"Director, look, today we have 30% fewer customers ordering stir-fried dishes than usual. We prepared a lot of extra food to accommodate those college students, and now it's all left over."
In the factory canteen's kitchen, head chef Huang Fusheng looked at Wang Defa with a dejected expression.
On the chopping board next to him, various prepared ingredients were piled up: beef, pork liver, pork intestines... everything was there, and in considerable quantities.
Wang Defa's face darkened, and he said in a deep voice, "Today, Zhou Erwa Restaurant messed things up. If those college students had come to the canteen to eat, there wouldn't be any leftovers, and it would have given the canteen some good publicity and a better reputation."
"Exactly! That Zhou Yan is a real scoundrel!" Huang Fusheng cursed angrily. "Director, you have to think of a solution. If this continues, we'll lose all our customers for the stir-fried dishes."
"How dare you say that!" Wang Defa glared at him, lowering his voice slightly, but still unable to hide his anger: "I made you the head chef not just so you could line your pockets! If you can't do a good job, then get the hell out of here! Do you know how badly those workers are cursing? They're practically shitting on my head!"
"Yes, yes..." Huang Fusheng's face turned red with embarrassment, "I'll definitely do a good job."
"Damn you..." Wang Defa was still furious, "Make sure the stir-fried dishes taste good! If we lose any more customers, I'll send you back to being a kitchen helper!"
"I guarantee I'll make sure they cook properly from now on, absolutely no problems!" Huang Fusheng nodded.
"I'll give you one more week to win back the lost customers." Wang Defa looked at him, "And put Zhou Erwa Restaurant out of business."
"Alright!" Huang Fusheng nodded emphatically, then hesitated before adding, "Director, I think that kid Zhou Yan can't accomplish anything on his own. He can only make a simple cucumber dish; he can't even cook stir-fried pork properly.
His restaurant was almost bankrupt, but then selling noodles brought it back to life. There must be someone behind him pulling the strings."
"Are you talking about that old man Xiao Lei?" Wang Defa mused.
At that moment, a middle-aged man dragged a trash can full of kitchen waste back into the kitchen, put it in the corner, and took off his apron, preparing to leave work.
"Xiao Lei, come here for a moment." Wang Defa said to the man, his tone unfriendly.
"I'm off work. Whatever it is, we'll talk about it tomorrow." Xiao Lei turned and walked away, not giving Wang Defa a good look.
"Stop!" Wang Defa laughed angrily, "Aren't you afraid I'll fire you?!"
"Afraid of what?!" Xiao Lei stopped in his tracks, turned around to look at Wang Defa, and sneered, "What kind of person are you to fire me? I've been working here longer than you, and I haven't made any mistakes. You can't fire me! But don't get too cocky. If you really piss me off, don't cry when I hit you in the face with a spatula. I'm more accurate than Zhou Yan, and I hit a lot harder."
"You...you..." Wang Defa's face turned black with anger.
Huang Fusheng quickly pulled Wang Defa back, and said to Xiao Lei, "Master Xiao, that's not right. How can you talk to our Director Wang like that?"
"You shut up too. You can't even pass the third-level chef exam and you're still a head chef? All you do is lick Wang Defa's ass all day long—what kind of person are you?" Xiao Lei sneered, "I'm having a very easy time at work everyday now. My salary is still paid, my seniority is still accumulating, and I just have to wait for retirement. And I don't have to be criticized and cursed at by others."
"You...you..." Huang Fusheng's face also turned black.
Xiao Lei left in a hurry without looking back.
As he rode his bicycle out of the factory gate, he glanced back at Zhou Erwa Restaurant, a slight smile on his face: "This kid, he's got some skills."
Zhou Yan had just returned to the shop, parking his bicycle against the wall. Zhou Fei was already sitting inside, chatting with Zhou Miao about the big fish that Old Man Zhou had let get away.
He greeted them, placed the bag of things that Ma Xingye had given him on the counter, and headed towards the kitchen.
"Did you take Xia Yao home?" Zhao Tieying asked.
Zhao Hong also looked at him with concern. That college student was so pretty, and she had a nice personality, spoke softly and sweetly, and she looked so good standing next to Zhou Yan.
"Well, it's getting dark, it's not safe for her to go back alone." Zhou Yan replied casually, washing his hands first. The fish had already been prepared, marinated with scallions, ginger, and cooking wine, and the perilla leaves, green peppers, and red peppers were also washed.
"Such a pretty young girl, we definitely have to take her back." Zhao Tieying said with a smile, adding with a touch of emotion, "It's just so far away. She's from Hangzhou, studying at university in Chongqing. How far do you think Hangzhou is from here?"
"Over four thousand kilometers, it takes three days by train."
"Four thousand kilometers? Oh my god! I don't even know how much the train fare would be!" Zhao Tieying shook her head repeatedly. She already thought Chengdu was far away, and she had only been to Jiazhou a few times; she couldn't even imagine how far four thousand kilometers was.
"It's fast if you take a plane." Zhou Yan said with a smile.
"A plane? Who can afford that?" Zhao Tieying shook her head. "Last time I was at the commune office, I overheard them chatting. They said the secretary went on an inspection trip with the higher-ups, and he needed a certificate from the county to take a plane. One ticket cost several hundred yuan, enough to buy a bicycle."
"That expensive?" Zhao Hong gasped, looking shocked. "Then if you two get married, how often will she be able to go back to her parents' home?"
"Huh?" Zhou Yan was taken aback for a moment, then smiled helplessly, "Sister in law, what are you talking about? We're not dating, and we haven't talked about getting married."
"Your sister in law is so imaginative! I wouldn't even dare to imagine someone so perfect. Even among university students, Xia Yao is one of the most well-behaved. She's graceful and poised, efficient and thorough in everything she does, and her social skills are impeccable." Zhao Tieying said, getting more and more enthusiastic, staring at Zhou Yan. "You boy, you should give it a try! If you miss out on such a good daughter in law, I won't be able to sleep at night."
"Mom, I'm going to make the fish with perilla leaves. I'll leave the braised eel to you." Zhou Yan said, completely avoiding the topic.
He took pickled ginger, pickled long beans, and pickled chili peppers from the pickle jar and chopped them finely. He also finely chopped fresh ginger, garlic, and chili peppers – this step is very important.
Only the leaves of the perilla plant were used, also finely chopped to fully release their flavor.
Heat a wok and add rapeseed oil. When the oil is about 60% hot, fry the crucian carp until both sides are golden brown, then remove and set aside.
Using the same oil in the wok, add another spoonful of lard. When the oil is hot, saute the ginger, garlic, and pickled chili peppers until fragrant. Then add the finely chopped broad bean paste and stir-fry over low heat until the red oil is released. Finally, add the pickled long beans and stir-fry together.
The aroma instantly wafted up – sour, spicy, and fragrant!
Sichuan people use a lot of oil, side dishes, and seasonings when cooking fish; it's all about achieving this complex flavor.
At this point, add another spoonful of water, then add MSG, pepper, sugar, soy sauce for flavor enhancement, and a little Baoning vinegar to remove the fishy smell and add fragrance.
Add the previously fried fish, making sure it's completely submerged in the sauce, and simmer over low heat.
Zhou Yan glanced at Zhou Lihui, who was standing by the stove, and smiled, "Huihui, do you want to learn how to cook fish too?"
"Yes." Zhou Lihui nodded, praising, "Little uncle is so amazing! This fish smells so good, even better than my mom's."
"Your uncle is a professional chef, of course, he cooks better than me." Zhao Hong, who was tending the fire behind the stove, said with a smile.
In the other pot, Zhao Tieying's eel was also cooking. The eel, cut into segments, was bubbling in the red sauce, and it smelled quite fragrant too.
Watching Zhou Yan cook these past few days, Zhao Tieying had also picked up some techniques, namely, don't be stingy with the ingredients. As long as the ingredients are delicious, even cooking a shoe sole would taste good.
The crucian carp had been simmering for six or seven minutes, and Zhou Yan took an open dish and transferred the fish out of the wok.
He increased the heat slightly to reduce the sauce, added a little cornstarch mixture to thicken it, and when the sauce became thick and started bubbling, he added the perilla leaves and chopped green onions, stir-frying a few times to allow the perilla flavor to fully infuse into the sauce, then poured it over the cooked crucian carp.
The thick sauce, the green onions, pickled long beans, and pickled chili peppers, intertwined in red and green, covered the crucian carp, looking extremely appetizing.
The aroma of the fish wafted through the air, and Zhou Lihui swallowed hard, "It smells so good!"
"This smells amazing, I didn't expect Zhou Yan to be so good at cooking fish." Zhao Hong also exclaimed.
Zhou Momo and Fanwa crowded to the kitchen doorway, sniffing continuously.
"It smells so good! Guo Guo!" Zhou Momo's eyes lit up. "Is it fish? I want to eat some!"
"Yes, it's crucian carp with perilla leaves." Zhou Yan said, handing the plate to Zhou Lihui. "Go wash your hands, I'll stir-fry another vegetable dish and then we'll eat."