Sales Champion Physique

"Got it." Zhou Yan replied with a smile, putting the cigarettes into the cabinet. He did not smoke, but they were indeed good gifts. Even on the black market, they could fetch more than twenty yuan.

After carefully placing Zhou Momo on the bed, Zhou Yan noticed that she was wearing a blue sweater today. The sleeves had been rolled up three times, and the hem nearly reached her knees. It was clearly a boy's style.

It was not strange for her to wear hand-me-downs from her older brothers and sisters. Back at the orphanage, none of Zhou Yan's clothes had ever fit properly.

But the old Zhou family was not poor. Zhou Momo, the youngest daughter, was especially doted on, and his father was crazy about daughters. Even if his own clothes were covered in patches, he would still buy new clothes for his girl.

Comrade Little Zhou opening this restaurant had really sent the family's quality of life plummeting.

His parents' clothes had plenty of patches too.

Pulling the blanket over Zhou Momo, Zhou Yan silently made up his mind as he headed downstairs. Once he had paid off the debts, the first thing he would do was buy his family new clothes, inside and out!

Zhou Yan had asked for a few extra beef bones today. He split them open to expose the marrow, soaked them in cold water to draw out the blood, then lit a separate coal stove and set up a soup pot to simmer beef bone broth for Qiaojiao Beef.

The soul of Qiaojiao Beef lay in this pot of broth. As long as the broth was good, the Qiaojiao Beef would not be bad.

Besides beef bones, the broth needed beef intestines and ox tail simmered together. Their rich fat melted into the soup, making its flavor fuller and more mellow. Spices and medicinal herbs were wrapped in cheesecloth and added to the pot, then simmered for a full eight hours until the broth was ready.

"You're quite particular about your stock," Zhao Tieying remarked as she watched from the side.

She had run a soup stall before as well, having learned the craft from her mother-in-law. She would dump bones and spices into a pot of water, slap on the lid, and leave it alone.

For soup that sold at twenty or thirty cents a bowl, who had time for so much fuss? The dockworkers doing hard labor only wanted something hot to eat. Whether it was tender or tough, nobody would complain.

"What skilled chefs control is the details. Brother Jie and the others can sell over a hundred bowls a day, while you can only sell twenty or thirty. That's where the gap lies," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"If you want to learn, you'll have to put in some hard work. Later, I'll be busy inside making noodles and stir-frying dishes, so you'll have to watch over this pot of Qiaojiao Beef. Let's aim to sell a hundred bowls of soup a day too."

"A hundred bowls!" Zhao Tieying perked up. "Can that really be done?"

Even during her best winter days, she only sold fifty or sixty bowls, and that was when there were lots of people at festivals or market days.

"At noon, I'll make some for you all to taste. Then you, the veteran soup master, can judge whether it's any good." As Zhou Yan skimmed the foam, he said, "See this foam? Use a ladle to skim it all off. That makes the broth clearer and improves the flavor too..."

Qiaojiao Beef was actually quite simple to make. It was an ancestral craft, and all the cattle butchers in Zhou Village knew the method. The difference lay in that packet of spices and medicinal herbs. Different amounts and ingredients gave the final pot of broth different flavors.

Of course, careful control over the details during cooking could make a pot of broth even better.

As the broth simmered slowly over low heat, Zhou Yan began stir-frying toppings, kneading dough, and preparing the noodles for the day.

The restaurant's current bestseller was Double-Pepper Beef Tossed Noodles. Yesterday, several customers had wanted it, but the topping had already sold out, so they could only order something else.

So Zhou Yan had added another jin of chuck flap today, enough for ten more bowls of Double-Pepper Beef Tossed Noodles.

By the time the preparations were finished, it was fully light outside.

Zhou Yan and his mother quickly ate a bowl of noodles before opening for business. Zhou Momo had missed breakfast today, and she was the only one in the family who could sleep lazily until she woke naturally.

When Zhou Yan opened the restaurant doors, he saw that Wang Laowu's noodle stall across the street had a new sign. It read: Large Braised Beef Noodles, 40 cents! Large Spare Rib Noodles, 40 cents! Large Minced Meat Dry Tossed Noodles, 40 cents!...

Standing before his noodle pot, Wang Laowu shouted loudly, "More food for the same price! More food for the same price! More than one liang of meat in a bowl, only forty cents a bowl! Forty cents a bowl!"

At his shout, some customers who had originally been heading toward Zhou Erwa Restaurant really did turn and walk toward Wang Laowu's noodle stall.

More than one liang of meat in a bowl was no less meat than at Zhou Erwa Restaurant, and it was twenty cents cheaper. It was worth trying.

Affordable prices were always the ultimate weapon.

Wang Laowu's noodle stall had customers again.

"What kind of trick is that idiot Wang Laowu pulling now? Does he not want to make money anymore?" Zhao Tieying stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips, glaring across the street.

"Looking at him, even if he doesn't make money himself, he doesn't want us making any either." Zhou Yan smiled. The noodle business war had escalated into a price war.

"That bastard's not doing human things. Chasing a tiger with his pants off—he's shameless and suicidal. I'll go tear that rotten mouth of his apart!" Zhao Tieying rolled up her sleeves like a general preparing for battle.

"Forget it, forget it. Low prices can attract customers looking for bargains, but flavor is what wins people's hearts and keeps a business going." Zhou Yan smiled as he held Comrade Old Zhao back. "We win on flavor. If he keeps this up, he'll go under in a couple of days."

As they spoke, customers arrived.

Zhao Tieying immediately put her welcoming smile back on and stopped paying attention to the other side.

Wang Laowu had been watching them the whole time. Seeing Zhao Tieying's furious appearance, the smile on his face grew even brighter.

This was the idea Wang Defa had given them after he and his wife went to ask Director Wang for advice last night.

Wasn't Zhou Yan attracting customers by giving generous portions of toppings? Then he would increase his portions too, and give even more than Zhou Yan's place! With lower prices than Zhou Yan's, customers would naturally come to them.

It did not matter if they did not make money. As long as they broke even, that was enough.

But if Zhou Yan's restaurant lost its customers, with fifteen yuan in monthly rent, all kinds of management fees, and debts borrowed from outside, how long could he hold on?

Once Zhou Erwa Restaurant collapsed, he could raise noodle prices again and keep making money. He had still made some money over the past two years, enough to use as capital to wear Zhou Yan down.

Just as Zhou Yan was about to go inside, he saw a fat, burly middle-aged man with a balding head stop his bicycle in front of Wang Laowu's noodle stall. He paused.

He recognized that bald bastard. Wang Defa, director of the Factory Canteen. He was the one who had fired Comrade Little Zhou.

Aside from the pressure of debt, being verbally torn apart by that damned bald bastard the day before had been the trigger for Little Zhou's earlier jump into the river.

"Director Wang! What an honored guest! What an honored guest!" The moment Wang Laowu saw Wang Defa, he hurried out with a loud greeting, his face plastered with a fawning smile.

His shout drew the attention of quite a few workers. When they saw the sign, their interest grew.

"Laowu, I heard your noodles are good. I came specially to try them today," Wang Defa said with a hearty laugh.

"Then please, have a seat inside. Your presence truly brings honor to my humble noodle stall." Wang Laowu continued flattering him.

"All right." Wang Defa answered, then turned to glance toward Zhou Erwa Restaurant. He happened to see Zhou Yan's back as he turned and entered the restaurant, and he frowned. Why was that kid not impulsive today?

Zhou Yan was not Little Zhou, that hot-blooded young man. Life had long worn away his youthful passion. He would not lose his cool just because of some old bastard.

A gentleman's revenge could wait ten years. He had remembered this grudge for Little Zhou, and sooner or later, he would make Wang Defa pay the price.

Wang Laowu's low-price strategy brought a massive wave of customers to his noodle stall on the verge of closing, while snatching away half of Zhou Erwa Restaurant's customers.

But Zhou Erwa Restaurant had already made a name for itself over the past two days. Customers who had eaten there spread the word, whetting everyone else's appetite. As more and more workers arrived for work, quite a few bicycles still stopped outside the restaurant.

[ Ding! Side quest issued: Wang Laowu has launched a business war against you. A true God of Cooking fears no challenge. Accept the challenge and crush Wang Laowu's noodle stall! Quest reward: Unknown; Accept quest: Yes/No ]

Zhou Yan was pulling noodles when he saw the system quest appear. With a thought, he chose to accept it.

Wang Laowu and Wang Defa were clearly cut from the same cloth. Since the other side had made the first move, there was no chance of settling this peacefully, so he naturally would not back down.

Besides, the system had rewards. Every reward it had given so far had been excellent. How could he miss this one?

The chatter of customers in the restaurant woke Zhou Momo. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, the little girl came to the kitchen door, tilted her head up at Zhou Yan, and said in a milky voice, "Big brother, hungry, noodles."

"All right, I'll make them right away." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.

Zhou Yan made Zhou Momo a bowl of spare rib soup noodles, while Zhao Tieying wiped her face with a hot towel. Her chubby little face squished out of shape under the towel's rubbing. They set a stool at the entrance and had her sit there to eat her stool noodles.

The hot towel had rubbed the little girl's face rosy red. Two stray tufts of her unbound hair stuck up, while her pudgy little hands held her chopsticks. She buried her head in her noodles, slurping away as she ate with great relish.

Passing workers could not help looking twice. The little girl was so adorable, and the way she ate was irresistible. The braised spare ribs fell right off the bone with a sip, and she gulped down mouthful after mouthful of rich bone broth.

People who had not planned on eating noodles somehow found their bicycles turning toward the restaurant entrance.

"Big sister, want some noodles?"

Even while eating, the little girl did not forget to look up and ask.

Once customers met her innocent gaze, how could they possibly bring themselves to leave? They could only awkwardly enter the restaurant to take a look. Seeing the customers inside slurping noodles, they could not help ordering a bowl too.

Mm, it really was delicious!

Just by sitting at the entrance eating noodles, Zhou Momo had brought in several orders. She was born with the Sales Champion Physique.

Xia Yao came out carrying her drawing board to look for inspiration. Passing the factory entrance, she saw Zhou Momo sitting outside the restaurant, holding a large bowl and drinking soup. Every passing worker turned to look at her. Xia Yao's lips unconsciously curved upward, feeling that she had found the perfect scene for the day. She immediately set up her drawing board and took out her pencil.

Zhou Momo drank every last drop of soup before setting down the bowl. Rubbing her slightly bulging belly, she let out a satisfied burp. "All full~"

She quickly spotted Xia Yao, and her eyes lit up. She immediately jumped down from the stool and ran toward her, shouting, "Sister Yaoyao!"

Xia Yao put down her pencil. There was only a rough sketch on the paper. Looking at Zhou Momo toddling over, she smiled, opened her arms, and swept her into a hug. "Momo, did you miss me?"

"Yes." Zhou Momo nodded repeatedly.

"Such a good girl." Xia Yao released her and took a glass bottle from her pocket. Smiling, she asked, "Have you ever had cola?"

"Cola?" Zhou Momo tilted her head at the glass bottle and shook it.

"I'll open one for you. Go sit back nicely and let me draw you a picture, all right?"

The glass bottle gleamed in the sunlight, bubbles rising inside it as though it possessed some mysterious magic. Zhou Momo nodded without hesitation.

Pssht!

Xia Yao took out a bottle opener and opened the cola. Bubbles surged up to the mouth of the bottle with a fizzing sound, and she handed it to Zhou Momo.

Zhou Momo held the bottle in both hands, took a sip, and her eyes lit up. "So many bubbles! It's sweet and yummy!"

Then she obediently carried the cola back to the entrance and sat down.