Chương 16: The Discerning Crowd "Okay!"

the customers replied with smiles.

"Brother Jie..." Zhou Yan looked at Zhou Jie with a complicated expression. Who in business would directly lead their customers to someone else's? This guy really doesn't treat him like an outsider.

"Pull the car over to the side and go watch over your Brother Haizi. He'll teach you how to control the heat and time." Zhou Jie told him, then smiled and went to settle the bills for the customers.

"Zhou Yan, I'm clumsy with my hands and mouth. I just did whatever Brother Jie taught me. You watch first, and if you don't understand anything after this busy period, let Brother Jie teach you." Zhou Hai said to Zhou Yan.

"Okay, Brother Haizi." Zhou Yan replied, watching Zhou Hai skillfully scoop up a section of beef intestine and cut it into small pieces, blanch the tripe for a few seconds, scoop out a few pieces of tender beef tendon, a few slices of beef heart, put the cooked cabbage at the bottom, and then ladle a ladle of rich bone broth into the earthenware bowl. A steaming hot pot of soup was ready.

This is a single serving, four cents, with meat and vegetables, plus a large bowl of beef offal soup, served with a dried chili dipping sauce. For an extra cent, you can get a bowl of rice. A hot bowl of this in the dead of winter warms you from head to toe—it's absolutely wonderful! Other hot pot stalls sell for three or two cents a bowl, but none do as well as Zhou Jie's. People in Sichuan and Chongqing eat well and drink to their heart's content; the taste is paramount, and the rules are strict!

As long as life is comfortable, they'll never skimp on their food. The fact that Zhou Jie's hot pot is doing well at four cents means people think it's worth the price, and the difference in taste compared to other stalls can't be compensated by a penny or two. The soup in the pot is whitish, with an irresistible aroma of beef bone broth, quite flavorful, with a very mild gamey smell—even more enticing than other stalls. Zhou Hai looked like a rough man, but he worked efficiently and meticulously.

While others used their hands to handle the ingredients, he only used chopsticks and a ladle, never touching the food with his hands. The stove was always spotless, without even a drop of broth. Standing in front of the open-air stove and the soup pot, the steam hit him, making him sweat profusely. He had a towel draped around his neck, and another clean towel hung on a rack to wipe his hands. Zhou Yan watched from the side, nodding in approval.

Jie Ge and his team's success was no accident; they had done their best under limited conditions. This pot mainly sold beef offal; beef was too expensive, so they usually only sold it during the winter when business was at its best, otherwise the losses would be unbearable. After working for more than half an hour, business finally slowed down around nine o'clock. Zhou Yan helped clear away the dishes and wiped the tables and chairs.

His two sisters-in-law, having finished their chores, also came to help wash the dishes. Zhou Jie drank a bowl of water to moisten his parched throat before looking at Zhou Yan and smiling, "Business is good, isn't it? It'll be even better when winter comes."

"It's pretty good. No other business at the docks is as good as yours," Zhou Yan nodded, noticing that many of the customers were repeat customers.

"Let me tell you, everyone in Zhou Village knows how to make hot pot, but there are many tricks to making a good one, starting with using beef bones to make the broth..." Zhou Jie put down his bowl and began explaining to Zhou Yan how to make hot pot, going into great detail and even demonstrating in front of the pot. Zhou Yan listened attentively, nodding repeatedly. The secret to Zhou Jie's outstanding hot pot lay in his meticulous attention to detail.

It was actually quite similar to the recipe for "Qiaojiao Beef" that Zhou Yan had received.

"The biggest difference between this soup and others is actually in this seasoning packet. I added…" Zhou Jie pointed to the seasoning packet that had already been used that day, and whispered a list of spices and Chinese herbs to Zhou Yan, including the specific amounts. This was a genuine trade secret, and also a competitive advantage that set them apart from others. Zhou Yan listened attentively, memorizing everything, and compared it with the recipe he knew.

The ingredients and amounts were quite different, mainly in the Chinese herbs, while the spices used to remove the fishy smell and enhance the aroma were similar.

"Here, have a sip of the soup." Zhou Jie took a small bowl and ladled a spoonful of soup for Zhou Yan. Zhou Yan blew on the hot soup, took a sip, savored it carefully, and nodded, "So fresh! The soup is rich, the offal has a very mild gamey taste, and it's very refreshing."

"You're a true chef, you've hit the nail on the head." Zhou Jie looked at him with admiration.

"My cooking skills aren't as good as yours, but I've been making this soup for three years, so I have some experience. I'll definitely teach you how to make it well." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.

"Isn't Zhou Yan running a restaurant near the textile factory? Why is he selling soup pots? Is he really interested in such a small profit?" Zhou Liangliang, the owner of a nearby stall, said while cracking sunflower seeds, his tone somewhat sarcastic.

"What's wrong with selling soup pots? My fourth uncle is a master butcher in Zhou Village. Zhou Yan sells soup pots to help his family process offal. It's a family tradition, what right do you have to criticize it?" Zhou Jie said, looking at Zhou Liangliang with a rather forceful tone. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Zhou Hai, who was wiping his knife nearby, also turned and stared at Zhou Liangliang with an unfriendly gaze.

Zhou Liangliang felt like he was being stared at by a black bear. The sunflower seeds in his hand suddenly lost their flavor. He chuckled sheepishly, stuffed the seeds into his pocket, and waved his hand, saying, "We're all from the same village, I was just asking casually..." His family consisted of seven brothers, all strong and protective of each other; he just had to say that out of spite. Zhou Jie didn't argue with him and instead continued chatting with Zhou Yan about making soup.

"Brother Jie," Zhou Yan said after Zhou Jie finished speaking, "actually, I learned how to make soup from my mother. Later, I learned a medicinal dish from my master when I was learning to cook. I've been thinking of combining that medicinal dish recipe with our soup pot, and today I'm going to try making a pot."

"Really?" Zhou Jie's eyes lit up.

"You're a professional chef. If you can really improve our soup into a medicinal dish, maybe the textile factory workers will love it too!" Zhou Yan nodded with a smile: "If we can open up the market, our soup will have great potential."

"Okay, okay, then you give it a try. Let me know if you need anything. We're brothers, don't be shy." Zhou Jie patted his arm and said, "If you do a good job, Hai Zi and I will both work for you."

"Okay." Zhou Yan nodded, chatted for a few more minutes, and then rode his bike back. Zhou Yan went to the farmers' market and glanced at Wang Qi's meat stall from afar. Half of the pork tested positive for disease, so there was a good chance that Wang Laowu got his meat from him. The letter of complaint he submitted last time seemed to have gone unanswered. Wang Qi had been selling meat at the market for many years, so he must have some connections. The latest novels are first published on 69shu. com!

He was pondering how to escalate the matter when he saw market management staff approaching, followed by two men in Zhongshan suits. The middle-aged man in the lead wore black-rimmed glasses, his hair neatly combed. He walked slowly, stopping occasionally to ask the stall owners questions, and even picking up meat to examine it closely as he passed the meat stalls.

"Who are those two? They look quite imposing," Zhou Yan asked the vegetable vendor casually as he bent down to pick up a bunch of bok choy, taking out his money.

"Those two? They're leaders from the health and epidemic prevention station. They come back to inspect once a month. The one in the lead is called Gao Tianlei; he's supposedly the deputy station chief. Last year, he led the team that arrested two butchers selling diseased pork. Everyone says he's incorruptible," the vegetable vendor said with a smile after taking his money.

"Oh." Zhou Yan seemed to be thinking about something, and didn't say anything more. He picked up the small green vegetables and went out. It's difficult to verify whether Wang Laowu used diseased pork, since others can't see the test results. Therefore, starting with Wang Qi is a good entry point. If it can be found that Wang Laowu bought diseased pork from him, then Wang Laowu won't be able to escape responsibility. Moreover, Wang Qi sells diseased pork every day, harming the village.

Zhou Yan, as a concerned citizen, can't turn a blind eye. He found a secluded spot, took out paper and pen, wrote a strongly worded letter of complaint, and then squatted at the market entrance. Before long, Gao Tianlei and his companion emerged from the market, surrounded by people, and rode away on their bicycles. Zhou Yan immediately followed on his bicycle. Once outside the town, he pulled up his collar to cover half his face, sped up, stopped, and blocked the two men.

He said directly, "Station Chief Gao, I want to report someone selling diseased pork!" Gao Tianlei and his companion braked quickly, looking at the young man with half his face covered, and asked with suspicion, "Who do you want to report?"

"Wang Qi, who sells pork at stall number five in the Suji Farmers Market. He sells diseased pork every day, endangering the village. Please, Station Chief Gao, rid the people of this scourge." Zhou Yan handed over the prepared report letter:"His diseased pork may also end up in restaurants and noodle stalls, posing a great threat to the lives of the people. Please investigate thoroughly and ensure that not a single ounce of diseased pork reaches the people's tables."

Gao Tianlei took the report letter and looked at Zhou Yan, asking, "And you are...?"

"The discerning people!" Zhou Yan turned and rode away without looking back. Gao Tianlei opened the letter of complaint with a solemn expression. After reading it, his face darkened, and he said in a deep voice, "Go, have someone send the equipment over. I want to see just how bold Wang Qi really is!" Zhou Yan strolled along the river before returning to the restaurant. Even if the epidemic prevention station wanted to investigate Wang Qi, they wouldn't trace it back to Wang Laowu so quickly.

But Wang Laowu's downfall happened even faster than he had anticipated.

"Wang Laowu! Why does your beef smell sour and rancid? Did you mix in yesterday's leftovers and sell them?"

"I said the minced meat sauce smells weird today, it's sour! And you added so much pepper and chili oil to try and cover it up!"

"Your business is booming, huh? We're supporting you, and you think we're Japanese? Even a dog wouldn't want to eat this leftovers!"

" Damn it!"

"Mommy..." The noodle stall had only been busy for a short while at noon, and the customers were already banging their fists on the table, their complaints incredibly loud.