Chương 15: A Family's Skills Are Inevitable!

Xia Yao wore a yellow floral maxi dress today, with a light beige knitted cardigan over it, and black Mary Jane shoes. Her long hair was braided into two plaits, with thin bangs, making her already pretty face even more youthful and radiant. She sat on a rock under a tree, sketching with her pencil, her expression focused and serious. The workers, dressed in their uniform dark blue factory clothes, couldn't help but glance at her bright spot."

A college student from the city is different," they thought, "fashionable and beautiful, and her skin is so good, fair and delicate. I wonder what she's sketching on."

"Isn't that Deputy Factory Director Lin's niece? I heard she's a painter!"

"Artists are fashionable and beautiful, but what is she drawing?" the workers murmured, observing her. A curious onlooker peeked behind her and exclaimed, "Wow, that's a really good drawing!" A little girl holding a Coke bottle appeared on the paper, the simple lines capturing her spirit and life. This exclamation attracted many onlookers, who couldn't help but praise the drawing.

Xia Yao wasn't used to being watched, especially when she was drawing, it made her feel uncomfortable, but she still politely smiled and nodded thank you when praised. With everyone gathered around, she recommended Zhou Yan's restaurant: "Zhou Yan's noodles are delicious, my uncle and I love them. Everyone should try them, you definitely won't regret it." Wang Laowu occasionally called out, his words clearly targeting Zhou Erwa's restaurant, and Xia Yao naturally sided with her benefactor.

Hearing this, some onlookers actually went to try the noodles that even the deputy factory director praised, bringing Zhou Yan some more customers. Workers came and went, and once work started, the factory gate quickly became quiet. Zhou Momo sat at the restaurant entrance, holding up her empty glass bottle to the sky, one eye closed as she gazed intently. Zhou Yan, having finished his work, came out for some fresh air and saw Xia Yao sitting under a tree, sketching.

Dappled sunlight fell on her face, making her look serene and beautiful.

"Brother, this cola is so delicious!" Zhou Momo turned around at the sound of footsteps, waving the glass bottle at him.

"The bottle is so pretty too." Zhou Yan smiled, bent down, and patted her head.

"I'll buy you some next time." Tianfu Cola was currently the best-selling cola in the Sichuan-Chongqing region, costing 25 cents a bottle; it must have been Xia Yao who gave it to her. Xia Yao put away her sketchbook, stood up, and walked towards the restaurant, smiling as she said, "Good morning, Comrade Zhou Yan."

"Good morning, Comrade Xia Yao." Zhou Yan smiled and nodded, glancing at the corner of her sketchbook peeking out of her bag.

"I didn't expect you to be an artist."

"I'm a student in the Arts and Crafts Department of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, not an artist," Xia Yao said.

"Oh, so you're a designer." Zhou Yan said thoughtfully. Xia Yao looked at him in surprise: "You know about designers?" She majored in interior design, which involves brand design, packaging design, and other fields. She really planned to pursue a career as a designer after graduation. Every time someone asked about her major, she had to painstakingly give examples and explanations, and the other person might not even understand. She didn't expect Zhou Yan to know.

"I read it in a book before," Zhou Yan said casually. He had a friend who majored in visual communication design and complained to him that their department used to be called the Arts and Crafts Department. He figured it was probably something similar. He changed the subject: "Were you drawing Momo just now?" Xia Yao took out her sketchbook from her bag, opened a page, and handed it to Zhou Yan: "Take a look." The little girl holding a cola in the drawing was Zhou Momo.

Although there was no color, it was very lifelike, and the raised foot and smile made her look even more lively.

"It's really well drawn," Zhou Yan exclaimed. He didn't understand art, but he was greatly impressed. Zhou Momo had only been eating noodles at the door for a short time, and Xia Yao had already finished the drawing, which showed that her drawing skills were excellent. Xia Yao's lips curled up slightly as she put away her sketchbook and reached out to ruffle Zhou Momo's hair.

"Momo is so cute and well-behaved."

"Hehe." Zhou Momo smiled, her eyes crinkling like a kitten enjoying being petted.

"Do you want noodles?" Zhou Yan asked again.

"Yes." Xia Yao nodded.

"I'll have a bowl of pork rib noodles, the same as yesterday."

"Okay, come in and wait a moment." Zhou Yan nodded and turned to go into the kitchen.

"Xia Yao's here! Come in, come in, have a seat. Auntie will get you some water." Zhao Tieying greeted Xia Yao warmly. She had already seen Xia Yao drawing, and several customers had said they came for noodles based on her recommendation, so she was too busy to serve her.

"Okay, thank you, Auntie." Xia Yao replied crisply. Zhou Yan waited until Xia Yao finished her noodles before pushing his old bicycle out the door. He was going to the dock to learn how to make braised beef with ribs from Brother Jie, and also to check out the current level of braised beef with ribs stalls in Suji.

"Comrade Zhou Yan, are you going to town?" Xia Yao asked, looking at Zhou Yan with her bag slung over her shoulder.

"I'm going to the dock," Zhou Yan replied, looking at her.

"Comrade Xia Yao, how about I give you a ride home?"

"Sure," Xia Yao said, sitting directly on the back seat with a smile.

"Just call me Xia Yao."

"Okay, you can just call me by my name too," Zhou Yan nodded with a smile, pedaling hard, and the bicycle sped off. He glanced back at Wang Laowu's noodle stall; several bowls of meat sauce and toppings were already half gone. Wang Laowu's business was better than his this morning. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. He had sold thirty-two bowls of noodles that morning, more than twenty fewer than yesterday.

He was afraid he wouldn't be able to sell all one hundred bowls of meat sauce and toppings he had prepared for today. [A bowl of minced meat sauce made from diseased pork.] [A bowl of braised beef mixed with leftovers...]... Lines of comments popped up, and Zhou Yan subconsciously squeezed the brakes. Xia Yao was caught off guard and instinctively wrapped her arms around Zhou Yan's waist, her body leaning forward and pressing against his back.

The warm, soft touch on his back made Zhou Yan stiffen, feeling awkward.

"Wh... what's wrong?" Xia Yao released Zhou Yan's waist, her small hands gripping the bicycle seat tightly, a blush creeping up her ears.

"Sorry, I suddenly remembered something and got distracted," Zhou Yan quickly said, glancing once more at Wang Laowu's noodle stall to confirm the note was real, before riding away. This cleared up Zhou Yan's doubts. Wang Laowu used diseased pork and mixed yesterday's leftover toppings with new ones, so he dared to sell a bowl of noodles with a little over an ounce of meat for 40 cents. The knife maker Wang Qi and Wang Laowu seemed to be from the same village; Wang Laowu could probably get a price lower than 1.

4 yuan. He could make a little profit selling pork toppings and minced meat, which he could then use to subsidize the beef toppings, so he wouldn't lose money. Wang Laowu's idea was simple yet malicious: he could forgo profits, but if Zhou Yan didn't make money, he'd have to close down and leave. A price war was a battle of who had the most resources. But Zhou Yan didn't see it that way. Since Wang Laowu was using diseased pork without any ethical considerations, he was determined to make things difficult for him.

The bicycle slowly came to a stop at the entrance of the textile factory's residential compound. Xia Yao jumped off the bike and said gracefully, "Zhou Yan, thank you for giving me a ride back. I'm going back to Jiaozhou to sketch this afternoon. See you next time."

"Okay, see you next time." Zhou Yan smiled and nodded, feeling a little regretful that he had lost a reliable client, and rode away. Xia Yao watched Zhou Yan's departing figure, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned.

"Xia Yao, I was just about to come find you. There's a meeting at the design institute at noon. Go back and pack your things and head out." Meng Anhe's voice came from the courtyard.

"Okay!" Xia Yao replied.... There were many individual vendors at the Qingyi River Wharf. There were laborers and sailors carrying goods at the wharf, and many merchants coming and going. Having a simple meal at the wharf was a good choice. The noodle stall had a steaming pot of noodles and wontons cooking, and the stir-fry stall next to it had a variety of fresh ingredients on display.

The tofu rice stall had already sold out half of the tofu in its pot, and the Emei tofu pudding stall had a small flag standing on it, attracting many customers with children. Villagers carried baskets on their backs to sell their own eggs, hens, geese, vegetables, freshly caught river fish, and fresh eels, turning the area into a small market. Because the goods were fresh, people from the town also came to the dock to buy, making it quite lively.

Along the river, the cries of vendors rose and fell, creating a vibrant atmosphere. Zhou Yan pushed his bicycle along, looking around. In those days, there wasn't much technology or hard labor; chickens, ducks, and geese that hadn't been fed commercial feed, purely wild eels and river fish, rabbits that only ate grass… all were of very high quality! Stalls selling braised beef were interspersed among these stalls, most displaying signs or flags that read "Zhou Sanwa's Hot Pot," "Zhou Sanniang's Hot Pot," etc.

After the liberalization of commerce, many Zhoucun villagers returned to their old trade of selling hot pot, and they had become quite well-known in the town. Zhou Yan greeted those he recognized and smiled and nodded at those he didn't. He quickly noticed a hot pot stall ahead, with a sign that read "Zhou's Hot Pot." The eight tables were packed with customers, and the burly man cooking beef in front of the pot was Zhou Hai, who was also responsible for greeting customers, serving food, and collecting money.

Zhou Jie, with a beaming smile, was also there. This stall was the most popular food vendor on the entire dock. Other hot pot stalls only had a few customers here and there; next door, there was a "Zhou Liangliang Hot Pot" stall with just one customer. Zhou Hai, with his keen eyes and ears, spotted Zhou Yan immediately and called out with a smile, "Zhou Yan! Over here."

Zhou Yan pushed his cart over, and before he could even speak, Zhou Jie proudly introduced him to the customers: "This is my younger brother, Zhou Yan, a great hero who jumped into the water to save someone! They're even considering giving him an award!"

" He's also my younger brother," Zhou Hai said, straightening his back and beaming. The customers all looked at Zhou Yan.

"You were the one who jumped into the Bailatuo River to save a female college student the other day? You were a true hero!"

"Young man, you're handsome and brave!" Zhou Yan blushed slightly at the praise.

"My brother is not only handsome, but also an excellent cook. He opened 'Zhou Erwa Restaurant' near the textile factory, and he's planning to sell hot pot soon. If you live nearby, you can eat there; it's just as good." Zhou Jie patted his chest and said, "It's family cooking, you can't go wrong."