The Old Lady's Great Wisdom

"Uncle, I'll study hard!" Zhou Lihui said solemnly, his eyes shining with an unprecedented passion for learning.

Zhou Fei and Zhao Hong smiled with satisfaction.

They had both found Zhou Yan's cooking incredibly delicious. If Huihui learned from him, he definitely would not turn out badly.

Whether he helped out at a restaurant or opened one himself in the future, at least he would have a path to follow.

Zhou Yan opened the package Ma Xingye had brought. Inside were two bottles of Tianfu Cola and a bag of White Rabbit Creamy Candy.

He handed one bottle to the Zhou Lihui brothers and the other to Zhou Momo.

Then he gave each of them a handful of White Rabbit Creamy Candy.

"Brother Fei, this is the eighty yuan I borrowed from you when I opened the restaurant. Since you and Sister-in-law are both here today, I'll pay you back." Zhou Yan took out the eight ten-yuan bills he had prepared long ago and handed them to Zhou Fei.

Zhou Fei did not take them, waving his hand instead. "Zhou Yan, we don't need the money urgently. Keep it for now. There are plenty of places where you'll need money running a restaurant."

"Exactly, use it first," Zhao Hong added.

"Brother Fei, Sister-in-law, I don't like owing people money. If I have some money in my pocket, I want to pay it back first. Otherwise, I can't even sleep at night." Zhou Yan smiled. "Take it. If I really need money later, it won't be too late to borrow from you again."

"Alright, then we'll take it." Zhao Hong nodded, then said, "If you need money, just tell us. We don't have much, but we can still come up with a few dozen or a hundred yuan."

Only then did Zhou Fei accept the money.

"Alright. We're family, so I definitely won't stand on ceremony." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.

By the time they finished clearing the dishes, it was already dark outside.

Two bicycles, seven people.

Zhou Yan took a flashlight and rode Zhou Lihui and Zhou Momo back to Zhou Village.

"It's so dark. Why not stay home for the night?" Zhao Tieying lifted Zhou Momo down and looked at Zhou Yan.

"The cash box is still at the restaurant. If some little thief steals it, all our work these past days will have been for nothing." Zhou Yan smiled, reaching out to pat Zhou Momo's head. "Tomorrow, Big Brother will take you to Grandma's house to play. Is there anything you want to eat?"

Zhou Momo shook her head and pulled out a White Rabbit Creamy Candy from her pocket. "I have Big Bunny."

"No more buying candy." Zhao Tieying glared at him. "You still need to watch your money. Don't spend recklessly just because you have a little. You'll need money to marry a wife someday."

"That's right, your mother is right." Old Zhou echoed his wife.

"Got it." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile, then asked, "Besides fish, what else should I bring Grandma tomorrow?"

"Your grandma loves drinking. Go to Old Zhang by the bridge and get her some liquor. She'll definitely be happy." Zhao Tieying said, "Get the eighty-fen-per-jin kind. That's the one she likes."

"Alright." Zhou Yan nodded and rode away.

"That kid's pretty capable. He's already paying back his debts. He has some sense," Zhou Miao said with a smile as he watched the flashlight beam disappear at the mouth of the alley.

"If this business keeps going, he can probably finish paying everything off in a month. Then we won't have to worry along with him." Zhao Tieying smiled too.

"Was business good today?"

"You don't know the half of it. A group of college students came today, all Xia Yao's classmates. Thirty people spent two hundred yuan in one day..."

"Just let Huihui learn cooking from Zhou Yan. It's a skill, anyway. He has no interest in slaughtering cattle with you."

"Alright. Zhou Yan can keep him in line."

Zhao Hong and Zhou Fei were also discussing their son learning to cook.

"Does that count as taking a master? What do we need to buy for an apprenticeship? Zhou Yan may not stand on ceremony with us, but we can't forget proper etiquette." Zhao Hong looked at Zhou Fei. "Tomorrow morning when you slaughter the cattle, ask your father what to do. We'll do whatever should be done."

"Alright."

When Zhou Yan returned, he went for a swim first, then showered back at the restaurant and recorded the day's accounts.

Today, he had sold 160 bowls of noodles and 100 bowls of Qiaojiao Beef, for a turnover of 156 yuan.

The teachers and students from Sichuan Fine Arts Academy had contributed nearly sixty yuan. Their spending power was truly impressive.

After deducting today's ingredient purchases, the Puffed Rice Candy, and the eighty yuan he had repaid Zhou Fei, Zhou Yan had 161.24 yuan left.

Tomorrow, he was going to visit his grandmother. He planned to repay the one hundred yuan he had borrowed from Fifth Uncle, and keeping a few dozen yuan for expenses would be enough.

He took out Zhou Fei's IOU from the cash box and placed it separately in the cardboard box on the floor beside his bed. When the final IOU went into that box, it would mean his debts were settled.

He liked that feeling.

He shoved the cash box back under the bed.

After turning off the light and lying down, he first glanced at his panel before sleeping.

[Player: Zhou Yan]

[Profession: Chef]

[Wealth: -298.52]

[Professional Skills]:

Knife Skills (Advanced): 600/100000 (Tattoo artist with his eyes closed—showing off right in my face)

Heat Control (Intermediate): 3468/10000 (I don't take the subway in the morning—too crowded)

Seasoning (Intermediate): 3695/10000 (Your QQ Farm notification went off—the vegetables died)

Eloquence (Advanced): 88889/100000 (Zhuge Liang debating the scholars—quite the talker)

[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 Rice in a Pot (Advanced): 99999/100000

Agastache Carp (Advanced): 99999/100000

Smashed Cucumber (Intermediate): 1871/10000

...

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

[Main Quest: Conquer the Textile Factory: Quest Progress: 462/1000]

[Side Quest: Qiaojiao Beef Heritage. Quest Progress: Incomplete]

[Wealth Marketplace]: Unlocks when Wealth reaches 1000.

...

His Wealth was nearly positive, his Knife Skills had successfully advanced to Advanced, and both his Heat Control and Seasoning had improved noticeably.

But...

Had the system updated its comments?

That little mouth of its was seriously venomous.

Wealth was directly tied to turnover, and spending the money he earned did not affect it. It was clearly tracked independently.

That made Zhou Yan start looking forward to the Wealth Marketplace.

It was like earning money once but getting to spend it twice. It felt like accumulating points.

After closing the system panel, Zhou Yan fell asleep instantly.

The next morning, before dawn had fully broken, Chef Zhou headed out...

"Huh?"

"I'm not working today!"

Zhou Yan stood at the restaurant entrance, somewhat disoriented.

Having grown accustomed to the schedule of a workhorse, he had actually gotten up early even on his day off.

He pushed his bicycle back, then went out and ran a lap around the Textile Factory. After returning drenched in sweat and taking a shower, the sky was fully bright. Only then did he ride out to the market.

Today was October 27, the market day at Duihe Market.

Riding along the Qingyi River, with the autumn breeze carrying a slight chill, he saw vendors along the road carrying shoulder poles or riding Twenty-Eight Bicycles piled high with goods toward the market.

As he passed the bridgehead, Zhou Yan bought two jin of liquor.

After riding a while longer, the street gradually grew more crowded, with stalls lining both sides.

At a barbershop stall, a customer lay in a bamboo chair. A porcelain basin held steaming soapy water, while a razor whispered over his face. The customer narrowed his eyes in enjoyment.

A bamboo craftsman slapped a newly woven bamboo basket while haggling with a customer. Ironware stalls displayed hoes, machetes, and all manner of hawkers' cries poured into his ears at once.

"Yams for sale, yams for sale! Stew them with chicken, stew them with duck, stew them with pork trotters! Good for the liver, good for the kidneys, good for the brain! Kids who eat them get into college! Old folks who eat them can ride motorcycles!"

"My knife can chop ducks, chop bamboo, chop little thieves! One knife up the mountain, and it'll chop an entire mountain black!"

"Rat poison, rat poison! Don't be afraid of having too many rats, be afraid of having no rats! Rats die fast, rats die plenty, rats drop dead on the spot after passing by! One minute and six seconds, not even the King of Hell can save them..."

"Mandarin oranges, mandarin oranges, big and sweet mandarin oranges! Sweet all the way down your throat, sweet to your belly button, refreshing to the soles of your feet!"

Zhou Yan pushed his bicycle around the market once. By the time he came out, there were two large crucian carp and a rack of pork ribs hanging from the handlebars, along with three jin of mandarin oranges at thirty fen per jin and some vegetables. He got on his bicycle and headed toward Zhou Village.

Among the five Zhou brothers, anyone who got married immediately moved out. The old lady would not let them build their homes too close together, saying that distance brought affection, while closeness bred resentment; relying on each other too much would eventually ruin the relationship.

Thus, each family occupied a different direction in the village, gathering only during holidays and festivals.

Back then, people in the village had gossiped about the arrangement behind their backs. Yet after all these years, the five Zhou brothers remained exceptionally close, their wives had almost never quarreled, and the family was tightly united. No one in Zhou Village dared provoke them.

Zhou Yan felt that the old lady possessed great wisdom.

All five daughters-in-law treated her with utmost respect and remembered her kindness.

Zhou Yan went home first and brought Zhou Momo along, then headed toward the end of the village.

The old lady lived in the old house at the village's edge. Fifth Uncle had not married yet and lived with her.

"Brother, these oranges are super sweet." Zhou Momo held half an orange in her hand and turned back to Zhou Yan. "They're really yummy!"

"I'll give you another one in a little while," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"Okay!" Zhou Momo nodded happily.