Chương 13: the Zhou brothers

Zhou Yan, the Zhou brothers, subconsciously took a step back. The two burly men grinned, revealing rows of white teeth in the dim light, their faces becoming clearer under the lamplight.

"Brother Hai, Brother Jie," Zhou Yan greeted them with a smile, relieved. These two burly men were his cousins, Zhou Hai, the second son of his eldest uncle, and Zhou Jie, the eldest son of his second uncle. His father had four brothers, and his three uncles each had two sons. Because of slaughtering cattle, the Zhou family never lacked food or meat, so his cousins were all over 1. 75 meters tall and very strong. In Zhou Village, no one dared to bully the Zhou family.

Even the hooligans of the commune had to avoid them. After all, the Zhou family saw blood every day, possessed brute strength that could be contained by an ox, and carried boning knives at their waists—they were not to be trifled with.

"Long time no see! I heard you jumped into the river to save the deputy factory director's niece, and she's already married to you? They've even registered their marriage!" Zhou Hai grinned. He was about the same height as Zhou Yan, but almost twice his size, with dark skin like a black bear, giving him an imposing presence, yet his smile made him seem reliable and trustworthy.

"When are you going to the wedding? Third brother will come and 'steal' your bride! I can drink the whole table under the table for you!" Zhou Jie also chuckled憨厚ly. He was half a head shorter than Zhou Hai, but equally robust, with a round face, and most strikingly, shoulder-length earlobes that gave him a friendly appearance.

"Huh?" Σ(⊙▽⊙"a?" Zhou Yan looked puzzled. Where did this rumor come from?! The butchers nearby all slowed down their work and looked at Zhou Yan, their faces full of gossip. This was the hottest topic in Zhou Village these past two days. The village's intelligence center discussed it heatedly every day, saying that Zhou Yan had climbed the social ladder and his whole family was about to rise in status. Yesterday evening, Zhao Tieying returned home carrying a pile of Friendship Snow Cream, Pechoin Cold Cream, and cigarettes, saying they were gifts from a city girl, which became further evidence. This made the women at the village entrance extremely envious; they hadn't even enjoyed their sweet potato porridge for the past two days. But the Zhou brothers were overjoyed. If they hadn't been so busy these past two days, they would have gone to town to ask Zhou Yan about it. Today, Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie came to help butcher the cow. They had heard from Fourth Aunt that Zhou Yan was coming to collect the meat, so they waited eagerly. When they saw Zhou Yan arrive on his bicycle, they rushed over without even putting down their knives." No, that's not true. I rescued her. She's very considerate; she gave me a bicycle and a bunch of gifts as a thank you gift. How could I possibly expect her to reciprocate with her body?" Zhou Yan waved his hands repeatedly, very seriously denying the rumors." I'm still a genuine, eligible bachelor."" Really not married?" Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie were greatly disappointed. They were still thinking about attending the wedding banquet; they had even discussed how much to give in red envelopes. Zhou Yan was the youngest brother, and before Zhou Momo was born, he was the group's darling. Although now Zhou Momo was the darling, the brothers still cared for and loved Zhou Yan very much." Really not. The girl is innocent; we can't ruin her reputation." Zhou Yan shook his head." That's right, that's right." Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie nodded repeatedly; this matter couldn't be ambiguous. The others, hearing this, seemed thoughtful. It seemed the rumors weren't credible after all. Zhou Yan's failure to marry into a wealthy family made them feel somewhat at ease." Is this your new bike? It looks really good, much better than my old, secondhand bike that rattles everywhere except for the bell." Zhou Jie changed the subject, his gaze falling on Zhou Yan's bicycle." Yeah, a Phoenix PA-18, it's pretty easy to ride." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile, "Want to take it for a spin, Brother Jie?"" I won't be polite then." Zhou Jie shoved the knife into Zhou Hai's hand, then went to the bucket next to him to wash his hands clean before taking the handlebars from Zhou Yan. He rode the bike around the threshing ground twice and came back, stepping on the kickstand and exclaiming repeatedly, "This bike is really easy to ride! When I save up enough money, I'll get a new one too!" A man's obsession with bikes was already evident in the bicycle era." Brother Jie, how's your hot pot business lately?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at Zhou Jie. Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie usually help their families slaughter cattle and also sell hot pot together. Zhou Jie is mostly in charge of the business; he seems more approachable and has better salesmanship, while Zhou Hai assists. The four families in the Zhou family slaughter cattle, and for the past two years, Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai have been responsible for setting up and selling the offal. Zhou Yan wanted to sell "Qiaojiao Beef," but he didn't plan to do it secretly; he had to explain to Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai first to avoid any future discord between the brothers." The weather's gotten cooler lately, so business is alright. We sell about 80-90% of the offal each day, not much left," Zhou Jie said sincerely, looking at Zhou Yan." Zhou Yan, is your restaurant business not doing too well? Why don't you close it down and sell hot pot with me and Hai Zi? You can earn two or three hundred in a winter, and there's no rent. You can save up for two or three years and get married."" Yeah! If we brothers work together, you just stand in front of the stall, and young women and wives alike will be happy to come and eat," Zhou Hai said with a smile. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. The Zhou family patriarch died in the Korean War, and the old lady raised her five sons. A master of diplomacy, she managed to keep her four daughters-in-law obedient, preventing any domestic discord. The brothers worked together as a team, helping each other... The cousins all got along very well. The Zhou family fully supported Zhou Yan's restaurant venture, each contributing financially. Seeing the restaurant's poor business, they were anxious, but dared not say much, fearing Zhou Yan would think they wanted him to repay the money. Zhou Yan's heart warmed; Brother Jie and Brother Hai wanted to help him, their younger brother, by selling hot pot together, and they were going to share their earnings with him. These days, earning money is difficult for everyone; selling hot pot in the summer is a loss-making business, relying on the winter months to make a little money. This openness and friendship moved Zhou Yan both strangely and deeply." I've switched to selling noodles now, and business has been pretty good these past few days. I'm selling dozens of bowls a day," Zhou Yan said quickly." The restaurant can survive on noodles alone. I'm not quite good enough at cooking the other dishes, so I'm thinking of trying selling hot pot as well."" Really?" Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai's faces lit up with joy." It's not impossible for you to sell hot pot as well, but your restaurant is located right in front of the textile factory. The textile factory workers are wealthy, but they don't seem to really like hot pot," Zhou Jie said, scratching his head." We've been selling hot pot for two years, and we've rarely seen any female textile factory workers come to eat."" My mom told me about this too, but I think they just haven't tried it. I'll set up a pot outside the restaurant, and as soon as the aroma of beef wafts out, they'll come running," Zhou Yan said with a smile, full of confidence." Okay, then come find us at the stall when you're done in the morning, and I'll teach you how to make soup pot." Zhou Jie took two steps forward and lowered his voice a bit: "I've improved the recipe this year and added two Chinese herbs. It tastes better than any other soup pot vendor in our village. I'll teach you everything."" Brother Jie…" Zhou Yan felt a little complicated. Who would open up like that right away? It was a bit unsettling. Zhou Jie patted his shoulder, a smile playing on his lips." We're brothers, no need for words. We all want to see you earn money and get married."" Okay, I'll come find you at eight." Zhou Yan nodded, accepting this brotherly affection. The three brothers exchanged a few pleasantries, then Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai went back to their work. Zhou Yan greeted the other uncles and brothers, then headed towards Old Zhou's. The ox had already been slaughtered, and the meat was being butchered. The knife moved deftly along the spaces between the tendons and bones, skillfully avoiding the meridians and knots. At the intersections of tendons and bones, a gentle cut was all it took to separate the meat from the bone. Zhou Yan watched for a while, deeply impressed by the legendary skill of butcher Ding in butchering an ox. Of the five Zhou brothers, all except his fifth uncle were butchers, but the most skilled was actually the seemingly thinnest Zhou Miao. Watching him butcher an ox was a truly delightful performance; he used only skillful techniques, rarely wielding a large cleaver with great effort." Your mom went to wash the offal." Zhou Miao casually made a few cuts, slicing four pounds of tenderloin, three pounds of brisket, and another half pound of tenderloin. He then put a few large beef bones into a bamboo basket beside him. There was no need to weigh it; his knife was the scale." I just told Brother Jie and Brother Hai about my plan to sell hot pot, and Brother Jie told me to go to his place to learn later," Zhou Yan said." Didn't you say you were going to make medicinal cuisine?" Zhou Miao stopped what he was doing." It's about learning from each other," Zhou Yan smiled." That's good. Zhou Jie is really good at making hot pot; his hot pot sells better than others." Zhou Miao nodded and continued to cut the beef. Zhou Yan walked to the basket placed to the side, lifted a corner of the small quilt, and saw Zhou Momo sleeping soundly inside. She was too young to leave at home, so her parents always carried her out in the basket whenever they went out to slaughter cattle. After waiting a while, Zhao Tieying came up from the riverbank carrying a small basket of beef offal. Zhou Yan then drove her and Zhou Momo back to the restaurant." It's so much easier to ride in a car! Carrying that basket all the way to your shop was killing me," Zhao Tieying said, putting down the basket." Momo's gotten so heavy! I'll pick you up by bike from now on," Zhou Yan said, carefully lifting Zhou Momo out of the basket. A cigarette tumbled out from under the blanket." Didn't Dad take this back to smoke?" he asked, puzzled." What kind of cigarettes does he smoke? He quit! He smokes at home every day, it's driving us crazy, and he's always coughing. I stopped him from smoking!" Zhao Tieying pouted, then added, "These are good cigarettes. Keep them. You can either sell them or give them away."" It's good that he quits," Zhou Yan nodded. Smoking less is a good thing, but it seems Comrade Zhao Tieying took the cigarettes back yesterday just to show off; the old women in the village were incredibly envious." Remember, these aren't for you to smoke!" Zhao Tieying glared at Zhou Yan." You'd better learn to behave properly, don't learn to smoke, or I'll break your legs!"