1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 9 Sister, you're so cute!

Zhao Tieying sat on the back of the bicycle, humming a little tune all the way back to Zhoucun.

Under a big tree at the village entrance, a group of women were cracking sunflower seeds and chatting.

"Slow down." Zhao Tieying tugged at Zhou Miao's clothes, and the bicycle speed immediately decreased.

"Iron Lady, are you in a good mood today? You came back humming a little tune," a middle-aged woman said with a smile. All eyes turned to Zhao Tieying and Zhou Miao.

Zhou Laosi was skilled at slaughtering cattle, and he was among the first in Zhoucun to obtain a cattle slaughtering license after cattle slaughtering was permitted. Zhao Tieying was also efficient in her work and lived a prosperous life, which inevitably made others envious.

But unfortunately, he had a spendthrift son named Zhou Yan, who dared to open his own restaurant after only two and a half years as an apprentice in the factory canteen.

Not only did they drain their parents' savings, but they also incurred a huge debt. For some time now, their family has become the laughing stock of Zhoucun residents.

In other words, Zhou Miao had many brothers, all of whom were skilled at slaughtering cattle, and Zhao Tieying was a sharp-tongued and unforgiving woman, so most people wouldn't dare to speak ill of them.

Zhao Tieying was a proud person. Lately, when they passed the village entrance, she would keep her head down and urge Zhou Miao to ride faster, not wanting to listen to the gossip of the old women.

"Wang Ma, you've also heard that my Zhou Yan saved the niece of Deputy Director Lin of the silk factory?" Zhao Tieying tugged at Zhou Miao's clothes, causing the bicycle to stop immediately. Her voice rose several octaves as well: "Deputy Director Lin came to thank Zhou Yan today and gave him a new bicycle. He insisted that Zhou Yan accept it and said he would nominate him for some kind of model of spiritual civilization. Also, the restaurant is doing very well today; we're so busy we can't keep up."

The village entrance was quiet, except for Zhao Tieying's hearty laughter and the crackling of the fire.

The 28-inch bicycle was a big purchase; textile factory workers had to save up for more than half a year's wages and also needed to be allocated bicycle tickets to buy one.

There are only a few bicycles in Zhoucun; only cattle butchers can afford them.

Looking at the surprised, envious, and jealous faces, Zhao Tieying's smile grew even brighter, her raised chin like that of a victorious general: "I'm not going to argue with you anymore. I'm going back to take a shower and go to sleep. I have to go to the shop to help out early tomorrow morning."

Zhou Miao immediately rode away on his bicycle.

"A vintage bicycle! Zhou Yan's hit the jackpot!"

"Zhou Erwa, the deputy director of the silk factory, has managed to get on the good side of a high-ranking official!"

"The restaurant business has improved, no wonder Zhao Tieying is so proud..."

Zhao Tieying listened intently to the whispers behind her, laughing uncontrollably. All the pent-up anger that had been building up in her heart was released at once.

"Mom, what are you laughing at?" Zhou Momo turned around and looked at her curiously.

"I've thought of something happy," Zhao Tieying replied with a smile.

"Hehehe, I'm happy too..."

……

Zhou Yan fell asleep immediately.

Wang Laowu and his wife tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

"We sold ten fewer bowls today than yesterday. Tuesday, the kid stole all the customers. What are we going to do?" Old Wang's wife looked worried.

Wang Laowu exhaled a puff of his pipe, waved his hand, and said, "It's nothing. Lin Zhiqiang and Zhao Dong put on this for him today. Everyone who came to eat noodles is just giving them face and joining in the fun."

He sells a bowl of noodles for six cents. Even if the workers have higher wages, they can't eat like that every day. They'll still have to come here to eat in a couple of days.

"Really?"

"Don't worry, Zhou Erwa's restaurant was popular for two days when it opened, but what's the use? Zhou Erwa is just not cut out to be a chef and run a restaurant."

……

Zhou Yan got up early again, first changing the water for the dried bamboo shoots, then washing up with cold water.

The body that works regularly is different. After a good night's sleep, I feel refreshed and energetic, not at all like a fragile college student.

Zhou Yan tied his bamboo basket to the back of his old bicycle and rode out to buy groceries.

When he arrived at the market, he turned on the "Food Appraisal" function, and the quality of all kinds of ingredients was immediately apparent. He even picked out only the chili peppers with excellent markings.

“Zhou Erwa, the pork belly and ribs here are really good today. If you want some, I’ll give you a discount.” Zhou Yan was passing by a meat stall when the butcher called out to him, saying mysteriously, “It’s 1.6 yuan a pound. If you buy it all, I’ll give you a 1 mao discount.”

At 1.6 yuan per jin, that's really cheap.

Zhou Yan glanced at the meat stall and noticed that the pork was whitish in color, but the label was bright red: "[A pile of stale, diseased pork]"

Zhou Yan uses a lot of meat at his restaurant, and all the butchers in town recognize him.

"Why does this meat look a bit whitish?" Zhou Yan asked casually.

"These are pigs raised by my second uncle himself. The meat is excellent, don't worry. I, Wang Qi, have been selling meat for years. Would I lie to you, kid?" the butcher said, patting his chest.

"It's a pity I've switched to selling noodles, so I don't need this meat anymore." Zhou Yan said with a regretful expression, then turned and left.

"Selling noodles?" Wang Qi scratched his head, then turned his attention to the next sucker.

In those days of scarcity, selling diseased pigs and cattle was not uncommon. However, it was going too far to take advantage of Zhou Yan, a young man who didn't know anything about goods. Perhaps Zhou had suffered such losses before.

Zhou Yan originally didn't intend to get involved, but when he finished buying the groceries and was about to leave, he saw Wang Qi pulling an old woman to sell her produce. So he went to a secluded spot, took out his ledger and pen, quickly wrote a few lines, tore off a piece of paper, folded it, and casually tossed it into the market management office as he rode his bike past the office. It landed right on the table.

Whether the management office will take action or whether Wang Qi will be punished is beyond his control.

Zhou Yan went to Zhang Laosan's place to pick up the three catties of pork ribs he had ordered, still at the price of one yuan and ninety cents. The appraisal gave the following evaluation: "[A piece of fresh and high-quality pork rib]"

At just over three cents per pound, Zhou Yan can enjoy high-quality pork ribs, making him feel more at ease earning his money.

"You're quite something, kid. You've become a hero for saving lives. After I finish selling the meat at noon, I'll come to your shop for noodles too." Old Zhang looked at Zhou Yan with admiration, and today he wasn't just being polite.

"Okay." Zhou Yan replied with a smile, rode away on his bicycle, and the big red flower on the front of the bike seemed even more vibrant.

First, simmer the bone broth, then stew the beef brisket and ribs, and then start kneading the dough. With yesterday's experience, Zhou Yan is now able to manage her time effectively.

With his mother's help, the restaurant is managing to keep up with the current noodle sales. However, if they plan to add new items, such as starting to sell Chinese food again, they will need to seriously consider how to make the restaurant run more efficiently.

Zhou Yan was certainly not content with just opening a noodle shop.

Zhao Tieying arrived very early today. Zhou Momo was still asleep and was carried in a bamboo basket with a small quilt wrapped around her.

"Mom, come later next time. It's dark and the roads are difficult to walk on." Zhou Yan carefully carried Zhou Momo out and put her on his bed to continue sleeping.

"You know the road is difficult to travel, so why didn't you turn back from the slaughterhouse and go home to pick us up? You're pedaling your bicycle really fast." Zhao Tieying rolled her eyes at him. "Okay, I'll definitely do it next time." Zhou Yan scratched his head awkwardly; he had only been thinking about buying groceries and hadn't thought of this at all.

Zhou Yan kneaded the dough, while Zhao Tieying helped watch the fire and diligently observed the cooking process.

"Mom, do you want to be a chef too?" Zhou Yan asked casually.

"One chef is enough for the family. I just want to see how your head chef cooks so that my cooking will taste better in the future." Zhao Tieying looked at the meat in the pot and asked with some concern, "You've prepared so much meat today, will you be able to sell it all?"

"Not much, as long as business is good in the morning, there won't be any problem," Zhou Yan said confidently.

Today he prepared ingredients for ninety bowls of noodles, only thirty more than yesterday, which is not too aggressive.

The toppings and meat sauce are ready, and two large pots are already boiling water. In the middle pot, bone broth is simmering over a low flame, bubbling and emitting a fragrant aroma.

Having worked hard all morning, Zhou Yan couldn't work on an empty stomach, so he made two bowls of noodles.

"I'll just add some leafy greens; it's good to eat something light in the morning," Zhao Tieying said, bringing over two large bowls.

"Then why did you scoop out so much chili oil?" Zhou Yan scoffed, scooped up the noodles, and then scooped out a spoonful of braised beef with dried bamboo shoots for her.

"Less is more, can you eat that much..." Zhao Tieying picked up her bowl, afraid that Zhou Yan would add more for her, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.

This son is sensible and filial; it wasn't a waste of my time raising him.

Just as Zhou Yan was about to scoop out the remaining noodles from the pot, Zhou Momo came running at the smell, rubbing her sleepy eyes and asking happily, "Is dinner ready?"

"Okay, dinner's ready." Zhou Yan handed her a small bowl and scooped some out for her first.

"Momo is so hungry, I'm going to eat three bowls today!" Zhou Momo stepped forward and raised her little hand high, making a peace sign.

Zhou Yan helped her count another finger: "That makes three."

The little guy wasn't bragging; he finished three bowls of noodles in one go, his little face glistening with oil. After getting off the table, he gave Zhou Yan a thumbs-up: "So delicious! I'll finish three bowls again next time!"

After breakfast, Zhou Yan opened the restaurant door, and it was already broad daylight outside.

Across the street, Wang Laowu's noodle stall had a pot of noodles on the table, which was steaming hot, and they were setting up tables and chairs.

Hearing the door open, Wang Laowu looked up, met Zhou Yan's gaze, and immediately turned away with a snort.

Business rivals are enemies, and those whose doors are right next to each other are even more so.

Zhou Yan just smiled and didn't take Wang Laowu's reaction to heart at all.

When it comes to running a restaurant, let your food speak for itself. Customers will tell you which restaurant has the best food.

After 6:30, workers started arriving at work one after another.

Wang Laowu and his wife Liu Fang specially changed into new aprons today, and stood in front of the noodle stall with smiling faces, ready to greet customers with a new look.

However, their smiles soon faded.

Bicycles were all parked in front of Zhou Erwa's restaurant, and six or seven were parked there in a short time.

Two other regulars from their noodle stall were also there. For some reason, they were wearing hats today and walking with their heads tilted to the side, as if they were afraid of being recognized. They also slipped into Zhou Erwa's restaurant.

"What's going on? They've all gone to the other side! Wang Jianming and Liu Laoba even wore hats on purpose, I recognized them at a glance! Don't they only eat our noodles?" Liu Fang stamped her feet anxiously.

Normally the place would be open by now, but today there isn't a single customer. I can only watch the bustling activity across the street.

"They're all just there for the fun of it, don't panic, don't panic," Wang Laowu said in a deep voice.

But his hands, hanging limply, were trembling slightly. He felt uneasy, as if his wife had run off with someone else right in front of him.

I've been screwed over.

Whether they were there to join in the fun or not, business was definitely bad today; all the noodles and toppings he prepared went to waste.

"Why do we have to hide when we eat noodles? It's like we're having an affair."

"Did you see the expressions on Wang Laowu's and his wife's faces? Three parts shock, three parts confusion, and four parts anger. They were practically ready to grab us and ask, 'Didn't I give you a discount?' Who could stand that?"

"Huh? You deadbeat, hurry up!"

Wang Jianming and Liu Laoba quickly walked into Zhou Erwa's restaurant and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In one morning, Wang Laowu sold three bowls of noodles, all to relatives and friends. After being targeted by them, he felt embarrassed to go to the customers across the street.

On the other hand, Zhou Yan never stopped, making pot after pot of noodles, and the large bowls collected in the kitchen filled four wooden buckets.

Even Zhou Momo, a child laborer, was assigned to greet guests at the door.

"Welcome to eat noodles."

"Sister, you are so beautiful."

"Sister, your skin is so fair!"

"Come eat noodles again next time!"

"Bye-Bye."

……

Zhou Momo is a chatterbox, very outgoing, and can chat with anyone. She's cute, knows how to compliment people, and provides plenty of emotional value, making the female workers very happy. They even give her candy.

With candy in her pocket, Zhou Momo became even more talkative.

Zhou Yan had brought the noodles out a few times and thought the little guy was just trying to freeload, but he was so cute that his success rate was high.

As it approached eight o'clock, the workers rushed to clock in for work, and the number of people in the store gradually decreased.

At that moment, a bright red Phoenix brand bicycle stopped in front of the restaurant, and a young woman jumped off the back of the bicycle.

Zhou Momo, who was sitting on a small stool by the door eating candy, looked up, her eyes widening and her mouth slightly agape. "Sister, you're so cute..."

(End of this chapter)