Zhou Yan subconsciously slammed on the brakes.
Food Identification? What kind of skill is this?
[Food Identification]: A good chef must master the ability to select ingredients. Accurately understanding their freshness, origin, and seasonality is crucial for obtaining the best ingredients. Rapid food analysis will help improve your culinary skills. You have acquired this ability.
The system then provided a note.
Zhou Yan paused in thought. He hadn't expected a skill besides a recipe reward.
"Guo Guo, do you want some Ding Ding Candy too?" Zhou Momo asked, her face filled with anticipation.
Zhou Yan glanced sideways. On the side of the road, an old man with half gray hair was carrying a bamboo basket on his shoulder. The copper hammer and iron chisel in his hands clashed gently, making a ding-ding sound, hence the name Ding Ding Candy.
"I think you want some?" Zhou Yan said with a smile.
Zhou Momo swallowed, averted her gaze, and shook her head firmly. "Mom said I can't waste Guo Guo's money."
"Your brother can still afford some candy." Zhou Yan smiled, leaning his bicycle over.
The old man put down his bamboo basket and cracked the white sugar bricks into jade-like chunks. He wrapped them in brown paper, a heavy bag for only fifty cents.
Zhou Yan glanced at the sugar brick, and a line of text appeared:
[An ordinary sugar brick. The sesame seeds are slightly overcooked, which does not affect the consumption.]
Zhou Yan then glanced at the basket of bright red oranges in front of the woman setting up a roadside stall.
[A basket of sour and astringent oranges, unripe.]
Zhou Yan's eyes lit up. This was truly a shopping stunt. No more worrying about getting scammed!
After paying, he opened the paper bag, pinched a piece of sugar brick, and fed it to Zhou Momo. He then tossed one into his own mouth. The sweetness immediately melted in his mouth, and his mood brightened.
"Ding Ding Candy is delicious! So sweet! Guo Guo is the best Guo Guo in the world!" Zhou Momo happily swung her short legs, mumbling a bit.
"Be good, I'll buy you some next time." Zhou Yan smiled and patted her head.
He also has the cutest sister in the world, a fifty cent candy, and sitting at the front bar of bicycle, which gives him plenty of emotional value!
He has to say that the new bike Lin Zhiqiang gift him is very easy to ride. The more he pedaled, the more powerful it became. This morning, a round trip of over an hour took less than half an hour.
Back at the restaurant, Zhou Yan first carried Zhou Momo to the ground, then pushed the bicycle into the shop and parked it against the wall.
This is Zhou Yan's most valuable asset, so it must be stored carefully.
"Zhou Momo, did you ask your brother to buy you candy again?" Zhao Tieying asked, suppressing a smile as she looked at her youngest daughter's puffy mouth.
"Yes." Zhou Momo nodded, a hint of pride in her voice. "Guo Guo bought me some Ding Ding Candy. I love Guo Guo the most!"
"Fifty cents, a big bag. It's enough for her to eat for a long time." Zhou Yan took the oil-paper-wrapped Ding Ding Candy from his backpack, opened it, and handed it to Zhao Tieying. "Mom, try some too."
"Business is just starting to pick up, so you need to spend money wisely," Zhao Tieying warned, pinching a small piece of candy into her mouth.
Sweet, sweet to the heart !
"Got it. I'll make stew." Zhou Yan agreed with a smile, carrying his backpack into the kitchen. Zhao Tieying had already washed and hung all the dishes, and the kitchen was clean.
"Mom, I'm going to play the slide. Call me when it's time for lunch." Zhou Momo called, skipping out the door.
"Don't run around. We're having meat for lunch. Come back early when you've had enough fun." Zhao Tieying said, raising her voice. "Otherwise, I'll eat all the meat."
"Ao—" Zhou Momo agreed, and with her short legs, she ran towards the factory run school nearby.
Zhou Yan bought a pound of minced beef, a pound of beef brisket, and a pound of pork ribs this time—enough for thirty bowls of noodles stew.
However, his father cut him an extra pound of beef brisket and told him that he come back for braised beef noodles after the beef was sold at noon.
"Yesterday, Zhou Erwa jumped into the Qingyi River to save Deputy Director Lin's niece. Today, the director gift him a new bicycle as a thank you gift. He's truly a hero!"
"This kid is true Lei Feng. He even dared to jump into Bailatuo. He's a lucky guy."
"I heard Zhou Yan is selling noodles today. Business is booming. Wang Laowu is so angry."
"With business so good, I'm afraid he won't have to sell hooks anymore. Haiz, haiz..."
"Second Wife Lin, are you still thinking about him?"
"One day I'll try some of Zhou Yan's noodles, and try to help out with his business."
"You probably want to try him..."
Zhou Yan was preparing ingredients in the kitchen. From outside the window came the occasional laughter of the elderly women washing clothes at the dock, a mix of amusement and frustration.
Zhao Tieying came in with peeled garlic. Overhearing a few words, she spat and rolled up her sleeves, "I'm going to tear that old Widow Lin's mouth apart!"
Zhou Yan finally managed to stop her.
His reputation and fame were both improving, and the trend was positive.
As he'd predicted, after the factory closed at noon, the restaurant saw a small surge in customers, all workers drawn by its reputation.
Fortunately, Zhao Tieying was there, managing the fire, serving the dishes, clearing the tables, and collecting the cash without a single fuss.
After two hours of hard work, the textile factory's opening hour was over and there were no more customers, so Zhou Yan finally closed the door.
Zhou Yan breathed a sigh of relief, shaking his sore hands. Making noodles is not only a technical skill, but also a physical one.
"You sold twenty eight bowls at noon, and took in 16.8 yuan," Zhao Tieying said, handing Zhou Yan the counted money, unable to conceal her smile.
Zhou Miao quietly collected the bowls, a smile on his face.
This wasn't Zhou Erwa's restaurant's biggest day in terms of sales, but it would be its most profitable, since the prepared ingredients wouldn't go to waste.
They hadn't expected a bowl of noodles costing 60 cents to sell so well!
"There's only enough stew left for about ten bowls of noodles. Do you want to stir fry more stew this afternoon?" Zhao Tieying asked, full of enthusiasm.
"No, we'll be lucky if we can sell a dozen more bowls tonight. Most of the workers go home for dinner." Zhou Yan smiled and shook his head. Noodle business is actually best in the morning.
He had prepared stew and base for sixty bowls of noodles today. If can sell all of them, it will far exceed his expectations.
"Mom, go call Momo back for lunch. I'll make noodles for you all." Zhou Yan said with a smile. He put the money in the cabinet and turned back into the kitchen.
"Sure." Zhao Tieying replied, then turned and walked out. Standing at the restaurant entrance, hands on her hips, she shouted toward the school, "Zhou Momo! Come home for lunch! I'll be counting! One, two..."
Before she could even say "three," Zhou Momo came trudging out the door, shouting, "Coming! Coming!"
"Guo Guo, I'm hungry!" Zhou Momo entered the restaurant and ran to the kitchen. She approached Zhou Yan and looked up at him eagerly.
"Go wash your hands. We'll eat soon." Zhou Yan said with a smile, looking at her chubby, dark hands.
"Okay!" Zhou Momo replied obediently. She walked to the water tank, tiptoed, scooped a spoonful of water into the small basin, and began to wash her hands.
A short while later, Zhou Yan returned with four bowls of braised beef noodles. The family sat around to eat, hungry from all the busy work.
"Try the pickled vegetables I made yesterday; they'll be even better tomorrow." Zhou Yan brought out a stack of pickled radishes. The long, red-skinned radishes had been soaking all day, looking translucent.
"Crunch." Zhao Tieying took a bite from a radish, nodding repeatedly. "So crispy, sour and spicy, with a hint of sweetness. Delicious!"
Zhou Miao also tried one, smiling and nodding. "Mmm, it's very refreshing, perfect with noodles."
Zhou Momo struggled to pick up the food with her chopsticks, so Zhou Yan simply picked one up and let her hold it.
The little fellow brought the radish to her lips and nibbled on it. Her big eyes lit up, but she soon began to sigh, "Shh, shhh!" as she nibbled, "Delicious radish, just a little spicy..."
There were indeed fewer customers for dinner, but the eleven bowls of noodles were still sold out. A few latecomers didn't get to eat and would have to wait until tomorrow morning.
Zhao Tieying helped Zhou Yan clean up the restaurant before riding on the back of Zhou Miao's bicycle, humming a little tune as they departed.
She was clearly in a good mood, and Zhou Yan was even more impressed by her energy. She'd gotten up early to prepare the beef offal, cook, and feed the pigs, then come to the restaurant to help out all day, and still be able to go home humming a little tune.
Zhou Yan, preoccupied with shop duties, was so exhausted he wanted to lie down on the floor.
He took the money out of the cabinet and counted it. He'd sold 60 bowls of noodles today, earning 36 yuan. Yesterday's starting capital was 16.4 yuan.
He'd spent 16.9 yuan on ingredients and 0.5 yuan on Ding Ding candy.
He still had 35.5 yuan!
The wood, oil, and seasonings he was using were all purchased by the restaurant earlier; these expenses could be reconciled at the end of the month.
Comrade little Zhou is incredibly generous with his purchasing decisions, clearly planning a big deal. He still has dozens of kilograms of rapeseed oil in the tank, and a wall of oak wood neatly stacked behind the stove. He also has plenty of salt, dried chilies, and other seasonings, enough to last him for a while.
Though he spent his money lavishly, it all went back into the shop, and the food is pretty good.
After soaking the dried bamboo shoots and washing up briefly, Zhou Yan went to bed. Before falling asleep, he glanced at his dashboard:
[Player: Zhou Yan]
[Profession: Chef]
[Wealth: -822.52]
[Professional Skills]:
Knife Skills (Intermediate): 9604/10000 (Your knife skills are sufficient for most dishes)
Heat Control (Intermediate): 1668/10000 (The dish still needs practice)
Seasoning (Intermediate): 1695/10000 (Be gentle, Salt Prince)
Eloquence (Advanced): 88889/100000 (Pork Curtain - All about the mouth)
[Mastery of Dishes]:
Double Pepper Beef Noodles (Advanced): 99999/100000
Braised Beef Noodles (Advanced): 99999/100000
Braised Pork Rib Noodles (Advanced): 99999/100000
Pickled Cabbage (Advanced): 99999/100000
Smashed Cucumber (Intermediate): 1871/10000
…
Special Skill:
Food Appraisal (Master): 999999/1000000 (Unavailable for upgrade)
[Main Quest: Become a Chef God! Become World-Famous!]
[Main Quest: Restaurant Influence Reaches 100 (61/100)]
[Wealth Mall]: Unlocked when Wealth reaches 1000.
After one day of operation, the panel changes significantly.
Wealth value goes from -858.52 to -822.52. The increase of 36 should correspond to today's sales, a one-to-one ratio.
Zhou Yan is quite excited about the Wealth Mall. He wonders what it sells. It would be great if there were recipes.
Secondly, his proficiency in knife skills, heat control, and seasoning all increased by 1000. This is probably related to his acquisition and mastery of three noodle dishes.
Mastering these three dishes—beef with bamboo shoots, double-pepper minced beef, and braised pork ribs—gave him a solid understanding of cooking, stir-frying, and braising.
Knowledge entered his mind, not just in isolation.
He could cut beef into evenly diced pieces and mince pork.
Beef with bamboo shoots was delicious, but replacing the bamboo shoots with radishes and potatoes would likely result in a beef brisket with potatoes or radishes, though still a bit short of perfection.
Zhou Yan was like a blank sheet of paper, already bearing a bold stroke of color. Who could have predicted what culinary masterpiece he would create next?
He didn't know himself, but he did know that tomorrow he would have to entertain even more customers and make even more noodles.
And, more money!