Chapter 13: The Zhou Brothers

Zhou Yan instinctively took a step back.

As the two burly men grinned, their white teeth flashed in the dim light, and their faces became clear under the lamp.

"Brother Hai, Brother Jie," Zhou Yan said with a relieved smile, greeting them.

These two men were his cousins: Zhou Hai, the second son of his eldest uncle, and Zhou Jie, the eldest son of his second uncle.

His father had four brothers, and the three eldest uncles had each fathered two sons.

Because of their cattle slaughtering business, the Zhou family never lacked food or meat. Consequently, all of his cousins had grown to be over 1.75 meters tall and were quite robust.

In Zhou Village, no one dared to bully the Zhou family. Even the local hooligans from the commune gave them a wide berth.

After all, the Zhou men dealt with blood every day; they possessed the raw strength to pin down an entire ox, and they always carried bone knives at their waists. They were not to be trifled with.

"Haven't seen you in a while. I heard you jumped into the river to save the deputy factory director's niece, and she offered herself to you in marriage? Have you already registered the marriage certificate?" Zhou Hai grinned.

He was about the same height as Zhou Yan, but nearly twice his build. His skin was dark like a black bear, giving him an imposing presence, yet his smile made him seem dependable and reliable.

"When are we getting to drink the wedding wine? When the time comes, Third Brother will go and snatch the bride for you! I can drink an entire table for you!" Zhou Jie also laughed heartily.

He was half a head shorter than Zhou Hai but equally well-built. He had a round face, and most notably, his earlobes reached his shoulders, giving him a friendly appearance.

"Huh?"

Σ(⊙▽⊙ "Huh?"

Zhou Yan was utterly bewildered.

Where on earth did this rumor come from!

Immediately, the men slaughtering cattle nearby slowed their work and turned to look at Zhou Yan, their faces filled with gossip-hungry curiosity.

This had been the hottest topic in Zhou Village for the past two days. The village entrance's "information center" discussed it heatedly every day, claiming that Zhou Yan had climbed onto a high branch and that his whole family was about to rise to glory.

Yesterday evening, when Zhao Tieying returned home carrying a pile of Friendship cream, Baique Ling cold cream, and cigarettes—saying they were gifts from the city girl—it had served as further "evidence" for the rumor.

This had left the women at the village entrance green with envy; even their sweet potato porridge didn't taste good these past two days.

However, the brothers of the Zhou family were delighted. If they hadn't been so busy with work lately, they would have gone to the town to grill Zhou Yan for details long ago.

Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie had come to help with the slaughtering today; they had heard from Fourth Aunt earlier that Zhou Yan was coming to collect meat and had been eagerly waiting.

When they saw Zhou Yan arriving on his bicycle, they rushed over without even putting down their knives.

"It's not true. I saved her, and she is a decent person. She sent a 'Flying Pigeon' bicycle and a bunch of gifts as thanks. How could I let a girl offer herself to me like that?" Zhou Yan waved his hands repeatedly, debunking the rumor with great seriousness. "I am still a bona fide, gold-standard bachelor."

"You really haven't registered?" Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie were visibly disappointed.

They had been looking forward to the wedding wine and had even discussed among themselves how much to put in the red envelopes.

Zhou Yan was the youngest of the brothers. Before Zhou Momo was born, he had been the family favorite. Although the title of "favorite" had now passed to Zhou Momo, the brothers still cared for and protected Zhou Yan deeply.

"Really, there's nothing to it. The girl is pure and innocent; I can't go ruining her reputation," Zhou Yan said, shaking his head.

"Right, right," Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie nodded repeatedly. This was a matter that couldn't be handled vaguely.

The others, hearing this, looked thoughtful.

It seemed the rumors were indeed unreliable. Since Zhou Yan hadn't managed to climb onto a high branch, they felt a bit more balanced in their hearts.

"Is this the new bike they sent you? Looks pretty good. Much better than my second-hand one that makes noise everywhere except the bell," Zhou Jie changed the subject, his eyes falling on Zhou Yan's bicycle.

"Yeah, a Phoenix PA-18 model. It rides quite well," Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. "Do you want to take it for a spin, Brother Jie?"

"Then I won't be polite." Zhou Jie shoved his knife into Zhou Hai's hand, went to a nearby bucket to wash his hands, and then took the handlebars from Zhou Yan. He rode the bike around the courtyard for two laps before returning. He kicked down the kickstand and praised repeatedly, "This bike is great! Once I save enough money, I'm getting a new one too!"

A man's obsession with vehicles had already begun to manifest even in the era of bicycles.

"Brother Jie, how has your soup pot business been lately?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at Zhou Jie.

Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie usually helped the family with slaughtering, but they also partnered to sell soup pots.

Zhou Jie was mostly in charge of the business; he was more personable and had the gift of gab for trading, while Zhou Hai acted as his assistant.

With the four branches of the Zhou family slaughtering cattle, Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai had been responsible for running the stalls to sell beef offal over the last two years.

Zhou Yan intended to sell "Qiaojiao" beef, and he didn't plan on doing it secretly. He had to explain it to Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai first to avoid any friction between brothers later.

"The weather has been getting colder lately, so business is okay. We sell about eighty to ninety percent of the offal every day; there isn't much left," Zhou Jie said sincerely, looking at Zhou Yan. "Zhou Yan, is the business at your restaurant not doing so well? Why don't you close the shop and sell soup pots with me and Brother Hai? You could earn two or three hundred a winter, and since there's no rent, you could save up enough to get married in two or three years."

"Yeah! Let's work together as brothers. If you stand in front of the stall, all the young ladies and wives will be happy to come eat," Zhou Hai added with a smile.

The old man of the Zhou family had died during the Korean War. Old Lady Zhou had raised five sons alone. As a master of balance, she had trained her four daughters-in-law to be obedient, ensuring there were no messy domestic disputes.

The brothers were tightly knit, supporting one another, and the next generation of cousins got along well too.

The Zhou family had fully supported Zhou Yan's decision to open a restaurant, with every household contributing money.

Seeing that the restaurant's business was struggling, they were worried, but they didn't dare say much for fear that Zhou Yan would think they were asking for their money back.

Zhou Yan felt a surge of warmth. Brother Jie and Brother Hai wanted to give their little brother a helping hand. By asking him to sell soup pots with them, they were essentially offering to share a portion of the profits they and Zhou Hai would have otherwise kept.

In these times, it wasn't easy for anyone to earn money. Selling soup pots in the summer often resulted in a loss, with the hope of making a profit during these few months of winter. This openness and camaraderie left Zhou Yan both surprised and moved.

"I've switched to selling noodles now. Business has been quite good these past two days; I can sell dozens of bowls a day," Zhou Yan said quickly. "The restaurant can be sustained by selling noodles. I really haven't mastered the other dishes yet, so I thought I'd try selling soup pots on the side."

"Really?" Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai both looked delighted.

"It's not impossible to sell soup pots on the side, but your restaurant is right in front of the textile factory. The workers there have money, but they don't seem to like eating soup pots much," Zhou Jie said, scratching his head. "We've been selling them for two years, and we rarely see the female workers from the textile factory come to eat."

"My mother told me the same thing, but I think it's just because they haven't tasted mine. If I set up a pot in front of the restaurant and the aroma of the beef wafts out, they'll come just from the smell," Zhou Yan said with a confident smile.

"Alright, then once you're done with your morning work, ride your bike to the stall and find us. I'll teach you how to make the soup," Zhou Jie stepped forward and lowered his voice slightly. "I improved the recipe this year by adding two types of Chinese herbs. The flavor is better than any other soup pot seller in our village. I'll teach you everything."

"Brother Jie..." Zhou Yan felt a bit complicated. It was rare to encounter someone so incredibly open-hearted right from the start; it was almost disorienting.

Zhou Jie reached out and patted his shoulder with a smile. "We're blood brothers. There's no need for words. Your brothers just want to see you make money and get married."

"Okay, I'll come find you at eight then," Zhou Yan nodded, choosing to accept this brotherhood.

After a few more pleasantries, Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai went back to their work.

Zhou Yan greeted the other uncles and brothers and walked toward Comrade Old Zhou.

The cattle had been slaughtered, and the meat was currently being butchered. The knife moved skillfully through the gaps between tendons and bones, expertly avoiding nerves and joints. With a light stroke at the intersection of bone and flesh, the meat separated effortlessly.

Watching for a while, Zhou Yan felt that the saying "Cook Ding butchering the ox" was indeed true.

Among the five Zhou brothers, everyone except his fifth uncle was involved in slaughtering, but in terms of pure skill, it was actually the seemingly frail Comrade Zhou Miao who was the best.

Watching him butcher was like watching a visually pleasing performance; he used only subtle, clever strength, and one rarely saw him struggling with a heavy cleaver.

"Your mother went to wash the offal," Zhou Miao said, making a few casual cuts. He set aside four catties of tenderloin, three catties of brisket, and cut another half-catty of tenderloin.

He also placed several large beef bones into a bamboo basket nearby. He didn't even need a scale; his knife was the scale.

"I just told Brother Jie and Brother Hai that I plan to sell soup pots. Brother Jie told me to go to his place later to learn," Zhou Yan said.

"Didn't you say you wanted to make it medicinal cuisine?" Zhou Miao stopped his movements.

"We can learn from each other," Zhou Yan smiled.

"That's good. Zhou Jie is quite skilled at making soup pots; his sells better than anyone else's in the village," Zhou Miao nodded and continued butchering the beef.

Zhou Yan walked over to a back basket set aside. He lifted a corner of the small quilt to find Zhou Momo sleeping soundly inside.

She was too young to be left home alone, so every time his parents went out to slaughter cattle, they carried her in the basket.

After waiting a moment, Zhao Tieying came up from the river carrying a small basket of offal. Zhou Yan then gave her and Zhou Momo a ride back to the restaurant.

"Riding in a vehicle is so much easier. If I had to carry this basket and walk to your shop, my back would have broken," Zhao Tieying remarked as she set the basket down.

"Momo has gotten quite heavy," Zhou Yan said carefully as he lifted her from the basket. He noticed a pack of cigarettes tucked under the quilt and asked in confusion, "Didn't you tell Dad to take these back to smoke?"

"Smoke what? He quit! If he smokes in the house every day, it makes us mother and daughter feel suffocated, and he's always coughing, coughing, coughing. I won't let him smoke anymore!" Zhao Tieying curled her lip and then instructed, "These are good cigarettes. Keep them. Either sell them for money or give them away as gifts."

"It's good that he quit," Zhou Yan nodded.

Smoking less was a good thing, though it seemed Zhao Tieying had taken the cigarettes back yesterday just to show off, which had left the village women incredibly envious.

"Remember, these aren't for you to smoke!" Zhao Tieying glared at Zhou Yan. "Study hard, don't learn how to smoke, or I'll break your legs!"