Chương 3: This Time It'll Definitely Work

Zhou Yan moved to the pasta area, lifted the enamel basin, sprinkled some flour on the table, took half a dough ball, and stretched and tossed it at both ends. The dough was stretched evenly, and with a gentle shake, it naturally rolled into a twisted shape. He repeated this several times, coiling the dough into a long strip of even thickness. Once the dough was coiled, he grabbed both ends and started pulling hard. He stretched it to the limit of his arms, then folded it back and continued stretching.

With each toss and pull, the long dough ball became a thin, round noodle. This scene made Zhao Tieying and the other two's eyes light up. Zhou Yan's technique was incredibly skillful. The dough was flipped and turned in his hands, and before they could even see it clearly, it had become a long, thin noodle. The whole process was smooth and fluid, dazzling to behold.

"Wow! Does Guoguo know magic? He turned a dough ball into noodles!" Zhou Momo's mouth was wide open, greatly shocked.

"Erwa's noodle-pulling technique is much better than Wang Laowu's. I didn't expect him to have this skill hidden." Zhou Miao praised, "He's truly my son."

"This skill is quite good. Looks like you've made a lot of noodles in the cafeteria before." Zhao Tieying nodded repeatedly, as noodles were her least favorite thing to make. As they spoke, Zhou Yan had already finished pulling the noodles. The noodles were thin and evenly rolled, looking very plump and smooth. He was quite pleased with himself for achieving this level of skill on his first attempt. He pinched off a small handful of dough and dropped the noodles directly into the boiling pot.

Once the noodles were in the pot, he lined up three large bowls and a small bowl on the stove to prepare the base. He added Sichuan peppercorn powder, MSG, soy sauce, and a spoonful of chili oil. With the base seasoned, the noodles floated to the surface in the boiling water. He scooped the noodles into the pot with a large bamboo strainer, tossed them a couple of times, and poured them into the bowls.

He then ladled a spoonful of freshly stir-fried double-pepper beef sauce on top, and a bowl of double-pepper beef noodles was ready. Zhou Yan, who had been hungry for a while, couldn't help but swallow his saliva. Even by his standards, this double-pepper beef noodle soup was excellent; most noodle shops wouldn't bother with the time and effort of hand-pulled noodles. No need for formalities among family; Zhou Miao and Zhou Yan each carried two bowls of noodles out of the kitchen and placed them on the table.

Zhou Momo ran after them, the little one barely reaching the table. She tried to climb onto the long bench, but after a while, she couldn't manage it, her two little braids swaying back and forth, making her quite anxious. Zhou Yan easily lifted her up and let her sit beside him. Zhao Tieying picked up her chopsticks and stirred the noodles in her bowl. The white noodles immediately turned red with oil and coated with the meat sauce.

The steaming aroma of the noodles, along with the fragrance of meat and spiciness, filled her nostrils—a feast for the eyes and the palate. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, this noodle soup looks so much better than Wang Laowu's!"

"Try it," Zhou Yan said with a smile, his face full of anticipation. Double-pepper beef noodles are best eaten dry! This pound of flour can make 1. 2 pounds of noodles. Zhou Momo was only three and a half years old, so only a small bowl was served to her. The remaining three people each had about four ounces of noodles. In those days, people didn't have much oil in their stomachs; those who could work and cook were naturally treated well by their own family.

"Slurp!" Zhao Tieying picked up a mouthful of noodles with her chopsticks. The noodles, coated with sauce and meat sauce, glistened with oil. She put it in her mouth and slurped it down. The spicy and savory flavors exploded on her tongue first. The chewy noodles, mixed with crispy on the outside and tender on the inside minced beef, and infused with the strong aroma of millet peppers, pickled peppers, and pickled ginger, added layers of flavor. Delicious! It was so delicious!

Her family ate plenty of beef, and she often saved the leftover scraps for themselves, but the beef she made was never as good as Zhou Yan's. This meat sauce wasn't just good for noodles; it would be amazing with rice too! One bite after another, it was so delicious that she couldn't stop eating. Although the noodles were dry-mixed, the sauce was very oily, making the noodles very moist and not dry at all, which was incredibly satisfying.

"These noodles are really good, even better than your cucumber salad." Zhao Tieying swallowed the noodles in her mouth and looked at Zhou Yan, saying, "If you turn this into a noodle shop, I'll support you. With this bowl of noodles, there's no one in our commune who can beat you; I guarantee it'll be a success." Since the restaurant opened, people in the commune and village have been making fun of Zhou Yan and his wife quite a bit.

Zhao Tieying was a notorious woman in the surrounding area, known for her sharp tongue and fierce temper. When she was younger, people nicknamed her "Iron Lady," but she'd tolerated it lately. She could tolerate people talking about her, but not about Zhou Yan. If anyone dared to speak ill of Zhou Yan to her face, she would tear their mouth apart! She knew Zhou Yan was under a lot of pressure and hadn't been in a good mood lately, and she was afraid he wouldn't be able to handle the gossip.

Although she was worried about the money, she worried about her son even more. Eight hundred yuan or so, the couple could easily pay it back in a few years by saving every penny. But what mother doesn't want her son to be successful and capable? This bowl of noodles far exceeded her expectations, finally giving her hope that Zhou Yan could make a living this way. After saying that, she lowered her head and took a big bite, holding back the tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'll try some too." Zhou Miao heard this and took a big bite as well, his eyes immediately lighting up. Zhou Miao loved noodles. He usually started slaughtering cattle at midnight and would find a noodle stall to eat a bowl of noodles in the morning. He was practically an expert when it came to noodles. The pork sauce used to make dry noodles was usually made with pork that was half lean and half fat, so it didn't require much oil when frying the sauce.

Noodles usually needed to be mixed with alkaline water and salt, which made the noodles chewy, but some people couldn't stand the taste of the alkaline water. But the noodles that Zhou Yan made were different. They were not only chewy and smooth, but also refreshing and delicious. They didn't have any strange taste, and when you chewed them carefully, you could even taste the sweet aroma of flour. Most noodle shop owners wouldn't use such high-quality flour to make noodles.

The broth was perfectly seasoned, with just the right amount of saltiness. Of course, the most amazing part was the double-pepper beef topping—spicy, savory, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and it absorbed the broth beautifully. It blended seamlessly with the noodles with just a quick stir, and even the meat chunks clung to the noodles when you picked them up.

Many noodle shops serve dry noodles where the topping and noodles are separate, and you only taste the combination of noodles and topping in the last few bites. This bowl of noodles was absolutely the most delicious mixed noodles he had ever eaten! Zhou Miao ate several bites, nodding in praise, "Erwa, your noodles are so delicious! Next time I come to a market, I'll definitely come here for a bowl of double-pepper beef mixed noodles."

"That's only fair," Zhou Yan chuckled. [Customer's approval +1] [Customer's approval +1] Two lines of feedback flashed in his eyes. It seemed the system only recognized customers, not whether they were family or not—that was incredibly user-friendly. Seeing her parents already eating, Zhou Momo was still frantically mixing her noodles with her chopsticks, which made her quite impatient. Zhou Yan simply helped her mix it. Zhou Momo smiled and took the noodles, saying, "Thank you, brother!"

Then she eagerly shoveled two noodles into her mouth, her little eyes instantly lighting up. She didn't even bother to say a word, burying her head and slurping frantically! Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. It was so delicious! Fragrant and spicy, the meat clings to the noodles, small but very fragrant! She loves noodles! From now on, she'll love Guo Guo's noodles the most!

[Appreciation from the customer +1] Zhou Yan glanced down at Zhou Momo, who was happily eating and swinging her short legs, and his smile grew even brighter. My sister is so cute! Zhou Yan started eating his own noodles. Of course, he was the one at the table who knew the most about noodles. He'd tried all kinds of mixed noodles, the weirder the name, the more he wanted to eat it. Double-pepper beef mixed noodles were common, and he ate them quite often.

But this was the first time he'd made his own mixed noodles; he'd only ever mixed instant noodles before. When eating noodles, the noodles themselves are the most important. If the noodles aren't good, even the best toppings are useless. [Latest novel first published on 69shu. com!] In most parts of Sichuan, people eat alkaline noodles, which have a unique flavor that he can accept.

However, his roommate from Shanxi scoffed at the idea, considering adding toppings to noodles as heresy, and believing that truly skilled noodle masters only add water. The noodles he made today only used water, relying on kneading techniques to achieve the desired balance. These noodles didn't taste alkaline, but they were still incredibly chewy and smooth, and they held the broth beautifully. Even when coated with sauce and toppings, they wouldn't slip off the plate. One bite was pure bliss!

Of course, the double-pepper beef was the real highlight! The beef was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, spicy and savory, absorbing the unique flavors of pickled peppers and ginger. It was incredibly fragrant and oily, far more delicious than any double-pepper beef he had ever tasted before! Even in 2025, let alone the resource-scarce year of 1984, Zhou Yan would definitely make a video raving about this double-pepper beef noodle dish! Delicious! The ultimate in mixed noodles!

Zhou Yan silently wrote a 500-word positive review in his mind, but after waiting for a while, he still didn't receive a system notification. Sigh, what a waste of time. It seems the system didn't treat him like a guest. Maybe it didn't even treat him like a person. The bowl of hot, spicy noodles satisfied their cravings and calmed their hungry stomachs. The family of four ate until they were sweating profusely, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

After finishing the noodles, Zhao Tieying took the bowls to the kitchen to wash them. Zhou Yan didn't rush to do the dishes; instead, he made his father a cup of covered-bowl tea and sat down opposite him.

"Dad, I have something I'd like to ask you." Zhou Miao picked up his teacup, took a sip, put it down, glanced towards the kitchen, and then whispered, "Out of money again?" He then started reaching into his pocket.

"It's not about the money. I'm planning to sell noodles for a while, but not just this one dish. I also plan to sell braised beef noodles and braised pork rib noodles. Those two are soup noodles, so I need to make bone broth. And I'll be using more beef later, so I wanted to order the meat from you and Grandpa," Zhou Yan said with a smile. He knew Zhou Miao had secretly given him money before, a few yuan at a time. Although it wasn't much, for a henpecked husband, it was a huge risk.

"How much beef and beef bones do you need every day?" Zhou Miao asked. Zhou Yan thought for a moment and said, "At the beginning, I plan to prepare enough ingredients for thirty bowls a day. I need one jin of brisket, one jin of beef brisket, one jin of pork ribs, and ten jin of beef bones."

"Beef bones aren't expensive, but six jin of meat for sixty bowls of noodles? Your investment is too high!" Zhou Miao asked in surprise, "How much do you plan to sell it for per bowl? Can you make a profit?"

"The cost of meat is 2 yuan per jin, so 3 jin would cost 6 yuan; flour is 0. 17 yuan per jin, and one jin of flour can make 1. 2 jin of noodles. One bowl of noodles uses 3 liang of noodles, so it requires 7. 5 jin of flour, which is 1. 3 yuan. In addition, we need to calculate the cost of oil, side dishes, spices, and wood. I roughly estimated that 2 yuan would be more than enough. The total cost is 9. 3 yuan." Zhou Yan said unhurriedly, "I plan to sell it for 0. 6 yuan a bowl.

If I sell 30 bowls, I will have 18 yuan in income. After deducting the cost, I can make 8. 7 yuan. If I sell more later, I will make even more." Zhou Miao listened and carefully calculated in his mind for a while. Although he had not read many books, he had been slaughtering cattle and selling meat for many years, so he could still do the math. Now, beef can be bought for 1. 2 yuan per jin with meat coupons, but coupons are hard to come by.

You can still get brisket with luck, but you can't buy brisket with coupons at all. The price of beef sold in the market has doubled, starting at 2. 5 yuan per jin. Spare ribs were priced similarly, and you needed someone you knew to hold onto them to get them. Even he had to think twice before ordering a bowl of noodles that cost six cents. A bowl of bone broth noodles from an outside stall only cost three cents, so this was twice the price.

However, the noodles at the stall weren't as good as Zhou Yan's, and the meat was pitifully scarce—you could barely find a few bits of minced meat. Zhou Yan planned to include an ounce of meat in each bowl of noodles. Customers who liked noodles would definitely be willing to pay more after trying Zhou Yan's noodles.

"You've got it all figured out." Zhou Miao smiled with satisfaction and said, "You don't need to ask your uncle for two catties of beef. I'll save it for you. When we get back, I'll talk to Old Zhang at the bridge and ask him to save you a catty of spare ribs every day. You can pick it up when you get the beef."

"Okay!" Zhou Yan beamed. This was family ties. He added, "Dad, we've agreed that I'm buying this beef from you, so you have to pay me."

"It's just a few catties of beef, the two of us..."

"No, then I'll buy it from another store." Zhou Yan's expression was firm. If his dad delivered two catties of beef to him every day, he would not only work for nothing but also lose money every month. Once he secured the beef supply, he felt more at ease. Zhou Yan had been a food blogger for three years and had been preparing to open a restaurant for a year. Opening a restaurant was the thing he was most comfortable with right now.

The most troublesome thing about starting a business is earning the first pot of gold. Going from 0 to 1 is much harder than going from 1 to 10. Xiao Zhou had managed to borrow his first pot of gold and even left him with a stable supplier, which was much better than starting from scratch.

"Then I'll just take the initial investment. What kind of old man makes money off his son?" Zhou Miao took his hand out of his pocket and stuffed a few crumpled one-yuan bills into Zhou Yan's hand, lowering his voice to say, "Don't let your mother know."

"Dad..." Zhou Yan looked at the money in his hand, his heart fluttering. Every penny he had in his previous life was earned through hard work; he had never experienced being given money like this before.

"Brother, I have money too! I'll give it all to you." Zhou Momo came forward, her little hand rummaging in her pocket for a while before pulling out a crumpled five-cent bill, which she solemnly handed to Zhou Yan: "I want to eat noodles again next time!"

"Okay." Zhou Yan smiled and took the money, reaching out to ruffle her hair. After cleaning up the kitchen, Zhao Tieying came out with the remaining half-bowl of beef sauce in her hand.

"Zhou Yan, where should I put this sauce?"

"Momo loves it, take it home for her to mix with rice. I'll make some fresh sauce tomorrow morning," Zhou Yan said.

"It's such good sauce," Zhao Tieying hesitated.

"Okay, okay!" Zhou Momo jumped up and down happily; she loved beef so much. Zhao Tieying smiled and patted her head: "Alright, I'll take it back for you, you little glutton." She handed the basket of sauce to Zhou Miao, then took a folded handkerchief from her inner pocket, unfolded it to reveal a stack of banknotes, and stuffed it into Zhou Yan's hand.

"Mom, what's this…" Zhou Yan was stunned.

"This is what your dad and I saved last month, thirteen yuan and forty cents in total. Take it for the shop's expenses." Zhao Tieying held the handkerchief, looking at him with a relieved smile:"Mom believes you can definitely do it this time!"