Chapter 20: Can this really be sold at this price?

"Sister-in-law." Zhou Yan called out as he brought the car to a halt. The woman standing at the door was indeed his sister-in-law, Zhao Hong. She was thirty-two years old, about 1.6 meters tall, and built quite sturdily. She wore a dark blue cotton jacket and a pair of Liberation shoes, with her short hair tucked behind her ears with a hairpin. Her round face was filled with a smile that made people feel at ease.

"You came early to help. Anyway, Fanwa can go to school by himself; just leave some food in the pot for him," Zhao Hong replied with a smile, reaching out to take the wicker basket from Zhao Tieying.

She lifted the edge of the quilt to peek at the sleeping Zhou Momo and whispered, "Momo is sleeping so soundly."

"She's a little little piglet, sleeping from dawn till dusk," Zhao Tieying laughed.

Zhou Yan opened the door and went inside, first taking Zhou Momo upstairs to sleep.

Then, he and Zhao Hong went over the job details and working hours in depth.

"Sister-in-law, take a look. Do you think this is suitable?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at Zhao Hong.

"These are things I do at home every day, so there shouldn't be any problem." Zhao Hong nodded, but then looked at Zhou Yan hesitantly. "But... isn't the salary a bit too high?"

His fourth aunt had come to talk to her about this yesterday, and she had been so happy she couldn't sleep all night.

Zhou Fei followed his father in slaughtering cattle, so his income was decent, but with two sons to consider—not to mention their education, they would eventually need to marry—the pressure on the couple was immense.

She did some farm work and housework at home and raised two pigs, but she couldn't earn more than a few yuan a year. If she went out to work in the city, she wouldn't be able to look after her home and her two children.

To work at Zhou Yan's shop for twenty yuan a month meant she could look after both her home and her children. If it weren't for family ties, how could such a good opportunity ever fall to her?

"The shop gets quite busy. As long as you can do what you're assigned and make sure the customers are satisfied, I don't think the salary is too high," Zhou Yan said with a smile. Zhao Hong's temperament suited his requirements perfectly.

Zhao Tieying chimed in, "If he dares to offer it, you take it. As long as we do the work well, we deserve the pay."

Looking at the two of them, Zhao Hong felt a warmth in her heart. She nodded and said, "Alright, Zhou Yan, I'll do exactly as you say. I'm just a bit clumsy with words; I don't know if I'll offend the customers."

"You don't need to be overly enthusiastic; just a smile on your face is enough," Zhou Yan reassured her. "Don't be too nervous, Sister-in-law. Our little restaurant doesn't have that many rules."

"Exactly. I'll teach you everything. I've noted down everything Zhou Yan told me these past two days. Let me show you around the restaurant first..." Zhao Tieying pulled Zhao Hong toward the kitchen, entering teaching mode.

Relieved to have some peace, Zhou Yan carried the ingredients into the kitchen to get busy.

Business at the noodle shop had clearly warmed up this morning. They had sold forty-eight bowls of noodles today. Without that troublemaker Wang Laowu around, the shop had begun to attract a group of regular customers through word-of-mouth.

Of course, even for leaders of the textile factory, eating sixty cents' worth of noodles every single day was unlikely; they would just come every once in a while to satisfy a craving.

Zhao Hong was a woman of few words but worked briskly. Having inherited Auntie Zhao's true essence, she kept a smile on her face at all times, performing cleaning, table clearing, and dishwashing both well and quickly.

"The noodles Zhou Yan makes must be delicious. The customers all praise them and drink every last drop of the soup," Zhao Hong said happily while washing dishes. "Those people in the village are just talking nonsense! Zhou Yan's restaurant is doing great! Auntie Zhao, you are truly blessed."

Zhao Tieying beamed, the corners of her mouth curling up. She laughed, "It's only because we switched to selling noodles these past two days that business has improved."

The bricklayer arrived on schedule. A tractor from the brick factory unloaded three hundred yuan's worth of materials at the shop entrance, and other materials arrived successively.

Zhou Yan stood with the master bricklayer, gesturing to show the position of the stove, holding a sketch he had drawn overnight with all the dimensions marked.

He planned to build this stove at the entrance of the restaurant, inside the door but close to the textile factory gate. This way, it would be eye-catching without obstructing the customers' passage.

The bricklayer was an experienced master; the stove in the kitchen of Zhou Erwa's restaurant had been done by this master and his apprentice, and their craftsmanship was well-known in the surrounding area.

After listening to Zhou Yan's requirements, the master told him to put the drawing down and began work immediately.

...

In the factory canteen office, the door was tightly shut.

Wang Defa sat behind the desk with a gloomy expression, watching the plump woman with permed wavy hair beside him. He whispered, "There are no issues with the accounts, right?"

"No issues. I spent all night checking and revising them. I guarantee nothing will be found," Sun Meili said, brushing some white dust off Wang Defa's shoulder with a relaxed smile. "Old Wang, why are you so nervous? Even if Wang Qi had seventy times the courage, he wouldn't dare implicate you."

"It's hard to say. One must always prepare for the worst," Wang Defa shook his head and added, "What did Director Zheng say about Wang Laowu and his wife?"

"They'll be detained for a few days, and fines are inevitable. Gao Tianlei is a stubborn man, so Director Zheng can't interfere too much. Fortunately, there were no accidents, but since they were caught using diseased pork, they certainly won't be able to set up a stall at the factory gate anymore. Who would dare eat noodles at their place?" Sun Meili shook her head with a smile. "This actually benefits that kid running the restaurant at the gate. I saw his business was booming when I went to work this morning; there were quite a few bicycles parked outside."

"Even Xiao Lei couldn't beat me. What can that kid accomplish with a noodle shop? I'll deal with him later," Wang Defa waved his hand dismissively and lit a cigarette. He added, "Have the supply and marketing cooperative continue to deliver meat during this period. We'll wait for the heat to die down."

"Alright," Sun Meili nodded. She wiggled her plump hips to sit on Wang Defa's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "My husband is away on a business trip. Old Wang, tonight..."

...

The stove was completed in a single day, leveled with cement to be smooth and aesthetically pleasing... at least by current standards.

The large pot stove, one meter in diameter, stood prominently at the entrance.

The stove was built on a raised platform, with the rim of the pot one meter above the ground. This made the stove look more imposing and made it convenient to stand while blanching beef and offal.

However, the stove couldn't be used the day it was built; it had to wait three days to dry completely.

For the next three days, Zhou Yan spent his spare time teaching his mother how to make *Qiaojiao* (Stilted Leg) Beef.

He was responsible for simmering the beef bone soup. By precisely timing the simmering of different types of offal, the *Qiaojiao* beef was nearly perfected; it didn't actually require much technical skill.

The "secret recipe" was all contained within that pot of soup.

Comrade Zhao Tieying was essentially an old hand in the world of soup pots. She mastered the process quickly—blanching the beef and tripe, retrieving the intestines and tendons at the right time, and controlling the portions.

Within three days, she was able to work independently and was more than capable of managing the stove at the entrance.

During this time, Zhou Yan also made a trip to the Jiazhou city area, intending to custom-order a neon advertising sign. However, after receiving the quote, he decisively turned right and bought a bucket of paint and a brush at the nearby supply and marketing cooperative instead.

That evening, as he usually soaked the dried bamboo shoots, Zhou Yan took out the paint and brush from the storage room.

He had already applied a coat of white lime to the outward-facing side of the stove. Using a pencil, he sketched out six grids for sizing, then took the brush, dipped it in red paint, and wrote the six large characters: "Zhou's Qiaojiao Beef."

The characters were square and neat, yet the brushwork possessed a certain momentum.

Next, Zhou Yan switched to a fine-tipped brush and used black ink to write a few brief sentences below regarding the origins and benefits of *Qiaojiao* beef.

He emphasized that an old doctor surnamed Luo used to hang a pot to brew medicine; by adding Chinese herbs to a pot of beef offal soup, he discovered the soup was delicious and had the effect of preventing and treating illnesses. Customers flocked in, and since there were no seats, those eating standing up would habitually rest one foot on the crossbeam under the table, thus earning it the name "Stilted Leg Beef."

Indeed, this was Zhou Yan's makeshift sign, but it was also an advertisement.

To overturn the low-end perception of soup pots and gain the recognition of the textile factory workers, it all depended on whether this story could touch people's hearts.

Of course, this wasn't entirely made up; it was a legitimate family tradition.

Furthermore, Comrade Zhou Miao had already certified that drinking a bowl of hot beef offal soup when catching a cold indeed had the effect of dispelling chills.

After putting everything away, Zhou Yan took a cold shower and returned early to his warm bed. He pulled a wooden box from under the bed and began counting his savings.

Business at the noodle shop had stabilized over the past three days. In addition to the textile factory workers, people from the town also came to try the taste. He could sell out his daily preparation of 100 bowls, and his income was very stable.

After deducting the 71.2 yuan spent on building the stove, his current savings reached 173.8 yuan.

Inside the wooden box were stacks of banknotes held together by rubber bands, mostly ones, twos, and tens, with only two ten-yuan notes.

Compared to the mere 3.87 yuan he had when he first arrived, he felt much more secure now.

Although he was still heavily in debt, he was confident he could pay it all off within three months.

He was a poor man with a purpose!

After recording the accounts, Zhou Yan curled back into his covers. Before sleeping, he pulled up his panel for a quick glance

[Player: Zhou Yan]

[Profession: Chef]

[Wealth Value: -556.52]

[Professional Skills]

Knife Skills (Intermediate): 9964/10000 (Your knife skills are sufficient for most dish requirements)

Heat Control (Intermediate): 2468/10000 (Cooking still requires practice)

Seasoning (Intermediate): 2695/10000 (Lord Salt, go easy on the hand)

Eloquence (Advanced): 88889/100000 (A pig pushing through the curtain—it's all in the mouth)

[Mastered Dishes]

Double Pepper Beef Mixed Noodles (Advanced): 99999/100000

Braised Beef Noodles (Advanced): 99999/100000

Braised Pork Rib Noodles (Advanced): 99999/100000

Pickled Vegetables (Advanced): 99999/100000

Qiaojiao Beef (Advanced): 99999/100000

Steamed Rice (Advanced): 99999/100000

Smashed Cucumber (Intermediate): 1871/10000

...

Special Skill: Food Identification (Master): 999999/1000000 (Cannot be upgraded)

[Main Quest: Become a God of Cookery! Make your name known to the world!]

[Wealth Mall]: Unlocks at 1000 Wealth Value.

Knife skills, heat control, and seasoning had all improved, and the wealth value was trending toward positive. Everything was flourishing!

...

Just as dawn was breaking, Little Chef Zhou was already out early to buy groceries.

Today, he had secured the intestines and tripe from the cow his father slaughtered, ten catties of beef tendon, and an extra two catties of brisket.

He wasn't certain he could sell it all, but he had to establish momentum on the first day. If he couldn't sell it, he would give it to customers for free in the evening to build up his market and reputation.

Now that his wallet was getting thicker, he could afford certain upfront investments, and he had more marketing methods at his disposal.

The offal and beef tendon cost 0.3 yuan per catty, totaling thirty catties. His father had calculated it at cost, and Zhou Yan didn't bother with formalities; he would just give Old Man Zhou some extra pocket money once he made a profit.

The cost of offal, beef, and Chinese herbs was around 15 yuan, with firewood and seasonings calculated separately.

Even if he lost everything, he could afford it.

But as long as his reputation grew, the profit margin for *Qiaojiao* beef was far higher than that of noodles, and the serving speed was fast enough.

A bowl of *Qiaojiao* beef was priced at 0.6 yuan. A bowl used about 150g of offal and 100g of beef, with a meat cost of 0.12 yuan. Including herbs, seasonings, and wood, the cost would not exceed 0.2 yuan.

The gross profit margin could reach 60%, which was higher than the noodles.

However, this money was not easy to earn.

Old Man Zhou had been up since three in the morning to slaughter the cow, and Auntie Zhao had been at the banks of the Qingyi River since 4:30 to clean and process the offal. Once brought back to the restaurant, it had to be washed again with well water.

"In Suji, other soup shops usually sell for twenty or thirty cents. Zhou Jie sells for forty cents, which is considered high. You're selling for sixty cents—can you really sell it at that price?" Zhao Tieying stood by the stove, looking at Zhou Yan as he placed beef bones into the large iron pot, her voice tinged with worry.

(End of Chapter)