Rebirth 07: Starting with Saving a Bankrupt Restaurant

"Sis, my salary this month is 1500!"

Shi Ling was stunned, thinking she had misheard.

I asked again, "How much?"

"One thousand and five."

As the line leader, Shi Ling earns 1,800 yuan a month, which is much more than that of an average worker.

But you should know that the factory doesn't provide meals. Three meals a day would cost at least 20 yuan, which would amount to 600 yuan a month.

If you calculate it this way, Shi Ying's salary is actually higher than Shi Ling's.

Shi Ling left the restaurant mainly because it was about to close down.

In addition, the monthly salary at that time was indeed quite low.

This, however, raised some concerns in Shi Ling: "The boss pays you so much money every month, there shouldn't be any problems, right?"

Shi Ying also mentioned Shan Wei to Shi Ling: "The boss hired another handyman last month. Although the salary is lower, there are still bonuses."

Shi Ling didn't know what to say for a moment. Should she say she regretted it?

There was definitely some resentment in her heart, after all, Zhou Wen had called her and asked her to come back to work.

But who could have imagined that things would turn out this way?

However, Shi Ling was mostly happy that her cousin had found a good job.

"Sis, you can come back for another meal if you have time. Let me tell you, the boss's cooking is delicious."

The boss's cooking is really good? These days, restaurant owners do all the cooking? Didn't it used to be that chef surnamed Cai who cooked, and Boss Zhou assisting?

Why is it that Mr. Zhou is now cooking all by himself at the restaurant?

Although she had questions, Shi Ling didn't ask anything.

The two chatted for a few more minutes, and Shi Ling, as the older sister, reminded Shi Ying to take care of her health and get more rest.

After hanging up the phone, Shi Ling rubbed her temples and then walked into the workshop.

Shi Ling felt a little dizzy for a moment, but quickly recovered.

Girls like Shi Ling are physically weak, but they have no choice but to do everything to make a living.

Shi Ling couldn't help but recall her days at Zhou's Restaurant. She might not have earned as much back then as she does now, but it was much easier.

Every morning and evening, I would sit down at a table with my colleagues in the store to eat and chat.

Thinking about it this way, a slight upward curve appeared on Shi Ling's expressionless face.

……

For the next two days, Shan Wei did not eat at any restaurant, whether it was morning or night.

Since frying the chicken skin, the restaurant hasn't introduced any new dishes in the past week.

This is considered a relatively long interval; in the past, new products would be released every four or five days.

Zhou Wen has already decided what new product he plans to make this time.

Fujian Province is famous for its seafood, and Zhou Wen plans to incorporate seafood into his noodles this time.

What we need to make is shrimp and mushroom noodles.

The key to this dish is freshness.

"Hey, Ming-jie, I'll leave these things with you for now and come back to get them later."

Mingjie is the female stall owner who used to sell beef.

"Boss, do we need to buy anything else?" Shi Ying asked.

Zhou Wen nodded and said, "Okay, let's go check out the seafood market next door."

Upon hearing this, Shi Ying's eyes lit up, realizing that the store was about to launch new products.

Zhou Wen started looking around when he arrived at the market. He had to admit that the seafood in the coastal areas was plentiful and diverse.

The shrimp in the market are mainly divided into several categories.

One type is prawns, which cost about 12 to 15 yuan per jin (500g). The price is cheaper now because it's summer. If it were autumn or winter, the price per jin would probably be over 20 yuan.

The second category is the more common small sea shrimp.

Smaller ones cost five to eight yuan, while larger ones cost nine to fifteen yuan. The price difference due to size is quite significant.

The third category is prawns, also known as mantis shrimp.

They are also the most expensive type, with the larger ones costing at least thirty yuan per kilogram.

In the end, Zhou Wen chose a shrimp that was on the larger side.

There's not much skill involved in choosing shrimp; you just pick the ones that are about the same size and still lively.

After selecting the shrimp, it's time to select the button mushrooms.

Button mushrooms are indeed not cheap; fresh button mushrooms cost four to six yuan per pound.

Of course, the mushrooms mentioned here refer to white mushrooms, also known as button mushrooms.

Back in 07, Mongolian mushrooms were almost impossible to find in markets in the south, and they were also very expensive.

The main reason is that Mongolian mushrooms cannot be artificially cultivated and must be harvested.

After buying the mushrooms, there was nothing else that needed to be purchased. Once the two main ingredients for the shrimp and mushroom noodles were bought, we returned to Sister Ming's stall and took away the ingredients that had been placed there earlier.

By the time we got back, perhaps because of the hot weather, a small portion of the shrimp we bought had died, which is normal.

Zhou Wen took an iron basin, filled it with cold water, and then threw the shrimp he had bought, along with the bag, into the basin.

The dead shrimp were picked out by Zhou Wen. First, the shrimp veins had to be removed from these shrimp. Actually, back in 07, customers probably wouldn't have been too picky about whether or not the shrimp veins were removed when steaming live shrimp.

Especially street-side restaurants and eateries like Zhouji Restaurant.

Even though it's troublesome, Zhou Wen still has to remove the shrimp veins if the customers aren't too picky.

Firstly, since the shrimp and mushroom noodles are made with peeled shrimp, if the shrimp veins are not removed, it will easily affect the sensory experience.

Secondly, and most importantly, is the texture and flavor.

If you don't remove the shrimp vein, it will taste fishy, ​​bitter, and sandy.

Zhou Wen first took a small pair of scissors, cut off the shrimp's rostrum, and then gently picked out the shrimp's stomach with a toothpick.

Starting from the shrimp head, count to the third joint and use a toothpick to gently pull inwards to remove the shrimp vein.

Then it was placed in a plate, and topped with a few slices of ginger and a bunch of chopped green onions.

Next, place a rack in the pot, and then place the plate containing the shrimp on the rack.

It only takes five or six minutes; the time shouldn't be too long, otherwise the shrimp meat may become tough.

When the shrimp shell turns red, the shrimp meat turns white and opaque, and the tail bends, you can tell that the shrimp is roughly cooked.

Zhou Wen ate one while it was still hot; because it was fresh, it was sweet and delicious.

"Freshly steamed shrimp, have a taste."

"it is good."

Shi Ying peeled the shrimp somewhat clumsily.

Seeing this, Zhou Wen offered some guidance as a side effect.

"Just pinch it a little bit back from this head, and you can twist it off directly."

"Then, gently scratch along the bottom with your fingernail, and the skin will come off easily. Just leave a little tail, and then gently suck the meat out."

Zhou Wen demonstrated it to Shi Ying.