After the pork liver was cooked, Xiao Lei didn't leave immediately. He helped Zhou Yan finish cooking the last dish.
Zhao Hong also took back the two portions of pork liver that were a little undercooked.
"Running a restaurant really trains you. I can tell you've practiced a lot these past three months and improved a lot." Xiao Lei said, looking at Zhou Yan wiping the stove, his tone tinged with admiration.
He knew Zhou Yan's skill level all too well; it was impossible to improve so much in such a short time without diligent practice.
He was the only one in the restaurant's kitchen, cooking for hundreds of customers at a time, not much different in size from the small stir-fry area in the factory canteen.
Twenty years ago, Xiao Lei admitted that he couldn't have done as well as Zhou Yan at that age.
"Was your performance in the factory canteen...were you acting?" Xiao Lei stared into Zhou Yan's eyes, he hadn't slept well last night because of this.
Zhou Yan looked completely innocent and at ease: "Master, how could you think of me like that? Am I that kind of person?"
"Then did you secretly find other masters behind my back?"
"Heaven and earth bear witness, besides my grandmother teaching me how to make braised food, I absolutely have no other master!" Zhou Yan said without a hint of guilt.
The system, well, that's a cheat, it can't be considered a master.
Xiao Lei patted Zhou Yan's shoulder and said with a smile, "Don't be so rigid. It's a new era now. If you encounter a skilled master chef in the future, don't hesitate to flatter them. Don't hesitate to learn a skill if you have the chance. Once you've learned it, teach your Master again, and I'll still call you Master Zhou."
Zhou Yan: "Huh?"
Σ(⊙▽⊙"a?"
Master, are your bottom lines so flexible?
"Times have changed. We need to keep up with the times to avoid being left behind." Seeing Zhou Yan's stunned expression, Xiao Lei smiled and said, "Although I learned cooking under your Grandmaster for over ten years, I also went to the Workers University for a year of training in 1971. The address was the Red Flag Restaurant, also known as Rongleyuan.
I learned a lot of skills from many master chefs and famous chefs there, and only after returning did I become the head chef.
Chefs today are different from those of the old days. They are happy to share their skills and willing to pass on their expertise. Especially those old masters, as long as you are diligent enough, they are all willing to guide you.
Rongleyuan, as the training base of Rongcheng Catering Company, has cultivated many outstanding chefs over the past ten years; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the Whampoa Military Academy of Sichuan Cuisine.
I wasn't very talented, so I returned to Suji after graduation. Some of my classmates stayed at Rongleyuan and are now top level chefs."
Xiao Lei's gaze softened as he spoke of his early culinary experiences.
Zhou Yan nodded upon hearing this. He had heard of the Rong school before, as it was quite famous among the various schools of Sichuan Cuisine.
So, he could be considered somewhat related.
This era was indeed quite unique.
"Have you subscribed to 'Sichuan Cuisine' yet? Those master chefs often share their techniques there, and their articles are all of a very high standard. You can subscribe to it; it's only 1.6 yuan a year. You can learn even a little bit of cooking skill from the master chef, and it will benefit you for life." Xiao Lei strongly recommended to Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "Master, are all the people featured in 'Sichuan Cuisine' magazine masters?"
"Of course, only a master chef can get published in a magazine." Xiao Lei nodded, with a touch of emotion, "The editors of this magazine may not be good cooks, but they are definitely skilled at finding masters. Some recipes are even written directly in the articles. I don't know how they convinced the chefs."
Zhou Yan did know a little bit: first, you had to be stubborn, thick-skinned, and fearless.
"I heard there's a very talented master in next month's issue who'll be featured in the magazine. You must remember to check it out." Zhou Yan earnestly instructed.
"Which master chef?" Xiao Lei's interest was piqued.
Zhou Yan said seriously, "I can't reveal it now, but just remember to see it when the time comes. May be I can even let you have a meal with that master."
"Huh? You have such connections?" Xiao Lei was somewhat surprised.
"Yes!" Zhou Yan nodded: "This master is from Jiazhou. He and I are very close. He is very humble and easy to get along with."
"Just invite him out, and I'll treat you two." Xiao Lei nodded: "I want to see which master from Jiazhou he is, exchange ideas with him, and see if I can learn anything from him."
"Okay!" Zhou Yan nodded, took off his apron, and saw his Master out, agreeing to come back tomorrow at noon to learn how to make Spicy Stir-fried Pork Liver.
After his Master had walked away, Aunt Zhao finally couldn't help but ask, "Zhou Yan, did your Master come to learn how to make Spicy Stir-fried Pork Liver from you?"
Comrade Old Zhou, who was wiping the table, also looked at Zhou Yan.
"This is called mutual discussion and improvement among chefs. My skills were all taught by my Master, how could I possibly have taught him?" Zhou Yan quickly clarified, as he couldn't say such disrespectful things.
Zhou Momo, who was drawing on the sand with a small stick, immediately ran over upon hearing the sound. She grabbed Zhou Yan's leg and climbed up, clinging to him like a koala, looking up at him and pleading in a childish voice, "Guo Guo, you take me to play on the seesaw mahh~~"
Zhou Yan reached out and picked her up, smiling as he handed her to Aunt Zhao. "Mom, take Momo to play. Dad and I are going upstairs to clean up the mud and lime. You can move into your new room tomorrow after the door is installed."
"Yes, we can handle that." Zhou Miao nodded.
Zhou Momo hugged Aunt Zhao's neck, her expression a mixture of anticipation and nervousness, and softly said, "Mommy, please~"
"Go then." Aunt Zhao smiled, reaching to untie the apron around her waist.
"Muah!" Zhou Momo happily hugged her face and kissed her. "Mommy! You are the best mommy in the world!"
"You can have fun, but you have to go home as soon as it gets dark. If you still don't want to go home after dark, don't come with me next time." Aunt Zhao warned.
"Okay! !" Zhou Momo nodded obediently.
...
After Zhou Yan and his Dad cleaned up the second floor and came downstairs, they saw Zhou Momo running back, pouting and with red eyes.
Aunt Zhao followed behind, holding a thin bamboo stick.
"Guo Guo! Mommy is bad bad..." Zhou Momo threw herself into Zhou Yan's arms, sobbing, blinking and squeezing out tears, looking very aggrieved.
The little one was covered in sweat from playing, her bangs were even wet.
Zhou Yan glanced at the completely dark sky outside and knew without asking what had happened; she must have gone crazy playing and didn't want to go home.
"Come on, bad mommy's going to take you for a bath." Aunt Zhao placed the thin bamboo stick on the counter and lifted Zhou Momo from Zhou Yan's arms.
"Guo Guo, save me—" Zhou Momo kicked her short legs.
Zhou Yan silently turned his face away and smiled. There's nothing he can do to help.
Zhou Momo was so tired from playing that she fell asleep halfway through her bath. Wrapped in a small blanket, she was carried upstairs to sleep by Aunt Zhao.
"More than one customer asked us today if we're open on Sunday. What are your plans?" Aunt Zhao came downstairs and asked Zhou Yan.
"I've been thinking about this issue for the past few days and plan to try a reservation system. We'll be open on Sunday noon, but not in the morning or evening, and we won't be selling Cross-legged Beef or other braised dishes for the time being." Zhou Yan said. "Customers who want to eat here can only make a reservation in advance. We'll prepare the ingredients according to the reservations and won't serve customers without a reservation to avoid wasting ingredients. This will also give me a half day off."
Zhao Tieying thought about it for a moment and understood. She nodded and said, "That's a good idea!"
"Tomorrow I'll put a notebook at the front desk. You can have customers who make reservations write their own menus. If they can't write, they can call me." Zhou Yan added. "Each customer who makes a reservation will need to pay a deposit, rounded down to one third of the total price. Those who don't pay won't be considered to have made a reservation."
"Why?" Zhao Tieying asked, puzzled.
"Our restaurant is doing well, and we might attract some jealous people. If someone were to sabotage us by ordering a huge table of food but not actually eating it, all the ingredients we prepared would go to waste, and our profitable business would immediately turn into a loss-making one." Zhou Yan explained with a smile.
"You're so smart, I'll listen to you." Aunt Zhao nodded.
Zhou Yan wrote a notice, which would be posted at the entrance tomorrow morning so that all the workers going to work could see it.
Zhou Yan's decision to open reservations for Sunday lunches wasn't just about making more money; more importantly, it was about entering the banquet market in Suji Town.
The textile factory workers' meals had already peaked, with daily revenue hovering around 500 yuan, struggling to break through.
Gatherings are a low frequency consumption, but because of their social aspect, the average order value is generally higher.
When entertaining guests, they always want the guests to eat well.
Many of the textile factory workers' banquets aren't with their own colleagues, which is a great way for the restaurant to promote itself and attract new customers.
This market was previously monopolized by state-owned restaurants.
Other small restaurants and street stalls are not up to standard and cannot be compared with state-owned restaurants with their second-level master chefs.
Zhou Yan decided to test the market, taking a challenger's stance and hoping to get a share of the state-owned restaurants business.
However, his ambitions were small; he only planned to serve lunch.
He didn't sell breakfast, braised food, or cross-legged beef because he wanted everyone to get more sleep. He needed to give everyone more sleep each week otherwise it's too stressful.
The reason for not selling dinner is to allow them to have a half day off, giving them time to travel to Jiazhou or the surrounding areas if they wanted.
Money can never be fully earned; time must be reserved for spending to achieve a balance between work and rest, keep them energy up as they work.
These past few days, Comrade Old Zhou has become obsessed with the Three Kingdoms. He no longer plays chess with Zhou Yan, and instead sits under the lamp reading at night for two hours before going to sleep.
Zhou Yan couldn't help but worry. Had Comrade Old Zhou, now middle-aged, developed a desire for power?
What if he saw that line: "How can a great man remain subservient to others for long?"
Will he develop any thoughts of challenging Aunt Zhao's position in the family?
Actually, Zhou Yan had already read through the Romance of the Three Kingdoms once. After Comrade Old Zhou finished reading it, he'd go find the old man to exchange it for another one.
That old man was quite interesting.
…
The next morning, Zhou Yan put up a notice at the door announcing that reservations for Sunday noon were available, and wrote down the detailed rules below.
Sure enough, customers came to inquire and make reservations in the morning. Most of them were small gatherings of three to five people, while there were also family gatherings of eight or nine people.
"Zhou Yan, you're finally willing to open on Sundays! My sister and brother in law are coming to see my mother tomorrow. I originally planned to take them to a state-owned restaurant, but eating here is much better!" Zhao Dong arrived late and ran into Zhou Yan as he entered the restaurant. He said with a smile, "My brother in law owns a restaurant in Jiazhou. He always thinks that the chef at his Feiyan Restaurant has the best cooking skills in Jiazhou. He's very picky about the taste. This time, I'm going to show him what it means to be outmatched."