1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 304 No, who is this celestial being? (Bonus chapter for 1585 monthly votes)

The host and guests were all very satisfied with the apprenticeship banquet.

The two tables were served another round of braised meat, and most of those who drank were drunk and had to be helped away by their younger relatives.

Zhou Han, who was sitting at the main table, was completely drunk and had to be helped to a guest room to rest. Ma Jinhua pinched his waist, feeling both angry and amused.

Zhou Weiguo had a much higher alcohol tolerance than Zhou Han. He also drank half a jin of baijiu, but he was only slightly tipsy and not very drunk.

Song Changhe had drunk a bit too much today, but he wasn't drunk. He held Zhou Yan's hand and said happily, "Zhou Yan, you did a great job organizing this banquet! It was excellent! Thanks to you, you made the event a success."

"You're too kind, sir. Ming-ge has become your apprentice, so it's my duty as his younger brother to help him out." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile and added, "I made three extra bowls of braised pork belly for you. They're on the stove in the kitchen. It's been cold lately, so steam them for fifteen minutes before you eat them. They should last you two or three days."

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness." Song Changhe looked at him and said with emotion, "Your Zhou family is so kind and respectful to your brothers. It's good, very good."

"Master, have a cup of tea, it will make you feel better." Zhou Ming brought over the tea.

"Okay." Song Changhe accepted the tea with satisfaction.

Zhou Yan glanced at his watch and said, "Mr. Song, Brother Ming, I'm going to Leming Hotel this afternoon to give a lesson to the young chefs in the training class. I need to go there now to prepare, so I'll be going now."

"Are you going to become a teacher?" Song Changhe asked with a smile.

Everyone turned to look when they heard the sound, some surprised and some delighted.

"I'm just sharing my experience; I'm not really a teacher yet," Zhou Yan said with a smile, waving her hand.

"We'll only invite you to give lectures and share your knowledge if you're qualified enough," Song Changhe said with a smile. "Alright, then hurry up and go, don't let it interfere with important business."

“Yes, we’ll finish up here.” Zhou Ming nodded in agreement.

After greeting everyone, Zhou Yan went to Xia Yao, who was chatting with Song Wanqing, and said gently, "Xia Yao, I'm going to the Leming Training Base. Do you want to stay here with Teacher Song and Grandma, or come with me to the training base? The training courses might be a bit boring for you."

“If it’s convenient, I’d like to attend your class,” Xia Yao replied, looking at him with a natural and confident demeanor, without the slightest hint of awkwardness.

Zhou Yan smiled and nodded: "Of course, no problem. Let's go then. I need to go talk to my grandmaster and grandmaster uncle about how to teach this class."

"Okay." Xia Yao smiled and took Song Wanqing's hand, saying, "Sister Wanqing, I'll be going now. Let's go shopping together next time."

“Okay, I’ll take you to eat something delicious. There are so many good things to eat in Jiaozhou.” Song Wanqing nodded with a smile, then looked at Zhou Yan: “Zhou Yan, bring Yao Yao up next weekend, okay? I’ll take you guys out to play.”

"Okay." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. He didn't have any plans for next weekend, so nodding was enough to signify it, and he could postpone other things.

"Teacher Song~~ What about me? What about me? Can I come?" Zhou Momo came closer, her eyes full of anticipation.

"Of course! Momo, of course you have to come. I have lots of delicious food to take you to eat." Song Wanqing smiled and patted her head. "Why don't you go with your brother? I'll take you to eat something delicious later."

"Really?!" Zhou Momo immediately hugged Song Wanqing's leg. "Teacher Song, I'll go with you!"

"Good boy." Song Wanqing bent down and picked up the little guy. He was so small and soft, so cute.

Zhou Yan then told his mother and the old lady that he had given the house keys to Aunt Zhao that morning and asked her to take his grandmother to see the house. Then he left with Xia Yao.

"How was your experience witnessing the apprenticeship?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile as he rode his bike through the streets and alleys, slowly along the riverside road.

"I find it very interesting. If you hadn't brought me here, I probably would have had a hard time getting involved in things like martial arts inheritance, which is full of ritual."

"The era that Mr. Song recounted also captivated me. It wasn't quite like the martial arts world depicted in wuxia novels, but it had the same sense of chivalry and vengeance, the same passionate spirit, but it was also full of regrets," Xia Yao said, her expression tinged with emotion.

Zhou Yan was silent for a while after hearing this, then sighed and said, "Old Master Song's life was full of legendary stories, but when his six fellow disciples went down the mountain and left Sichuan together, he was the only one who returned to Mount Emei with his fellow disciples' belongings. This must be his biggest regret."

The two were silent for a while.

"Are all the chefs in the training class young chefs you don't know?" Xia Yao changed the subject and asked in a relaxed tone.

Zhou Yan nodded: "It should be. The students in the training class are outstanding young chefs selected from canteens and state-run restaurants in various units within Jiaozhou. They receive systematic training and guidance to improve their culinary skills and kitchen management abilities, transforming them into head chefs who can work independently."

This wasn't something he made up on the spot; he saw it written in the introduction section of the training base when he visited it last time.

Xia Yao breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

"What, are you worried that they're all my senior uncles and fellow disciples? Afraid of awkwardness?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile.

"No way..." Xia Yao pursed her lips; she just felt something was a little strange.

I met many of Zhou Yan's relatives at noon, and in the afternoon I met many of his uncles, aunts, and fellow disciples.

At once……

She didn't know how to describe the feeling.

But she was quite happy when Zhou Yan introduced herself to them in a generous manner.

Although they were introduced as friends.

"So how are you going to introduce me later?" Xia Yao asked softly, her face already turning red as she spoke.

Zhou Yan thought about it carefully for a while and said, "This afternoon I'll be the teacher, so I'll say you're my assistant. Doesn't that make sense?"

Xia Yao's mouth opened slightly, she paused for a moment, then nodded: "Right..."

"Okay, it's settled then." Zhou Yan was quite satisfied.

[Ding! Main Quest Issued: Limited-Time Chef Recruitment! Your restaurant is about to expand, and there's a severe shortage of kitchen staff! Please recruit chefs as soon as possible to improve food preparation efficiency and enhance the dining experience for your customers!] [Limited-Time Quest: Recruit one chef within 72 hours.]

[Reward: Unknown! Accept: Yes/No]

At that moment, a familiar notification sound rang in Zhou Yan's mind.

Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow; this was the first time he'd encountered a timed task.

Unexpectedly, even the system felt that he was too busy and needed to hire more people.

Without hesitation, I decisively chose to accept.

It seems I really need to find a suitable candidate to recruit a chef for the restaurant when I go to class today.

Three days is a bit tight.

Nowadays, legitimate chefs either go out and start their own businesses or hold secure jobs in company canteens and restaurants.

Recruiting a suitable chef will probably not be so easy.

Xiao Lei and Zheng Qiang had just arrived at the gate of the Leming Chef Training Base and pushed their bicycles through the gate.

"Shitou, Zheng Qiang." Kong Guodong and Kong Liwei came out to greet them, then looked back with some surprise: "Where's Zhou Yan? Why didn't he come with you?"

Kong Liwei even went to the main gate to take a look, then turned around and said, "Nobody's here!"

"Master Zhou is going to hold a discipleship ceremony at noon today, and he won't come over until he's done," Xiao Lei said. Zhou Yan had told him about this beforehand.

“Master Zhou isn’t even letting go of our outdoor banquet business now.” Zheng Qiang nodded in agreement.

Kong Guodong laughed upon hearing this, "Then Teacher Zhou is quite capable."

"Master Zhou made all the money by himself." Kong Liwei came over and joined the cricket group chat.

"It starts at two o'clock, there's still half an hour. How many students are there in Master Zhou's class today?" Xiao Lei asked curiously. After all, it was Zhou Yan's first time being called to give a lecture, and he, as the master, was a little worried.

"There aren't many trainees this time, only eighteen in total," Kong Guodong said with a smile. "However, I mentioned it in the kitchen of Leming Hotel yesterday, asking any young chefs who wanted to attend the class to sign up. When the registration forms were collected last night, everyone showed up except for the chef on duty."

Including Wang Mian and Zhong Yong, who came specifically to attend the lecture after receiving the news, there are over thirty people in total. Many of them will have to stand to listen to the lecture today.

Xiao Lei opened his mouth, then gave Kong Guodong a thumbs up: "Senior brother, you really don't consider Master Zhou a novice."

"Master Zhou is truly impressive! All his uncles, fellow disciples, and fellow students have come," Zheng Qiang remarked with emotion.

"I wonder what kind of expression Zhou Shi will have when he sees a classroom full of people," Kong Liwei said.

The group exchanged glances and then burst into laughter.

Kong Guodong instructed earnestly, "Don't tell us beforehand, okay? Don't make Master Zhou nervous. If she runs away at the last minute, I won't be able to explain it to her."

"Get it!"

I'd rather die than tell!

Everyone nodded.

People are most likely to reach a consensus when they do bad things.

"By the way, Stone, did you know that Lao Luo and Xiao Luo resigned?" Kong Guodong said, looking at Xiao Lei.

"I understand," Xiao Lei nodded.

Kong Guodong stared at Xiao Lei and asked with a smile, "You actually know? Did you encourage him to quit his job and go out on his own?"

"Old Luo is such an honest person. He's worked at Leming Hotel for almost thirty years, and he's giving up all those years of seniority to go self-employed."

“Senior brother, you can’t say I encouraged him.” Xiao Lei spread his hands: “These days, individual businesses are springing up everywhere. He went to Zhou Yan’s shop to learn how to make snowflake chicken soup and saw how successful his business was. Considering that Xiao Luo couldn’t get a permanent position for a long time and was approaching marriageable age, he got the idea to go into business for himself. He told me about it, but I didn’t know he had already resigned. When did he resign?”

"He submitted his resignation the day before yesterday and left yesterday." Kong Guodong sighed. "You're right. I've tried many ways to get Xiao Luo a permanent position, but there really aren't any openings. We'll have to wait for the senior engineer to retire before a spot becomes available."

If those two can make money, I'll be happy for them. It's just that Lao Luo and Xiao Luo aren't good at communicating with customers. Lao Luo said they've already found a shop, paid the rent, and bought tables and chairs, etc. Have you helped them check it out?

"You've already found a shop? Lao Luo didn't tell me about this. I even told him to ask Zhou Yan for advice and learn more." Xiao Lei shook his head. "Lao Luo is probably just too embarrassed to ask. I'll go to his house after Zhou's class this afternoon."

Kong Guodong nodded: "That's a good idea. It's not easy to save money these days. We're brothers and sisters, so we should definitely help as much as we can."

“Maybe Xiao Luo will follow his Uncle Luo Han to open a restaurant and make a lot of money like Master Zhou. That would be truly enviable,” Kong Liwei said.

"Envy my ass! If Master Kong wants to go, you should go too. Don't you always say that you've already graduated and want to be on equal footing with me, your master?" Kong Guodong rolled his eyes at him.

"Master, I... I was just bragging to those apprentices." Kong Liwei looked embarrassed. If it weren't for his uncle, he wouldn't have dared to make such a joke.

"Master!" At that moment, a clear and melodious voice rang out from the doorway.

"Master Zhou is here! Master Zhou is here!" Kong Liwei said with a smile, as happy as if reinforcements had arrived.

Everyone turned around with smiles, and looked surprised when they saw the girl next to Zhou Yan.

Kong Liwei stopped laughing: "Wait, who is this 'celestial being'?"

(End of this chapter)