Chapter 25: Mom, I Love You!

After dinner, Comrade Old Zhou rode his bicycle, carrying Zhao Tieying and Zhou Momo back home.

"A hundred a day, with four days off a month, that's twenty-six days. That's two thousand six hundred yuan!"

"How much is that in a year? Th... thirty thousand plus!"

"Good heavens!"

Sitting on the bicycle's back seat and hugging Zhou Miao's waist, Zhao Tieying couldn't help but exclaim in shock.

It was too much!

She hadn't done the math carefully while eating; she only felt that selling a hundred a day wasn't a small amount. Calculating the annual total left her stunned.

"That's the turnover, not the net profit," Zhou Miao said with a smile. "But Zhou Yan, that kid, is indeed doing quite well. Even at half the profit, it would be over ten thousand a year."

"Becoming a 'ten-thousand-yuan household' in a single year! This kid is really determined to make something of himself!" Zhao Tieying's face beamed with pride, her emotions heightened.

Zhou Miao was a skilled butcher in Zhou Village; by slaughtering cattle and selling meat, he could earn seventy or eighty yuan a month, with an annual income of around a thousand.

This income was higher than that of most workers in the textile factory.

But the money Zhou Yan's restaurant was making was more than ten times what Zhou Miao earned.

If they earned this much every day, their family's life would certainly be prosperous in the future.

"That's also because you, as the mother, coordinate so well. Carrying the heavy responsibilities of shoulder-carrying the Qiaojiao beef and managing the cash register, you hold up half the shop," Zhou Miao said earnestly. "Without you, this shop wouldn't be able to expand at all."

"Mm, that makes sense," Zhao Tieying said with a full face of smiles. "Your level of awareness is quite high indeed."

"Tomorrow we aren't selling meat. I'll just help the commune slaughter two cows in the morning. Old Huang asked me to go fishing for a bit, what do you think..." Zhou Miao asked cautiously.

"Go ahead, you've been working hard lately too," Zhao Tieying said smilingly. "If you can catch some fish, we can have an extra feast tonight."

"I... I'll try my best..." Zhou Miao's voice weakened slightly, sounding somewhat uncertain.

As an Air Force man, the pressure of bringing fish home for an extra meal was immense.

The two chatted and laughed all the way back to Zhou Village.

The villagers gathered under the tree at the village entrance, chatting away, greeted them warmly from a distance.

The news that Zhou Yan's restaurant was booming had already spread through Zhou Village.

Noodles for sixty cents a bowl, and they could sell dozens of bowls a day!

Earning dozens of yuan a day—it was enough to make anyone green with envy.

Zhou Yan had leaped from being the "prodigal son" caught in the nightly storm of public opinion at the village's information center to being the "promising child" of another family.

And Zhao Tieying and Zhou Miao had transformed from reckless parents who indulged their child into visionary and courageous parents.

Zhao Tieying had been feeling quite spirited lately. When she went out, she would comb her hair perfectly straight and hold her head high, regaining the aura she once had as the "Iron Lady of Zhou Village."

She responded familiarly to the villagers, but she didn't let Zhou Miao stop the bike, simply saying they were going back to bathe and rest.

"They've been gossiping about us constantly. Wouldn't it be better to give them something to talk about so they feel a bit uneasy?" Zhou Miao asked with a smile.

"If they feel uneasy, they'll get envious, and we don't know how much trouble that might bring. We shouldn't cause trouble for Zhou Yan," Zhao Tieying shook her head. "It's more important for our family to live a good life than anything else. Those old women in the village are already suffering enough."

Regarding the booming business of the restaurant, she had even instructed Zhao Hong not to say too much in the village, lest people become envious and act maliciously.

"Alright, I'll listen to you," Zhou Miao replied.

...

Zhou Yan did not rush to sleep today. After locking the door, he used the remaining twilight to go for a run by the river.

Being a chef was physical labor; pulling noodles and stir-frying were combinations of strength and skill.

After running until he was drenched in sweat, Zhou Yan stripped off his clothes and jumped straight into the river for a swim, washing himself at the same time. He felt an immediate sense of refreshment.

Over the past two days, he had gradually adapted to the rhythm of work. His young, strong body allowed him to handle it with ease.

Because Zhou Yan was tall, he looked slim, but once he took off his clothes, he was all lean muscle, with his eight-pack abs quite prominent.

Upon returning home, he rinsed his body again with well water, changed into clean clothes, and recorded the accounts first.

Today, after selling one hundred bowls of noodles, the revenue was sixty yuan. Sixty-nine bowls of Qiaojiao beef were sold, bringing in forty-one yuan and forty cents. Fifty-two portions of rice were sold, earning five yuan and twenty cents.

The cost of the Qiaojiao beef was approximately twenty yuan, meaning the beef alone added twenty-one yuan in profit.

The Sichuan restaurant that was on the brink of bankruptcy had finally gotten on track.

Adding dishes in a planned manner could rapidly and effectively increase turnover and profit.

Conversely, adding dishes without a plan could drag down the kitchen and throw the entire restaurant's order into chaos.

As usual, Zhou Yan checked his savings, which had reached 240.52 yuan.

This was no small amount. If he worked another day tomorrow, he would keep fifty yuan for circulation and see which of his uncles or cousins needed money urgently, then pay them back first.

He was not the type of person who could handle being in debt.

Carrying debt made it hard to sleep soundly.

He didn't know how those deadbeats developed such a mindset—owing money and still acting like they were the masters.

Noodles and Qiaojiao beef were the restaurant's foundation, but before its influence expanded, the upper limit would likely be around a hundred portions a day; it would be hard to achieve a higher breakthrough.

Furthermore, with a business making a hundred yuan a day, it was foreseeable that people would soon become envious.

One "Old Fifth" would leave, and a "Huang Old Fifth" or "Zhang Old Fifth" would arrive.

In the eyes of ordinary people, boiling noodles wasn't exactly a highly technical skill.

Once Zhou Yan opened up the market for soup pots at the textile factory, people from Zhou Village would surely set up stalls at the factory gates, selling bowls for twenty or thirty cents to snatch his business.

Flavor and the medicinal benefits of his soup were his moat. He wasn't afraid of direct competition, as long as the opponents didn't play dirty.

Moreover, Zhou Yan had never considered the small street vendors his competitors.

What could he gain by fighting over those one or eighty cents from those vendors?

His target was only the factory canteen.

【Ding! New Main Quest Released: [Dominate the Textile Factory]: Restaurant influence reaches 1000 (1 point of influence is gained for every customer recognition). Reach 1000 influence to become the most popular restaurant around the textile factory!】

【Task Progress: 380/1000】

【Task Reward: Unknown】

【Accept Task: Yes/No】

Just as Zhou Yan tucked the money back into the cash box, a task panel popped up on his interface.

"1000 influence... this really is going to dig at the very roots of the factory canteen," Zhou Yan couldn't help but laugh.

The Jiazhou Textile Factory was quite large, with about two thousand eight or nine hundred employees.

To gain this 1000 influence, he would have to snatch food from the tiger's mouth—the factory canteen.

Fortunately, the factory area was not far from Suji Town, which had a population of about twenty thousand. This was the customer base he could tap into once the restaurant's reputation fermented.

The 380 people in the task progress were the current regulars from the textile factory.

To continue expanding his customer base, he had to have dishes that could attract more people.

This was a long-term task with a high level of difficulty.

Zhou Yan estimated that the reward for this task would likely be of a higher grade.

This main quest was an accumulation-type achievement. By operating normally every day and developing step by step, he would eventually complete it. It was a guaranteed reward and steady happiness; there was no need to rush.

Zhou Yan chose to accept.

After researching for a few days, he found that this game panel was quite user-friendly. It didn't have too many flashy, mandatory requirements, and the freedom was very high. The system tasks were not compulsory, and there were no perverse punishments like being forced to "run naked" if a task wasn't completed.

Wasn't this just a perfect auxiliary tool?

Zhou Yan did not like being driven like a donkey with a whip; being able to autonomously control his life was very important.

Of course, since the system rewards held the keys to a beautiful life, he wouldn't slack off.

He would actively complete all possible tasks. The more new dishes he unlocked, the more smoothly the restaurant's expansion and management would go.

His current goal was to save money first to pay back the more than eight hundred yuan he owed.

...

Just as dawn was breaking, Master Zhou went out early to buy groceries.

Today, he had prepared ingredients for one hundred bowls of noodles and one hundred bowls of Qiaojiao beef, aiming to sell them all.

Zhao Hong arrived early as well.

Zhou Yan stopped his bike, looked around, and asked with a smile, "Where are Huihui and Fanwa? Didn't they say they were coming to play with Momo today?"

"Those two little piglets are still sleeping. I told Huihui to bring Fanwa up once he wakes up. Besides, the restaurant is busy in the morning; if they come in, they'll be jumping around like monkeys, and it'll be annoying," Zhao Hong explained.

"Boys are all like that; there isn't a single one who isn't mischievous," Zhao Tieying added with a laugh.

The restaurant was indeed busy in the morning.

Sichuanese people love eating noodles in the morning. Now that it was getting a bit cold, eating a delicious bowl of soup noodles and drinking up the hot bone broth made one feel warm and comfortable all over.

As the reputation grew, the business of Zhou Erwa's Restaurant had increased significantly.

This morning, they sold sixty-three bowls of noodles.

They were selling more day by day.

"Brother, I'm hungry. I want noodles, rib noodles!" Zhou Momo appeared at the kitchen door, rubbing her sleepy eyes and speaking in a milky voice.

"Alright, I'll make them for you right away," Zhou Yan replied with a smile.

Over there, Zhao Tieying had already approached with a hot towel.

"Mommy, I love you!" Zhou Momo took a step back, attempting to evoke maternal love.

But Auntie Zhao remained unmoved.

Zhou Momo lifted her head, closed her eyes, clenched her teeth, and put on an expression of readiness for death.

The hot towel was pressed against her face, rubbing her chubby cheeks into different shapes, and it wasn't removed for quite a while.

When Zhou Momo opened her eyes, her cheeks were flushed, and her gaze seemed a bit clearer.

She pursed her lips, looking as if she wanted to say something, before whispering, "Mommy, be gentler next time..."

"If I'm too gentle, I can't scrub you clean. I know what I'm doing," Zhao Tieying replied.

"My face is very clean, there's nothing to scrub," Zhou Momo said, pouting her little mouth.

(End of Chapter)