With Zhou Jie manning the pots, Mrs. Zhao was free to focus on greeting custors. The young factory workers, addressed affectionately as "sweetie," quickly placed their orders.
’A bowl of noodles for sixty cents sells this well?’
’They didn’t even hesitate.’
’A small plate of pickled vegetables can make custors that happy?’
Zhou Jie watched from the side, completely stunned. He felt like his entire understanding of the business was being reshaped.
"Mmm! This beef with dried bamboo shoots is so good!"
"You have to try my pork ribs, they’re absolutely divine!"
"The broth is so rich. It must be a bone broth, right? And the noodles are so chewy. This is the best noodle dish I’ve ever had!"
"No wonder the college students love this place. They really know good food!"
"Setting everything else aside, just the tantalizing aroma of beef wafting from that soup pot... it’s a completely different world from what the place across the street is making."
It was clear the custors were thoroughly satisfied, their praises ringing out from ti to ti.
Perhaps because of the earlier announcent, the restaurant was especially packed today. Before long, every table was taken.
Zhou Yan had laid down the rules: no sharing tables for lunch or dinner, but it was fine for the morning noodle crowd.
Zhou Yan had written this rule in a conspicuous spot above the nu on the wall.
Sharing a table for a bowl of noodles was no big deal.
You could get a glimpse of the relaxed nature of Sichuan and Chongqing people from their "bench noodle" culture.
A long bench set up outside a shop, a small stool for your bowl, and a crowd of people slurping noodles—it was a sight rarely witnessed elsewhere.
For lunch and dinner, so custors were there for gatherings or to discuss business. They’d order several dishes, and it would be completely inappropriate to seat a stranger at their table.
Of course, if a group of coworkers wanted to share a table and split the bill for a few dishes, that was a different matter. The restaurant certainly wouldn’t stop them.
"Sweetie, there’s an empty spot over here. Is it okay if this young lady joins your table?"
"Oh, you’re the best! Your pickled vegetables are gone, let get you so more."
"Young man, co sit over here. You four will fit perfectly at this table."
Mrs. Zhao had a keen eye, proactively arranging the shared tables to avoid any awkwardness. She seated won with won, n with n, and let young couples sit as they pleased—the custor’s preference was always the priority.
This small touch significantly improved the custors’ impression of Mrs. Zhao. When they called out her na, their voices held a new warmth.
Zhou Jie watched from the side, nodding repeatedly in surprise and admiration.
’Fourth Auntie was a notoriously difficult woman back in Zhou Village, nicknad the Invincible, Iron-Mouthed Iron Maiden. I can’t believe she’s this good with words, coaxing every custor into smiling and paying so gladly.’
In this era, the staff at state-run restaurants and factory cafeterias were arrogant, looking down their noses at everyone and paying no mind to the custors.
You’d go for a al, pay your money, and still leave full of frustration.
Even private restaurants and street vendors were often reserved and cold, their mindset not yet having shifted.
Zhou Jie had always considered himself a smooth talker who maintained good relationships with his regular custors.
But after seeing Mrs. Zhao in action today, he felt like a complete rookie.
’Fourth Auntie, I want to learn this!’
Zhou Jie was starting to figure it out.
Zhou Yan’s restaurant was doing well, and his sixty-cent noodles were a bestseller, not just because they tasted great.
He put the custors first!
"Why did all the workers go to Zhou Yan Restaurant? We’re selling ours for fifty cents a bowl, and they don’t even bother asking!" Wu Guihua said, pulling at her hair in utter confusion.
"Yeah, why? What went wrong?" Zhou Liangliang was just as bewildered.
He knew their first day selling noodles wasn’t perfect, but for the workers not to even give them a chance by sitting down for a taste? It just didn’t make sense.
Back when he had a stall at the docks, he had moved it right next to Zhou Jie’s. By being ten cents cheaper, his business had been pretty good for the first few days, and he’d poached quite a few custors from Zhou Jie.
This was completely different from what was happening today.
Buying new pots and a stove, a pile of ceramic noodle bowls, and then all the ingredients this morning had completely drained their savings.
The couple, Zhou Liangliang and Wu Guihua, began to panic.
Zhao Tieying took down the signs for the Minced Beef Noodles and the Beef with Dried Bamboo Shoot Noodles and hung them in the "Sold Out" section.
By the ti the work shift started, only two servings of Braised Pork Rib Noodles were left unsold.
During this ti, Zhou Yan had cooked a bowl of Braised Pork Rib Noodles for Zhou Lihui, who ate it before leaving for school at 7:30.
So, in total, the restaurant had sold 77 orders of noodles this morning, setting a new record and perfectly eting Zhou Yan’s expectations.
"Fourth Auntie, you’re incredible," Zhou Jie said with admiration as he helped clear the bowls and chopsticks.
"Without Mrs. Zhao, this place would fall apart."
"What’s so incredible about ? I just shout a little," Zhao Tieying said, shaking her head with a smile, not thinking she had done anything special.
"Co on, let’s have breakfast too," Zhou Yan said, carrying out four bowls of noodles: two Braised Pork Rib Noodles and two freshly stir-fried Double Pepper Beef Noodles.
"I’ll have the soup noodles. My mouth is parched from shouting all morning," Zhao Tieying said, taking a bowl of Braised Pork Rib Noodles first.
"I want to try the Double Pepper Beef Noodles. Everyone who had it said it was great," Zhou Jie said, choosing the mixed noodles.
Zhao Hong chose the soup noodles, so Zhou Yan took the remaining bowl of mixed noodles.
"Whoa! These mixed noodles are unbelievably fragrant! How did you stir-fry the beef to be so tender and flavorful? And sothing’s different about these noodles... how are they so chewy? So delicious?" Zhou Jie’s eyes went wide as saucers, his face a mask of disbelief.
He had thought the other custors were being overly dramatic, exclaiming like that over a bowl of noodles.
Now, he questioned them, understood them, beca one of them, and surpassed them!
The portion of topping was so generous! There was a hefty amount of at, with green and red peppers making up the rest. With this much topping, you got a bit of everything in every bite. It was incredibly satisfying.
Was sixty cents a bowl expensive?
Not at all!
At this price, Zhou Yan’s profit wasn’t even half the cost.
He was being incredibly generous.
After finishing the noodles, Zhou Jie scraped up the last of the green and red peppers from the bottom of the bowl, still wanting more.
"That was so fragrant. The best mixed noodles I’ve ever had in my life, bar none," Zhou Jie said with conviction. He then took out sixty cents and placed it on the table. "I’m paying too, as a sign of my approval."
"A master doesn’t take his apprentice’s money," Zhou Yan said with a laugh, stuffing the money back into Zhou Jie’s pocket. "I might be using a lot more sirloin going forward. Could you give my second uncle a heads-up when you go back tonight? I’ll buy it at market price."
"Got it. I’ll tell my dad when I get ho tonight," Zhou Jie nodded. "What market price? We’re family. I’ll definitely give you a discount."
"I’ll also talk to Zhou Fei tonight and have him set aside the sirloin for you. Just charge you the cost price," Zhao Hong added, putting down her chopsticks.
"Exactly, just the cost price is fine," Zhou Jie chid in.
"I’m running a business here, I can’t take advantage of you. If you won’t sell it to at market price, I’d rather buy it from soone else," Zhou Yan said firmly. ’Even brothers should keep clear accounts.’
Of course, Comrade Zhou was a different matter.
That was his own father.
Any discount on the beef would eventually find its way back into his dad’s pockets, and then so.
Hearing him say that, Zhou Jie and Zhao Hong had no choice but to drop the matter.
After they finished eating and rested for a while, Zhao Hong and Zhao Tieying went to wash the dishes. Zhou Yan sat relaxing on a lounge chair by the entrance, keeping an eye on the soup pot.
"That couple is really going to take a fall this ti. They didn’t sell a single bowl of noodles all morning. Their faces were grim," Zhou Jie said, pulling up a bamboo chair to sit next to Zhou Yan, a hint of schadenfreude in his voice.
"That was expected. After the incident with Wang the Fifth, the textile factory workers were already wary of the stall across the street. The noodles they make don’t look appetizing, and their soup pot gives off a gay sll. It’d be a miracle if they got any custors," Zhou Yan said with a laugh.
After shooting the breeze for two hours, Zhou Yan started slicing the sirloin and beef tripe to be blanched for the lunchti Kneeling Beef.
"You’re putting sirloin in the Kneeling Beef? Isn’t that an incredibly high-cost ingredient?" Zhou Jie asked in surprise as he watched from the side.
He himself only added beef during holidays, charging an extra thirty cents for a serving of it.
"If you slice the beef this thinly, you can get a hundred and fifty slices out of a single pound. For every hundred bowls of Kneeling Beef, I’ll add four pounds of sirloin. My costs go up by eight yuan, but each custor gets six slices of beef." Zhou Yan held up a paper-thin slice. "Six slices. It makes the custor feel like they’re getting a generous portion, but in reality, each bowl only contains less than an ounce of at."
"Custors these days are shrewd. These six slices of beef are the key to being able to sell this bowl of Kneeling Beef for sixty cents. It’s crucial to make the custor feel like they’re getting good value for their money."
Zhou Jie nodded repeatedly as he listened, but he was still staring at the beef in Zhou Yan’s hand in shock. "You can get a hundred and fifty slices from one pound?"
He’d been cutting beef since he was a kid, and if he could get a hundred slices from a pound, he thought he was doing great.
Zhou Yan’s slices were thin, large, and perfectly uniform.
"Your Knife Skills are just too incredible. Haizi and I could never do that. A hundred slices is our absolute limit," Zhou Jie said, shaking his head with pure admiration in his eyes.
"A hundred slices is fine too. In that case, just put in four slices," Zhou Yan said with a smile. ’Knife Skills can’t be perfected overnight.’
"Got it." Zhou Jie nodded, his eyes still glued to Zhou Yan’s hands. "Are there any special techniques? I want to learn how to cut a hundred and fifty slices, too."
...
「In the factory cafeteria’s back kitchen.」
All the chefs and kitchen staff stood in three rows, listening to Head Chef Huang Fusheng’s lecture.
"I’m sure you all know that the reputation of our cafeteria’s stir-fry dishes has been declining recently. Of course, the main reason is that troublemaking Zhou Yan Restaurant stealing our custors."
"Director Wang has repeatedly instructed us to cook well, to make good food, so that our worker comrades can eat with peace of mind and satisfaction. I hope you all take this to heart."
"Don’t you dare try to cut corners when you cook. If anyone makes the food disgustingly salty or stir-fries the at until it’s dry and tough, I’ll personally smack you on the head with my spatula!"
"Director Wang worries about this cafeteria day in and day out. He’s gotten so tired lately he’s lost weight. Have you no sha? I can’t even sleep at night thinking about it!"
...
The others chid in with affirmations from ti to ti.
Wang Defa listened from outside the door, nodding repeatedly. The corners of his mouth nearly reached his ears. ’That bastard Huang Fusheng might be an average cook, but he sure knows how to talk and get things done.’
A sneering voice ca from the corner, "What a brown-noser, always kissing up to the powerful and stepping on the weak. ’Lost weight?’ If he got any fatter, he’d get stuck in the cafeteria doorway."
The back kitchen fell silent.
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