Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 521 Overturning Impressions
Amidst the admiring gazes of the crowd, Chen Fan waved his sleeve and took away a large carp.

The carp was still not giving up, jumping around in the basket, until he flicked it with his finger and stunned it.

At this point, the basket already contained four radishes, two pigeons, and a large carp weighing over three pounds. The main dish was ready; with a few more side dishes, it would be enough to make a complete meal.

But where can we buy the side dishes?

Just then, an older woman passed by, and Chen Fan quickly asked, "Excuse me, ma'am, where is the nearest farmers' market?"

Upon hearing this, the auntie's face immediately lit up with a smile. "Oh my, young man, you're so good at talking. You're calling me 'big sister'? I'm so old, you should call me 'auntie'."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "I really can't tell how old you are. I'd guess you're in your thirties or forties at most?"

The auntie laughed so hard her eyes disappeared, and waved her hand, "That's a long time ago. Look at my outfit, I don't look like someone in their thirties or forties."

She then looked him over, her eyes suddenly gleaming, and asked, "You live in this area too?"

Chen Fan shook his head. "No, no, I'm here to visit relatives. My relatives live in a hutong near Dashilan."

The aunt felt a little regretful. It turned out that the girl was from out of town. It would be difficult to introduce her youngest daughter to the family. Having a Beijing hukou and a formal job were the requirements, and they couldn't be lowered.

Then she exclaimed in surprise, "Dashilan? You've gone too far! This is Nanluoguxiang, which is several miles away. You should go to Zhengyang Market or Hepingmen Market, which are closer."

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so this is Nanluoguxiang?"

The aunt turned around and pointed to a large area of ​​courtyard house rooftops. "That's right, this whole area is like that. If you're talking about a street in Nanluoguxiang, it's the one in the middle of this area. All the other alleys run east-west, but that one runs north-south. It's very easy to find."

Then she looked at Chen Fan and asked, "What, do you know someone here?"

Chen Fan nodded with a serious expression. "Yes, I have a friend who is a chef. He said he lives at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang."

The aunt immediately waved her hand, "Then your friend isn't telling the truth, he's just making things up. Nanluoguxiang is a hutong, that's true, but it runs north-south. Back then, all the houses in this area were inhabited by wealthy families, even princes. Their houses were mostly facing south, scattered along the various horizontal hutongs. Even if a few doors opened east or west, those were detached houses built later, with no courtyards at all!"

Chen Fan's eyes showed a hint of doubt, "Really?"

The aunt pointed eastward and said, "Go and see for yourself."

Chen Fan actually went to see it.

It's right there, it doesn't take any effort, right?!
In later years, Nanluoguxiang became a bustling and popular street, even more lively than Dashilan. But now it is deserted, with the side walls of large courtyards on both sides of the road and nothing else at all!
Moreover, due to the recent earthquake, almost every alleyway and roadside was littered with broken bricks, sand, and tiles, resembling an unfinished construction site.

However, Chen Fan still discovered a pleasant surprise.

At No. 29 Nanluoguxiang, a small house that's either been drastically altered or illegally constructed has been transformed into a steamed bun shop!
Wasn't Yuebin Restaurant, which opened in 80, supposed to be the first privately owned restaurant? It's only 78 now, and there are already privately owned steamed bun shops?
Why are you so sure it's a privately owned shop?

Because there's no sign!
At least state-run stores have a sign that reads "State-run Breakfast Shop," but this place has nothing. Moreover, according to the rules of state-run stores, they shouldn't be open at this time, but the door is open.

Chen Fan darted over and peered inside. The steamer for the buns was empty, and the stove was cold.

Just then, a man walked over with a friendly smile on his face. "Hello comrade, would you like to buy some steamed buns?"

Chen Fan turned to look at him and smiled, "Do you still have steamed buns here? What's the price?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "There are still a dozen or so left, but they're all cold. If you want to buy them, you'll have to heat them up when you get home, or you can wait a few minutes and I'll steam them for you here. The prices are the same as in state-run restaurants: 8 cents for a large meat bun, 5 cents for a vegetable bun, and 5 cents for a steamed bun."

Chen Fan asked curiously, "This isn't a state-run restaurant, is it? Where do you get your meat and vegetables from?"

The boss was quite good-natured. Perhaps because so many people had asked him, he answered skillfully, "Pork isn't as scarce as it was a few years ago. Also, many educated youth have returned to the city. The neighborhood committee is calling on the educated youth to be self-reliant and find ways to make a living first. We'll arrange jobs for them later if there's an opportunity."

There was a sent-down youth in our family, and having an extra mouth to feed meant more food to eat, which was a worry. After much thought, the family decided that making steamed buns and mantou wasn't too complicated, and since everyone needed to eat them, they opened this steamed bun shop.

"After submitting the report, the neighborhood office will issue a certificate. Then, take the certificate to the market management office and report the amount of meat and vegetables you need each day. The next morning, you can just go and buy them with the money; you don't need coupons. We don't need coupons to buy meat and vegetables, and we don't need coupons to sell them either. It's a preferential policy from the neighborhood office."

Chen Fan blinked. So, he didn't have a business license or a food hygiene permit.
He snapped out of his daze, took out a cigarette, and offered it to me. "What's your surname?"

The shopkeeper accepted the cigarette with both hands. "You're too kind. My surname is Cheng, Cheng Qiyou." (Don't be offended, Mr. Cheng; just let me know and I'll change it immediately.)
Chen Fan said, "Excuse me, Mr. Cheng, how many steamed buns are left? I'll take them all."

Old Zhang is from Shandong, Old Li is from Cangzhou, Hebei, and Old Lin... He didn't say, but since he's been in the capital for so many years and is sharing meals with two people who eat noodles, he'll definitely be able to eat noodles too. So he'll just heat up the buns tonight and save himself the trouble of cooking rice.

When Boss Cheng saw that he had bought everything, he was overjoyed, but he still carefully corrected him, "I dare not call you boss, I'm just a steamed bun seller, and I'm also under the supervision of the neighborhood committee. I'm just serving the people!"

Chen Fan quickly corrected himself, "Sorry, sorry, I misspoke. I should say Director Cheng. I wish your place will be incorporated soon, and you can become a shop manager too."

Mr. Cheng was now satisfied, beaming from ear to ear. "Thank you for your kind words! Please wait a moment, I'll wrap it up for you right away."

As he spoke, he took out a large bamboo sieve from the cupboard in the corner, and then pulled a large newspaper from the table behind him, putting all the buns on it.

Chen Fan's eyes twitched. Wrapping buns in newspaper? That stuff has lead in it!

A moment later, Boss Cheng folded the newspaper, held it out to him with both hands, and said with a smile, "10 meat buns, 5 vegetable buns, and 3 steamed buns, for a total of 1.2 yuan."

Happy as it may be, money is still essential; it's a small business, and we can't afford to lose money.

Chen Fan took it and put it in the basket, then touched it with his hand. Luckily, the nail was hard and shouldn't stick.

While paying, he asked, "Is this the only shop on this street, or are there other shops?"

Boss Cheng collected the money, one dollar bill and two mao bill, without even counting them, and stuffed them directly into his pocket. He then laughed and said, "It's not just me, there are twenty or thirty of them."

He pointed south, “If you walk south along the alley, you’ll see roadside shops. You can see them as you stroll around. There are shops selling tea, tailors, clothing, tofu makers… and there are also shops like mine that sell steamed buns and noodles.”

Then, looking at Chen Fan, she said, "By the way, there are two private restaurants, but they're not very big, about the same size as my shop, with only two tables. If you don't want to cook, you can eat at their place. They have meat, fish, and vegetables, which will save you the trouble of cooking yourself."

Chen Fan turned to look at the sparsely populated street, his mind a little foggy.

This is a bit of a shock to him!
Is it really 78 now?
However, it seems that almost every day over the past year, something has overturned his impressions, so this one is no exception.

Chen Fan snapped out of his daze and looked at Boss Cheng, asking, "Are all these twenty or thirty shops you mentioned privately run?"

Boss Cheng chuckled, "That's right. If you include the state-owned stores, there are many shops along this nearly 800-meter-long alley, at least thirty different categories."

This area was first built in the Yuan Dynasty. To facilitate the high-ranking officials who lived here, there have been many shops on this street since then, covering a variety of trades including clothing, food, housing, and transportation.

Even in previous years, there were still many state-owned stores, including grain and oil stores, vegetable stores, and meat shops. Many food companies also opened branches here.

However, starting from the end of last year, as more and more educated youth returned to the city, the neighborhood committee encouraged their families to become self-reliant. Those with the means, like my family, opened shops near our street-facing houses. Those without the means joined other educated youth in cooperatives. Some sold tea near the front gate, some provided boxed lunches in the park, and some even became peddlers, setting up stalls at various flea markets—all for the sake of making a living.

Chen Fan suddenly realized, "So that's where flea markets came from?!"
At this point, Boss Cheng sighed again and said, "Although we can make ends meet now, I still feel uneasy. Our shops are all arranged by the neighborhood committee. They could just disappear at any time."

Chen Fan blinked and asked, "So, you didn't go through the formalities?"

Mr. Cheng asked, somewhat puzzled, "What procedures are needed?"

Seeing Chen Fan looking at the shop, he immediately realized what was going on and quickly waved his hand, "We say it's a private shop, but it's different from the previous small business owners. This shop was converted from a family house, and doing this small business was approved by the street office, or even guided by them. A certificate from the street office is enough."

Besides, who are we supposed to contact to complete the procedures? Under what pretext are we supposed to do them? There's no clear procedure at all!

Hearing this, Chen Fan understood again.

In other words, Yuebin Restaurant was only the first licensed sole proprietorship, not the first truly independent sole proprietorship.

For example, right now, the private sector in many parts of the southern region has already awakened and is just waiting for a government order to bring it from the underground to the surface.

During the underground phase, these events are not counted or recorded.

Mr. Cheng's steamed bun shop, and those twenty or thirty similar shops, are just like that!

They are still waiting to be incorporated into the local street office and become formal employees with official positions.

……

Carrying his already quite full basket, Chen Fan continued walking forward, and soon he indeed saw two restaurants not far apart.

It also had no name, and the same side room facing the street had a door that served as a shop.

It wasn't even 5 o'clock yet, and there weren't many people eating. Chen Fan walked around the two shops and then went into one of them.

A pretty woman was keeping accounts behind the counter. Hearing the noise, she immediately looked up, a smile on her face. "Hello, comrade, are you looking for a meal? We can cook home-style dishes, as well as Sichuan and Shandong cuisine. Would you like to try some? I guarantee you'll be satisfied." Chen Fan looked up at the blackboard on the wall, then down at her. "Anything from Sichuan or Shandong cuisine, we can make?"

At this moment, a middle-aged man in a white chef's uniform lifted the curtain and walked out of the kitchen, raising his head and saying, "Yes, I can make any Sichuan or Shandong cuisine."

Chen Fan turned his head and saw that the man had an arrogant look on his face and seemed quite confident.

It's good to be confident, so you won't cry when you're discouraged.

He immediately laughed and said, "What if I can't make it?"

The chef's expression changed slightly, and his eyes narrowed. "If I can't make a proper dish, you're ruining my reputation."

Chen Fan laughed and waved his hand, saying, "It's not that serious. If you can't do it, just help me with a small favor. Don't worry, I won't let you suffer any loss."

The chef looked him up and down carefully, and emphasized again, "The proper dishes I'm talking about must be included; you can't just make things up."

The woman behind the counter also changed her expression, glancing at Chen Fan and then at the chef with a hint of worry in her eyes.

Chen Fan placed the basket on the table next to him and smiled at the chef, "Master, could you please cook me a dish of boiled fish fillets (without fish bones), a dish of crispy and fragrant prawns, and a dish of lotus root with reed flowers?"

The chef immediately frowned. "What nonsense! Sichuan cuisine only has boiled sliced ​​pork, not boiled fish slices. And what about crispy shrimp and lotus flowers? I've never even heard of them."

He looked up at Chen Fan, his eyes full of hostility. "Little Za, where did you come from? How dare you harass your grandpa?"

Chen Fan wasn't angry. He simply rolled up his sleeves and was about to go inside. "Just because you can't do it doesn't mean it's impossible. Today I'll show you what I can do..."

He stopped, looked at the arm in front of him, turned his head and laughed, "What, you're scared?"

The chef squinted at him for a few seconds, then straightened his outstretched arm. "Please...!"

After Chen Fan went into the kitchen, he followed him in.

The woman quickly ran out from behind the counter and peered out from the kitchen doorway.

Fifteen minutes later...

Chen Fan worked swiftly and decisively, emerging from the kitchen, dusting himself off with grease, and lighting a cigarette. "You don't have any prawns or Luhua chicken here, so those two Shandong dishes can't be made. But this boiled fish fillet will suffice. Are you convinced now?"

Just kidding. Boiled fish slices are a new type of Sichuan dish that only appeared after the 90s. Later, sauerkraut fish was developed. It was with boiled fish that Sichuan cuisine spread wildly from south to north and from east to west, thus establishing its status as the number one "Jianghu cuisine".

Asking a Sichuan chef to make this dish at this time is just asking the impossible!

As for those two Shandong dishes, they are two of the new Shandong dishes that have been adapted and innovated by later generations.

In 2021, Shandong held a creative cuisine competition called "New Era, New Shandong Cuisine," which encouraged participants to create innovative dishes using authentic Shandong cuisine techniques. One of the innovative dishes, "Lotus Root Meets Reed Flower," was developed and created by Wenshang chef Zhuo Deyong.

However, the crispy and fragrant prawns were what Chen Fan had prepared for boiling water.

As a professional chef, I can tell how to make a dish just by hearing its name. Even if I can't perfectly replicate it, I'll consider it acceptable if I can achieve a "crispy and fragrant" flavor.

But unfortunately, this restaurant doesn't have any prawns!

A few minutes later, Chen Fan walked out of the store carrying a full basket of meat and vegetables in one hand and a bag in the other.

The chef was watching while I was cooking. If he's not bad at cooking, he should be able to recreate about 70-80% of the dish. In the end, he really made a profit.

Fortunately, despite his arrogance, the man knew the rules. He insisted on kowtowing to Chen Fan and becoming his disciple, but Chen Fan resolutely refused. When he heard that Chen Fan wanted some meat dishes, he packed up almost all the ingredients and sent them out.

In the end, Chen Fan picked out a portion of the money. He originally wanted to pay for it, but Chen Fan resolutely refused to accept it, and that was the end of the matter. In any case, neither side lost out.

As soon as Chen Fan stepped out of the restaurant, a fragrant aroma wafted out on the breeze.

Several people who were about to eat came in drawn by the aroma. "Master He, what delicious food did you make today? It smells amazing! Bring it out quickly..."

Chen Fan glanced back, chuckled, and walked back with his vegetable basket.

As he passed by Qianmen, he indeed saw several tea stalls, and he even went over to ask, "Is there someone named Chen Qi here?"

A woman with a long braid brought over a bowl of tea and asked curiously, "Who is Chen Qi? Is he also a recently returned educated youth?"

Chen Fan handed over a penny, took the tea and drank it down in one gulp, then returned the bowl and said with a smile, "Oh, right, I heard he also sells big bowl tea, but it's fine if he's not here."

He then waved goodbye and left amidst the reluctant farewells of the female comrades and the envious glances of the male comrades.

……

Young people are quick on their feet, and in no time at all, they were back in the alley next to Dashilan.

Lin Yuanxiang was pacing around in the yard when he saw him come in, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh my little darling, where did you go to buy groceries?"

As she spoke, she raised her wrist, "It's almost 5:30, how come it took you so long?"

Chen Fan picked up the shopping basket and shook it, then laughed, "With so much stuff, it'll take a while."

Old Zhang, leaning on his cane, and Old Li, flicking his empty sleeves, walked out of the main house together.

The two were astonished to see the baskets overflowing with goods.

Before they could ask any questions, Chen Fan put the basket on the ground and started taking things out one by one, "This is dried tofu, potatoes, carrots, radishes, bean sprouts, pigeons, carp,..."

Finally, he picked up a piece of meat, looked up and smiled, "How about we make braised pork with these two pounds of pork belly?"

Seeing so much stuff, the three old men looked at each other in dismay. Even though Lin Yuanxiang was mentally prepared, he was still taken aback by the basket of things.

These old men have been honest and upright all their lives; they can't eat without finding out the truth about this.

Lin Yuanxiang pulled up his trouser leg, squatted down, and asked Chen Fan, "Xiao Fan, you need to explain clearly where these dishes came from? How much did they cost? Where did you get the receipts?"

Chen Fan chuckled and, without saying much, began to explain to them one by one, "This round radish was bought at the square. Oh, and the basket too, it cost 3 cents. And look at this pigeon, doesn't it look like a homing pigeon? They tried to sell it to me as a meat pigeon, but the old man charged me a high price, two yuan each."

But I caught that big carp; the situation was like this..."

After Chen Fan finished speaking, the three old men looked at each other in bewilderment.

He caught a big carp just by borrowing a fishing rod.

How could you trade one dish for so many meat dishes?
Why does it sound so mysterious?

Chen Fan didn't care whether it was mysterious or not. After explaining, he took the things and went into the kitchen.

Then, they went all out, bringing in dishes one after another like a flowing stream into the main room.

A square table was set up, with four people sitting on either side. Chen Fan naturally took the lower seat and introduced the dishes, "This is Hunan-style braised pork, which Mr. Li likes. This is cherry pork, which is also braised pork, but prepared in a different way."
This is boiled fish fillets, with potatoes and bean sprouts at the bottom. I've removed all the fish bones, so don't worry about them. This is braised pigeon...

As they watched and listened, the three old men couldn't help but swallow hard.

Lin Yuanxiang suddenly stood up, turned around and ran to his room. Old Zhang also realized what was happening and hopped on one foot to the kitchen.

A short while later, Old Zhang returned carrying a stack of bowls, and Lin Yuanxiang also returned carrying two jars of wine. He placed one jar on the coffee table next to him, and opened the other jar directly, pouring the wine into the empty bowls.

Mr. Li was still a little hesitant. "The doctor said last time that I shouldn't drink too much alcohol."

Without even looking up, Old Zhang said, "Give it all to me, even if you don't want to drink it."

Old Li stopped arguing and immediately coughed, "We're all in this together, there's no reason for us to desert. Fill them all up!"

Chen Fan was sitting to the left, laughing heartily.

Just kidding, with him around, what could possibly happen over a drink?!

Then, three out of the four got drunk.

Chen Fan packed up with a wry smile. Well, it seemed he was planning to stay at the Writers' Association's guesthouse today, but it looked like he wouldn't be able to leave.

(End of this chapter)