Rebirth 07: Starting with Saving a Bankrupt Restaurant

"There are quite a few shrimp, maybe six or seven."

Diners used chopsticks to turn over the shrimp hidden in the noodles, revealing their red and white colors.

"They even removed the shrimp veins?" The diner nodded secretly, then picked up a shrimp to taste.

The difference between live and dead shrimp is actually quite significant; you can easily tell whether they are fresh or not just by tasting them.

The shrimp are a decent size, and the meat is fresh and springy.

Button mushrooms are quite common in Fujian Province, and they are often used to enhance the flavor of soups and noodles.

The diner then ate another piece of cut-open button mushroom, which added a seafood flavor to the original mushroom taste.

As they ate, the diners couldn't help but marvel at how delicious the noodles were.

The last bowl of shrimp and mushroom noodles was eaten completely, not a drop of soup was left.

This diner's experience is a true reflection of what other diners who have tasted the shrimp and mushroom noodles have said.

Actually, shrimp and mushroom noodles are more widely accepted, since the dietary habits of the southern coastal areas are generally lighter.

After the restaurant closed at noon, Shi Ying and Shan Wei also chose shrimp and mushroom noodles as their lunch.

……

Two familiar faces also came to the restaurant in the afternoon.

Zhou Wen was stunned when he saw the person who came.

"Boss Zhou," the visitor greeted him.

They were two brothers who ran a pork stall.

Zhou Wen nodded and asked, "Are the two bosses here for dinner?"

Ke Jingsong, the pork stall owner, smiled and nodded, saying, "Come and have a meal."

"Okay, you guys find a place to sit down first." After saying that, Zhou Wen turned to look at Shi Ying.

"Shi Ying, please greet these two bosses."

"Okay, boss." Shi Ying led the two to their seats and asked Shan Wei to pour them a glass of hot water. "What would you two like to eat?"

Ke Jinghai, the stall owner's younger brother who usually delivers meat, spoke up: "Do you have any menu or anything like that?"

"some."

The menu has naturally been expanded a long time ago. Now there are more and more dishes, and the restaurant has new customers every day. It's impossible to read out each dish to the diners one by one.

Putting aside the question of whether it's tiring to read them out one by one, I doubt even if the diners did, they would remember them all.

The menu was just a booklet, with all the words written by Shi Ying in her own handwriting, including the names and prices.

Shi Ying also introduced the dish from the side: "This shrimp and mushroom noodle soup is a new item in the store today."

"What is this 'husband and wife lung slices'?"

"Husband and Wife Lung Slices is a Sichuan-style cold dish, made with cuts of beef such as beef and beef heart. If there are two people, you can order a small portion to try it out..."

"Then I'll have a bowl of this shrimp and mushroom noodles." Ke Jingsong ordered a bowl of the restaurant's new shrimp and mushroom noodles.

Ke Jinhai ordered a bowl of braised pork knuckle rice with extra meat, wanting to see how the pork knuckle rice made by this boss Zhou using his own pork knuckle would taste.

Then the two also ordered a small portion of sliced ​​beef and tripe in chili sauce. They were curious because they saw that every customer who came to the store ordered a portion of this dish, so they decided to try it out.

"Boss Zhou's restaurant is a bit different from other restaurants," Ke Jinhai said after looking around.

Ke Jingsong nodded in agreement, saying, "It's much cleaner than other restaurants; it feels cool as soon as you walk in."

"The restaurants outside are unbearably stuffy on a hot day like this. They're also very greasy, so just sitting there makes you lose all appetite."

Back in 07, many small, unassuming restaurants wouldn't turn on the air conditioning in the sweltering summer heat; they would just have a few fans whirring around.

The noise was quite loud. The weather was already hot and humid, and the sound of the fan made it even more uncomfortable.

The first dish served was sliced ​​beef and tripe in chili sauce.

"So this is what sliced ​​beef and tripe in chili sauce is like."

The two brothers then each picked up a piece of sliced ​​beef and tripe with their chopsticks.

After tasting it, the two were both quite surprised, as it was a flavor they had never tasted before.

"Okay," Ke Jingsong said, and then continued eating.

As the two slowly savored their meal, the noodles and braised pork trotter rice were served.

The aroma of braised pork trotters with rice had already reached the two of them.

"Brother, this braised pork trotter rice is really delicious." Ke Jinhai said and started eating.

I ate a big mouthful, meat and all.

"Brother, this braised pork trotter rice is really delicious! Boss Zhou's cooking skills are truly something else!" Ke Jinhai said, chewing on his rice.

Compared to the fragrant braised pork knuckle rice, the aroma of the shrimp and mushroom noodles was indeed somewhat lacking. It was still fragrant, but not as pronounced.

Seeing Ke Jinghai eating with relish, his mouth greasy, Ke Jingsong suddenly regretted ordering the braised pork trotter rice instead.

He shook his head as he looked at the rather bland shrimp and mushroom noodles in front of him.

But since we've already ordered it, we naturally have to try it.

You won't know until you try it, and once you do, you'll be shocked.

This soup is incredibly fresh! The broth has a seafood flavor, and you can tell it was made with fresh seafood just by tasting it.

"These noodles are delicious too. Don't let their bland appearance fool you; they're incredibly flavorful." Ke Jingsong's voice involuntarily rose a few decibels, clearly surprised.

The two exchanged a glance and then stopped talking, focusing on their meal.

After finishing the whole bowl of noodles, Ke Jingsong broke out in a slight sweat and remarked with emotion.

"That feels so good."

As for Ke Jinghai, he ordered the pork trotter rice with extra meat, so there was only a little bit left.

After the two finished eating, they sat down to rest for a while before Ke Jingsong called Shi Ying to prepare to pay the bill.

"The boss said this meal is free."

Ke Jingsong smiled and said, "We're here to support Boss Zhou, how can we not accept money?"

Shi Ying naturally had to carry out Zhou Wen's instructions. After saying a few more words, she left to entertain the other guests.

However, when the two left, they still left the money on the table and weighed it down with a toothpick box.

When Shi Ying was clearing the plates, she found the money under the toothpick box, but there was a few extra dollars, and she couldn't get any change.

Shi Ying, who had come to the kitchen, told Zhou Wen.

Zhou Wen smiled after hearing this. These two bosses were really too polite, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

We can only wait until the two of them come again to bring some food.

When the shop closed at night, Shi Ying and her companion still chose to eat shrimp and mushroom noodles.

Unfortunately, the shrimp were all gone.

"Without shrimp, the noodles might not be as fresh, and the flavor would be lacking," Zhou Wen said.

Shi Ying felt a little regretful, but there was nothing she could do. In the end, she ordered a bowl of tomato and egg noodles, while Shan Wei ordered a bowl of oil-splashed noodles.

The shrimp and mushroom noodles sold really well on the first day. Except for some mushrooms left over, the shrimp and other ingredients were sold out.

And most importantly, almost every bowl of the shrimp and mushroom soup sold was completely empty, with both soup and noodles left. If you didn't know better, you'd think it was just an empty bowl.