Chương 23: If someone says your cooking is bad...

Zhao Dong had been thinking about this for a while, and after eating the perfect Zhenzi rice today, he couldn't help but imagine how great it would be to mix rice with double-pepper minced beef. Hearing this, the customers in the shop all looked at Zhou Yan. Noodles are good for breakfast, but rice is more satisfying for lunch and dinner. Zhou Yan's braised ribs and beef are really fragrant, and the minced beef is sure to be delicious with rice.

If the price wasn't too high, two or three people could share a meal—it sounded wonderful. The canteen's special dishes aren't cheap, but there are still about a hundred people eating there every day. The textile factory is profitable, and the salaries of senior workers and managers are not low; there are many people like Zhao Dong who are willing to spend money on food.

"Soon, once the beef noodles stabilize, we'll start preparing to cook and stir-fry dishes," Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. This was also part of his plan; the problem now is that he's too busy, and only he can do the noodle-making work; it's difficult for his sister-in-law to master it in a short time. Once the beef noodle business stabilizes, he'll switch to selling noodles in the mornings, allowing him to sell stir-fries and braised dishes at lunch and dinner, truly making the restaurant a success.

The daily limit for noodles is sixty yuan, while the limit for stir-fries will be significantly higher. Zhou Yan's target customers are clear: those who eat stir-fries in the factory canteen and customers of the Suji State-run Restaurant. Taking away customers from the factory canteen is like digging up Wang Defa's roots—a job he's happy to do. He still remembers the grudge from Xiao Zhou's suicide attempt.

"Fine, if you sell stir-fries, I won't eat them in the factory canteen anymore," Zhao Dong nodded, muttering a complaint, "Since your master stopped cooking, the stir-fries have gotten worse every day."

"Okay, you guys eat first, I'm going to get busy," Zhou Yan said, turning into the kitchen. Zhao Dong was a loyal customer of the factory canteen's stir-fries, eating them twice every three days. He used to love his master's spicy crispy intestines and stir-fried liver and kidneys, but even he'd started to dislike the stir-fries. Wang Defa was unpopular. Xiao Zhou's mentor, Xiao Lei, was the only Level 2 chef in the factory canteen, and previously the head chef.

Don't underestimate Level 2; in Suji Town, that's top-notch hot-cooking chef. Another Level 2 chef was the head chef at a state-run restaurant. Wang Defa demoted his mentor to a kitchen helper, which was practically equivalent to laying off a major workforce. It was only because the private economy had just been liberalized and people still valued their jobs in state-run factories that his mentor couldn't stand the humiliation. Zhou Yan had considered poaching his mentor.

A Level 2 chef skilled in hot-cooking, with the authoritative image he had built up among the textile factory workers over the years, would definitely boost Zhou Erwa's restaurant business. This wasn't just poaching; it was completely undermining the foundation of the factory canteen. However, he quickly realized a problem: his parents didn't know his culinary skills. He could use what he learned from his mentor to cover up many things. But his mentor knew his limitations all too well.

When Xiao Zhou wanted to open this restaurant, his mentor had earnestly advised against it three times, each time with increasingly harsh words. Unfortunately, good advice is useless against a stubborn devil like Zhou Yan. He wouldn't listen and just went for it. This almost infuriated Xiao Lei, who left with the words,"If anyone says your cooking is bad, don't say you're my apprentice!" He almost expelled Zhou Yan from the school.

Later, when Zhou Erwa's restaurant opened, his master only sent a red envelope through someone and never came to the restaurant. If Zhou Yan were to invite his master, he couldn't explain his sudden mastery of various dishes and his leapfrog improvement in seasoning and cooking skills. This idea had to be abandoned for the time being.

After the last customer paid and left, Zhao Tieying couldn't wait to walk into the kitchen and said to Zhou Yan, who was stir-frying vegetables, "We sold thirty servings of 'Qiaojiao Beef' today! 18 yuan in total!" The opening of the "Qiaojiao Beef" business went much more smoothly than she had expected. When she used to sell hot pot, a bowl cost 25 cents. She would sell 20 or 30 bowls a day, earning 6 or 7 yuan a day after deducting all the costs.

She was lucky if she could make 2 or 3 yuan after deducting all the costs. This was only possible thanks to the reputation and loyal customers built up over the years, especially during the peak winter season. Today was the first time their restaurant had sold "Qiaojiao Beef," and at the high price of six mao a bowl, they had sold thirty servings! Zhao Tieying was a little dazed, even holding the money in her hand felt unreal.

"The customers all say it's delicious, Zhou Yan's Qiaojiao Beef is truly excellent!" Zhao Hong entered carrying a bowl, her face beaming.

"This is just the beginning, business will only get better in the future." Zhou Yan smiled as he plated the stir-fried vegetables. With Lin Zhiqiang's tasting, the popularity of the Qiaojiao Beef was expected. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Besides the Qiaojiao Beef, they also sold thirty-two bowls of noodles at noon today, only four fewer than yesterday.

This dispelled Zhou Yan's worries; the good sales of the Qiaojiao Beef didn't affect the noodle sales, resulting in pure increased revenue. After lunch, Zhou Yan moved a bamboo recliner to the tree by the door, lay down, and enjoyed the cool autumn breeze.

"Brother, have some candy." Zhou Momo leaned close to him, tiptoed, and held out a piece of candy to his lips with her chubby little hand. Zhou Yan took it, smiled, and patted her head: "Good girl."

"Hehe." The little one grinned: "Sister-in-law said Huihui and Fanwa don't have class tomorrow, they're coming to play with me."

"So what are you going to do with them?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile. Huihui and Fanwa are Zhao Hong's two sons, the older one is fifteen years old and in the third year of junior high school, and the younger one is seven years old and just started elementary school. According to seniority, they should call Zhou Momo "Auntie," but since she is the youngest, they usually call her "Mo Niang" (meaning "mistress").

"I'll take them to play on the seesaw, hopscotch, and the seesaw!" Zhou Momo counted on her fingers as if listing a treasure: "I also know a really fun secret spot!"

"Then Momo will still be a Mo Niang, knowing so many fun things." Zhou Yan smiled indulgently.

"That's right!" The little one became even more proud, turned around and ran to fetch a small stool, placing it next to Zhou Yan's recliner to chat with him.

"Guoguo, look, there's a caterpillar on that leaf."

"Guoguo, look, there's a flock of geese in the sky, where are they going? Will they come back for dinner?"

"Guoguo..." Zhou Momo was a chatterbox, her mind filled with a million questions. Zhou Yan responded half-heartedly, and listening to her soft, sweet voice, he soon fell asleep.

"Guoguo, Guoguo..." Zhou Momo didn't hear Zhou Yan speak for a while, got up, glanced at the sleeping Zhou Yan, didn't wake him, but instead carried the small stool back and ran off to play.... Textile factory, large conference room. Lin Zhiqiang sat in the main seat, holding a sharing session for the factory's technical backbone, discussing his experiences attending a technical conference in Chengdu and sharing some industry information.

Compared to the morning, his energy had clearly improved in the afternoon, his voice was loud and passionate.

"Zhiqiang, you spoke very well. Our factory still needs young people like you who understand technology." After the meeting, the old factory director, Wang Hongliang, left the meeting room with Lin Zhiqiang.

"Factory Director, you flatter me. Our factory's current success is all thanks to your excellent leadership and management. I've only ever focused on honing my technical skills," Lin Zhiqiang quickly replied with a smile.

"If it weren't for your diligent research, our factory wouldn't be so profitable. I've already submitted your improved techniques for the Ministry of Light Industry's Technology Award selection, and the leadership is very optimistic about them," Wang Hongliang said, looking at Lin Zhiqiang with admiration in his eyes.

"Thank you, Factory Director. This isn't just my achievement; it's the achievement of all the technical staff in the textile factory," Lin Zhiqiang said, his eyes lighting up. The Ministry of Light Industry's Technology Award was a tremendous affirmation for a technician.

"I noticed you were sneezing a lot this morning, but you seem much better this afternoon. Did you go to the hospital for medication?" Wang Hongliang asked with concern.

"I caught a bit of a chill, but I had a bowl of 'Qiaojiao Beef' at Zhou Erwa's restaurant near the factory gate at noon. Sweating it out made me feel much better; it felt more effective than medicine," Lin Zhiqiang said with a smile.

"Factory Manager, how about we go get some noodles? Zhou Yan's handmade noodles are amazing, and his 'Qiaojiao Beef' is incredibly flavorful."

"Zhou Yan, the young man who saved your niece last time, right? But not today. It's my grandson's birthday, and he told me to go home for lunch this morning," Wang Hongliang shook his head, then added, "Next time, invite Xiao Meng and the two kids along, and we can have lunch together."

"Okay," Lin Zhiqiang replied with a smile, helping Wang Hongliang push his bicycle out of the shed and watching him ride away before heading towards the factory gate. The 'Qiaojiao Beef' at noon was indeed very effective at warming him up; otherwise, he definitely wouldn't have been able to work at noon. He'd have another bowl tonight to solidify the effect.

"Uncle Lin, you're here," Zhou Yan greeted Lin Zhiqiang with a smile as he played with Zhou Momo at the restaurant entrance.

"Little Zhou, your braised beef brisket really helped me out today!" Lin Zhiqiang laughed heartily. After eating a bowl of braised beef brisket and drinking two bowls of soup, Lin Zhiqiang turned back to the cafeteria to pack food for the two children. According to him, children need to grow, they don't need to eat so well, just enough to be full, with meat and vegetables. What a loving father! Zhou Yan watched Lin Zhiqiang's retreating figure, unable to help but sigh.

"Brother, when is Sister Yaoyao coming to eat noodles again?" Zhou Momo tugged at his clothes, her chubby little face full of anticipation.