1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 364 Tie Ying, aren't you paying attention in class? (Bonus chapter for monthly votes: 955 chapters)

Kong Guodong became an apprentice of Master Kong Er in his teens and entered the kitchen of Leming Hotel. He witnessed the peak of the Leming Hotel's two Kongs, when they dominated all the other hotels in Jiaozhou. He also experienced the rise of Kong's third-generation disciples, such as Fang Yifei and Song Bo, who led the trend.

His culinary talent was only average among his fellow apprentices, but his long-term involvement in restaurant management and operation, and his considerable time spent at Leming Restaurant, gave him a broad perspective.

With Zhou Yan's culinary skills, we selected the best dishes from Zhou Erwa Restaurant's menu and added three banquet dishes: Snowflake Chicken Soup, Kung Pao Chicken, and Braised Rock Carp, for a total of thirty yuan per table.

Let alone Jiaozhou, even if we take Rongcheng, it would be an invincible force.

Today, the best chef in Jiaozhou is Zhou Yan, a true successor of the Kong school, certified by Master Kong Er.

Dishes like Mapo Tofu and Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce are all excellent choices.

Zhou Yan's banquet menu was basically priced according to the normal menu, making it extremely cost-effective.

"Uncle-Master is too modest. When it comes to banquets in Jiaozhou, Leming Restaurant is definitely the first choice." Zhou Yan brewed tea for Kong Guodong. Ah Wei really knows how to make him jealous.

“That was before, it’s hard to say now.” Kong Guodong sighed, holding the teacup that was getting hotter, his smile tinged with bitterness: “The talents that the Kong School has cultivated over the years have basically all been transferred away, and their competitiveness in the current Jiaozhou catering market is not as good as before.”

Leaving aside old rivals like Feiyan Restaurant, there's also the recently booming Wanxiu Restaurant. Rumor has it that a big boss is looking at land, wanting to build an even bigger and better restaurant, and is even bringing down a top chef from Chengdu to take charge.

"Is the competition in Jiaozhou's catering industry really that fierce now?" Zhou Yan was somewhat surprised to hear this. As the deputy manager of Leming Hotel, Kong Guodong must be well-informed.

Kong Guodong said with a hint of helplessness, "Intense competition is normal. In every era of good economic development, the catering industry is always highly competitive. The problem with Leming Restaurant is that its own competitiveness has declined."

I was thinking that once Lao Luo learned how to make snowflake chicken soup from you, Leming Restaurant would have another dish on their menu. But then he quit his job and went into business for himself.

Zhou Yan seemed to be deep in thought. The core competitiveness of a restaurant ultimately lies in the chef's skills. He asked curiously, "Uncle-Master, what's the background of Wanxiu Restaurant? A friend of mine is holding a banquet there this Sunday. Does it mainly cater to private banquets?"

Kong Guodong said, "Wanxiu Restaurant has quite a background. The big boss is a woman surnamed Mei, who is said to be from Chengdu. She is rich and has connections. The partner is Yan Ge, a first-class chef from Rongleyuan. He brought a group of apprentices from Chengdu, and their skills are quite high. They have a very well-known brand."

They just opened last month, and the venue is beautifully decorated. The banquet hall is newly built, and they even have a stage. Their reputation is already starting to grow, and recently they've been poaching chefs everywhere with high salaries, even approaching our Leming Hotel.

"So they're here for Leming Hotel and Feiyan Restaurant, huh?" Zhou Yan said thoughtfully.

"Yes, our manager has been under a lot of pressure lately; his hair is thinning more and more. Feiyan Restaurant is probably in a complete mess too." Kong Guodong nodded, though as the second-in-command, he didn't feel it as acutely.

"Master, how are Uncle Luo and Little Luo's restaurant business? Have they made any money?" Awei asked curiously.

Zhou Yan also looked over.

“It won’t work. It’s difficult to even open for business every day.” Kong Guodong shook his head. “I don’t know what Lao Luo is thinking. Opening a restaurant in such a deep alley, do you think ghosts will go in to eat?”

"That's terrible! Xiao Luo has already spent all his dowry on his wedding." Awei said with some worry.

Zhou Yan was not surprised; this result was basically within his expectations. Failure caused by a wrong site selection is difficult to reverse.

Uncle Luo's stir-fried pork with salt was quite good, and his various stir-fries and braised dishes were also decent, but ultimately he wasn't as famous as Kong Huaifeng or Kong Qingfeng, so he didn't have that kind of reputation to make people specifically seek out that narrow alley to go in and eat.

Kong Guodong looked at Zhou Yan and asked, "Zhou Yan, I heard from your master that your restaurant also experienced a period of decline and was once on the verge of collapse. How did you turn things around and make the restaurant so successful? Do you have any methods you can pass on to Lao Luo?"

"As long as the taste is guaranteed, there's one crucial point: my restaurant is located at the very first shop at the entrance of the textile factory. Location is everything," Zhou Yan said.

"That's hopeless." Kong Guodong shook his head and sighed. "Fortunately, when Lao Luo resigned, I was careful and arranged for him to take a leave of absence without pay. We'll see when he comes back."

"Then Uncle Luo will be scolded to death by his wife." Awei sighed, "It seems that running a private restaurant isn't so easy after all."

"Nonsense, there are so many chefs in the world, how many of them can actually become bosses? A genius like Master Zhou, one in a million, only comes along once every few years. Master Kong and Master Kong Er are pretty amazing, right? They were chefs their whole lives, they never opened their own restaurants or eateries," Kong Guodong said.

“That’s right, Master Zhou not only cooks well, but he also runs a great business.” Ah Wei nodded in agreement.

"Alright, alright, Uncle-Master, Wei, stop flattering me." Zhou Yan couldn't stand the sarcastic tone from the master and disciple anymore. He glanced at his watch and said, "I'm going to make braised meat now. Uncle-Master, why don't you stay for lunch?"

Kong Guodong waved his hand: "You go about your business, don't worry about me. I'll leave after I finish this cup of tea. It's Wednesday today, and I have a lot to do. I have a meeting to attend this afternoon, and I need to go back and organize some documents this morning."

Zhou Yan did not try to stop them, letting the master and apprentice catch up, and then turned back to the kitchen to braise meat.

The matter of Wanxiu Restaurant piqued Zhou Yan's curiosity.

Facing the impact of Chengdu capital, Leming Hotel and Feiyan Restaurant will certainly face considerable pressure.

Fortunately, the partner was only a first-class chef. If a master chef had come, Leming Restaurant and Feiyan Restaurant would have been blown up.

Then we really can only beg the patriarch to come out of seclusion.

This served as a reminder to Zhou Yan that he needed to accumulate more recipes before going to Jiaozhou.

He was able to dominate in Suji mainly because the state-run restaurants were not competitive and there were no strong competitors.

But if you go to Jiaozhou, you really can't establish yourself there without some real skills.

A short while later, Awei entered the kitchen.

"Did Master Uncle go back?" Zhou Yan asked. "Yes, he did. I can tell my master is under a lot of pressure; he has a few gray hairs at his temples. He must have been worrying a lot." Awei nodded.

“With you gone, he definitely has less to worry about,” Zhou Yan said.

"Master Zhou, a house can be rebuilt, but you are the most despicable person imaginable!" Awei walked away through gritted teeth.

Old Zhou and Aunt Zhao were quite happy that Zhou Yan was able to take the Level 3 chef exam despite not meeting the usual requirements.

Aunt Zhao looked at the notice again and again, then turned to Comrade Zhou and asked, "What's the pronunciation of this character?"

"Pronounced 'guan,' 'mianguan' means not wearing a hat," Comrade Zhou said.

"Tie Ying, look at you, you're not paying attention in class!" Zhou Momo leaned over and took a look. "I recognize it! Guan, Ge Wu An Guan!"

"Zhou Momo, you're showing off, aren't you!" Aunt Zhao reached out to grab the little one.

The little guy scurried off faster than anyone else, chanting, "I'm the running champion!"

"She can even make sentences; no wonder she's a model student," Old Zhou said, beaming with joy.

Aunt Zhao couldn't help but laugh.

Business was indeed good at noon, with at least 20% more customers and long queues. Business hours were once again approaching the factory's lunch break.

After finishing, Awei slumped onto a stool, too exhausted to even untie his apron, looking utterly hopeless: "Where did all these guests come from? This is even more tiring than preparing the banquet yesterday!"

"Yes, business is better today than the previous two days." Zeng Anrong was also a little confused. The kitchen was working at full capacity at noon today and they were almost overwhelmed. Even she felt tired.

Zhou Yan remained quite calm: "This is called the advertising effect, which attracts a lot of customers to the restaurant in a short period of time. A small portion of them are customers who have never been here before, while most are people who have been here before but haven't been for a while. They suddenly want to come and eat here after seeing this. The peak period will be concentrated in these two days."

"You guys take a break and go get a nap. Tonight won't be too busy because there's not much food left."

"MoMo, how about we go for a drive in the countryside?" Zhou Yan asked Zhou MoMo, who was sitting on the swing by the door, as he carried a basket, pushed his bicycle out the door.

"Yes! I want to go!" Zhou Momo nodded immediately, swinging her short legs, and said to Zhou Yan, "Brother! Give me a hug~~"

Zhou Yan smiled and pulled the car over, bent down and scooped the little guy out of the wheel swing, placing him on the front bumper.

"Let's go! Let's go!" the little guy shouted happily, gripping the handlebars.

When it comes to going back to the countryside, the little guy is always the most enthusiastic.

Back at the old house, the old lady and two other old ladies from the neighboring house were sitting by the fire at the door, chatting and laughing.

"Grandma! Aunt Wang! Third Aunt Liu~~" Zhou Momo called out before even getting out of the car.

Zhou Yan also greeted them.

"You're back, sweetie." The old lady got up and came over, reaching out to pick Zhou Momo up. She took a piece of candy from her pocket and put it in her hand. "White Rabbit candy, I saved this for you."

"Wow! It's my absolute favorite bunny!" Zhou Momo was overjoyed. She then took a gold coin chocolate out of her pocket and stuffed it into the old lady's hand. She whispered in the old lady's ear, "Grandma, there's only one. You can eat it secretly. Aunt Wang and the others don't have any. They'll cry if they see it."

"Okay." The old lady nodded and put the gold coin chocolate into her pocket.

The grandmother and grandson smiled at each other, as if they shared the same secret.

Zhou Yan watched this scene, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"Grandma, let me flip the cured meat over." Zhou Yan picked up the basket and walked into the yard.

"I told you I helped you turn it over, you didn't mind running back and forth all the time." The old lady took Zhou Momo's hand and followed her into the room.

“No way, it weighs several hundred pounds. If you get tired, I’ll have to go to a family military court.” Zhou Yan laughed, put the basket on the table, and whispered with a smile, “Grandma, I brought you braised pig’s trotters. This one is the fattest today.”

"Okay, I'll steam them tonight." The old lady nodded with a smile and slipped a White Rabbit milk candy into his hand as well. "I saved one for you too."

Zhou Yan peeled off the candy shell and put it directly into his mouth, smiling as he said, "Mmm, sweet."

"Where's Yao Yao? Is she at work?" the old lady asked.

"Yes, she has to go to work today."

The old lady looked at him and asked, "You two, are you married or not?"

Zhou Yan smiled and nodded: "It's done."

The old lady had already grasped the feather duster. Hearing the sound, she waved a non-existent spider web twice in the air and exclaimed in surprise, "Really? Yao Yao obediently agreed?"

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(End of this chapter)