Free Web NovelChapter 38: Chapter 32: Old Zhou, You Stood Up Today
Zhou Yan rode his bike into town and bought three bags of puffed rice candy from Zhang Jiwu’s shop. It was one-point-two yuan for a one-pound bag, wrapped in kraft paper and tied with string.
Suji didn’t have many portable local specialties. There was the tough-as-nails beef jerky, but even he found it too much work for his jaw.
Zhang Jiwu’s puffed rice candy was quite famous in Suji.
Fresh leaf lard was rendered down, then mixed with maltose and stir-fried into an amber-colored syrup. Toasted peanuts and puffed rice were poured in and tossed until every grain was coated in the sweet glaze. Then, it was taken out of the wok and spread onto a board sprinkled with sesame seeds, before being topped with another layer of toasted white sesame seeds.
A large rolling pin was used to flatten and compress the mixture, which was then cut into small squares. And just like that, the puffed rice candy was done.
The fragrance of the toasted puffed rice traveled far and wide. In this era, a mixture of sugar and fat was a treat everyone loved.
When students passed by after school, every single one of them found themselves unable to walk away.
The owner had Zhou Yan try a piece. It was fragrant and sweet, light and crispy, with a savory note from the lard that gave it a unique flavor.
He also bought an extra fifty cents’ worth for Zhou Momo and his two nephews, so they could have a taste as well.
When Zhou Yan returned to the restaurant, Zhou Momo and Fanwa were playing hopscotch.
Zhou Lihui was acting as their referee on the side. Seeing Zhou Yan, he smiled and ran over. "Uncle, you’re back."
"Mhm, I bought you guys some puffed rice candy. Take it and share it with Momo and Fanwa," Zhou Yan said, handing him the loose candy.
Zhou Momo and Fanwa had already smelled the candy and came running over.
"Brother! Is that puffed rice candy?" Zhou Momo stared at the candy in Zhou Lihui’s hand and gulped. "Wanna eat!" freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
"You two go wash your hands. You can eat after you’ve washed them," Zhou Yan said with a smile, heading to the kitchen with the groceries.
For the evening, the college students alone had ordered twenty-eight bowls of noodles and twenty bowls of Kneeling Beef.
Zhou Yan estimated that some factory workers would probably come to join the bustle, so he had bought enough meat to prepare toppings and sauces for sixty people.
It didn’t matter if it didn’t all sell. There were a lot of them today, so they could just eat the leftovers for dinner.
Washing vegetables, stir-frying ingredients... time was tight.
Zhou Yan had just started chopping vegetables when he noticed Zhou Lihui at the kitchen door. He looked up and asked with a smile, "What is it, Huihui?"
"I want to watch you cook, Uncle," Zhou Lihui said, smiling a little shyly.
"If you want to watch, then come on in. What can you see from the doorway?" Zhou Yan called out with a smile. The cleaver in his hand never stopped, and a piece of beef was rapidly transformed into slices, then slivers, and finally, minced meat.
Zhou Lihui’s eyes widened as he watched.
"Do you know how to cook?" Zhou Yan asked, setting the minced meat aside on a plate.
"I can only stir-fry vegetables and make congee."
"Then today you can learn how to make braised pork ribs and minced beef with double peppers from your uncle. You can show off for your parents next time," Zhou Yan said casually with a smile.
"Okay," Zhou Lihui nodded and took two steps forward, watching even more intently.
...
"Director Su, I look forward to our collaboration bearing great fruit."
"It’s a pleasure working with you."
In the meeting room, Lin Zhiqiang and Su Jun shook hands.
After an afternoon of discussion, the Jiazhou Textile Factory and the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute Department of Art and Design had reached a preliminary cooperation agreement. They would engage in a university-enterprise partnership to build a brand for the Jiazhou Textile Factory.
However, the specific methods of cooperation and the finer details still needed to be ironed out later.
Lin Zhiqiang was already very satisfied with this outcome. The Sichuan Fine Arts Institute was a top-tier art academy in Sichuan, and even throughout the country. Collaborating with its Department of Art and Design would be immensely beneficial for raising the Jiazhou Textile Factory’s profile.
Having studied abroad, he was keenly aware of the importance of branding.
The Jiazhou Textile Factory was currently flourishing, repeatedly setting new records for foreign exchange earnings. But compared to advanced foreign textile factories, there was still a gap. Exploring the path of brand creation was essential.
"It’s almost quitting time, and the students are waiting outside. Why don’t we go straight to dinner?" Lin Zhiqiang said with a smile, glancing at his watch.
"Alright, I am getting a bit hungry," Su Jun nodded.
...
Zhou Liangliang rode his bike to the entrance of the textile factory, parked it, and pulled out a cigarette. He started asking a few of the street vendors for news about Zhou Yan Restaurant.
"Zhou Yan’s business is booming! Sixty cents a bowl for noodles, and he sells at least a hundred bowls a day. Can you imagine how much money he’s making? Wang the Fifth got arrested, so now he’s the only one selling noodles."
"Yesterday he started selling some kind of Kneeling Beef—it’s that soup pot dish from your Zhou Village, right? He sells that for sixty cents a bowl too, and business is still great."
"How many does he sell? Who knows? Aren’t you from the same village? Why don’t you just go and ask him yourself instead of sneaking around like this?"
"A group of college students is eating at his place today, twenty or thirty of them! They’ve got money and they’re willing to spend it. He’ll probably earn a few Great Unity notes from them alone."
After talking with the vendors, the hand Zhou Liangliang held his cigarette with was trembling. He stared blankly in the direction of Zhou Yan Restaurant, subconsciously raising the cigarette for a drag. He yelped in pain as the burning end seared him and quickly flung the butt away.
"PTUI, PTUI..." Zhou Liangliang spat a few times. The burn from the cigarette butt had sent a jolt through him.
Just then, he saw a group of stylishly dressed, handsome, and beautiful young people walk out of the textile factory’s main gate and turn into Zhou Yan Restaurant.
"Eating at Zhou Yan Restaurant again tonight? They just have noodles and a soup pot. Is it really that good? Guess these college kids from the city haven’t eaten much good food."
"Seriously. Why not come try my wontons?"
The vendors grumbled resentfully, green with envy.
Just then, the factory workers got off for the day. A stream of bicycles flooded out, and a number of them turned toward the entrance of Zhou Yan Restaurant.
Zhou Liangliang forgot all about the blister on his lip. Staring at the packed Zhou Yan Restaurant, his eyes burned with a feverish light. ’Sixty cents for a bowl of noodles, sixty cents for a bowl of soup pot... they sell this well?’
’The textile factory workers have money! The money here is just easier to make!’
Zhou Liangliang crept closer and watched for a while longer. Seeing that everyone had indeed ordered food and was sitting down to eat, he finally felt reassured and rode away on his bike.
’It’s a go!’
’I’ll come tomorrow!’
’Sell noodles, sell soup pot!’
’It’ll definitely work!’
He pedaled faster and faster, wishing he could fly straight back home.
...
The college students spent thirty yuan that evening and were thoroughly satisfied with their meal.
Zhou Momo sat beside Xia Yao, holding a new doll. She kept calling "Big sister, big sister," completely charming the female college students. They emptied their pockets of snacks, filling a small basket for her.
What could they do? The little girl was just too soft and adorable.
"Aunt is so amazing. So many big sisters are giving her snacks," Fanwa said, squatting to the side with a candy in his mouth, full of envy.
"Mrs. Zhao, can I take Momo to play for a bit? I’ll bring her back for dinner later," Xia Yao said to Zhao Tieying, holding Zhou Momo’s little hand.
"Of course, you can. Go ahead and play. She talks about you every day," Zhao Tieying replied with a smile.
The textile factory had arranged for them to stay at a guest house that night, and they would take the shuttle bus back to Mountain City early the next morning. This gave them two hours of free time before they had to return to the guest house after dark.
Xia Yao wanted to play with Zhou Momo a little longer.
It was just as Zhou Yan had expected.
The fact that the students and faculty from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute had skipped the cafeteria and eaten two meals in a row at Zhou Yan Restaurant had already caused quite a stir at the Jiazhou Textile Factory.
College students were symbols of intellectualism and fashion. Many workers wanted to see for themselves what delicious food Zhou Yan Restaurant was selling that could so captivate them.
The extra thirty-two servings of noodles Zhou Yan had prepared and the remaining Kneeling Beef sold out completely. Even the beef broth in the pot was divided up among the later customers who hadn’t been able to get a meal.
"Sorry, everyone. We’re sold out of noodles and Kneeling Beef for today. The restaurant is closed tomorrow, so please come back on Monday," Zhou Yan said, standing at the door and apologizing to the customers who had missed out.
"Sold out so early?"
"You should prepare more next time. I was hoping to try it."
"Alright, we’ll come back next time then."
The customers were a little disappointed, but they could only wait until Monday.
"We’ll definitely prepare more next time," Zhao Tieying added with a beaming smile.
Just then, Zhou Miao rode up on his classic roadster bicycle, two large crucian carp tied to the handlebars with straw stalks. He stopped at the restaurant entrance.
"Well, look at that! You caught some crucian carp!" Zhao Tieying went out to greet him with a smile, clucking her tongue in amazement. "Old Zhou, you’ve finally redeemed yourself! You caught such big carp today! We can cook them up for dinner tonight."
"These two aren’t even that big. A much bigger one got away," Zhou Miao said, scratching his head.
Beside them, Zhou Yan silently turned his head away, working his mouth to control his expression.
A line of text slowly scrolled by:
[Two farmed crucian carp. Purely grain-fed. Quality: decent.]
...
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