1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 31 Unlucky Woman
"Zhou Yan, you got it up and running so quickly? How's business?" Zhou Jie put down the rag in his hand and greeted him with a smile.

"Yeah, that's fast!" Zhou Hai looked at him expectantly.

Zhou Liangliang, the owner of the stall next door, was cracking sunflower seeds. He pursed his lips and muttered under his breath, "Tch, I'll sell a dozen or twenty bowls at most. I say I want to learn, but I never see anyone."

"Business is not bad. We sold seventy bowls yesterday, the first day, and I estimate we can sell a hundred bowls today," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"What?! A hundred bowls!"

"Business is so good!"

Both Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai looked shocked.

They've been selling hot pot for two years, gradually building up their popularity. Recently, with the weather getting cooler, they sometimes sell up to a hundred bowls, which is considered a good business.

Zhou Yan just started selling hot pot, and he sold seventy bowls on the first day! Today he's aiming to sell a hundred bowls?!
Wow...

Zhou Liangliang dropped the melon seeds in his hand and stared at Zhou Yan with wide eyes, his eyes filled with shock and confusion.

One hundred bowls!

How much would it cost to sell it? How much profit would you make?

They're all from the same village and share the same surname, Zhou, so why do their hot pot dishes sell so well?

All our cows were slaughtered at the same slaughterhouse!

It doesn't make sense.

I'm so angry!
"That's great! Zhou Yan, your cooking skills are amazing! You can sell a hundred bowls of soup right outside the textile factory." Zhou Jie was happy and gratified: "Now your restaurant business will be even more prosperous, and you won't have to worry about the silk going badly anymore."

“I knew Zhou Yan could do it; he’s been clever since he was a child,” Zhou Hai said with a simple smile, his face full of pride.

"I sell soup pots for six cents a bowl," Zhou Yan said with a smile, and he could feel the genuine happiness from his two cousins.

"How many?"

"Six cents a bowl!"

Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai stopped laughing, their laughter turning into shock and bewilderment.

Their hot pot stall sells for 40 cents a bowl, which is the highest price in the entire Suji area. They rely on the taste and word of mouth to support their sales.

They started by gradually increasing the price from three cents to three and a half cents.

Zhou Yan started selling bowls for 60 cents a bowl as soon as it opened? And it can sell 100 bowls a day?

When did Su Ji's money become so easy to earn?
Don't the female workers in the textile factory dislike eating hot pot?

They were both a little confused.

"What do you mean, Erhuo?" Zhou Jie asked, looking at Zhou Yan.

Zhou Hai was also scratching his head.

“Oh, my dear,” Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"Okay, I believe you." Zhou Jie nodded immediately, grabbing Zhou Yan's arm and saying, "That's awesome!"

Zhou Liangliang had just grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds, but now they tasted bitter and numb, and weren't fragrant at all.

Selling for six cents!
How is this any different from robbery?

He can make a profit even selling them for three cents.

If a child sells a bowl for 60 cents on Tuesday, how much money would they make if they sold 100 bowls a day?
If he were to set up a stall at the gate of the textile factory, even if he only sold it for 50 or 40 cents, let alone 60 cents, he would still make a good living!

When Zhou Liangliang did the math in his head, his hands trembled, and the sunflower seeds he had just grabbed fell all over the floor.

"Parkinson's? He can't even catch a sunflower seed." Zhou Yan glanced at him sideways, knowing exactly what this guy was thinking.

His beef offal business outside the textile factory was booming; the fact that a bowl cost six mao (0.6 yuan) would quickly spread. It was a clear business that couldn't be hidden.

In a few days, there will definitely be a bunch of Zhoucun people selling soup pots at the entrance of the textile factory.

Setting up a stall is just moving to a different location, and it doesn't cost much. But the vendors are all shrewd.

Zhou Yan is not afraid of direct competition. The taste and quality of Qiaojiao Beef are his competitive advantage, and the restaurant's improved reputation in recent days is also a plus.

In later generations, the streets of Jiaozhou were full of beef noodle shops, and the most successful ones were never the cheapest ones, but the ones that excelled in both taste and marketing.

He came to see Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai today, intending to teach them how to make braised beef with skewers. They're family, after all; he just wants to make their lives better.

[Ding! Side quest triggered: The Inheritance of Qiaojiao Beef. Qiaojiao Beef, as a traditional intangible cultural heritage dish, urgently needs to be officially recognized! Take on an apprentice as the inheritor of Qiaojiao Beef, teach them the authentic way to make Qiaojiao Beef, and promote its preservation.]

[Mission Reward: Unknown. Accept: Yes/No.]

Zhou Yan's eyelids twitched as he caught sight of the task that had suddenly popped up.

This surprised him a bit.

Does this system also have a side quest for culinary heritage?

But there's no reason to refuse a task that's been handed to me like this.

I decisively chose to accept it.

“Brother Jie, Brother Hai, I’ve made some improvements to this soup pot. The textile factory workers all say it’s great, which is why it can sell for this price.” Zhou Yan called the two aside and lowered his voice a bit. “Do you two want to learn from me? As long as you do what I teach you, your business will definitely be better than it is now, and you’ll earn more.”

“How can we do that? Your restaurant business has only just started to pick up, and you still have a lot of debts to pay. As your older brothers, we can’t take away your business.” Zhou Jie immediately shook his head, his attitude firm. “I know you’re sincere to me and Hai Zi, but we want you to be better off.”

“That’s right, we can make money now. No other stall in this row has better business than ours,” Zhou Hai said, patting his chest.

Zhou Yan's nose was a little stuffy, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

What can I offer in exchange for genuine affection?

At least money can't buy that.

“Brother Jie, Brother Hai, listen to me.” Zhou Yan looked at the two of them with a serious expression: “I know your feelings and thoughts, but I’m thinking about things in the long term.”

“You can’t possibly set up a stall here for the rest of your lives, can you? You’re exposed to the sun and rain every day, and you can’t set up your stall when the weather is bad. After deducting the off-season, you can’t make any money at all. Your two sisters-in-law suffer along with you.”

“I run a restaurant, not just selling hot pot. I sell noodles now, and I’ll make money selling stir-fries and braised dishes in the future. That’s my main business.”

"Once you learn how to make my soup pot and master the skills, you'll be able to open a shop in town or even the city, earn more money, and live a better life."

“You’re worried about stealing my business? No way. My customers are mainly textile factory workers. They won’t travel this far to eat the same hot pot.”

"We're all brothers, don't be shy. Otherwise, if I go to Grandma's for dinner tomorrow, I'll tell on you."

Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai both fell silent after hearing this; one scratched his head, and the other stroked his chin.

"Brother Jie, make a statement." Zhou Yan said to Zhou Jie.

“Alright, you’ve already said so much, what can we older brothers say?” Zhou Jie nodded. “You name a time, I’ll learn from you first, and then I’ll teach Hai Zi.”

“We’re taking tomorrow off. Come to the store to see me next Monday morning,” Zhou Yan said.

“Okay.” Zhou Jie said with a smile, “Then Hai Zi and I will become your disciples.”

“Zhou Yan is a real chef,” Zhou Hai chuckled.

“No problem.” Zhou Yan nodded. “Then I’ll head back first. A group of college students from Sichuan Fine Arts Institute came to the restaurant for dinner today, and I still need to go back and prepare the ingredients.”

"A college student?"

"Or a group?"

Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai both looked on with surprise and hurriedly said, "Then hurry up and go, don't waste time."

"I'm leaving." Zhou Yan hopped on his bicycle and drove away.

Zhou Liangliang watched his retreating figure, his eyes darting around. He turned and woke up his wife, who was dozing behind the stove, and whispered, "You watch the stall by yourself tonight. I have some errands to run."

"How can I keep an eye on everything by myself? What are you doing?" her wife asked, half asleep, with a hint of complaint.

“We only sell a dozen or so bowls a night, you could count them with your eyes closed. I’m going to take care of something big, we might be about to strike it rich,” Zhou Liangliang said in a low voice.

"Get rich?" His wife looked at him suspiciously. "Are you going to rob a bank?"

"Rob a bank! Keep sleeping, you unlucky woman!" Zhou Liangliang pulled his apron over her face and pushed his bicycle toward the textile factory.

……

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(End of this chapter)