Can This Price Really Sell?

"Big Sister-in-law." Zhou Yan braked the bike and called out. The woman standing at the door was his eldest sister-in-law, Zhao Hong. She was thirty-two this year, around five foot three, solidly built, wearing a dark blue cotton jacket and a pair of Liberation shoes. Her short hair was pinned behind her ears with clips, and her round face was wreathed in a warm, approachable smile.

"Come over early and help out. Fanwa can get himself to school anyway, just leave his breakfast in the pot." Zhao Hong answered with a smile, reaching out to take the back basket from Zhao Tieying.

She lifted a corner of the blanket and glanced at Zhou Momo, who was still fast asleep. Lowering her voice, she said, "Momo is sleeping so soundly."

"She's just a little piglet. She can sleep all day long." Zhao Tieying said with a laugh.

Zhou Yan went inside and first carried Zhou Momo upstairs to sleep.

Then he went over the work duties and hours with Zhao Hong in detail.

"Big Sister-in-law, do you think this arrangement works?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at Zhao Hong.

"These are things we do at home every day. There shouldn't be any problem." Zhao Hong nodded, then looked at Zhou Yan hesitantly. "But... isn't the pay a little too high?"

Fourth Aunt had come to speak with her about it yesterday, and she had been so happy that she barely slept all night.

Zhou Fei followed his father in slaughtering cattle, and the income was decent. But they had two sons. Schooling aside, they would have to marry wives someday. The pressure on the couple was enormous.

She did some farmwork and housework at home and raised two pigs, but she could not earn much over the course of a year. Going out to work meant she would not be able to look after the home or the two children.

Working at Zhou Yan's restaurant meant a monthly wage of twenty yuan while still being able to care for her family and children. If they were not family, how could such a good opportunity possibly fall into her lap?

"The restaurant is fairly busy. As long as you can handle the tasks I give you and make sure the customers eat comfortably, I don't think this pay is too high." Zhou Yan smiled. Zhao Hong's temperament suited his needs quite well.

Zhao Tieying chimed in, "If he dares to offer it, then take it. As long as we do the work well, we deserve the wages."

Looking at the two of them, Zhao Hong felt warmth rise in her heart. She nodded. "All right. Zhou Yan, I'll do whatever you tell me. I'm just not very good with words. I don't know if I might offend customers."

"You don't need to be overly enthusiastic. Just keep a bit of a smile on your face." Zhou Yan reassured her. "Big Sister-in-law, don't be too nervous. Our little restaurant doesn't have that many rules."

"Exactly. I can teach you all that. I remembered everything Zhou Yan told me these past two days. I'll first help you get familiar with the restaurant..." Zhao Tieying took Zhao Hong by the hand and led her toward the kitchen, switching into teaching mode.

Zhou Yan was happy to be free of that task. Carrying the ingredients, he headed into the kitchen and got busy.

The noodle shop's business had clearly picked up that morning. They sold forty-eight bowls of noodles. With Wang Laowu, that troublemaking bastard, out of the picture, word of mouth had begun to spread, and they were already gaining a group of regular customers.

Of course, at sixty cents a bowl, even Textile Factory leaders could not afford to eat noodles there every day. They only came for a bowl every few days to satisfy their cravings.

Zhao Hong did not talk much, but she worked quickly. Having inherited Auntie Zhao's skills, she always wore a smile as she served noodles, cleared tables, and washed dishes, doing everything well and fast.

"Zhou Yan's noodles must be delicious. The customers all praise them and drink every drop of the soup." While washing dishes, Zhao Hong said happily, "Those people in the village were just talking nonsense! Zhou Yan's restaurant is doing great business! Fourth Aunt, you're truly lucky."

Zhao Tieying beamed at that, the corners of her lips lifting as she said, "Business has only gotten better these past two days since we switched to selling noodles."

The bricklayers arrived at the restaurant right on time. A tractor from the brickworks delivered three hundred bricks and unloaded them outside the entrance, while the other materials arrived one after another.

Zhou Yan gestured with the bricklayers over the stove's position, holding a rough sketch he had stayed up all night drawing, with every dimension marked out.

He planned to build the stove just inside the restaurant entrance, on the side closer to the Textile Factory gate. That way it would be eye-catching without obstructing customers coming in and out.

The bricklayers were veteran craftsmen. The stoves in the back kitchen of Zhou Erwa Restaurant had been built by the master and apprentice pair, and their workmanship was renowned throughout the surrounding villages.

After hearing Zhou Yan's requirements, they had him put down the drawing and immediately got to work.

The Factory Canteen office door was tightly shut.

Wang Defa sat behind his desk with a gloomy expression. Looking at the plump woman beside him, whose hair had been curled into waves, he asked in a lowered voice, "There's nothing wrong with the accounts, right?"

"No problem. I spent all night checking and altering them yesterday. I guarantee no one will find anything." Sun Meili reached out and brushed the white dust off Wang Defa's shoulder, smiling with ease. "Old Wang, why are you so nervous? Even if Wang Qi had a hundred times the nerve, he wouldn't dare rat you out."

"This is hard to say. We have to prepare for the worst." Wang Defa shook his head, then asked, "What did Chief Zheng say about Wang Laowu and his wife?"

"They'll be detained for a few days, and they definitely won't get out of paying a fine. Gao Tianlei is stubborn as hell, so Chief Zheng can't interfere too much.

"Luckily, there wasn't any accident. But since they were caught using meat from diseased pigs, they definitely won't be able to set up a stall at the factory gate anymore. Who would dare eat noodles at their place after that?" Sun Meili smiled and shook her head. "That kid with the restaurant by the gate is the one benefiting. I saw his business this morning when I went to work. There were quite a few bicycles parked outside."

"Even Xiao Lei couldn't stand up to me. What can that kid do with a noodle shop? I'll deal with him later." Wang Defa waved dismissively, lit a cigarette, and added, "For now, have the Supply and Marketing Cooperative keep delivering meat. We'll talk again once this blows over."

"Fine." Sun Meili nodded, swaying her fat hips as she sat on Wang Defa's lap. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she said, "My husband's away on a business trip, Old Wang. Tonight..."

The stove was finished in a single day. Its surface had been leveled with cement, making it smooth and attractive... at least by the standards of the time.

The large stove, fitted with a wok a meter in diameter, was certainly conspicuous standing at the entrance.

The stove had been raised, with the wok rim a meter off the ground. It looked taller and more imposing that way, and it was also convenient for blanching beef and offal while standing.

However, the stove could not be used the same day it was built. It needed three days to dry.

Over the next three days, Zhou Yan spent his spare time teaching his mother how to make Qiaojiao Beef.

He was in charge of simmering the beef bone broth. As long as the cooking times for the different kinds of offal were timed properly, Qiaojiao Beef was basically done. There really was not much technique to it.

That little secret recipe was all in this pot of broth.

Comrade Zhao Tieying could be considered an old hand in the soup-pot business. She only had to blanch the beef and tripe, remove the beef intestines and tendons on time, and control the portions. She picked it up very quickly.

After three days, she was already capable of handling things on her own and was more than able to manage the stove at the entrance.

During that time, Zhou Yan also made a trip to Jiazhou's city center. He planned to order a neon GG sign, but after hearing the quoted price, he decisively turned right and bought a bucket of paint and a brush from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative next door.

That evening, Zhou Yan soaked the dried bamboo shoots as usual, then took the paint and brush from the storage room.

He had already painted the outward-facing side of the stove with a layer of white lime. First, he used a pencil to mark out six squares according to the dimensions. Then he dipped the brush in red paint and wrote six large characters: "Zhou's Qiaojiao Beef."

The characters were square and neat, yet every stroke carried considerable force.

Next, Zhou Yan switched to a fine brush and used black ink to briefly write about Qiaojiao Beef's origins and benefits below.

He especially mentioned an old Chinese medicine doctor surnamed Luo, who hung a pot to brew medicinal soup. After adding Chinese herbs to a pot of beef offal soup, he discovered that it was delicious and could prevent and treat illness. Customers came in an endless stream, and with no seats available, those eating while standing got into the habit of propping one foot on the crossbar beneath the tables. That was how it got the name Qiaojiao Beef.

That was right. This was the simple sign Zhou Yan had made, and it was also a GG.

Whether this story could take root in people's hearts would determine if he could overturn the ingrained low-end image of soup pots and win recognition for Qiaojiao Beef among the Textile Factory workers.

Of course, it was not made up. It was a genuine ancestral tradition.

And Comrade Zhou Miao had already verified that drinking a steaming bowl of beef offal soup after catching a chill really did drive out the cold.

After putting everything away, Zhou Yan took a cold shower, then returned early to his warm bed. He pulled a wooden box out from beneath the bed and began counting his savings.

The noodle shop's business had stabilized over the past three days. Besides Textile Factory workers, people from town had come to try it as well. They could sell out of one hundred bowls of noodles every day, and the income was very steady.

After deducting the 71.2 yuan spent on building the stove, he now had savings of 173.8 yuan.

Inside the wooden box were stacks of bills bound with rubber bands, mostly ten-cent, twenty-cent, and one-yuan notes. There were only two ten-yuan bills.

Compared with the 3.87 yuan he had when he first arrived, he felt far more secure now.

He still owed a mountain of debt, but he was confident he could pay it all off within three months.

He was now a poor bastard with prospects!

After recording the accounts, Zhou Yan burrowed back under the covers. Before sleeping, he opened the panel and took a glance:

[Player: Zhou Yan]

[Profession: Chef]

[Wealth: -556.52]

[Professional Skills]:

Knife Skills (Intermediate): 9964/10000 (Your knife skills are enough to handle most dish requirements)

Heat Control (Intermediate): 2468/10000 (Still need more practice with cooking)

Seasoning (Intermediate): 2695/10000 (Salt King, go a little easier)

Eloquence (Advanced): 88889/100000 (A pig rooting through a door curtain—all thanks to its mouth)

[Mastered Dishes]:

Double-Pepper Beef Tossed Noodles (Advanced): 99999/100000

Braised Beef Noodles (Advanced): 99999/100000

Braised Pork Rib Noodles (Advanced): 99999/100000

Pickled Mustard Greens (Advanced): 99999/100000

Qiaojiao Beef (Advanced): 99999/100000

Steamed Basket Rice (Advanced): 99999/100000

Smashed Cucumber (Intermediate): 1871/10000

...

Special Skill: Food Appraisal (Master): 999999/1000000 (Cannot be upgraded)

[Main Quest: Become a God of Cooking! Become famous across the world!]

[Wealth Marketplace]: Unlocks when Wealth reaches 1000.

His knife skills, heat control, and seasoning had all improved. His Wealth was moving toward positive territory. Everything was flourishing!

Just as dawn was breaking, Chef Zhou headed out early to buy ingredients.

Today, he had contracted the beef intestines and tripe from the cow his father slaughtered, along with ten jin of beef tendon and an extra two jin of hanging tenderloin.

He was not certain he could sell it all, but he had to make a strong showing on the first day. Anything that did not sell would be given to customers that evening for them to try. He would establish sales channels and a reputation first.

Now that his wallet had grown thicker, he could afford a certain amount of early investment, and he had more marketing methods available to him.

The offal and beef tendon cost thirty cents per jin, thirty jin in total. His father charged him at cost, and Zhou Yan did not stand on ceremony. Once he made money, he could give Old Zhou a little private spending money.

The cost of the offal, beef, and Chinese herbs came to around fifteen yuan, not counting firewood and seasonings.

Even if he lost every cent, he could afford it.

But as long as he built up a reputation, Qiaojiao Beef's profit margin would be far higher than noodles', and it could also be served quickly enough.

A bowl of Qiaojiao Beef was priced at sixty cents. Each bowl used three liang of offal and two qian of beef. The meat cost came to twelve cents, and including the herbs, seasonings, and firewood, the total cost would not exceed twenty cents.

The gross profit margin could reach sixty percent, slightly higher than noodles.

But the money was not easy to earn.

Old Zhou got up at three in the morning to slaughter the cow. By four-thirty, Auntie Zhao was already washing and processing the offal by the Qingyi River. After bringing it back to the restaurant, it still had to be washed again with well water.

"Soup pots in Suji usually sell for twenty or thirty cents. Zhou Jie charges forty cents, which is already considered expensive. You're selling yours for sixty cents. Can this price really sell?" Zhao Tieying stood beside the stove, watching Zhou Yan put beef bones into the large iron pot, her voice carrying a trace of concern.