1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 324 Rebellion Against the Heavenly Gang (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets: 2585)

Zhao Tieying led Zhou Momo inside to pay their respects to Sixth Master.

The little guy kowtowed, took out two fruit hard candies and a piece of chocolate from his pocket, put them on the offering plate, and said in a childish voice, "Sixth Grandpa, I brought you some candy and a piece of chocolate. Remember to share half with my grandpa, he's never had any before."

Upon hearing this, the adults in the mourning hall all smiled.

The old lady hugged Zhou Momo and said gently, "Your grandfather has eaten chocolate. He wrote back saying that he captured a piece of chocolate while fighting foreign devils in Korea. He said it tasted awful, both sweet and bitter."

"But this one is sweet." Zhou Momo took out another piece of chocolate and put it in the old lady's hand. "I saved one for Grandma."

"My dear, you still remember your grandma." The old lady touched the little one's face and took her little hand: "Come on, let's go out and play."

Zhao Tieying knelt down and kowtowed before leaving the mourning hall.

After Zhou Yan and Kong Liwei parked their car, they went to find Xiao Lei and Zheng Qiang.

"Oh my, Professor Zhou and Professor Kong have come to guide our work," Xiao Lei said with a smile when he saw the two of them.

“Master Zhou, Master Kong, welcome, welcome. The conditions are limited, please make your own tea,” Zheng Qiang added.

Kong Liwei immediately followed up, "I came here to learn from Master Zhou. He said that today Xiao Xiao and Xiao Zheng should learn how to make real braised pork belly with pickled mustard greens."

Zhou Yan: "..."

擀！

These three shouldn't have been put together in the first place.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lei smiled and said, "I've wanted to learn how to make braised pork belly with pickled mustard greens from Master Zhou for a long time. I knew Master Zhou was coming to teach, and the meat is still sitting there. Master Zhou, it's all up to you this afternoon."

"Come on! Make way for Commander Zhou right now." Zheng Qiang took two steps back and moved to the next block.

Zhou Jie and the others nearby cast surprised glances at them, their expressions strange, as if they wanted to say something but hesitated.

Zhou Yan sighed. There was nothing he could do about these three fetal spirits. He took out a kitchen knife from his bag, placed it on the cutting board, and hung the bag on a tree branch. "Come on, Master Zhou's pickled mustard greens and braised pork belly class is in session. Today I'll share with you how to make a savory, tender, and flavorful braised pork belly with pickled mustard greens that is rich but not greasy."

Xiao Lei and Zheng Qiang immediately put down what they were doing and came over, showing them great respect.

Zhou Yan started by explaining how to choose and cut the meat, then moved on to how to process the meat, how to season it, and how to arrange it.

They taught by demonstrating, explaining things in great detail.

Xiao Lei and his team didn't sit idle either. They learned as they went, ensuring progress while also getting hands-on practice to improve their skills.

"Um... isn't that Zhou Yan's master? How come I'm learning to cook from him?" Zhou Hai scratched his head, looking puzzled.

"Right? They've turned against the Heavenly Gang!" Zhou Jie exclaimed, looking utterly bewildered.

Zhou Hai thought for a moment and said, "This shows that Zhou Yan's cooking skills are superb. Even Master Xiao is ashamed of his own inferiority in making salted pork belly with pickled mustard greens, which is why he followed him to learn. I have eaten Zhou Yan's salted pork belly, and the taste is indeed superb."

Everyone nodded in agreement, showing their approval.

Looking at Zhou Yan again, there was more admiration and more pride in his eyes.

"Actually, it's not much different from what Uncle Xiao taught, I just made a few adjustments to the seasoning." Zheng Qiang said thoughtfully.

Xiao Lei shook his head and said, "Don't underestimate this adjustment. If Master Zhou hadn't taught us, we might never have figured it out in our entire lives."

Zheng Qiang and Kong Liwei nodded in agreement; what they said made sense.

Recipes are now available in magazines, but chefs who can cook well and make dishes with excellence are still a minority.

The longer you study cooking, the more awe you feel.

A chef as gifted as Zhou Yan can be infuriating, but you can also benefit greatly from his guidance.

"Have you learned it?" Zhou Yan asked the three of them as he filled another bowl with salted braised pork belly.

"Pretty much." Xiao Lei nodded. "Next, it's just a matter of practicing more."

Zhou Yan looked at Xiao Lei and said, "Master, it's time for you to teach me how to make steamed pork with rice flour. The steamed pork with rice flour I made at the apprenticeship banquet a couple of days ago was pretty good, but I always felt that the taste was a little off. Could you keep an eye on it for me and see which step went wrong?"

“Okay, you can make the steamed pork with rice flour, and Zheng Qiang and Awei can handle the braised pork belly.” Xiao Lei nodded.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan went to the side and started making steamed pork with rice flour, while Xiao Lei watched from the side, nodding from time to time.

"Wait a minute," Xiao Lei suddenly spoke up, "was the steamed pork with rice flour you made last time a little too firm?"

"Yes, it's just that the texture of the noodles is a bit off." Zhou Yan nodded.

"It's gone a bit too far..."

Zhou Yan came to help, but also to learn.

The banquet held for funerals is relatively simpler than that for weddings.

Whole chickens and ducks have been eliminated, and pork is now the main food.

The host slaughtered two large, fat pigs, which became the main ingredients.

Ten tables were filled with relatives and friends who came to help and pay their respects. Today's meal was relatively simple, with pig's blood and offal as the main dishes, along with a few stir-fried dishes.

The butcher brought over some offal, and the brothers Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai cooked two large pots of braised beef, which were very popular and well-received.

We expect to have 60 tables of guests tomorrow, with 30 tables set up for a continuous banquet, and the tables will be turned over once.

This scale is also a test for Xiao Lei and Zheng Qiang.

Fortunately, the kitchen help team in Zhoucun is quite capable. The experienced butchers, wearing aprons, are ready-made cutting boards, and their knife skills are quite reliable.

With Zhou Yan and Awei helping out, the work was completed steadily.

At four o'clock, Zhou Yan and Awei packed up their things and left, returning to the hotel to open for business.

After closing for the evening, Ah Wei dragged his tired body home to rest.

Zhou Yan and Comrade Lao Zhou rode their bikes back to Zhoucun.

They didn't keep watch yesterday, but the father and son still have to keep watch tonight.

He was originally supposed to be in charge of making braised pig's head, but the old lady ended up taking over the job.

……

Lin Zhiqiang had just returned from Jiaozhou. He called Xia Yao out for a walk on the riverbank and said, "Yao Yao, I've already discussed your joining Licheng Group with Yao Licheng."

His secretary will contact me in a couple of days, and we will sign a contract then. After you graduate, you can start working at the headquarters of Licheng Group.

They will handle the visa application; the monthly salary is 10,000 RMB, and there is room for promotion and salary increases.

"Okay, Uncle." Xia Yao nodded, a smile appearing on her face. She had been thinking about this for several days, and now it was settled.

"So, do you want to cooperate with Yao Licheng?"

Lin Zhiqiang glanced around and lowered his voice, saying, "I discussed it with your aunt yesterday, and I talked with Yao Licheng all afternoon today. We found that we have a lot in common, so I decided to cooperate with him to set up a factory and take charge of the Licheng Group's Jiaozhou factory."

Xia Yao smiled and said, "That's good too. Licheng Group has ample funds, so you won't have any worries and can do a lot of things without any burdens."

Lin Zhiqiang nodded: "That's right, that's what I was thinking too. Yao Licheng's sincerity is quite good, and cooperating with him will give us a better start. Moreover, Jiaozhou offers preferential policies and support to Hong Kong businesses, which is also an advantage."

"Licheng Group's Jiaozhou factory is mainly responsible for the silk printing and dyeing process. Yao Licheng hopes that after you join Licheng Group, you will continue to explore the Jiading silk series. The Jiaozhou factory will start with this series and make a line of products to make the name of Jiading silk known internationally once again."

Xia Yao hesitated for a moment upon hearing this: "Then what about the four pictures I originally planned to have left..."

“That’s the key to getting senior designer treatment at Licheng Group. Licheng Group’s orders to the textile factory only include the existing four drawings. I know you haven’t submitted your ideas for the next four drawings to Lao Du yet,” Lin Zhiqiang said.

Xia Yao fell silent.

"Yaoyao, you're a designer. This is your own independent work. During your internship, you developed the Jiading silk series for a textile factory—four small designs and four large designs—and secured a large order from Licheng Group. This far exceeds the workload of an intern," Lin Zhiqiang said, smiling at her.

"For the next two weeks, you just need to work with the production department to modify those four drawings to achieve the best printing and dyeing effect, and then you can consider the task successfully completed."

"Then you need to start preparing for your onboarding to Licheng Group, turning the subsequent drawings of the Jiading silk series into a valuable resume for you at Licheng Group, and gain the right to design at the Jiaozhou factory."

"That's how the workplace works. You have to demonstrate your abilities and performance to gain your boss's trust. If you want to be transferred to the Jiaozhou factory, the Jiading silk series will be your biggest asset."

“I know the situation in the textile factory better than you do. You will receive a stamped notice for outstanding interns and a bonus of up to one hundred yuan. This is determined by the rules and regulations, but it is not the value that the Jiading silk series should have.”

Xia Yao's eyes gradually cleared, and she nodded, saying, "Uncle, I understand."

……

Zhou Yan played mahjong all night and ended up losing 15 cents.

The next day, as soon as it was light, everyone began to get busy.

They went up the mountain quite early, at eight o'clock. Zhou Yao, the eldest son of Sixth Master, smashed the ceramic basin in front of the coffin, raised the soul-guiding banner, and officially began the procession of the coffin.

The funeral procession was very long, and almost everyone in the village came.

Zhou Yan also saw some familiar figures in the crowd. Mr. Song Changhe and Teacher Song had arrived, Deputy Mayor Ye Chen had arrived, and several old men in old military uniforms were also following the group up the mountain to send off Sixth Master on his final journey.

Shovelfuls of soil were placed on the coffin.

"Kangzi, take care." Song Changhe and three veterans stood not far from Zhou Yan and raised their right hands in a military salute.

Zhou Yan watched this scene, and his emotions remained unsettled for a long time.

As they came down from the mountain, Song Changhe called out to him, smiling as he asked, "Zhou Yan, are you in charge of the lunch banquet at the dam?"

"It wasn't me, it was my master who was in charge, I was just helping out," Zhou Yan replied. "I really couldn't handle a banquet with sixty tables."

Song Changhe smiled and said, "You are quite methodical in your work. You'll definitely be able to do it after another two years of study. After I leave in a few years, I'll ask you to take care of what you need."

“You are in good health, it’s too early to talk about these things now,” Zhou Yan quickly said.

“At this age, what’s the point of being early? Just live one day at a time.” Song Changhe didn’t take it seriously. “But things need to be arranged first. Look at Kangzi, he arranged things very well, so his descendants don’t have to worry about anything.”

(End of this chapter)