"Great!"
The guests smiled and responded.
"Brother Jie..." Zhou Yan looked at Zhou Jie with a complicated expression.
In business, who would just steer their own customers to someone else's place? This guy truly didn't treat him like an outsider.
"Pull over and put your bicycle beside and watch over to your brother Haizi. He'll teach you how to control the heat and the timing." Zhou Jie said, then smiled and went to collect the bill.
"Zhou Yan, I'm clumsy with my hands and tongue, so I just followed what Ah Jie taught me. Just watch for now. If you have any questions after we're done, let Ah Jie teach you." Zhou Hai said to Zhou Yan.
"Okay, brother Haizi." Zhou Yan replied, watching as Zhou Hai deftly scooped up a section of beef intestines and cut them into small pieces. He then simmered the tripe for a few seconds before removing it. He then scooped up a few pieces of tender beef tendon and heart, added a base of cooked lotus root, and poured a ladleful of rich bone broth into a ceramic bowl. A steaming bowl of hot soup was ready.
This was a single serving, 40 cents, with both meat and vegetables, plus a large bowl of beef offal soup with a dipping saucer of dried chili peppers. For adding another 10 cents, you could get a bowl of rice.
Eating a bowl of hot soup in the middle of winter warmed you from the soles of your feet to your hair. So satisfying!
Other soup pot stalls sell for 30 or 20 cents a bowl, but none of them do as well as Zhou Jie's stall.
The people of Sichuan strive to eat to their heart's content and drink to their heart's content. They never skimp on flavor, and they never let down their guard!
As long as life is manageable, they'll never skimp on their food.
Zhou Jie's soup pot is doing well at 40 cents, which means everyone thinks it's worth the price. The difference in taste from other places is more than just a few cents.
The broth in the pot is pale white, and the aroma of beef bone broth fills the air. It's quite fresh and fragrant, with very little mutton smell, making it even more enticing than other stalls.
Zhou Hai may look rough, but he works with speed and precision. While other stalls use their hands to grab ingredients, he uses only chopsticks and a spoon, never touching the ingredients.
The stove is always wiped clean, without even a trace of soup.
Standing in front the open air stove, the steam gushed through his face, making him sweat profusely. He draped a towel around his neck, a clean towel hanging on a nearby rack to wipe his hands.
Zhou Yan watched from the side, nodding silently. Brother Jie and brother Haizi success wasn't accidental; they had done their best given the limited conditions.
This pot mainly sold beef offal. Beef was too expensive, so they usually waited until winter, when business was peak, to sell it, otherwise the losses would be unbearable.
After working for over half an hour, business slowed down at nine o'clock.
Zhou Yan helped clear the dishes and wipe the tables and chairs.
The two sisters in law, having finished their chores, also came to help with the dishes.
Zhou Jie drank a bowl of water to soothe his scalding throat, then smiled at Zhou Yan, "Business's good, isn't it? It'll be even better once winter arrives."
"It's pretty good. No other business around here is as good as yours." Zhou Yan nodded, and it was clear that many of the customers were repeat customers.
"Let me tell you, everyone in Zhou Village knows how to make a hot pot, but there are a lot of details to making a good one, starting with using beef bones to make the broth..." Zhou Jie put down his bowl and began to explain how to make a hot pot. He explained it in great detail, even pulling Zhou Yan over to the pot to demonstrate.
Zhou Yan nodded repeatedly. This meticulous attention to detail was the secret to Zhou Jie's soup's exceptional quality.
It was actually quite similar to the recipe for the Cross-legged Beef that Zhou Yan had received.
"The biggest difference between this soup and others is actually this packet of seasoning. I added…" Zhou Jie pointed to the packet of seasonings he had already used today and whispered into Zhou Yan's ear a list of spices and Chinese herbs, including the specific amounts.
This was a true trade secret, and also a competitive advantage that differentiated them from other stalls.
Zhou Yan listened carefully, memorized each detail, and compared it with the secret recipe he had.
The ingredients and amounts differed significantly, primarily due to the differences in the Chinese herbs. The spices used to remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor were relatively similar.
"Here, try some of the soup." Zhou Jie took a small bowl and scooped a spoonful for Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan blew on the hot air, took a sip, savored it carefully, and nodded. "It's delicious. The broth is rich, and the beef offal smell is very light. It tastes very refreshing."
"As expected of a chef, you hit the nail on the head." Zhou Jie looked at him admiringly. "My cooking skills aren't as good as yours, but I've been making this soup for three years, so I have some experience. I can definitely teach you how to make it properly."
Zhou Yan smiled and nodded.
"Doesn't Zhou Yan already own a restaurant in front of the textile factory? Why is he selling soup pots? Is he just interested in such a small profit?" Zhou Liangliang, the owner of the nearby stall, said with a hint of sarcasm as he cracked some sunflower seeds.
"What's wrong with selling soup pots? My fourth uncle is a skilled butcher in Zhou Village. Zhou Yan sells soup pots to help the family process the offal. It's a skill passed down from our ancestors. Who are you to criticize?" Zhou Jie said to Zhou Liangliang in a rather stern tone.
Zhou Hai, who was wiping his kitchen knife nearby, also turned and glared at Zhou Liangliang with a stern look.
Zhou Liangliang felt as if he was being stared at by a black bear. The sunflower seeds in his hand suddenly lost their flavor. He smirked, pocketed them, and waved his hand, "We're all from the same village. I was just asking..."
There were seven brothers in their family, all very strong and protective of each other. He just said this in a rude way.
Zhou Jie didn't argue with him and continued chatting with Zhou Yan about making soup.
"Brother Jie, I learned to make soup pots from my mom. Later, when I was learning cooking, I learned a medicinal dish from my master. I've been thinking about combining that medicinal dish with our soup pot recipe, so I'm going to try making one today." Zhou Yan said after listening to Zhou Jie's explanation.
"Really?" Zhou Jie's eyes lit up. "You're a professional chef. If you can really improve our soup pot recipe into a medicinal dish, may be the workers at the textile factory will like it too!"
Zhou Yan smiled and nodded. "If we can find a market, our soup pot recipe has great potential."
"Okay, okay, then, give it a try. If you need anything, feel free to let me know. We're brothers, so don't be so formal." Zhou Jie patted his arm and said, "If you do a good job, Brother Haizi and I will work with you."
"Okay." Zhou Yan nodded. After chatting for a few more minutes, he rode back.
Zhou Yan went to the farmers' market and glanced at Wang Qi's meat stall from a distance. Half of the pork had been found to be infected with disease, so it was likely that Wang Laowu was buying from him.
The last report he submitted seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. Wang Qi had been selling meat at the market for many years, so he must have some connections.
He was just contemplating how to report this to the authorities when he saw staff from the market management office approaching, followed by two men in Zhongshan suits. The middle-aged man in the lead, wearing black-framed glasses and meticulously combed hair, walked along, stopping occasionally to ask questions of vendors. He even picked up meat from a meat stall to examine it closely.
"Who are those two? They look quite impressive." Zhou Yan asked the vendor casually as he bent down, picked up a handful of green vegetables, and paid for them.
"Those two, the leaders of the health and epidemic prevention station, come back every month for inspections. The one leading them is Gao Tianlei, supposedly the deputy station chief. Last year, he led the team that apprehended two knife makers selling diseased pork. Everyone says he's ruthless and impartial." the vegetable vendor said with a smile, accepting the money.
"Oh." Zhou Yan said thoughtfully, not responding further. He then left with the green vegetables.
It's difficult to verify that Wang Laowu used diseased pork, after all, no one else can see the results. Therefore, starting with Wang Qi is a good starting point. If they can prove that Wang Laowu bought diseased pork from him, then Wang Laowu will be implicated.
Furthermore, Wang Qi's daily sales of diseased pork are a threat to the village, and as a caring citizen, Zhou Yan can't turn a blind eye.
He found a quiet spot, took out a pen and paper, and wrote a strongly worded letter of complaint. Then he squatted at the market entrance.
Soon, Gao Tianlei and the other man emerged, surrounded by people from the market, and rode away with their bicycles.
Zhou Yan immediately followed with his bicycle. Once outside the town, he pulled up his collar to cover half his face, sped up, stopped the two men, and said directly, "Station master Gao, I'm reporting someone for selling diseased pork!"
Gao Tianlei and the other man quickly braked. Looking at the man with half his face covered, they asked with confusion, "Who are you reporting?"
"Wang Qi, the pork seller at stall number five at the Suji Farmers' Market, sells diseased pork everyday, endangering the community. Station master Gao, please eliminate this pest from the people." Zhou Yan handed over the prepared letter of complaint.
"The diseased pork he sells could also be sold in restaurants and noodle stalls, posing a serious threat to the lives and safety of the people. Please conduct a thorough investigation and prevent even a single pound of diseased pork from reaching the public's table."
Gao Tianlei took the letter of complaint and looked at Zhou Yan, saying, "Who are you?"
"The sharp-eyed masses!" Zhou Yan turned with his bicycle and rode away without a backward glance.
Gao Tianlei opened the letter of complaint with a solemn expression. After reading it, his face darkened. He said in a deep voice, "Go, have the equipment delivered. I want to see just how dare this Wang Qi is!"
Zhou Yan strolled along the river before returning to the restaurant. Even if the epidemic prevention station wanted to investigate Wang Qi, they wouldn't be able to track down to Wang Laowu so quickly.
But Wang Laowu's situation turned down even faster than he'd anticipated.
"Wang Laowu! Why is your beef so sour? Did you mix it with yesterday's leftovers?"
"I thought the minced meat stew smelled weird today. It's sour! And you added so much pepper and chili oil to cover it up!"
"You're doing a great business! We're here to support you, but you treat us like Japanese? Even a dog would hate your leftovers!"
"F**k you, you idiot!"
"F**k..."
The customers had only just arrived at noon, and already at the noodle stall, the customers were banging their hands on the tables, indicating a high level of swearing.