Chapter 53: A Good Death!

Anyone in Suji Town could have been a plant for Zhou Yan, but no one at the textile factory believed the old factory director was one.

The old director was highly respected at the factory; he had led the textile mill step-by-step to its current success. As workers' wages rose and their lives improved, the long-term employees came to respect him from the bottom of their hearts.

Furthermore, the old director was a notorious foodie who knew how to cook himself. He didn't even care for Master Xiao's cooking, so it was impossible for him to come specifically to act as a shill for Zhou Yan.

People were more inclined to believe that the food at Zhou Erwa's Restaurant was indeed delicious.

The menu hanging on the wall wasn't cheap; the prices were comparable to those of state-run restaurants.

Zhao Dong spoke the words that everyone wanted to ask but felt too embarrassed to voice—truly worthy of Director Zhao, the man who dared to lead the charge against the factory canteen.

"The director and his group ordered every single dish on the menu yesterday. They all said it was good after eating, with no clear winner among them," Zhou Yan said with a slight smile.

"Huh? They all said it was good?" Zhao Dong was somewhat surprised.

The other customers exchanged glances. Was Zhou Yan bragging?

"It's true. I was eating at the shop last night. The old director commented on every single dish as he ate them, and he couldn't stop praising them." Three customers walked into the shop, one of whom leaned toward Zhou Yan: "We'll take one order of Agastache Crucian Carp and one order of Double-Pepper Minced Beef."

"Coming right up. Take table number three." Zhou Yan picked up a pen and paper and scribbled it down.

After the workers sat down, one said with a smile, "The old director said it was good, but after finishing the Agastache Crucian Carp, he even remarked: 'It's no inferior to the Chengdu Restaurant.' He even said Master Zhou's dishes are better than those of a first-class chef from Chengdu. Order with confidence; you won't go wrong."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes lit up.

"Then I'll have an order of Agastache Crucian Carp and a Double-Pepper Minced Beef too," Zhao Dong said immediately. Following the crowd made it hard to go wrong, and he had been craving that Double-Pepper Minced Beef with rice for a long time.

"I'll have one too..."

The crowd sat down one after another to order. The Agastache Crucian Carp was the most expensive, yet it became the dish everyone scrambled to order.

It was expensive, but the portion was large.

Two crucian carp weighing eight taels each, and they went perfectly with rice.

To most workers, the Chengdu Restaurant was a legendary high-end establishment. It was said that many officials would dine there when inspecting the city; the quality was extremely high, and so were the prices.

They didn't know when they would ever get to eat the Agastache Crucian Carp at the Chengdu Restaurant, but they could order Zhou Erwa's version right now to go with their lunch.

At two yuan per serving, it suddenly seemed quite cost-effective.

"If we order like this, I'm afraid the forty crucian carp that just arrived won't survive until dinner," Zhou Jie chuckled softly.

"The fish is an easy fix; just have Boss Gao send more," Auntie Zhao said, her mouth curling into a wide grin as she helped with the orders and arranged the seating.

After taking orders for several tables, Zhou Yan turned into the kitchen to get busy.

There were many new faces today, which was good news.

The old director's promotion to "King of Sales" had brought many new customers to Zhou Erwa's Restaurant with just a few words.

The enthusiasm of the workers even exceeded Zhou Yan's expectations.

Not only the factory leaders and senior technicians, but many veteran workers also came in groups of two or three to try the new food.

When it came to eating, the people of Sichuan and Chongqing certainly didn't hold back.

Zhou Jie, who was originally responsible for guarding the Qiaojiao Beef pot, was temporarily called into the kitchen to clean fish, as Zhou Yan couldn't handle it all alone.

Fortunately, with the large earthen stove, they could fry eight fish at a time, so the serving speed was decent.

The Double-Pepper Minced Beef was prepared in advance; once it hit the pan, it took just over a minute to serve.

As for the pre-cooked beef with dried bamboo shoots and the braised ribs, they only needed reheating to be served in perfect condition.

As dishes were brought from the kitchen to the customers' tables, bursts of admiration rose one after another.

"This fish is incredibly fresh! The flavor is just fantastic!"

"This minced beef is delicious! I feel it's even better than the sauce we had this morning. Since it was just stir-fried, it has that wonderful 'wok hei,' and the beef is much more tender!"

"I guess I'm finally living the life of a wealthy person from Chengdu."

"I told you the old director wouldn't lie!"

"Comparing the two, the food at the factory canteen is basically pig feed now."

The customers were happy, and their praise was nothing short of effusive.

Zhao Dong ate while nodding his head in satisfaction, sighing repeatedly, "This Agastache Crucian Carp is truly superb. I doubt even Master Xiao could make this flavor. Zhou Yan is so young, how is his culinary skill so good?"

"It just means he's a genius. We're just lucky to have such good food," laughed Zhu Zhe, the deputy director sitting at the same table.

"The price is similar to the state-run restaurant, but the taste is better, and it's right at the factory gate. We'll come here once every two or three days from now on," said Song Yang, another finance supervisor. "Remember to call me, okay? No eating without me!"

"Sure, once every three days," Zhao Dong nodded.

"Deal, otherwise we won't be able to afford it," Zhu Zhe also agreed.

The "Eating Trio" had reached a preliminary consensus.

...

"Fry the fat a bit more! Does juicy, watery meat even count as Twice-Cooked Pork?"

"I told you to fry it dry, not burn it to a crisp! This is harder than your grandmother's dentures; can the customers even bite it?"

"I told you to slice the liver thin, not mince it! And who sliced this kidney? I've truly had it with you!"

Huang Fusheng held an iron ladle, pointing fingers around the kitchen. His forehead was drenched in sweat, and his eyes frequently darted toward the door.

Wang Defa stood there, looking at the empty stir-fry section, his face ashen.

The worst-case scenario had happened.

Overnight, the customers in the stir-fry section had vanished.

An apprentice had just run to the door to check; more than half had run off to Zhou Erwa's Restaurant.

For Huang Fusheng, the sky had fallen. Just last Saturday, he had made a solemn pledge to Wang Defa that he would win back every single customer lost by the stir-fry section.

Now, the stir-fry section had no customers left to lose.

So, what were the chefs in the kitchen doing now?

Probably... performing for an empty room?

Huang Fusheng tried to keep himself busy to make things look less awkward.

"Huang Fusheng, get your ass out here," Wang Defa said coldly.

Huang Fusheng dropped the ladle with a dejected look, but he quickly forced a smile and hurried toward the door. He followed Wang Defa with a thick skin, whispering, "Director, don't worry, I've already made arrangements..."

...

Since the dishes were all meant to be eaten with rice, the workers ate quickly, and the turnover rate at Zhou Erwa's Restaurant was quite high.

As the first round of customers finished, the second round sat down, leaving a few empty tables.

At that moment, a tall, thin man with a face full of pockmarks walked in, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He was accompanied by three young men wearing synthetic floral shirts. He scanned the room first, then picked an empty table in the middle and sat down.

Zhao Tieying glanced at the four of them, her brow furrowing slightly. These hooligans usually just loitered on the streets; why were they in a shop today?

However, any customer was a welcome customer, so Zhao Tieying stepped forward: "The menu is on the wall. Take your time looking; we still have food available."

The leader, Wang Pockmark, sized Zhao Tieying up first. Seeing she was just a rural woman, he didn't take her seriously and turned his gaze to the sign on the wall.

"Hiss... Agastache Crucian Carp for two yuan a serving? That expensive?!"

"What, a serving of ribs is one yuan sixty? That's enough for half a month's worth of cigarettes!"

"Brother Pockmark, what should we order?"

The expressions of the other three youths changed after reading the menu, and they all looked toward Wang Pockmark.

"What are you all yapping about?" Wang Pockmark sat up a bit straighter, coughed twice, and looked at Zhao Tieying. "Give us one of each of these dishes first."

"Alright," Zhao Tieying responded and headed to the kitchen.

"I don't think those four hooligans are here for a proper meal. They don't have a cent to their names, yet they're ordering one of everything," Zhao Tieying whispered to Zhou Yan once she entered the kitchen.

"Let me see." Zhou Jie, still holding a crucian carp in his hand, poked his head out to look. "Isn't that Wang Pockmark, that troublemaker? He was caught during the crackdown last year and locked up for six months. Does he really dare to come here and cause trouble?"

"It's fine. If he ordered, we serve him. We're very close to the security department," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

In 1984, the thing people feared least was hooligans causing trouble.

If you struck first, the hooligans would just call you unreasonable.

"Right, my knife isn't dull either," Zhou Jie nodded, shaking the fish-cleaning knife in his hand.

"If something happens later, you can call security, but neither of you is allowed to be reckless. These days, getting arrested means eating 'peanuts' [bullets/prison time], so you have to be reasonable," Auntie Zhao warned the two before leaving the kitchen.

The four hooligans sat with their legs crossed, waiting for the food, their mouths never stopping. They were either boasting about which widow's door they had slipped into or bragging about how powerful "Super Brother" from some Jiaozhou gang was.

The workers cast sidelong glances at them, their eyes filled with disdain.

Feeling the attention, the hooligans became even more boisterous, daring to say anything.

The food arrived quickly: Agastache Crucian Carp, braised ribs... quite a feast.

The group fell silent instantly, swallowing their saliva in unison.

They spent every day wandering the streets; they had never seen such dishes. Even if they had crashed a village banquet, a local cook wouldn't be able to produce Agastache Crucian Carp like this.

"Eat, eat, eat. Talk after you're full," Wang Pockmark picked up his chopsticks and grabbed a piece of rib first.

The others also picked up their chopsticks and began to wolf down the food.

It wasn't that they couldn't eat well normally, but it had been a few days since they had eaten their fill.

They had never tasted anything as delicious as this in their entire lives.

Two bowls of rice, five people, several dishes, and one soup. They sucked the fish head clean, and even the sauce from the Agastache Crucian Carp was used to mix with the rice until it was all gone.

"*Burp*..."

Wang Pockmark let out a loud burp, feeling unsatisfied.

It was truly delicious; he had never eaten such tasty food in his life.

"Brother Pockmark..." The youth sitting next to him nudged him under the table and slipped something into his hand, whispering, "I accidentally ate it all... what do we do?"

Wang Pockmark's expression froze. He looked at the table full of empty plates—they were cleaner than his own face. He glanced left and right, gritted his teeth, quickly shoved his hand into a plate, and then stood up, slamming the table and shouting, "Boss! How did I find a cockroach in this food! Do you not want to run this shop anymore?"

"I was waiting for you little bastard to pull a stunt!"

"Motherf***er! You dare throw a cockroach into my plate!"

"You're dead!"

Zhao Tieying grabbed a kitchen knife from the counter and charged toward Wang Pockmark.

...