1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 310 A Glutton Meets Another Glutton (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets: 1985)

Zhou Yan stopped the car and said with a smile to the auntie making guokui (a type of flatbread), "Auntie, I want two guokui, one beef and one pork. Could you cut them in half for me?"

The auntie smiled and replied, "Sure! This pot will be ready soon. There are just two left, so you can have them."

"Okay." Zhou Yan nodded, feeling lucky to have gotten a spot.

There were indeed three customers waiting nearby. An elderly man with half-gray hair, who was very friendly, chatted with Zhou Yan with a smile: "Young man, let me tell you, Cai Sanmei is a real person from Juntun Town, Pengzhou. Her guokui is really delicious, crispy and melts in your mouth. I've been eating it for three years now, and I come to eat one every other afternoon."

"Right? They're pan-fried until golden brown, they look so appetizing. Grandpa, you still know how to eat." Zhou Yan nodded in agreement; he loved chatting with these kinds of outgoing old men.

The old man looked to be about sixty years old. He was wearing a black cotton-padded coat, dressed neatly, and his hair was combed to the sides, like a retired senior official.

The old man chuckled upon hearing this and said with a smile, "Speaking of food, I won't be modest. I really know every restaurant in Jiaozhou City that has good food and every food stall that makes authentic dishes."

"Then I must ask you for your advice. Next time I'll go and try the authentic one." Zhou Yan quickly presented it to him.

The old man was quite pleased and followed up, saying, "If you want to eat mutton soup, then go to Liu's Jianyang Mutton Soup on Gulou Street. They only sell it for four months a year, and the mutton is freshly slaughtered every day. The mutton soup is incredibly delicious."

You absolutely must order the lamb offal, especially the lamb intestines; you'll enjoy their rich and delicious texture.

After finishing our meal, we dipped some freshly picked pea shoots from the owner's yard in the hot pot. They were incredibly tender; a pot of them in winter would be heavenly!

Xia Yao, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but swallow her saliva as she listened. She really loved eating pea shoots. She had never tasted this unusual way of eating them before, when she went to university in the mountain city.

People from Sichuan and Chongqing love to eat the tips of things, such as pea shoots, sweet potato shoots, and pumpkin shoots... They just have to eat the tips of things to enjoy their freshness and tenderness.

Zhou Yan noticed her reaction and found it amusing, wondering if they should go out for mutton soup that evening.

Lamb soup is a perfect match for winter. Lamb is dry and tough, and nobody eats it when the weather gets hot.

Therefore, many mutton soup restaurants in Sichuan and Chongqing are only open for seasonal meals.

They close down as soon as the weather gets warmer, or switch to selling other things.

The old man is quite the gourmand; listening to his story really whetted my appetite.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Jianyang's mutton soup is famous. Have you ever tried the red soup mutton soup in Daozuo, Qionglai? I think it tastes quite good. It's a completely different style from Jianyang's mutton soup. The red soup is spicy and numbing. If you drink a bowl in winter, you'll feel warm all day. It's really good."

The old man's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he looked at Zhou Yan with some surprise: "You actually know this! Daozuo's red soup mutton is amazing. The celery and pickled chili peppers, paired with the mutton stewed in a red soup earthen stove, the taste is simply unbeatable!"

When I went to Qionglai, I ate either milk soup noodles or bowls of red mutton soup for breakfast. Whether it was noodles or rice, the taste was absolutely amazing! The thickly sliced ​​mutton with skin was tender and melt-in-your-mouth, while the skin was chewy and delicious – it was so satisfying to eat!

“I haven’t had mutton soup in red broth for more than half a year. Now that you mention it, I’ll definitely go to Daozuo for a meal in a couple of days.” The old man swallowed as he spoke, his mouth watering. “A new mutton soup restaurant just opened up ahead, but unfortunately it’s not very authentic. I tried it once; it’s run by people from Daozuo, but they haven’t mastered the technique, so it’s not easy to run a business.”

"Which restaurant does the old man like best? I'll go there next time I have time," Zhou Yan said.

The old man chuckled, "Any restaurant in Daozuo town with lots of locals will be delicious. Don't mess around with the food."

“That makes sense.” Zhou Yan nodded.

Qionglai is located west of Chengdu. It produces fine wines and teas and is an underrated city of delicious food. He used to love traveling to Jiaozhou and Qionglai to film and explore local restaurants. Those unassuming towns always brought him surprises.

"If you want to eat freshly braised beef, you have to go to Wang Ji Freshly Braised Beef at the entrance of Xuedao Street. Their beef is slaughtered and transported from Zhoucun every day. The beef is well-cooked, tender and flavorful. A pot of fresh beef and offal braised is especially good with rice. When I was young, I could eat three big bowls of rice in one go."

"If you want to eat Linjiang eel shreds..."

The old man was intrigued by Zhou Yan and talked on and on. Zhou Yan took out his notebook and wrote down a few shop names and addresses, and he could even keep up with the old man's conversation.

Food lovers from two different eras found a deep resonance at this street stall selling guokui (a type of flatbread).

This is a restaurant recommended by a local food connoisseur; I'd definitely like to try it sometime.

The old man was very pleased with Zhou Yan's support. After receiving the guokui (a type of flatbread), he said with lingering interest, "Young man, what do you do? You seem to know a lot about food."

"Grandpa, I own a restaurant," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

The old man's eyes lit up: "Oh? So you own a restaurant. Where is your restaurant located? I'll try it next time."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "It's too far for you to go, sir. It's located in Suji, at the entrance of Jiaozhou Textile Factory, at Zhou Erwa Restaurant."

“Suji isn’t far, I go there often. It’s just a short bus ride of less than half an hour. I have an old friend from Suji town. He has trouble walking, and I often go to visit him for tea and a chat.” The old man smiled and waved his hand. “Next time I come to Suji, I’ll eat at your restaurant and see how your cooking is.”

"Okay! We're closed on Sundays, so don't make a wasted trip, sir." Zhou Yan said with a smile. It's good to be able to chat for a while and find a potential customer.

When others suggested going, Zhou Yan mostly thought it was just polite talk.

But this old man looks like a gourmand who is very particular about food, so if he says he wants to go, then it's quite possible.

"By the way, what's your name?" The old man, who was about to leave, stopped and asked.

“Zhou Yan, Zhou as in Zhou Village, Yan as in inkstone,” Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"Zhou Yan, that's a very refined name. My name is Xiao Zhengze. You're a very interesting young man. I enjoy making friends with young people like you. See you next time." The old man said with a smile, then walked away, still chewing on his guokui (a type of flatbread).

"Take care, Uncle Xiao," Zhou Yan said.

Xia Yao remained silent throughout, but listened with great interest. She found their conversation quite interesting, with the two exchanging ideas back and forth, neither gaining the upper hand.

The old man highly agreed with Zhou Yan's insights into various delicacies, which made him think Zhou Yan was quite impressive.

"Here you go, young man, I've cut two guokui for you, five cents," the proprietress said, handing the guokui to Zhou Yan. After being fried in oil, the guokui need to stand upright on the side to bake for a while to drain excess oil and make the crust crispier.

The golden-brown crust of the flatbread, with its clear spiral patterns, looks like a layered pancake, glistening with oil.

Once cut open, the golden outer layer, white dough, and meat filling are interspersed, creating distinct inner and outer layers, and the aroma of the meat filling is irresistible.

As Zhou Yan was taking out his wallet, Xia Yao handed the proprietress fifty cents and said with a smile, "I'll treat you to a guokui (a type of flatbread)."

Zhou Yan let go of her hand, looked at her and smiled: "Okay, then I'll treat you to mutton soup tonight? And ask the boss to pick some pea shoots for us too."

Xia Yao's eyes lit up, and she nodded: "Great! I'm really craving the mutton soup that Grandpa Xiao just talked about."

Her tone was soft with a hint of playfulness, and her smile was as sweet as a little glutton.

"Here, try the guokui you want. It's a bit hot to hold." Zhou Yan handed half of the beef guokui and half of the pork guokui to Xia Yao. They were lined with brown paper, but they were still a bit hot to hold.

But this stuff tastes best when it's hot. Once it's cold, the pancakes, which have absorbed a lot of oil, become a bit greasy.

Xia Yao took the guokui, brought it to her lips and blew on it gently, then took a bite of the pork filling.

Click!

The crispy outer layer crumbles with a single bite, while the inner layer is soft and chewy, filled with savory and juicy meat. This combination of three textures in one bite is simply wonderful.

Xia Yao's eyes narrowed.

Ahhh~~ It smells so good!
I want to scream!
It's the guokui (a type of flatbread) she wanted to eat!
That old man wasn't exaggerating; this guokui (a type of flatbread) really is delicious.

I took another big bite; it was crispy and crunchy, and incredibly fragrant.

Seeing how much she enjoyed eating, Zhou Yan also picked up a guokui (a type of flatbread) and took a bite.

The crispy outer shell crumbles when you bite into it, while the inside has a wonderfully layered texture. The chewy dough wraps around the tender meat filling, which is savory, slightly spicy, and the aroma of sesame oil and pork blends together to give you a tantalizing feeling.

Guokui is also known as ghee layer cake, and is famous for its fragrance, crispness, crunchiness, and tender texture.

good to eat!

Grandpa Xiao is indeed an authority.

Before long, half a pork-filled flatbread was gone.

Zhou Yan took another bite of the beef-filled guokui.

It smells pretty good, but it's not as oily as minced pork, and it's a penny more expensive.

Xia Yao also took a bite of the beef-filled guokui and said to Zhou Yan, "The pork filling tastes even better, better than the one sold at the back gate of our school."

“Yeah, I also think the pork filling is delicious.” Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. “The two of us could share a whole pot.”

"Can we eat a whole pot?" Xia Yao repeated it, then covered her mouth and laughed. For some reason, it tickled her funny bone.

"Boss, nine more pork-filled guokui (a type of flatbread)," Zhou Yan said to the proprietress.

"Nine?" The proprietress was a little surprised and looked up at him.

“Yes.” Zhou Yan nodded.

One for each person to try; the owner's guokui (a type of flatbread) really tastes good.

In these days, people don't have much oil in their stomachs, so eating a guokui (a type of flatbread) won't affect dinner later; it's just a small appetizer.

The proprietress cooked a whole pot for him, packed it up, handed it to him, and then pushed her bicycle home.

Today is Sunday, and many people like Zhou Yan are visiting the city. Jiaozhou Wharf is a popular attraction, where people take boat trips to see the Buddha statue or watch boats from the wharf, attracting large crowds.

Qi Laosi's braised food shop was booming. When Zhou Yan pushed his bicycle past, there were four or five customers waiting to buy braised meat.

In a good port, Qi Laosi's braised meat can sell quite well.

The difference between a three-yuan rent and a thirty-yuan rent lies here.

When it comes to doing business, Qi Laosi's skills far surpass those of Lao Luo and his son.

The fact that there was no lock on the vermilion gate indicates that the person is still at home.

Zhou Yan stepped forward to knock on the door, only to find it ajar. He pushed it open.

"MoMo!" Zhou Yan called out as he pushed his bicycle inside.

"Guoguo! Sister Yaoyao, I'm here~~" The little guy ran over from the yard with his short legs and soon arrived in front of them. He looked up at the big paper bag in Xia Yao's hands, his nose twitched, and tears welled up in his eyes: "Sister Yaoyao, what delicious food did you bring for Momo? It smells so good!"

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(End of this chapter)