1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 274 Fresh Meat Buns and Beef Buns! New Arrivals~ (Bonus Chapter 185 for Monthly Tickets)

"All two hundred steamed buns sold out today. Tomorrow I'll unveil the beef buns and give the textile factory workers and Zhou Yan a real shock, letting them know who the true master of pastry is! Just you wait and see." At the bridgehead, He Ermao said to Wang Laowu as he packed up his stall.
“I know you’re good at making steamed buns. Zhou Yan only has the advantage of location and reputation. Tomorrow we’ll expose his true colors!” Old Wang counted the money, grinning from ear to ear.

These steamed buns are selling better and better. Although the profit margin is a bit lower than selling noodles, we sell a lot of them. We can still make a profit of ten yuan a day.

He could earn five yuan just by lying at home, and from then on, he could play mahjong and drink tea in a covered bowl every day, living a very comfortable life.

So comfortable.

He Ermao and Liu Fen exchanged a glance and revealed a strange smile.

The extra hundred steamed buns they sold generated a net profit of fifteen yuan, which they kept for themselves.

Let Wang Laowu be happy with his five yuan.

"Oh dear, I'm so tired, Wang Laowu, why don't you ride the tricycle back? I really can't pedal anymore. Liu Fen and I can squeeze in from behind," He Ermao said.

Wang Laowu's hand, which was counting money, froze, and he turned around to look at Liu Fen.

“Look at her hands, do you really expect her to pull both of us? How could you even think of that! She’s more tired than I am.” He Ermao glared at him.

Liu Fen lowered her head, straightened the hem of her clothes, and didn't say anything, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.

"I'll ride it, I'll ride it," Wang Laowu said hurriedly, stuffing the money into his pocket and climbing onto the tricycle.

He Ermao helped Liu Fen onto the tricycle first, then followed her onto the tricycle and sat opposite her, quietly slipping a handful of money into her hand.

Liu Fen's mouth opened slightly in surprise, but fearing that Wang Laowu would see it, she quickly clutched the money tightly, blushed, and carefully put it into her bosom, stuffing it into her underwear.

He Ermao turned his face away, a smile playing on his lips.

"Brother Er Mao, I just bought a pound of tofu. Let's make some home-style tofu for lunch, and steam some cured meat too. We brothers can also have a drink." Wang Laowu said to He Er Mao as he pedaled his tricycle with all his might.

“Sure, let’s split the bill. Selling meat and buying wine will cost a lot, I’ll split it in half,” He Ermao said with a smile.

"I'm so sorry," Wang Laowu said, his eyes lighting up.

He Ermao pouted and said, "Even close brothers should keep clear accounts. I'm not going to eat your food every day, it's not like I can eat it for just one or two meals. Otherwise, my sister-in-law won't be happy."

"Okay!" Old Wang nodded quickly.

……

After closing for the evening, Zhou Yan changed her clothes and went out for a run.

Xia Yao, dressed in sportswear, was already waiting downstairs at the dormitory. When she saw him, she ran over with a smile, her high ponytail swaying behind her, the colorful hair tie standing out against her dark hair.

"You must be very busy today, right? I saw that there were always queues at the restaurant from morning till night." Xia Yao looked at him, her eyes filled with undisguised concern.

"Yes, it's quite busy. There are more customers today." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. "But I'm used to it. It would be great if I could be this busy every day and earn more money."

"But if we do that, you and your auntie will be working too hard," Xia Yao said, looking at him with some concern.

“Actually, all physically demanding jobs are tough, like farming or slaughtering cattle. But compared to those who work hard but don’t earn much money, if you can earn money through hard work, then it’s not so tough. The spirit can provide more energy for the body,” Zhou Yan explained gently as they walked side by side.

Xia Yao nodded thoughtfully; Zhou Yan's words had given her some new perspectives.

"How about you? How was your day?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at her.

"It was quite fulfilling. I still have to draw a design sketch when I get home tonight. I had some new ideas after discussing with the designer today. If I can hand them in to her at work tomorrow, it will effectively advance the progress regarding Jiading silk..."

When talking about design, Xia Yao's eyes sparkled with excitement.

Zhou Yan listened with a smile, occasionally responding with a few words.

In her, Zhou Yan saw the shadow of Meng Anhe.

Clearly, she will become an excellent designer and shine in her industry.

Dazzling and eye-catching.

She possesses a unique charm.

Xia Yao suddenly stopped, tilted her head back, and looked at him with bright eyes: "I suddenly understand. For you, making dishes that satisfy and make guests happy might also be a source of enjoyment. Right?"

Despite having been busy all day, Zhou Yan still stood ramrod straight when she stopped. A hint of weariness could be seen in her clear eyes, but more than anything, there was gentleness.

He was indeed very handsome, with sharp features, but he gave her a gentle feeling, without any sharpness, which made her feel at ease and want to get close to him.

“Yes, it’s like a work of art.” Zhou Yan nodded, a smile playing on his lips.

That makes it seem like the profession of chef has become more prestigious.

For example, when introducing himself, he calls himself the manager of Zhou Erwa Restaurant, which sounds more sophisticated than "restaurant owner".

Xia Yao's mouth was slightly open, and her gaze towards Zhou Yan was somewhat different. So this was the attitude he had towards the dishes he made. No wonder his dishes were so delicious and wonderful.

the work.

Yes, a chef's creations are simply those dishes that are served from the kitchen to the guests' tables.

His works are often perfect.

It received unanimous approval from the guests.

He's really amazing!
Zhou Yan looked down at her with a smile on his lips. This girl seemed quite smart, but sometimes she was a bit silly.

Xia Yao met his gaze and saw the smile on his lips. She quickly lowered her head, her ears turning red.

"Let's go, run a little further ahead, and then we'll turn back when we reach the bridge," Zhou Yan said, changing the subject.

"Mmm," Xia Yao responded softly, then quickly looked up again, "Aren't we running five kilometers today?"

“It’s getting dark earlier and earlier. If we shorten the distance by one kilometer, we can get back to your dormitory before dark, so you won’t be afraid of the dark,” Zhou Yan explained.

"Okay." Xia Yao's lips curled up slightly, her fingers twitched, and she felt a little disappointed for some reason.

Actually, she wasn't that afraid of the dark.

As long as he's around. But how could she possibly say that?
……

Zhou Yan escorted Xia Yao back to her dormitory, and upon returning to the restaurant, he first tallied up the sales figures.

All the vegetables for today are sold out, even the crucian carp in the fish tank are gone.

The bean sprout and pork buns sold very well, which also led many workers to consider eating at the store, thus successfully attracting customers.

The turnover reached a record high of 721.6 yuan.

Successfully broke through the 700 mark.

Aunt Zhao looked at Zhou Yan and said, "Making these steamed buns is hard work, but they do sell well. Do you think it would be possible for us to open a steamed bun shop if we went to Jiaozhou?"

“It will definitely work. We’ll be competing with that shumai shop and see how much revenue we can take from it.” Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. “However, in the early stages, we should do it part-time at the shop. It can bring customers to the shop and save us the expense of building a separate stove and buying tables and chairs.”

“That makes sense,” Aunt Zhao nodded.

"I plan to add two more flavors of steamed buns tomorrow," Zhou Yan added.

"Two kinds at once?" Aunt Zhao was a little surprised; the pace of adding new buns was a bit too fast.

“When facing competition, you have to give it your all. If you don’t completely crush him, he’ll think he has a chance to turn the tide,” Zhou Yan said earnestly.

"Then you should go to bed early tonight, and I'll get up early tomorrow to help."

"No need, Mom. You go to sleep. The dough-making process will remain the same, just with two more types of meat filling. You won't be of much help getting up early anyway, so just get a good night's sleep. That way you'll have the energy to work during the day." Zhou Yan shook his head, his attitude firm.

"Listen to Zhou Yan on this matter. He's organized and can handle things properly. You should get some rest and sleep well. Your skin has improved a lot lately," Old Zhou added.

"See? You figured it out." Aunt Zhao touched her face and said with a coquettish smile, "Sleeping more has its benefits. No wonder people talk about beauty sleep. Well then, I'll get up at six o'clock."

“Okay.” Zhou Yan nodded. He didn’t want Aunt Zhao to get tired. She was in charge of the braised beef, and she also had to take orders and settle accounts. She was busy all day long.

The next morning, Zhou Yan woke up three minutes earlier than her alarm clock.

My biological clock is finally back in place.

I turned off the alarm, got out of bed, and started kneading the dough.

Zhang Laosan brought him pork early in the morning. In addition to stir-fried pork with pickled mustard greens, Zhou Yan also prepared a portion of pork with scallions.

I bought the scallions yesterday; in this weather, they're still very fresh even after being left overnight.

Fresh meat filling is the simplest filling, but it is also the most technically demanding. There are quite a few tricks to making fresh meat filling tender and juicy.

Skin off a 4:6 ratio of fat to lean pork shoulder and mince it into ground meat, maintaining a certain texture. Fresh ground meat needs more fat to make it juicy and flavorful.

Then start preparing the minced meat. Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, pepper, sugar and other seasonings, then add scallion and ginger water. Stir clockwise until the mixture becomes sticky. Finally, add a spoonful of cooked oil and stir well to lock in the moisture.

After the filling is prepared, chopped green onions are placed on top of the filling.

Chopped green onions should not be added to the minced meat beforehand, as the salt will cause the green onions to release water, resulting in a watery texture. It is best to add them in appropriate amounts with a spoon when wrapping the buns.

The filling of the fresh meat bun can be summed up in one word—fresh.

Therefore, the minced meat does not need to be stir-fried in advance.

Comrade Zhou went downstairs to buy beef at the appointed time, and Lin Qing was already waiting at the door, yawning.

"I'm sorry to have made you come so early, you've suffered so much," Zhou Yan said, looking at him somewhat apologetically.

"You guys get up so early every day, it's nothing for me to get up a little early sometimes." Lin Qing shook her head with a smile. "Shall we set off now?"

“You should come with my father. He’s in charge of buying beef. He’s going to the slaughterhouse in Zhoucun to buy freshly slaughtered beef. I need to make steamed buns at the shop, so I won’t be going,” Zhou Yan said.

"Okay." Lin Qing nodded and followed Comrade Zhou.

When Comrade Zhou returned with the beef, Zhou Yan, Li Lihua, and Zhao Hong were already making steamed buns.

"You guys wrap these first, I'll go stir-fry some beef filling in chili oil." Zhou Yan rolled out enough dumpling wrappers, then carried a piece of beef into the kitchen.

The beef is finely diced, stir-fried with fermented bean paste, scallions, ginger, and soy sauce until fragrant. The ground beef is a piece of cake for him, and it is relatively close to the state of minced beef. He just doesn't add green and red peppers to reduce the spiciness.

After the stir-fried ground beef was cooled in a basin of ice-cold well water, Zhou Yan continued making steamed buns.

Lin Qing stood at the kitchen doorway, holding an enamel mug in her hand. The drowsiness from just waking up had passed, and after drinking a cup of tea, she felt more and more energetic.

"You've put so much filling in these buns! They look delicious even before they're in the steamer," Lin Qing said after looking at them for a while.

"Try it when it's steamed. The guests all said it was delicious. Today we've served two new flavors: fresh meat and beef," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

Lin Qing nodded: "Okay, watching you make steamed buns made me hungry. The beef filling smells so good."

Two more fillings were added to the buns, but the bun-making technique remained the same, so Li Lihua and Zhao Hong were still able to work together seamlessly.

Today, Zhou Yan prepared 500 steamed buns, 200 with pickled mustard greens and pork, and 150 each of fresh pork and beef.

With no pressure regarding the quantity of steamed buns available today, Zhou Yan began to look forward to his mission to break into new circles.

Main Quest: Breaking Boundaries Plan! Progress 186/200

We're only 14 short of the mark; I wonder if we can make a breakthrough today.

Put the buns in the steamer, and steam two baskets in the first round.

As the steam rises, the aroma of meat begins to waft through the air.

Lin Qing sat at the table near the steamer, already swallowing hard.

I got up early this morning, and now I'm actually a bit hungry.

Zhou Yan posted the new announcement on the bulletin board: Fresh meat buns and beef buns are now available! 15 cents each!
Across from him, He Ermao, who had just finished wrapping the beef buns, saw Zhou Yan carrying a sign that said he was leaving and his eyes widened: "Holy crap! He makes beef buns too! And fresh meat buns?"

　A new month, please vote for me! Thank you so much!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)