Chương 24: has reached 100!

"I don't know, maybe a long time from now," Zhou Yan said with a smile, shaking his head. Xia Yao is a college student at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. If she goes back to Chongqing, who knows when she'll return to their small town. After that terrifying experience of falling into the water, she probably won't have a good impression of the town, and it's possible she won't come back.

"How long is 'a long time'?" Zhou Momo asked, looking confused. Zhou Yan smiled but didn't answer, because he couldn't give an answer either.

"Zhou Yan, two bowls of noodles," Zhao Tieying's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Okay!" Zhou Yan replied, turning to walk towards the kitchen....

"Xia Yao, we're going to Suji tomorrow. What's fun to do in that town?"

"Yao Yao, didn't you fall into the water there before? Aren't you scared to go back?" In a makeshift dormitory converted from a residential house, two girls chattered as they watched Xia Yao sitting at the table drawing. Their teacher, Mr. Liu, had just announced at noon that everyone would be visiting the Jiaozhou Textile Factory tomorrow. Xia Yao had just been to Suji, so the two girls wanted to get some information from her first.

"Don't be scared, it was just an accident. Jiaozhou Textile Factory is huge, Suji is beautiful, and there's lots of delicious food and local specialties." Xia Yao put down her pen and smiled at her two roommates, "And the best braised pork rib noodles in the world."

"Is this handsome guy also a specialty of Suji?" one girl asked, pointing at Xia Yao's sketchbook with a gossipy look.

"I've seen you drawing him in your spare time these past few days, could he be your crush?" the other girl asked with a smile. The tall, slender girl was named Zhu Yuyu, and the shorter but more voluptuous girl was named Deng Hong. They had been roommates in school for over three years, developing a close and friendly relationship, sharing almost everything.

"His name is Zhou Yan, my savior. If it weren't for him, I would be dead. His noodles are delicious." Xia Yao said confidently, turning to the next page of her sketchbook: "This is his sister, Momo."

"So cute!" The two girls' eyes lit up.

"Handsome, and a hero who did something righteous, Yao Yao, aren't you even a little bit tempted?" Deng Hong asked with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah, aren't you tempted?" Zhu Yuyu chimed in.

"Go away, go away, our friendship is purely platonic." Xia Yao waved her hand seriously, but her ears were flushed.

"I'll take you guys out for noodles tomorrow!"

"Okay, okay!"

"Could you also take us to meet your savior, to see if he's as handsome as you drew?"

"Get lost!" Just as Zhou Yan had predicted, the hundred servings of braised beef he prepared weren't sold out, with thirty-one servings remaining. But this far exceeded his expectations from that morning. Zhou Yan sent twelve servings of the remaining braised beef to the security department of the factory next door, so that all the staff on duty could have some. Luo Weidong, the head of the security department, was on duty today.

Seeing Zhou Yan carrying a tray into the shop, he waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Little Zhou, how can we accept this? You should keep it to sell." The steaming hot beef stew, its aroma wafting through the air, made all the guards' eyes light up.

"Section Chief Luo, it's getting dark soon. If we don't sell it all, we can't eat it all ourselves. Everyone works the night shift hard; a bowl of beef stew will make you feel better," Zhou Yan said with a smile, putting down the tray.

"We don't sell leftovers; it's a waste. This is a new beef stew we've introduced; let everyone try it. With you all here, I feel at ease running the shop." Hearing this, Luo Weidong didn't refuse any further and nodded, "Okay, then we accept your kindness. I'll have them bring the bowls back to you after you finish eating."

"Okay, you all go ahead with your work," Zhou Yan replied with a smile.

"Little Zhou, if you encounter any trouble in the future, just contact the security department. Your shop rents space from the textile factory; our security department can handle anything," Luo Weidong said.

"Okay." Zhou Yan's smile widened as he turned and left.

"Little Zhou is a good comrade, a hero who acted bravely. Keep an eye on his restaurant from now on." Luo Weidong picked up a bowl of braised beef and said to the other guards.

"Okay."

"So fragrant!"

"So fresh!"

"So tender!" Exclamations of praise echoed through the security office. Zhou Yan also delivered ten portions to the workers coming to work the night shift. These were people who would greet Zhao Tieying familiarly when passing by the restaurant, indicating they were regulars. The remaining eight portions were divided: half for Zhao Hong to take home for dinner, and half for the workers themselves.

"I can't accept taking so much meat home." Zhao Hong waved her hands repeatedly as she looked at the lunchbox Zhao Tieying handed her.

"Take it home and eat with the two kids. It'll save you from having to cook, and it'll be such a waste to throw it away." Zhao Tieying shoved the lunchbox into Zhou Yan's hands.

"Hang it in your brother's car." Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"Okay." Zhou Yan replied, taking the lunchbox and leaving. A bicycle was parked at the entrance, and a burly man in a vest squatted beside it, watching Zhou Momo fiddling with the rattan grasshoppers in her hands. His fleshy face crinkled into a squinting smile.

"Brother Fei," Zhou Yan greeted with a smile, hanging his lunchbox on the handlebars. The rattan lunchbox bag was quite convenient.

"Hey, Zhou Yan," the man looked up at Zhou Yan and stood up with a smile.

"Brother Fei, look, this is the grasshopper Fei made for me! It's so cute!" Zhou Momo held up the grasshopper in her hand, proudly showing it off to Zhou Yan.

"There's only one, you didn't get one." Zhou Fei's smile widened.

"Your brother Fei spent all night weaving these yesterday, and this is the best one. Even Fanwa wanted one, but I didn't give it to him." Zhao Hong followed him out, smiling.

"I'm hiding it to give to Momo." Zhou Momo turned around and hugged Zhou Fei's leg.

"Brother Fei, you're so good to me!"

"Next time, Brother Fei will make you a sparrow," Zhou Fei said with a smile.

"Brother Fei, you're my best brother!" Zhou Momo jumped up happily. The latest novels are first published on 69shu. com! Zhou Fei grinned foolishly at her, his joy written all over his face. Zhou Yan couldn't help but laugh too; Zhou Momo was the darling of the Zhou family. Both Zhou Fei and Zhou Hai were straightforward and honest, but Zhou Fei, though tall and strong, had skillful hands.

He had learned straw weaving from his mother and could weave all sorts of insects from vines and straw, making them incredibly lifelike.

"Why don't you two have a daughter too? Look how much Zhou Fei likes little girls," Zhao Tieying and Zhao Hong teased.

"Fourth Aunt, we can't even afford to support two sons, and besides, the policy doesn't allow it," Zhao Hong shook her head repeatedly.

"If we have another son, it'll be the end of us. The chances of the Zhou family having a son are just too high! Who can handle that?" Zhou Fei drove Zhao Hong home, while Zhou Yan's family ate dinner at the shop.

"The textile factory is closed the day after tomorrow, so our shop will close for a day too. From now on, we'll only have one day off per week," Zhou Yan said to his mother.

"Closed?" Zhao Tieying paused, her chopsticks still in her hand.

"Won't anyone come to eat on Sunday?"

"Ninety percent of the restaurant's customers are factory workers. When the factories are closed and the workers aren't coming to work, there's hardly any business. A few scattered customers make it difficult to prepare food; too many is wasteful, too few is disliked," Zhou Yan said with a smile, shaking his head.

"Besides, we need rest too. We work so hard every day, getting up early and working late. A single day off isn't unreasonable."

"Yes, we should balance work and rest," Zhou Miao said, placing a piece of beef on Zhao Tieying's plate.

"Don't overwork yourself." Zhao Tieying smiled and nodded, "Okay, then I'll take a day off."

"By the way, if we're not open the day after tomorrow, take Momo to see your grandma. I ran into Lao Wu yesterday, and he said the old lady hasn't seen you two siblings in a long time. Go cook a meal for her," Zhou Miao said, looking at Zhou Yan.

"Remember to bring something; your grandma dotes on you two," Zhao Tieying added.

"Okay." Zhou Yan nodded, eating his rice, an image of a white-haired old lady appearing in his mind. Two meals a day of wine, two ounces of wine and two ounces of meat each time, and he could still eat two bowls of rice. He single-handedly raised five sons and managed to keep five daughters-in-law completely under his thumb. The first generation of the Sichuan-Chongqing Tyrannosaurus. Zhou Momo, head down, was engrossed in her meal, oblivious to everything around her, her hands and face glistening with oil.

Watching her eat was incredibly satisfying.

"From now on, when the weather's nice, let Momo eat breakfast and lunch at the entrance. Just look at her eating! Who wouldn't want to come in and try what we serve?" Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"I think that's a good idea. Those young girls adore her. She's sweet-talking and a great storyteller; she's better at attracting customers than I am," Zhao Tieying said, looking at Zhou Momo with doting smiles.

"By the way, today our shop sold a hundred bowls of noodles, sixty-nine bowls of braised beef, and fifty-two bowls of rice, reaching a turnover of one hundred and sixty-six yuan. We successfully broke the hundred mark!" Zhou Yan said.

"One hundred!" Zhao Tieying was a little stunned. Over a hundred! They made over a hundred yuan! Their restaurant was really doing well.

"This hundred yuan will earn us more than half. After three months of running the restaurant, we're finally seeing a return on our investment.

""This is just the beginning! From now on, we won't just earn a hundred! We'll earn a thousand! Ten thousand!" Zhou Yan smiled, picking up his soup bowl.

"Come on, let's have a bowl of our delicious beef jerky for a successful opening!"

"Cheers!" Zhao Tieying's eyes shone, her face beaming with energy.

"Cheers!" Zhou Miao raised her bowl.

"Cheers~" Zhou Momo raised her bowl with both hands. The four bowls clinked gently together. Everyone's face was filled with smiles.