Rebirth 07: Starting with Saving a Bankrupt Restaurant

In the evening, there was still some pork knuckle left. We definitely couldn't finish it all, and we couldn't afford to waste it.

Finally, Zhou Wen cut up a plate of pork knuckle and took it to the shop entrance to feed it to Fantuan.

The remaining food was eaten at the restaurant by the three of them. Shi Ying and Shan Wei chose tomato and egg noodles, while Zhou Wen took the opportunity to go out and exercise.

By the time Zhou Wen returned, the plate of pork knuckles had been completely devoured.

After Shi Ying and the other person left, Zhou Wen sent a message to the two stall owners he had talked to that morning to confirm their agreement.

The next day, before dawn, the streets were deserted.

Zhou Wen, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, stood at the door for a few minutes and soon heard the sound of a car approaching.

"Boss," Zhou Wen greeted.

The person who arrived was not the somewhat short and stocky stall owner from yesterday, but the stall owner's younger brother, who rode a blue tricycle to the shop entrance.

"Boss," the newcomer greeted him.

To be fair, aside from some differences in size, the two brothers look quite similar.

The man got out of the car and opened the meat in the car to look at it.

"Boss, take a look at this meat, see if there's anything wrong with it."

"They were all freshly killed this morning."

Zhou Wen touched it; it was still warm.

"No problem."

The man nodded, then opened the other side that was covered with a white cloth.

"And here is the pork knuckle foreleg that you ordered. They've been cut to a smaller size according to your request."

Zhou Wen glanced at it and saw that the pork knuckle had already been processed.

After the delivery was completed, the man hopped onto the tricycle.

"Then I'll be going now."

"If you have time, you can come and try my food; it's free."

"Okay, I'll definitely come when I have time. I'll bring my brother along," the man said with a grin.

Although the pork has been delivered to the store, the other dishes still need to be purchased from the market.

But it's good, at least this way the burden will be lighter when we come back.

"Boss, you're here?"

Zhou Wen nodded and said, "Boss lady, where are all the ingredients I ordered?"

The proprietress came to the side and then took out a large red bag.

"The bosses are all in here, take a look."

Zhou Wen opened the large red bag, which contained several small bags. Clearly, the proprietress had already neatly separated the ingredients, such as beef, beef tongue, and beef heart.

They even thoughtfully wrote words on each bag so you could know what was inside.

Zhou Wen opened the red bags one by one and looked inside.

After confirming that there were no problems, the bag was retied.

"The boss shouldn't have any problems, right?" the proprietress asked.

"No problem," Zhou Wen replied.

After saying that, he took his wallet out from inside his clothes.

"Take care, boss."

Zhou Wen waved his hand.

……

Back in the shop, Zhou Wen immediately resumed the braising process.

The overall steps were pretty much the same as yesterday, except that Zhou Wen paid more attention to some details.

Firstly, regarding the spices, some dried tangerine peel and hawthorn are added during the braising process. These two ingredients can help to cut through the greasiness and also soften the meat to some extent.

Secondly, I added a little too much cooking wine, and finally, I strictly controlled the amount of sugar.

This time, Zhou Wen was completely focused, afraid that any flaw in any step would lead to problems with the final product.

After all, pork knuckles and forelegs aren't cheap, and if they don't taste good, they're likely to go to waste.

"Shi Ying, have a taste and see how it tastes this time." With that, Zhou Wen poured a spoonful of broth over the braised pork knuckle.

Zhou Wen didn't serve Shi Ying a bowl of braised pork knuckle rice; he simply let her try the newly braised pork knuckle.

Shi Ying put a slice of pork knuckle into her mouth and chewed it slowly.

Because some dried tangerine peel and hawthorn were added, it had a more refreshing aroma when eaten, and the pork knuckle was more flavorful than when it was stewed the day before yesterday.

The fatty meat melts in your mouth with a gentle touch, while the lean meat isn't too soft; instead, it has a satisfying chewiness.

After swallowing the meat in her mouth completely, Shi Ying said, "Boss, compared to yesterday's braised pork knuckle, it feels less sweet, but it has a faint, refreshing aroma."

Zhou Wen nodded and said, "Let's try it again and see if it's still as cloying as yesterday's."

This time, Shi Ying ate several slices of braised pork knuckle in one go, and Zhou Wen also picked up a slice and savored it carefully.

The taste is indeed much better than yesterday's.

Yesterday's braised pork knuckle had a noticeable sweet aftertaste, and today's braised pork knuckle still has some sweetness, but it's not as pronounced as yesterday's.

The most prominent feature is the meaty aroma.

Of course, it's impossible to say there's no greasiness; after eating a lot, you can still feel some greasiness, just not as greasy as yesterday.

Zhou Wen nodded, clearly satisfied with the result.

Afterwards, I specially prepared a dipping sauce for seafood, which gave it a unique flavor.

However, something unpleasant happened early in the morning. Although Zhou Wen had a premonition about this, he was still somewhat disappointed when it actually happened.

Shan Wei was a few minutes late.

"Boss, I'm sorry."

Shan Wei looked at Zhou Wen, whose face was somewhat gloomy, and immediately lowered his head.

Upon seeing this, Shi Ying wisely went to the kitchen and found something to do.

Seeing that Zhou Wen hadn't spoken for a long time, Shan Wei's heart jumped into his throat.

After a long silence, Zhou Wencai coldly said, "If you're late again next time, your salary will be deducted."

Dan Wei didn't speak, but simply nodded shakily.

Zhou Wen gave Shan Wei a deep look before going into the kitchen, intending to give Shan Wei some time to process things.

Dan Wei kept his head down, and only dared to slowly raise his head after he saw Zhou Wen enter the kitchen out of the corner of his eye.

After coming out of the kitchen, Shi Ying didn't say much, but just started working.

Perhaps because he was late, Shan Wei was working with extra care today.

In the past, Shi Ying had cleaned most of the area, and she often had to clean the remaining small part as well.

Today was completely different; for the first time, Shi Ying felt relaxed.

It seems that everyone who makes a mistake becomes exceptionally cautious and serious in their subsequent actions.

"Would you like to have a bowl of rice first? The boss's braised pork knuckle rice today won't be as greasy as it was yesterday and the day after tomorrow," Shi Ying asked, trying to ease the atmosphere.