Free Web NovelChapter 82: Chapter 75: Little Painter Zhou Momo
The incident from this morning didn’t affect the restaurant’s reputation. In fact, the news that Zhou Yan had reported Wang Qi for selling diseased pork spread, and everyone felt that Zhou Yan deserved some of the credit for Wang the Fifth being investigated and brought to justice. Their favorable opinion of him grew even more.
As a result, business today was even brisker than yesterday.
"Zhou, did you mail the letter?" Lin Zhiqiang asked with a smile during their evening run.
"Not yet..." Zhou Yan felt a little embarrassed, thinking of how he’d been drowsily trying to write last night. But he quickly straightened his back. "I’ll definitely finish it tonight."
"What’s so hard about writing a reply? Want me to teach you?" Lin Zhiqiang said with a grin.
"No need to trouble you, Lin," Zhou Yan said, shaking his head. freewёbnoνel.com
’His modern ideas are completely off the mark.’
’How could a simple "I love you" compare to "a single couple, for one lifetime"?’
He had already received the Grandmaster’s full teachings and obtained the secret manual. Tonight, he would begin.
...
Back at the restaurant, Zhou Yan showered and changed, then sat down to do the books first.
Today, they had sold out of all twenty extra servings of Twice-Cooked Pork with garlic shoots. They sold two fewer portions of Huo Xiang Carp than yesterday. Of the two leftover servings of spare ribs, he let Mrs. Zhao Hong take one home, and gave the other to Zhou Momo for a late-night snack.
The total revenue reached 346 yuan, over twenty yuan more than yesterday, with a profit of 176.3 yuan.
Yesterday, he had spent 36.2 yuan on building the stove and buying a pot and spices.
He counted his money again. His savings had already reached 694.84 yuan.
Zhou Yan scribbled some calculations on a piece of paper, and his eyes lit up.
’I have enough to cover all the debts!’
After paying off his external debts, he would still have 6.32 yuan left!
The revenue had increased significantly these past two days, and his saving speed had picked up accordingly.
If business held steady tomorrow, he could pay off the debts and still have over a hundred yuan left.
He had the money for the wedding gift, and since tomorrow was the first of the month, he could also pay Mrs. Zhao and Zhao Hong their wages.
Zhou Yan took out the stack of IOUs and counted out the money for each one.
He owed his second uncle’s family 100 yuan. With Zhou Hao’s wedding the day after tomorrow, he’d give them the money tomorrow.
He’d heard from Zhou Jie that they had already acquired the essentials, built a full set of new furniture, and hired a local chef for the outdoor banquet. Although buying the ingredients themselves would save some money, with relatives from both sides, they were expecting over thirty tables. The two meals would cost at least five hundred yuan.
Zhou Hao had been sending his allowance home for his mother to save, and his second uncle also earned a decent amount from butchering cattle, but this wedding would probably still wipe out the old couple’s savings.
He also owed his eldest uncle’s family one hundred, and Haizi eighty...
Zhou Yan counted out the money, tied each stack with a small string according to the IOU, and placed them back in the cash box.
He held onto the one hundred and sixty yuan for Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai for now. He needed it to buy meat and vegetables in the morning, so it wasn’t urgent to give it to them until he went back in the evening.
After settling the accounts, a smile spread across Zhou Yan’s face. The feeling of soon being debt-free was truly wonderful.
Putting the ledger away, Zhou Yan took out letter paper and his little notebook. He sat at his desk with a serious air and began to write.
"To Xia Yao:
Receiving your letter brought me the joy of seeing you again.
If you all liked the puffed rice candy, I can send you some more next time.
Today, I went back to my grandmother’s house in the countryside and ate persimmons ripened on the tree. They were so sweet. It’s a pity they’re too delicate to share with you.
...
Having mastered the opening, Zhou Yan’s inspiration flowed like a spring. He wrote effortlessly for three pages, mainly sharing the small, happy moments of his life.
He also offered some of his own insights and suggestions regarding the confusion about her design direction that Xia Yao had mentioned in her letter.
Zhou Yan didn’t understand design, but in his past life, he had seen countless exquisite, high-end, and brilliant designs. As a million-follower blogger who had to handle filming, on-screen appearances, editing, and advertising, he certainly had the exposure.
In this era of hand-drawn advertisements, he couldn’t give her professional advice, but perhaps he could offer her some inspiration.
It was like a delayed conversation on paper, which Zhou Yan found quite interesting.
"Mrs. Zhao and Momo miss you often and asked me to send you their regards.
I will stop here for now and not go into further detail.
Zhou Yan."
Zhou Yan put down his pen and nodded with satisfaction.
’It wasn’t as hard as I thought.’
He waited for the ink to dry, folded the letter carefully, placed it in a stamped envelope, wrote the address, and it would be ready to mail tomorrow.
This was the first time Zhou Yan had ever written a letter to someone.
It was a strange feeling. He hadn’t even sent it yet, but he was already looking forward to a reply.
...
The next day, at the crack of dawn, Master Zhou went out to buy groceries.
Today, his second uncle, Zhou Ze, wasn’t butchering a cow, and Zhou Jie wasn’t setting up his stall either. They were all busy preparing for Zhou Hao’s wedding banquet.
His bride-to-be was from the next village over. She was Zhou Hao’s junior high classmate, and they had started dating before he joined the army. The two families were holding the outdoor banquet together. The local chef had many ingredients to prepare in advance, so the host families had to get everything ready today.
For example, the cold dishes. There wouldn’t be enough time to braise them tomorrow, so the meat had to be bought and braised today. It needed to soak up enough flavor, so it would be perfect for slicing and plating tomorrow.
"I heard from your second aunt that they’re planning for thirty tables. The local chef isn’t providing the ingredients, just cooking, and he’s charging ninety yuan for two meals. That chef’s fee is a bit high, don’t you think?" Mrs. Zhao said from the back seat, clicking her tongue.
"Three yuan per table for two meals isn’t that expensive," Zhou Yan said with a smile. "He definitely can’t handle a banquet like this alone; he’ll have to bring assistants. If there’s a separate chef for the cold dishes, he has to pay them too. Plus, he has to prepare a day in advance, provide his own pots, pans, and knives, and probably some of his own seasonings. Those are all costs."
"Outdoor banquets aren’t an everyday job. A typical local chef is lucky to get two or three a month. For a regular family with around ten tables, they’d only charge about thirty yuan. That’s only a hundred or so yuan a month."
"Well, if you’re going to go independent as a local chef, you’ve got to earn more than you would at a regular job."
Mrs. Zhao nodded repeatedly as she listened, remarking, "Now that you put it that way, it makes sense. It’s not easy being a chef. I see how hard you work all day."
Zhou Yan smiled but didn’t reply.
Being a local chef was tiring, but if you could make a name for yourself, you could earn a lot.
His restaurant was stable now, so he wasn’t interested in earning that kind of money. But for many chefs, it was better than working in the kitchen of a regular restaurant.
Back at the shop, Zhou Yan first checked the stove he had built the day before yesterday. Because it was next to another stove, the higher temperature had dried it out almost completely. Zhou Yan placed the large aluminum pot on top to test it. It was very sturdy, no problems at all.
"So, after you finish the morning rush, are you going back to pick up your grandmother?" Mrs. Zhao asked, standing at the kitchen entrance.
"Yes, I arranged it with her yesterday," Zhou Yan nodded. He glanced at the jar in the corner. With this pot of aged brine, his cold dish business should be a bit easier.
As usual, he first simmered the broth and stir-fried the toppings. Once that was done, Zhou Yan started pulling noodles to prepare the staff’s meal first.
Everyone had woken up early and already done some work, so they were all hungry.
"Brother, I want noodles too," Zhou Momo appeared at the kitchen entrance.
"Oh? Momo, why are you up so early today?" Zhou Yan turned around and smiled at Zhou Momo, who had two tufts of hair sticking straight up on her head.
The little one was clearly still sleepy. Rubbing her drowsy eyes, she held a piece of paper in her hand and waved it at him. "A drawing, for Yaoyao."
"What?" Zhou Yan was confused.
"She also drew a picture for Xia Yao and wants you to mail it with your letter," Mrs. Zhao said with a particularly loving smile, holding a hot towel in her hand. "She spent all last night drawing it when she got home."
"That’s righ—" Zhou Momo had just started to nod when the hot towel was pressed onto her face, leaving only a muffled, babyish "Mmmph-mmph-mmph..."
"Oh, so our little Zhou Momo is a little artist, huh?" Zhou Yan laughed, surprised by the little one’s thoughtfulness. "Sure thing, I’ll put it in the envelope for you later."
After Mrs. Zhao’s face-scrubbing service was over, the still-groggy Zhou Momo was suddenly wide awake. She blinked her big eyes, pouted her little lips, and put her hands on her hips, looking up at Mrs. Zhao with a hint of grievance. "Mama, didn’t you promise to be gentle? I don’t even have any gunk!"
Zhao Tieying smiled. "You don’t have any gunk because I scrub it every day. If I don’t, you’ll get gunk and icky germs. See how fresh and clean you look after a good scrub? I’ll braid your hair into two little pigtails, and everyone outside will say what a good girl you are."
"Weally?" Zhou Momo pouted, a thoughtful look on her face.
"Of course."
"Okay, fine. I’ll forgive you today then." Zhou Momo lowered her little hands from her hips and scooted closer to Mrs. Zhao. "You have to make them pretty. Braid both sides."
"You got it. Come on, let’s go braid them by the door." Mrs. Zhao took her little hand.
"Wait!" Zhou Momo pulled her hand back and ran to Zhou Yan’s side. She stood on her tiptoes and stuffed the letter into his apron pocket. Only then did she run back to take Mrs. Zhao’s hand, saying in her high, childish voice, "Let’s go, time for braids!"
