Food: Starting with Wonton Noodles

"Then why did you make it taste so bad before?"

"Um, actually I was doing an experiment, trying to see if different combinations would create a new taste," Zhou Yu said, making up a story.

Fearing that Cao Xuezhen would continue to ask questions and that he was at a loss for words, Zhou Yu continued, "Mom, don't you think my wonton noodles and smashed cucumbers are delicious and suitable for selling at a stall? Now you don't have to worry about me not making money by setting up a stall, right?"

"Wonton noodles are rather bland, and some people don't like vinegar, so they can choose to have a side of smashed cucumber to neutralize the alkaline taste of the wonton noodles."

Cao Xuezhen nodded: "You're already so old. It's just that you don't want to get married, otherwise I would have been a grandmother long ago. You don't even ask for my consent, so what can I say?"

"I've been worried about you not getting married and being unemployed. Now that you've finally found something to do, Mom will definitely support you."

Seeing that Zhou Yu had some means of making a living, Cao Xuezhen truly breathed a sigh of relief.

In the past few years, Zhou Yu kept changing jobs and companies, and she was always on edge because of it.

The older generation doesn't understand what internet thinking is, let alone the industry jargon.

She didn't understand or want to understand the statement, "The only constant on the internet is change."

All she knew was that if she studied hard and got into a good university, she could find a stable and comfortable job.

Then you can happily marry a wife, have a child, and live a joyful life.

However, Zhou Yu's constant job changes in the past few years have made her lose touch with the world, and she feels that the world has completely changed.

Was Zhou Yu a poor student?

Although he didn't get into one of the top universities in China, like Tsinghua or Peking University, her son has been admitted to the best school in their hometown village, the one in the neighborhood she bought, and even the best school among all the people she knows.

Was Zhou Yu not diligent enough?

Although she constantly scolded Zhou Yu for being lazy and liking to stay in bed during the time he was home, she never scolded him for not looking for a job.

Because she knew that her son had hardly had a proper rest during the years he had been working in the provincial capital.

Even though it's a holiday trip home, with high-speed rail traveling at 300 kilometers per hour these days, a direct high-speed rail journey of less than 200 kilometers can take until the middle of the night to get home.

Even when he was at home, during the Spring Festival, or on his way to visit relatives, Zhou Yu had to constantly be either glued to his computer or his phone, constantly communicating, replying, and working.

She understands the world less and less.

Even though her son had done everything she believed in—getting into a good university and working hard—he would still lose his job at the age of thirty-five.

So, apart from yesterday when she was really angry, she never really pressured her son.

She knew that her son had been exhausted over the past ten years.

Although her son has earned some money over the past ten years, what worries her most, besides hoping that Zhou Yu will get married and have children, is that her son seems to have no real means of making a living.

Raising a child for a hundred years, one will still worry for ninety-nine.

So at this moment, when she discovered that her son had found a way to make a living again, her joy was beyond words.

She knew that her life experience could no longer help Zhou Yu.

But people still need to eat.

Being a chef is not shameful; you can earn money that way.

"Son, keep going, Mom supports you. If you're short of money to open a shop, Mom has some savings," Cao Xuezhen said.

Mr. Zhou nodded and said, "I'll go to the bank later and transfer the money to you. We will definitely support you in opening your shop."

"Dad, Mom, no need. I still have some savings, enough for my shop's expenses. I'm setting up a stall first to gain experience and calculate costs, not because I'm short of money," Zhou Yu said.

"Okay, okay, just tell Mom if you need money." Zhou's mother didn't continue the topic.

......

After breakfast, Zhou Yu did not go back to sleep as usual.

Today is still very busy, and the most important thing right now is to make the soup base for the wonton noodles.

Taking it from He Jiafu is definitely not an option, since his shop has a fixed daily output, and taking the finished product directly would just cause trouble for him.

He first went to the vegetable market near the community and bought all the ingredients he needed.

Yesterday, we prepared about ten pounds of bamboo-pressed noodles, and also got river shrimp and dried flounder from He Jiafu's place.

So Zhou Yu only bought six catties of pork bones, pork and shrimp for filling, ingredients for smashed cucumber, and some sauces today.

Since he didn't have a soup pot, he went to a secondhand market and bought two large iron pots for making soup.

After preparing all the ingredients for the soup, Zhou Yu lightly roasted the dried flounder to remove its scales, then put it into a clean pot along with river shrimp and pork bones.

The soup pot was 60 liters in size, and he poured in 35 jin (12.5 catties) of water to boil.

Aside from the amount of ingredients, there's also the cooking time. There's not much skill involved in making soup. After he had prepared everything and the water had boiled, it was lunchtime.

At home, we still had plain congee for lunch, but the side dishes were changed from local pickled vegetables to pan-fried sea fish and stir-fried greens.

The fish was a golden pomfret that her brother-in-law, Wu Hongyu, had sent over before. Cao Xuezhen pan-fried it briefly, and it smelled delicious.

In G city, it's very popular to drink plain congee for breakfast and lunch, but the side dishes are plentiful, with all sorts of ingredients.

"We'll come and help with where we're going to set up the stall tonight," Cao Xuezhen said.

"No need, I can handle it myself," Zhou Yu said.

"And you don't need to hire people specifically. After all, I'm doing this for the long term, and if the basic traffic isn't enough, hiring too many people won't help."

"Besides, I have a lot of confidence in my product."

......

Not long after lunch, the soup had been cooking for an hour and a half.

Zhou Yu scooped the flounder and pork bones out of the pot, then added two ounces of rock sugar and four ounces of salt to the soup.

He turned off the heat after cooking for another fifteen minutes.

After the soup cooled down a bit, he filtered it again with a fine gauze, removing all the solid residue.

The soup for wonton noodles should be clear and sweet. If the dried flounder is cooked for too long, it will become fishy and the bitterness of the fish bones will come out.

Therefore, a good bowl of wonton noodles will only taste fresh and fragrant, without any bitterness or fishy smell.

This also leads many people to find it hard to believe that the soup for wonton noodles is made from dried sea fish when they eat it for the first time.

At this moment, the rich aroma of fresh food filled the entire kitchen.

"I didn't expect the wonton noodle soup base to have so many ingredients. How much do you plan to charge per bowl?" Cao Xuezhen asked.

Although the aroma was very tempting, Cao Xuezhen was more concerned about whether her son's business could avoid losing money.

"I've calculated it. If we only consider the cost of the ingredients for the wonton noodles, it's around three hundred yuan, which can make about one hundred servings of wonton noodles. Each serving of wonton noodles costs about three yuan," Zhou Yu said.