1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 3 will definitely work this time.
Zhou Yan moved to the pastry section, lifted the enamel basin, sprinkled a handful of flour on the table, took half a dough ball, pulled and tossed it at both ends, and the dough ball was stretched evenly. With a gentle shake, it naturally rolled into a twisted shape. He repeated this several times to coil the dough into a long strip of even thickness.

Once the dough is ready, grab both ends and start pulling hard. Stretch it to the limit of your arms, then fold it back and continue stretching. With each flick and pull, the long dough becomes a thin, round noodle.

This scene made Zhao Tieying and the other two's eyes light up.

Zhou Yan's technique was so skillful that the dough was turned up and down in his hands, and before you could even see it clearly, it had become long and thin noodles. The whole process was so smooth and easy that it was dazzling.

"Wow! Does your brother know magic tricks? He turned dough into noodles!" Zhou Momo's mouth was wide open in shock.

"Erwa's noodle-making skills are much better than Wang Laowu's. I didn't expect him to have such a hidden talent," Zhou Miao exclaimed. "He's truly my son."

"This skill is quite good. It seems you made a lot of ramen in the cafeteria before." Zhao Tieying nodded repeatedly, as noodles were the least her forte.

As he spoke, Zhou Yan had already finished stretching the noodles. The noodles were of uniform thickness and looked very plump and smooth. He was quite pleased with himself for being able to do this well for the first time.

Pinch off a small clump of dough at the end and drop the noodles directly into the boiling pot on the side.

As soon as the noodles were cooked, he lined up three large bowls and one small bowl on the stove to prepare the base.

Sichuan peppercorn powder, MSG, soy sauce, and a spoonful of chili oil.

Once the base sauce was prepared, the noodles floated to the surface in the boiling water.

A large bamboo strainer is used to scoop noodles into the pot, give them a couple of shakes, and then pour them into a bowl. A spoonful of freshly stir-fried beef and pepper sauce is then added on top, and a bowl of beef and pepper noodles is ready.

Zhou Yan had been starving for a long time, and now he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

Even by his standards, this double-pepper beef noodle soup was excellent; most noodle shops wouldn't bother with the time and effort to make handmade noodles.

There was no need for formalities among family. Zhou Miao and Zhou Yan each carried two bowls of noodles out of the kitchen and placed them on the table.

Zhou Momo ran after her as she went out. The little guy wasn't even as tall as the table. He tried to climb onto the long bench, but after struggling for a while, he couldn't get up. His two little braids were swaying back and forth, which made her very anxious.

Zhou Yan casually lifted her up and let her sit next to him.

Zhao Tieying picked up her chopsticks and stirred the noodles in the bowl. The white noodles immediately turned red with oil and were coated with meat sauce. The steaming aroma of the noodles, along with the fragrance of meat and spiciness, wafted into her nose, making it a feast for the eyes and the palate.

She couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, this looks so much better than what Wang Laowu made!"

"Try it," Zhou Yan said with a smile, his face showing anticipation.

Double pepper beef noodles are best eaten dry!
This pound of flour can make 1.2 pounds of noodles.

Zhou Momo is only three and a half years old, so only a small bowl was served to her, while the remaining three people had about four ounces of noodles in their bowls.

In those days, people didn't have much money, but they were capable of both working and cooking, so their families naturally wouldn't mistreat them.

"Suck it!"

Zhao Tieying picked up a mouthful of noodles with her chopsticks. The noodles were coated with sauce and meat sauce, glistening with oil. She put them in her mouth and slurped them down.

The spicy and savory flavors burst on the tongue first, with chewy noodles wrapped around crispy on the outside and tender on the inside ground beef, and then mixed with spicy millet peppers. The unique flavors of pickled peppers and pickled ginger add layers of flavor.

Delicious! It's absolutely delicious!

Her family ate plenty of beef, and she often kept the leftover scraps for themselves, but the beef she cooked was never as delicious as Zhou Yan's.

This sauce is not only delicious with noodles, but it would also be amazing with rice!
One bite after another, it's so delicious you can't stop eating it.

Although this noodle dish is dry-mixed, the sauce is very oily, making the noodles very moist and not dry at all. It's so delicious!

"This noodle is really good, even better than your cucumber salad." Zhao Tieying swallowed the noodles in her mouth and looked at Zhou Yan, saying, "If you turn it into a noodle shop, I'll support you. With this bowl of noodles, there's no one in our commune who can beat it. I guarantee it'll be a hit."

After the restaurant opened, people from the commune and the village made a lot of fun of Zhou Yan and his wife.

Zhao Tieying is a notorious woman in the surrounding area, known for her sharp tongue and fierce fists. When she was young, people nicknamed her "Iron Lady," but she has been putting up with it lately.

But while she's acceptable, Zhou Yan is not.

If anyone dares to speak ill of Zhou Yan to her face, she'll really tear that stinking mouth apart!
She knew Zhou Yan was under a lot of pressure and hadn't been in a good mood lately, so she was afraid he wouldn't be able to handle too much gossip.

Although she was distressed about the money, she was even more distressed about her son.

The couple could pay back the 800-odd yuan by saving money and working hard for a few years.

But which mother doesn't want her son to be successful and capable?

This bowl of noodles far exceeded her expectations, finally giving her hope that Zhou Yan could make a living this way.

After saying that, she lowered her head and took another big bite, trying to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'll try some too." Zhou Miao took a big bite after hearing this, and her eyes lit up immediately.

Zhou Miao loves noodles. He usually starts slaughtering cattle at midnight and finds a noodle stall to eat a bowl of noodles in the morning. He is a semi-expert when it comes to eating noodles.

The pork sauce commonly used for dry noodles is made from pork that is half lean and half fat, which already has some oil, so you don't need to use much oil when frying the sauce.

Noodles usually need to have alkaline water and salt added, which makes the noodles chewy, but some people can't get used to the taste of the alkaline water.

But Zhou Yan's noodles were different. Not only were they chewy and smooth, but they were also refreshing and delicious, without any strange taste. Moreover, when you chewed them carefully, you could taste the sweet aroma of flour. Most noodle shop owners wouldn't be willing to use such fine flour to make noodles.

The broth was seasoned just right, with a perfect balance of saltiness. Of course, the best part was the spicy and savory beef topping with chopped chili peppers. It was spicy, fragrant, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and it absorbed the broth beautifully. It blended perfectly with the noodles with just a quick stir, and the meat chunks would stick to the noodles when you picked them up.

In many noodle shops, the meat sauce and noodles are served separately, and you can only taste the combination of noodles and meat sauce in the last few bites.

This bowl of noodles is definitely the most delicious mixed noodles he has ever eaten!
Zhou Miao ate a few bites and nodded in praise, "Erwa, your noodles are so delicious. If I ever come to a market again, I'll come here for a bowl of double-pepper beef noodles."

"Isn't that what should be done?" Zhou Yan chuckled.

[+1 point of recognition from a customer]

[+1 point of recognition from a customer]

Two lines of prompts flashed across his eyes.

It seems the system only recognizes diners and doesn't care whether they are family or not; that's incredibly user-friendly.

Seeing that her parents had already started eating, Zhou Momo was still holding her chopsticks and mixing her own noodles, which made her very anxious.

Zhou Yan simply helped her mix it. Zhou Momo smiled and took it, "Thank you, brother!" Then she couldn't wait to shovel two noodles into her mouth, her little eyes instantly lighting up.

He didn't have time to say anything, he buried his head and started slurping away frantically!
It's so delicious!
It's fragrant and spicy, with small pieces of meat clinging to the noodles, and it smells delicious!
She loves noodles!

From now on, I'll love Guo Guo's noodles the most!

[+1 point of recognition from a customer]

Zhou Yan looked down at Zhou Momo, who was happily eating and swinging her short legs, and her smile grew even brighter.

My sister is so cute!
Zhou Yan lowered his head and started eating his noodles. If anyone at the table knew the most about noodles, it was definitely him.

He has tried all kinds of mixed noodles, and he prefers the ones with the strangest names. Double pepper beef mixed noodles are a common one, and one that he eats quite often.

This is the first time I've ever eaten homemade noodles; I've only ever made instant noodles before.

When eating noodles, noodles are the most important ingredient.

If the noodles aren't good, even the best sauce will be useless.

In most parts of Sichuan, people eat alkaline noodles, which have a unique flavor that he can accept. However, his roommate from Shanxi scoffed at the idea, believing that adding ingredients to noodles was heresy and that truly skilled noodle makers only add water.

The ramen he made today only had water added; the key to its consistency was the kneading technique.

These noodles don't taste like alkaline water, but they're just as chewy and smooth, and they hold the sauce and meat sauce perfectly. They won't slip when you pick them up, and one bite is so satisfying!
Of course, the double-pepper beef is the real must-try!
The beef is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, spicy and fragrant, and it has absorbed the unique flavors of pickled peppers and pickled ginger. It is oily and fragrant, and it is more delicious than any double-pepper minced beef he has ever eaten before!

Let alone the resource-scarce 1984, even in 2025, Zhou Yan would definitely release a video praising this double-pepper beef noodle dish!

good to eat!

The ultimate in mixed noodles!

Zhou Yan silently wrote a 500-word positive review in his mind, but after waiting for a while, he still didn't receive a system notification.

Sigh, what a waste of time. It seems the system didn't treat him like a guest. Maybe it didn't even treat him like a person.

After finishing this bowl of hot and spicy noodles, the family of four satisfied their cravings and calmed their hungry stomachs. They ate until they were covered in sweat, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

After finishing her noodles, Zhao Tieying took the bowls to the kitchen to wash them.

Zhou Yan didn't rush to do the dishes. Instead, he made his father a cup of covered tea and sat down opposite him. "Dad, there's something I'd like to ask you."

Zhou Miao picked up his teacup and took a sip. Hearing this, he put down the teacup, glanced in the direction of the kitchen, and then whispered, "Out of money again?" As he spoke, he started reaching into his pocket.

"It's not about the money. I'm planning to sell noodles for a while, but not just this one dish. I also plan to sell braised beef noodles and braised pork rib noodles. Those two are soup noodles, so I need to make bone broth. Also, I'll be using more beef in the future, so I'd like to order some meat from you and Grandpa," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

He knew that Zhou Miao had secretly given him money before, a few yuan each time. Although it wasn't much, it was a huge risk for a henpecked husband.

"How much beef and beef bones do you use every day?" Zhou Miao asked.

Zhou Yan thought for a moment and said, "When we start selling, we plan to prepare enough ingredients for thirty bowls a day. We need one pound of hanging tenderloin, one pound of beef brisket, one pound of spare ribs, and ten pounds of beef bones."

“Beef bones aren’t worth much, but sixty bowls of noodles for six catties of meat? You’re investing way too much capital!” Zhou Miao asked in surprise. “How much do you plan to sell it for? Can you even make a profit?”

“The cost of meat is 2 yuan per jin, so 3 jin would cost 6 yuan; flour is 0.17 yuan per jin, and one jin of flour can make 1.2 jin of noodles. One bowl of noodles uses 3 liang of noodles, so it requires 7.5 jin of flour, which is 1.3 yuan. In addition, we need to calculate the cost of oil, side dishes, spices, and wood. I roughly estimated that 2 yuan would be more than enough. The total cost is 9.3 yuan.” Zhou Yan said unhurriedly, “I plan to sell it for 0.6 yuan a bowl. If I sell 30 bowls, I will have 18 yuan in income. After deducting the cost, I can make 8.7 yuan. If I sell more later, I will make even more.”

After listening, Zhou Miao carefully considered it in his mind for a while. Although he hadn't read many books, he had been slaughtering cattle and selling meat for many years, so he could still keep track of the accounts.

Currently, beef can be bought for 1.2 yuan per jin (0.5 catties) with meat coupons, but coupons are hard to come by. You might be able to get brisket with a bit of luck, but don't even think about getting shank beef with coupons. Meanwhile, the price of beef sold in the market has doubled, starting at 2.5 yuan per jin. Ribs are in a similar situation, and you need to have someone you know to hold them for you to buy them.

Even he would have to think twice before ordering a bowl of noodles that costs six cents. A bowl of bone broth noodles at an outside noodle stall only costs three cents, so this is twice the price.

However, the noodles at the noodle stall weren't as good as Zhou Yan's, and the meat was pitifully scarce, with barely any minced meat to be found. Zhou Yan, on the other hand, planned to include only one ounce of meat per bowl of noodles. Customers who had tried Zhou Yan's noodles would definitely be willing to pay extra.

"You've calculated everything perfectly." Zhou Miao smiled with satisfaction and said, "You don't need to ask your uncle for two catties of beef. I'll save it for you. When I go back later, I'll go to Zhang Laosan at the bridgehead and tell him to save you a catty of spare ribs every day. You can pick it up when you get the beef."

“Okay!” Zhou Yan smiled broadly. This was a family connection. He added, “Dad, it’s settled then. I bought this beef from you, so you have to take the money.”

"It's just a few pounds of beef, for the two of us..."

“No, then I’ll buy it from another store.” Zhou Yan’s expression was resolute. If his dad sent him two pounds of beef a day, he would not only work for nothing but also have to pay out of pocket every month.

Once he secured the beef supply, he felt more at ease.

Zhou Yan has been a food blogger for three years and has been preparing to open a restaurant for a year. Opening a restaurant is the thing he is most comfortable doing right now.

The most troublesome thing about starting a business is earning your first pot of gold; going from 0 to 1 is much harder than going from 1 to 10.

Xiao Zhou used his skills to lend him his first pot of gold and also left him with stable suppliers, which was much better than starting from scratch.

“Then I’ll just take the cost. There’s no reason for an old man to make money off his son.” Zhou Miao took his hand out of his pocket, stuffed a few crumpled one-yuan bills into Zhou Yan’s hand, and said in a low voice, “Don’t let your mother know.”

“Dad…” Zhou Yan looked at the money in his hand, his heart pounding. Every penny he earned in his previous life was hard-earned, and he had never experienced being given money like this before.

"Brother, I have money too! I'll give you all of it." Zhou Momo came closer, rummaged in her pocket for a while, and pulled out a crumpled five-cent coin, which she solemnly handed to Zhou Yan: "I want to eat noodles again next time!"

"Okay." Zhou Yan smiled, took the money, and reached out to ruffle her hair.

After cleaning up the kitchen, Zhao Tieying came out with the remaining half-bowl of beef sauce in her hand. "Zhou Yan, where do you put this bowl of sauce?"

“Momo loves it, take some back for her to mix with rice. I’ll make a new sauce tomorrow morning,” Zhou Yan said.

“What a delicious topping!” Zhao Tieying said hesitantly.

"Great! Great!" Zhou Momo jumped up and down happily. She really loved this beef.

Zhao Tieying smiled and patted her head: "Okay, I'll put it back for you, you little glutton."

Handing the basket of meat sauce to Zhou Miao, Zhao Tieying took out a folded handkerchief from her inner pocket, unfolded it to reveal a stack of banknotes, and stuffed it into Zhou Yan's hand.

"Mom, what's wrong with you..." Zhou Yan was stunned for a moment.

“This is what your dad and I saved last month, thirteen yuan and forty cents in total. You can take it for the shop’s expenses.” Zhao Tieying held the handkerchief, looking at him with a relieved smile: “Mom believes you can definitely do it this time!”

(End of this chapter)