1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 260 Mid-Door Sniping Match (Part 2)

Xia Yao chatted with Zhou Yan about interesting things that happened on campus. Zhou Yan listened with great interest and would occasionally chime in.

Speaking of which, his university life has only just ended, and the memories are still vivid.

Although times have changed, youth is a universal experience.

“Running alone at school, five kilometers feels incredibly long, but running with you makes the time fly by. It feels like it was over in no time.” Xia Yao said to Zhou Yan downstairs in the dormitory. “Well then, goodnight, Comrade Zhou Yan.”

"Good night, Xia Yao," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

Xia Yao's eyes lit up, and she smiled as she turned and went upstairs.

Zhou Yan looked up, and soon the lights on the third-floor dormitory came on. The window was pushed open, and Xia Yao stood at the window, waving at him.

Zhou Yan raised his hand, waved, and turned to leave.

"Tsk, they must have made a deal!"

"I was here first! How did she beat me to it? Zhou Yan cooks so well, whoever marries him will enjoy delicious food for the rest of their life."

"Forget it, she's a college student, pretty, and has a nice voice. Do you even need to ask which one Zhou Yan should choose?"

"What? Does that make me sound mean? Anyone who dares to say that, I'll give them a good whack!"

……

Zhou Yan quickened his pace, afraid that someone might suddenly strike him from behind.

Back at the hotel, he took out his notebook and made a list of what he needed to buy the next day.

There are still two bags of flour left. If we want to sell steamed buns, we can buy ten more bags. We'll need them for noodles too.

Secondly, you need to order pork shoulder from Zhang Laosan. Pork shoulder is the best choice for making pickled mustard greens and pork buns because it has a better texture and the fat and lean meat are just right.

"Flour, are we going to start making steamed buns tomorrow?" Aunt Zhao asked after watching for a while.

"We'll start selling the day after tomorrow. Let's get the preparations done first," Zhou Yan said, then looked up at her and asked, "Mom, when does your night school start? Haven't we heard anything yet?"

Aunt Zhao laughed and said, "I've been notified that the next batch will start next Monday. I'm one of the few who slipped through the net in the literacy class, and I've run into it this time."

"Mom, I want to go to class too!" Zhou Momo looked up at Aunt Zhao and said.

“You haven’t even started kindergarten yet, and you’re already going to a literacy class. You’ve skipped too many grades,” Zhou Yan said with a laugh.

Aunt Zhao smiled and nodded: "Go ahead, I see some women bringing their children too. If you want to go, I'll take you. If the teacher won't let you in, just say you want to go to school and that you love going to school."

"Mom, I love you~~" Zhou Momo ran over and hugged Aunt Zhao's leg.

“I love you too, baby.” Aunt Zhao bent down, scooped her up, and kissed her cheek. “Let’s go to school together.”

"Good~"

Seeing the loving mother and filial son, Zhou Yan smiled. Aunt Zhao had found him a study buddy.

That's fine too. Anyway, Zhou Momo signed up herself. Let's see how long she can stick with it.

With her there, Aunt Zhao should feel too embarrassed to give up halfway this time.

"Wait until you've finished writing the two games?" Old Zhou had already set up the chessboard and said to Zhou Yan.

"Coming, coming." Zhou Yan closed his notebook, quickly walked over and sat down. He hadn't been online for two days, and he was itching to write.

After all, it's not easy to find a chess player as equally matched and terrible as Comrade Zhou.

……

The next day, Zhou Yan thought that Wang Laowu and He Ermao's stall would be open for business, but they only came over to deliver a few things, washed the pots, and then left. They didn't open for business, and they didn't even take down the signboard.

"So mysterious, I wonder what big thing they're up to," Aunt Zhao muttered.

"It's nothing, nothing will happen," Zhou Yan said with a smile. It was clear that Aunt Zhao's resentment towards Wang Laowu had not subsided. If that old man were to run into trouble, he would inevitably be scolded mercilessly.

After the afternoon business hours ended, Zhou Yan called on Old Zhou to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy flour and bring it back.

To prevent the flour from getting damp, Zhou Yan piled it up in a corner of the second-floor living room.

If you put a few wooden boards underneath, it will last for ten days to half a month without any problem.

"This house is so comfortable. I thought we'd be living here for many years," Old Zhou said, putting down the flour, patting his shoulder, and looking at the still empty living room.

"Our goal isn't here. Once we get to Jiaozhou, we'll strive to expand and strengthen our business there," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"Great!" Comrade Zhou smiled as well.

When the business closed for the evening, Zhou Yan said to everyone, "Starting tomorrow, we will be selling steamed buns. So starting tomorrow, you will start work half an hour earlier in the morning, and your wages will increase by ten yuan accordingly."

"Add ten yuan!" Li Lihua was startled and subconsciously looked at Zhao Hong.

"I..." Zhao Hong opened her mouth, glanced at Li Lihua, and then closed it again.

“I know what you’re thinking. This is equivalent to working half an hour of overtime, so a raise is only fair,” Zhou Yan said with a smile.

“I think…it’s a bit too much,” Zhao Hong said.

“I think so too.” Li Lihua nodded in agreement. “Twenty yuan a month is not a small amount. Half an hour earlier is just half an hour, it’s no big deal.”

"It's not much. You have to believe that your work is worth this salary." Zhou Yan smiled and shook his head. "This matter is settled. I will add this salary to your paychecks this month."

"Alright, don't refuse anymore. Doing a good job is more important than anything else," Aunt Zhao said.

Upon hearing this, the two nodded.

Zhou Yan changed her clothes and went out for a run, while Zhao Hong and Li Lihua cleaned up the shop and left work together.

"You know what? Zhou Yan is going to give us a raise again!" Zhao Hong said, sitting in the back seat with her arm around Zhou Fei's waist, her voice filled with excitement.

"Another raise? Didn't we just get one last month?" Zhou Fei asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, it was announced suddenly just after I got off work. They said they would start selling steamed buns tomorrow, and asked us to come to the store half an hour earlier every day to help out. They also said they would give us an extra ten yuan in wages."

"Zhou Yan is too generous," Zhou Fei laughed. "Now you'll earn more than me in a month, that's amazing."

Zhao Hong laughed along: "Right! It's still more comfortable to go out and work. Staying at home feeding chickens and pigs and digging the ground, you don't see much money all year round, and you're busy from morning till night. I think it's great to work with Zhou Yan."

Zhou Fei nodded: "Yeah, that makes sense. Just do your job well. We won't feed her those things next year, so my mom won't get tired."

Li Lihua's husband, He Yong, doesn't own a bicycle, but he walks to pick her up every day. Hejiawan is right next to Suji Town, and it's a 20-minute walk from the restaurant to her home.

"You've only been working for a few days and you've already gotten a raise?" He Yong looked at Li Lihua with surprise, holding a lunchbox filled with leftovers.

“Yes, it’s still an extra ten yuan.” Li Lihua nodded, happily saying, “This boss is young, but he’s so generous! A waiter in a state-run restaurant only earns twenty-something yuan a month. So, my monthly salary is thirty yuan!”

"That's great. This way we can earn money and go home every day. It's even more comfortable than before." He Yong smiled, but then looked at her with some concern: "It's just that you've worked so hard."

“What’s so hard about making money? It’s not hard to make money that’s hard. If you do this, you can make a dollar a day!” Li Lihua said to him, “Once we’ve saved up a thousand dollars, we’ll buy a bicycle. It’ll be so much more convenient to go anywhere.”

“Okay! That way it will be convenient for me to pick you up and drop you off at work every day.” He Yong nodded.

……

"You didn't hesitate at all to ask for a raise," Aunt Zhao and the others said with a smile as they watched Zhou Yan enter the room, having already taken a shower and were soaking their feet.

“With increased workload and longer working hours, it’s only right to give a raise.” Zhou Yan closed the door and said with a smile, “The money we earn should be distributed reasonably. If we keep it all in our own pockets, we’ll become evil capitalists.”

“Yes, that makes sense, and you’re very conscientious.” Aunt Zhao nodded. “Then starting tomorrow, I’ll get up earlier to help you.”

"You go to sleep, just take good care of Momo. This ten yuan doesn't include yours. The spherical buns you made don't meet the requirements." Zhou Yan shook his head with a smile. "You need to learn to be a boss. Don't try to do everything yourself. There is a division of labor in this society, and restaurants are no exception."

"What do you mean?"

"So you can be a capitalist who sits with his legs crossed," Comrade Zhou translated.

“Yes.” Zhou Yan nodded.

After thinking about it seriously for a while, Aunt Zhao nodded and said, "Of course, can't we have fun with this?"

Zhou Yan went to bed early today, but couldn't fall asleep. He pulled out a book from under his bed and read for an hour before finally turning off the light and going to sleep.

The next morning, Zhou Yan was woken up by Comrade Lao Zhou.

"Get up." Zhou Yan rolled over and got up, turned on the light, touched the watch on the bedside table and glanced at it; it was exactly four o'clock.

He fell asleep at nine o'clock last night, which still ensured seven hours of high-quality sleep.

However, having a watch without an alarm clock is not enough; your biological clock hasn't adjusted yet, and you're likely to miss the time.

"Old man, what time do you wake up?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at Old Zhou standing at the door as he put on his clothes and went out.

"I woke up at 3:30, checked the time, and didn't go back to sleep, afraid you'd oversleep," Old Zhou said in a low voice, looking at Zhou Yan with a slight smile. "Didn't get enough sleep?" "Pretty much, I'm still not used to getting up this early." Zhou Yan rubbed his face, and his sleepiness immediately dissipated.

"I'll come help you," Old Zhou said with a smile. "I used to get up at two or three in the morning, so I'm quite used to it."

Zhou Yan shook his head: "No need, you don't know how to knead dough. You can sleep in my room for another hour, and I'll wake you up later to go buy meat. I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative this afternoon to buy an alarm clock, so you won't oversleep."

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Comrade Zhou looked at him.

Zhou Yan shook his head: "No need. If making steamed buns would make the whole family so tired, I wouldn't do it. Today is just a trial run, so I'll only make a little over two hundred."

Comrade Zhou nodded upon hearing this, and said nothing more. He went into Zhou Yan's room to lie down for a while, so as not to wake Zhao Tieying and Zhou Momo when he went back.

Zhou Yan went downstairs and first drew a bucket of well water to brush his teeth and wash his face.

The icy well water was more invigorating than iced coffee; it instantly woke me up.

In late December, the weather is getting colder and colder.

A fire was lit under the stove, and two buckets of well water were poured in to heat it.

In winter, use warm water to knead the dough so that it rises quickly; otherwise, it won't rise by the time the workers arrive at work, and all the work done that day will be for nothing.

Today we plan to make 250 to 260 steamed buns as a trial run. It seems like a lot, but if the workers like them, each of them can eat several.

Steamed buns sell better than noodles, and even female factory workers need to eat two for breakfast.

Nowadays, female factory workers are not office workers; the work intensity on the production line is quite high, and they simply don't have the energy to work if they don't eat their fill.

It all depends on whether it can have a positive effect. If someone eats the hot buns and says they're good, the aroma will spread and attract many more people.

He made 205 steamed buns using 20 jin (10 kg) of flour. He bought a large package of commercial yeast powder, which was cheaper than the small package. He divided the dough into three enamel basins for mixing and kneading.

Although it was Zhou Yan's second time making steamed buns, his technique was quite skilled. He quickly kneaded the three dough balls until they were smooth, covered them with a damp cloth, placed them in a steamer, and put them on the stove where the fire had been turned off, using the residual heat to promote the fermentation of the dough.

Once he makes a lot of steamed buns, he'll have to find a way to get an insulated box to raise the fermentation temperature.

Otherwise, fermentation would be too difficult in winter.

If fermentation is inadequate, the buns will not taste good, and the buns will immediately fall apart.

This is the only way we can hold out for now.

Rinse the bean sprouts that I've been soaking since I got up twice and let them soak some more.

Zhou Yan glanced at the time; it was exactly 4:30.

"Finished?" Old Zhou couldn't sleep after all and asked from the doorway.

"Yes, just finished." Zhou Yan nodded, took off his apron and came out. "Old man, from today onwards, you will be in charge of the beef. I need to go and get the pork to stir-fry the seasonings first. The stir-fried bean sprout and pork filling needs to wait for the oil to solidify before it can be used."

Comrade Zhou nodded: "Okay, I can't guarantee anything else, but don't worry about the beef, there won't be any problems."

"I trust you to do things." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile, and the father and son pushed their bicycles out the door.

Zhou Yan had already spoken to Zhang Laosan yesterday, and upon seeing him arrive, he immediately smiled and said, "Zhou Yan, good morning! The meat you ordered is all here. Take a look and see if you want it."

Zhou Yan propped up the cart and stepped forward to look at the pig's head and meat laid out on the cutting board.

[A decent-quality pig's head, but with a ferocious expression]

[A pig's head that died with its eyes wide open, but was of decent quality]

[A mediocre, overly fatty pig's head]

……

"We don't need this one, pack the rest away," Zhou Yan said, picking out the overly fat pig's head separately.

"What's wrong with this?" Old Zhang took the pig's head, looked it over carefully, but still couldn't figure it out, so he asked curiously.

"It's a bit too fatty. Look how thick the fat is around the base of the ear. Also, the pig is a bit old, so the meat is tough. It won't cook properly when braised in the same pot as these," Zhou Yan explained.

“Okay, I’ll keep this one. I’ll find another one and deliver it to the shop for you later.” Old Zhang nodded.

"Okay." Zhou Yan nodded. The other meats and intestines were also quite good, so they were loaded directly into the car.

"Are you starting to sell steamed buns today?" Old Zhang asked with a smile.

"Yes, let's try selling some first."

"Then I'll bring the pig's head over later and buy a couple of steamed buns to try," Zhang Laosan grinned.

Zhou Yan nodded: "Okay, bring it over at seven o'clock, that way my old man can take care of it."

After transporting the meat back to the shop, Zhou Yan first stir-fried the minced meat and pickled mustard greens.

The stir-fried ingredients were placed in a large enamel basin to dissipate heat. A large bucket of ice-cold well water was scooped up and placed in the enamel basin to cool it down, mainly using water cooling.

"I saw Wang Laowu's wife and a man setting up a stall, selling steamed buns," Old Zhou said to Zhou Yan as he pushed his bicycle full of beef into the shop and went into the kitchen.

"Selling steamed buns?" Zhou Yan was a little surprised when he heard this, and went out to take a look.

The stove, which had been empty when he left, now had two stacks of steamers, totaling sixteen.

Before dawn, two candles were lit at the stall, and He Ermao and Liu Fen were working hard, one rolling out the dough and the other wrapping the buns.

A banner was strung up on the stall that read: He Ji Steamed Bun Shop
There was a sign next to it, which should have displayed the price, but it was too far away and too dark to see clearly.

"Meat buns are 15 cents each, and steamed buns are 8 cents each," Old Zhou said, noticing that he was squinting.

"Fifteen cents." Zhou Yan fell into thought. He hadn't expected that the outside help Wang Laowu had hired would actually be a pastry chef.

The way he rolls out the dumpling wrappers is so precise and methodical; it's clear he's practiced.

Today is the opening day, and I happened to run into him.

In the mid-lane sniping duel, each side relied on their own skills.

"How many should we order?" Comrade Zhou asked.

Zhou Yan laughed and said, "We'll also order them for 15 cents each, the same price, and let's compete on taste."

For him, steamed buns were just an extra treat; he didn't mind earning a little less.

But Wang Laowu wanted to make a comeback with this steamed bun stall.
He disagreed.

He can do without making money, but he absolutely cannot let Wang Laowu make money while he's sitting on his lap.

Even using your wife as bait won't work.

Li Lihua and Zhao Hong also arrived. As soon as they entered, they started talking about the steamed bun stall that had opened across the street, looking slightly nervous.

After all, they live right next to each other, and I'm afraid it might affect their bean sprout and pork buns.

"Don't worry, we'll make good steamed buns, and the taste will definitely be just as good," Zhou Yan said with a smile, lifting the enamel basin to take a look. The dough had risen almost completely, so he kneaded it again and started pinching off pieces of dough.

The weather was cold, and the bean sprout and meat filling had already solidified.

"Shall I make some steamed buns too?" Zhao Hong rubbed her hands together, a little nervous. "They're for the guests, what if I don't make them well?"

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "It's alright. If you make something ugly while practicing, we can keep it for our own breakfast. I prepared fifty or sixty extra. Just practice your skills today. You'll have to practice sooner or later anyway, so don't be afraid of failing."

“Okay.” Zhao Hong and Li Lihua nodded, greatly encouraged.

Zhou Yan rolled out the dumpling wrappers, and while making them, she continued to teach the two of them.

Li Lihua learned well last time, and today, she wrapped the second one quite well.

"Hey? Aunt Li, you secretly practiced at home?" Zhou Yan looked at the steamed buns made by Li Lihua with some surprise. They had twenty pleats and were round and plump.

[A decent semi-finished product: a bean sprout and pork bun]

The assessment has already been completed.

"Huh? You're going back to practice overtime?" Zhao Hong was also a little shocked.

Aunt Li said shyly, "I've been making some vegetable buns for them these past two nights, using the method you taught me. I managed to wrap them, but the dough is stiff and not as fluffy and soft as yours."

"That's because the dough didn't rise properly. I'll teach you how to rise it next time," Zhou Yan said with a smile. "Your buns are well made. Just make them like this. Yours are already ready to be sold."

It's okay if they don't look perfect. They're only 15 cents each, why be so particular? We're not making any money!

Soon, the first batch of wrapped buns was put into the steamer and set aside. A little while later, a bamboo tray was brought out and the buns were placed into the steamer.

"Huh? What are they doing? Why are they selling steamed buns too?" Liu Fen exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise, from the stall across the street.

(End of this chapter)