Free Web NovelChapter 50: Chapter 44: I Can’t Stand It for Another Day
All eyes turned to the corner, where Xiao Lei sat on a stool with a leisurely expression.
The chefs and kitchen hands felt their facial muscles twitch as they fought to keep from laughing.
Master Xiao’s mouth was truly venomous; his insults were vicious.
He didn’t leave a shred of dignity for Huang Fusheng or Wang Defa.
Just outside, Wang Defa’s face was beet red with anger, his fists clenched tight.
"Xiao Lei, you... you’re completely lawless!" Huang Fusheng stomped his foot in a rage and pointed at Xiao Lei. "Do you have any sense of discipline? Do you have a conscience? Do you have any respect for Director Wang?!"
After he finished, he made sure to turn to the crowd and say, "You all agree, don’t you?"
The kitchen remained silent. No one took Huang Fusheng’s bait.
Master Xiao had worked in the kitchen for over a decade, maybe two. He was a proper Second-level Chef, and his skill was, without a doubt, the best in the factory cafeteria.
Was there a single chef or kitchen hand present who hadn’t learned from him?
They weren’t about to bite the hand that fed them.
Huang Fusheng might have to kiss up to Wang Defa, but they certainly didn’t.
Besides, there wasn’t a single thing wrong with what Master Xiao had said.
Ever since Huang Fusheng became head chef, the stir-fry dishes he was responsible for had gotten worse by the day. It had gotten so bad that the workers cursed them out, and the other cafeteria chefs couldn’t even hold their heads high when they went out.
They’d received plenty of praise back when Master Xiao was head chef.
"A bad workman always blames his tools," Xiao Lei sneered. "Zhou Yan learned his trade in this cafeteria and opened a restaurant fair and square. The fact that he can get customers in the door is a testament to his skill. If you put half the effort you spend kissing up to Wang Defa into your cooking, the workers wouldn’t be so vicious with their insults."
"Xiao Lei, you..." Huang Fusheng seethed.
"That’s enough! The shift is about to end, get back to prepping the food!" Wang Defa strode into the kitchen and said in a low voice, "Huang Fusheng, come out here a minute."
"Director..." Huang Fusheng quickly plastered on a fawning smile and followed him out of the kitchen, immediately starting to snitch. "That son of a bitch Xiao Lei, his attitude is atrocious, he has no sense of discipline, and he insulted you in public! I think we should find a way to get him fired!"
"Fire him? My ass! He’s been here longer than I have, and he hasn’t made any real mistakes. How could we fire him?" Wang Defa shot him a glare. "I heard Zhou Yan Restaurant is starting to sell braised dishes and stir-fries today. They’re coming right at our stir-fry station. Today is crucial, so you better step up and make me proud."
"I guarantee I will!" Huang Fusheng immediately stood up straight. frёewebηovel.cѳm
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"Wang Wei, wasn’t Zhou Yan’s cooking famously terrible? How did his reputation suddenly do a complete one-eighty? These days, everyone’s talking about Zhou Yan Restaurant come mealtime."
"Yeah, just two months ago everyone was complaining his stir-fries were worse than the slop from the cafeteria’s big pots. I can’t believe those students from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute ate there two times in a row."
The two female accountants from the finance department walked with Wang Wei toward the factory’s main gate, their faces full of curiosity.
"I think Zhou Yan just hadn’t found his footing before. How could one person possibly manage a whole wall of menu items?" Wang Wei tucked her short hair behind her ear and smiled. "He’s changed his strategy now. He only does noodles and Kneeling Beef, and they taste even better than what you get at the state-run restaurants. I heard he’s starting to sell stir-fries and braised dishes today. Let’s go give them a try and see what all the fuss is about."
"We have to give it a try. Otherwise, we won’t be able to get a word in edgewise when we chat with those women from the workshop," Wen Ling nodded.
"I haven’t seen Zhou Yan in so long, not since he left the cafeteria. Is he still as handsome as ever? Wang Wei, you see him more often, you’d know, right?" Zheng Xiuhui asked, her face a picture of gossip.
"Mhm, he’s about the same," Wang Wei said with a smile.
She had seen Zhou Yan when she went to his shop for noodles the day before yesterday. His looks hadn’t changed, but there was something different about his aura. He’d gone from dejected and lost to confident and self-assured.
The change in his disposition made him seem even more charming, like a young man who had found the spark in his eyes again.
The three of them chatted and laughed all the way to Zhou Yan Restaurant. The work shift had just ended, but the restaurant was already filled with several tables of customers.
"Come on in, dears, find a seat inside!" Zhao Tieying called out with a smile.
"Alright, Mrs. Zhao," Wang Wei replied with a smile. She led her two friends to an empty table and looked up at the menu board on the wall.
"Look at these prices. One yuan for braised beef with dried bamboo shoots? That’s more expensive than the cafeteria’s special stir-fries."
"You’re right. The braised pork ribs are a yuan and sixty cents. That’s a whole day’s wages for me."
Wen Ling and Zheng Xiuhui were taken aback, stunned by the prices of the stir-fries and braised dishes.
The customers who trickled in after them also hesitated when they saw the prices on the board.
Zhao Tieying grew anxious. She opened her mouth to say something but couldn’t find the right words. ’Honestly,’ she thought, ’if it were me, I’d take one look at these prices and walk right out. It wouldn’t matter how good it tasted; I just couldn’t afford it.’
"The prices actually aren’t that high," Wang Wei explained with a smile. "Our cafeteria gets to use ration tickets for purchasing, so their prices are almost half of what you’d find at the farmers’ market. For a private restaurant like this, beef costs two yuan per jin. A portion of braised or stir-fried beef has at least three liang of meat, so the cost of the meat alone is sixty cents. And that’s not even counting the side vegetables, seasonings, oil, rent, and labor. They barely make twenty or thirty cents on a dish like this—less than they make on a bowl of noodles."
Wang Wei didn’t deliberately lower her voice, so everyone else in the restaurant heard her.
Wen Ling and Zheng Xiuhui were both accountants, so once Wang Wei laid it out like that, the numbers made sense to them.
"That makes sense. If they prep all this food and a few dishes don’t sell, they could actually lose money," Wen Ling agreed with a nod.
Hearing this, the other customers nodded in agreement. ’As expected of a factory accountant,’ they thought, ’she makes it all so simple and clear.’
It was a straightforward calculation. Meat was expensive to begin with. Looked at that way, the dishes suddenly seemed like a pretty good value.
"So, should we order a couple of dishes to try?" Zheng Xiuhui asked.
"How about we get a Kneeling Beef and one other dish, and we can all split it?" Wen Ling suggested.
Wang Wei said, "What about the Double-Pepper Minced Beef? I saw some people eating it mixed with noodles last time, and it looked like it would be amazing with rice."
"Sounds good," Wen Ling and Zheng Xiuhui agreed with a smile.
"Mrs. Zhao, we’re ready to order!" Wang Wei called out. She ordered a Double-Pepper Minced Beef, a Kneeling Beef, and three bowls of rice.
"You got it, dears! I’ll get that right in for you." Mrs. Zhao was beaming, looking at Wang Wei with eyes full of adoration.
’This girl is just wonderful,’ she thought. ’If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know how we would have gotten things started this afternoon.’
Seeing this, the other customers began placing their orders as well.
The Braised Beef with Dried Bamboo Shoots and the Double-Pepper Minced Beef were the most popular orders. Few people asked about the pork ribs, and absolutely no one inquired about the two-yuan Huo Xiang Carp.
The freshly stir-fried minced beef arrived in no time. The two types of peppers were vibrant, the surface of the beef was lightly seared and coated in a glistening red oil, and the spicy aroma that rose with the steam made all three women’s eyes light up.
"It smells incredible! And the portion is huge! There has to be at least three liang of beef in here. They’re not skimping!" Wen Ling exclaimed.
"This minced beef looks so appetizing, and it’s freshly made," Zheng Xiuhui said, swallowing hard.
"Here you are, dears. Your Kneeling Beef." Zhao Tieying brought over the dish, along with three small plates for the dry spice mix, three small bowls, and two saucers of pickled radish. She said with a grin, "If you finish the soup, just let me know. Refills are free, and there’s plenty to go around."
"Mrs. Zhao, we only ordered one Kneeling Beef. Can we still get unlimited soup refills? Won’t you lose money that way?" Wang Wei asked, feeling a little embarrassed.
"Lose money? Nonsense! Unlimited soup is our rule. You can drink as much as you like," Zhao Tieying laughed, then raised her voice. "That goes for everyone! The soup for the Kneeling Beef comes with free refills, so don’t be shy!"
"Alright!" the customers replied with a laugh.
"Mrs. Zhao is so nice. Compared to the waiters at the state-run restaurants who practically yell at you, she’s an absolute saint. She’s even nicer than the lunch ladies at the cafeteria," Wang Wei said with a sigh.
"I agree. It just feels good to eat here," Wen Ling nodded. She glanced at Wang Wei with a mischievous smile. "She’d make an even better mother-in-law. Seems like she’d be easy to get along with." freēwēbηovel.c૦m
"Good point," Zheng Xiuhui chimed in, looking at Wang Wei. "Wen Ling and I are both married with kids, so we’re out of the running. You, on the other hand, could seize this opportunity."
"What are you two talking about? Just eat your food," Wang Wei said, feigning annoyance. Her two older colleagues loved to tease her.
"Come on, let’s divvy up the beef first. Two slices each is perfect." Zheng Xiuhui smiled, picked up her chopsticks, dipped a slice of beef into the dry spice mix, and popped it into her mouth. Her eyes went wide with surprise.
The large, thin slice of beef was unbelievably tender, far more than she had imagined. It had a faint, milky fragrance that collided with the spicy dip on the tip of her tongue.
Delicious!
"I’ll try this minced beef first." Wen Ling picked up her spoon, scooped some of the Double-Pepper Minced Beef over her rice, gave it a quick mix with her chopsticks, and took a big mouthful.
The minced beef was seared on the outside and tender on the inside, fragrant, spicy, and glistening with oil. Chewing it together with the aromatic rice brought an intense feeling of satisfaction.
The beef was fragrant and full of wok hei. Its pairing with the green and red peppers wasn’t just a collision of colors, but a perfect marriage of aroma and spice.
She had eaten the minced beef at the factory cafeteria last month, and the texture and flavor of this one were worlds apart!
"This minced beef with rice is incredible! It’s just heavenly," Wen Ling said, looking at her friends and evangelizing with gusto.
Wang Wei was in the middle of sipping a bowl of soup. "This soup is so savory!" she said. "You have to try it. The hotter it is, the richer the flavor. I heard they simmer it for eight hours."
Satisfied customers were, without a doubt, the best advertisement.
Still, most of the customers opted for the Kneeling Beef.
At sixty cents a portion, it came with meat and soup. Add a bowl of rice, and a person could have a very satisfying meal on their own.
If you came with friends, you could order a main dish and split the cost, which wasn’t too expensive when you added it all up.
As dishes arrived at the tables, a chorus of praise followed.
The customers were more than satisfied.
As for Zhou Yan Restaurant’s new stir-fries and braised dishes, they had successfully taken their first step.
...
"What the hell kind of Kung Pao Chicken is this? It tastes burnt! And the peanuts aren’t even crispy!"
"Is this how you’re supposed to slice pork with garlic sauce? These pieces are thicker than my shoe soles!"
"Motherfucker, I can’t take another day of this!"
"Huang Fusheng, get out here and taste this yourself! Is this even fit for human consumption?"
In the factory cafeteria’s dining area, right in front of the stir-fry station, Zhao Dong slammed his hand on the table and roared.
The workers who were eating all turned to look at him as if he were a hero rising up among them.
