1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 317 [Intermediate Fruit and Vegetable Carving Experience Pack] (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets: 2285)

"Master Zhou! Your three dishes are absolutely amazing! After my mom finished eating them, she did a dramatic face-changing act like she was performing Sichuan opera, and she actually agreed to let me work at your restaurant!"

“You have no idea how firm her stance was last night; she even threatened to sever our mother-son relationship!”

Ah Wei stood beside him, speaking excitedly, his face filled with admiration for Zhou Yan.

But Zhou Yan's attention was completely drawn to the notification sound in his mind.

[Ding! Chef recruitment mission completed!]

[Reward: Intermediate Fruit and Vegetable Carving Experience Pack]

"A fruit and vegetable carving intermediate experience pack?" Zhou Yan was a little surprised. The rewards he had received before were mostly recipes, and this was the first time he had received an experience pack.

Moreover, it's a comprehensive guide to fruit and vegetable carving.

Is this paving the way for him to move towards Kung Fu cuisine?
Carving is a technical skill that requires not only talent and aesthetic sense, but also years of dedicated study.

Zhou Yan had previously learned to cook in the factory canteen under his master's guidance. He had no practical experience in cooking, and his most impressive knife skills were making cucumbers in a straw raincoat shape. He had never actually learned any carving skills, not even how to carve flowers on radishes.

Carving is a delicate and time-consuming art form, and it is generally used to decorate and plate dishes at high-end banquets to elevate the overall quality of the dish.

Carving dragons and phoenixes is a high-level craft, and some carving masters need to spend a whole day to complete a single piece.

Zhou Yan was once fortunate enough to be invited to observe a culinary competition, and the carving competition in particular opened his eyes.

Flowers, fish, peacocks, and pagodas are just basic skills; getting an intermediate level is a piece of cake.

The dragon and phoenix motif, the maidservants enjoying the spring outing, and the multi-layered, openwork palace—that's truly breathtaking, a masterpiece.

To reach the level of a master, technical skill alone is not enough; one must also possess aesthetic sense.

What is presented is no longer a dish, but more like a sculpted work of art.

This intermediate experience pack was quite a pleasant surprise for Zhou Yan.

The Zhou Erwa Restaurant may not need it for the time being, but when we go to Jiaozhou and open a private banquet on the second floor, if we want to raise the price per unit and make people feel that this banquet is high-class, we have to show off our skills and serve a few elaborate dishes.

Carvings and plating enhance the symbolism and elevate the perceived quality, providing emotional value to customers that ultimately translates into sales.

There is such a demand for banquets. People spend forty or fifty yuan to book a table, and you serve them twice-cooked pork or shredded pork with garlic sauce. The taste is not bad, but the host will lose face.

Zhou Yan had been considering spending time learning, but this experience package just fell into his lap.

Although it's only a mid-level experience pack, I reckon it should be enough to carve some flowers, buildings, and birds.

That's good, Zhou Yan is quite satisfied with this reward.

"Teacher Zhou, did you hear that?" Kong Liwei asked with a smile.

"Oh, um, you're right." Zhou Yan nodded perfunctorily.

Kong Liwei was somewhat shocked: "I just asked casually, and you're really willing to teach me how to make this chili oil? Even my master wasn't this agreeable!"

Zhou Yan laughed and said, "Then how about we sign a lifetime contract, so you don't learn to run away and steal my business from the restaurant next door?"

“This…” Kong Liwei scratched his head and considered it seriously. “I think it makes sense. These skills are all your own experience. If I learn them and go work for another restaurant, competing with you for business, it would be a bit unethical. I swear, after I learn them, I will definitely not work for any other restaurant in Jiaozhou.”

"Just kidding, the Confucian school doesn't talk about these things." Zhou Yan laughed. "I just happened to run out of chili oil, so I'm planning to make another batch this afternoon. I'll teach you then."

“But I’m serious!” Kong Liwei said solemnly. “Master Zhou, I’m telling you this right now: you teach me cooking, and I’ll work for you. As long as you pay me the market rate, I’ll work for you for as long as the shop is open. Even if someone else offers me a higher price, I won’t go.”

Zhou Yan looked at him with a hint of surprise in his eyes. After a moment of silence, he nodded and said, "Okay, Wei, with your words, you can just tell me what you want to learn in the future, and I will definitely teach you."

"Come on, let's cook!" Zhao Hong brought out the first batch of menu items.

"Awei, let's get started!" Zhou Yan took the menu and nailed it to the nail on the wall next to the stove. "Two servings of twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts, one pot is enough! Three servings of Mapo Tofu are ready, and two servings of braised beef with bamboo shoots are also ready."

"Okay!" Kong Liwei responded, and in less than five seconds the side dishes were on the stove. He added firewood to the stove, washed his hands, and then went to serve the beef and bamboo shoots.

Zhou Yan smiled, his hands and feet moving swiftly and methodically. As expected of a regular soldier from a prestigious sect, he was very useful!

Xia Yao was delayed by drawing today and was a few minutes late getting off work. When she arrived at the store, there were no seats available, so she had no choice but to wait. Just then, Lin Zhiqiang also came out to eat, and the two chatted for a few minutes at the entrance.

After dropping her two sons off at school today, Meng Anhe went to inspect the construction site and then went directly to Chengdu. She won't be able to return to Suji until the weekend.

Zhou Momo ran out, grabbed Xia Yao's hand and said, "Sister Yao Yao! Sister Huang Ying is asking you to join her at a shared table. She's all alone."

Upon hearing this, Xia Yao looked into the shop and saw Huang Ying occupying a table by herself, smiling and waving at her.

She smiled and waved, saying to Lin Zhiqiang, "Uncle, let's go have lunch with Huang Ying."

"Okay." Lin Zhiqiang nodded, and the two followed Zhou Momo into the store.

The rule at Zhou Erwa Restaurant is that no one shares a table at lunch or dinner. Even if someone is alone, if they don't agree, other guests can only be seated after they finish eating.

It's no problem for coworkers who get along well to share a table; it all depends on how they negotiate. "Yingying, you're here so early." Xia Yao came in and sat down on the bench next to Huang Ying. "Thank you for calling us in; otherwise, we would have had to wait quite a while."

"Yaoyao, we're so familiar, why be so polite?" Huang Ying waved her hand and politely greeted Lin Zhiqiang, "Hello, Uncle Lin."

"Hello, Comrade Huang Ying." Lin Zhiqiang sat down with a smile. They had shared a table and eaten together before. Looking at the bowl with only three or four pieces of broken blood curd left, he asked, "Is this the new fatty intestine and blood curd that's served today? How does it taste?"

"It's absolutely delicious! You all have to order one! It's so fragrant when mixed with rice, it completely changed my perception of braised pork intestines and blood curd." Huang Ying gave a thumbs up and recommended it sincerely: "I'm on a diet, but because of this braised pork intestines and blood curd, I ate an extra bowl of rice today."

"Okay, let's order one!" Lin Zhiqiang knew that Huang Ying was a true foodie with a very discerning palate, so he immediately accepted the recommendation. When he saw Zhao Tieying coming over to order, he said, "Sister Ying, do you still have braised pork intestines and blood curd? We'd like one."

"We're out of braised pork intestines and blood curd; we just took the sign off," Zhao Tieying said with a smile. "If I'd known you wanted some, I would have saved some for you."

"It's all gone? Or are we too late? We'll have to wait until tomorrow to get some?" Lin Zhiqiang sighed.

That's how Zhou Yan's new dishes are served—first come, first served!

Before, we could wait for him to come and taste the dishes, but now, customers are scrambling to try them.

The two of them had no choice but to order braised pork ribs and twice-cooked pork with pickled mustard greens.

Huang Ying paused as she handed the chopsticks to the earthen bowl, then hesitated before saying, "Uncle Lin, if you don't mind, why don't you try some first?"

Lin Zhiqiang looked at the blood tofu in the bowl, which was covered with bright red broth, swallowed hard, and looked up at Huang Ying: "Really? You're not going to eat it? Then I won't be polite."

As he spoke, he pulled a pair of chopsticks from the chopstick holder, reached out and pinched the blood curd, which immediately crumbled.

"So tender!" Lin Zhiqiang was somewhat surprised, his expression becoming more cautious as he carefully picked up half a piece of blood curd and put it in his mouth, his eyes lighting up.

Blood curd is extremely tender and smooth; it crumbles at the slightest touch of the tongue, even more tender than soft tofu.

It was spicy and flavorful, but unfortunately it wasn't hot enough. However, the taste was still absolutely amazing!
The sauce was perfectly prepared, yet Zhou Yan maintained her consistent performance.

After taking one bite, Lin Zhiqiang subconsciously started looking for rice.

This is definitely a great dish to eat with rice!
"Is it delicious?" Xia Yao asked, eager to try it herself.

Lin Zhiqiang glanced at the little blood curd left in the bowl, coughed lightly, and said, "It's a bit cold. It would taste better hot. Your uncle will treat you to it tomorrow."

Huang Ying smiled, "Uncle Lin, are you trying to fool a child?"

"Then I'll try it." Xia Yao picked up her chopsticks, carefully picked up a piece, and put it in her mouth. She quickly nodded and said, "Mmm, so tender! So fragrant! Delicious~~"

After taking a bite, she put down her chopsticks and said with a smile, "Uncle, the rest are yours."

Lin Zhiqiang was quite familiar with Huang Ying, and since she wasn't an employee of the textile factory, he didn't have many concerns.

Before his own dishes even arrived, he scooped a bowl of rice, poured the blood tofu and broth from the bowl onto the rice, shoveled a big mouthful of rice, and showed a satisfied expression.

He secretly made up his mind that he must order a bowl of braised pork intestines and blood curd tomorrow! The braised pork intestines on the next table looked so delicious.

"Uncle Lin, there's still some shredded pork with garlic sauce. I can't finish it all, let's eat together." Huang Ying pushed the half-eaten shredded pork with garlic sauce in front of her towards the middle and said with a smile, "I'll also have a couple of pieces of twice-cooked pork with pickled mustard greens later. My brother hasn't been here recently, so I haven't dared to order it. I'm afraid that if I eat too much twice-cooked pork by myself, I'll gain weight."

"Eat up, don't be shy." Lin Zhiqiang looked at her and said, "You've lost so much weight. It's not just your weight that's gone down, your measurements have changed even more. You look much slimmer, and your energy and spirit are much better than before."

"Yes, you look very healthy and cute now. If you control your diet properly and continue to exercise, you'll be able to wear pretty dresses next summer." Xia Yao nodded.

"Uncle Lin, Sister Yao Yao, you are so kind, I cried..." Huang Ying was moved, feeling a sense of being recognized.

The three of us shared a table and enjoyed our meal.

Huang Ying even offered to save seats for Xia Yao in the future. Xia Yao now comes to Zhou Yan's restaurant for lunch every day, so she doesn't have to rush out as soon as the get off work bell rings.

The factory is buzzing with the news: the new intern in the marketing department is very pretty, but unfortunately she's a huge glutton. As soon as the bell rings to end the workday, she's the first one to run off!

Although Xia Yao didn't care, she was quite tempted by Huang Ying's suggestion and readily agreed.

"Hello Yingying, my partner."

"Hi Yao Yao, we've successfully teamed up!"

The two shook hands and reached an agreement.

The braised pork intestines and blood curd dish sold out in one go, receiving rave reviews.

Lin Zhiqiang even drank some soup. The guests who didn't get any were quite disappointed, and one even went to the kitchen door to remind Zhou Yan to make more soup the next day.

The table turnover rate at lunchtime today was higher than yesterday. The last customers finished eating and there were still about twenty minutes before work started, which was much more relaxed than usual.

"Awei, well done! You've worked hard." Zhou Yan took out his watch, glanced at it, and patted Kong Liwei on the shoulder. These twenty minutes were the result of his and Awei's tacit cooperation.

Kong Liwei sat down on a small stool in front of the stove, looking completely drained: "Master Zhou, you're amazing!"

　It's almost the end of the month~ Extra chapter for monthly votes~~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)