Rebirth 07: Starting with Saving a Bankrupt Restaurant

Seeing that he couldn't attract many customers, Zhou Wen simply stopped struggling.

After closing the door, they began cleaning the store.

If a restaurant wants to retain customers, Zhou Wen believes that it must do well in terms of price, ingredients, and hygiene.

After cleaning up, it was time to prepare for the evening.

The rice I cooked last night was enough; we used up about a third of it by lunchtime.

Zhou Wen doesn't plan to cook anymore; whether the leftover rice can be sold tonight is still a question.

The remaining meat is stored in the refrigerator, which is placed near the cutting area, away from the stove, with extra space left on both sides and behind.

Zhou Wen was somewhat relieved that he had arrived early enough; if he had arrived any later, the refrigerators and other appliances in the store might have already been sold secondhand.

As for the bone broth, Zhou Wen did not store it in the refrigerator.

Once the soup is cooked, it is kept warm. Since the shop only opens for a few hours in the afternoon, there is no need to put it in the refrigerator.

After finishing these tasks, I took a short rest.

……

At 3:30 p.m., after resting, Zhou Wen went to the vegetable market to buy alkaline noodles to make fried noodles.

Stir-fried noodles are mostly made with alkaline noodles, which are chewy, resistant to boiling and stir-frying, and won't clump or stick even if left for a while, and have a springy texture.

If you use hand-rolled dough that has been kneaded for stir-frying, the noodles will be too hard and won't absorb the flavor well. It will be laborious and time-consuming, and there will be no advantage in terms of taste.

Fresh, wet noodles are too soft and easily break when stir-fried, making them more suitable for soup noodles.

I also bought some side dishes, such as bean sprouts and carrots.

It can help to cut through the greasiness.

Back at the restaurant, I still planned to make the fried noodles first to test the taste.

Before starting to stir-fry, Zhou Wen first prepared a container to prepare the stir-fry sauce.

Add three tablespoons of light soy sauce, one tablespoon of oyster sauce, one tablespoon of chicken bouillon, one and a half tablespoons of dark soy sauce, and finally cumin powder, then mix well.

The key to good fried noodles lies in the sauce.

After stirring, Zhou Wen took a small sip: "It's flavorful."

After the water boils, put the noodles you bought into the pot. When they are about 70-80% cooked, take them out and rinse them with cold water.

Rinsing the noodles in cold water is the most crucial step; this will prevent the noodles from clumping together when cooking.

The following steps were similar to those for making fried rice, and soon the aroma of the fried noodles filled the entire house.

"It tastes good, but it's been overcooked a bit and it's too dry. If I control the cooking time, it'll be about right," Zhou Wen thought to himself as he ate the fried noodles.

The remaining noodles were stored in the refrigerator.

At 5:10 p.m., "Zhou's Restaurant" reopened.

To Zhou Wen's surprise, customers arrived within minutes of opening the shop.

The visitor, Zhou Wen, was also familiar to me; he was a customer at lunchtime today.

What I remember is that this customer also packed a bowl of fried rice to take home for his family to try.

This time, a little girl of four or five years old also came with them.

"Boss, I came from over there about ten minutes ago and saw that you weren't open. I just came over again. I thought you weren't open this afternoon," a customer wearing glasses said with a smile, holding his little girl's hand.

"After I brought the fried rice home at noon today, the little guy really liked it, and he kept asking for fried rice at dinner."

Zhou Wen felt a little embarrassed after being told that. He didn't expect that a customer would like his fried rice so quickly, and there was even a child among them.

Suddenly, a strange surge of energy welled up inside me, a feeling I had never experienced before.

"Now that the store has reopened, the opening hours are not as regular. It may open around mealtimes each day."

The man looked enlightened: "Oh, I see."

Zhou Wen nodded: "Brother, let's find a seat first. We've added fried noodles to the menu, and the price is the same."

Upon hearing the word "noodles," the little girl waved her hand at her father and said in a childish voice, "I want noodles."

Most children might prefer noodles.

"Let's try something new, two bowls of fried noodles, please."

Zhou Wen's eyes flickered, and he glanced at the little girl, suggesting, "Fried rice is more suitable for children. Fried noodles use alkaline noodles, which may not be easy for children to digest."

"Then just one bowl of rice and one bowl of noodles."

"I want noodles," the little girl said, without crying or making a fuss, just pouting.

As a father, I also found it difficult to make a decision at that moment.

"Brother, I'll get you a small bowl later. If the little guy is really craving it, you can share a few pieces with him."

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you."

The fried noodles were served quickly, along with soup.

"The fried rice will be ready soon, little sister, please wait a little longer," Zhou Wen said with a smile.

The little girl stared intently at the fried noodles in front of her father and nodded obediently.

Fried noodles and fried rice are high in oil and salt, so Zhou Wen's fried rice for the children was a little different from what he usually makes.

Only a little oil was added so that the rice could be fried to release its aroma, while the side dishes remained the same, but some extra side dishes were added instead.

The fried rice did look tempting, but how much could a four or five-year-old eat? He probably wouldn't be full after a few bites.

So the portion size of this bowl is relatively small, and the color is also a bit off, but the taste is definitely not bad.

"Little sister, here's your fried rice."

The little girl looked at the food in front of her, swung her legs, and called out in a clear voice, "Thank you, brother."

With his face still covered in fried noodle sauce, he looked strangely cute.

"Is the fried noodles good?" Zhou Wen asked.

"Mmm." The little girl nodded emphatically and said, "The soup is delicious, and the radish is sweet too."

"That's good." A smile involuntarily appeared on Zhou Wen's face.

"Brother, this fried rice only has a little oil, so the aroma and color might be a bit lacking, but the taste will definitely be good." Zhou Wen thought he should explain this bowl of specially made fried rice.

"Maybe the kid just wanted the flavor, so we didn't give him a large portion, and we're not charging for this bowl of fried rice."

"Thank you, boss. Quickly thank your brother."

"Thank you, brother!"

While Zhou Wen was still washing pots in the kitchen, a sound came from the front hall, so he temporarily put down what he was doing.

Five guests arrived. The two in the lead were Li Lichun and Lao Wang. The other three were Zhou Wen, who was also a familiar face. He had eaten at the restaurant a few times before and they were all his coworkers.

Upon seeing the guests arrive, Zhou Wen didn't delay and hurried out to greet them.

"Uncle Li, what would you like to eat?"

"Xiao Zhou, do you have any new dishes at the restaurant?" Li Lichun asked, looking at the fried noodles on the next table.

"Yes, there's extra fried noodles."

Li Lichun smiled and pointed at the group: "I could smell the delicious aroma coming from your shop from far away. Let's start with three bowls of fried rice and two bowls of fried noodles."