1984: Starting from a bankrupt Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 370: Is it a cucumber? Then it deserves a slap (6k-page compilation)

"Huh? You know them all well?" Mei Xiu couldn't hide her surprise upon hearing this. What did Boss Zhuang mean by that?
Lu Xiaoji said that Zhou Yan had previously been invited to a banquet hosted by the Municipal Economic Commission and had cooked two dishes. He is currently one of the representative figures of the Jiaozhou Confucius School.

But his small restaurant is located in a rural town, so how could he be familiar with everyone at the table?

Yao Licheng and Zhuang Huayu are wealthy businessmen who have come from Hong Kong to invest. Chen Ming is a leader of the Municipal Economic Commission. Lin Zhiqiang is the deputy director of the textile factory. Meng Anhe is the deputy director of the Provincial Architectural Design Institute. Xia Yao is a college student from Sichuan Fine Arts Institute.

How did this group of people, who came from all over the country and had rather special backgrounds, become acquainted with Zhou Yan?

She had met Yao Licheng by chance before, and was able to accompany him today to get to know everyone present, hoping to take on some reception projects for the Municipal Economic Commission and Licheng Group.

Chen Ming smiled and said, "Zhou Yan is the best among the younger generation of chefs in Jiaozhou. Not only is he a good cook, but he is also humble and reasonable. Once you have eaten his food or met him, it is hard to forget him."

“If his little restaurant were in Jiaozhou, I would definitely eat there every day during this period,” Yao Licheng said.

"Zhou Yan's restaurant is right at the entrance of our textile factory. I actually eat there every day," Lin Zhiqiang said with a smile. He hadn't expected that he would be able to eat Zhou Yan's cooking at Wanxiu Restaurant today while having dinner with Yao Licheng and Zhuang Huayu.

Xia Yao smiled, not saying a word, her pride written all over her face.

She not only eats it every day now, but she will eat it for the rest of her life!

And you don't have to pay anything!

Just thinking about it makes me smile.

“Zhou Yan is my Yao Yao’s boyfriend,” Meng Anhe said with a smile.

Mei Xiu's eyes widened slightly. Yao Licheng and the others had eaten Zhou Yan's cooking before, and she found it acceptable. Zhou Yan's cooking was indeed delicious. At twenty years old, he was tall and handsome, which made him easy to leave a deep impression.

But this Sichuan Fine Arts Institute student, who was praised by Yao Licheng so much, was so beautiful and had such a great temperament, was actually Zhou Yan's girlfriend?

This left her momentarily confused.

Is Zhou Yan really that amazing?

"Yes, Zhou Yan is my boyfriend." Xia Yao put down her chopsticks and nodded gracefully.

Yao Licheng and Zhuang Huayu exchanged a glance and smiled. Just as they had expected, Zhou Yan and Xia Yao were a couple.

"Boss Mei, was this Kung Pao Chicken also made by Zhou Yan today?" Lin Zhiqiang asked.

"Zhou Yan made this?" Zhuang Huayu looked at Mei Xiu upon hearing the voice.

“Yes, today’s Kung Pao Chicken was indeed made by Chef Zhou.” Mei Xiu nodded.

She did want to attribute the credit to Wanxiu Restaurant, but everyone present was more familiar with her and Zhou Yan than she was with them, so lying about it would be pointless and would only make her a laughingstock.

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Huayu said with some emotion, "So it was Zhou Yan who made it. No wonder it tastes so good. That makes sense."

Zhou Yan inherited the mantle and culinary skills of Master Kong Huaifeng. The Kung Pao Chicken he made today tastes almost exactly like the one Master Kong made for me back in Hong Kong. Master Kong has passed away, and I searched all over the country, thinking I would never find the same flavor again.

"Zhou Yan's cooking skills are truly amazing. Last time, I only handed him the braised rock carp once, and it was all gone when I brought it back to me. Today, I'll have to eat a few more pieces of fish." Yao Licheng said as he picked up his chopsticks.

The others laughed when they heard this.

Zhuang Huayu looked at Mei Xiu and said, "Ms. Mei, could you please ask someone to tell Zhou Yan that I'm going back to Hong Kong tomorrow and I'd like to see him?"

Mei Xiu smiled and said, "Please take your time eating, there's no rush. Master Zhou is the best man today; his friend is holding a wedding banquet at our restaurant. Our Wanxiu chef, who makes braised rock carp, had something come up at the last minute, so I invited Master Zhou to fill in."

"You've used half of these groomsmen to cook? Zhou Yan really has a strong sense of brotherhood," Yao Licheng laughed.

"You must have received a hefty appearance fee, right?" Zhuang Huayu chuckled.

“Seventy,” Mei Xiu said, “that’s quite a lot.”

"He came at seventy? Zhou Yan is indeed quite loyal."

……

In the banquet hall, the pre-meal procedures had been completed, and the banquet goddess—the waitress who controlled the chopsticks—finally distributed the chopsticks to the guests.

The food looked delicious, but chopsticks weren't served until the end of the wedding banquet – this is probably a unique feature of Sichuan and Chongqing.

The guests began their meal, while Lu Chuan and Chen Rong, along with their best man, maid of honor, and both sets of parents, started toasting each table.

The main purpose of toasting is to let the newlyweds get to know each other's relatives. Lu Chuan and Chen Rong are both locals from Suji, and they know most of their relatives. However, the friends and colleagues that their parents made after coming to Jiaozhou introduced them to the couple during the toasting.

There are too many people; newcomers definitely won't remember them all.

But it's the same to become a familiar face and let customers remember you.

We toasted everyone along the way, until we reached the two tables of my junior high school classmates.

"Hey, Lu Chuan! Chen Rong! Congratulations on your marriage!" A slightly sarcastic voice rang out, and a young man with a slicked-back hairstyle and wearing a leather jacket stood up.

A woman with heavy makeup sat next to him, and she got up as well, clinging to his arm, practically hanging on him.

"Ding Junfa, it's been a long time," Lu Chuan replied with a smile, shaking hands with him.

Chen Rong frowned slightly, but quickly smiled and said, "Boss Ding has joined the railway bureau, which looks quite respectable. It's kind of you to take the time to come despite your busy schedule."

"My old classmate is getting married, so of course I have to come," Ding Junfa said with a smile. "I've prepared a big red envelope for you all."

"You're so busy at the railway bureau, it's already great that you could come. Why bother with a big red envelope?" Lu Chuan said with a smile, then looked at the woman who was only holding Ding Junfa's arm and asked, "And who is this lady?"

“My girlfriend, Song Qianqian,” Ding Junfa introduced, “is a nurse at Jiaozhou Second Hospital.”

"Hello everyone, I'm Song Qianqian, Junfa's first love. It's a pleasure to see you all, Junfa's old classmates." Song Qianqian waved, her voice slightly strained.

The women present all turned their heads away and rolled their eyes.

First love girlfriend, what a strange prefix.

"By the way, where's Zhou Yan? Didn't you say he was going to be your best man? Why haven't I seen him? He's still an apprentice in the textile factory canteen, isn't he?" Ding Junfa looked around and laughed, "He heard his old classmate was coming and hid?"

"Yeah, I didn't see him today. Zhou Yan used to be the school's most handsome guy. I wonder what he looks like now."

"I haven't seen him for five or six years. Back then, he was quite handsome, and many of my classmates liked him. After all these years, is he still an apprentice?"

Mentioning Zhou Yan piqued the interest of the students at the table. They had been chatting for over half an hour, but hadn't seen Zhou Yan around and were all curious.

Upon hearing this, Ding Junfa curled his lips and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Zhou Yan must have gained weight too. Back then, Lu Chuan was quite handsome. I've never seen many thin chefs."

The students looked at Lu Chuan upon hearing this, and it seemed to make some sense.

"Ding Junfa, what you're saying is a bit much. Back when you were bullied, Zhou Yan even stood up for you."

"Exactly, is it because the girl you had a crush on back then still has a crush on Zhou Yan, and you haven't let go of her all these years?"

Some classmates chimed in with jokes.

Upon hearing this, Lu Chuan's smile faded, and he looked at Ding Junfa, saying, "Zhou Yan is no longer an apprentice; he's opened his own restaurant and is now the boss. He was my best man today, but the owner of Wanxiu Restaurant asked him to help with cooking at the last minute. He should be back soon."

"Open a restaurant? Become a sole proprietor?" Ding Jun laughed.

Song Qianqian laughed along, "Isn't being a self-employed individual just setting up a stall? Setting up a stall isn't easy these days, is it? There are people chasing us away at the entrance of our hospital, and if you're not careful, you can get arrested for speculation."

The students didn't respond, but in most people's eyes, working as a self-employed individual was indeed inferior to working in a state-owned factory.

Chen Rong frowned. Ding Junfa and his companion really didn't know how to keep their mouths shut. His current job at the railway bureau was also arranged by his family.

Zhou Yan earns his money through his own abilities, and these people are making irresponsible remarks; it's clear they want to embarrass Zhou Yan today.

"Is Zhou Yan really a street vendor?" Zheng Yi asked Li Yanyan in a low voice.

"They run a restaurant, they don't know any better than to talk nonsense," Li Yanyan whispered, glancing at Ding Junfa and the other man with undisguised disgust in her eyes.

These two are really unappetizing. I wonder what their expressions would be if they knew that Zhou Yan deposited 40,000 yuan in one go last month.

The atmosphere became a little tense for a moment.

"A self-employed individual refers to a natural person with the ability to operate a business, who is a business entity engaged in industrial and commercial operations in accordance with the law. Setting up a stall or opening a shop are both self-employed individuals. In terms of knowledge, you are still shallow." Just then, a voice rang out from behind the crowd.

Everyone turned around at the sound, their eyes lighting up as a tall young man in a corduroy jacket, black trousers, and leather shoes walked over with a smile.

"Is this Zhou Yan? How did he grow so tall!"

"His eyebrows and eyes have matured, he has sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and he looks so handsome even with a buzz cut!"

The female students whispered among themselves, their eyes sparkling as they looked at Zhou Yan.

"Zhou Yan, sit here, I saved a seat for you," a female classmate called out to Zhou Yan.

"Okay." Zhou Yan walked over with a smile, glanced at Ding Junfa and his skinny girlfriend, then turned to Lu Chuan and said with a smile, "Lu Chuan, do you still want me to drink for you?"

Lu Chuan smiled and shook his head, then winked at him: "No need, you can decide whether to sit at the classmate's table or at the table next to us later. We only have two tables left to toast."

"Let's sit here. It's been a long time since we old classmates got together."

"Exactly! We haven't seen each other since you dropped out of school in the second year of junior high, have we? You wouldn't even recognize me."

Before Zhou Yan could speak, two female classmates pulled him to sit down and brought him a new set of bowls and chopsticks.

Being handsome certainly makes him more attractive.

Zhou Yan was also somewhat helpless about this.

Ding Junfa looked at Zhou Yan with a somewhat unpleasant expression. Zhou Yan was not only tall and handsome, but also dressed quite well, and did not look like someone who was doing poorly.

The words he had just spoken stung his face, leaving a burning pain.

Zhou Yan poured himself a beer, smiled, and raised his glass, saying, "Come on, let's toast Lu Chuan and Chen Rong, our junior high school classmates, to congratulate our old classmates on their marriage and wish them a long and happy life together."

Happy wedding! May you have a long and happy marriage!

The students raised their glasses in celebration.

The atmosphere, which had been chilled by Ding Junfa, heated up again.

Chen Rong and Lu Chuan smiled and raised their glasses to accept everyone's blessings.

Lu Chuan said, "Everyone, take your time eating. You can have tea and chat in the afternoon, or play cards. We'll have dinner here again tonight."

“Sure! Groom, you go ahead with your work. Leave the students to me; I’ll definitely take good care of them,” Zhou Yan replied with a smile.

Chen Rong smiled. Zhou Yan was reliable; he neither clashed with Ding Jun nor failed to warm up the atmosphere. He truly deserved to be Lu Chuan's good brother.

Otherwise, given Zhou Yan's temperament during his school days, he would have already gotten into a fight with Ding Junfa, and they would have had to mediate.

Li Yanyan looked at Zhou Yan with a smile in her beautiful eyes. Although Zhou Yan was only twenty years old, he had the charm of a mature man and was very attractive in his speech and actions.

Lu Chuan and his group moved to the next table, and everyone else took their seats as well.

Zhou Yan ate eight glutinous rice balls in the morning and was indeed a bit hungry after being busy all this time. It was not good to sneak a bite in someone else's kitchen, and he didn't even have time to eat a bite of Kung Pao Chicken.

I sat down, picked up my chopsticks, and first put a piece of sweet braised pork belly and glutinous rice into my bowl to fill my stomach.

Everyone had been eating for quite a while, and most of the dishes on the table had been eaten. If it weren't for the female classmate's excessive enthusiasm, he would definitely have chosen to sit at the bride and groom's table with Lu Chuan and the others.

"Come on, Zhou Yan, try these ribs."

"Zhou Yan, this beef brisket is delicious. I saved two slices for you."

As soon as Zhou Yan picked up his chopsticks, the female classmates started spinning a turntable to feed him.

"Thanks. I got up early and ran around all day, so I'm a bit hungry." Zhou Yan didn't stand on ceremony and ate whatever was offered, wanting to try the chef's skills at Wanxiu Restaurant so he could choose a reward later.

[Ding! Emergency rescue mission complete! Guests are very satisfied, Mei Xiu's crisis is averted! Reward: Choose one dish from the Wanxiu Restaurant menu. Optional.]

A notification sounded in my mind.

Task completed, reward issued!
comfortable!
Zhou Yan couldn't suppress the urge to smile.

The wedding banquet menu here is the basic menu. After lunch, I'll go to the front desk to browse around and get the menus for the high-end private rooms on the second floor. I'll choose one dish from them that can be my signature dish as a reward for myself.

He's not particularly fond of dishes like braised bear paws and cold muntjac meat. The ingredients are too high-quality, and the prices are high, so customers order them less often. He probably doesn't even earn as much as he does with spicy blood curd.

If he wanted to learn, he wanted to learn the exquisite skills of Sichuan cuisine, such as braised beef head, hibiscus chicken slices, braised pork in a jar, stuffed tofu, and shredded beef, which are difficult to master and that the Confucian school is not good at.

Ox heads are so cheap, yet ox head squares made from ox head skin can be served at state banquets and become one of the four pillar dishes of high-end banquets.

He likes to make money by selling cheap ingredients at high prices.

Lu Chuan and his wife's marriage really brought him good fortune.

We should have added an extra 100-yuan note.

Making money is a man's most reliable source of confidence. Zhou Yan doesn't even bother to argue with guys like Ding Junfa. He wasn't that bored when he was a teenager.

While eating, Zhou Yan chatted idly with his classmates.

After dropping out of junior high school, Xiao Zhou was basically out of contact with anyone except Lu Chuan.

So everyone was quite curious about him, especially the female classmates, who talked a lot, which slowed down his eating speed.

Zhou Yan ate until he was half full, then began to deal with the various questions from his female classmates.

He's quite good at chatting.

As long as he's not allowed to date, there shouldn't be any major problems.

He was witty and humorous, able to respond to anything, which made the female students giggle continuously.

Ding Junfa sat opposite him, holding back for a long time before finally unable to hold back and asking, "Zhou Yan, you said you opened a restaurant, where is it located? How's business? Is it possible to make money as a self-employed individual these days?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Zhou Yan with curiosity.

At the next table, Lu Chuan and his group had just finished toasting and sat down when Chen Rong frowned slightly and whispered to Lu Chuan, "What's wrong with Ding Junfa? Why is he picking a fight with Zhou Yan today?"

"I don't know either. Didn't this kid used to follow Zhou Yan around calling him 'Brother Yan' all the time? If I had known, I wouldn't have called him that." Lu Chuan was also a little confused.

"I think he's looking down on Zhou Yan, who's self-employed and works for the railway bureau, because he thinks he's doing it right. He's trying to embarrass him," Chen Rong said with some disgust. "He's really a petty person who's gotten his way. Keep an eye on him. If he keeps nagging, invite Zhou Yan to our table. He's here to be our best man. Why should he have to put up with Ding Junfa's jerk attitude?"

“Okay.” Lu Chuan nodded.

Zhou Yan looked at Ding Junfa, a slight smile playing on his lips. This guy was really eager to offer his face to him.

He slightly raised his left hand, inadvertently revealing a gleaming Shanghai brand watch, and smiled, "The restaurant is located at the entrance of Jiaozhou Textile Factory. Business is alright. It's hard to say how much I earn, but it should be higher than the salary at the railway bureau."

Ding Junfa's smile froze. He was being called upon.

Song Qianqian curled her lips and said sarcastically, "Do you know how much a regular employee in the railway bureau's dispatching office earns in a month after years of service?"

Everyone cast curious glances at him, having heard that the railway bureau offered high salaries and good benefits, but they didn't know exactly how much he could earn.

Ding Junfa straightened his back considerably and a smile returned to his face.

"Did your first boyfriend earn two hundred a month?" Zhou Yan asked.

"Two hundred?" Ding Junfa stopped laughing. Their bureau chief's monthly salary was less than two hundred.

"Do you even know how much two hundred is? The director of the railway bureau only makes one hundred and eighty a month! You just spout off like that." Song Qianqian rolled her eyes and looked at Zhou Yan mockingly, "What? You can earn two hundred a month?"

Zhou Yan leaned back and smiled slightly: "Not that little."

The two tables of people immediately fell silent.

What do you mean by "not that little"?

Is that what you said?
Everyone's eyes turned to Zhou Yan, filled with surprise.

Song Qianqian's mouth gradually opened wide, speechless with shock.

"Zhou Yan's restaurant makes so much money?" Chen Rong was somewhat surprised.

"Damn, we got it for him, it's probably true." Lu Chuan laughed. He had visited Zhou Yan's restaurant; it was quite a large place, and he believed that Zhou Yan earned more than two hundred a month.

"Brother Yan is really amazing," Ma Yongqiang exclaimed.

“More than two hundred a month!” Zheng Yi’s gaze towards Zhou Yan changed.

She originally thought that being a self-employed individual was not as stable or as lucrative as working at a supply and marketing cooperative, so she talked to Ma Yongqiang a lot in the morning. Ma Yongqiang's monthly salary was 66.2 yuan, which was considered high for a young person, but it was far less than 200 yuan.

I still need to chat with Zhou Yan more later; she's actually quite attracted to good-looking people too.

Li Yanyan smiled, but only she knew that Zhou Yan indeed earned far more than two hundred a month.

These people's understanding of individual vendors is still based on the time when the market was first opened up a few years ago. Vendors who were chased around by the joint defense team did not make much money. But in the last two years, some individual vendors selling electrical appliances, general merchandise, and clothing have made a lot of money.

Zhou Yan is one of the best among them.

The largest personal deposit she ever handled was Zhou Yancun's 40,000 yuan.

It left a deep impression on her to this day.

Zhou Yan was too low-key; today he didn't even wear his gold-plated enamel fountain pen on his chest, which made him the target of ridicule from someone who only earns a few dozen yuan a month.

Ding Junfa's expression began to falter. Looking at Zhou Yan's mocking, half-smiling face, he trembled with anger, his voice sharpening: "You...you're bragging! Every day there are tons of vendors selling tea eggs, tea, and dried bamboo shoots outside Jiaozhou Station. They're lucky if they earn eight jiao or a yuan a day. You earn more than two hundred a month? You're still the same as in junior high, bragging without even thinking. How can you prove it?"

Zhou Yan laughed upon hearing this: "Do I need to prove anything to you? You're twenty years old, yet you're still chasing after people for proof like a little kid. What, if you want to prove I'm inferior to you, how will you sleep soundly tonight?"

"He's always so smug and arrogant, speaking such a sarcastic and twisted way. He wears a leather jacket and flaunts it everywhere, like some kind of 'treasure dragon.' Is he a cucumber? He's so smug."

"The railway bureau is so arrogant, huh? If they don't give you proof, are they going to run me over with their train?"

Zhou Yan's voice was soft and his tone was relaxed, but it was full of sarcasm.

"You... how dare you talk about my brother Fa like that!" Song Qianqian said angrily.

"You two are a perfect match. It seems the God of Marriage has done a good job with the garbage sorting." Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Also, if there's anything about me that you don't like, please bear with it, because I can't change it."

As a boss, he believed in making money through harmony, and he hadn't sworn at anyone in a long time.

But he won't tolerate this guy who's so eager to get close, and who gets upset if you don't scold him.

Ding Junfa and Song Qianqian's faces darkened, and they opened their mouths, but for a moment they couldn't think of any rebuttal.

The expressions on the faces of the students sitting at the table were priceless. Ding Junfa was too smug today, taking a jab at everyone he met, looking like a petty tyrant.

Zhou Yan's rebuttal was spot on, and everyone wanted to cheer, but they had to hold back out of consideration for their classmates. But they felt incredibly satisfied.

"I never expected Zhou Yan to be so good at cursing! He hit the nail on the head." Chen Rong laughed happily.

"I don't know either. He used to always resort to violence rather than words," Lu Chuan said in surprise.

Ding Junfa's face turned red with anger. He pointed at Zhou Yan and said, "Zhou Yan, you...you're a self-employed individual, how dare you insult me ​​like that! You don't even have a girlfriend! All you do is talk nonsense..."

"Look, here it is." At that moment, a voice rang out from behind.

Ding Junfa looked up, his voice abruptly stopping, and he immediately put on a fawning smile. He moved his chair aside, stood up, and jogged forward, extending his hand: "Director Chen, we meet again. Did you come all this way to see me..."

Chen Ming ignored Ding Junfa, walked to Zhou Yan's side and stood there, smiling as he said, "Comrade Zhou, we meet again."

　First, a two-in-one update! There will be an extra update tonight! I'll try to add two more! Double monthly votes, come at me!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)