Chương 31: The Unlucky Woman

"Zhou Yan, you got it up and running so fast? How's business?" Zhou Jie put down the rag he was holding and greeted him with a smile.

"Yeah, really fast!" Zhou Hai also looked at him expectantly. Zhou Liangliang, the owner of the stall next door, was cracking sunflower seeds, pursed his lips, and muttered under his breath, "Tch, selling ten or twenty bowls at most, they say they want to learn but I never see anyone."

"Business is not bad, I sold seventy bowls yesterday, the first day, and I estimate I can sell a hundred bowls today." Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"What? A hundred bowls!"

"Business is so good!" Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai were both shocked. They had been selling hot pot for two years, slowly building up their popularity. Recently, the weather had cooled down, and sometimes selling a hundred bowls was considered good business. Zhou Yan had just started selling hot pot, and he had already sold seventy bowls on the first day! And today he was going to sell a hundred bowls?! Clatter...

Zhou Liangliang dropped the sunflower seeds in his hand, staring at Zhou Yan with wide eyes, his eyes full of shock and confusion. A hundred pots! How much money would that make?

"How much money do they make? We're all from the same village, all surnamed Zhou, so why do their soup pots sell so well? Our cattle all come from the same slaughterhouse! It doesn't make sense. I'm so annoyed!"

"Great! Zhou Yan, your cooking skills are amazing! You can sell a hundred bowls of soup pot right outside the textile factory." Zhou Jie was happy and gratified.

"Now your restaurant business will be even more prosperous, and you won't have to worry about the textile going badly."

"I knew Zhou Yan could succeed; he's been clever since he was a child," Zhou Hai said with a simple smile, his face full of pride.

"My soup pots are six cents a bowl," Zhou Yan said with a smile, he could feel the genuine happiness from his two cousins.

"How much?"

"Six cents a bowl!" Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai's smiles turned to shock and confusion. Their soup pot stall sold for four cents a bowl, already the highest price in the entire Suji area, relying on taste and word-of-mouth to support sales. They had gradually increased their prices from three cents to three and a half cents. Zhou Yan started selling for six cents a bowl right from the beginning?

"Selling a hundred bowls a day? When did Su Ji's money become so easy to earn? Don't the female workers in the textile factory dislike hot pot?" They were both a little confused.

"You mean, Erhuo?" Zhou Jie looked at Zhou Yan and asked. Zhou Hai also scratched his head.

"Erhuo," Zhou Yan laughed.

"Okay, I believe you." Zhou Jie immediately nodded, grabbing Zhou Yan's arm and saying, "That's awesome!" Zhou Liangliang had just grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds, but now they tasted bitter and numb, not fragrant at all. Selling for six cents! What's the difference between that and robbery? He could make money selling for three cents. Zhou Erwa sells for six cents, how much money would he make selling a hundred bowls a day?

If he set up a stall at the textile factory gate, even if he sold for five or four cents, he would still make a lot! Doing this calculation in his mind, Zhou Liangliang's hands were shaking, and the sunflower seeds he had just grabbed fell to the ground again.

"Parkinson's? He can't even hold sunflower seeds properly." Zhou Yan glanced at him sideways, knowing exactly what this guy was thinking. His business selling braised beef at the textile factory gate was booming. The fact that a bowl cost six mao (0. 6 yuan) would quickly spread; the profits were obvious and couldn't be hidden. In a few days, there would definitely be a bunch of Zhoucun people selling hot pot outside the textile factory.

Setting up a stall was just moving locations, with almost no cost; the vendors were all shrewd. Zhou Yan wasn't afraid of direct competition. The taste and quality of his braised beef were his moat, and the improved reputation of his restaurant these past few days was also a plus. In later years, in Jiaozhou, the best-selling braised beef shops were never the cheapest, but those that excelled in both taste and marketing. Today, he came to find Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai, intending to teach them how to make braised beef.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. They were family, and he wanted to make their lives better. [Ding! Side quest triggered: Braised Beef Heritage. Braised beef, as a traditional intangible cultural heritage food, urgently needs recognition! Take on an apprentice as the inheritor of braised beef, teach them the authentic way to make braised beef, and promote and pass on the tradition of braised beef.] [Quest Reward: Unknown. Accept: Yes/No] Zhou Yan's eyelids twitched as he glanced at the suddenly pop-up task. This surprised him a bit. This system task even had a side quest about culinary inheritance? But there was no reason to refuse a task delivered right to his door. He decisively accepted.

"Brother Jie, Brother Hai, I've made some improvements to this hot pot. The textile factory workers all say it's delicious, so we can sell it at this price." Zhou Yan called the two aside, lowering his voice slightly.

"Do you two want to learn from me? If you follow my instructions, your business will definitely be better than it is now, and you'll earn more."

"How can we do that? Your restaurant business has only just started to pick up, and you still have a lot of debt. As your older brothers, we can't steal your business." Zhou Jie immediately shook his head, his attitude resolute.

"I know you're sincere to me and Brother Hai, but we want you to be better off."

"That's right, we can make money now too. No other stall in this row has better business than us." Zhou Hai also patted his chest confidently. The latest novel is first published on 69shuba! Zhou Yan's nose was a little stuffy, and for a moment he didn't know what to say. What can you give to exchange for sincerity? At least money can't buy it.

"Brother Jie, Brother Hai, listen to me." Zhou Yan looked at the two men, his expression serious.

"I know your feelings and thoughts, but I'm thinking about things in the long run."

"You can't possibly stay here at this stall your whole lives, can you? You're exposed to the sun and rain every day, and when the weather's bad, you can't set up shop. After deducting the off-season, you barely make any money, and your wives suffer too."

"I'm opening a restaurant, not just selling hot pot. I sell noodles now, and I'll sell stir-fries and braised dishes in the future. That's my main business."

"If you learn my hot pot recipe and hone your skills, you can open a shop in town, or even in the city, and earn more money and live a better life."

"You're worried about stealing my business? No way. My customers are mainly textile factory workers; they won't travel this far to eat the same hot pot."

"We're brothers, don't be shy. Otherwise, when I go to Grandma's for dinner tomorrow, I'll tell on you." Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai fell silent after hearing this, one scratching his head, the other stroking his chin.

"Brother Jie, make a statement." Zhou Yan looked at Zhou Jie and said.

"Alright, you've already said so much, what can we older brothers say?" Zhou Jie nodded.

"You name a time, I'll come and learn from you first, and then I'll teach Brother Haizi."

"We're off tomorrow, come to the shop to find me next Monday morning," Zhou Yan said.

"Okay." Zhou Jie said with a smile, "Then Hai Zi and I will become your apprentices."

"Zhou Yan is a proper chef." Zhou Hai also chuckled.

"No problem." Zhou Yan nodded, "Then I'll head back first. A group of college students from Sichuan Fine Arts Institute came to the shop for dinner today, and I still need to go back and prepare the sauce."

"College students?"

"A whole group?" Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai both looked on with surprise and hurriedly said, "Then hurry up and don't waste time."

"I'm off." Zhou Yan got on his bicycle and left. Zhou Liangliang watched his back, his eyes darting around. He turned around and woke up his wife, who was dozing off behind the stove, and whispered, "You'll watch the stall by yourself tonight. I'm going to take care of something."

"How can I manage by myself? What are you going to do?" His wife grumbled, still half asleep.

"We only sell a dozen or so bowls tonight. I can manage it even with my eyes closed. I'm going to take care of something important. We might be going to make a fortune." Zhou Liangliang said in a low voice.

"Get rich?" His wife looked at him suspiciously.

"Are you going to rob a bank?"

"Rob a bank my foot! Keep sleeping, you unlucky woman!" Zhou Liangliang pulled his apron over her face, pushed his bicycle, and rode towards the textile factory.