Free Web NovelChapter 25: Chapter 19: Hiring Someone
Hot pot was nothing out of the ordinary on the Zhou family’s dinner table.
Unsold beef offal was often made into hot pot, and any leftover hot pot would be brought home for the family to eat.
But today’s hot pot seemed a little different.
Thinly sliced sirloin, pink and tender, was blanched just until cooked through and then scooped out. Curled tripe and translucent beef tendon dotted the clear broth, and everyone had their own dipping dish of dry chili flakes.
"It smells so fragrant. Why is it different from when I make it?" Zhao Tieying was a bit puzzled. She’d made hot pot countless times, having learned the dish from her mother-in-law right after marrying into the Zhou family. But why was her broth never as aromatic as the one Zhou Yan had just made?
"Try the broth first." Zhou Yan ladled a bowl of broth for everyone.
Zhao Tieying took a sip with her spoon, and her eyes instantly lit up. Her eyebrows shot up as she slapped Zhou Miao on the shoulder. "You’re just saying that! This is way better than mine! How can you say they’re the same!"
"It tastes about the same to me. Yours is just as delicious," Zhou Miao said with an innocent smile.
"Forget it. You just don’t have the palate for it." Zhao Tieying rolled her eyes at him, but the corners of her mouth turned up involuntarily. She took two more sips of the broth and nodded repeatedly. "This is even better than the broth Zhou Jie makes. It’s so savory, and the seasoning is perfect."
Zhou Momo said nothing, simply lowering her head to focus on her broth. She puffed her little cheeks to blow on it before taking small, careful sips. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
After finishing a bowl, a light sweat beaded on her forehead. A pleasant warmth spread through her body, washing away much of the day’s fatigue.
GULP.
Zhou Momo had been eyeing the meat in the pot for a while now. She swallowed hard, her little hands twitching with anticipation as she looked toward Zhou Yan.
"Here you go, have some meat," Zhou Yan said with a smile, picking up a piece of beef and holding it out to her.
AHHH!
The little one opened her mouth and caught it in one bite.
’The meat is so soft, and it has a faint, milky fragrance!’
’This meat is so yummy!’
’I love meat the most!’
"So yummy! More meat!" After swallowing the bite in her mouth, Zhou Momo pleaded in her high, sweet voice.
The three adults all laughed at her words.
Zhou Yan filled a small bowl for her, piling it high with not just beef but also some offal, so she could have a little bit of everything.
"It’s so tender!" Zhao Tieying exclaimed, a shocked expression on her face after trying a piece of beef.
’How can beef be cooked to be this savory and tender?’
After cooking beef for over twenty years, she was doubting herself for the first time.
"This chili powder is so fragrant!" Zhou Miao ate a piece of tripe and praised it repeatedly. "The tripe is cooked so perfectly crisp..."
Zhou Miao had been eating hot pot his whole life, from his mother’s to his wife’s, but if he had to pick the best, it would be this pot made by his son.
The initial broth was so savory it could make your eyebrows fly off. The tripe was crisp and delicious, the beef slices were large, thin, and tender, the beef hoof tendon was stewed until incredibly soft, and the cabbage was crisp and sweet. Paired with the fragrant and spicy dipping sauce, it completely overturned his understanding of hot pot.
Zhou Yan went to bring out the rice he had cooked earlier.
A basin of rice and a pot of Kneeling Beef were devoured completely by the family of four. Not a single piece of cabbage was left.
"This hot pot you made is just fantastic. The young women from the textile factory will definitely love it. Selling hot pot in the shop—I think it’ll work!" Zhao Tieying was full of confidence.
Her earlier doubts had completely vanished.
"I think it’ll work too!" Zhou Miao chimed in. "Drinking this broth made me break a sweat, and I feel so much better. It really can cure what ails you! If we advertise that, even more people will come to eat."
"Meat is yummy!" Zhou Momo added.
"That’s great. This afternoon, I’ll go find someone to build the stove. We’ll get the preparations done in the next two days, and we can start selling hot pot right away," Zhou Yan said with a smile. This pot of Kneeling Beef had also exceeded his own expectations—the broth was savory, the meat was tender, and the dipping sauce was fragrant and delicious.
"Alright, we’ll listen to you," Zhao Tieying and Zhou Miao said, nodding together.
Zhou Yan had been acting more and more reliable these past few days, which was very reassuring.
Comrade Zhou was escorted upstairs by Mrs. Zhao to rest. Just as Zhou Yan was clearing the table, someone came to the door and knocked. "Comrade Zhou Yan, I’m here to collect the rent."
The visitor was a delicate-featured young woman in a white shirt and black pants. She had short hair, wore a pair of small black leather shoes, and carried a brown leather bag over her shoulder, looking very capable.
This was Wang Wei, an accountant from the textile factory’s finance department. She was twenty years old and in charge of collecting rent for the shops owned by the factory, coming by on the twentieth of every month.
"Okay, please come in," Zhou Yan replied with a smile and went behind the counter to get the money. ’She’s practically half a landlady,’ he thought.
"Fifteen in total, please count it." Zhou Yan handed a stack of money to Wang Wei. It was one Great Unity bill and the rest in one-yuan notes.
"Mm." Wang Wei took the money and counted it. She carefully inspected the Great Unity bill before putting the cash in her bag. She wrote out a receipt, tore off the page, and handed it to Zhou Yan. Only then did she tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear and say with a smile, "I heard you switched to selling noodles and that business has been great."
Comrade Zhou was tall and handsome, quite popular among the single young women and young wives at the textile factory.
Wang Wei had collected rent three times before and they had chatted a bit. The young woman was efficient and left a good impression on Comrade Zhou.
"It’s alright. I can barely make rent," Zhou Yan said, putting the receipt away with a sigh. "It would be great if the factory could lower the rent a little."
"I don’t have the authority for that," Wang Wei said with a smile, then offered a suggestion. "Didn’t you save Vice Director Lin’s niece? Why don’t you talk to him? Maybe he’d really lower it for you."
"I couldn’t possibly bother him over such a small matter," Zhou Yan said, shaking his head decisively.
’If I can consistently sell a hundred bowls of noodles a day, fifteen yuan for rent isn’t high at all. Besides, I’m about to start selling Kneeling Beef, so my revenue has room to grow. I’ll be happy if the factory just doesn’t raise the rent on me then.’
"Alright, I’m off to collect rent from the next place. I’ll come try your noodles next time," Wang Wei said, her eyes crinkling with a smile. She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out.
"Take care," Zhou Yan called out, then went back to clearing the bowls.
"I’ll wash the bowls. You go do what you need to do," Zhao Tieying said, coming down from upstairs and taking the bowls from his hands.
Zhou Yan did indeed have important things to do. He first counted the money.
He had prepared one hundred bowls of noodles today and had eighteen left unsold. After subtracting the cost of ingredients, his profit was 31.9 yuan. The money he had saved up over the past few days amounted to 74.2 yuan. After paying rent just now, he had 91.1 yuan left.
Zhou Yan went out to find a bricklayer and arranged for him to come build a stove tomorrow. He also contacted suppliers for materials like blue bricks and asked Zhou Jie for help ordering a large, one-meter diameter cast-iron pot.
The pot alone cost him fifty yuan. He only managed to get it because Zhou Jie pulled some strings for him, which involved gifting two packs of Yuxi cigarettes.
Resources were scarce in this era; many things couldn’t be bought with money alone. Otherwise, he would have wanted an even bigger pot. Just setting it up by the entrance would be more eye-catching and effective than any sign.
Labor and materials would cost about twenty yuan.
Just to build the stove, he was spending seventy yuan.
’Money is hard to earn, but so easy to spend.’
But Zhou Yan wasn’t worried. The noodles at Zhou Yan Restaurant were already making a name for themselves at the textile factory, and its reputation was soaring. Meanwhile, his biggest competitor was currently eating prison food.
Selling a hundred bowls of noodles a day brought in 60 yuan in revenue. After accounting for costs like firewood and seasonings, the profit margin was nearly fifty percent.
He could earn eight or nine hundred yuan a month.
At this rate, he could pay off all his debts within two months, including the five hundred yuan he owed his parents.
Selling noodles was his foundation. Once Kneeling Beef became famous, he would earn even more.
However, just by selling noodles, he and Mrs. Zhao were already spinning like tops. If they added a hot pot, they would definitely be overwhelmed unless the system gave him a cloning ability.
...
For dinner, they reheated the leftover beef bone broth from lunch and ate it with the remaining offal. The family still enjoyed the meal immensely.
After sleeping all afternoon, Comrade Zhou’s spirits had returned to their peak. He repeatedly praised Zhou Yan, saying the medicinal effects of the hot pot were remarkable, even better than taking medicine.
"I’m planning to hire someone," Zhou Yan said.
"Hire someone?" Zhao Tieying and Zhou Miao both looked at him in surprise.
"That’s another expense. A month’s salary would be at least ten yuan, right?" Zhao Tieying mused. "How about I just work a bit more?"
"Mom, you’re already doing more than enough. I’m planning to put you in charge of the hot pot next. That’s why I need to hire someone to serve dishes, clear tables, and wash bowls. Otherwise, we’ll never keep up," Zhou Yan explained with a smile. "We have to make sure our service is both good and fast so the customers are satisfied. Once business is good, the labor cost will be covered, and we’ll earn even more."
"On that point, I think Zhou Yan is right," Zhou Miao chimed in with a nod.
"Alright, let’s hire someone then!" Zhao Tieying agreed. She thought for a moment and added, "What about asking Zhou Fei’s wife to help? She’s strong and quick with her hands. Her two kids are in school now, so she doesn’t have to worry about them as much, and she’s a steady person."
"Sure! Let’s ask my sister-in-law to give it a try. If she’s capable, it’s definitely better than hiring a stranger," Zhou Yan nodded.
Zhou Fei was the son of his father’s eldest brother, making him the oldest among the male cousins and Zhou Hai’s biological older brother. He currently worked with his father as a butcher.
His wife, Zhao Hong, was from the same village as his mother. In fact, it was Comrade Zhao Tieying who had played matchmaker for them. They had two sons; the older one was already in middle school, and the younger one had started elementary school this year. They were still under some financial pressure.
Zhou Yan had a good impression of this sister-in-law. She had a gentle personality and was a skilled worker.
"I’ll go talk to her tonight. How much are you planning to pay her a month?" Zhao Tieying asked, looking at Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan thought for a moment. "Twenty yuan a month. What do you think?"
"That’s good," Zhao Tieying nodded. "That’s a very high salary. A server at a state-run restaurant only makes about twenty-something a month, and people fight tooth and nail to get those jobs."
"Then it’s settled," Zhou Yan decided, making the final call.
Twenty yuan a month was indeed a high salary in a small town, but it was within Zhou Yan’s budget. He was more concerned with having a stable employee and someone who wouldn’t have any ulterior motives.
Besides, his sister-in-law was family. When Zhou first opened the restaurant, her family had even lent him eighty yuan for it, which was no small sum for them.
...
At the crack of dawn the next day, Master Zhou left early to buy groceries.
When he returned to the restaurant with Zhao Tieying, a figure was already standing at the door. She took two steps forward to greet them with a smile. "Fourth Aunt, Zhou Yan, you’re back."
"Zhao Hong, what are you doing here so early? Couldn’t sleep last night?" Zhao Tieying teased.
