Free Web NovelChapter 77: Chapter 70: I Have a Friend
Master Zhang and his apprentice worked quickly and efficiently. They finished building the stove before the factory workers got off and even cleaned the place until it was spotless.
Taking his wages from Zhou Yan, Master Zhang looked at him and smiled. "Boss Zhou, work hard on learning to make those braised dishes. If you master them, I’ll definitely come by often to support your business. My old man still talks about the braised beef offal Mrs. Zhang used to make. It’s just that he’s only got three teeth left now, so I’m afraid he can’t chew it anymore."
"You bet. I’ll definitely work hard at it," Zhou Yan said with a smile and a nod.
’You can never beat a glorified childhood memory.’
Zhou Yan had no confidence that his own braised dishes would satisfy Master Zhang.
After all, the best fried rice and wontons from behind his high school gate never tasted the same when he went back during college breaks. That feeling of ravenously devouring them after late-night study sessions was gone.
There was nothing to be done about it. Once you’ve sampled the more dazzling temptations the world has to offer, your horizons are broadened for good.
Even the once-charming proprietress seemed to have lost some of her allure.
The new stove was left to dry. It would be a couple of days before it could be used.
He planned to find time in the next two days to go see the old lady again. He wanted to give her a heads-up so he could ask her to come help prepare the braising liquid.
If he could get the braising liquid ready this Saturday, he could start trying to sell the braised dishes by next Monday.
’When it comes to making money, you have to be full of passion and drive.’
The biggest advantage of braised dishes was that they weren’t limited to dine-in customers. You could get whatever you wanted, weighed and sliced on the spot, then packed up to take home and share with the whole family.
In fact, there were already three braised-dish stalls right at the factory cafeteria entrance. One did good business, and the other two managed to sell their stock as well. There was clearly a market for it—it was a favorite for many to have with drinks, and kids loved it too.
Two of the stalls mostly sold braised pork products: pig’s head meat, pig ears, pig tongues, and pork trotters were all bestsellers.
The one with the best business mainly sold sweet-skinned duck. A whole duck sold for three yuan and twenty cents, and they sold several every day. They also sold some other duck parts and braised pig’s head meat on the side, and business was booming.
Zhou Yan quickly stir-fried two dishes, and they ate dinner before the factory workers got off.
’You need a full stomach to have the energy to work.’
When the factory let out, customers flooded in.
Word of the Twice-Cooked Pork with garlic sprouts had spread like wildfire, and it was already a customer favorite.
However, Zhou Yan had only prepared enough for twenty servings today. He’d sold thirteen at lunch, and it sold out shortly after dinner service began.
"What? The Twice-Cooked Pork is already sold out? We came here just for that!"
"Boss, what’s the deal? The Twice-Cooked Pork sells so well, and you only made that little?"
Later customers came in, saw the "Twice-Cooked Pork with Garlic Sprouts" sign hanging in the "Sold Out" section, and looked on with a mix of shock and annoyance.
Their mouths had been watering after hearing their coworkers talk about it at lunch, only to find it was sold out by the time they arrived.
"Sorry, everyone. We insist on using pork boston butt for our Twice-Cooked Pork to guarantee the best texture. Since today was the first day, we only prepared twenty servings," Zhao Tieying explained with a smile, adding, "We’ll prepare more tomorrow. If you want Twice-Cooked Pork, you can come a little earlier."
Since Mrs. Zhao had said so, the customers didn’t press the issue. They just made a mental note to come earlier for lunch tomorrow.
But then they saw the tempting Shredded Beef with Pickled Chilies and Huo Xiang Carp on other people’s tables and found themselves unable to leave.
Since they were already there, they sat down and ordered a few other dishes, which they enjoyed just as much.
Thanks to the new star dish, Twice-Cooked Pork with garlic sprouts, business today was even better than yesterday.
Comrade Zhou hadn’t gone fishing today and had come to the shop early to help. He was Mrs. Zhao’s most obedient soldier, doing whatever he was told, whenever he was told.
Even Zhou Momo wasn’t idle. She moved a small stool to the entrance and sat there, chatting with everyone who passed by. She’d even say hello to the dogs that trotted past.
Zhou Momo was tiny and cute, with a sweet way of talking. Who could see her and not be charmed? Everyone was happy to stop and chat with her for a bit.
When the conversation was going well, the little one would recommend her family’s dishes, bragging about what an amazing cook her Brother was and inviting them to come in and give it a try.
Some customers couldn’t resist her sweet-hearted offensive and would actually come in to try the food.
This was a job Mrs. Zhao had arranged for her.
Don’t be fooled by Zhou Momo’s small size; her energy was boundless.
She had an endless stream of things to say and an infinite number of "whys" to ask.
After a long day of work, all Zhao Tieying wanted to do when she got home was fall into bed. She had no energy to listen to Zhou Momo chirping in her ear, "Mama, Mama, why is that?"
Her youngest daughter was adorable, but she was just so tired.
She had to make sure Momo used up all that energy before they went home. The ideal scenario was for her to wash up, get wrapped in her little blanket, and pass out the moment she rolled into bed.
The area in front of the factory was crowded and chaotic after closing time, so she didn’t dare let her run around.
That’s why she’d set up a "workstation" for her at the entrance, where she could chat with whomever she pleased.
Zhou Yan even set up a commission for her: one cent for every customer she brought into the shop.
It wasn’t that Zhou Momo was doing it for the money. She was just a natural chatterbox who happened to earn some cash on the side.
"Come again, Big Sister!" Zhou Momo waved her little hand at a young factory worker who was leaving after her meal.
"You’re so sweet! I’ll definitely come back," the worker replied, her face breaking into a brilliant smile. It felt like the perfect aftertaste to her meal.
When they closed up for the night, Zhou Yan paid Zhou Momo her commission: thirteen cents.
The little child laborer had already earned her own candy money with that motor mouth of hers.
"Thank you, Brother! I’ll love you forever!" Zhou Momo clutched the money in her hand and jumped for joy.
"You’re welcome," Zhou Yan said with a smile, patting her on the head.
’The little one had brought in thirteen customers, who spent about seven or eight yuan. I probably made three or four yuan off of them. A thirteen-cent commission... is that considered exploiting child labor?’
’Anyway, the child laborer was happy, the child laborer’s mom was happy, and I, the capitalist, was the happiest of all.’
’A win-win-win!’
After the dishes were washed, his parents went home first.
They had eaten dinner early today, so it was still light outside.
Zhou Yan locked up and went out for a run with Lin.
"Lin," Zhou Yan asked Lin Zhiqiang as they jogged, "my friend received a letter that started with some really poetic stuff, like ’To see these words is to see your face,’ and ’May this letter bring a smile to your lips.’ How should he reply to sound just as cultured?"
"This ’friend’ of yours wouldn’t happen to be you, would it?" Lin Zhiqiang asked with a grin. "Did Xia Yao write to you? Well, you’ve come to the right person. Back in Moscow, they used to call me the Prince of Love Letters."
"Just got it today. I’m trying to figure out how to reply," Zhou Yan admitted, not at all embarrassed. He was thick-skinned, after all. He humbly asked for advice, "So, what’s the secret?"
"When I used to write to An He, I’d always start with: ’My love, An He, hello.’" Lin Zhiqiang said after a moment of thought. "I think that’s perfectly fine."
"It is... fine," Zhou Yan nodded. ’Some Prince of Love Letters. He’s just as clueless as I am.’
...
Back at the shop, Zhou Yan washed his clothes, put some dried bamboo shoots to soak in a basin, took a bath, and changed. After logging the day’s accounts, he took out the Parker fountain pen Xia Yao had given him, sat primly at the table, and placed a fresh sheet of letter paper before him.
His expression went from solemn and serious → deep in thought → increasingly frustrated → gradually calm → drowsy.
A piece of paper with about a dozen words on it was crumpled into a ball and tossed precisely into the trash can in the corner.
’Too sleepy. Time for bed!’
’I have to get up early to buy groceries tomorrow. Can’t let letter-writing get in the way of making money.’
’Oh, right. If I have time tomorrow, I’ll go to the town library and see if they have *Letter to My Wife* or something similar.’ ƒrēewebnovel.com
’Lin might be full of foreign knowledge, but the things handed down by our ancestors are ultimately more moving.’
...
At the crack of dawn the next day, Comrade Zhou was off to buy groceries on his 28-inch roadster.
The Twice-Cooked Pork was too popular, so the first thing he did was ride over to snap up some pork boston butt.
Xu the Second and Zhang the Third had each saved him five jin of pork boston butt. Zhou Yan did another lap around the market’s meat stalls, bought two more excellent cuts, and arranged with the vendor to buy more tomorrow.
He had modified the back of his bicycle, attaching a half-height woven bamboo basket to each side. They could hold a lot, and you could still just about sit on the rear rack if you tucked your legs forward.
’It was the best solution for now.’
"Uncle!"
Zhou Yan returned to the restaurant carrying Mrs. Zhao and two full baskets of goods on his bike. Zhou Lihui immediately ran up to help unload the wicker baby carrier where Zhou Momo was sleeping.
"Looks like you’ve gotten stronger again," Zhou Yan said, patting Zhou Lihui’s sturdy arm. The boy had been coming to the shop to carry water these past few days. His cooking skills hadn’t improved, but his strength certainly had.
Zhou Lihui gave a simple, honest smile. "I’ve finished memorizing the multiplication table, and I’ve learned a lot of new words, too! Oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, Sichuan peppercorn, pepper, star anise, cinnamon... I can write them all now."
"Not bad. Keep it up," Zhou Yan said with a smile. "When your school break starts, I’ll test you. If you can pass my test, you can come work in the shop and learn to cook during winter vacation."
"Okay! I’ll definitely study hard!" Zhou Lihui nodded, his eyes filled with determination.
Zhou Yan started making the soup stock while Zhou Lihui was in charge of fetching water. Bucket after bucket of well water was carried from the kitchen and poured into a meter-high pot. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and calluses grew on his palms, but he never once complained about being tired.
Once the water was fetched, he went back to the kitchen to tend the fire for Zhou Yan, watching him stir-fry toppings and pull noodles.
Nearing seven-thirty, Zhou Lihui, having already eaten breakfast in the kitchen, took out his lunchbox from his schoolbag. He opened it, looked at Zhou Yan, and said, "Uncle, can you pack some pickled radishes for me today? I want to share them with my classmate."
"A boy or a girl?" Zhou Yan asked with a grin.
"A boy. My deskmate," Zhou Lihui said quickly.
Zhou Yan glanced at his lunchbox. It was filled with beef brisket and potatoes. There were only three or four pieces of brisket, mixed in with some beef offal. His mom packed him a decent, full lunchbox.
"You’ll have to get this lunchbox steamed to heat it up later, so the pickled radishes can’t go in there. I’ll put some in a small jar for you to take." Zhou Yan went over to a shelf, picked out a small glass jar, and filled it with pickled radishes for him.
"Thanks, Uncle! I’m heading to class now." Zhou Lihui put the pickled radishes and his lunchbox into his schoolbag and ran out the door.
"Always in such a rush! Listen to your teachers at school, eat well, and don’t get into trouble!" Zhao Hong called out to his retreating back with a smile.
"I know!" Zhou Lihui yelled back without even turning his head.
Zhao Hong was about to go inside when she saw Zhou Weiguo ride up on a brand-new bicycle and stop in front of the restaurant. She smiled and asked, "Uncle, what’s the occasion? New clothes and a new bike?"
