Food Intelligence King

Chapter 83: The Fish-Killing Sister's Insights on Food Processing (Two chapters to come, more to follow)

Zihan's mother accepted the friend request.

The first thing she did was send Chen Zhou a cute little baby emoji.

She looked quite cute, which reminded Chen Zhou of his own daughter.

In his own eyes, everyone was inferior to Chen Taotao.

However, this expression,
This is somewhat inappropriate in the first conversation between two married men and women.

Especially when it is being watched by one of the spouses.

Chen Zhou silently deleted the emoji from the chat history.

I sent it myself: [Handshake][Handshake][Handshake]

The two finally started talking about the recruitment.

The other party seemed quite concerned about working hours and compensation. They appeared to be someone close to them.

Chen Zhou answered them one by one.

They then inquired about the other party's situation.

Sure enough, Zihan's mother recommended her mother-in-law.

“My child’s grandmother used to work at a steamed bun shop, so she’s quite experienced. I’ll go back and talk to her about it, and see if she still wants to work there.”

Having experience making steamed buns would be perfect.

The speed at which the restaurant serves food could also be improved.

With the two of them working together, plus the junior sister doing some simple tasks, it wasn't too tiring.

"It's troublesome."

"It's no big deal. I reckon she'd be happy to work for a few more years."

Zihan's mother seemed to have a lot of free time. I don't know what she was doing. After we finished talking about the recruitment, she wanted to chat with Chen Zhou for a bit more.

Seeing this, Chen Zhou quickly stopped her.
He said he was going to buy groceries and cook for his wife and kids.

Ms. Lin was satisfied with her husband's attitude, so she didn't say anything more and walked away with a smile.

After breakfast, there were two pancakes left at home. Chen Zhou's intelligence this time happened to mention the fishmonger.

I'm planning to stew another fish this afternoon and make fish soup with flatbread.

However, the scene at the farmers market today might be a bit bloody.

Moreover, Chen Taotao always held her nose when she went to the seafood section.

Chen Zhou didn't bring his daughter along.

She was handed over to Ms. Lin.

Around 10 o'clock, Chen Zhou arrived at the vegetable market.

Old Zhang was still here today, so Chen Zhou went to greet him first.

When talking about buying fish, Zhang Jinsheng gestured with his chin, "The other side, that one over there is nice."

Then he called out again, "Xiao Hong, help my brother pick out a fish."

"Okay!"

Chen Zhou waved goodbye to Lao Zhang and walked towards Sister Hong's fish stall.

Sister Hong's business is quite busy. She's wearing a shiny red apron and is scooping fish out of the fishpond.

The customer just now picked out a grass carp.

Sister Hong scooped the fish out of the water and slammed it onto the cutting board with a "thud".

With his left hand he held down the struggling creature, while with his right hand he slashed it with an iron rod.

The fish's body immediately stiffened and stopped struggling.

Then comes scaling the fish and removing its internal organs.
Offering fish-killing and cleaning services at the market is rare in Haibin City. The better user experience is the reason for the woman's booming business.

The place where she kills and prepares fish is a stainless steel workbench.

I guess I forgot the money at the other small checkout table.

A customer once said that watching herself make steamed buns is a pleasure.

Chen Zhou is now realizing that watching Sister Hong kill fish is somewhat similar to what she was going through.

Although it was a bit bloody, the work was really clean and efficient.

After chopping the fish open, I used a steel brush to scrub away the black membrane inside.

After rinsing with clean water, it looks very clean.

Chen Zhou ordered the blackfish with fewer bones.

Sister Hong readily helped him choose one, then asked Chen Zhou about his approach and handled it in the same way.

When paying the bill, Chen Zhou inadvertently bumped the table cushion.

He reminded her, "Hey, Sister Hong, I accidentally found your money." Sister Hong rubbed her forehead with her arm.

"I completely forgot. We don't accept much cash these days. I was busy giving change and just slipped it under the purse. Thanks for reminding me, brother."

"It's okay."

Chen Zhou understood her very well.

It's the same when you run your own business. If you receive too much cash one day, it's hard to give change.

He repeated what his former customers had said to him, praising them as follows:

"Sister, your cooking is really good."

Sister Hong smiled, because Chen Zhou had just helped her find the money, and she was in a good mood and happy to share the past.

"In the first few years, I was just learning by watching, and it was quite strenuous to work on each fish one by one. But I gradually got the hang of it and learned where to cut and how to apply pressure when scaling. I still have a bit of that feeling now, but I don't know how to describe it."

Chen Zhou thought to himself: Isn't this just like the story of the butcher dissecting an ox?

He then suggested:
"Right now, you may not see the fish in your eyes, but you may have the fish in your heart."

“Yes,” Sister Hong nodded, putting the fish into a bag. “That’s the feeling. One is to practice slowly, and the other is to get a feel for it after doing it a lot. Do you understand what I mean?”

[Sister Hong shared her insights on handling ingredients]

Chen Zhou laughed and said, "Yes!"

That's incredible.

"Here you go, come buy from me again next time!"

"Sure, I run a steamed bun shop across the street. Come and try it when you have time."

"I've heard Brother Zhang mention it before, I'll go when I have time."

The two completed their business interaction and concluded the transaction amicably.

Sister Hong may not be a master at handling fish, but her skill level is above professional.

After receiving her insights, Chen Zhou felt his experience bar for "Ingredient Processing" brighten up.

He checked the system.

After investing points again, I successfully surpassed the professional level and stood out.

Evening, in a building in the Sunshine City residential complex.

Aunt Zheng Xiufang was quite puzzled today.

First, in the afternoon.

Her former employer from last year called her.

They asked where I am now and if I have any plans to continue working, saying that a shop is currently hiring.

The two of them did have some disagreements before, and the daughter-in-law also didn't support them.

She refused.

They chatted idly with the former employer for a while, and settled their financial matters on a daily basis.

A year has passed, and there's no longer any deep-seated hatred or resentment.

They were just two elderly women of similar age.

There's plenty to talk about regarding mother-in-law/daughter-in-law issues and childcare problems.

Then, evening came.

When Zheng Xiufang's daughter-in-law brought her grandson, Wang Zihan, back from his extracurricular class, she also talked to her about whether she wanted to go back to making steamed buns.

Aunt Zheng couldn't say she was afraid of her daughter-in-law.

But young women are sharp-tongued and say whatever comes to mind, rarely saving face for themselves when they've done something wrong.

Aunt Zheng didn't think she had done anything wrong.

At most, it's just a difference in lifestyle.

But the key thing about the daughter-in-law is that she has a loud voice and a strong voice.

Whether she was right or wrong, Aunt Zheng couldn't argue with her.

So when her daughter-in-law asked her about it again, Aunt Zheng was a little vague.

"What's the point of going back? I'm going back to my hometown at the end of the month."

"Mom, I didn't mean anything by it, I was just asking. If you're not happy about it, then forget it."

Hearing her daughter-in-law say that, Aunt Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.

She thought to herself: What kind of situation is this?

Including that young man from before, I now have three jobs.

(End of this chapter)