1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 363 In the entire Jiaozhou, no one can rival him (6k chapters combined)

"Oh, I just chopped it up casually," Zeng Anrong said casually.

"What?! Such a big lump of meat! How can I possibly handle it?!" Ah Wei woke up to find his job gone, and the sky had fallen.

"You said you couldn't get up? Then you don't need to get up. Getting up at seven is just right for breakfast." Zhou Yan said with a smile, "Xiao Zeng did a great job."

“Yes, young people, it’s good to sleep more, maybe it will even help you grow taller,” Zeng Anrong said with a smile.

"Sister Zeng, why do you sound like Confucius now?" Awei asked Zeng Anrong.

"how?"

"I'm tired, I don't want to talk." Awei sighed.

"Alright, then you can stay by yourself for a while."

"Forget it, being quiet isn't my style." Awei put down the two knives he was holding, leaned over to Zeng Anrong who was kneading dough on the cutting board, and said with an incredulous look, "Sister Zeng, where do you get all that inexhaustible energy? You work all day, read all night, and got up at 4:30 this morning to knead dough and chop filling? Don't you feel it? This isn't right; it puts a lot of pressure on your colleagues. We young people shouldn't be like this!"

Zeng Anrong corrected, "I even read a book for a while after I got up this morning."

Ah Wei: "..."

"I've come to understand something today; there are some things that I just can't understand."

“Awei, you can’t comfort yourself by blaming others,” Zhou Yan said with a smile.

“No! When I make a mistake, I must first examine others and then comfort myself,” Awei said seriously.

"Awei, do you want to try making steamed buns?" Zeng Anrong put the kneaded dough aside, then followed Zhou Yan to pinch off dough pieces and learn how to make steamed buns.

“I once said I would never learn to make steamed buns.” Awei looked at Zeng Anrong with a complicated expression. “However, I’ve changed my mind now. I think I should learn how to make pastries. Maybe I’ll need it in the future.”

Li Lihua and Zhao Hong also came.

Zhou Lihui came in, greeted everyone, and then approached Awei: "Brother Wei, are you going to teach me how to chop meat with two knives again today?"

Now, at Zhou Erwa Restaurant, only Huihui genuinely calls him "Brother Wei." Wei sighed and said quietly, "Sorry, Huihui, I've lost my right to chop meat. Sister Zeng chopped all the meat in the shop today, so we..."

"Sister Zeng, can you teach me how to chop meat with two knives?" Before he could even finish speaking, Awei had already moved closer to Zeng Anrong and asked.

“Okay.” Zeng Anrong nodded with a smile.

Ah Wei: "..."

How cold-hearted the world is! Human nature has changed!
"Little Zeng, are you making steamed buns today too?" Zhao Hong tied on her apron, washed her hands, and sat down at the white table, ready to start making six hundred meat buns today.

“Yes, I’ll learn to make steamed buns from Sister Zhao and Sister Li.” Zeng Anrong nodded.

“I want to learn too! I want to learn how to make steamed buns from the two older sisters.” Awei quickly came over and stood down.

“When learning a skill, it’s important to follow the right master. Let Master Zhou teach you, so you won’t be led astray,” Zhao Hong said.

Zeng Anrong and Awei looked at Zhou Yan.

"Come on, you're chefs, let's start by learning how to roll out the dough." Zhou Yan beckoned the two over and began teaching them how to roll out the dough, then how to pinch twenty-four pleats into the bun to make a large meat bun with a thin skin and a generous filling.

"Like this, like that, and like this again..." Ah Wei looked at the oddly shaped, angular bun in his hand and nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, it's wrapped up, Sister Zeng, look..."

His voice stopped abruptly as he watched Zeng Anrong's fingers fly across the paper. Soon, she had a steamed bun in her hand.

With a standard twenty-four pleats, the bun was round and plump, looking almost identical to the fresh meat bun that Zhou Yan had just wrapped and placed aside as a template.

"No, Sister Zeng, what are you doing?" Awei's eyes widened, feeling deceived. "Didn't we agree to learn how to make steamed buns together?"

"Sister Zeng is amazing!" Huihui exclaimed from the side.

"Hmm! These steamed buns are so well made!" Zhao Hong exclaimed.

“Yes, you did a good job. You did almost as well as the boss, and much better than me.” Li Lihua nodded in agreement.

Zeng Anrong put the buns in the steamer, then glanced at the buns in Awei's hand. "Oh, Awei's buns are pretty good too."

"I think it's better not to make these steamed buns! It's better not to make them..." Awei sighed, a little hurt.

"Xiao Zeng did a great job. Did you learn it before?" Zhou Yan was also a little surprised. Zeng Anrong's skill in making steamed buns was definitely that of a skilled worker, both fast and good.

"I don't know how to knead dough or stir-fry fillings, and the pastry chefs are unwilling to teach me. But repetitive tasks like rolling out dough and wrapping buns are assigned to me. I've been wrapping buns for two years, so I'm fairly familiar with the skills," Zeng Anrong said somewhat embarrassedly. "I'm only half-baked; I can only do half of it."

"Can these pastry chefs really be so ruthless? They haven't taught us how to knead dough and prepare fillings for two years?" Awei said indignantly, his gaze towards Zeng Anrong filled with admiration. "Sister Zeng, under such circumstances, how can you still calm down and make such good steamed buns? If it were me, I would make the steamed buns square!"

"So what? They can teach as much as they want, and you can learn something no matter how much you learn." Zeng Anrong smiled and said, "Look, I used it today. Once I learn how to knead the dough and prepare the filling from Master Zhou, I will be able to make steamed buns."

Ah Wei fell silent, his expression becoming more serious: "Compared to Sister Zeng, I realize how carefree my life was before, and I didn't cherish it at all. I was picky, learning whatever I wanted, I'm so ashamed..."

Zhou Yan comforted him, "Ah Wei, you're actually very good. You're only twenty-one years old, and you have excellent knife skills and the ability to control the heat."

Ah Wei almost cried on the spot: "If I had any skills, I wouldn't be completely useless. From today onwards, I will work hard to improve myself!"

Zhou Yan patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction: "That's right. Take advantage of your youth to endure hardship, and you'll get used to it when you're old."

"Hmm. Hmm?" Ah Wei felt that something was not quite right, but it also seemed to make sense.

With the addition of experienced workers like Zeng Anrong, the efficiency of making steamed buns has greatly improved.

Ah Wei wasn't discouraged. He stood next to Zeng Anrong, asking questions whenever he didn't understand. He learned little by little, from the amount of filling to the wrapping techniques, and gradually he was able to wrap the buns round without breaking the skin.

However, Awei's experience quota is limited; once he reaches ten, he will be physically logged off.

“I think I’ve got the hang of it, let me do ten more!” Awei said.

“The customers definitely won’t like these steamed buns you made. They can only be used as staff meals. The maximum is about sixteen. You can make six more at most.” Zhou Yan looked at him and said, “These square ones are for you to eat later.”

“Okay.” Awei nodded decisively.

“It’s okay, Wei Ge, I’ll take three for you later,” Huihui said loyally.

"Huihui, you're truly my good brother. Next time, I'll teach you some real skills," Awei said, quite moved.

Zhou Yan watched for a while and then pointed out some minor issues with the finishing touches to Zeng Anrong.

[Ding! Main Quest Issued: Restaurant Chef Training Plan A! A restaurant's success depends on the overall skill level of its chef team! One skilled chef alone cannot sustain a restaurant! Currently, the restaurant's chef talent pool needs development! Please teach a chef a dish and train them to an [Extremely Good] level.]

[Task Reward: Unknown. Accept: Yes/No]

Just as Zhou Yan was about to make ramen, a system notification sounded in his mind.

Chef training mission!

Zhou Yan's gaze fell on Zeng Anrong.

Zeng Anrong is very proactive, and she has a great talent for making pastry; she can master kneading and mixing dough very quickly.

Moreover, the common problem of insufficient strength among women is completely negligible in her case, as her years of experience working in restaurants have honed her to an exceptionally strong physique.

She has strong core strength, and judging from her performance in the past two days, she also has excellent endurance, belonging to the high-energy group.

Zhou Yan had previously considered recruiting a pastry chef to share the breakfast work, but now he has changed his mind and can train an excellent pastry chef himself.

Zhou Yan decisively chose to accept!

Moreover, the choice of the first dish is also very clear: make pork buns!

Fresh meat buns don't require stir-frying the filling. Just chop the minced meat, add chopped green onions and seasonings, and the process is definitely one of the easiest among all kinds of buns.

The key is that Zeng Anrong is now proficient in the process of making buns. She only needs to master the kneading of dough and the preparation of fillings, and control the heat when steaming the buns, and she will be ready to graduate.

The standard for "extremely good" is quite high; even his master's dishes rarely reach this level.

Compared to stir-fries, steamed buns and leaf-wrapped rice cakes seem to be easier to make.

Of the leaf-wrapped rice cakes he and Xia Yao bought that day, the red bean filling and the preserved meat and pickled mustard greens filling reached an "extremely good" level, but the fresh meat filling and the walnut filling only reached a "good" level.

This means that if your proficiency is maxed out, it's easier to improve your skills in pastry and cake making.

Zhou Yan glanced at Awei, then looked away.

It seems that Awei still needs to practice.

Once Zeng Anrong is fully proficient and can handle the buns and noodles, he can spend more time visiting the morning market and dedicate some of his energy to learning and cooking new dishes.

"Sister Li, when you close the opening, rotate your fingers slightly. This will make the opening rounder and look better."

"Sister Zhao, you can make the first pleat a little smaller, so that you can make a total of twenty-four pleats."

Zeng Anrong not only did it herself, but she could also give Li Lihua and Zhao Hong some pointers.

As for Awei, she taught him step by step without holding anything back.

This is what is meant by experienced mentors guiding newcomers.

The first batch of steamed buns in the morning, half of which were made by Awei, became everyone's lunch. Awei was responsible for eating the oddly shaped ones himself.

Huihui was indeed loyal and ate three for him.

With Zeng Anrong's hands-on teaching, I made great progress. The buns I made gradually became rounder, and the number of pleats increased from eight to twelve.

"Awei, did you invent the square bun?" Zhou Momo, with two tufts of hair sticking up, held a large meat bun in her two small hands and asked Awei with great curiosity.

"Actually, it's a croissant. Look how imposing these two horns are!" Ah Wei picked up a croissant and gestured, "Want to trade with me for one?"

Zhou Momo tilted her head and looked at him: "Awei, I'm just small, not stupid. I know which ones taste good."

Ah Wei smiled awkwardly. The little guy was too smart; he couldn't be fooled at all.

After everyone had breakfast, the guests arrived one after another.

Perhaps it was the performance at last night's arts festival that made this breakfast so popular; there were noticeably more customers this morning.

By 7:30, the noodles and steamed buns were sold out.

"We're all sold out of steamed buns and noodles today. I'm sorry, everyone will have to come back tomorrow." Aunt Zhao stood at the door, smiling as she explained to everyone, "There were just too many customers coming for breakfast today."

"Aunt Zhao, are there no more fresh meat buns left?" A girl, still unwilling to give up, asked Aunt Zhao with pleading eyes.

“They’re all gone, not a single one left.” Aunt Zhao shook her head.

"Make more tomorrow. Boss Zhou became famous yesterday. Everyone wants to try his steamed buns and see if they're sweet."

"That's right, where's Xia Lijun? Didn't she come for breakfast today?"

Even though the workers didn't get to eat breakfast, they still managed to crack a few jokes.

Unbeknownst to others, Xia Yao had enjoyed braised pork rib noodles. She combed Zhou Momo's hair, washed her face, played with her for a while, and then went to work.

"I think we can make seven hundred steamed buns and sell them all tomorrow," Aunt Zhao said, looking at Zhou Yan as he came out of the kitchen.

“Okay, then let’s add a hundred steamed buns and twenty bowls of noodles tomorrow.” Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.

This can be considered an unexpected stroke of luck. During a cultural performance, Xia Yao made him the center of attention, which also boosted the popularity of Zhou Erwa Restaurant.

Whether people came just to watch the drama or genuinely wanted to try it, it's a fact that there were significantly more customers at the store today.

Aunt Zhao asked, "Should we prepare more braised dishes and other dishes? Given the current situation, we expect the number of customers coming at noon and in the evening to increase as well."

Zhou Yan pushed the cart out the door: "I'm going to take a look around. If there are any suitable pig heads, I'll add two more. It's not always possible to find satisfactory ingredients at this time."

You need to seize opportunities to make money; you must have a keen sense of smell to grasp them.

Zhou Yan went to the morning market and bought a pig's head, ten catties of pork belly and two pieces of pork belly, as well as some side dishes.

Zhou Yan exercised restraint regarding the increase in the amount of food supplied.

It is better to have nothing than to have something of poor quality.

If there are indeed many more customers today, then it's reasonable for some customers not to be able to get a table.

Buying inferior ingredients and making less-than-satisfactory dishes to increase supply is not in line with Zhou Yan's consistent philosophy.

Comrade Zhou carried the pig's head to be processed. Just as Zhou Yan carried the meat into the kitchen, a shout rang out from outside: "Zhou Yan!"

"Master?! What a rare guest! Why have you come?" Ah Wei ran out of the restaurant faster than Zhou Yan, looking at Kong Guodong with surprise and joy. "You missed me?"

"Screw you! I've had so much more free time without you." Kong Guodong brushed his paws away and looked at Zhou Yan who was coming out, saying, "Zhou Yan, the provincial document has come down. The province has given a clear answer on the possibility of outstanding young chefs being allowed to take the chef level exam without any special arrangements. There are a total of five spots in the province this year, and you've been selected."

"Really!" Zhou Yan's eyes lit up with surprise. "Thank you so much, Uncle-Master!"

"There are only five spots available in the whole province, and Zhou Shi is amazing!" Awei said with envy.

"Congratulations, Master Zhou." Zeng Anrong stood at the door and congratulated him upon hearing the news.

"Thanks a lot. My master submitted your information, and the catering company sent it to the province. After layers of screening, you were selected. It was all based on your own ability." Kong Guodong waved his hand, also smiling, and encouraged Zhou Yan: "Prepare well. If you can pass the Level 3 Chef exam this time and get an excellent score, according to the usual practice, you can continue to take the Level 2 exam next year."

"I will definitely study hard for the exam." Zhou Yan nodded. He knew about the option to continue to Level 2 based on merit, and he would definitely try his best if it was possible.

Kong Guodong took the application form and notification letter out of his bag and handed them to Zhou Yan. "Fill out the application form and write 'Leming Chef Training Base' as the recommending unit."

“Okay.” Zhou Yan took it and then said, “Uncle Kong, could Zeng Anrong also apply for the exam through the Leming Chef Training Base?”

"Zeng Anrong?" Kong Guodong noticed Zeng Anrong standing at the restaurant entrance and was somewhat surprised. "What are you doing here? Didn't you go back to Qingshen Restaurant?"

“Manager Kong, I have resigned from my job at Qingshen Restaurant and am now a chef at Zhou Erwa Restaurant,” Zeng Anrong said.

"What's going on?" Kong Guodong asked Zhou Yan.

“Comrade Zeng Anrong has solid basic skills and works diligently and efficiently. I invited her to the restaurant,” Zhou Yan explained. “She has no apprenticeship but is willing to learn cooking from me, so I plan to take her on as an apprentice. I think her level is sufficient to take the Level 3 exam, so I want to see if she can take the exam through the training base. Even if she doesn’t pass, she can still gain some experience.”

"Taking on an apprentice?" Kong Guodong was genuinely surprised this time. He looked at Zeng Anrong and said, "Little Zeng is an outstanding student in our training program. You really want to become her apprentice? Why didn't you say so during the training class? Actually, I could consider it."

"Come on, Master, don't hold Sister Zeng back. She really wants to learn cooking," Kong Liwei teased from the side.

"Get away!" Kong Guodong kicked him.

"Uncle Kong, you can't steal my disciple, can you?" Zhou Yan couldn't help but laugh. Kong Guodong was trying to play a secondary account.

Kong Guodong coughed twice: "Cough cough, Zhou Yan, you are still young and your skill level is still rising rapidly. At the age of twenty, you should focus more on improving yourself. Teaching apprentices is more suitable for middle-aged people like us."

"It's not up to us to decide this; it's up to Zeng himself," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

All eyes turned to Zeng Anrong.

Zeng Anrong was a little apprehensive. When she was at Qingshen Restaurant, no one paid any attention to her. She had long admired the Kong School and never dared to imagine that one day she could become a disciple of the Kong School.

Who would have thought that first Master Zhou said he wanted to take her as his apprentice and even taught her how to make steamed buns and various dishes, and now Kong Guodong, the deputy manager of Leming Restaurant and the third-generation senior disciple of the Kong school, is also willing to take her as his apprentice.

Looking at Zhou Yan and Kong Guodong, she hardly hesitated. Looking at Kong Guodong, she said apologetically, "Manager Kong, I'm sorry. Although I haven't officially become an apprentice yet, I'm already learning to cook from Master Zhou. I'm very grateful for your favor, but Master Zhou has been very kind to me and has been very patient in teaching me. I've decided to continue to improve myself under Master Zhou's guidance."

"You have good taste." Ah Wei secretly gave a thumbs up.

"Get the hell out of here!" Kong Guodong kicked him again, laughing as he said, "That's fine too. Anyway, since you've become Zhou Yan's disciple, you're also a disciple of my Kong School. Call me Grandmaster Uncle. If you don't understand anything, come and ask me. I certainly won't hold back."

"Okay." Zeng Anrong nodded, trying hard to suppress the corners of her mouth.

Zhou Yan smiled. Not bad, this girl is reliable.

“We also have Zeng’s information at our training base. I’ll take a look when I get back. If all the conditions are met, I’ll register her directly,” Kong Guodong said to Zhou Yan.

"Okay, thank you, Uncle-Master," Zhou Yan said.

"Thank you, Manager Kong," Zeng Anrong said quickly, her face beaming with joy.

She didn't expect the registration to go so smoothly, without any hesitation, and Kong Guodong simply nodded in agreement.

Kong Guodong waved his hand dismissively: "Thanks a damn thing. We're all juniors from the Kong faction, there's nothing to thank me for."

Zhou Yan invited Kong Guodong in for tea.

Ah Wei leaned closer to him with a grin and said, "Master, what if Master Zhou's disciple is even more skilled than yours? Won't you feel embarrassed?"

“Then you should reconsider whether you still want to go home,” Kong Guodong said calmly. “Anyway, I’ll definitely have the bamboo whip ready.”

Ah Wei's eyes widened slightly: "Master, I was just joking. You're just too serious."

Looking at the menu, Kong Guodong smiled and said, "There are quite a few more dishes now."

“Master, this menu is nothing. Why don’t you take a look at the banquet menu?” Ah Wei ran to bring in the notice board.

"They're starting to offer banquets now..." Kong Guodong's gaze fell on the banquet menu, and his expression quickly became uneasy. After looking at it, he turned to Zhou Yan, who was bringing over tea, and said, "Zhou Yan, for the 30-yuan banquet, would you like to order braised rock carp and snowflake chicken soup?"

"We don't have many dishes that we can really show off, so we can only bring out these two to make the menu look a bit better," Zhou Yan said with a smile and a nod.

"Kung Pao Chicken, Mapo Tofu, Braised Beef... Every single one of these dishes you make could be a restaurant's signature dish! And you still don't have anything worth showing off?" Kong Guodong shook his head after hearing this, then quickly realized something and looked at him with slight nervousness, saying, "They said you bought a house in Jiaozhou. When are you planning to move the restaurant to Jiaozhou?"

"That's still a long way off. The restaurant still needs to be rebuilt; that'll have to wait until next year," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

Kong Guodong breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this.

“When Zhou Erwa’s restaurant moves to Jiaozhou, you’ll have just taken office as the general manager of Leming Restaurant. Master, do you think Leming Restaurant has a good chance of winning against a banquet menu that costs only thirty yuan?” Awei asked with a smile, trying to stir things up.

Kong Guodong looked at the menu in silence for a moment before saying, "Fifty-fifty."

“Master, we’re all on the same side, let’s be honest,” Awei said with a smile. “If Leming doesn’t change its menu, Leming has no chance of winning at all for the same price of thirty yuan for a banquet.”

After saying that, Awei had already slipped to the stool next to him and assumed a defensive stance.

Kong Guodong remained surprisingly calm and nodded, saying, "At the same price point, no one in the entire Jiaozhou can rival it."

　There will be an extra chapter later~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)