Recaps

Zhou Yan welcomed his nephews while Xia Yao returned to Jiazhou Textile Factory with a group from Sichuan Fine Arts Academy. At lunchtime, their leader, Su Jun, chose Zhou Erwa Restaurant over the factory canteen, saying he planned to teach his students a lesson there.

• Zhou Momo got her nephews Zhou Lihui and Zhou Lifan to call her Auntie before leading them off to play.
• Zhou Yan noticed Xia Yao among the visiting Sichuan Fine Arts Academy students, and she smiled at him.
• Lin Zhiqiang showed the students around Jiazhou Textile Factory and introduced Zhou Erwa Restaurant and its Qiaojiao Beef.
• Wang Defa welcomed the group to the Factory Canteen, but Su Jun asked whether they could spend their meal allowance elsewhere.
• Su Jun announced that the group would eat at Zhou Erwa Restaurant, surprising the people gathered outside the canteen.

Zhou Yan welcomed Lin Zhiqiang, Su Jun, and more than thirty teachers and students from Sichuan Fine Arts Academy after they chose Zhou Erwa Restaurant over the Factory Canteen. Su Jun then examined Zhou Yan’s outdoor Qiaojiao Beef stove as an example of brand building and asked whether the idea had been Zhou Yan’s.

• Su Jun chose Zhou Erwa Restaurant for the group’s lunch, and Lin Zhiqiang agreed, leaving Wang Defa humiliated as workers mocked the canteen’s food.
• Lin Zhiqiang led the teachers and students to Zhou Erwa Restaurant, drawing curious workers along the way.
• Zhou Yan prepared to serve the group, adding more beef to each portion of Qiaojiao Beef to make it more generous.
• Su Jun asked the students to analyze Zhou Yan’s prominent outdoor stove, its signage, and the aroma of the simmering beef as promotional tools.
• Su Jun described the setup as a representative example of brand building and asked Zhou Yan if it had been his idea.

Su Jun and the visiting university group admired Zhou Yan’s handmade stove sign and ate at his restaurant, where the food impressed the students and professors. The chapter left the restaurant packed with diners praising Zhou Yan’s dishes.

• Su Jun praised Zhou Yan’s handwritten sign and learned that Zhou Yan had designed it to promote the restaurant after he could not afford a neon sign.
• Zhao Tieying seated the visiting students, teasing Wang Chen by calling him “Glasses,” “Chubby,” and other names.
• Xia Yao recommended Zhou Yan’s noodles to her classmates, who teased her about whether she liked him.
• Su Jun explained to Lin Zhiqiang that he had added the factory visit to meet Zhou Yan, who had saved Xia Yao from drowning.
• The university group and factory workers filled the restaurant, then praised the noodles, Qiaojiao Beef, and other dishes as they ate.

Zhou Yan’s restaurant drew a crowd after college students praised its noodles and Qiaojiao Beef, and they arranged to return for dinner. After the busy lunch, Zhou Momo came home muddy with an eel, and Zhao Tieying celebrated her catch instead of scolding her.

• Su Jun, Lin Zhiqiang, and the students praised Zhou Yan’s food, and the group decided to return to Zhou Erwa Restaurant for dinner.
• Xia Yao took dinner orders from the students, while Lin Zhiqiang watched her and Zhou Yan with an indulgent grin.
• Xia Yao told Zhao Tieying that the students would leave for Mountain City the next morning, then walked around Suji Town with Deng Hong and Zhu Yuyu.
• News of the students’ praise brought more customers to the restaurant, where Zhou Yan sold out his noodles and Zhao Tieying reported that they had sold sixty-two servings of Qiaojiao Beef.
• Zhou Momo and her cousins returned muddy from the fields with eels, and Zhao Tieying praised Momo’s catch and offered to make her braised eel for dinner.

Zhou Yan delivered Ma Xingye’s love letter to Xia Yao, who passed it to Deng Hong and learned that Deng Hong’s feelings were returned. After buying ingredients, Zhou Yan went to the docks and told Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai that his soup pot business was beginning to sell.

• Zhou Yan agreed to deliver Ma Xingye’s letter to Deng Hong through Xia Yao.
• Xia Yao briefly mistook the letter for a confession from Zhou Yan before learning it was for Deng Hong.
• Deng Hong excitedly opened Ma Xingye’s love letter after Xia Yao told her he had confessed.
• Zhao Tieying told Zhou Yan to buy puffed rice candy for Xia Yao before she left for Mountain City the next morning.
• Zhou Yan bought beef and ribs, then told Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai at the docks that his soup pot was starting to sell.

After revealing that Qiaojiao Beef had sold exceptionally well at the Textile Factory, Zhou Yan offered to teach Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai his improved recipe. They agreed to learn from him, while Zhou Liangliang secretly set off toward the Textile Factory after hearing about the business.

• Zhou Yan told Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai that he had sold seventy bowls on his first day and expected to sell a hundred bowls at sixty cents each.
• Zhou Liangliang was shocked by Zhou Yan’s sales and price, while Zhou Yan anticipated that other Zhou Village vendors would soon compete at the Textile Factory.
• A side quest appeared, asking Zhou Yan to take on an apprentice and pass down the Qiaojiao Beef recipe, and he accepted it.
• Zhou Yan persuaded Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai to learn his improved recipe, and they agreed to meet him at the restaurant next Monday.
• Zhou Yan left to prepare seasoning for students from Sichuan Fine Arts Academy, while Zhou Liangliang headed toward the Textile Factory and left his wife to mind the stall.

Zhou Yan’s restaurant drew a crowd of textile workers after university students ate there, while Zhou Liangliang decided to start selling noodles and hotpot himself. Zhou Miao arrived with two crucian carp, which Zhou Yan’s system identified as acceptable-quality farmed fish.

• Zhou Yan bought Puffed Rice Candy for Zhou Momo, Zhou Lihui, and Fanwa, then invited Zhou Lihui to learn how to cook.
• Lin Zhiqiang and Su Jun reached a preliminary school-enterprise partnership between Jiazhou Textile Factory and Sichuan Fine Arts Academy to build the factory’s brand.
• After hearing about Zhou Yan’s busy restaurant and seeing workers and students heading there, Zhou Liangliang resolved to sell noodles and hotpot starting the next day.
• University students and textile workers bought out Zhou Yan’s noodles and Qiaojiao Beef, and Zhou Yan told disappointed customers that the restaurant would reopen Monday.
• Xia Yao took Zhou Momo out to play while Zhou Yan’s family finished serving customers.
• Zhou Miao arrived with two crucian carp, and Zhou Yan’s system judged them acceptable-quality farmed fish fed on grain.

Zhou Yan supported Zhou Miao's fishing hobby and helped him prepare an agastache carp dinner, then rode Xia Yao to her guesthouse before she left for Mountain City. Their farewell ended with Xia Yao promising to write to him, while Zhou Yan learned Ma Xingye's courtship had succeeded.

• Zhou Yan accepted a quest to support Zhou Miao as an ingredient supplier and gave him ten yuan to buy fish, promising to repay the family's debts.
• Zhou Miao showed Zhou Yan how to clean eels, and Xia Yao gave Zhou Momo her first doll.
• Zhou Yan gave Xia Yao and her friends bags of Puffed Rice Candy and rode Xia Yao to the guesthouse as they discussed their future plans.
• Xia Yao told Zhou Yan she would write to him, and he asked her to include her address.
• Ma Xingye told Zhou Yan that Deng Hong liked him and gave him a gift before running off.
• Deng Hong and Zhu Yuyu teased Xia Yao about Zhou Yan, and Xia Yao said they were still revolutionary friends while privately admiring him.

Wang Defa blamed Zhou Erwa Restaurant for the Factory Canteen’s falling stir-fry sales and gave Huang Fusheng a week to win customers back, while Xiao Lei openly defied them. Back at the restaurant, Zhou Yan cooked Agastache Carp as his family praised the dish and teased him about Xia Yao.

• Wang Defa scolded Huang Fusheng over the canteen’s surplus ingredients and ordered him to restore lost customers within a week.
• Huang Fusheng suggested that Xiao Lei might be advising Zhou Yan, but Xiao Lei rejected Wang Defa’s authority and insulted both men before leaving.
• Xiao Lei rode past Zhou Erwa Restaurant, smiled, and acknowledged that Zhou Yan had skills.
• Zhou Yan returned to the restaurant, where Zhao Tieying and Zhao Hong questioned him about taking Xia Yao home and teased him about marrying her.
• Zhou Yan fried and simmered crucian carp with pickled ingredients, then finished the dish with agastache and scallions as his family admired its aroma.

Zhou Yan’s family praised his Agastache Carp and Braised Eel over dinner, and Zhou Lihui said he wanted to become a chef instead of following his father into cattle slaughtering. Zhou Yan agreed to let him try learning at the restaurant, provided he learned to read and do basic arithmetic.

• Zhao Tieying and the family enjoyed Zhou Yan’s Agastache Carp, praising its flavor and finishing the fish and sauce.
• Zhou Miao suggested Zhou Yan take two fish to their grandmother, and Zhou Yan agreed.
• Zhou Lihui told the family he wanted to learn cooking from Zhou Yan rather than slaughter cattle.
• Zhou Yan questioned Zhou Lihui about his decision, then offered to teach him at the restaurant on Saturdays as a trial.
• Zhou Yan told Zhou Lihui he had to learn to read and master basic arithmetic before he could become his apprentice.

Zhou Yan paid back Zhou Fei, reviewed his restaurant earnings and system progress, then went to Duihe Market to buy food and liquor before taking Zhou Momo to visit their grandmother. The chapter left them heading to the old house at the village’s edge.

• Zhou Yan repaid Zhou Fei the eighty yuan he had borrowed, while Zhou Lihui said he would study cooking with Zhou Yan.
• Zhou Yan recorded his sales, counted his remaining money, and checked his system panel before going to sleep.
• Zhou Yan woke early on his day off, ran around the Textile Factory, and rode to Duihe Market to buy liquor, fish, ribs, oranges, and vegetables.
• Zhou Yan reflected on how the old lady had kept the five Zhou brothers’ families close by having them live apart.
• Zhou Yan brought Zhou Momo along to visit their grandmother, and she happily ate an orange on the way.

Zhou Yan visited his grandmother Zhang Shufen with Zhou Momo, shared a meal and heard stories about his grandfather. When his system offered a quest to collect Zhang Shufen’s prized old braising stock, Zhou Yan asked to take it for his restaurant, and she angrily refused.

• Zhou Yan and Zhou Momo arrived at Zhang Shufen’s home after passing Zhou Qi, whom Zhang Shufen had fed sweet potato porridge.
• Zhou Momo greeted Zhang Shufen and left candy by the photograph of her grandfather, Zhou Yi.
• Zhang Shufen advised Zhou Yan to keep his restaurant earnings quiet and told him about Zhou Yi’s wartime service.
• Zhou Yan discovered Zhang Shufen’s decades-old braising stock and received a system quest offering a braised-food guide if he collected it.
• Zhou Yan asked to take the braising stock to his restaurant, and Zhang Shufen shouted at him to leave it alone.

Zhou Yan tried to get his grandmother’s treasured aged brine but persuaded her to teach him the family braising craft and help him make his own. He then welcomed his uncle Zhou Weiguo home and reflected on the family’s inheritance of both culinary skill and military service.

• Zhou Yan asked Zhang Shufen for her aged brine, but she refused to hand over the pot and threatened to call Tie Ying and Zhou Miao to beat him.
• Zhang Shufen told Zhou Yan how the family’s braising recipe had been passed down and how she had used it to support her family.
• Zhang Shufen agreed to teach Zhou Yan how to make and maintain brine, and told him to buy the ingredients and bring her to his shop.
• Zhou Weiguo returned from weeding the fields, and Zhou Momo welcomed him with candy and oranges.
• Zhou Yan noticed Zhou Weiguo’s limp and remembered that his uncle had been wounded in the Sino-Vietnamese War and received a first-class merit award.

Zhou Yan cooked Agastache Carp and other dishes for his family, earning his grandmother’s approval and discovering how exceptional her hot-braised beef intestines were. After dinner, he urged Zhou Weiguo to reconsider his decision to farm and pursue a job serving the people, leaving his uncle newly hopeful.

• Zhou Yan prepared Agastache Carp, braised spare ribs, and hot-braised beef intestines, while his grandmother praised his improving cooking skills.
• Zhou Weiguo, Zhou Momo, and the old lady ate Zhou Yan’s dishes, and the old lady approved the fish for his menu.
• The old lady mentioned that Zhou Ming’s wedding banquet was scheduled for the following Sunday, and Zhou Weiguo said the arrangements were settled.
• Zhou Weiguo asked about Zhou Yan’s restaurant business, and Zhou Yan said he was expanding his offerings and beginning to make money.
• Zhou Yan encouraged Zhou Weiguo to use his military experience in a township or factory job instead of spending his life farming.
• Zhou Weiguo reconsidered his future and murmured that he could serve the people, while the old lady listened with tearful eyes.

Zhou Yan persuaded Zhou Weiguo to seek work and repaid the money he had borrowed. He planned a new braised-dish and stir-fry menu for the restaurant, then learned Lin Zhiqiang wanted to bring guests there the next day.

• Zhou Weiguo agreed to visit the Personnel Bureau after Zhou Yan encouraged him to pursue a meaningful life.
• Zhou Yan repaid Zhou Weiguo one hundred yuan and received a list of spices and bones from the old lady for braising stock.
• Zhou Yan returned home, where Old Zhou was secretly turning embroidery needles into fishhooks, and then headed back to the restaurant.
• Zhou Yan calculated prices for new braised dishes and stir-fries, deciding to launch the menu the next day.
• Lin Zhiqiang asked Zhou Yan whether the restaurant would offer signature dishes besides noodles for a meal he planned to host.

Zhou Yan prepared Zhou Erwa Restaurant’s new braised-dish and stir-fry menu while arranging a cautious supply of ingredients and fish for its launch. Zhou Liangliang moved his soup-and-noodle stall across the street to compete, and Auntie Zhao disapproved as the first day of the new menu began.

• Lin Zhiqiang ordered five dishes for a dinner with his family the following evening, and Zhou Yan told him the restaurant would switch to braised dishes and stir-fries at lunch and dinner.
• Zhou Yan made wooden menu signs, set prices, arranged for crucian carp delivery, and posted a notice that noodles would only be served in the morning.
• Luo Weidong inspected the new menu, and Zhou Yan said he would come back to try the fish.
• Zhou Liangliang and Wu Guihua moved their soup-pot-and-noodle stall across from Zhou Yan’s restaurant, planning to undercut his prices.
• Before dawn, Zhou Yan bought limited ingredients for the menu launch, then brought Auntie Zhao to the restaurant, where she criticized the rival stall’s move.

Zhou Yan taught Zhou Jie how to make Qiaojiao Beef while Zhou Lihui helped at the restaurant and learned the basics of cooking. When Zhou Liangliang and Wu Guihua opened a cheaper noodle stall across the street, workers rejected their poorly prepared food and went to Zhou Erwa Restaurant instead.

• Zhou Yan dismissed Zhou Jie's anger over Zhou Liangliang moving his stall across the street and invited him to learn how to make Qiaojiao Beef.
• Zhou Jie and Zhou Lihui became Zhou Yan's apprentices for the morning, with Jie taking notes on the stock and Lihui carrying water and helping in the kitchen.
• Zhou Yan posted a notice that Zhou Erwa Restaurant would serve noodles in the morning and braised and stir-fried dishes at lunch and dinner.
• Zhou Liangliang and Wu Guihua advertised noodles for fifty cents a bowl, drawing workers curious about their challenge to Zhou Yan.
• Workers recoiled from the gamey smell and unappetizing toppings at Zhou Liangliang's stall, criticized the food, and headed to Zhou Erwa Restaurant.

Zhou Yan’s restaurant drew a full crowd, and Zhou Jie learned how Zhou Yan and Zhao Tieying prioritized customers and made the food feel worth its price. The chapter ended with Zhou Jie asking to learn Zhou Yan’s knife skills while Huang Fusheng lectured the Factory Canteen staff and someone openly mocked Wang Defa.

• Zhao Tieying arranged shared seating and charmed customers as Zhou Yan’s restaurant sold seventy-seven bowls of noodles, while the rival stall run by Wu Guihua and Zhou Liangliang sold none.
• Zhou Jie praised Zhao Tieying’s service, then tasted Zhou Yan’s Double-Pepper Beef Tossed Noodles and realized why customers loved the restaurant.
• Zhou Yan agreed to buy chuck flap from Zhou Jie’s family at market price and explained how thin beef slices made Qiaojiao Beef seem generous without raising costs much.
• Zhou Jie admired Zhou Yan’s knife work and asked to learn how to slice one hundred and fifty pieces of beef from one jin.
• Huang Fusheng lectured the Factory Canteen staff about the declining reputation of their food and blamed Zhou Erwa Restaurant for taking customers.
• An unnamed speaker mocked Wang Defa’s claim that he had lost weight, leaving the kitchen silent.

Zhou Erwa Restaurant began selling stir-fries and braised dishes, and customers praised the food after Wang Wei explained the prices. At the Factory Canteen, Huang Fusheng’s cooking drew furious complaints from workers.

• Xiao Lei defended Zhou Yan and criticized Huang Fusheng, while Wang Defa told Huang to focus on competing with Zhou Erwa Restaurant.
• Wang Wei, Wen Ling, and Zheng Xiuhui visited Zhou Erwa Restaurant, where Wang explained its prices and ordered Two-Pepper Beef and Qiaojiao Beef.
• The women praised Zhou Yan’s food, and other customers began ordering dishes as well.
• Workers at the Factory Canteen complained that Huang Fusheng’s Kung Pao Chicken and Garlic Sauce Pork were badly cooked, and Zhao Dong demanded that Huang taste them himself.

Workers at the Textile Factory protested the cafeteria’s terrible food, while Zhou Yan’s restaurant prospered from his Qiaojiao Beef and Zhou Jie’s progress toward learning the recipe. Zhou Weiguo visited after the Personnel Bureau told him to wait for a work assignment, and the chapter ended with Meng Anhe questioning why Lin Zhiqiang had chosen Zhou Yan’s restaurant for dinner with the factory director.

• Zhao Dong’s complaints sparked workers’ anger at the cafeteria, and Huang Fusheng grabbed a cleaver before backing down when the other chefs mocked him.
• Deputy Director Liu Yusheng calmed the workers and privately warned Zhao Dong to consider the consequences of his methods.
• Zhou Jie praised Zhou Yan’s Qiaojiao Beef after the restaurant sold sixty-four bowls, and Zhou Yan told him to practice for two more days before graduating.
• Zhou Weiguo visited the restaurant after the Personnel Bureau gave him no decision, brought Zhou Momo gold-coin chocolates, and discussed his future work assignment with Zhou Yan.
• Zhou Liangliang and Wu Guihua argued after their relocated shop failed to sell any noodles or soup.
• Zhou Weiguo and Zhou Jie left after dinner, and Meng Anhe asked Lin Zhiqiang why he had chosen Zhou Yan’s restaurant for dinner with the factory director.

Lin Zhiqiang and Meng Anhe discussed Zhou Yan’s growing restaurant and his possible conflict with the Factory Canteen’s Wang Defa. As the restaurant drew customers and Zhou Liangliang’s bargain food went unsold, Lin brought Director Wang and his family to dine at Zhou Yan’s restaurant.

• Lin Zhiqiang told Meng Anhe that Zhou Yan had expanded his restaurant, and they discussed Wang Defa’s likely resentment and Lin’s plans to introduce Zhou Yan to Director Wang.
• Meng Anhe teased Lin Zhiqiang about becoming Zhou Yan’s uncle-in-law, and he said Zhou Yan was dependable before she pressed him about the study visit.
• Zhou Liangliang slashed his noodle and hot-pot prices, but Textile Factory workers avoided his stall because they feared the food was unsafe.
• Zhou Yan told Zhao Tieying that workers distrusted Zhou Liangliang’s unusually cheap food after the diseased-pork incident.
• Wang Hongliang and his family arrived at Zhou Erwa Restaurant with Lin Zhiqiang and Meng Anhe, and Zhou Yan welcomed them inside.

Zhou Yan hosted Wang Hongliang, Li Meilin, Lin Zhiqiang, and Meng Anhe at his restaurant, where his polite manner and clean, orderly establishment impressed them. The factory leaders and workers gathered to try the food, and the chapter ended as Wang Hongliang admired the first dish, Two-Pepper Beef.

• Zhou Yan explained that his Qiaojiao Beef broth came from his family recipe and that he had added his own improvements.
• Wang Hongliang and Lin Zhiqiang agreed to order every dish on the small menu, while other factory managers arrived and joined them.
• Zhou Momo charmed the adults and children, and Wang Hao, Lin Jingxing, and Lin Bingwen gave her their candies and snacks.
• Wang Hongliang learned that Zhou Yan had trained under Xiao Lei and privately resolved to judge his cooking carefully while giving him a chance.
• Zhao Hong served Two-Pepper Beef, and Wang Hongliang praised its appearance and aroma.

Zhou Yan’s dishes impressed Wang Hongliang, who praised the Two-Pepper Beef, Braised Spare Ribs, Beef Braised with Dried Bamboo Shoots, and Qiaojiao Beef. The customers watched as Zhou Yan served the Agastache Carp, and Wang Hongliang prepared to taste it.

• Wang Hongliang tasted Zhou Yan’s Two-Pepper Beef and said it was better than Rongleyuan’s.
• Li Meilin and the children tried the Braised Spare Ribs, while Wang Hongliang praised the Beef Braised with Dried Bamboo Shoots.
• Wang Hongliang and Li Meilin tasted the Qiaojiao Beef soup, and Wang Hongliang praised its broth, ingredients, and dipping sauce.
• Customers heard Wang Hongliang praise the Qiaojiao Beef, and one customer ordered a serving.
• Zhou Yan served the Agastache Carp as customers watched, and Wang Hongliang said he would compare it with versions made by first-class chefs.

Wang Hongliang praised Zhou Yan’s Agastache Carp and other dishes, bringing a rush of customers to Zhou Erwa Restaurant. After the restaurant sold out, the Lin family headed home joking about cooking and having another child.

• Wang Hongliang tasted Zhou Yan’s Agastache Carp and praised it as being as good as dishes from Chengdu’s famous restaurants.
• Meng Anhe tasted Zhou Yan’s dishes and recognized his exceptional cooking skill.
• Diners rushed to order, and Auntie Zhao announced that the restaurant’s dishes had sold out.
• Wang Hongliang told Lin Zhiqiang he planned to return and learn from Zhou Yan.
• Lin Bingwen asked when Lin Jingxing would cook for him, and Lin Jingxing asked Meng Anhe when she would have a little sister.

After the restaurant’s successful first day, Zhou Yan planned to stock up and use the growing business to repay the family’s debts. The family celebrated their progress, while Zhou Liangliang and Wu Guihua packed up their failed stall and left.

• Zhou Yan shared a substantial dinner with his family and discussed thanking Deputy Director Lin with pickled sour radish.
• Zhou Yan ordered beef for the next day, expecting word of the restaurant’s success to bring more Textile Factory customers.
• Zhou Momo asked Zhou Yan to take her out to play, but Zhao Tieying told her it was too late and she agreed to wait until morning.
• Zhao Tieying mocked Zhou Liangliang and Wu Guihua as they loaded their belongings onto a pedicab and left their stall.
• Zhou Yan tallied 160.8 yuan in revenue and about eighty-six yuan in profit, and hoped to repay the family’s remaining debts before Zhou Hao’s wedding banquet.
• Zhao Tieying and Old Zhou celebrated Zhou Yan’s success and shared affectionate words at home.