1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 29 The most important thing in life is to be happy.
Exclamations of praise were heard incessantly.

College students have such rich vocabulary that they never repeat themselves when praising others.

They ate their noodles and drank their beef soup, and it tasted delicious.

"These students have been away for half a month, and this is the first time I've seen them eat so heartily and praise the food so enthusiastically," Su Jun couldn't help but laugh.

“Exactly, they didn’t seem to like the state-run restaurants in Jiaozhou that much, but they were delighted by the three-course noodles and a bowl of braised beef at this little restaurant,” the female teacher said with a smile.

"But this noodle dish is really delicious! The double-pepper beef noodles are even better than what we make in our school cafeteria. The noodles are so chewy, and the toppings are amazing. The double-pepper beef is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a perfect spicy flavor. It's so good!" Another male teacher looked up from his bowl and couldn't help but exclaim.

"Xiao Wang, you should order a bowl of braised beef and try it, otherwise you'll definitely regret it when you get back." Su Jun picked up a piece of beef and dipped it in the sauce.

The tender, pink beef is coated with red chili powder. With each bite, you'll find large, thin slices of tender beef coated in spicy chili powder, making it both fragrant and tender—a truly exceptional taste and texture.

This chili powder isn't machine-ground into fine powder, but rather hand-ground fragments. It contains a touch of roasted sesame seeds and Sichuan peppercorn powder, resulting in an excellent flavor that is truly the finishing touch to this braised beef dish.

Su Jun loves Chongqing hot pot and has a lot of experience in eating beef offal. However, Chongqing hot pot is usually served in a red broth, which emphasizes heavy oil, spiciness, and numbing sensation.

This pot of clear broth, however, brought out a unique flavor in the beef offal.

The fresh tripe is cooked to perfection, making it exceptionally crisp and refreshing. The tendons are soft and chewy, and the intestines are tender and smooth. Even with the dipping sauce, it's not too greasy.

And this soup was incredibly delicious!
It contains a variety of Chinese herbs and spices, but these do not obscure the flavor of the soup; on the contrary, they make the soup even more delicious.

He had taken his students to many places for field research, but this soup still surprised him.

"Comrade Zhou is not very old, but his cooking skills are quite impressive," Su Jun couldn't help but remark.

"He truly inherited his master's skills; these dishes he brought out are no worse than his master's." Lin Zhiqiang nodded. As a regular customer of the cafeteria's stir-fries, he had eaten quite a few of Xiao Lei's dishes and had the right to speak on the matter.

The most popular item has to be the free pickled radish.

With its tangy and spicy flavor, refreshing and cleansing, it's the perfect accompaniment to noodles.

Of course, the free refills of beef soup are also a favorite.

The calls of "Auntie~ Auntie~" could be heard incessantly.

Xia Yao and her friends originally only ordered one bowl of braised beef, but after tasting it, they ordered another bowl.

The main problem was that the portion of the braised beef was just too large; with a bowl of noodles added, they simply couldn't finish it.

Xia Yao and Zhu Yuyu couldn't finish it, but Deng Hong was a different story; she could eat it, and the second bowl was ordered separately for her.

"Mmm...it's so delicious! The hot pot from Shancheng is so numbing, I love the braised beef, I love Suji!" Deng Hong ate heartily, unable to stop herself from exclaiming as she ate.

Xia Yao and Zhu Yuyu both laughed.

"Yaoyao, why don't you think about it? With his cooking skills, I feel like marrying him would make me incredibly happy for the rest of my life." Deng Hong looked at Xia Yao, her round face full of seriousness: "I can feel his handsomeness now. A man who can cook is so incredibly handsome!"

Ma Xingye at the next table paused for a moment.

"Shh, don't say that again!" Xia Yao reached out and pinched the soft flesh on her stomach, her face flushing slightly.

The teachers and students were very satisfied with the meal.

Lin Zhiqiang went to pay the bill. He had eaten a total of 24 bowls of noodles, 22 bowls of braised beef, and 18 bowls of rice, for a total of 29.4 yuan.

Su Jun stood up and asked with a smile, "Classmates, how was the meal?"

"good to eat!"

"It's so fragrant!"

The students responded enthusiastically, saying they were all very satisfied with their meal.

"Are you still eating at Zhou Erwa's restaurant this week?" Su Jun asked again.

"it is good!"

The students agreed in unison this time.

They didn't expect the food in the textile factory's canteen to be very good, but they thought they might as well try some noodles for dinner and have a bowl of braised beef that they couldn't find anywhere else.

I'm going back to the mountain city tomorrow, which will be a special memory.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan, who was cooking noodles in the kitchen, realized something was wrong. He could make more noodles, but he didn't have enough meat sauce and toppings.

But this is a great opportunity for publicity, and we shouldn't miss it.

Zhou Yan brought out two bowls of noodles and said with a smile, "There's not much meat sauce and toppings left in the shop. If you're coming to eat noodles tonight, please make a reservation first so I can buy some fresh meat to cook for you."

"No problem, just register." Xia Yao took out a notebook from her backpack, wrote down the names of four dishes, and smiled, "Tell me what kind of noodles you want to eat tonight."

"I want to try the double-pepper beef noodles," Deng Hong said eagerly.

"I want……"

Xia Yao wrote tally marks under the dish names and quickly finished tallying them.

"Here, that's all." Xia Yao tore that page from the notebook and handed it to Zhou Yan. "Thank you, you've been a great help." Zhou Yan took it and said with a smile.

"It's nothing, you go ahead and get busy. The guests are waiting for their noodles," Xia Yao said with a graceful smile.

Lin Zhiqiang, who was standing to the side, looked at the two of them with a smile like an uncle, wondering whether he should tell Meng Anhe about it that night.

After Zhou Yan greeted Su Jun and Lin Zhiqiang and confirmed that they would be coming to the restaurant for dinner, he went back to the kitchen to get busy.

The students got up and left the restaurant to find a place to stroll and digest their food.

Director Su gave everyone an hour and a half to explore Suji Town, but strictly forbade them from going to the riverbank, and required two teachers to accompany them.

"Aunt Zhao, where's Momo? I haven't seen her." Xia Yao walked to the door and asked Zhao Tieying.

"She went out to play with her two nephews and hasn't come back yet," Zhao Tieying said with a smile. "Goodness, when are you two going back to the city?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow morning; I'm going back to the mountain city."

"Mountain City? That's so far!" Zhao Tieying's tone suddenly rose. "Then... will you still come to Suji for fun in the future?"

"I'll have to wait until school breaks. I'll come to Suji again when I have time." Xia Yao smiled and nodded. "Then you go ahead and do your work, Auntie. I'll come to play with Momo later."

"Okay," Zhao Tieying replied, and then went to settle the bill for the customer.

"Yaoyao, you looked just like the boss's wife when you registered," Deng Hong said with a smile as she led Xia Yao out the door.

"Yeah, that's the kind of look you're in." Zhu Yuyu linked arms with her other hand. "Yaoyao, you two seem to know each other pretty well."

"He saved my life, it was nothing, and he's a really nice guy." Xia Yao smiled slightly, then looked at the two of them and warned, "However, there's nothing between us, so don't get the wrong idea!"

"Okay, okay, it's nothing. Let's go for a walk over there instead of going to town. I'm too lazy to walk around," Deng Hong suggested.

Xia Yao glanced in the direction of the restaurant and nodded: "Okay."

The college students had lunch together at Zhou Erwa Restaurant and were very satisfied with the meal, praising it highly. This news quickly spread among the workers eating at the restaurant.

This is something new; it's big news in a textile factory.

Tuesday's Wa restaurant is located at the factory gate, and the aroma of beef can be smelled on my way to and from get off work these past two days. However, most people give up the idea of ​​going there after hearing the price.

But the college students and professors from the city all said it was good, which made me want to give it a try.

The restaurant was busy until the textile factory was about to start its workday.

Zhou Yan tossed two small dough balls into an enamel basin beside him, shook his aching hands, and found that all the toppings and sauces in the basins had been sold out, exceeding the target of one hundred servings ahead of schedule. There were still many customers who wanted to eat noodles but hadn't been able to order them.

"These college students brought in a lot of customers at noon today, and we even sold 62 servings of braised beef with ribs." Zhao Tieying came in with a big smile, carrying a basin of earthenware bowls, her steps almost light.

"I reckon there will be quite a few customers tonight. I'll go buy meat and vegetables later, and add fifty servings of noodle sauce," Zhou Yan said with a smile. "These college students have really given us a huge advertisement."

"Mommy! Mom..."

"Mom, look! We caught an eel!"

Zhou Momo and Fanwa's voices came from outside.

"Heavens above, did you go play in the fields? You're covered in mud!" Zhao Hong's voice rang out. "Zhou Lihui! I'm telling you, if you see your aunt and Fanwa, take them to the fields for a bath!"

Zhou Yan and Zhao Tieying went outside to take a look.

Zhou Lihui and the two little ones were covered in mud, each holding an eel. Zhou Lifan's face was covered in mud, with only his eyes and teeth remaining white, making him look extremely comical.

“I’m really…” Zhao Hong picked up a feather duster from the side and walked towards her two sons.

"Fanwa, run!" Zhou Lihui threw down the eel in his hand, grabbed Zhou Lifan, and ran.

Zhao Hong chased after him, shouting, "Stop right there! I'm from the Shu Road..."

"Sister-in-law, Garlic Bird, Garlic Bird, remember to come back for dinner later." Zhou Yan couldn't help but laugh out loud. These two kids had a complete childhood.

Zhou Momo didn't run away. She held a large yellow eel tightly in her two little hands. It weighed about three ounces, and she even used her big toes to exert force. She proudly held it up and said, "Mommy! Potty! Look, a big yellow eel!"

Zhou Yan secretly glanced at Zhao Tieying. If she got too angry later, he might have to run away with Zhou Momo in his arms.

Instead of losing her temper, Zhao Tieying smiled, stepped forward, squatted down, and said, "Oh my, my little girl is so capable! You caught such a big eel. How about Mom makes you braised eel for dinner tonight?"

"Okay!" Zhou Momo nodded, overjoyed.

"Then stand here. I'll wash your feet clean before you come in. I'll also give you a bath and change your clothes." Zhao Tieying took the eel from her hand and walked into the shop with a smile.

"Why don't you teach her a lesson?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile.

“She was having so much fun, and even caught eels. Why bother scolding her?” Zhao Tieying brought out a basin of warm water and wrung out a towel as she said, “Your dad always gets covered in mud when he goes fishing, and he never catches any fish, but I’ve never scolded him.”

"The most important thing in life is to be happy."

Zhou Yan smiled too. It was great that he had a mother who didn't spoil the fun.

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(End of this chapter)