Zhou Jie was tending to the pot, allowing Aunt Zhao to freely handle the customer service, while the young female workers efficiently order food amidst cheerful greetings.
"Are these 60 cents a bowl of noodles really selling so well?"
"They didn't even hesitate."
"A single plate of pickled vegetables can make the customers so happy?"
Zhou Jie watched from the side, a little bewildered, feeling like his understanding of things was being completely reshaped.
"Wow! This braised beef with bamboo shoot is so delicious!"
"Try my pork ribs, they're absolutely amazing!"
"The noodle soup is so flavorful, it must be made with bone broth, right? The noodles are also chewy; this is the best noodles I've ever had!"
"No wonder college students love eating here; they really know good food!"
"Putting everything else aside, the enticing aroma of beef wafting from that soup pot is completely different from what they're serving across the street."
It was evident that the customers were very satisfied, and praises were frequently heard.
Perhaps because of the announcement, the restaurant was particularly busy today, and soon every table was occupied.
Zhou Yan had instructed that customers shouldn't share tables during lunch and dinner, but it was acceptable to share tables during breakfast when eating noodles.
This rule was prominently displayed above the menu on the wall.
Sharing a table while eating noodles is no big deal.
The relaxed attitude of people from Sichuan and Chongqing can be glimpsed from the way they eat noodles on benches.
A row of benches is placed outside the shop, along with small stools, and a group of people eat noodles on these benches—a scene rarely seen elsewhere.
During lunch and dinner, some customers are having gatherings or business meetings, ordering several dishes, so it wouldn't be appropriate to have a stranger sharing their table.
Of course, if the workers voluntarily choose to share a table and split the cost of a few dishes, that's a different matter altogether, and the restaurant certainly wouldn't stop them.
"Sweetheart, there's an empty seat here, would it be alright if this pretty lady joined you at your table?"
"Oh, you're so kind! If you run out of pickled vegetables, I'll get you some more."
"Brother, come sit here, the four of you will fit perfectly at this table."
Aunt Zhao was perceptive and proactively arranged for people to share tables to avoid any awkwardness for the customers. Female workers sat with female workers, male workers with male workers, and young couples could sit however they liked; ultimately, it was all based on the customers' preferences.
This significantly increased the customers' goodwill towards Aunt Zhao, and their voices even softened a little when they addressed her.
Zhou Jie watched from the side, nodding repeatedly in surprise and admiration.
Fourth Aunt was a well-known eccentric woman in Zhou Village, nicknamed "Iron-Mouthed Invincible Iron Lady." Unexpectedly, she was so eloquent when serving customers at the restaurant, charming every customer and making them happily willing to pay.
In those days, the service staff in state-owned restaurants and factory canteens were arrogant and looked down on customers, completely disregarding them.
Going out to eat meant paying money and still getting a bellyful of anger.
Even private restaurants and street vendors were relatively reserved and indifferent; their mindset hadn't yet changed.
Zhou Jie considered himself quite eloquent and good at maintaining relationships with regular customers.
But after seeing Fourth Aunt's performance today, he felt like a complete novice.
Fourth Aunt, I want to learn this!
Zhou Jie was beginning to understand the secret.
Zhou Yan's restaurant was doing well, and the 60 cents noodles were selling like hotcakes, not just because of the delicious taste.
He always put the customers first!
"Why did all the workers go to Zhou Erwa Restaurant? We're selling it for fifty cents a bowl, and they didn't even ask about it?" Wu Guihua clutched her hair, her face full of bewilderment.
"Yes? Why? What went wrong?" Zhou Liangliang was also completely baffled.
He knew there were shortcomings on the first day of selling noodles, but those workers didn't even give him a chance to sit down and try them. That was too unreasonable, wasn't it?
Back when he had a stall at the dock, he moved his stall next to Zhou Jie's, and by offering a price ten cents cheaper, business was pretty good for the first few days, stealing quite a few customers from Zhou Jie.
It was completely different from the situation today.
They bought new pots and stoves, a bunch of ceramic bowls for the noodles, and various ingredients that morning, completely emptying their savings.
Zhou Liangliang and his wife were starting to panic.
Zhao Tieying took down the plaque for the double pepper beef noodle and beef with bamboo shoot noodle, and hung them in the "sold out" section.
By the time work started, only two servings of pork rib noodles remained unsold.
During this time, Zhou Yan cooked a bowl of pork rib noodles for Zhou Lihui, who ate it and then went to school at 7:30.
Therefore, this morning, the shop sold a total of 77 bowls of noodles, setting a new record and also perfectly meeting Zhou Yan's expectations.
"Fourth Auntie, you're amazing." Zhou Jie said, helping to clear the dishes, unable to help but praise her.
This shop would really fall apart without Aunt Zhao.
"What's so amazing about me? I just shouted a few times." Zhao Tieying smiled and shook her head, not thinking she had done anything special.
"Come, let's eat breakfast too." Zhou Yan brought out four bowls of noodles, two bowls of braised pork rib noodles and two bowls of stir-fried double pepper beef noodles.
"I'll have the soup noodles; my mouth is so dry from shouting all morning." Zhao Tieying took a bowl of braised pork rib noodles first.
"I want to try the double pepper beef noodles; everyone says they're delicious." Zhou Jie chose the mixed noodles.
Zhao Hong chose the noodle soup, and Zhou Yan ate the remaining bowl of mixed noodles.
"Wow! These mixed noodles are so fragrant! How did you stir-fry the beef to make it so fragrant and tender? The noodles taste so good, how are they so chewy and delicious?" Zhou Jie's eyes widened like saucers, his face full of disbelief.
He had originally thought those people were exaggerating and making a fuss about eating noodles.
Now, he questioned them, understood them, became one of them, and surpassed them!
The amount of topping for these noodles is so generous; there's at least an ounce of meat, and the green and red peppers make up the other half. With this amount of topping, you can taste the topping and noodles in every bite, the satisfaction is overwhelming.
Is sixty cents a bowl expensive?
Not at all!
At this price, Zhou Yan didn't even make half of his money back.
It's truly a bargain.
After finishing a bowl of noodles, Zhou Jie even scraped up all the green and red peppers from the bottom of the bowl, still wanting more.
"It's so delicious, the best mixed noodles I've ever had in my life, bar none." Zhou Jie said with certainty, then took out sixty cents and placed it on the table: "I want to pay too, to show my appreciation."
"Master doesn't accept money from his apprentices." Zhou Yan said with a smile, putting the money back into his pocket. "I might be using a lot of beef sirloin soon, so could you tell my second uncle about it when you go back tonight? I'll buy it at market price."
"Okay, I'll tell my old man tonight." Zhou Jie nodded. "What market price? We're brothers, of course, I'll give you a discounted price."
"I'll also tell Zhou Fei tonight to save some beef sirloin for you, just charge you the cost price." Zhao Hong said, putting down her chopsticks.
"That's right, just charge the cost price." Zhou Jie echoed.
"I'm running a business, I can't take advantage of you all. If you all don't sell it at market price, I'd rather buy it from somewhere else." Zhou Yan said firmly. Even between brothers, it's important to keep things clear.
Of course, Comrade Old Zhou was different.
He was his biological father.
The money saved on the beef would eventually double and return to his private stash.
Zhou Jie and Zhao Hong, hearing him say this, could only give up.
After finishing their noodles and resting for a while, Zhao Hong and Zhao Tieying went to wash the dishes, while Zhou Yan sat on a lounge chair by the door, resting and keeping an eye on the soup pot.
"Those two are going to fall flat on their faces now. They haven't sold a single bowl of noodles all morning; their faces are all gloomy." Zhou Jie said, pulling up a bamboo chair and sitting next to Zhou Yan, with a hint of schadenfreude.
"It's to be expected. After the incident with Wang Laowu, the textile factory workers already had a bit of a negative impression of the noodle stall. The noodles they make don't look appealing, and the soup smells a bit gamey. They'd be lucky to get any business." Zhou Yan chuckled.
After chatting for two hours, Zhou Yan began slicing the sirloin and tripe that would be used for the cross-legged beef in afternoon.
"Are you going to put sirloin in the cross-legged beef? That's too expensive!" Zhou Jie watched from the side, somewhat surprised.
He only added beef to the soup pot during New Year's and other holidays, adding one or two pieces of beef for an extra thirty cents.
"By slicing the beef thinly, one pound can yield 150 slices. For 100 bowls of cross-legged beef, I use four pounds of sirloin, increasing the cost by eight yuan, but each customer gets six slices of beef." Zhou Yan picked up a thin slice of beef: "Six slices will make the customers feel like there's a lot of beef, but in reality, each bowl only contains about four ounces of beef."
"Customers are very shrewd these days. These six slices of beef are the key to selling this bowl of cross-legged beef for sixty cents. Making customers feel like they're getting good value is very important."
Zhou Jie nodded repeatedly, but looking at the beef in Zhou Yan's hand, he was still somewhat shocked: "One pound can yield 150 slices?"
He had been cutting beef since he was a child, and he thought he was pretty good if he could get 100 slices from one pound of beef.
Zhou Yan's beef slices were thin, large, and very uniform.
"Your knife skills are amazing. Brother Hai Zi and I can't do that; 100 slices are our limit." Zhou Jie shook his head, his eyes filled with admiration.
"A hundred slices would be fine too, you just put four." Zhou Yan said with a smile. Knife skills aren't something can improve overnight.
"Okay." Zhou Jie nodded, continuing to watch intently. "Are there any professional techniques? I want to learn how to cut a hundred and fifty slices too."
...
In the factory canteen's kitchen.
All the chefs, kitchen assistants, and dishwashers stood in three rows, listening to head chef Huang Fusheng's lecture.
"Everyone should know that the reputation of our canteen's stir-fried dishes has declined recently. Of course, the main reason is that Zhou Erwa Restaurant is causing trouble and stealing our customers."
"Director Wang has repeatedly instructed us to cook well, to make good food, so that the workers can eat with peace of mind and comfort. I hope everyone will listen carefully and remember this."
"Don't try to cut corners when cooking. If you put too much salt in the food, or if the meat is dry and tough, I'll hit you on the head with my spatula!"
"Director Wang worries about the cafeteria all day long, and he's gotten so thin recently from all the stress. Aren't you guys ashamed? I can't even sleep at night thinking about it!"
...
The others occasionally chimed in with a response.
Wang Defa, listening from outside the door, nodded repeatedly, a wide grin spreading across his face. Although Huang Fusheng's cooking skills were mediocre, his ability to talk and handle things was quite good.
"All day long, he's kissing up to the fat cats and stepping on the little guys, trying to make himself look important by trampling on others." A sneering voice rang out from the corner. "He's gotten thinner? He'd be so fat he'd get stuck in the cafeteria door!"
The kitchen suddenly fell silent.