Free Web NovelChapter 21: Chapter 15: A Family’s Craftsmanship Can’t Be Wrong
Xia Yao was wearing a yellow floral maxi dress today, layered with a light beige knit cardigan. She had on a pair of black Mary Janes, and her long hair was done in two braids with thin, wispy bangs. The look made her already pretty face seem even more youthful and vibrant.
She sat on a rock under a tree, cradling her sketchbook. The pencil in her hand skittered across the paper, her expression focused and earnest.
The workers, all in their uniform dark blue factory coveralls, couldn’t help but sneak a few extra glances at this splash of vibrant color.
University students from the city were just different—fashionable and pretty. Her skin was so nice, too, fair and smooth. They just couldn’t figure out what she was doing, scribbling and drawing on that paper.
"That’s Vice Director Lin’s niece, right? I hear she’s a painter!"
"Artists are always so stylish and pretty. But what is she drawing?"
The workers murmured amongst themselves, sizing her up.
One nosy worker snuck around behind her and peeked over her shoulder, letting out a soft cry of surprise. "Wow, that’s really good!"
A little girl holding a soda bottle seemed to leap off the page. The simple lines were remarkably expressive and full of life.
That gasp of admiration drew a small crowd. Everyone who gathered around to look couldn’t help but offer a word or two of praise; the drawing was truly excellent.
Xia Yao wasn’t used to being the center of attention, especially not while she was drawing. It made her feel self-conscious. Still, she responded to their compliments with a polite smile, a nod, and a "thank you."
Since she had an audience, she took the opportunity to plug Zhou Yan’s restaurant. "Zhou Yan’s noodles are delicious. My uncle and I love them! You should all go give them a try. You absolutely won’t regret it."
Wang the Fifth was constantly shouting promotional slogans, his competitive jabs clearly aimed at Erwa Restaurant. Xia Yao, naturally, sided with the man who had saved her.
Hearing this, a few people in the crowd decided they really should go and see what was so special about the noodles that even the Vice Director praised. This brought a few more customers to Zhou Yan.
The workers trickled in and out, but as soon as the workday began, the area in front of the factory gates quickly fell quiet.
Zhou Momo sat at the entrance of the restaurant, holding an empty glass bottle up to the sky. She closed one eye and peered through it intently.
When Zhou Yan finished his work and stepped outside for a breath of fresh air, he saw Xia Yao sketching under the tree. Dappled sunlight sprinkled across her face, creating a serene and beautiful picture.
"Brother, the soda was so yummy!" Zhou Momo heard his footsteps and turned, waving the glass bottle at him. "The bottle is pretty, too."
Zhou Yan smiled and bent down to pat her head. "I’ll buy you another one next time, okay?"
Celestial Paradise Cola was the best-selling soda in the Sichuan and Chongqing Region at the time, at two dimes and five cents a bottle. Xia Yao must have been the one who gave it to her.
Xia Yao closed her sketchbook, stood up, and walked toward the restaurant. "Good morning, Comrade Zhou Yan," she said with a smile.
"Good morning, Comrade Xia Yao." Zhou Yan smiled and nodded, his eyes catching the corner of the sketchbook peeking out of her shoulder bag. "I didn’t realize you were a painter."
"I’m a student at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute Department of Art and Design, not a painter," Xia Yao said.
"Oh, so a designer then," Zhou Yan mused.
Xia Yao looked at him, surprised. "You know what a designer is?"
Her major was decoration design, which covered areas like branding and package design. She really was planning to become a professional designer after graduation.
Every time someone asked about her major, she had to go to great lengths to explain it with examples, and even then, people didn’t always get it. She never expected Zhou Yan to understand.
"I read about it in a book once," Zhou Yan said casually.
’He had a friend who majored in visual communication design and had complained that their department used to be called the Department of Art and Design. It’s probably more or less the same thing,’ he thought, then changed the subject. "Were you sketching Momo just now?"
Xia Yao pulled the sketchbook from her bag, flipped to a page, and held it in front of Zhou Yan. "Take a look."
The little girl in the drawing, sipping a soda, was unmistakably Zhou Momo. Despite the lack of color, the sketch was incredibly lifelike. Her dangling feet and bright smile made the image feel especially dynamic.
"This is amazing," Zhou Yan praised.
He didn’t know a thing about art, but he was deeply impressed.
Zhou Momo had only been eating her noodles by the door for a short while, yet Xia Yao had already finished the sketch. Her skill was clearly exceptional.
A small smile played on Xia Yao’s lips. She closed the sketchbook and reached out to ruffle Zhou Momo’s hair. "Momo is just adorable. And so well-behaved."
"Hehe."
Zhou Momo’s eyes curved into crescents as she giggled, like a kitten enjoying a good head scratch.
"Are you here for noodles?" Zhou Yan asked.
"Yes," Xia Yao nodded. "A bowl of pork rib noodles, please. Same as yesterday."
"Alright. Come on in, it’ll just be a moment." Zhou Yan nodded and turned back into the kitchen.
"Xia, you’re here! Come, have a seat. Your aunt here will get you some water." Zhao Tieying greeted her warmly.
She had seen Xia Yao sketching earlier and knew that several customers had come in on her recommendation, but she had simply been too busy to say hello.
"Okay, thank you, Aunt," Xia Yao replied cheerfully.
Zhou Yan waited until Xia Yao finished her noodles before wheeling his roadster outside. He was heading to the pier to learn how to make Kneeling Beef from Jie and, while he was there, he wanted to see what the quality of the Kneeling Beef stalls in Suji was like.
"Comrade Zhou Yan, are you heading into town?" Xia Yao asked, shouldering her bag.
"I’m going to the pier," Zhou Yan replied. "Comrade Xia Yao, it’s on the way. Would you like a ride back to the family courtyard?"
"Oh, that would be great!" Xia Yao hopped right onto the back rack. "And you can just call me Xia Yao," she added with a smile.
"Alright, and you can just call me by my name, too." Zhou Yan smiled and nodded. With a powerful push of the pedal, the bicycle shot forward. He glanced back at Wang the Fifth’s noodle stall. The basins of meat sauce and toppings were already half-empty. Wang the Fifth’s business was even better than his this morning.
He had only sold thirty-two bowls of noodles all morning, over twenty fewer than yesterday. He worried he wouldn’t be able to sell through the hundred servings of sauce and toppings he’d prepared.
[One basin of minced pork sauce made from tainted meat.]
[One basin of leftover braised beef mixed with fresh beef...]
...
Line after line of Identification notes popped up, and Zhou Yan instinctively squeezed the brakes.
Caught by surprise, Xia Yao instinctively threw her arms around Zhou Yan’s waist, her body lurching forward and pressing against his back.
The soft, warm contact on his back made Zhou Yan’s entire body go stiff. ’Well, this is awkward.’
"Wh-what happened?" Xia Yao let go of his waist, her hands flying to grip the bicycle seat tightly as a blush crept up from her neck to her ears.
"Sorry about that," Zhou Yan said quickly. "I just remembered something and got distracted." He glanced back at Wang the Fifth’s stall, confirming that the notes were real, then pedaled away.
This answered the question that had been nagging Zhou Yan. Wang the Fifth was using tainted pork and mixing yesterday’s leftover toppings with fresh ones. That was how he could afford to sell a bowl with a generous portion of meat for only four dimes.
The Knife Maker, Wang Qi, and Wang the Fifth were apparently from the same village. Wang the Fifth could probably get the meat for even less than 1.4 yuan. He could make a small profit on the pork sauce and toppings to subsidize the cost of the beef. That way, he wouldn’t take a loss.
Wang the Fifth’s plan was simple and vicious. He didn’t have to make a profit, but if Zhou Yan couldn’t make a profit, he would have to shut down and get out of town.
A price war was a battle of attrition—a contest to see who had more staying power.
But Zhou Yan saw it differently. Since Wang the Fifth was going to play dirty and use tainted meat, then he was definitely going to make things difficult for him.
The bicycle slowed to a stop in front of the textile factory’s family courtyard.
Xia Yao hopped off the bike, her manner poised and natural. "Zhou Yan, thanks for the ride. I’m heading back to Jiazhou this afternoon to do some sketching, so I’ll see you next time."
"Alright, see you next time." Zhou Yan smiled and nodded. ’Too bad,’ he thought, ’I’m losing a regular customer.’ He then pedaled away.
Xia Yao watched his retreating figure, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Xia Yao, I was just about to come find you!" Meng Anhe’s voice called from inside the courtyard. "The design institute scheduled a meeting for noon. We should go back, pack our things, and get going."
"Okay, I’m coming!" Xia Yao called back.
...
The Qingyi River Pier bustled with vendors and small business owners. With all the dockworkers hauling cargo, sailors, and traveling merchants passing through, grabbing a quick bite to eat at the pier was a popular option.
Steam billowed from the large pots at the noodle stalls, where noodles and wontons were being boiled. Next to them, a stir-fry stall displayed a variety of fresh ingredients. The pot at the tofu pudding rice stall was already half empty, and the Emei Tofu Brain stand, marked by a small flag, had attracted many customers with children.
Villagers, carrying large baskets on their backs, came to sell their homegrown eggs, old hens, geese, and vegetables. There were also freshly caught river fish and eels for sale, turning the pier into a lively little market.
Because everything was so fresh, even people from town came to the pier to do their shopping, making it a very bustling place.
All along the riverbank, the calls of vendors rose and fell in a ceaseless chorus, creating a lively, vibrant atmosphere.
Zhou Yan pushed his bicycle along, taking in the sights. In this era, food wasn’t full of artificial additives and strange chemicals. There were chickens, ducks, and geese that hadn’t been raised on feed; purely wild eels and river fish; rabbits that ate nothing but grass...
These were all incredibly high-quality ingredients!
Stalls selling Kneeling Beef were scattered among the others. Most had a wooden sign or a flag bearing names like ’Zhou Sanwa Soup Pot’ or ’Third Aunt Zhou’s Soup Pot’...
After private businesses were allowed again, many people from Zhou Village had returned to their old trade of selling soup pots, and they had already made a bit of a name for themselves in town. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Zhou Yan greeted those he knew and offered a polite smile and nod to those he didn’t.
He soon spotted a soup pot stall up ahead with a sign that read ’Zhou Ji Soup Pot.’ All eight of its tables were packed with customers. The burly man standing before the pot, boiling beef, was none other than Zhou Hai, while the man greeting customers, serving dishes, and collecting money with a wide smile was Zhou Jie.
In terms of popularity, their stall was in a class of its own among all the food vendors at the pier.
The other soup pot stalls only had a few scattered customers. The one right next to them, ’Zhou Liangliang Soup Pot,’ had just a single person sitting there.
Zhou Hai, whose sharp eyes missed nothing, spotted Zhou Yan immediately. "Zhou Yan!" he called out with a grin. "Over here!"
Zhou Yan wheeled his bike over, but before he could even open his mouth, Zhou Jie was already introducing him to the customers with a face full of pride. "This is my younger brother, Zhou Yan! He’s the hero who jumped in the river to save someone! The authorities are even going to name him a model citizen for it!"
"He’s my younger brother, too," Zhou Hai added from the side, puffing out his chest with a broad smile.
At this, all the customers turned to look at Zhou Yan.
"So you’re the one who jumped into White Waxtuo to save that university student a few days ago? What a true hero!"
"A handsome young man, and brave, too!"
Zhou Yan felt a little embarrassed by all the praise.
"My brother isn’t just handsome, his cooking is incredible, too!" Zhou Jie announced, thumping his chest. "He opened up ’Erwa Restaurant’ right by the textile factory entrance, and he’s planning to start selling soup pot soon. If any of you live nearby, eating at his place is just as good as eating here. It’s the family recipe—you can’t go wrong!"
