Rebirth 07: Starting with Saving a Bankrupt Restaurant

"Is Xiaoying a new employee at the store?" Zhang Mo asked.

Zhou Wen nodded and said, "She was introduced by Xiao Shi, who used to work in the store. She's Xiao Shi's cousin."

"Then let me ask you, you used to pay others 800 yuan a month, so why is it 1,000 yuan for Xiaoying?"

Zhou Wen touched his cheek and said, "Mom, you saw it in the store just now. Shi Ying works much harder than the previous employees, so it's normal that she gets paid more."

Zhang Mo nodded, having naturally witnessed all of this, and instructed, "Since that other girl is working so hard, be kinder to her, understand?"

Zhou Wenlian nodded and said, "I heard it, I heard it."

"Don't you have anything to say to your son? You always have a long face when you see him, and you don't even try to talk to him," Zhang Mo said helplessly.

"Do a good job, be true to yourself, and also be worthy of the customers who come to eat," Zhou Songyan said.

"Um……"

……

Zhou Wen was caught off guard by his parents' sudden visit, but he missed them even more after not seeing them for so long.

The two elders didn't intend to stay in the restaurant any longer, fearing that Zhou Wen would still need to take care of them, and they didn't dare to delay Zhou Wen's time any further.

He refused all of Zhou Wen's suggestions to go out for a walk together.

It's a bit of a shame, Zhou Wen planned to launch the new product tomorrow, but the two elders arrived just one day apart and couldn't try it.

The two elderly people walked side by side on the street.

"It's been so long since I've seen Ah Wen, I didn't even say a few words to him."

After a long pause, Zhou Yansong finally spoke, his tone tinged with emotion: "He's grown up."

This is just a simple sentence, but the tone of the voice contains a great deal of emotion.

……

In the afternoon, when Shi Ying arrived at the store, she found that her uncle and aunt had already left.

She briefly recounted what had happened that morning to Zhou Wen: "Boss, there shouldn't be any problems, right?"

Zhou Wen smiled and said, "It's nothing serious."

The next day, Zhou Wen was in good spirits, which may be related to the arrival of his parents the day before. He finally felt relieved.

Having learned his lesson from the last cold noodles incident, Zhou Wen plans to make hot and sour noodles this time.

I have complete confidence in my hot and sour rice noodles.

As for where confidence comes from, the ubiquitous hot and sour noodles of later generations are the source of confidence.

The shop actually has all the ingredients needed to make hot and sour noodles, but Zhou Wen thinks that it would be too ordinary to just have hot and sour noodles.

Zhou Wen planned to prepare some toppings, namely, minced meat sauce.

The ingredients for making minced meat sauce are available in the market, unlike buckwheat noodles, which are only sold in large supermarkets.

The next day, Zhou Wen, having bought the ingredients, began preparing the food.

Dried shiitake mushrooms and pork with alternating layers of fat and lean meat are the main ingredients for making minced meat sauce.

Rinse the dried shiitake mushrooms thoroughly with clean water.

Dried shiitake mushrooms are chosen because they have less moisture and a richer aroma, making them more suitable for making minced meat sauce.

Then add warm water and soak the washed dried shiitake mushrooms until soft.

Remove the skin from the pork you buy, as pork skin is too tough and not suitable for making minced meat sauce, as it can easily affect the taste.

After removing the skin from the pork, it is sliced ​​into thin slices, and then these slices are minced. They don't need to be minced too finely; they should have some texture.

Otherwise, if it's too finely chopped, it won't have enough flavor.

"Shi Ying, remember to squeeze out the water from the shiitake mushrooms and then dice them," Zhou Wen instructed Shi Ying as he chopped the thinly sliced ​​meat into small cubes.

Add oil to the pan, then add the minced meat and stir-fry until it is loose and fragrant, and until the surface is slightly yellow. Then add the chopped garlic, ginger, and green onions to the pan.

Once the aroma of garlic and ginger is released from the simmering heat, the diced shiitake mushrooms can be added and stir-fried together.

Stir-fry the diced shiitake mushrooms until the moisture evaporates and the aroma is released. Then add Shaoxing wine along the edge of the pan, followed by soybean paste, oyster sauce, a little dark soy sauce for color, and finally chicken bouillon and sugar for seasoning.

Gradually, as it simmered over a high flame, the aroma of the soy sauce began to fill the air.

After the minced meat sauce is cooked, the hot and sour rice noodles are made.

Compared to the process of making zha jiang (a type of sauce), the process of making hot and sour rice noodles is relatively simple.

Place minced garlic, chopped green onions, chili powder, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and white sesame seeds in an empty bowl, then drizzle with hot oil to infuse the mixture with their aroma.

Add light soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, salt, chicken bouillon, and sugar next.

Then add the cooked sweet potato noodles and two spoonfuls of broth to the prepared base.

Finally, there are ingredients such as peanuts, yellow peas, and cilantro.

Of course, those who don't like cilantro can omit it.

Bright red chili oil floats on the soup noodles, with a rich aroma of vinegar. The sweet potato noodles are coated with chili oil, making one unconsciously swallow their saliva.

Finally, pour a spoonful of minced meat sauce over the hot and sour noodles, and the aroma will be fully released in an instant.

"Is the rice noodle soup ready yet?" Shi Ying stared intently. In the past, she would wait in the front hall for Zhou Wen to bring out the food, but after smelling the aroma in the front hall a few minutes ago, she lost the patience to wait.

"Soon, just wait a little longer."

Soon, Shi Ying walked out of the kitchen, satisfied, carrying a bowl of steaming hot and sour noodles glistening with red oil.

In 07, there were a lot of migrant workers in Fujian Province, especially in neighboring provinces like Jiangxi. Shi Ying was no exception; she was from Jiangxi.

It is well known that people from Jiangxi Province are particularly good at eating spicy food.

Even Shi Ying, who can handle spicy food, was sticking out her tongue and fanning herself with her small hands.

Despite this, Shi Ying showed no sign of stopping; the more she ate, the more addicted she became to the hot and sour noodles.

Seeing this, Zhou Wen brought out a bowl of soup and set it aside to cool.

"Are you enjoying the food?" Zhou Wen asked interjectingly.

Shi Ying didn't say anything, she just kept nodding.

"Where's the minced meat sauce?"

Shi Ying swallowed hard.

Then he blew on the soup that was placed aside to cool it down, but after blowing on it a few times, it started to make hissing sounds.

After finally drinking several mouthfuls of soup, Shi Ying recovered, but she slurred:

"Oily and fragrant, so delicious!"

Zhou Wen chuckled at Shi Ying's expression. Sometimes he thought it wasn't that his cooking was so good, but rather that this girl was too easily satisfied.

While buying groceries in the morning, Zhou Wen also went to the supermarket to buy some disposable napkins.

If you accidentally spill chili oil on your clothes while eating hot and sour noodles, it might ruin your appetite.

In addition to the minced meat sauce, Zhou Wen also added a fried egg. A regular bowl of hot and sour noodles costs six yuan, while the minced meat sauce and fried egg are extra and cost the same price of two yuan each.

Even a simple fried egg isn't simple. As a food blogger, Zhou Wen naturally knows what state a fried egg should be in to taste the best—it's runny, of course.

And so, Zhou's Restaurant welcomed its fifth dish – hot and sour noodles.

After a busy morning, all the work was finally ready.