Rebirth 07: Starting with Saving a Bankrupt Restaurant

"Clang."

The sound of breaking glass startled Zhou Wen from his deep sleep.

As soon as I looked up, I felt dizzy. The air was still filled with the smell of alcohol, and in an instant, memories flooded my brain like a tidal wave.

I was reborn in 2007, in the body of someone with the same name?

In my past life, I started out as a chef and later transitioned into a food blogger, which was quite an achievement.

When he opened his eyes, everything from the past had vanished, and he was now penniless.

All I have are some savings, plus this restaurant that's about to be sold.

Thinking about it, Zhou Wen shook his head secretly, wanting to open the door for some fresh air.

It's only five or six in the morning; when I opened the door, it was barely dawn.

But the direct sunlight still made Zhou Wen squint, and he could also hear some gossip around him.

"Hey, look at you, completely drunk again, you've abandoned the shop!"

"Of course! When we opened this restaurant, everyone knew perfectly well that we'd be better off finding a nice girl instead of wasting our time!"

"Oh! That's for sure!"

The two men who spoke were quite elderly, and their words were indeed very unpleasant.

Zhou Wen was too lazy to refute it; it was indeed the truth.

Feeling frustrated, Zhou Wen returned to the shop, closed the door, and looked at the messy environment inside, feeling a slight headache.

The shop has been closed for several days, and the accumulated garbage has not been cleaned up.

Actually, when the restaurant first started, business was pretty good, since it was a new shop and everyone would come to join in the fun.

The taste was acceptable, and before we knew it, we had accumulated a group of customers.

However, the good times didn't last long. The original owner wanted even greater profits, so he started to have ulterior motives regarding prices and ingredients.

Once this malicious thought crossed my mind, the result was predictable: a massive loss of customers. By the time I realized what was happening, I did try to make amends, but it was already too late.

The end result was that the store was losing money, and the employees resigned one after another, leading to their current predicament.

Zhou Wen stopped thinking about it and made himself a cup of hot water to calm down before starting to clean the restaurant.

While cleaning, I also took a look at the restaurant.

The front hall is about 80 square meters in size. A huge menu is posted on one wall. The tables and chairs inside are all made of wood and are of good quality. They feel exceptionally smooth to the touch, but a thin layer of dust is left on your fingers.

Then we went to the kitchen, and we could smell a strange odor as soon as we entered.

The cooking area has a double-burner stove, a somewhat decent fume purifier, a steamer, a dedicated condiment station with a row of soy sauce and vinegar barrels, and bags of rice and noodles piled up in the corner.

Sprouted potatoes were scattered haphazardly on the ground, and spilled sauce was visible everywhere.

After cleaning for a while, it was already seven o'clock. Zhou Wen didn't clean very thoroughly, only sweeping away the visible trash and grime.

As if remembering something, Zhou Wen, who had just sat down in the chair, went back outside and tore down the notice announcing the shop's transfer.

"I wonder if my father would chase me down with a stick if he found out about this," Zhou Wen muttered.

Zhou Wen was able to open this shop thanks in no small part to his family.

The elderly couple were skeptical from the beginning, but they agreed after Zhou Wen's persistent pleading and repeated assurances.

He spent a considerable amount of money, plus his savings from several years, and pulled a lot of strings before finally managing to take over the shop.

"And now it's turned out like this." Zhou Wen sighed helplessly.

The most urgent task now is obviously to get the restaurant back to business. This first step is clearly difficult, and Zhou Wen has no room for error.

Zhou Wen patted his cheeks encouragingly, saying, "Everything is difficult at the beginning!"

There's only one person in the shop right now, so obviously I can't make most of the dishes myself. I can only think of things that are relatively ordinary, that I can make by myself, and that can also create a unique flavor.

Zhou Wen's thoughts unconsciously drifted to the food 20 years from now, since the events of recent years were also quite memorable.

Perhaps street food is more suitable for me? This thought opened up my mind.

Fried rice and fried noodles are good street foods that don't require much cost. The ingredients are inexpensive, the preparation is simple, and you can easily make them by yourself.

Zhou Wen was very satisfied with this idea. He went up to his second-floor apartment, took a shower to wash away the smell of alcohol, and changed into a clean set of clothes.

I took a few low-denomination bills and put them in my pocket, along with the Nokia 6300.

This was acquired by the original owner after he made money.

Upon arriving at the kitchen on the first floor, even after some cleaning, there was still a lingering odor, though it was much better and cleaner than before.

"We have rice and flour, and all the seasonings are ready. Now we just need the ingredients." Zhou Wen silently counted the ingredients.

The ingredients that were originally stored in the kitchen had already been cleared out by Zhou Wen, including those that were not damaged.

Who knows when these ingredients were taken? If someone gets sick from eating them, this restaurant will be completely doomed.

After memorizing the ingredients I needed, I rushed to the market, which took only about ten minutes.

"Is that the Zhou family's kid?"

"Which one? I think so! They must be here to buy groceries."

"Buy groceries? The restaurant is about to go bankrupt, why would we need to buy groceries? The shop hasn't been open for days."

"Why isn't it open? I remember business was pretty good, wasn't it?"

"That was a long time ago. I heard she made some money and became obsessed with this." The woman said, gesturing with her hand to show the action of drawing cards.

Zhou Wen's lips twitched involuntarily. The rumors circulating among the neighbors were indeed somewhat exaggerated. He couldn't bother explaining them now, and even if he did, it wouldn't make any difference.

Zhou Wen didn't rush to buy ingredients. Instead, he wandered around the market, looking around and stopping frequently. 7:30 was not late for most people with normal jobs, but most of the fresh vegetables had already been picked over.

Looks like I'll have to come earlier tomorrow.

Finally, we arrived at the stall of an elderly man who was about sixty years old.

"Uncle, what's the price of green peppers now?"

"Two yuan and fifty cents a pound."

Vegetables are generally more expensive in spring than in autumn, and there are also price differences between the north and south. Retail prices are often a few dollars more expensive than wholesale prices.

Zhou Wen nodded and then picked out the green peppers, choosing only those with shiny skin and a dark green color, and rejecting the wrinkled ones, as they were all dehydrated.

Afterwards, Zhou Wen also bought scallions, cabbage, eggs, and ham sausages. Of course, he didn't buy much; he just wanted to try a taste when he got back.

As for pork, after looking around, the quality of the remaining pork was indeed somewhat unsatisfactory.