1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 319 A Time Management Master? (Bonus Chapter for 2385 Monthly Tickets)

"There's nothing we can do about it; it's talent, something you can't learn," Zhou Yan said with a slight smile.

Kong Liwei: "..."

"day!"

Kong Liwei wasn't laughing; he just wanted to beat up Zhou Yan.

"Master Zhou, is this really your first time carving?" Kong Liwei asked, staring into Zhou Yan's eyes, unwilling to give up.

He had read in a book that when a person lies, their eyes will dart away.

"It is indeed my first time carving." Zhou Yan nodded frankly, his gaze unwavering.

Ah Wei's fists were clenched tightly.

"Awei, are you very envious right now?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile, looking into his eyes.

"No! Not at all!" Awei's gaze unconsciously fell on the carved peony in Zhou Yan's hand. It was so perfect, so natural, just like a real peony.

No, the peonies blooming in Jiaozhou People's Park are not as beautiful as the one carved by Zhou Yan.

Envy?
He was so envious he was jealous!
Zhou Yan laughed and said, "Look at you, your eyes are darting around, you're lying."

Kong Liwei looked up at him in surprise.

Wow, he reads books too! He's such a good cook and such a great carver, yet he still has time to read!
A time management guru?
Damn, he's so handsome!

"Teacher Zhou, are you dating several girlfriends at the same time?" Kong Liwei asked curiously.

"Ah Wei, don't ruin my reputation," Zhou Yan reminded him.

Kong Liwei's mouth moved slightly.

Although he didn't make a sound, Zhou Yan understood lip reading and knew that the curses he was using were extremely offensive.

But he wasn't angry; instead, he felt refreshed.

The jealousy of one's peers can be quite amusing.

Zhou Yan looked at Kong Liwei and said, "Actually, I've read a lot of books on carving and studied it seriously for a while, but I've always struggled to find suitable tools. I think your set is quite good..."

"Don't even think about it! This is equipment I painstakingly collected!" Kong Liwei took the main sword from Zhou Yan's hand, wiped it clean, rolled it up and put it back in his bag, looking at Zhou Yan warily: "Collect it yourself! I have a few more that were made for me by a blacksmith, you can't even buy them."

"Awei, look at you, what kind of person do you think I am?" Zhou Yan sighed.

“I don’t think you’re a good person. Just tell me if you like my carving tools or not,” Kong Liwei said, looking at him.

"To be honest, I quite like it."

Kong Liwei curled his lip: "You like it? You just want my incredibly handy and useful tools! You're despicable!"

"Fine, just tell me where you bought it and where it was made, and I'll get one too," Zhou Yan said with a smile. This kid is quite wary.

A chef's knife is indeed his lifeline; you can't fool him at all.

Kong Liwei then sat down and began to speak: "The main knife was bought from the third stall on the second floor of the department store, the one that sells kitchenware. Their curved knives aren't good enough; you have to buy them from the general store at No. 16 East Street. As for the V-shaped knife, I had it made by blacksmith Wang in Tongluo Lane..."

Zhou Yan took out a piece of paper and wrote it down, then assembled the knife. It wasn't easy for Awei to put together this set of equipment.

But this is good too, it saves him a lot of trouble.

He can just follow the instructions directly. It would be slower to have a blacksmith make a custom-made knife, but a knife made by a blacksmith doesn't require any complicated communication.

"Brother, I want flowers~~" Zhou Momo came over and pointed to the peony next to Zhou Yan.

"Here, for you." Zhou Yan smiled and handed the flowers to the little guy.

"Wow~ Beautiful radish flowers, I have two!" Zhou Momo held two peony flowers and happily spun around.

"Master Zhou, do you have any quick methods or tips for learning to cook and carve? Even talent needs to be taught the basics, right?" Kong Liwei looked at Zhou Yan. "I don't want to work hard anymore."

"There's nothing special about it, just practice makes perfect." Zhou Yan shook his head with a smile: "If you could cook hundreds of dishes a day like me, you would improve just as quickly. Diligence is the most important thing; there are no shortcuts."

Kong Liwei seemed to understand something upon hearing this. After a moment of silence, he nodded and said, "That's right. You cooked more dishes in one day than I did in a month at Leming Restaurant! With that kind of intensity, it would be truly strange if the food wasn't delicious!"

Zhou Yan glanced at his watch: "It's almost time. You take charge of the food preparation, and I'll cook dinner. Let's try to leave work early tonight. I'm going for a night run; I can run an extra two kilometers."

"Zhou, you're still going for a run at night? Aren't you tired after a long day? Shouldn't you be going straight to your warm bed after work?"

"Young people like us need to exercise every day to maintain good physical condition and plenty of energy."

"He has an inexhaustible amount of energy..."

Kong Liwei was in charge of cutting and preparing the food, while Zhou Yan cooked the working meals; each of them had their own responsibilities.

When Aunt Zhao and the others came downstairs after their lunch break, they saw the two peony flowers that Zhou Momo was playing with. They were amazed to hear that they were carved by Zhou Yan and Awei.

"Wow, that's amazing! The flowers carved from the radish are even more beautiful than real flowers!"

"I thought it was real, it looks so much like it!"

The crowd gathered around, hesitant to reach out for fear of breaking it.

In the kitchen, Zhou Yan and Kong Liwei both smiled.

Zhou Yan cut three ounces of pig's head meat and three ounces of braised beef, packed them in a brown paper bag, took them out the door, and stuffed them into the cloth bag that Zhou Hongwei had placed in the bicycle basket.

"Claws?" Zhou Hongwei came down carrying two empty buckets and asked Zhou Yan with a smile.

"I packed some braised pig's head and braised beef for Sixth Master. You can take it back to him," Zhou Yan said.

“I said I bought it,” Zhou Hongwei said, touching his pocket.

"I got the hammer for Sixth Master. If you want to buy one, you can buy it next time," Zhou Yan said with a smile. "You go ahead with your work, I'm about to get busy too."

Zhou Hongwei smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay, I'll go back and tell my grandfather that this is a gift from Zhou Yan to him."

When hiring workers, they only provide lunch; the workers eat dinner at their own homes. Zhou Yan and his colleagues eat their meals early, while Zhang Shi and the others are still busy.

Zhou Momo ordered shredded pork with garlic sauce, Kong Liwei ordered Mapo tofu, and Zhou Yan brought out a plate of salted braised pork belly from the steamer, and also stir-fried some pork cracklings with cabbage. This was their work lunch for tonight.

"Wow! This work meal is really expensive! It's so oily!" Kong Liwei sat down with his meal and couldn't help but exclaim, "Teacher Zhou, you're so generous!"

The staff meals at Leming Restaurant were decent, but they didn't have large chunks of meat on the table every meal, and they weren't as delicious as Zhou Yan's.

Zhou Yan is so generous!

"Dinner's ready, dinner's ready." Zhou Yan moved the shredded pork with garlic sauce to Zhou Momo's side and put a piece of it into her bowl first.

"Thank you, bro~~" Zhou Momo said to Zhou Yan, picked up her chopsticks and started eating.

"This Mapo Tofu is so authentic! It's numbing, spicy, fresh, and fragrant; crispy, tender, juicy, and piping hot! It's even better than Chen's Mapo Tofu!"

"The fish-flavored sauce is so well-made! It's salty, savory, sour, and spicy, and paired with these refreshing and sweet winter bamboo shoots, the taste is absolutely amazing!"

"Master Zhou! I want to learn how to make this braised pork belly with pickled mustard greens! If this were served at a large banquet, all the other steamed dishes would pale in comparison!"

Ah Wei was so startled during the meal that he almost wanted to become an apprentice on the spot.

Others have gradually become desensitized and are no longer surprised by his reaction.

I understand that the child hasn't eaten anything good.

After the staff finished their lunch and the table was cleared away, the guests began to arrive one after another.

The clientele in the evenings is more diverse. As the braised beef and braised dishes have gradually gained wider popularity, in addition to the textile factory workers, the residents of Suji Town have also come to know that Zhou Erwa Restaurant near the textile factory is delicious and even better than the state-run restaurants.

Unfortunately, the business is closed on Sundays, so many people have moved their dinner gatherings to weekday evenings.

As the guests arrived, the kitchen gradually became busier.

After a midday of adjustment, Kong Liwei has begun to adapt to Zhou Yan's rhythm, and their cooperation is becoming increasingly seamless.

Zhou Momo sat on a small stool by the door, holding a radish flower in her hand, greeting the guests who came to eat while watching the guests come and go.

……

In the deputy factory director's office, Lin Zhiqiang dialed the guesthouse number and told them to pick up Yao Licheng from room 208.

Xia Yao stood quietly to the side. Lin Zhiqiang had been called to a meeting by the factory manager at noon today, so he couldn't make the call. He planned to call after get off work in the evening.

After waiting for three minutes, Yao Licheng's voice came from the other end: "Old Lin, this is Old Yao. I was just about to call you. Are you free tomorrow? I'd like to talk to you about setting up a factory in Jiaozhou."

"Set up a factory in Jiaozhou?" Lin Zhiqiang raised his hand to stop Xia Yao from answering the phone, somewhat surprised. "Old Yao, didn't you just sign an order contract with our factory? Why are you suddenly planning to set up a factory in Jiaozhou?"

“There’s no conflict. I really like and value the Jiading silk series. I will continue to push forward with the orders I placed this time.” Old Yao’s laughter came from the other end of the phone. “Jiazhou has a very good policy and sincerity in attracting investment. After several days of in-depth research, I decided to set up a source factory in Jiazhou, mainly responsible for printing and dyeing and preliminary processing, and then transport the processed raw materials to the factory in Guangzhou.”

Lin Zhiqiang suddenly realized: "So that's how it is. The establishment of a factory in Jiaozhou by a large company like Licheng Group can inject fresh blood into Jiaozhou's silk industry and bring more opportunities. Jiaozhou's silk industry has unique advantages and the policies also attach great importance to it."

“These are all secondary. Actually, there’s a very important reason why I chose to set up a factory in Jiaozhou, and it’s because of you.” Yao Licheng paused, then continued, “Old Lin, are you interested in starting a factory with me? If you’re willing to come, I’ll make you the factory manager and give you shares in the factory.”

Lin Zhiqiang was stunned upon hearing this.

Xia Yao, who was standing to the side, also had a strange look on her face. Her uncle had just told her this morning that he was going to resign and start his own factory, and Yao Licheng had come to her door to invite her to start her own factory. What a coincidence!

But... will my uncle agree?
“This…” Lin Zhiqiang hesitated.

Yao Licheng continued, "I know this is a bit sudden. You can discuss it with your wife today before making a decision."

I can tell you're not someone who'll be content to stay in the textile factory. The tide of reform and opening up is surging in, and if you seize the opportunity, you can become a trendsetter.

You have the skills and the ability, and now you have start-up capital, so you must have some ideas.

However, I hope you will consider this carefully. Our Licheng Group has sufficient funds. If we cooperate, you can buy the best and most advanced equipment and build a world-class production line. The starting point will be completely different.

If you've made up your mind, you can come to the guesthouse to talk to me tomorrow at noon. I'll be waiting for you.

Lin Zhiqiang said, "Okay, I'll go back and think about it carefully. We'll meet tomorrow at noon to discuss it in detail."

Yao Licheng added, "By the way, please tell Miss Xia Yao for me that I am still waiting for her reply. If our Jiaozhou factory can be successfully built and put into operation, she will have the opportunity to be sent to work in Jiaozhou in the future. The Yangcheng factory also has many designers sent by our Licheng Group headquarters."

Xia Yao's eyes lit up, and her mouth opened slightly.

Lin Zhiqiang raised his hand to stop her from speaking again, and smiled, "Okay, Lao Yao, I will tell her to consider your proposal carefully."

After saying that, he hung up the phone.

"What, are you even more excited now that you can be sent to Jiaozhou?" Lin Zhiqiang asked her with a smile.

"I... I just felt that Licheng Group's conditions were pretty good, and I had already made up my mind." Xia Yao looked down at the tips of her shoes, a smile already playing on her lips.

"Yao Licheng is indeed a remarkable person; he has a strong insight into human nature," Lin Zhiqiang remarked with some emotion.

"Uncle, what do you think? Do you want to cooperate with him?" Xia Yao looked at him.

“I have a lot of 50,000 yuan, but I can only buy some second-hand equipment to start a small workshop. I'll have to compete with hundreds of small workshops in Jiaozhou for business and orders, seeking opportunities to grow and expand, and I could be eliminated at any time. It's really hard to refuse the olive branch that Yao Licheng has extended; he knows exactly what I'm thinking.” Lin Zhiqiang smiled. “Go eat first. I'll call your aunt and hear what she thinks. As for your job at Licheng Group, I'll personally convey that to you when I see Yao Licheng tomorrow.”

"Okay." Xia Yao nodded, turned around and went out with light steps.

She had originally planned to eat at the canteen that evening, but then she changed her mind and headed towards the factory gate instead. Good news! She would have a nice meal to celebrate tonight.

"Sister Yaoyao!"

As soon as Xia Yao reached the restaurant entrance, Zhou Momo rushed over, raised her little hand high, looked up at her with a smile, and said, "Here's a big red flower for you~~~"

"What a beautiful peony! Where did Momo pick it?" Xia Yao's eyes lit up, and she smiled as she carefully reached out to take it.

As soon as Xia Yao touched the flower, it felt cool and heavy. She realized that it wasn't a real flower at all, but a peony carved from a carrot, and she was stunned.

"It's the flower that Guoguo dug out of the radish~~" Zhou Momo said with a smile, her chubby little face full of pride.

　It's almost dawn by the time I finished writing this~~ It's the end of the month, please vote for me with monthly tickets!! Thank you so much~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)