1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 75 Little Painter Zhou Momo (Please continue reading)

This morning's events did not affect the restaurant's reputation. On the contrary, the news that Zhou Yan reported Wang Qi for selling diseased pork spread, and everyone felt that Zhou Yan deserved some credit for Wang Laowu being found and arrested, which increased their goodwill towards him.

Business was even busier today than yesterday.

"Xiao Zhou, has the letter been mailed yet?" Lin Zhiqiang asked with a smile while they were jogging in the evening.

"Not yet..." Zhou Yan felt slightly embarrassed thinking about how sleepy he had been writing last night, but he quickly straightened his back. "I'll definitely finish writing it tonight."

"What's so difficult about replying to a letter? Do you want me to teach you?" Lin Zhiqiang said with a smile.

"No need to trouble Uncle Lin," Zhou Yan shook his head.

Uncle Lin's foreign knowledge was simply not up to par.

How can "I love you" be paired with "a lifetime of love and companionship"?

He has already received the master's complete instruction and obtained the martial arts manual; he will begin work tonight.

……

Back at the hotel, Zhou Yan took a shower and changed clothes, then put the bill on the tab.

Today, we added twenty more servings of twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts, and they all sold out. We sold two fewer servings of crucian carp with mint than yesterday. Of the two remaining servings of spare ribs, one was given to Sister-in-law Zhao Hong to take home, and the other was given to Zhou Momo to take home as a late-night snack.

The turnover reached 346 yuan, more than 20 yuan more than yesterday, and the profit was 176.3 yuan.

Yesterday, I spent 36.2 yuan on building a stove, buying pots and spices.

He counted it and found that his savings had reached 694.84 yuan.

Zhou Yan wrote and calculated on the paper, then his eyes lit up.

Now all the debts are paid!

After paying off my debts, I still have 6.32 yuan left!
Sales have increased significantly in the past two days, and the speed at which we save money has increased accordingly.

If business can hold up tomorrow, he'll still have over a hundred yuan left after paying off his debts.

With the money for the gift settled, we can also settle the wages for Aunt Zhao and Zhao Hong tomorrow, the 1st.

Zhou Yan took out the stack of IOUs and counted out the money according to the amount on each IOU.

My second uncle's family owes 100 yuan. Zhou Hao's wedding is the day after tomorrow, and I'll give them the money tomorrow.

According to Zhou Jie, they've already bought the "three turns and one sound" (a traditional Chinese house renovation project), and the four major pieces of furniture. They're also planning to host a banquet in the countryside. Although they can save some money by buying their own ingredients, they can easily invite relatives from both sides to fill over thirty tables, which will cost at least 500 yuan for two meals.

Zhou Hao sent all his allowance back to his mother to keep. His second uncle could earn quite a bit by slaughtering cattle, but once the marriage was done, it would probably drain the old couple's savings.

My uncle's family also pays 100, while Hai Zi's family pays 80...

Zhou Yan counted out the money, tied it with a small rope according to the IOU, and put it back in the money box.

He'll keep the 160 yuan from Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai for now. He still needs to buy meat and vegetables tomorrow morning, so there's no rush to give it to them when he gets back tonight.

After settling the accounts, Zhou Yan smiled more, feeling great to be debt-free.

After putting away the ledger, Zhou Yan took out letter paper and a small notebook, sat up straight, and began to write a letter.

"Xia Yao:
The joy of receiving the book was like seeing him again.

If you like rice candy, I'll send you some more next time.

I went back to my grandma's house in the countryside today and ate some tree-ripened persimmons. They were so sweet, but unfortunately they're too delicate to share with you.

......"

Having mastered the opening lines, Zhou Yan's thoughts flowed freely, and she wrote three pages on the letter paper, mainly sharing some small joys in life.

He also offered his own insights and suggestions regarding Xia Yao's confusion about design direction in her letter.

Zhou Yan doesn't understand design, but he has seen countless exquisite, high-end, and ingenious designs in his later life. As a million-follower blogger who is responsible for shooting, appearing on camera, editing, and also taking care of advertising, he has seen it all.

In this era of hand-drawn advertisements, he couldn't offer her professional advice, but perhaps he could give her some inspiration.

It was like a delayed conversation on paper, which Zhou Yan found quite interesting.

"Aunt Zhao and Momo often think of you and asked me to send them their regards."

That's all for now, I won't go into details again.

Zhou Yan. Zhou Yan put down his pen and nodded in satisfaction.

It's not as difficult as I imagined.

Once the ink has dried, carefully fold it, put it in an envelope with a stamp, fill in the address, and you can drop it in the mailbox tomorrow.

This was the first time Zhou Yan had ever written a letter to someone.

It's kind of strange; even though it hasn't been sent yet, I'm already looking forward to a reply.

……

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Master Zhou went out to buy groceries.

Today, Uncle Zhou Ze's family didn't slaughter a cow, and Zhou Jie didn't set up a stall either; they were both busy preparing for Zhou Hao's wedding banquet.

Zhou Hao's sister-in-law is from the next village and was his junior high school classmate. They started dating before he joined the army. The two families would host the banquet together, and the village cook would have to prepare many ingredients in advance, so the host family would have to prepare many things today.

For example, with cold dishes, it's too late to braise them fresh tomorrow, so we have to buy the meat today and braise it until it's fully flavored, so that it's just right to cut and plate it tomorrow.

"I heard from your second aunt that they're having thirty tables. The village cook won't serve any dishes, just cook, and he'll charge ninety yuan for two meals. That's a bit expensive," Aunt Zhao said, sitting in the back seat, somewhat surprised.

"Three yuan per table, enough for two meals, that's not too expensive," Zhou Yan said with a smile. "He definitely couldn't handle this kind of banquet by himself. He would need to bring in helpers, and if there's a cold dish chef, he would have to share the cost with them. He would also need to prepare a day in advance, and provide the cooking utensils, knives, and seasonings. All of that adds up to the cost."

“Open-air banquets aren’t something you can do every day. A typical village cook is lucky if he gets two or three a month. He usually charges around thirty yuan for about ten tables, which adds up to about a hundred yuan a month.”

"They've all come out to work as rural cooks, becoming self-employed; they're bound to earn more than if they were working a regular job."

Aunt Zhao nodded repeatedly and said with emotion, "Now that you mention it, I think it makes sense. Being a chef is not easy. I see how hard you work all day."

Zhou Yan smiled but didn't reply.

Being a rural cook is tiring, but if you can make a name for yourself, you can earn a lot.

He's quite stable running his shop now and doesn't want to make this kind of money, but for many chefs, it's better than working in the kitchen of a regular restaurant.

Back at the shop, Zhou Yan first checked the stove he had built the day before yesterday. Because it was next to another stove, the temperature was relatively high and it was almost dry. Zhou Yan put the large aluminum pot on it to test it. It was quite sturdy and there were no problems at all.

"So, after you finish your work this morning, are you going back to pick up your grandma?" Aunt Zhao asked, standing at the kitchen doorway.

“Yes, I talked to her about it yesterday.” Zhou Yan nodded, glancing at the jar in the corner. With this pot of old brine, his cold dish business should be easier to run.

As usual, Zhou Yan first cooked the broth and stir-fried the toppings. After finishing those, he started making noodles and arranged everyone's work meals.

Everyone got up early this morning and did some work, so they're all hungry now.

"Brother, I want to eat noodles too." Zhou Momo appeared at the kitchen door.

"Hey, Momo, why are you up so early today?" Zhou Yan turned around and laughed at Zhou Momo, who had two tufts of hair sticking up on her head.

The little guy was clearly still sleepy. He rubbed his sleepy eyes, held a piece of paper in his hand, and waved it at him: "Drawing, for Sister Yao Yao."

"What?" Zhou Yan asked, puzzled.

"She also drew a picture for Xia Yao and wants you to send it to her together." Aunt Zhao held a hot towel in her hand and smiled with exceptional kindness. "She spent the whole night drawing it last night."

“That’s right…” Zhou Momo had just nodded when a hot towel was slapped on her face, leaving only a string of “Aba aba aba…” in her babyish voice.

"Oh my, our little Zhou Momo is a little artist too?" Zhou Yan laughed, not expecting the little one to have such a clever idea. "Okay, I'll put it in for you later."

After Aunt Zhao finished her face-rubbing service, Zhou Momo, who was still a little drowsy, suddenly woke up. She blinked her big eyes, pouted, put her hands on her hips, and looked up at Aunt Zhao with a slightly aggrieved expression: "Mommy, didn't you say you were going to be gentle? I didn't have any fingers to pinch!"

Zhao Tieying said with a smile, "You don't have any 'clumps' because you rub them every day. If you don't rub them, they'll grow 'clumps' and 'worms.' Look how fresh and clean you are after rubbing them. I'll braid two little braids for you. When we go out, everyone will say you're very well-behaved."

"Really?" Zhou Momo pouted, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Definitely."

"Okay, then I'll forgive you today." Zhou Momo put her hands down from her hips and moved closer to Aunt Zhao. "Make it look nice, you need to make it on both sides."

“Okay, let’s go, let’s go weave by the door.” Aunt Zhao took her little hand.

"Wait a minute!" Zhou Momo pulled her hand back, ran to Zhou Yan's side, stood on tiptoe, and stuffed the letter in her hand into his apron pocket. Then she ran back to take Zhao Niangniang's hand and said in a childish voice, "Come on, let's braid your hair!"

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(End of this chapter)