1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 8 Spicy and Sour Pickled Radish

Zhou Yan instinctively squeezed the brakes.

Food identification? What kind of skill is that?
[Food Identification]: An excellent chef must master the ability to select ingredients, accurately grasping their freshness, origin, and seasonality to obtain the best quality. The ability to quickly analyze food will contribute to improving culinary skills. You have acquired this ability.

The system then provided a note.

Zhou Yan seemed to be deep in thought, not expecting that in addition to the recipe, the reward also included skills.

"Brother, do you want to eat Dingding candy too?" Zhou Momo asked, turning around with her little face full of anticipation.

Zhou Yan turned his head and saw an old man with half-white hair carrying a bamboo pole on his shoulder by the roadside. The copper hammer and iron chisel in his hand gently collided, making a ding-ding sound, which is how Dingding Candy got its name.

"I think you're the one who wants to eat it, aren't you?" Zhou Yan said with a smile.

Zhou Momo swallowed hard, looked away, and shook her head firmly: "Mom said we can't waste Guoguo's money."

"Your brother can afford to treat you to some candy," Zhou Yan said with a smile as he moved his bicycle closer.

The old man put down his bamboo carrying pole, broke the white sugar bricks into small, jade-like pieces, wrapped them in kraft paper, and the heavy package cost only five cents.

Zhou Yan glanced at the sugar brick, and a note appeared:
[A plain, unremarkable sugar brick; the sesame seeds are slightly overcooked, but this doesn't affect its edibility.]

Zhou Yan glanced again at a basket of bright red oranges displayed in front of an older woman who was setting up a stall by the roadside.

A basket of sour and astringent oranges, not yet ripe.

Zhou Yan's eyes lit up. This was truly an amazing skill for grocery shopping! He would never have to worry about making a mistake again!

After paying, he opened the paper package, pinched a piece of candy, and fed it to Zhou Momo. Then he popped a piece into his own mouth as well. The sweetness immediately melted in his mouth, and his mood brightened up.

"Dingding candy is so delicious! So sweet! Pot is the best pot in the world!" Zhou Momo happily swung her short legs and mumbled a little.

"Sweetie, I'll buy you another one next time." Zhou Yan smiled and patted her head.

He also has the cutest little sister in the world. Five cents worth of candy, sitting on the front bar of his bicycle, he gives her so much emotional value!
I have to say that the new bike that Lin Zhiqiang gave me is really easy to ride. The more you pedal, the more powerful it becomes. This morning, the round trip, which usually takes more than an hour, took less than half an hour.

Back at the restaurant, Zhou Yan first lifted Zhou Momo and put her on the ground, then pushed the bicycle into the store and parked it against the wall.

This is Zhou Yan's most valuable possession, so it must be kept safe.

"Zhou Momo, did you ask your brother to buy you candy again?" Zhao Tieying asked, suppressing a laugh, looking at his youngest daughter with her pouting lips.

"Yeah." Zhou Momo nodded, a hint of pride in her voice. "My boyfriend bought me Dingding candy! I love my boyfriend the most!"

"Five cents for a big bag, enough for her to eat for a long time." Zhou Yan took the Dingding candy wrapped in oil paper out of the basket, opened it and handed it to Zhao Tieying, "Mom, you should try some too."

"Business is just starting to pick up, so we need to spend our money wisely," Zhao Tieying advised, picking up a small piece of candy and putting it in her mouth.

It's so sweet, it warms my heart!

"Okay, I'll go make the toppings." Zhou Yan replied with a smile, carrying a basket on his back into the kitchen. Zhao Tieying had already washed all the dishes and was drying them, and the kitchen was also clean.

"Mom, I'm going to play on the seesaw! Call me when it's time to eat!" Zhou Momo called out, skipping and hopping towards the door.

"Don't run around, okay? We'll have meat for lunch. Come back early when you've had your fun." Zhao Tieying raised her voice a few decibels. "Otherwise, I'll eat all the meat."

“Ao—” Zhou Momo agreed and ran towards the factory-run school next to her with her short legs.

Zhou Yan bought a pound of minced beef, a pound of beef brisket, and a pound of pork ribs on this trip, which is enough for thirty bowls of noodle sauce.

However, his father cut him an extra three ounces of beef brisket, specifically requesting that he come back for braised beef noodles after the beef was sold out at noon.

"The girl my son jumped into the Qingyi River yesterday, Tuesday, and she really did save Deputy Factory Director Lin's niece. Today, she brought him a new bicycle to thank him. She's truly become a hero!"

"This kid is a real Good Samaritan! He even dared to jump into Bailatuo. He's lucky to be alive."

"I heard Zhou Yan switched to selling noodles today, and business is booming. Wang Laowu is furious."

"With business so good, they probably don't need to sell hooks anymore. What a pity, what a pity..."

"Second Sister-in-law Lin, you're still thinking about it?"

"I'll try Zhou Yan's noodles sometime and support his business too."

"You probably want to try him out..."

Zhou Yan was preparing ingredients in the kitchen, while the laughter of the old women washing clothes at the dock could be heard from outside the window from time to time, which was both funny and helpless.

Zhao Tieying brought in peeled garlic, overheard a few words, spat, rolled up his sleeves, and said, "I'll tear that widow Lin's foul mouth to shreds!"

Zhou Yan tried his best to persuade her to stop.

His reputation and fame are both on the rise, and the trend is good.

Just as he had predicted, the restaurant saw a small surge in customers after the factory closed at noon, mostly workers who had come because of its reputation.

Fortunately, Zhao Tieying was there. She handled everything from tending the fire to serving dishes, clearing tables, and collecting cash, all without any chaos.

After working for two hours, it was time for the silk factory to start work. With no more customers, Zhou Yan finally closed the gate.

Zhou Yan let out a long sigh of relief, shaking his slightly sore hands. Making ramen is not only a technical skill, but also a physically demanding task.

"We sold twenty-eight bowls at noon and collected 16.8 yuan." Zhao Tieying handed the counted money to Zhou Yan, her smile impossible to hide.

Zhou Miao quietly collected the bowls, a smile on her face.

This isn't Tuesday's highest-grossing day for the restaurant, but it will be the most profitable, because the prepared ingredients won't go to waste.

They never expected that a bowl of noodles costing six cents would sell so well! "The remaining toppings are only enough for about ten bowls of noodles. Should we stir-fry more toppings this afternoon?" Zhao Tieying asked, full of enthusiasm.

"No need. It would be good if we could sell a dozen more bowls tonight. Most of the workers go home to eat at night." Zhou Yan shook his head with a smile. Actually, the noodle business is best in the morning.

Today we prepared toppings and sauces for sixty bowls of noodles. If we can sell them all, it will have far exceeded our expectations.

"Mom, go and call Momo back for dinner. I'll cook noodles for you." Zhou Yan said with a smile, put the money in the cabinet, and turned to go into the kitchen.

"Okay." Zhao Tieying replied, turned and went out. Standing at the restaurant entrance, hands on her hips, she shouted loudly towards the school, "Zhou Momo! Come home for dinner! I'm from Shudao Mountain! One, two..."

Before the word "three" could even be uttered, Zhou Momo had already come running out of the front door, shouting, "Coming! Coming!"

"Brother, I'm hungry." As soon as Zhou Momo entered the restaurant, she ran to the kitchen, leaned close to Zhou Yan, and looked up at him expectantly.

"Go wash your hands, we'll eat right away," Zhou Yan said with a smile, looking at her chubby, dirty little hands.

"Okay!" Zhou Momo obediently replied, walked to the water tank, tiptoed, scooped a spoonful of water into a small basin, and began to wash her hands.

A short while later, Zhou Yan brought out four bowls of braised beef noodles. The family sat down together to eat the noodles; they were all hungry after being busy for so long.

"Try the pickled vegetables I made yesterday. They'll taste even better tomorrow." Zhou Yan brought out a plate of pickled radishes. The red-skinned radishes, cut into long strips, had been pickling for a day and looked crystal clear.

"Crunch." Zhao Tieying picked up a radish, took a bite, and nodded repeatedly: "It's so crunchy, sour and spicy, with a hint of sweetness, delicious!"

Zhou Miao also tried one, and nodded with a smile, saying, "Mmm, it's very refreshing and perfect with noodles."

Zhou Momo tried to pick it up with chopsticks for a while but couldn't manage it, so Zhou Yan simply picked one up and let her hold it.

The little guy held it to his mouth and took small bites, his big eyes lighting up. But soon he started making "smack, smack" sounds, saying between bites, "This radish is so delicious, but it's a little spicy..."

There were indeed fewer customers at dinner, but all eleven bowls of noodles were still sold out. Several customers who arrived late didn't get to eat and will have to come back tomorrow morning.

After helping Zhou Yan tidy up the restaurant, Zhao Tieying sat on the back of Zhou Miao's bicycle and rode away humming a little tune.

It was clear she was in a good mood. What impressed Zhou Yan even more was her energy. She got up in the morning to prepare offal, cook rice, feed the pigs, and then helped out at the shop all day, yet she could still hum a little tune as she went home.

Zhou Yan was so busy with the shop that he was so tired that he wanted to lie down on the floor.

He took the money out of the cabinet and counted it. Today, he sold a total of 60 bowls of noodles, earning 36 yuan. Yesterday, his starting capital was 16.4 yuan.

The cost of groceries was 16.9 yuan, and the cost of Ding Ding candy was 0.5 yuan.

He still has 35.5 yuan in his hand!
The timber, oil, and seasonings used now were all purchased by the restaurant previously; these expenses can be accounted for collectively at the end of the month.

Comrade Xiao Zhou is quite ambitious when it comes to purchasing; he's clearly preparing for something big. There are still dozens of kilograms of rapeseed oil in the oil vat, a wall of oak wood neatly stacked behind the stove, and plenty of salt, dried chili peppers, and other seasonings—enough to last for a while.

Although the money was spent lavishly, it was all spent on the store, and the items were all quite good.

After soaking the dried bamboo shoots and quickly washing up, Zhou Yan went to bed and glanced at the control panel before falling asleep:

[Player: Zhou Yan]

Occupation: Chef

[Wealth Points: -822.52]

[Professional Skills]:
Knife skills (intermediate): 9604/10000 (Your knife skills are sufficient for most dishes)

Cooking skill (intermediate): 1668/10000 (poor, still needs practice)

Seasoning (Intermediate): 1695/10000 (Please be gentle with the salt).

Eloquence (Advanced): 88889/100000 (Like a pig pushing a curtain – all talk and no action)

[Mastering the Dishes]:
Double Pepper Beef Noodles (Premium): 99999/100000
Braised Beef Noodles (Premium): 99999/100000
Braised Pork Ribs Noodles (Premium): 99999/100000
Pickled Cabbage (Premium): 99999/100000
Cucumber Salad (Intermediate): 1871/10000
……

Special Skills:
Food Identification (Master): 999999/1000000 (Cannot be upgraded)
Main Quest: Become a Master Chef! Become Famous Worldwide!

Main Quest: Achieve 100 restaurant influence (61/100)

[Wealth Mall]: Unlocked when wealth value reaches 1000.

After one day of operation, the panel showed significant changes.

The wealth value changed from -858.52 to -822.52. The increase of 36 should correspond to today's turnover, one to one.

Zhou Yan was quite looking forward to the Wealth Mall, wondering what it would sell, and if it had any recipes.

Secondly, his proficiency in knife skills, heat control, and seasoning all increased by 1000, which should be related to his acquisition and mastery of the three types of noodles.

He mastered three dishes: braised beef with dried bamboo shoots, minced beef with two kinds of peppers, and braised pork ribs. This gave him a certain understanding of cooking, stir-frying, and braising.

Knowledge enters his mind, but it is not stored in isolation.

He can cut beef into even cubes, just as he can mince pork.

Beef stewed with dried bamboo shoots is delicious, but if you replace the dried bamboo shoots with radishes and potatoes, you can make braised beef brisket with potatoes or braised beef brisket with radishes. They won't be too bad, just not quite perfect.

Zhou Yan is like a blank sheet of paper, and now a bold and colorful stroke has been made. Who can predict what kind of culinary masterpiece will be painted next?

He himself didn't know, but he did know that there would definitely be more guests to serve tomorrow, and he would have to make even more noodles.

And, make more money!

I'm begging for monthly votes, recommendation votes, anything!
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(End of this chapter)