1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 43 I Want to Learn This! (Please Read On!)
With Zhou Jie tending the pot, Aunt Zhao was able to focus on serving the customers, and the young female workers readily ordered their food amidst cheers of "Good girl!"

"Six cents a bowl of noodles, are they selling so well?"

"They didn't even hesitate for a moment."

"A dish of kimchi can make a guest so happy?"

Zhou Jie watched from the side, somewhat bewildered, feeling as if his understanding had been reshaped.

"Mmm! This braised beef with dried bamboo shoots is so delicious!"

"Try my pork ribs, they're absolutely amazing!"

"The broth is so delicious, is it made from bone broth? The noodles are also very chewy, this is the best noodles I've ever had!"

"No wonder college students love to eat; they really know their food!"

"Putting everything else aside, the aroma of beef wafting from that soup pot is incredibly enticing, completely different from what's being made across the street."

It was clear that the guests were very satisfied with their meal, and praises were frequently heard.

Perhaps because of the announcement, the occupancy rate was particularly high today, and every table was occupied in no time.

Zhou Yan had instructed that lunch and dinner should not be shared among people, but sharing a table for noodles in the morning was allowed.

Zhou Yan wrote this rule in a prominent position above the menu wall.

Sharing a table to eat noodles is no big deal.

The relaxed attitude of people from Sichuan and Chongqing can be glimpsed from the surface of their benches.

A row of benches is placed in front of the shop, along with a small stool, and a group of people eat noodles on the benches. This scene is hard to find elsewhere.

For lunch and dinner, some guests are gathering to discuss business and order several dishes. It would be inappropriate to have a stranger join them at the same table.

Of course, if the workers voluntarily share a table and order a few dishes to split the bill, that's a different story, and the restaurant certainly won't stop them.

"Wow, there's an empty seat here. Can this pretty lady share a table with me?"

"Oh, you're so kind! If you're out of kimchi, I'll add some more for you."

"Little brother, come sit here. It's just right for the four of you to sit at one table."

Aunt Zhao was perceptive and took the initiative to arrange shared tables to avoid making the guests feel awkward. Female workers sat at one table, male workers sat at another, and the young couple sat wherever they wanted, with the guests' wishes taking precedence.

This significantly improved the guests' impression of Aunt Zhao, and they even added a touch of embellishment to their voices when calling her.

Zhou Jie watched from the side, nodding repeatedly in surprise and admiration.

Fourth Aunt is a well-known eccentric woman in Zhoucun, nicknamed the Iron Lady with an invincible tongue. Unexpectedly, she is so good at talking to diners in the restaurant, making every customer smile and willingly pay.

In those days, the waiters in state-run restaurants and factory canteens were arrogant and looked down on their customers.

Going out to eat, you end up paying for a meal and still getting a lot of frustration.

Even privately owned restaurants and street vendors are rather reserved and aloof; their mindset hasn't changed yet.

Zhou Jie considers himself to be quite eloquent and has done a good job of maintaining relationships with his long-time customers.

But after seeing his aunt's performance today, he felt like a greenhorn.

Fourth Aunt, I want to learn this!

Zhou Jie has figured out the trick.

Zhou Yan's restaurant is doing well; the noodles that cost six cents sell like hotcakes, and it's not just because they taste good.

He puts his guests first!
"Why did all the workers go to Zhou Erwa's restaurant? We sell it for 50 cents a bowl, and they don't even ask us a question?" Wu Guihua scratched her head, looking completely bewildered.

"Really? Why? What went wrong?" Zhou Liangliang was also completely bewildered.

He knew there were shortcomings on his first day selling noodles, but the workers didn't even give him a chance to sit down and try them. That was just too unreasonable.
When he first started setting up a stall at the dock, he moved his stall next to Zhou Jie's stall. By offering a price that was one cent cheaper, business was pretty good for the first few days, and he managed to steal a lot of customers from Zhou Jie.

The situation is completely different from today.

They bought new pots and stoves, a bunch of ceramic bowls for noodles, and various ingredients in the morning, emptying their savings.

Zhou Liangliang and his wife started to panic.

Zhao Tieying took down the signs for the "Shredded Beef Noodles" and "Beef and Bamboo Shoot Noodles" and hung them in the clearance section.

When it was time for work to resume, only two servings of pork rib noodles remained unsold.

During this time, Zhou Yan cooked a bowl of pork rib noodles for Zhou Lihui and let him eat it before going to school at 7:30.

So this morning, the store sold a total of 77 servings of noodles, setting a new record and just meeting Zhou Yan's expectations.

"Fourth Aunt, you're amazing!" Zhou Jie exclaimed as he helped clear the table.

If it weren't for Aunt Zhao, this shop would really have gone out of business.

"What's so great about that? I just shouted a couple of times." Zhao Tieying shook his head with a smile, not feeling that he had done anything special.

"Come on, let's have breakfast too." Zhou Yan brought out four bowls of noodles: two bowls of braised pork rib noodles and two bowls of freshly stir-fried beef with double peppers.

"I eat soup noodles. My mouth is parched from talking all morning." Zhao Tieying first took away a bowl of braised pork rib noodles.

"I want to try the double-pepper beef noodles; everyone who's tried them says they're great," Zhou Jie said, choosing the noodles. Zhao Hong opted for soup noodles, while Zhou Yan ate the leftover bowl of noodles.

"Wow! This noodle dish smells amazing! How come the beef is so fragrant and tender? The noodles don't taste right, how come they're so chewy? So delicious?" Zhou Jie's eyes widened like saucers, his face filled with disbelief.

He initially thought those people were making a big fuss about eating noodles.

Now, question them, understand them, become them, and surpass them!

The amount of meat sauce in this noodle dish is so generous! There's at least an ounce of meat, and the other half is made up of green and red peppers. With this much sauce, you can taste both the sauce and the noodles in every bite, which is incredibly satisfying.

Is 60 cents a bowl expensive?
Not expensive at all!

Zhou Yan didn't even make half of that price.

That's incredibly generous.

After finishing a bowl of noodles, Zhou Jie scooped out all the green and red peppers at the bottom of the bowl, still wanting more.

"It smells amazing! This is the best mixed noodles I've ever had in my life, bar none." Zhou Jie said with great certainty, then took out six cents and put it on the table: "I also want to pay to show my approval."

“Master doesn’t accept money from apprentices.” Zhou Yan smiled and stuffed the money back into his pocket. “I’ll probably be using it a lot for my hanging dragon a lot from now on. Could you tell my second uncle for me when you get home tonight? I’ll buy it at market price.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to my dad when I get home tonight.” Zhou Jie nodded. “What market price? We should definitely give our own brothers a discount.”

"I'll talk to Zhou Fei tonight and ask him to reserve the auger for you, just enough to cover the cost," Zhao Hong said, putting down her chopsticks.

“Exactly, just recoup the cost,” Zhou Jie agreed.

“I’m in business, I can’t possibly take advantage of you. If you don’t sell at market price, I’d rather buy from elsewhere.” Zhou Yan’s attitude was firm; even with brothers, they still kept clear accounts.

Of course, Comrade Lao Zhou is different.

That's his biological father.

The money saved on discounts on beef would eventually double and return to his slush fund.

Hearing him say that, Zhou Jie and Zhao Hong had no choice but to give up.

After finishing their noodles and resting for a while, Zhao Hong and Zhao Tieying went to wash the dishes, while Zhou Yan sat on a recliner by the door to rest and also tended to the soup pot.

"That couple is really in for a rude awakening. They haven't sold a single bowl of noodles all morning, and their faces are all black with grime." Zhou Jie moved a bamboo chair and sat down next to Zhou Yan, with a hint of schadenfreude.

"As expected, after what happened with Wang Laowu, the textile factory workers already had a bit of a phobia of noodle stalls. The noodles they make don't look good, and the soup they make smells like mutton. It would be a miracle if they did any business," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

After chatting for two hours, Zhou Yan started cutting the beef brisket and tripe that were going to be cooked for lunch.

"You're going to put brisket in the 'Qiaojiao Beef'? That's a huge investment!" Zhou Jie watched from the side, somewhat surprised.

He only adds beef during holidays and festivals, and he charges 30 cents for every ounce of beef added.

“If you cut the beef to this thickness, you can get 150 slices from one pound. For 100 bowls of Qiaojiao Beef, I use four pounds of diaolong beef, which increases the cost by eight yuan. But each customer gets six slices of beef.” Zhou Yan picked up a thin slice of beef: “Six slices will make customers feel like there is a lot of beef, but in reality, each bowl only contains four qian of beef.”

"These days, customers are very discerning. These six slices of beef are the key to making this bowl of 'Qiaojiao Beef' sell for six cents. It's important to make customers feel that it's good value for money."

Zhou Jie nodded repeatedly, but he was still somewhat shocked when he saw the beef in Zhou Yan's hand: "One pound can be cut into 150 slices?"

He's been cutting beef since he was a child, and he can cut a hundred slices from a pound of beef, which makes him think he's really good at it.

Zhou Yan sliced ​​the beef very thinly and large, and very evenly.

"Your knife skills are amazing. Hai Zi and I couldn't do that. A hundred pieces would be our limit." Zhou Jie shook his head, his eyes filled with admiration.

“A hundred pieces will do, just put in four,” Zhou Yan said with a smile, explaining that knife skills cannot be improved overnight.

“Okay.” Zhou Jie nodded and continued to stare at the screen: “Are there any professional techniques? I’d like to learn how to slice 150 pieces.”

……

The kitchen of the factory canteen.

All the chefs, kitchen helpers, and kitchen staff stood in three rows, listening to head chef Huang Fusheng's instructions.

"As everyone probably knows, the reputation of the cafeteria's stir-fries has declined recently. Of course, the main reason is that Zhou Erwa's restaurant caused trouble that week and stole our customers."

"Director Wang repeatedly instructed us to cook well and make sure the workers eat with peace of mind and comfort. I hope everyone will listen to him and keep him in mind."

"Don't try to cheat me when cooking. If you put in too much salt and the meat is too dry and tough, I'll smash your head with the spatula!"

"Director Wang is constantly worrying about the cafeteria, and he's even lost weight from exhaustion lately. Don't you have any shame? I can't sleep at night thinking about it!"

……

Others would occasionally respond.

Wang Defa listened from outside the door, nodding repeatedly, his mouth almost stretched to his ears. Although Huang Fusheng's cooking skills were mediocre, his speaking and handling abilities were quite good.

"All day long, they lick the fat hooks and bite the skinny ones, trampling down the reeds to show off their superiority." A sneer rang out from the corner. "They're still skinny. If they got any fatter, they'd be stuck in the cafeteria door."

The kitchen fell silent immediately.

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(End of this chapter)