Zhou Yan instinctively took a step back.
The two burly men grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth in the dim light, their faces becoming clearer under the light.
"Brother Haizi, Brother Jie." Zhou Yan said with a smile, his heart relaxed.
The two burly men were his cousins, Zhou Hai, the second son of his eldest uncle, and Zhou Jie, the eldest son of his second uncle.
His father had four brothers, and his three uncles above him each had two sons.
Because they butchered cattle, the Zhou family had no shortage of food or meat, so all his cousins were over 1.75 meters tall and very strong.
In Zhou Village, no one dared to bully the Zhou family. Even the commune's scoundrels had to avoid them.
After all, the Zhou family saw blood everyday, possessing brute force that could hold down a cow, and with boning knives strapped to their waists, they were not to be trifled with.
"It's been a while since I've seen you. I heard you jumped into the river to save the deputy factory director's niece, and she promised to marry you and you even get the marriage certificate?" Zhou Hai grinned.
He was about the same height as Zhou Yan, but nearly twice his size. His skin was dark, like a black bear. He looked intimidating, yet his smile gave people a sense of security and reliability.
"When are you having the wedding? Then, third brother will come and help you snatch the bride. I can help you drink the whole table!" Zhou Jie also smiled naively.
He was half a head shorter than Zhou Hai, but equally muscular, with a round face. Most striking was his shoulder-length earlobes, giving him a friendly look.
"Huh?"
Σ(⊙▽⊙ "a?"
Zhou Yan's face was filled with confusion.
Where did this rumor come from?
The butchers nearby all slowed down their work and glanced at Zhou Yan, their faces full of gossip.
This had been the hottest topic in Zhou Village for the past two days. The intelligence center at the entrance to the village was abuzz with discussion daily, with rumors that Zhou Yan had risen through the ranks and that his entire family was poised for prosperity.
Yesterday evening, Zhao Tieying returned home with a pile of Friendship Snow Cream, Pechoin Cold Cream, and cigarettes, claiming they were gifts from the city girl. This proved even more compelling evidence.
This made the women at the village entrance jealous; their sweet potato porridge had lost its flavor over the past two days.
But the Zhou brothers were overjoyed. If they hadn't been so busy with their work, they would have gone to town to inquire about Zhou Yan's situation.
Today, Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie came to help with the butchering. They'd heard from fourth aunt that Zhou Yan was coming to pick up the meat, and they were eagerly waiting.
Seeing Zhou Yan arrive with his bicycle, they rushed over without even putting down their knives.
"No, it's not true. I saved the girl. They were so particular, they gift me a 28-inch bicycle and a bunch of gifts as a thank you gift. How could they possibly ask the girl to marry me?" Zhou Yan waved his hands repeatedly, seriously denying the rumor, "I'm still a legitimate bachelor."
"You really haven't gotten the marriage certificate?" Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie were disappointed.
They were still thinking about the wedding banquet, even deciding how much to give to the brothers in red envelopes.
Zhou Yan was the youngest brother. Before Zhou Momo was born, he was the group's favorite. Even though Zhou Momo is now the group's favorite, the brothers still care and love him deeply.
"No, the girl is innocent. We can't tarnish her reputation." Zhou Yan shook his head.
"That's right, that's right." Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie nodded repeatedly. There was no room for ambiguity on this matter.
The others, hearing this, were lost in thought.
It seemed the rumors weren't to be believed. Zhou Yan's failure to climb the social ladder gave them some peace of mind.
"Is this your new bicycle? It looks really nice. Much better than my old 28-inch bicycle that only has the bell." Zhou Jie changed the subject, his eyes settling on Zhou Yan's bicycle.
"Yes, it's a Phoenix PA-18. Pretty good to ride." Zhou Yan smiled and nodded. "Brother Jie, do you want to go for few rounds?"
"Then I'll not be polite." Zhou Jie shoved the knife into Zhou Hai's hand and washed his hands in a nearby bucket. Then, he took the handlebars from Zhou Yan and rode the bicycle twice around the field before returning. He pressed the kickstand and exclaimed, "This bicycle is so good! When I save enough money, I'll buy a new one!"
Men's obsession with bicycle has been evident since the bicycle era.
"Brother Jie, how's your soup pot business going?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at Zhou Jie.
Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie usually helped the family slaughter cattle and also worked together in the soup pot business.
Zhou Jie was mostly in charge of the business; he seemed more approachable and had a knack for business, while Zhou Hai helped out.
The four families of the old Zhou family slaughter cattle, and for the past two years, Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai have been responsible for setting up a stall to sell the beef offal.
Zhou Yan wanted to sell the Cross-legged Beef, but he didn't intend to do so secretly. He had to explain it to Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai first to avoid any future rifts between the brothers.
"The weather has turned cooler recently, and business has been good. We can sell about 80% to 90% of the beef offal everyday, so there's not much left." Zhou Jie looked at Zhou Yan and said sincerely:
"Zhou Yan, isn't your restaurant business doing well? Why don't you close it and join me and Brother Haizi in selling soup pots? You can make two or three hundred a winter, and with no rent, you can save enough to get married in two or three years."
"Yes! Let's do this together, brothers. Just stand in front of stall, and all the young ladies and wives will be happy to come and eat." Zhou Hai said with a smile.
The old man of the Zhou family died in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. Old lady Zhou raised five sons. As a master of keeping things balanced, she kept her four daughters in law obedient and there were nothing went wrong in the family.
The brothers worked together to support each other, and the younger generation of cousins also got along well.
The Zhou family had given Zhou Yan their full support in opening a restaurant, with each family contributing money.
Seeing the restaurant's poor business, they were anxious, but they didn't dare say much, fearing Zhou Yan would think they were asking him to pay them back.
Zhou Yan's heart warmed. Brother Jie and Brother Haizi were trying to help him, their little brother, by letting him sell soup pots together. They were offering him a share of the money that he and Zhou Hai would have earned.
These days, making a living is hard for anyone. Selling soup pots in the summer is a loss making business, so they were counting on the profit during the winter months. This openness and relationship left Zhou Yan both unfamiliar and moved.
"I've switched to selling noodles. Business has been pretty good these past couple of days, selling dozens of bowls a day." Zhou Yan said quickly, "The restaurant can survive on noodles alone. I'm really not good enough at the other dishes, so I wanted to try selling soup pots as well."
"Really?" Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai both beamed with joy.
"It's not impossible for you to also sell soup pots, but your restaurant is right in front of a textile factory. The textile factory workers are wealthy, but they don't seem to like soup pot very much." Zhou Jie scratched his head and said, "We've been selling soup pots for two years, and we rarely see the female textile workers come to eat."
"My mom told me about this, but I don't think they've ever tried it. I set up a pot outside the restaurant, and the aroma of beef wafts through the air, and they're drawn to it." Zhou Yan said with a confident smile.
"Okay, then, when you're done this morning, ride your bicycle over to our stall and I'll teach you how to make a soup pot." Zhou Jie took two steps forward and lowered his voice. "I've improved the recipe this year, adding two Chinese herbs. It tastes better than any other soup pot vendor in our village. I'll teach you everything."
"Brother Jie..." Zhou Yan felt a mix of emotions. He didn't open up so openly right away; it was a bit awkward.
Zhou Jie patted his shoulder, a smile on his face. "We're brothers, no need to say anything. We all want to see you make money and get married."
"Okay, I'll see you after eight." Zhou Yan nodded, accepting this brotherly gesture.
The three brothers exchanged a few pleasantries, and Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai went back to their work.
Zhou Yan greeted the other uncles and nephews and headed towards Comrade Old Zhou.
The cow had been slaughtered, and the meat was being cut up. The knife glided between the tendons and bones, deftly avoiding the meridian knots. At the intersection of tendons and bones, a single stroke cut through the flesh, separating the flesh from the bone.
Zhou Yan watched for a moment, feeling deeply that the butcher's skill was truly authentic.
Of the five Zhou brothers, except for his fifth uncle, all butchered cattle, but the most skilled was the seemingly frail Comrade Zhou Miao.
Watching him butcher the cattle was a truly delightful spectacle, employing pure skill and rarely requiring the effort of a large machete.
"Your mother's gone to wash the offal." Zhou Miao casually cut a few pieces, slicing off four pounds of sirloin, three pounds of beef brisket, and another half a pound of sirloin.
He placed a few large beef bones in a nearby bamboo basket. There was no need for a scale; his knife was the scale.
"I just told Brother Jie and Brother Haizi about my plan to sell soup pots. Brother Jie asked me to go to his stall later to learn." Zhou Yan said.
"Didn't you say you wanted to make medicinal dishes?" Zhou Miao paused.
"Let's learn from each other." Zhou Yan said with a smile.
"That's great. Zhou Jie is quite skilled at making soup pots. His soup pots sell better than anyone else." Zhou Miao nodded and continued to divide the beef.
Zhou Yan walked over to the nearby backpack and lifted a corner of the small blanket. Zhou Momo lay soundly asleep inside.
She was too young to be left at home, so his parents always carried her in the backpack when they went out to slaughter cattle.
After a while, Zhao Tieying emerged from the riverbank carrying a small basket of beef offal, and Zhou Yan took her and Zhou Momo back to the restaurant.
"Taking a bicycle is so much easier. Carrying this basket all the way to your shop almost broke my back." Zhao Tieying sighed as she put down the basket.
"Momo is still so heavy now. I'll always ride my bicycle to pick you both up from now on." Zhou Yan carefully lifted Zhou Momo from the basket and pulled out a cigarette from under the blanket. He asked, puzzled, "Didn't dad take these cigarettes back home to smoke?"
"What kind of cigarettes does he smoke? Quit it! He smokes everyday at home, making us mother and daughter miserable. He coughs all the time. Don't let him smoke anymore!" Zhao Tieying curled her lips and warned, "These are good cigarettes. Keep them. Either sell them or give them away."
"Quitting is good." Zhou Yan nodded.
Smoking less is a good thing, but it seems Comrade Zhao Tieying took the cigarettes home yesterday just to show off, which made the old ladies in the village envious.
"Remember, these are not for you to smoke!" Zhao Tieying stared at Zhou Yan. "Learn good things, don't try to smoke, or if no then I'll break your legs!"