1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 90 Damn it! There's a bad guy among the crowd! (First update)
Senior Brother Zheng is still so witty.

Zhou Yan will be laughed to death by him sooner or later.

It's a pity we don't have a voice recorder now, otherwise we would definitely record it so that Uncle Xu can listen to it properly.

“Even your advisor has to go out with money to buy this braised food from Zhou Yan’s grandma to go with his drinks. I can’t even learn how to make it,” Xiao Lei said with a smile.

"It's a family recipe passed down from my junior brother!" Zheng Qiang exclaimed, then felt a little disappointed.

Family traditions are not passed down to outsiders; that's the rule.

He immediately lost all hope.

Ultimately, people are still particular.

Of course, it's different for those from a master's sect.

Zheng Qiang has already started pestering Xiao Lei to teach him how to make stuffed pork with red bean paste.

He had learned from his master, but not very well. Now that he realizes the importance of these steamed dishes in the banquet, he is determined to learn and practice them properly.

The bride and both sets of parents came over to offer a toast, specifically expressing their gratitude to the three chefs.

From the smiles on the newlyweds' faces, Zhou Yan also felt a sense of accomplishment as the chef for the outdoor banquet.

The guests had almost finished eating. Of the twelve dishes, except for the children's table, the other tables were almost completely empty.

Everyone patted their bellies, still wanting more.

When Zhou Yan saw his second uncle get up, he immediately stood up and quickly followed, grabbing his sleeve and saying, "Second Uncle, are you going to announce the dinner time tonight?"

“That’s right.” Second Uncle nodded with a smile.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "What time? I'll call it for you, and I'll also spread the word to my master and Chef Zheng. They're planning to partner up as a rural chef and take on banquets at public banquets."

"The two of them teaming up? That's fantastic!" Second Uncle exclaimed in surprise, then laughed and said, "Look how happy everyone is today. They finished all the dishes and everyone praised Master's cooking. Dinner is at 5:30 tonight, and you can do whatever you want with the rest."

"Okay." Zhou Yan nodded, stood on the long stone by the door, and shouted loudly, "Friends and family! Dinner is at 5:30 tonight! Play cards or mahjong this afternoon, and there's plenty of tea and melon seeds for chatting. Have dinner before you go back!"

"Get it!"

The guests looked at Zhou Yan and responded with smiles.

"This is Zhou Yan! He made all the cold dishes today! And he's still single! Ladies, take a look and see if you like what you're looking for. You still have a chance to make your move!" someone shouted from the crowd.

The guests burst into laughter.

This young man is handsome, can cook, and is good at talking; he's definitely a good match!
Zhou Yan spotted Zhou Jie laughing hysterically in the crowd at a glance.

Damn it! There's a bad guy among the crowd!

However, he's thick-skinned and not afraid at all.

After everyone had finished laughing, he then asked with a smile, "Did everyone enjoy today's feast?"

"Very satisfied!"

"I've never had such a delicious outdoor feast before!"

The guests nodded in agreement; the empty plates on the table said it all.

“If everyone is satisfied, my second uncle and Hao-ge will be happy. The fact that everyone enjoyed the meal means that their preparations over the past half month have not been in vain.” Zhou Yan continued with a smile, “For this banquet, we invited Master Xiao Lei, the former head chef of the textile factory and a national second-level chef, as well as Master Zheng Qiang, the head chef of Rongcheng Restaurant and a national third-level chef. These eight steamed dishes and that braised fish are their masterpieces. They are also very happy that everyone is satisfied with the meal.”

"Wow! They're all masters!"

"No wonder the food at the outdoor banquet today was so delicious!"

"These national level two and national level three certifications are absolutely genuine!"

Some guests who were unaware of the situation couldn't help but exclaim in surprise upon hearing this.

Those who already knew the news, after finishing their meal, began to marvel at the reliability of the rating.

Zhou Yan raised his voice a few decibels: "Through this collaboration, these two Sichuan cuisine masters saw the demand for high-quality outdoor banquets. They wanted to offer delicious blessings to every newlywed couple, every elderly person celebrating their birthday, and every newborn baby, so that the host could proudly welcome and send off every guest. Therefore, they decided to join hands with Ganxiang Chef."

After a moment of silence, many guests' eyes lit up.

There is indeed a demand for outdoor banquets when young people hold wedding banquets, the elderly celebrate birthdays, and babies celebrate their one-month birthdays.

Chefs of Master Xiao and Master Zheng's caliber are simply unavailable to ordinary households; everyone knows that.

This was a miracle worker that the Zhou family had temporarily invited. He made the banquet a great success, and Zhou Lao Er was very proud of himself. For the next year, whenever the Zhou Village discussed banquets, he would definitely be mentioned.

But what did Zhou Yan say?
Are these two chefs going to join forces to create a rural cuisine restaurant?

That means everyone has the opportunity to ask them for favors!

Who doesn't want a grand wedding and a spectacular birthday celebration?

The most prestigious thing in this era is to make guests remember the delicious and satisfying meal even after they leave home!
"Zhou Yan, how much does it cost for these two chefs to host a banquet?" an uncle asked.

The others also looked at him.

There are six or seven local chefs in Suji Town, and their fees range from one yuan and fifty cents to three yuan per table.

The person Zhou Ze and his group originally invited, Zhao Si, charged the highest price of three yuan per table. Because of his excellent cooking skills, everyone was vying to invite him at that price.

Xiao Lei and Zheng Qiang, either one of them could easily beat Zhao Si. So how much would it cost per table if they held a banquet together?

"Master chefs are excellent, but if their prices are too high, you have to consider whether you have enough money." Zhou Yan raised his hands to signal everyone to be quiet, then said loudly, "The chefs are skilled, but their prices won't be out of touch with the common people. For outdoor banquets, based on today's standards, it's three yuan per table if they only cook the dishes. If it's a package deal including ingredients, then it will be based on the menu set by the host. Each family will have different prices, but the prices will be absolutely fair and honest!"

After a moment of silence, everyone burst into applause, and the atmosphere became quite lively.

Three yuan a table!
This price is incredibly reasonable.

Can Zhao Si's cooking skills compare to theirs? And he charges three yuan a table!

Xiao Lei and Zheng Qiang looked at each other, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

"Uncle-Master, this junior brother is really eloquent, just like our manager," Zheng Qiang said in a low voice.

Xiao Lei nodded: "He's quite talkative, I never realized that before."

Boys change a lot as they grow up, right?

What exactly did Zhou Yan experience in these three months?
Does the harsh realities of society really inspire people to strive harder?
Looking at Zhou Yan, Aunt Zhao's smile never stopped. She was happy and proud, even happier than when she wore new leather shoes.

Zhou Miao was also amused, smiling as she stared at Zhou Yan.

"That's my husband. He made all these dishes. Isn't he amazing?" Zhou Momo said proudly, pointing to the dishes on the table.

"Your brother is so amazing!" The little boy's eyes lit up.

"Momo, you're so lucky! You get to eat so much delicious food every day!" the little girl said with envy.

One child looked indignant: "What's so special about that? My brother dares to eat poop!"

"My husband..." Zhou Momo thought for a moment, then shook her head: "I won't eat!"

The adults around them all laughed.

Then the child was dragged away by his brother, crying very loudly.

Zhou Yan then said loudly, "Oh, right, let me introduce myself lastly. I am the groom's younger brother, Zhou Yan. I made all four cold dishes today. I run a restaurant called Zhou Erwa Restaurant at the entrance of the textile factory. These four dishes will be available for sale starting tomorrow."

"Welcome everyone to dine at our restaurant. Of course, we can take away our braised dishes. If you need a lot for entertaining guests, you can also place an order in advance and we'll deliver them to your door!"

"Friendly reminder: If you have an event scheduled for a certain date, you should book the banquet early. There are definitely more than just your event on this auspicious day, but our chef can only host one event per day."

These words immediately jolted everyone awake. The guests who had already set a time for their business immediately stood up and surrounded Xiao Lei and Zheng Qiang, afraid that someone would beat them to it.

Even at the table in the courtyard, one of the guests quickly got up and walked towards the courtyard gate.

"Old Ma, where are you going?" Huang Chen asked.

“My son is having a banquet in two months, I’m going to book a chef for him too, three yuan a table, what a bargain!” Old Ma said without turning his head.

Everyone at the table laughed when they heard this.

Sun Yan smiled and said, "Grandma, your grandson is quite the talker. He's witty and humorous, and he can explain things clearly without any stage fright."

"It's not easy to be a self-employed person these days. It's not enough to just cook well; you also have to be a good talker," the old lady said with a beaming smile.

Huang Chen remarked with some emotion, "With such culinary skills and eloquence, they're sure to be successful in the future. The country is vigorously developing its economy, and these young people have a bright future as self-employed individuals."

"I haven't seen Zhou Yan for several months. I didn't expect his cooking to be so delicious, and his eloquence to have improved so much." The bride, Chen Yueyue, said to Zhou Hao with a light laugh after toasting and starting her meal.

Zhou Hao nodded proudly: "My younger brother has been smart since he was a child. He deserves the most credit for making this banquet so successful and satisfying for everyone."

"Cousin, is he really still single?" a girl at the table asked quietly.

Chen Yueyue and Zhou Hao both looked at her at the same time.

"Zheng Shuang, you're interested in Zhou Yan? Then let me introduce you two," Chen Yueyue said with a smile. "Zhou Yan is a good person and reliable."

"I...I was just asking casually."

Aunt Zhao, who was sitting to the side, was also surrounded by enthusiastic aunties who recommended eligible girls from all around her. Some were good at working, some were pretty, and some had big hips and were good at giving birth.

Zhou Yan was completely unaware of this. He jumped down from the long stone and smiled as he looked at Master Xiao and Senior Brother Zheng, who were already surrounded by the crowd.

See, the situation has suddenly improved!
People nowadays are still too reserved.

If you don't tell people loudly, they'll think the gods are in heaven. Who would have thought that the gods have actually come down to earth to hold a feast?

The master resigned because of him, but now Zhou Yan has successfully put him back on the job.

We'll repay part of this favor first.

If a large-scale banquet is well-organized and its reputation is established, there is great potential for opening a restaurant and offering banquet packages in the future.

With such a powerful duo as his master and senior brother Zheng, little Suji would definitely not be able to contain them. As long as they hold a few more banquets, the big families in the counties and towns of Jiaozhou would definitely be vying to let them host the banquets.

When you're overwhelmed with orders, you can slightly increase the price per order to filter out high-net-worth users and earn even more.

Many restaurants have grown in this way, gradually expanding and becoming stronger through word-of-mouth.

Each banquet in the village caters to hundreds of different guests, and wedding banquets are highly discussed events in the village. If done well, they can quickly expand their reach.

This is why skilled rural chefs are in high demand.

"Zhou Yan! My father is celebrating his birthday the day after tomorrow, and I'm planning to have five tables set up at home. I'd like to ask you to order five tables of cold dishes. Do you think that's okay?" A voice interrupted Zhou Yan's thoughts.

　Please vote with your monthly tickets! There will be an extra chapter today!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)