Rebirth 07: Starting with Saving a Bankrupt Restaurant

Shi Ling forced a smile, a hint of bitterness in her expression, and said, "So far, not many customers have ordered anything."

"Really? That shouldn't be the case," the hardware store owner said, clicking his tongue.

"Since no one has tried it yet, I'll be the first to try it. Give me an order of these lemon chicken feet, and also a bowl of oil-splashed noodles."

Anyway, there are other people watching over the shop, so it doesn't matter if I enjoy my lunch by myself.

Hardware stores are usually empty at this time of day.

The lemon chicken feet have been soaked in advance, and they are served directly to customers who order them.

The lemon chicken feet looked quite nice, but they were served in a glass bowl.

While waiting for the oil-splashed noodles, the hardware store owner also started to taste the lemon chicken feet.

I bit off a chicken joint, and the first taste I experienced was the sourness of lemon. But soon the sourness was somewhat neutralized by the spiciness, making it about 70/30.

The dominant flavor is still that sourness, but it's not the sourness of lemons themselves, which can easily make people grimace and find it unbearable.

The sourness is just right, and many people actually prefer slightly stronger flavors in their food; otherwise, the cuisine of Sichuan and Chongqing wouldn't have spread so widely in later generations.

Because of the addition of Sprite, it will have some Sprite flavor and a slightly sweet taste.

The hardware store owner shook his head secretly, feeling somewhat sentimental.

It's surprising that no one chooses to try this delicious food.

Once I started eating, I couldn't stop. Even when the oil-splashed noodles arrived, I didn't bother to eat them.

If it weren't for the fact that the taste would be greatly diminished if the noodles got cold, I wouldn't want to wait for this bowl of noodles at all.

It's really quite addictive.

These street diners do indeed prefer to slowly savor their food, finishing off a plate of chicken feet completely.

After finishing eating, he licked his fingers without any regard for his image, and then wiped his hands clean with a tissue.

When the hardware store owner returned to his shop, he gave an awkward smile upon seeing the person tending the store.

"Why did it take you so long to go out for a meal?" The speaker was the hardware store owner's wife, who was holding a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes.

The tone was entirely blaming.

The hardware store owner chuckled awkwardly and said, "I ate at Zhou's Restaurant. It was quite crowded, so it took some time."

Hearing her husband's explanation, she frowned slightly and said with some dissatisfaction, "So it took you forty minutes to eat?"

"It wasn't forty minutes," the hardware store owner retorted.

He stretched out his hand, pointed to the alarm clock hanging on the wall inside the store, and said, "Take a good look at yourself."

"Does having a large group mean we have to eat at someone else's restaurant? Can't we just get takeout?"

The hardware store owner knew that the meal had indeed taken a while, and he was also somewhat relieved that he had managed to resist ordering a bottle of alcohol.

"Honey, try this. I brought it back from Zhou's Restaurant."

As he spoke, the hardware store owner took out the lemon chicken feet he had packed from the restaurant, intending to eat them slowly by himself in the afternoon when he had nothing else to do.

Unexpectedly, his wife came to check up on him, so he quickly took out the food he had packed to calm her down.

"What is this?"

He glanced at it too.

"Lemon Chicken Feet"

"A new dish at Zhou's Restaurant?"

"Hmm, you should try it, it tastes pretty good." The hardware store owner also urged his wife to try it.

Then he pulled his wife down to sit and opened the lid.

"Keep it for yourself, it smells sour."

"You should try it, it tastes really good. Although it smells sour, let me tell you, the lemon chicken feet that the boss developed this week really taste great."

"Everyone else makes braised chicken feet or pickled pepper chicken feet, but the taste of these lemon chicken feet is absolutely amazing, no worse than those."

As the hardware store owner spoke, he disassembled the chopsticks, picked up a chicken foot, and fed it to his wife.

He clapped his hands and said, "Alright, you can leave it here and I'll pick it up and eat it myself."

Then she gestured to her husband to take the child away.

"I'm telling you, I just put the child to sleep. If you wake him up, you'll have to put him to sleep yourself."

"Okay, okay."

The hardware store owner gently took the child and then teased him with his hand.

Then, carrying the child, they went to the doorway, where a small folding chair was placed. They carefully sat down and basked in the sun.

The moment he sat down, he let out a sigh of relief.

Then she quickly looked at the child in her arms, and seeing that the child had only moved slightly, she felt relieved.

This kind of life is pretty good. Occasionally, I can go to Zhouji Restaurant to enjoy some delicious food. I run a shop and have children. My family life is quite comfortable.

……

The diners who come to the restaurant at the end of the day are mostly those who have nothing else to do in the afternoon, giving them time to slowly nibble on the lemon chicken feet.

More than ten servings were sold in total, but this number is actually not quite up to par for a restaurant these days.

Lemon chicken feet are relatively inexpensive. If Zhou Wen could sell more than ten servings of food priced at twenty or thirty yuan, he would be very satisfied.

However, Zhou Wen wasn't worried. The actual success of the lemon chicken feet would depend on the sales figures that evening.

Judging from the feedback of the customers who ordered lemon chicken feet, the taste was perfect, and the diners enjoyed their meal.

The remaining lemon chicken feet were all taken out by Zhou Wenquan for lunch as staff meals; if they couldn't be finished, they would be thrown away.

If you can't finish these lemon chicken feet, you have to throw them away.

After all, it has already been soaked for some time. If it is soaked for any longer, the taste and texture will deteriorate.

"These will be thrown away if we can't finish them, but they're nice as a snack during the afternoon break."

The last few people divided the lemon chicken feet among themselves, leaving none behind.

Night fell quietly.

The situation at night was completely different from that at noon.

Li Lichun and Lao Wang, two loyal customers of the restaurant, also came to the restaurant.

In the past, the two of them would usually arrive half an hour later.

But ever since restaurants have been packed during the summer holidays, I've been arriving much earlier each time, afraid that there won't be any seats available.

Li Lichun also took off his work clothes and put them aside.

"Let's start with a serving of lemon chicken feet, and then a serving of sour soup fish will be enough."

Two or three people can come to a restaurant, order a sour fish soup or pickled pepper frog, and two bowls of white rice to complete a meal.

Even though I ordered lemon chicken feet, I still asked, "Isn't this lemon chicken feet the same as the regular chicken feet?"

Shi Ying nodded and said, "Yes. It's just regular chicken feet, except that they're usually braised chicken feet, but these are seasoned with lemon."