1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 301 Sanshui, have you been hiding money from the public? (6.2k words, combined into one)

Zhou Yan, who had just brought out the water for washing his face, raised an eyebrow. Goodness, Zhou Momo was really going all out right in front of him, her innocent and cute demeanor radiating sarcasm.

Aunt Zhao looked at her with a hint of pride in her eyes, but still gritted her teeth and said, "Zhou Momo, wash your face!"

Zhou Momo stopped laughing and hugged Aunt Zhao's leg: "Mommy, please love me one more time~~"

Zhou Yan turned around and then heard the sound of piglets being slaughtered behind him. He laughed loudly.

Xia Yao and Meng Anhe came for breakfast and saw Zhou Momo sitting by the door with rosy cheeks. Before they could even speak, the little one had already rushed into their arms, sobbing and whimpering, "Sister Yao Yao, you're here~~"

"What's wrong, Momo?" Xia Yao bent down and hugged her, asking with a smile.

"Mommy washed my face and rubbed it until it was all red," the little one complained, pouting.

"So rosy and cute." Xia Yao reached out and pinched her chubby little face, which looked like a little apple.

When you say she's cute, the little one smiles again.

"Hmm, your braids look great today, but it's getting cold and the air is dry, so you should apply some face oil." Meng Anhe opened her bag, took out a small jar of Pechoin face oil, and used her fingertip to dab a little on Zhou Momo's cheeks and nose.

The little one's nostrils twitched, and his eyes sparkled: "It smells so good! Auntie, will you put some lotion on me? You're so gentle~~"

"Yes." Meng Anhe's fingers were long and slender, and her skin was very well-maintained. She gently spread the face oil evenly along Zhou Momo's cheek with her fingertips.

"Mom, you don't usually apply face oil to us like this," Lin Jingxing said after watching for a while.

“Exactly, every time you rub my face until it’s almost deformed.” Lin Bingwen nodded in agreement.

"Shut up!" Meng Anhe glared at them. "Go inside and sit down to eat some steamed buns."

The two brothers immediately fell silent and followed Lin Zhiqiang inside, sitting obediently.

"Come on, have some steamed buns, freshly steamed hot buns," Aunt Zhao said with a smile as she brought them the buns.

"Thank you, godmother!" the two little ones said happily immediately, and started eating the steamed buns.

Zhou Yan smiled. Sure enough, when you're little, it's always better to have someone else's mother.

Xia Yao walked into the shop, greeted Aunt Zhao, and said to Zhou Yan, "I want to eat braised pork rib noodles today."

"Sure, I'll make it for you." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile, then looked at Lin Zhiqiang beside her, "Uncle Lin, what about you? Steamed buns or noodles today?"

"I'll have noodles too, three liang of braised beef noodles, I want soup noodles today," Lin Zhiqiang said with a smile.

“Okay.” Zhou Yan nodded and looked at Meng Anhe, who had just finished applying face oil to Zhou Momo.

Meng Anhe smiled and said, "I'm having steamed buns today. Old Lin said your new steamed buns are delicious, and I want to try them."

"Anhe, this pork bun will definitely suit your taste. You should also try this beef bun. It's red oil, but not too spicy or oily." Aunt Zhao had already put two buns on her plate and brought them over, smiling as she said, "You eat first. Tell me later which flavor of bun you want. Buns taste better when they're hot."

"Okay, thank you, Sister Ying." Meng Anhe nodded with a smile, picked up a meat bun, blew on it, took a bite, and her eyes lit up immediately.

These meat buns, filled with scallions and fresh pork, are bursting with juice. With each bite, the sweet and savory pork juice and tender filling, wrapped in a soft and sweet dough, explode in your mouth, creating an absolutely wonderful flavor.

These steamed buns reminded her of the steamed bun shop at the entrance of the alley of her old house in Hangzhou, which had been open for decades. Their fresh pork steamed buns tasted just like the fresh pork buns Zhou Yan made.

When she was in elementary school, her father would give her a dime every morning to buy a basket of steamed buns before she went to school.

The owner was a smiling old man who would always give her an extra small steamed bun. Later, her father even wrote a plaque for him.

I've been eating this for years, and it seems like I never get tired of it.

Later, the owner passed away, and his son and daughter-in-law took over the steamed bun shop.

She went to eat there a few times, but it never tasted the same as when she was a child.

She used to think that she had grown up and eaten too many delicious things, so she no longer thought that xiaolongbao was the most delicious thing.

But after tasting the fresh meat bun made by Zhou Yan, she finally understood.

Her taste hasn't actually changed; what has changed is the skill of the steamed bun shop.

It's a real shame that the flavor didn't survive after the old man passed away.

"Anhe? What's wrong?" Lin Zhiqiang asked softly, looking at Meng Anhe whose eyes were slightly moist.

"Oh, it's nothing. Eating Zhou Yan's pork buns reminded me of the bun shop at the alley entrance from before," Meng Anhe said with a smile, a hint of nostalgia in her expression. "It's been so long since I've had such delicious pork buns. It's quite a surprise and a delight."

As he spoke, he took another big bite.

Suddenly I feel a bit homesick.

"Are you going to Hangzhou for a meeting next month?" Meng Anhe asked Lin Zhiqiang.

"Yes, the date has been set for the middle of next month," Lin Zhiqiang nodded.

“Then I’ll go home next month. I was going to cancel a seminar on the emergency repair of gardens in Suzhou in the middle of the month, but I suddenly feel like going back to see my parents.”

"Okay, let's go home together then." Lin Zhiqiang nodded with a smile.

After finishing a pork bun, Meng Anhe picked up a beef bun, took a bite, and then handed it to Lin Zhiqiang: "You eat this. I think it's a bit spicy. I want another pork bun."

"Okay..." Lin Zhiqiang was forced to eat an extra beef bun.

Nowadays, the first group of customers in the morning at the restaurant are mostly primary school students and parents dropping off their children, and this trend is spreading to junior high school students.

The steamed buns quickly gained popularity, and Zhou Yan added another hundred today.

Among them, the pork bun has risen to become the most popular bun.

Compared to the uniquely flavored pickled mustard greens and pork buns and the spicy beef buns, children prefer the fresh and delicious pork buns, which is also the choice of many female workers.

Zhao Hong and Li Lihua have now become the main force in making steamed buns. They make steamed buns quickly and well. Zhou Yan only needs to knead the dough and prepare and stir-fry the meat filling. He doesn't need to worry about making steamed buns much anymore.

As the morning business was drawing to a close, the two or three workers in the shop quickly finished their noodles and rushed to the factory gate before the work bell rang.

Zhou Yan came out of the kitchen, stretched at the restaurant entrance, and saw a short, stout figure riding a bicycle and looking around.

"Lu Chuan!" Zhou Yan greeted him with a smile.

"Zhou Yan!" Lu Chuan rode over on his bike, stopped in front of the restaurant, looked up at the signboard, and then glanced inside. "Not bad, kid! This restaurant looks pretty big!"

"It's alright, about ten tables," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"Here, your insulated food containers." Lu Chuan parked the car, took the insulated food containers out of the car pocket and handed them to Zhou Yan, then took out an invitation from his bag and handed it to Zhou Yan: "Here's the invitation. You have to come early on the 8th of next month to be my best man and pick up the bride. This is settled, okay?"

"Okay." Zhou Yan took the invitation and glanced at it; that would be in about half a month.

"It's being held in Jiaozhou? Not a banquet?" Zhou Yan noticed the location: Wanxiu Restaurant.

"It's convenient to have a banquet at this restaurant. It's a joint venture between my master's friend and others. It's located in Jiaozhou City, not far from our home. The environment is quite nice, and they even set up a small stage. Everything is pretty good." Lu Chuan said with a smile, "You know, it's not easy to hold a banquet in the city. Our house in the countryside has been empty for three or four years. It's covered in weeds and dust. My mom and dad work in the factory every day. They don't have time to go back and clean it up."

“That’s true, you’re from a working-class family, now you’re a city dweller,” Zhou Yan teased.

"Get lost!" Lu Chuan waved his hand, said goodbye to Aunt Zhao and the others, and pushed his cart away. "Then you go ahead and do your work. I'll continue delivering invitations. Su Ji still has quite a few classmates. When we all get together, we can have a good chat."

"Alright, take care." Zhou Yan waved his hand; he still had to prepare the braised dishes and didn't have time to entertain Lu Chuan.

This kid is the class's social butterfly; I reckon a lot of classmates will come.

He's not doing well anymore; he can only remember a handful of names now.

This was his first time being a best man. Eating at a restaurant was great; he didn't have to cook, and being a best man meant he could enjoy a meal in peace.

“Look, Lu Chuan is getting married soon, you should hurry up.” Aunt Zhao took the invitation from his hand and looked at Zhou Yan earnestly, saying, “Age is not a problem, you can get on the bus first and buy the ticket later.”

"I'm going to braise some meat." Zhou Yan didn't reply and turned to walk towards the kitchen.

The situations are different, so they can't be confused. Xia Yao might be going to work in Hong Kong after graduation, so what kind of transportation would she be taking?
Lu Chuan did indeed get on the bus first; Chen Rong is already pregnant.

Now he's both a groom and a father, he's definitely a winner in life.

He's not in a hurry; he'll postpone the stage of marriage and having children for later.

Asking a twenty-year-old to take care of a child is truly a nightmare.

There's a baby at home too.

When Zhou Momo grows up a bit more, around six or seven years old, she'll be a ready-made Dehua.

Thinking about all this, Zhou Yan found it somewhat amusing.

Just as Zhou Yan was about to go find Zhou Jie after the business closed at noon, Zhou Jie himself came to the door.

"Finished with work?" Zhou Jie parked his car at the door, smiled as he came in, and greeted Aunt Zhao and the others.

"I just finished up and was just about to come and ask you about selling the tables." Zhou Yan took off her apron and hung it on a nail behind the counter.

Zhou Jie laughed and said, "Come on, I'll take you to see it in person. I spoke to him a couple of days ago and asked him to reserve the best tables for you. If you're interested, I'll have him bring them down for you by tractor."

“Okay, let’s go take a look.” Zhou Yan nodded.

"Go ahead, we won't take a nap this afternoon, let's clean up the dust first," Aunt Zhao said to Zhou Yan.

"Okay." Zhou Yan went upstairs to change into his chef's uniform, then rode his bike with Zhou Jie to Jiaozhou.

On the way, Zhou Jie introduced to Zhou Yan: "This friend is my elementary school classmate, named Liu Huaqiang. He does some small construction work in the city now, and sometimes he helps to dispose of old furniture and old items. He has a warehouse on the outskirts of the city, which is full of things. My tables are from there. The items are not bad, and the price is more than half the price of new ones."

"That's good. If we can find some decent tables and chairs, it's more cost-effective than buying new ones, since we'll only be using them for a short time anyway." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.

Save where you should and spend where you should; that's how you accumulate money.

These tables and chairs will only last until the opening of the new Jiaozhou store, at which point they'll be sold off. He'll definitely need to have new tables and chairs custom-made for the new Jiaozhou hotel.

"How are your steamed buns selling lately?" Zhou Jie asked again.

"It's not bad. We can sell five or six hundred in the morning now, and it even brings customers to the restaurant." Zhou Yan asked with a smile, "How's your 'Qiaojiao Beef' doing lately?"

"Business is booming. We sold 83 bowls at noon today, and we estimate we can sell more than 130 bowls today." Zhou Jie grinned. "The recipe you taught us is excellent! Customers all say it's good, and we have a lot of repeat customers. Many customers come to eat a bowl every week."

"That's good."

"By the way, starting tomorrow, I'll order two more pounds of braised pig's head meat. It's been selling really well lately, and we're getting more repeat customers."

"Okay, I'll get it ready for you."

The two chatted along the way and soon arrived at a courtyard outside Jiaozhou City.

It was called a warehouse, but it was really just a farmhouse courtyard that had been converted into a shed. As soon as we stopped at the entrance, we heard a dog barking inside, which sounded like a large dog.

Zhou Jie stepped forward, knocked on the door, and called out, "Qiangzi! Greet the guests!"

"They're here!" The door opened quickly, and a tall, thin man came out, followed by a small mixed-breed dog whose tail was wagging like an electric fan.

Hmm, it's not quite what Zhou Yan expected.

"Brother Jie." Liu Huaqiang greeted Zhou Jie with a smile, then looked at Zhou Yan and said with a smile, "This must be the little brother you were talking about, right? He's quite handsome! Hello, my name is Liu Huaqiang, you can just call me Qiangzi."

"Brother Qiang, my name is Zhou Yan." Zhou Yan shook hands with him, smiled, and offered him a cigarette.

“Your younger brother knows how to handle things. Come on, let me show you the table.” Liu Huaqiang led the two men into the yard. As soon as they entered, a large wolfhound weighing nearly 100 pounds lay beside them, with a large iron chain around its neck. Its eyes were fixed on Zhou Yan and Zhou Jie, and it was growling.

"Shut up!" Liu Huaqiang cursed.

The dog immediately lay down obediently and buried its head to continue gnawing on a large, bald bone.

There were quite a few things in the yard: wardrobes, tables, chairs, wooden sofas... all neatly arranged and categorized, like a secondhand furniture market.

"I have everything here. Besides the table, if you need anything else at home, you can find it here. We're like brothers, so I'll give you the purchase price plus some gas and labor costs," Liu Huaqiang said with a smile as he led Zhou Yan inside.

"Okay, thank you, Brother Qiang," Zhou Yan replied, glancing at the wardrobe beside him.

He didn't lack anything, but Aunt Zhao and the others' room was missing a wardrobe. Their clothes looked messy no matter where they were piled up. A wardrobe would make things much more convenient.

After looking around, I chose a simple solid wood wardrobe. It looked quite new and wasn't too big.

Liu Huaqiang glanced at it and said with a smile, "I'll give you this wardrobe for twenty-six yuan. I got it from the teachers' dormitory at No. 1 Middle School. That teacher was from the capital and was transferred back. He couldn't take the wardrobe with him, so he sold it to me. Carrying it down from the third floor was exhausting."

“Okay, I’ll take it.” Zhou Yan nodded. The product was of clear origin and the price was cheap; Liu Huaqiang had indeed given him a discount.

There were many eight-immortal tables piled up in the corner, some in good condition and some in bad condition.

"These are the ones I reserved for you. Two groups of customers came and wanted them, but I didn't sell them to them. Your brother said you have requirements for the condition. Take a look and see if you want them." Liu Huaqiang introduced to Zhou Yan: "These tables were from a factory that moved to Chengdu. I went and picked them up. They are generally in relatively new condition. A few have some scratches and cracks. If you care, you can call a carpenter to fix them for you. It won't cost much."

Zhou Yan took a look. There were twelve tables in total, and they were indeed in good condition. One table had a black burn mark on its tabletop, so he ruled it out. The others were perfectly usable and were the same size as the Eight Immortals Tables in the store.

"Brother Qiang, how much is a set of these eight-immortal tables and long benches?" Zhou Yan asked him.

"I'll give you a set for twenty yuan, and I'll pack it up and deliver it to the store for you." Liu Huaqiang looked at him and said, "Let me tell you something, I bought these tables for twelve yuan each, good and bad. I might even lose money on the ones in bad condition, so I didn't make much money off you on these few."

“Okay, I’ll take all eleven except this one, and the cabinet too. Please deliver them to the store later.” Zhou Yan nodded. “I don’t have any money on me. I’ll give you the money when we get to the store.”

"Great! I'll load it into the car for you right now." Liu Huaqiang laughed and said to Zhou Jie, "Brother Jie, give me a hand. Didn't you ask me to find you a coffee table last time? I got you a mahogany one, it's really nice. Take it back with you later."

"Redwood? How much does it cost?" Zhou Jie asked as he helped carry the table.

"You want the hammer's worth? I'll give it to you for free." Liu Huaqiang scoffed.

"Alright! You've got a conscience, kid." Zhou Jie grinned.

Zhou Yan helped move the long bench. It was quite heavy, and the items were very sturdy. Things from this era can get old and worn, but they are not easy to break.

Liu Huaqiang had a tractor. Tables and benches were stacked on top of each other, filling the entire tractor. Finally, a wardrobe was placed on top, and the rope was wrapped and tied up.

Liu Huaqiang, panting heavily, waved his hand and said, "Okay, you guys go first. I need to catch my breath. I know the textile factory; I'll deliver it to you."

"Qiangzi, you're too weak. You should be more restrained with your sister-in-law." Zhou Jie reached out and patted Liu Huaqiang on the shoulder.

"climb!"

Just as Zhou Yan and his group arrived at the store, Liu Huaqiang arrived in his tractor.

The shop next door has already been cleaned up; the dust on the floor has been swept and mopped again, and the walls and ceiling have been swept clean.

The walls are well-preserved, with a few black spots on the white wall, but they are not a big deal and there is no need to paint another coat of whitewash.

"You're buying a wardrobe too?" Aunt Zhao's eyes lit up when she saw the wardrobe strapped to the car.

"Yes, I bought it for you. I noticed you needed a wardrobe in your room." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.

"Tsk, wasting money again." Aunt Zhao tiptoed to take a look, a smile appearing on her face: "This wardrobe is quite new, and the style looks nice too. It's so big, it can hold a lot of clothes."

The ropes were untied, and the wardrobe was carefully lifted down.

Aunt Zhao circled around several times, her smile growing brighter and her eyes shining.

See? Before walk-in closets became popular, a large wardrobe was something no woman could resist.

"How much money?" Aunt Zhao walked over and asked Zhou Yan in a low voice.

"Twenty-six," Zhou Yan said with a smile. "It used to be used by a teacher from No. 1 Middle School. He was transferred back to the capital, so he sold the cabinet. I bought it because it looked quite new."

"Your child has a good eye; she made a good deal." Aunt Zhao nodded repeatedly.

The tables and benches were unloaded from the car and placed in the empty shop next door.

The wardrobe was carried up to the second floor and placed in Aunt Zhao's room. The bare room suddenly felt like a bedroom.

Aunt Zhao opened the wardrobe doors one by one, looked at the empty spaces and horizontal bars inside, and smiled so much that wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes. She stood in front of the wardrobe with great satisfaction: "Oh my, An Yi is so lucky. I didn't even have a wardrobe made when I got married, but my son bought me one."

Zhou Yan couldn't help but smile as he watched this scene.

A secondhand wardrobe that cost 26 yuan made his mother so happy.

Old Zhou stood to the side with his hands in his pockets and mumbled, "I should have bought it for you sooner."

"All the money is with me, how are you going to buy it for me? Sanshui, are you hiding some money from me?"

"No..."

Zhou Yan turned around and left to pay the bill.

"Okay, contact me next time you need anything." Liu Huaqiang took the money and drove off in his tractor.

Zhou Jie drank two glasses of water and then rode his bike back home.

Zhou Yan took a measuring tape and two pieces of charcoal to the next room to take measurements for a while, and then used the charcoal to draw two doorways.

The two doorways connect the two shops, making it convenient for customers to come and go, and also making it easier to plan the flow of food serving.

Now there are thirty tables in total, fifteen on each side, which makes the space much more spacious.

Twenty tables were enough to keep us incredibly busy; if we added ten more, the restaurant would definitely be overwhelmed. Hiring staff is now a pressing issue.

Zhou Yan agreed to attend the training class tomorrow. Besides the system mission and his deep affection for his master, another important reason was that he wanted to try his luck at the training class to see if he could recruit one or two chefs to work in his restaurant.

The family-run restaurant has reached its limit; going it alone has its limitations. Now he needs to start building his own team of chefs.

To reduce the burden on myself, while at the same time improving the efficiency of food preparation and the quality of dishes as much as possible.

Before the new Jiaozhou Hotel is built, he needs a mature and stable team of chefs, rather than waiting until the hotel is built and then slowly recruiting and training them.

Rather than poaching established masters with high salaries, Zhou Yan would prefer to recruit young chefs who are talented, energetic, and hardworking, rather than those who come to instruct him.

Training courses are a good place to explore in depth.

In terms of salary, he still has some advantages.

Young chefs generally don't earn high wages; sixty or seventy is considered pretty good.

After returning from his evening run, Zhou Yan checked the menu again for tomorrow's apprenticeship banquet, making sure the quantities of ingredients were correct before putting the list away.

He took out the lesson plan again and rehearsed it in front of the mirror.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but when I gave my lecture tonight, I felt quite different. I seemed more mature and composed, and my lectures were more persuasive.

The next morning, Zhou Yan got up early again and went back to the village to buy beef. He had already told Zhang Laosan yesterday that he would deliver the pig's head and pork to the shop early this morning.

Before dawn, the meat was already braised in the pot.

At eight o'clock, Aunt Zhao and the others got up, washed up, made a simple egg pancake for breakfast, packed up the braised meat and vegetables that had been soaking for a while, and went out.

"Brother, does Sister Yaoyao want to go to the city for fun?" Zhou Momo asked, sitting on the front bar and looking back at Zhou Yan.

“Let’s go pick her up now.” Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.

Xia Yao is very interested in the inheritance of Emei martial arts. When she heard while running yesterday that Zhou Ming was going to formally become his disciple today, her eyes lit up.

Zhou Yan simply invited her to go and see the scene together.

Today he's the chef, and with one more person, he can still make decisions, after all, he's a volunteer worker who doesn't get paid.

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(End of this chapter)