1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 276 Breaking the Boundary Plan! Completed! (6k-page compilation)

He Ermao's tears fell unexpectedly, big and small, forming a line as he cried uncontrollably.

Zhou Yan, who was standing opposite him, was stunned by what he saw.

Cried?

Is it so delicious?

He didn't put any medicine in it.

The guests were also dumbfounded when they saw this. He Ermao, who thought his meat buns were not as good as Zhou Yan's, confidently took a bite of his beef bun and burst into tears.

What's the situation?
“Brother Er Mao, you…” Liu Fen looked at him with concern, feeling both distressed and anxious.

He Ermao was always joking around in front of her, but when he was working, he looked very serious. She had never seen him like this before.

A grown man, crying so bitterly in front of so many people.

"I lost, I lost." He Ermao wiped away his tears, then ate the two buns in his hand one bite at a time, and looked at Zhou Yan and said, "Your buns are too good, even better than my master's. I lose to you, I admit it wholeheartedly. What I said before was just self-humiliation. Starting tomorrow, I will never appear at the entrance of the textile factory again."

Zhou Yan laughed upon hearing this, and nodded at He Er Mao, saying, "He's a man, more courageous than Wang Laowu."

The guests nodded in agreement, their gazes towards He Ermao now filled with admiration.

It's not uncommon for restaurants to compete with each other; vendors outside textile factories often get into arguments every few days.

Previously, the dispute between Zhou Yan and Wang Laowu even resulted in Director Wang of the factory canteen being sent to eat peanuts.

In contrast, after finishing his steamed buns, He Ermao admitted that he was not as good as Zhou Yan, and he was willing to accept defeat and leave the textile factory gate completely. This frankness is something that ordinary people cannot match.

“Er Mao…” Liu Fen hesitated, looking at He Er Mao’s red eyes, and finally swallowed her words. She subconsciously glanced at the figure under the tree in the distance and slowly clenched her fist.

"This guy still has some backbone," Aunt Zhao remarked.

“Although I’m not a qualified pastry chef, I’m still confident in my skills. Whether it’s good or not, you’ll know after one bite. I can’t fool myself, and I don’t want to fool others.” He Er Mao looked at Zhou Yan with a serious expression and said, “Now, I’d like to hear your opinion on my braised beef buns. Please give me some pointers.”

Zhou Yan glanced at the half-eaten braised beef bun in his hand. After tearing it open, he found it filled with beef filling. The skin was also very thin, and the filling was plentiful, with a fragrant aroma of soy sauce.

He picked up the bun and took a bite. The dough was soft but lacked elasticity. The beef sauce was rich and flavorful, savory and delicious. The texture of the grainy filling was incomparable to meat sauce.

Overall, it's a pretty good beef bun.

[A pretty good braised beef bun that's been half bitten into]

The results of the appraisal were similar to Zhou Yan's feelings.

Zhou Yan finished half of the bun and looked at He Ermao, saying, "Your braised beef buns are quite good. The sauce is rich and the filling is seasoned just right, but the beef is a little undercooked and lacks juiciness."

The stir-frying time for beef can be shorter. Use beef with more fat, or add some fatty pork separately for a better taste and more juice.

The dough hasn't fermented long enough, so the buns aren't very elastic. Since the weather's been cold lately, you can use warm water to knead the dough, or boil water in a pot and place the dough in an enamel bowl to ferment. Once fully fermented, the dough will have a better texture.

He Ermao nodded repeatedly, his eyes brightening. He cupped his hands to Zhou Yan and said, "This is enlightening! While I was eating your beef bun, I was thinking about where the problem lay. Your explanation has helped me figure it out immediately!"

“Your basic skills are still very solid. Compared to self-employed individuals who just figure things out on their own, you have a big advantage. Changing places might not be a bad thing for you,” Zhou Yan said, turning to walk towards the restaurant. He heard a customer order noodles, and he knew he had to go back and make ramen.

"Thanks," He Ermao called out to Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan raised his hand and entered the restaurant without looking back.

"Amazing," Xia Yao said with a smile.

"is it?"

“Yes, being able to win over your opponent is certainly impressive,” Xia Yao nodded.

"Right?" Zhou Yan's lips curled up slightly, unable to suppress it.

"I'm going to work now, goodbye." Xia Yao smiled sweetly at him, said goodbye to Aunt Zhao, and left with her bag.

"Tsk tsk, Yan-ge, are you two dating?" Huang Bing, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but lean over and ask.

The oriole also cast a concerned glance.

The interaction between Xia Yao and Zhou Yan reeks of the sweet and sour smell of romance.

I was a little disappointed, but I couldn't suppress my urge to gossip.

"Eat your steamed buns." Zhou Yan walked towards the kitchen without turning her head.

"He didn't admit it." Huang Ying breathed a sigh of relief.

"He didn't deny it either," Huang Bing said with a smile. "I don't believe they're alright. I've never seen a girl smile at me like that before."

"It's perfectly normal that I can't smile at you."

"Yellow Oriole!"

Huang Ying took a big bite of the pork bun, her eyes narrowing as she exclaimed, "Ah... what a delicious pork bun! Compared to this, the buns at our Feiyan Restaurant are really too ordinary!"

Huang Bing also sighed with emotion: "Yes, Brother Yan is simply a genius. Not only is his talent for cooking red dishes off the charts, but he also does a great job with white dishes. It's just too outrageous."

He Ermao admitted defeat, stopped shouting, pushed his tricycle over, and began loading baskets onto the vehicle one by one.

"Are we really giving up this business?" Liu Fen asked softly as she helped lift the steamer, her eyes filled with worry.

I've only been running this stall for four days, and I've just earned back my initial investment of twenty yuan. I still have a lot of timber left to use. If I leave now, I'll be losing a lot of money.

“I’m not as skilled as him, and I’m willing to accept defeat. With Zhou Yan’s talent and ability, even if I study for another ten years, I still can’t beat him.” He Er Mao nodded, without much dejection in his eyes. He pulled the tattered quilt over the steamer and grasped Liu Fen’s hand, which was resting on the steamer. “Liu Fen, I want to leave. I want to leave Suji and find another place to set up a stall and sell steamed buns. Would you like to come with me?”

“Er Mao…” Liu Fen glanced into the distance subconsciously, trying to pull her hand away, but He Er Mao held it tightly.

“I know I was a scoundrel and a lazy bum before, but now I want to be a good person and give you a real home.” He Ermao looked at her. “Don’t worry, I swear to God I will treat you well. You can manage all the money I earn, and you will be in charge of the household. I will never hit you. If I break this promise, may I be struck by lightning.”

His gaze was intense, and his tone was exceptionally firm.

Liu Fen was momentarily flustered, her eyes darting around, unsure of what to do.

"I won't pressure you. Think it over carefully before making a decision. I'll go sell these buns first. Wait about ten minutes, then I'll start steaming the second batch." He Er Mao let go of his hand, got on the tricycle, and drove away.

Liu Fen stared blankly at He Ermao's retreating figure, her expression somewhat complicated.

"Brother Er Mao! Didn't you say you were going to go head-to-head with Zhou Yan? What's going on? Why are you riding your tricycle and hauling steamed buns to the bridge again?" Wang Laowu couldn't help but run over and ask when He Er Mao rode over.

"If we're not as skilled as others, wouldn't it be shameful to stay?" He Ermao said.

"Lower the price! If we can't sell it for 15 cents, we'll sell it for 13 cents, 12 cents, or even 10 cents if all else fails. I don't believe Zhou Yan's buns are really that delicious, that the textile factory workers absolutely have to eat his buns!" Old Wang gritted his teeth and said, "We just can't let Zhou Yan make that much money!"

He Ermao looked at Wang Laowu with undisguised disgust in his eyes and said with a sneer, "I worked so hard to make these buns, and I didn't even make any money, just to save face for you? Wang Laowu, have you lost your mind?"
To be honest, I just lost a bet with Zhou Yan. Starting tomorrow, I'm not setting up this stall anymore, and I won't be showing up at the textile factory gate again.

"What?!" Old Wang's eyes widened, and he panicked instantly. "This stall has only been up for five days! We're still making money. If we stop, it'll all be for nothing! No way, we have to keep it up! We still have to keep it up!"

"Screw you! Go ahead and set your own agenda, but I'm not doing it. A real man keeps his word, there's no reason to go back on it! If you keep arguing, we're breaking up!" He Ermao's attitude was firm.

"Break up?" Upon hearing this, Wang Laowu immediately backed down and said with a forced smile, "Brother Er Mao, don't be impulsive. It's fine if we don't set up the stall, we can set up the stall in another place, like near the bridge, next to Sun Laosan's stall. I think we can still do business there."

"We'll talk about it later, I'm going to sell steamed buns first." He Ermao didn't want to talk to him, got on his tricycle, and couldn't help but turn back to look at Wang Laowu and ask, "Did you hit your sister-in-law yesterday?"

"A wife needs to be beaten. If you don't beat her for three days, she'll be climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles." Wang Laowu laughed smugly. "You don't know, Liu Fen came with me when she was eighteen. Her family was all dead, she had nowhere to go. Other people's wives do this or that, would she dare? In our family, I am the emperor."

He Ermao fell silent upon hearing this, glared at Wang Laowu, and rode away on his tricycle.

"That brat glared at me?" Wang Laowu watched He Ermao ride away on his bicycle, scratched his head in confusion, pulled down his hat brim, turned around and walked towards the textile factory gate, his expression turning sinister.

Liu Fen was tidying up the cutting board when the light in front of the stall dimmed. She looked up and saw Wang Laowu walk in. Her face immediately turned ugly, and she said in a somewhat unnatural voice, "You...you're here? Didn't I say you couldn't come?"

"Not coming? You're abandoning the stall, and I can't come?" Wang Laowu's eyes widened, and his voice became shrill: "What have you been doing all day? Recklessly making a bet with Zhou Yan, didn't you know to stop him? This stall cost twenty yuan! Do you think my money grows on trees? I really want to beat you to death!"

As he spoke, he picked up a rolling pin from the side and hit Liu Fen's leg with it.

Snapped!
There was a muffled sound.

Liu Fen collapsed onto the pile of firewood, her head scraped and bleeding. Clutching her leg, she sat on the ground, staring intently at Wang Laowu, tears streaming down her face, but she didn't utter a sound.

"You dare glare at me! You're not happy, are you?" Wang Laowu raised the rolling pin in his hand, as if to hit him again.

"Wang Laowu! What are you doing!" An officer came out of the guard post and shouted.

The rolling pin in Wang Laowu's hand clattered to the ground. Wang Laowu hurriedly helped Liu Fen up from the ground, forcing a smile and saying, "No, my wife fell down. I was helping her up. It's alright, it's alright."

"You better show some respect to the women, or you'll get arrested again!" the officer warned him before turning and going inside.

"Clean the blood off your head, we'll deal with you when we get back!" Wang Laowu whispered to Liu Fen.

Liu Fen wiped the blood off her forehead, pulled down her hat to cover it, and sat silently in front of the stove to tend the fire. Her face was ashen, but her eyes reflected the flickering firelight.

He Ermao came back and made two trips to get steamed buns. He noticed that Liu Fen seemed a bit off, but since Wang Laowu was there, he didn't ask her too many questions.

After loading the buns onto the tricycle for the last trip, He Ermao called to Liu Fen to get on, "Sister-in-law, this is the last trip, can you help me collect the money?" "I'll go, I'm good at collecting it," Wang Laowu eagerly replied.

“The customers are afraid of you, what are you going to do?” He Ermao glared at him. “Sister-in-law, get in the car.”

“Let’s go together. It’s the last trip anyway. We’ll sell everything and go home,” Liu Fen said in a muffled voice as she limped out.

"What happened to your leg?" He Ermao frowned and asked with concern.

"I tripped and fell, but it's nothing serious," Wang Laowu quickly said.

"She fell down last night, and she fell down again today. Is she the only one who falls down?" He Ermao had already guessed that it must be Wang Laowu hitting Liu Fen again, and he was furious.

“Yes, we still need to be careful,” Wang Laowu nodded in agreement.

"It's alright, let's go back." Liu Fen calmly got into the tricycle.

"Brother Er Mao, you've worked hard. You sit here, I'll ride the bike." Wang Laowu happily sat on the front seat of the tricycle.

He Ermao got on the tricycle and looked at Liu Fen sitting opposite him with heartache in his eyes.

"Once they're sold out, buy half a pig's head. I'll make you twice-cooked pig's head and braised pig's ears when we get back. You can have some wine too," Liu Fen said to He Er Mao.

"Eating pig's head meat is ridiculous. Who knows where we'll be setting up a stall tomorrow..." Wang Laowu retorted.

“Okay, I’ll go buy it later,” He Ermao interrupted Wang Laowu and nodded.

"Okay, let's drink it so we can discuss where to set up our stall tomorrow," Wang Laowu immediately changed his tune.

When Zhou Yan finished his work and came out, he saw the three of them riding away on a tricycle.

"These three people are really interesting; they even managed to get together in one car," Zhao Hong exclaimed in amazement.

"She's really unlucky to have run into a scoundrel like Wang Laowu." Aunt Zhao looked at Liu Fen with a hint of pity in her eyes.

“He Er Mao is capable. If he left Su Ji and worked hard, he would definitely live a good life,” Zhou Yan said with a smile. He Er Mao’s braised beef buns were indeed very good, better than many pastry chefs.

"Brother Lin, I'm about to start braising the beef. Do you need to watch?" Zhou Yan said to Lin Qing, who was sitting in front of the large pot of braised beef, engrossed in reading a book.

"I want to see it." Lin Qing picked up the book, stood up, and said with a smile, "The basic procedures need to be followed. I'll go help you start the fire."

“Okay.” Zhou Yan nodded and turned to walk towards the kitchen.

[Ding! Main Quest: Breaking Boundaries Plan! Completed!]

[Reward: One Sichuan cuisine recipe of your choice]

Zhou Yan paused, his eyes lighting up.

The plan to expand beyond the established boundaries was successfully completed with the help of brothers Lin Jingxing and Lin Bingwen.

I never expected the reward to be a recipe of my choice!
This is the first time.

What dish should we choose?
Zhou Yan continued walking towards the kitchen, already starting to plan in her mind.

The restaurant already has a fairly extensive menu, including braised dishes, stir-fries, and steamed dishes. What dish could be added to attract more customers without increasing the cooking burden?

This requires careful consideration before making a decision.

"Brother Lin, who's cooking at Leming Restaurant this time?" Zhou Yan asked casually as Lin Qing walked in.

"Grandpa Kong Qingfeng will be coming, with Kong Guodong and Kong Liwei as his assistants. Grandpa Qin Kun has been invited; he retired from Leming Hotel." Lin Qing said with a smile, "Your Kong faction has considerable influence in Jiaozhou; no feast is complete without Kong."

"That reputation was built by the advisors, and we younger generation have all benefited from the Kong School's reputation," Zhou Yan said. Sure enough, there was still a distinction between close and distant relatives; Kong Qingfeng was still leading his nephews and grandchildren.

Of course, this is understandable. Everyone has some selfish motives, and this kind of scene is mainly to broaden one's horizons.

“I think you are the future leader of the Kong School.” Lin Qing looked at him with admiration. “You are proficient in both hot and cold dishes. After the old men retired, Leming Restaurant could no longer serve the dishes you make.”

"Brother Lin, you're flattering me to death! I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it!" Zhou Yan quickly waved his hand, as he had a bunch of senior uncles and elders above him.

"By the way, I noticed that all those masters bring assistants and tutors. There are two spots available. Aren't you bringing one?" Lin Qing asked curiously.

"I only have one dish..." Zhou Yan said, then thought for a moment, "I could also bring two assistants, to make our group seem more professional."

Lin Qing glanced at Li Lihua, who was peeling potatoes, and Zhou Miao, who was cutting up pig's head meat.

Zhou Yan looked at Old Zhou and said, "Old man, when you're done with your work, go to my master's place for me and ask him and Senior Brother Zheng if they want to attend the banquet hosted by the Municipal Economic Commission. Remember to tell him that it's a gathering of famous chefs in Jiaozhou, and if he goes, he'll be my assistant."

"Sure," Comrade Zhou readily agreed.

"Huh?" Lin Qing was a little confused.

This kid is defying the Heavenly Gang!
...

"Hey, Brother Er Mao, this little setback is nothing. With your skills, we can make a fortune just by setting up a stall at the stone bridge. We've already sold out of steamed buns today." Wang Laowu, holding a wine glass, said to He Er Mao with hazy eyes, "Come on, let me toast you again. We're brothers, bottoms up! From now on, we're as close as brothers. What's mine is yours, and what's yours is mine. What do you say?"

"You said it yourself, so I won't stand on ceremony." He Ermao picked up his wine glass and glanced at Liu Fen, who was eating with her head down.

"Don't be so polite, just treat this place like your own home. I've decided to be your brother..." Wang Laowu downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, then slumped onto the table and started snoring loudly.

He Ermao put down his cup, patted Wang Laowu to make sure he was completely drunk, and then looked at Liu Fen with concern, saying, "Sister-in-law, are you alright? Did Wang Laowu...?"

Before she could finish speaking, Liu Fen threw herself into his arms, her soft body silencing his lips. She undid his clothes with one hand and pleaded urgently, "Brother Er Mao, take me! I'll give myself to you... everything to you..."

He Ermao was a little confused, but the soft words made him too busy to think, and he responded somewhat clumsily.

A soft rustling sound filled the air as thick winter clothes were shed and scattered on the ground.

Looking at the reddish-brown bruise on Liu Fen's leg, and the various new and old scars on her body, He Ermao felt as if her fair body was a broken piece of porcelain.

He stopped abruptly, reached out and took off her hat. Looking at the still-scabbed wound on her forehead, his eyes immediately reddened, and he got up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Liu Fen asked, grabbing his arm.

"I'm going to get a kitchen knife, I'm going to kill that beast!" He Ermao said, his eyes red.

“If you kill him, you’ll be executed too. Didn’t you say you’d give me a home? Do you want us to be buried together?” Liu Fen asked, tears welling in her eyes.

He Ermao was stunned for a moment, clenching his fists, his face full of resentment: "He beat you up like this, he deserves to die!"

“I’m a traditional woman, but today I’m giving myself to you. This is his punishment.” Liu Fen grabbed his hand and leaned closer. “Yes, like kneading dough, hiss… gently…”

Wang Laowu was fast asleep, his head resting on the table, with layers of figures overlapping behind him.

...

"Master Zhou, are you busy? Come on, let me do the chopping. You can leave this small thing to Xiao." Xiao Lei walked into the kitchen, smiled, and approached the stove, looking at Zhou Yan who was chopping vegetables.

"Let me do it, let me do it. Xiao Zheng has practiced his knife skills for twelve years, just so that one day he can cut vegetables for Master Zhou. It's such an honor." Zheng Qiang followed him in and rushed to cut vegetables.

Zhou Yan: "..."

I've run into these two clowns.

He's so annoying!

Lin Qing looked up at Xiao Lei and Zheng Qiang with a surprised expression. Both of them looked much older than Zhou Yan.

"This is Comrade Lin Qing from the Municipal Economic Commission."

"This is my master, Xiao Lei, who used to be the head chef in the canteen of a textile factory. This is my senior apprentice, Zheng Qiang, who used to be a chef at Rongcheng Restaurant. Now the two of them are running a large-scale banquet together."

Zhou Yan introduced them to each other.

"Hello, Master Xiao and Master Zheng." Lin Qing stood up and shook hands with the two men, his expression slightly strange.

Zhou Yan's master and senior brother are somewhat unconventional.

However, if that's the case, they are all disciples of the Confucian school, then there's no problem.

The Kong school still enjoys a considerable reputation in Jiaozhou.

"Hello, Comrade Lin." Xiao Lei smiled and shook hands with him, then asked, "Wow, this banquet is quite large! Which chefs did you hire?"

"The scale is for three tables, and the chefs we hired include Master Kong Qingfeng and Master Qin Kun from Leming Hotel, Master Li Liangcai from Feiyan Restaurant, and Master Yue Guolong from Rongcheng Restaurant who was specially invited from Rongcheng..." These were not secrets, and Lin Qing told him directly.

"Uncle Yue is here too! His signature dish, braised beef head, has been served as the first course at many banquets for leaders and foreign guests." Zheng Qiang said with some surprise.

“Yes, Master Yue makes ox head soup.” Lin Qing nodded with a smile, it seemed that Zheng Qiang really did come from Rongcheng Restaurant.

But why would someone give up a perfectly good restaurant in Chengdu to come back and become a rural chef?

“They’ve even invited a master chef from a Chengdu restaurant. It’s truly a gathering of renowned chefs. Each master has a signature dish; the level of preparation is quite high.” Xiao Lei nodded repeatedly, then looked at Zhou Yan curiously and asked, “Chef Zhou, what dish are you making today?”

Zhou Yan held up two fingers and smiled, "Chef Xiao, I'll make two dishes."

　There will be another update later~ Please vote with your monthly tickets!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)