The guests had all left, and Zhao Hong had gone home too.
In the empty restaurant, Comrade Old Zhou was sweeping the floor.
Aunt Zhao leaned against the doorpost, rubbing her lower back. She hadn't noticed it while she was busy, but now that she was resting, her back felt a little sore.
"Mom, sit down, Momo will give you a back massage." Zhou Momo brought over a small stool, pulled her mother down to sit, and gently tapped her back with her little fists.
"Does that feel good?"
"Yes, my little girl is so capable, she even knows how to give her mother a back massage." Zhao Tieying nodded with a smile, "It feels good."
Zhou Momo heard this and massaged even more diligently.
Zhou Yan simply stir-fried some green vegetables and minced beef with double peppers, and then heated up the remaining beef intestines and tendons; that was their dinner.
He had specifically set aside those three taels of beef sirloin; while it was important to satisfy the customers, he couldn't neglect his own people either.
"So many customers want to order the minced beef with double peppers, why are you hiding a portion for ourselves?" Aunt Zhao said, looking at the minced beef that Zhou Yan brought out from the kitchen, laughing good-naturedly.
"The customers want to eat it, but we have to eat it too." Zhou Yan said with a smile. "Isn't making money for the sake of living better? Eating well is very important."
"We can just stir-fry some vegetables and heat up some soup for ourselves, no need to be so particular." Aunt Zhao said, standing up and leading Zhou Momo to sit down.
"That won't do. Momo is at the age when she's growing, and you're so busy everyday, you definitely need to eat well." Zhou Miao said after washing his hands. "I think Zhou Yan is right."
"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you two." Zhao Tieying nodded.
"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you two." Zhou Momo echoed in her childish voice.
Everyone laughed.
They each served themselves a bowl of rice and started filling their stomachs.
"I didn't expect business to be so good on the first day. The two factory directors really helped us a lot." Halfway through the meal, Zhao Tieying couldn't help but exclaim, "That Deputy Factory Director Lin is truly our benefactor. He's helped us open up sales channels time and time again."
"That's right, we should thank him properly when we have the chance." Zhou Yan nodded. Today, Uncle Lin invited Factory Director Wang to dinner, clearly intending to promote and introduce him, which surprised and touched him.
They weren't related, and the help they received from Xia Yao was already more than enough; he didn't feel that they still owed the other party anything.
"How about we send him something? We can't keep owing him favors." Zhao Tieying asked Zhou Yan.
"Next time, I'll make him some pickled radishes. His two sons seem to like them. He probably won't accept anything else." Zhou Yan said with a smile. "It's okay, we have plenty of time. We'll repay him when we have the chance. Favors are about give and take."
"That's right." Zhao Tieying nodded, agreeing with Zhou Yan.
"Dad, tomorrow I need 12 jin of beef brisket and 17 jin of beef sirloin. If you don't have enough sirloin, I've already talked to Brother Fei, and he'll save some for me..." Zhou Yan ordered beef and offal from Old Zhou.
"Ordering so much?" Zhao Tieying was a little surprised.
"What happened today will definitely spread throughout the textile factory tomorrow. Our reputation is established now, so we need to seize this opportunity and attract all the customers from the factory canteen's stir-fry section." Zhou Yan said with a smile.
He figured Wang Defa was probably furious right now, and might be plotting something malicious.
But it didn't matter. Thanks to Lin Zhiqiang's introduction, he had already connected with Wang Hongliang, and they would be eating buddies from now on, exchanging ideas and learning from each other.
Zhou Yan could tell that Wang Hongliang genuinely loved cooking and highly appreciated his dishes. This kind of relationship wouldn't be tiring to maintain.
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Aunt Zhao said with a smile, nodding.
The factory director said Zhou Yan could be a good boss, and she always believed that.
Zhou Momo, mixing the minced beef with rice, ate three bowls of rice and a bowl of soup before finally putting down her chopsticks with a satisfied burp.
Using her special small bowl, eating felt so much more fulfilling.
"The food Guo Guo cooked is so delicious! I'm so full!" The little girl giggled, a dimple appearing on her chubby cheek, her eyes curving into crescent moons, and two grains of rice still clinging to the corner of her mouth. She looked adorable and heartwarming.
"Good girl~" Zhou Yan reached out and gently wiped the rice grains from the corner of her mouth.
Zhou Momo leaned closer to him, asking curiously, "Guo Guo, just now, little Guo Guo asked me why beef cross their legs? Do beef get tired too?"
Zhou Yan couldn't help but chuckle, nodding and saying, "Yes, cows get tired from standing all day, so they like to cross their legs to rest when they have time."
"Ah, I understand now!" Zhou Momo nodded thoughtfully.
Aunt Zhao and Old Man Zhou also laughed.
The little girl was truly the source of happiness in the family.
Zhou Momo carefully lowered her left foot to the ground, making sure her toes touched the ground before putting down her right foot. She walked over to Zhou Yan and took his hand: "Guo Guo~ take me to play, I want to play on the slide."
"It's almost dark, what slide are you going to play on? Play tomorrow morning!" Aunt Zhao declared.
"No mah, I want to play, just for a little while..." Zhou Momo whined, shaking Zhou Yan's hand.
"I'm going to count from one to three! One, two..."
"Okay, fine, I'll play tomorrow then..." Zhou Momo pouted, finally giving in.
Zhou Yan smiled without saying anything, afraid of getting into trouble.
Aunt Zhao didn't want to spoil the fun, but she wasn't going to indulge Zhou Momo in everything either.
Soon it was completely dark, and it wouldn't be safe or convenient to ride bicycles home.
Kids, you know, they'll cry a little whether they get what they want or not, and may be you'll give in.
Zhou Momo wasn't particularly stubborn but that kind of kids who throws a tantrum and rolls on the ground that's really troublesome.
Zhou Yan voluntarily took on the dish washing duty. When he saw them off, he noticed a tricycle parked at the stall opposite, and Zhou Liangliang and his wife were loading things onto it with dejected expressions.
"You're like someone who hands over toilet paper when someone else is defecating, or licks the plate after someone else has finished eating. You set up the stall so nicely, and it collapsed in just one day. That's incredibly fast." Aunt Zhao said with a smile.
Zhou Liangliang and Wu Guihua's faces darkened even more; they wished they could just disappear.
Zhou Miao pedaled the bicycle, taking his wife and daughter away, a smile on his face as well.
Zhou Yan shook his head, smiling. When it comes to causing damage, Aunt Zhao's sarcastic remarks were the most devastating.
After locking the door, he still went for a run along the riverbank, working up a sweat before returning home.
The stalls at the entrance were back to their original state, empty except for two piles of stove ashes.
The couple came and went in a hurry.
Zhou Yan actually admired their initiative.
They spotted a business opportunity at the textile factory entrance, immediately moved their stall there, and even added noodles to their menu.
Then, realizing the money wasn't easy to make and that even opening for business was difficult, they packed up and left overnight.
Their initiative surpassed that of ninety percent of people; they just lacked a bit of foresight and business acumen, being too naive about running a business.
After taking a shower, Zhou Yan tallied the accounts.
Today, they sold eighty bowls of noodles and one hundred bowls of cross-legged beef, plus the other dishes, totaling 160.8 yuan in income.
The income reached a new high, even higher than the day the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts students had their group meal last Saturday.
The profit margin on the stir-fried and braised dishes was relatively low, but the cross-legged beef had a high profit margin, resulting in a total profit of approximately 86 yuan, about 50%.
He tied the ten yuans bills together with a string and put them all into the cash box.
He has already repaid 180 yuan of the debt, and still owes 678.52 yuan. He currently has 144.24 yuan in cash.
If business goes as expected tomorrow, Zhou Yan estimates that he can pay off all his debts this week.
On Sunday, his cousin Zhou Hao's wedding banquet will be held, and the Zhou family, young and old, along with the villagers from Zhou Village, will gather together.
He wants to pay off the debt so that Aunt Zhao and Old Man Zhou can hold their heads high in front of everyone and enjoy the banquet.
Opening this restaurant has caused them to be the subject of much gossip and criticism.
Now the restaurant is thriving and has established itself based on its reputation.
As long as they can gradually take over the stir-fry portion of the factory canteen's business, their family will have a prosperous year.
...
"We sold at least 150 yuan today, and there were so many customers who wanted to eat but couldn't. Even the two yuan crucian carp with perilla leaves was selling like hotcakes. How did business suddenly get so good? I feel like I'm dreaming!" Aunt Zhao said, hugging Old Zhou's waist and smiling.
"It shows that Zhou Yan has grown under your guidance." Zhou Miao said with a smile.
"Yes, that's true. Now he can handle things on his own." Aunt Zhao nodded, her smile becoming even brighter. "You didn't hear how the factory directors praised Zhou Yan today. He even called him 'Master Little Zhou'! The workers in the shop were all stunned."
As she spoke, her mood dampened slightly, and she sighed, "This boy must have suffered a lot when he was learning to cook, otherwise he wouldn't be able to make such delicious dishes."
"He just learned your hardworking and persevering spirit. You're a great mother." Zhou Miao said with a smile. "It's good for boys to experience some hardship; otherwise, they won't become successful or accomplish anything."
"Oh, you're so good at saying nice things! You don't even open your mouth in front of other people." Aunt Zhao said, playfully patting Zhou Miao's stomach.
"I only say nice things to you; I don't need to care about others." Old Zhou said seriously.
"Okay, you're enlightened. Tomorrow you go fishing mah."
"Okay."
...