smell the aroma of chicken soup. The spiciness is not that prominent.

"Once it's open, you can start adding the meat. Do you need me to help you blanch it?" The owner, who had just finished serving two tables of customers, turned to their table and asked with a smile.

"No need, I'm the best at making mala tang." Zhou Yan smiled and politely declined the proprietress's offer. He got up, grabbed a handful of beef skewers, and put them into the pot. With a flick of his fingers, the bamboo skewers separated, and the beef that had been stuck together also fell apart.

The soup pot is boiling, and the thinly sliced ​​beef is quickly cooked for about ten seconds before being taken out of the pot.

The beef slices curled up, stained with a bright red color, and looked quite tempting.

"You're really professional! You even cook the beef better than I do." The proprietress looked at Zhou Yan with admiration in her eyes. "Enjoy your meal, and feel free to call me if you need anything. You can get more dipping sauce, and let me know if the broth gets low!"

"Okay!" Zhou Yan replied, handing out the beef skewers to everyone and casually adding a handful of pork kidney slices to the pot.

The proper way to eat mala tang (a type of spicy hot pot) is never to throw a bunch of skewers into the pot, tie them together with a rubber band, and cook them together.

That's too much of a rip-off.

Beef, kidney slices, gizzard, pork intestines... are they all cooked at the same temperature?
If you throw in a handful, cook it for three to five minutes, and it's all ruined.

They wasted the ingredients and squandered the money they had worked so hard to earn.

Zhou Yan picked up a beef skewer, rolled it in the dry dipping sauce to coat it with chili powder, and then put it directly into his mouth.

Ah!
It smells so good!

The numbing spiciness hits the taste buds directly, and the meat juice bursts between your teeth. The tender and thin slices of beef are marinated with seasonings, resulting in a very rich aroma. The soup base is a simmered broth, which is mellow, flavorful, and incredibly delicious.

While eating, the other hand was equally efficient, immediately taking the pork loin slices out of the pot as soon as they changed color and were cooked through.

Each person gets two pieces. Comrade Zhou received special treatment from Aunt Zhao, getting six skewers all to himself. It seems that the little oil stored in the tank tonight will be squeezed dry.

The pork kidney slices are tossed in the oil sauce, releasing a rich aroma of garlic and sesame oil that blends together, resulting in a tender and refreshing dish. The large slices are soft and juicy, cooked to perfection.

One skewer after another was thrown into the pot. Zhou Yan became the head chef of Mala Tang, focusing on extreme heat control and a comfortable pace of serving the dishes.

Various kinds of meat are served one skewer after another, ensuring that everyone's bowl is always full of meat, but not so much at once that people get tired of eating it.

Even Zhou Momo ate with relish. The little one ate the original broth, which was slightly spicy, and she could still eat it.

"Mmm, these pork kidney slices are great! They're smooth and delicious, and with this dipping sauce, they're especially fragrant!" Aunt Zhao nodded repeatedly as she ate. She got up and went to get ten more skewers, saying to Old Zhou, "Since you like them, I got you four more skewers."

Comrade Zhou: ?
Did I say anything?
Who will speak for me?

"This cilantro beef is so delicious! It's so tender and fragrant! The pickled pepper beef is also great! Zhou Yan, your control of the heat is perfect!"

"The tripe is so crispy! This dry dipping sauce is still delicious! It's really spicy and flavorful!"

Zhou Ming also praised the food highly.

After eating half of the skewers in the bamboo basket, Zhou Yan called out, "Boss, could you make us a large portion of fried rice with eggs?"

When eating mala tang (spicy hot pot), how can you miss out on egg fried rice, the perfect accompaniment!

　I accidentally stayed up all night~~ Please give me a monthly vote!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)