A Family's Craft Couldn't Go Wrong!

Xia Yao wore a long yellow floral dress today, with a light beige knitted cardigan over it and a pair of black Mary Jane shoes on her feet. Her long hair was braided into two plaits, with thin bangs framing her face. Already pretty, she looked all the more youthful and radiant.

Holding a sketchbook, she sat on a stone beneath a tree, her pencil swishing across the paper as she drew with focused concentration.

The workers wore matching dark blue factory uniforms. Seeing that splash of brightness, they could not help stealing a few extra glances.

A college student from the city really was different—fashionable and pretty, with such fair, tender skin. They just did not know what she was writing and drawing on that paper.

"Isn't that Deputy Factory Director Lin's niece? I heard she's a painter, too!"

"Artists are fashionable, and she's pretty as well. But what is she drawing?"

The workers sized her up as they chatted.

One curious fellow circled behind her and craned his neck for a look, then exclaimed, "Oh my, that's drawn so well!"

A little girl holding a cola bottle leaped vividly from the page. The lines were simple, yet they captured her likeness with remarkable spirit and liveliness.

That cry of admiration drew quite a few people over. Those who came closer to look could not help praising it as well. The drawing truly was excellent.

Xia Yao was not used to being watched, especially when she was drawing; it made her feel uncomfortable. Still, when praised, she politely smiled, nodded, and said thank you.

Since everyone had gathered around, she took the chance to recommend Zhou Yan's restaurant. "The noodles Zhou Yan makes are delicious. My uncle and I both love them. Everyone should go try them—you definitely won't regret it."

Wang Laowu occasionally shouted out advertisements, his targeting of Zhou Erwa Restaurant obvious. Naturally, Xia Yao sided with her benefactor.

Hearing this, some of the onlookers really did go over to try the noodles that even the deputy factory director had praised, curious to see what made them different. This brought Zhou Yan a few more customers.

The workers came and went, and once work hours began, the factory entrance quickly grew quiet.

Zhou Momo sat at the restaurant entrance, holding her empty glass bottle up to the sky. She closed one eye and peered through it intently.

After finishing his work, Zhou Yan came out to catch his breath and saw Xia Yao drawing beneath the tree. Dappled sunlight fell across her face, peaceful and beautiful.

"Big bro, the cola was soooo good." Hearing footsteps, Zhou Momo turned around and waved the glass bottle at him. "The bottle is soooo pretty too."

Zhou Yan smiled and bent down to pat her head. "Big bro will buy you another one next time."

Tianfu Cola was the best-selling cola in the Sichuan-Chongqing region at the moment, twenty-five cents a bottle. Xia Yao must have given it to her.

Xia Yao put away her sketchbook and walked toward the restaurant with a smile. "Good morning, Comrade Zhou Yan."

"Good morning, Comrade Xia Yao." Zhou Yan smiled and nodded. Glancing at the corner of the sketchbook sticking out of her shoulder bag, he said, "I didn't expect you to be an artist."

"I'm a student in the Department of Arts and Crafts at Sichuan Fine Arts Academy, not an artist," Xia Yao said.

"Oh, so you're a designer." Zhou Yan looked thoughtful.

Xia Yao looked at him in surprise. "You even know what a designer is?"

She majored in interior design, which involved areas such as brand design and packaging design. After graduation, she truly planned to develop in the direction of becoming a designer.

Whenever people asked about her major, she had to go to great lengths to give examples and explain it, and they might not even understand. She had not expected Zhou Yan to understand.

"I read about it in a book before," Zhou Yan said casually.

He had a friend who studied visual communication design and had complained to him that their department used to be called the Department of Arts and Crafts. It should have been more or less the same. Changing the subject, he asked, "Were you drawing Momo just now?"

Xia Yao pulled the sketchbook from her bag, opened it to a page, and held it out before Zhou Yan. "Take a look."

The little girl in the drawing, holding and drinking cola, was Zhou Momo. Though it had no color, it was strikingly lifelike. Her upturned little feet and smile made her seem even more lively.

"That's really good," Zhou Yan praised.

He did not understand art, but he was greatly shaken.

Zhou Momo had only been eating noodles at the entrance for a short while, yet Xia Yao had already finished the drawing. Her skill was clearly superb.

The corners of Xia Yao's lips lifted slightly. She put away the sketchbook and reached out to rub Zhou Momo's head. "Momo is just too adorable. She's very well-behaved."

"Hehe."

Zhou Momo smiled until her eyes curved like crescents, like a kitten enjoying being petted.

"You want noodles?" Zhou Yan asked again.

"Mm." Xia Yao nodded. "One serving of spare rib noodles, the same as yesterday."

"Alright, come in and wait a moment." Zhou Yan nodded and turned toward the kitchen.

"Little Xia, you're here. Sit, sit. Auntie will pour you some water." Zhao Tieying warmly greeted Xia Yao.

She had noticed Xia Yao drawing long ago, and several customers had said they had come for noodles after hearing her recommendation. She had simply been too busy to greet her.

"Alright, thank you, Auntie," Xia Yao answered brightly.

Zhou Yan waited until Xia Yao finished her noodles before pushing his Twenty-Eight Bicycle out the door. He was heading to the docks to learn how to make Qiaojiao Beef from Brother Jie, and to inspect the current standard of the Qiaojiao Beef stalls in Suji while he was at it.

"Comrade Zhou Yan, are you going into town?" Xia Yao asked, shoulder bag hanging at her side.

"I'm going to the docks." Zhou Yan looked at her. "Comrade Xia Yao, how about I give you a ride back to the Textile Factory Family Compound on the way?"

"Sure." Xia Yao directly climbed onto the back seat and said with a smile, "Just call me Xia Yao."

"Alright. You can just call me by my name too." Zhou Yan smiled and nodded. He pushed down hard on the pedal, and the bicycle shot forward. He glanced back at Wang Laowu's noodle stall, where several basins of noodle mince and toppings were already half gone. Wang Laowu's business that morning was even better than his.

He had sold a total of thirty-two bowls of noodles that morning, more than twenty bowls fewer than yesterday. He feared the noodle mince and toppings he had prepared for one hundred bowls would not sell out today.

[A basin of minced-meat topping made from diseased pork.]

[A basin of leftover braised beef mixed with fresh stock...]

...

Lines of appraisal notes popped up, and Zhou Yan instinctively squeezed the brakes.

Caught off guard, Xia Yao instinctively wrapped her arms around Zhou Yan's waist. Her leaning body pressed directly against his back.

The soft, warm touch against his back made Zhou Yan's waist stiffen. This was awkward.

"W-what happened?" Xia Yao released Zhou Yan's waist, her small hands gripping the seat tightly as a flush appeared at the roots of her ears.

"Sorry. I suddenly remembered something and got distracted," Zhou Yan hurriedly said. After looking once more at Wang Laowu's noodle stall and confirming that the notes were real, he rode away.

This cleared up Zhou Yan's doubts. Wang Laowu was using diseased pork, and he was mixing yesterday's leftover toppings with fresh ones to sell together. That was why he dared to sell a bowl of noodles with more than an ounce of meat for forty cents.

The butcher Wang Qi and Wang Laowu seemed to be from the same village. The price Wang Laowu could get should have been even lower than 1.4 yuan. He could earn a little by selling pork mince and toppings, then use that to subsidize the beef toppings. Calculated that way, he would not lose money.

Wang Laowu's idea was simple and vicious. He could afford not to make money, but if Zhou Yan did not make money, he would have to shut down and get lost.

In a price war, it came down to whose health bar was thicker.

But Zhou Yan did not see it that way. Since Wang Laowu had no martial virtue and was using diseased pork, Zhou Yan would definitely put a thorn in his eye.

The bicycle slowly came to a stop at the entrance of the Textile Factory Family Compound.

Xia Yao jumped down and said gracefully, "Zhou Yan, thank you for giving me a ride back. I'm going back to Jiazhou this afternoon to sketch from life. See you next time."

"Alright, see you next time." Zhou Yan smiled and nodded, feeling a little regretful. He had lost a steady customer. Then he rode away.

Xia Yao watched Zhou Yan's receding figure on the bicycle, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.

"Xia Yao, I was just about to come find you. There's a meeting at the design institute at noon. Go back and pack your things, then we'll set off," Meng Anhe's voice called from inside the compound.

"Mm, alright!" Xia Yao answered.

There were quite a few independent vendors setting up stalls at the Qingyi River docks. There were dockworkers carrying cargo, sailors, and passing merchants and travelers. Having a simple meal at the docks was a fine choice.

Noodles and wontons cooked in the steaming cauldrons of noodle stalls. At the stir-fry stalls nearby, all kinds of fresh ingredients were laid out in the open. The tofu pudding in the tofu pudding and rice stall's pot had already sold nearly half, while small flags stood on the Emei tofu pudding stalls, drawing many customers with children.

Villagers came carrying back baskets to sell their own eggs, old hens, geese, vegetables, freshly caught river fish, and fresh eels. It had practically become a small market.

Because the goods were fresh, people from town also came to the docks to shop, making the place rather lively.

Along this stretch of riverbank, hawkers' cries rose and fell, brimming with the bustle of everyday life.

Zhou Yan pushed his bicycle along, looking around as he went. This era did not have so much technology and trickery. Chickens, ducks, and geese that had not been fed feed, purely wild eels and river fish, rabbits that ate only grass...

They were all exceptionally high-quality ingredients!

The Qiaojiao Beef stalls were interspersed among these vendors. Most had a signboard or a flag bearing names like "Zhou Sanwa Hotpot" and "Zhou San-niang Hotpot"...

After private business was opened up, many people from Zhou Village had returned to their old trade of selling hotpot. They had already gained a modest reputation in town.

Zhou Yan greeted those he knew, while smiling and nodding to those he did not.

He soon noticed a hotpot stall ahead with a sign reading "Zhouji Hotpot." All eight of its tables were occupied. The burly man cooking beef in front of the hotpot was Zhou Hai, while the man responsible for greeting customers, serving dishes, and taking money, his face full of smiles, was Zhou Jie.

In terms of popularity, it ranked first among all the food vendors at the docks.

The other hotpot vendors had only two or three scattered customers each. There was even a neighboring stall called "Zhou Liangliang Hotpot" with only one customer seated there.

Zhou Hai kept his eyes in all directions and his ears open in all directions. He spotted Zhou Yan at once and greeted him with a smile. "Zhou Yan! Over here."

Zhou Yan pushed his bicycle over. Before he could speak, Zhou Jie proudly introduced him to the stall's customers. "This is my little brother Zhou Yan, the great hero who jumped into the water to save someone. The higher-ups are even going to commend him as an advanced worker!"

"He's my little brother too." Zhou Hai straightened his back, his face breaking into a broad smile.

Hearing this, the customers all looked toward Zhou Yan.

"So you're the one who jumped into Bailatuo two days ago and saved a female college student? You really are a hero!"

"Young man, you're handsome, and you've got guts too!"

Zhou Yan felt a little embarrassed by the praise.

"My little brother isn't just handsome—his cooking is excellent too. He's opened a Zhou Erwa Restaurant at the Textile Factory entrance, and he plans to sell hotpot soon as well. If you live nearby, eating at his place is just the same." Zhou Jie patted his chest. "A family's craft couldn't go wrong."