Chapter 50: I am Shudao Shan! (First Update!)

The guests had all left, and Zhao Hong had gone home as well.

In the empty restaurant, Comrade Old Zhou was sweeping the floor.

Auntie Zhao leaned against a door pillar, rubbing her waist; she hadn't noticed the strain while she was busy, but now that she had stopped, her back felt quite achy.

"Mama, sit down. Momo will massage you." Zhou Momo brought over a small stool, pulled her down to sit, and used her tiny fists to gently tap her mother's back.

"Does it feel good?"

"Mhm, my eldest daughter is truly capable—she even knows how to massage her mother's back now." Zhao Tieying nodded with a beaming smile. "It feels good."

Hearing this, Zhou Momo worked even harder.

Zhou Yan simply stir-fried some green vegetables and minced beef with dual peppers, then reheated the remaining bit of beef intestine and tendon; that served as dinner.

The three taels of *diaolong* (beef tenderloin) were something he had specifically set aside. Since the guests were satisfied, he couldn't let his own family go without.

"So many guests wanted to order the minced beef with dual peppers, why did you hide a portion for yourself, child?" Auntie Zhao asked with a playful, exasperated smile as she watched Zhou Yan bring the beef out from the kitchen.

"If the guests want to eat it, we should eat it too," Zhou Yan said with a smile. "The whole point of making money is to live better; eating well is very important."

"We'll just stir-fry some random vegetables and heat up some soup. Don't be so fussy," Auntie Zhao said, standing up and pulling Zhou Momo over to sit down.

"That won't do. Momo is at the age where she's growing, and you're busy and hardworking every day; you definitely need to eat well." Zhou Miao came over after washing her hands. "I think Zhou Yan is right."

"Alright, alright, we'll listen to both of you," Zhao Tieying nodded.

"Alright, alright, we'll listen to both of you," Zhou Momo repeated in a childish voice.

Everyone laughed.

Each person served themselves a bowl of rice to fill their bellies first.

"I didn't expect business to be this good on the first day. Those two factory directors really helped a lot." Halfway through her meal, Zhao Tieying couldn't help but remark, "That Deputy Director Lin is truly our benefactor; he has helped us open up sales channels time and time again."

"Yeah, we should find a way to thank him properly when we get the chance." Zhou Yan nodded. Today, when Uncle Lin invited Director Wang to dinner, he clearly intended to introduce and promote him. This surprised Zhou Yan and moved him slightly.

They weren't relatives, and given the life-saving debt Xia Yao owed, what they had given him was already more than enough; he didn't feel the man owed them any more favors.

"Should we send him something? It's not good to keep owing people favors indefinitely," Zhao Tieying asked, looking at Zhou Yan.

"Next time, I'll make him some pickled radishes. His two sons seem to like them quite a bit. He probably won't accept anything else," Zhou Yan said with a smile. "It's fine, we have plenty of time. We can repay him later. Favors are like a tide—there must be give and take for a relationship to last."

"That makes sense," Zhao Tieying nodded, agreeing with his logic.

"Dad, I'll need 12 catties of beef brisket and 17 catties of *diaolong* tomorrow. If you don't have enough *diaolong*, I've already spoken to Brother Fei; he'll save some for me..." Zhou Yan placed his order for beef and offal with Comrade Old Zhou.

"That much?" Zhao Tieying was somewhat surprised.

"Today's events will definitely spread through the textile factory by tomorrow. Now that our reputation is out there, we have to seize the opportunity and capture the customers from the factory canteen's stir-fry stall," Zhou Yan said smilingly.

He estimated that Wang Defa must be fuming right now, likely plotting something malicious.

But it didn't matter. Through Lin Zhiqiang's introduction, he had already established a connection with Wang Hongliang. In the future, their exchanges and learning would be as simple as being dining buddies.

Zhou Yan could tell that Wang Hongliang truly loved cooking and highly recognized his culinary skills; this was the kind of relationship that wouldn't feel exhausting to maintain.

"Alright, we'll do as you say," Auntie Zhao nodded with a smile.

The factory director had said Zhou Yan could be a good boss, so he definitely could. She had always believed in that.

Zhou Momo mixed the minced beef with her rice and buried her head in it, finishing three bowls. After drinking a bowl of soup, she finally put her chopsticks down with satisfaction and let out a burp.

Eating with a dedicated small bowl gave her a real sense of achievement.

"Brother's cooking is too yummy! I'm full!" The little one giggled, a small dimple appearing on her chubby cheek. Her eyes curved into crescents, and a couple of grains of rice were stuck to the corner of her mouth—cute and healing.

"Good girl~" Zhou Yan reached out to wipe the rice away.

Zhou Momo leaned toward him and asked curiously, "Brother, just now the little brother asked me, why does the beef have to 'cross its legs'? Do cows get tired too?"

Zhou Yan couldn't help but laugh. He nodded and said, "Mhm, if a cow stands all day, it will definitely get tired, so when it has free time, it likes to rest with its legs crossed."

"Ah, I see!" Zhou Momo nodded thoughtfully.

Auntie Zhao and Comrade Old Zhou also laughed.

The little one truly was the source of joy in the family.

Zhou Momo leaned on her stool, carefully placing her left foot on the ground first. Only after ensuring her toes were planted did she put down her right foot, walking over to Zhou Yan to take his hand. "Brother~ take me out to play. I want to go play with the spinning top."

"It's almost dark, what's there to play with? Come play tomorrow morning!" Comrade Zhao Tieying handed down her divine decree.

"Nooo, I want to play, just for a little bit..." Zhou Momo shook Zhou Yan's hand, acting spoiled.

"I'll show you! One, two..." (Note: A colloquial threat/exclamation)

"Fine, fine, tomorrow then..." Zhou Momo pouted, ultimately backing down.

Zhou Yan smiled but said nothing, fearing he might draw the fire upon himself.

Auntie Zhao wasn't one to ruin the mood, but she didn't spoil Zhou Momo blindly either.

Once it was completely dark, riding a bike home would be neither safe nor convenient.

Children are like that; if you give them a little bit of a hard time, they might just give in.

Zhou Momo wasn't particularly stubborn; it was the ones who rolled around on the ground that were a headache.

Zhou Yan took the initiative to do the dishes. As he saw them out the door, he noticed a human-powered tricycle parked at the stall across the street. Zhou Liangliang and his wife were loading things onto the vehicle with dejected expressions.

"You hand them the toilet paper when they're shitting, and you lick the plate when they're eating. You set up a decent-looking stall only to collapse in a single day—that's some record speed," Auntie Zhao said with a smirk.

Zhou Liangliang and Wu Guihua's faces turned even darker; they wished they could find a hole to crawl into.

Zhou Miao pedaled the bike to take the mother and daughter away, a smile also on her face.

Zhou Yan shook his head with a smile. In terms of sheer damage, Auntie Zhao's sarcasm dealt the most critical hits.

After locking the door, he still went for a run along the river embankment, returning only after working up a sweat.

The stall at the entrance had returned to its original state—empty, leaving only two piles of ash from the stoves.

That couple had arrived in a hurry and left in a hurry.

In truth, Zhou Yan quite admired their decisiveness.

Upon discovering a business opportunity at the textile factory entrance, they immediately moved their stall there and even added noodles to the menu.

Upon discovering the money was hard to make and even opening was a struggle, they moved everything out overnight.

With that kind of decisiveness, they surpassed ninety percent of people; they were just a bit short on vision and intellect, being far too presumptive in their business approach.

After a shower, Zhou Yan recorded the accounts.

Today they sold eighty bowls of noodles and one hundred bowls of *qiaojiao* beef. Including the stir-fried and braised dishes, the total income was 160.8 yuan.

Income hit a new high, even higher than the day the Sichuan Fine Arts students had eaten there collectively last Saturday.

The profit margin on stir-fried and braised dishes was relatively low, but the *qiaojiao* beef had a high margin. The total profit was approximately 86 yuan, reaching about fifty percent.

He tied the small change into stacks of ten yuan with string and threw them all into the cash box.

He had already repaid 180 yuan of his debt, leaving 678.52 yuan outstanding. He currently had 144.24 yuan in cash on hand.

If business met expectations tomorrow, Zhou Yan estimated he could pay off all his external debts within this week.

On Sunday, there would be the wedding banquet for his cousin Zhou Hao, where the old and young of the Zhou family and the villagers of Zhou Village would gather.

He wanted to clear the debt so that Auntie Zhao and Comrade Old Zhou could hold their heads high in front of others and truly enjoy the village feast.

Opening this restaurant had caused them to be pointed at and gossiped about quite a bit.

Now that the restaurant was operational and had established a foothold through its reputation, as long as they could gradually take over the share of the factory canteen's stir-fry business, their family could have a prosperous New Year.

...

"We sold at least a hundred and fifty today, and so many guests missed out because we ran out. People were even scrambling for the two-yuan藿香 (Agastache) Crucian Carp. How did business suddenly become so easy? It feels like a dream!" Auntie Zhao said, laughing as she hugged Comrade Old Zhou's waist.

"It just shows that under your education, Zhou Yan has grown up," Zhou Miao said with a smile.

"Mhm, that makes sense. He is truly able to stand on his own now." Auntie Zhao nodded, her smile brightening. "You didn't hear how the director praised Zhou Yan today. He even called him 'Little Master Zhou.' The workers in the shop were stunned when they heard it."

As she spoke, her tone softened, and she sighed, "This boy must have suffered a lot while learning to cook, otherwise, he couldn't have made such delicious food."

"He just inherited your hardworking spirit. You, as the mother, led the way well," Zhou Miao said smilingly. "For a boy, enduring some hardship is necessary; otherwise, he won't become a talent or accomplish anything."

"Oh, how good you are at saying sweet things! You're never this eloquent in front of outsiders," Auntie Zhao said, playfully slapping Zhou Miao's stomach with a laugh.

"The sweet words are only for you; I don't need to worry about others," Comrade Old Zhou said solemnly.

"Mhm, very principled. Tomorrow, you can go fishing."

"Will do."