1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 45 You hit me!

Textile factory workers have long complained about the terrible food in the canteen!
Especially in the last two years, with the opening of the stir-fry section, Chef Xiao was transferred to be in charge of stir-fry, and the quality of the large-pot dishes plummeted.

That's fine. If you want to try something different, come to the stir-fry section. For a little extra money, the food is really good.

As a result, starting from the beginning of this year, the head chef in the kitchen was changed, Chef Xiao was dismissed, and the quality of the stir-fries plummeted, becoming increasingly unpalatable.

Paying extra only to end up with food that makes you feel nauseous is a common occurrence in the stir-fry section.

Whether or not we can eat this meal depends entirely on luck.

Zhao Dong's words were like setting off a powder keg.

"Isn't communal cooking meant for human consumption? Take beef stew with potatoes, for example. The beef is so mushy it's like cotton wool, and the potatoes are like mud, you can't even pick them up with your chopsticks!"

"The lotus root with fried pork residue is just boiled in water. Even the pigs will refuse to eat if you feed it to them!"

"The wisteria was wilted and shriveled, definitely leftovers from the previous day, probably not even washed. A small stone almost chipped my front tooth."

The pent-up anger of the crowd was ignited at this moment.

"I said it was that bastard Huang Fusheng who caused all this trouble. He was like a moorhen occupying a bird's nest without laying any eggs, and he ostracized and suppressed Master Xiao."

"This Wen Sang couldn't even pass the third-level chef exam, yet he managed to demote Chef Xiao, a second-level chef, to head chef. Wang Defa is no good either; he's a nepotist."

"A tortoise lying on the railway tracks, pretending to be a turtle's shell!"

"The factory allocated so much money, and this is all we get to eat? I bet some people are just scraping the last drop of oil off the chicken's feet—trying to get as much as possible from the bones!"

The conversation quickly shifted from complaining about the bad food to attacking Huang Fusheng and Wang Defa.

The scolding was awful.

"That bastard Zhao Dong! How dare he curse me like that! He even incited the workers to cause trouble, I'll go chop him up!" Huang Fusheng was furious after being verbally abused in the kitchen. He grabbed a cleaver from the knife rack and was about to rush out.

All the chefs craned their necks to look at him, and none of them stopped him.

Huang Fusheng rushed to the door and then stopped, turning back to look at the crowd and cursing, "Why didn't you guys stop me? If I really rushed out and chopped someone up, the cafeteria would be in big trouble."

"Your little tricks are like paper lanterns, they'll break with a single poke, why would I need to stop you?" Xiao Lei sneered.

The chefs couldn't hold back their laughter any longer.

Huang Fusheng blushed and eventually dropped the knife in his hand.

This incident caused quite a stir, and Wang Defa was so criticized that he didn't dare to speak out.

Finally, Liu Yusheng, the deputy factory director in charge of the canteen, arrived and, after much persuasion, managed to calm the workers down.

“We are aware of the needs and concerns of our comrades. On behalf of the factory, I promise you that we will hold a meeting immediately to study this issue and ensure that it is handled and resolved as soon as possible,” Deputy Factory Director Liu solemnly promised.

"I'm sick and tired of hearing that same old rhetoric," Zhao Dong muttered to himself before getting up and leaving.

"Zhao Dong, come to my office." Liu Yusheng called out to Zhao Dong and left with him.

"Deputy Factory Director Liu, about this matter..."

Liu Yusheng said with a stern face, "Your intentions are not wrong, but your approach is a bit inappropriate. After all, you are the director, so you need to be careful about the impact. What if things get out of hand and a collective incident occurs? How will you handle that?"

"You're right, I was inconsiderate." Zhao Dong nodded and didn't argue further.

……

"This broth is clear, yet the flavor is rich and delicious. It's so incredibly fresh. No wonder it can sell for six cents a bowl and still sell so many every day." After all the customers had left, Zhou Jie looked at Zhou Yan, who was coming out of the kitchen, and said with admiration.

He counted them all; he sold sixty-four bowls of braised beef at noon today. The customers all said it was delicious and praised it highly.

"I wasn't lying when I said I could sell a hundred bowls, was I?" Zhou Yan said with a smile.

He wasn't actually busy at noon today. He only stir-fried six portions of stir-fried beef with two kinds of peppers, heated up four portions of beef with dried bamboo shoots and two portions of braised pork ribs, and chatted with Zhou Momo for an hour, almost falling asleep.

"I believe you, I definitely believe you." Zhou Jie nodded. He had just drunk a bowl of soup, and the difference was so obvious that he had no choice but to admit defeat.

The formula that Zhou Yan developed is far more powerful than his original one.

If he learns this skill, none of the soup pot vendors at the docks can beat him!
"I heard from the workers that a fight almost broke out in the factory canteen because the food was so bad that the workers were cursing Wang Defa and Huang Fusheng. It was only after a deputy factory director came that the situation was brought under control." Zhao Tieying said with some doubt, "How can such a big factory canteen not even cook a decent dish?"

The workers who arrived later were all discussing this, and Zhou Jie and Zhao Hong also looked at Zhou Yan with curiosity.

"It's no wonder that this happens when laymen are instructing experts and nepotism is rampant," Zhou Yan said with a smile. "Even a chef as skilled as my master can only work as a kitchen helper. Skilled chefs can't even get their hands on a ladle, while those who know how to flatter become masters. Do you think they can cook well?"

Everyone suddenly realized what was going on and understood.

"How's it going with learning how to cook tripe and beef?" Zhou Yan asked Zhou Jie.

"Almost done. I've already cooked a few bowls under Fourth Aunt's guidance," Zhou Jie said confidently.

Zhou Yan glanced at the system taskbar: [Side Quest: The Inheritance of Qiaojiao Beef. Apprentice: Zhou Jie, Learning Progress: 1/3]

“Not bad, you have a foundation. Come back for two more days tomorrow and the day after to solidify your skills, and you’ll be ready to graduate,” Zhou Yan said with a smile.

“Okay.” Zhou Jie nodded, having no objections.

At that moment, a bicycle stopped outside the door.

Zhou Yan looked up, stood up, and went to the door to greet him: "Uncle."

Zhou Weiguo was wearing his military uniform today, the one he wore after being discharged from the army. It looked very new. After changing his clothes, his spirit and energy were completely different from yesterday. He was upright and imposing, as if the former company commander Zhou who led his troops into battle had returned.

He parked his bicycle and said with a smile, "I just came back from the county and stopped by your restaurant on the way."

"What did the personnel bureau say?" Zhou Yan asked with concern. This matter had dragged on for four years, and he was afraid that something might have gone wrong.

Zhou Weiguo said, "The Personnel Bureau held a meeting this morning to discuss this matter. There are no results yet. They told me to come back and wait for further notice. They will arrange things for me as soon as possible."

"That's good." Zhou Yan smiled and said, "You haven't eaten yet, have you? We haven't eaten either, let's have something simple to eat together."

“Okay.” Zhou Weiguo nodded and followed him inside.

Everyone greeted each other.

Zhou Momo slid off the chair and ran over quickly, her face beaming with joy: "Uncle! Uncle! What brings you here?"

"I've come to see you." Zhou Weiguo smiled, patted his pocket, and held out his hand to Zhou Momo, revealing two glittering gold coin chocolates in his palm.

"Wow! It's gold coins!" Zhou Momo's eyes lit up. She reached out and took them, overjoyed. "Thank you, Uncle!"

"You're welcome." Zhou Weiguo's smile grew even brighter.

This was handed to him casually by a leader he knew from the personnel bureau. He carried it all the way back to give to Zhou Momo, and seeing her beaming with joy, he felt it was sweeter than if he had eaten it himself.

"A shiny gold coin, wow~ wow~ such a beautiful gold coin..." Zhou Momo took her gold coin and went to play with it.

It's clear that she really likes shiny things.

In this day and age, showing off two gold coins when you go out can make your friends envious for a long time.

They usually can't bear to eat it once they get it.

Zhou Yan went to cook, while the others chatted in the shop about Zhou Hao's wedding, which was scheduled for this Sunday.

Zhou Hao is Zhou Jie's younger brother. He is a non-commissioned officer in the army. He took leave to come back for his wedding and will only return three days before the wedding. All the arrangements are being made by his family.

While everyone at Zhou Erwa's restaurant was having a good time, Zhou Liangliang and his wife across the street had already started arguing.

"I said I wouldn't move, but you insisted. Now look what happened, not a single bowl of noodles sold, not a single pot of soup sold! Am I supposed to starve here with you?" Wu Guihua stomped her feet in anger.

"A magic cloak." Zhou Liangliang frowned and lit a cigarette. There was a pile of cigarette butts on the ground. He still couldn't understand why this was happening.

"Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! Kill it all! We made so much money selling meat, vegetables, and noodles today. If we can't sell them, we'll have worked for nothing all month!" Wu Guihua clapped her hands to knock the cigarette out of Zhou Liangliang's mouth, staring at him with a deathly gaze.

“I’ve spoiled you rotten…” Zhou Liangliang raised his fist.

"Go ahead and hit me!" Wu Guihua retorted, pressing her face against his fist. "Zhou Liangliang, you think you're so tough now, daring to hit your wife?"

Zhou Liangliang clenched and unclenched his fist, then finally pulled it back, coughed twice and said, "I'll figure something out. There's no way we can't sell a single bowl!"

……

After a simple meal, Zhou Weiguo and Zhou Jie returned home.

Zhou Yan stood at the restaurant entrance, watching Zhou Weiguo ride his bicycle alongside Zhou Jie. The wind blew his empty left sleeve, making it impossible to tell that he was lame.

“If Wei Guo gets a job, matchmakers will be lining up to propose to him at the old house,” Zhao Tieying said with a smile, standing beside him. “He’s finally come to his senses.”

"Then you have to praise me. I'm the one who did the ideological work with my uncle." Zhou Yan raised his head and smiled smugly.

Is that so?

"Erhuo."

"Aren't you my son?"

"Absolutely true!"

……

Today, Meng Anhe wore a dark brown wool coat and came out of the family compound with her two sons. She went up to Lin Zhiqiang, who was standing at the door, and took his arm. She asked with some doubt, "Why did you choose Zhou Yan to have dinner with the factory director? You know how picky his wife is about food. If we just have noodles, she'll complain about us for half a year."
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(End of this chapter)