Zhou Yan first tried the original flavor shumai. Its biggest features were its thin skin and generous filling, each bite was perfect. The paper-thin skin was soft, and the meat filling was tender and juicy, leaving a savory aftertaste.
The pork and scallion filling was incredibly fresh!
The local pork from that era had an even better flavor.
The steaming process for these paper-thin shumai was far more complicated than for steamed buns. During steaming, the edges of the lotus leaf were repeatedly rinsed with cold water to ensure the texture of the dough.
Then came the special way of eating it: dipping the shumai in a chili oil dipping sauce. The translucent white shumai immediately turned a bright red color after being dipped in the chili oil, resulting in a spicy and refreshing flavor with a unique taste.
Delicious!
Zhou Momo finished one and reached for the second, looking at Zhou Yan and saying, "Guo Guo, this is even better than the meat buns!"
"It's so fragrant, the skin is so thin, and the filling is so generous, it's so juicy!" Aunt Zhao nodded repeatedly, asking, "How much is a basket? It's so full."
Zhou Yan replied, "There are two baskets here, eight in each basket, 35 cents."
"Well...it's not that expensive." Aunt Zhao nodded.
"Yes, not expensive at all." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. Aunt Zhao's thinking was starting to change. Before, she would have thought 35 cents a basket of shumai was expensive, which is why she hadn't bought any to try even after hearing about it for so long.
Earning money in a rural town isn't easy. Many people save their money, only to use it when they urgently need it.
But who could have imagined that prices would skyrocket in the following years?
The hundreds or thousands of yuan they painstakingly saved quickly lost much of their purchasing power.
If you really want to buy something, buying a house is definitely the best investment.
Housing reform will take several more years, and Zhou Yan has already made plans: first, make money, and then buy a house when he has enough money.
When he can't work anymore, he'll retire and become a landlord, enjoying a cozy home with his wife and kids.
Slipping on the slippers, with a bunch of keys hanging from waist, I'm the most stylish person on the whole street.
Life is short, and all you want is to live freely and unrestrained.
"Business is better in the city. People come and go, and you can make money doing any kind of business there." Aunt Zhao said with a touch of melancholy, looking at the bustling Dong Da Street. She then looked at Zhou Yan and asked, "Should we continue to run the restaurant near the factory gate, or are you plan to move to the city?"
"In the future, we'll definitely move to the city." Zhou Yan replied, his gaze also sweeping across the bustling Dong Da Street.
The Jiazhou Textile Factory was thriving then, but when Zhou Yan passed by on his way to Suji to eat "Cross-legged Beef" in his later years, the original site had been transformed into a residential complex.
The wave of layoffs in the 1990s had finally brought it to the brink of collapse.
Zhou Erwa Restaurant relied on the textile factory for its profit, ninety percent of its customers came from the factory workers. He definitely needed to make plans first.
Of course, it was only 1984, and the textile factory was still expanding production and recruiting workers, showing a booming momentum.
Making money for a few more years wouldn't be a problem, but currently, the turnover was stuck at 500, and he needed to find a way to increase it. If there were opportunities in Jiazhou, he could also make some arrangements in advance.
Dong Da Street extended to the riverbank, leading to the now bustling Jiazhou Port, diagonally opposite the Jiazhou Giant Buddha.
The Jiazhou Giant Buddha is now a bustling tourist attraction, with a constant stream of visitors taking boat tours from Jiazhou Port.
Furthermore, tickets can be purchased from Jiazhou Port for boat trips directly to Shancheng and other destinations, making it a vital mode of transportation for Jiazhou residents. Therefore, the liveliness of Dong Da Street is largely due to the comings and goings of merchants.
The street is lined with shops, making it quite prosperous.
Dong Da Street will also be a popular street in later years, filled with trendy shops. Any shop that could stand out with its signboard was extremely successful.
Zhou Yan knows little about this era, but he has a certain understanding of Jiazhou.
If he could buy a building at Dong Da Street, he would have a foothold if he wanted to open a restaurant in Jiazhou from Suji.
He wouldn't have to worry about renting or landlords changing their minds.
Moreover, if he buy a property on Dong Da Street, he can rent it out immediately and generate income.
Over the next few decades, returns will continue to rise, making it relatively cost-effective.
Currently, housing allocated by work units cannot be bought or sold, but private residences can be traded and transferred.
Most of the buildings on Dong Da Street still retain the style of the Republic of China era and are mostly private residences.
Most of the ground floors of houses along the street have been converted into shops for rent, providing landlords with stable rental income.
This street has photo studios, grain stores, hardware stores, and even small taverns. The most famous is the "Jia Le Grand Theatre" which hosts Sichuan opera performances. Every performance attracts a large audience, and tickets are hard to come by.
It's incredibly popular.
However, the core commercial area of Jiazhou is currently located near the department store intersection, where rents are much higher. It's said that a decent shop there costs twenty or thirty yuan a month.
Considering the foot traffic in front of the department store, those prices aren't outrageous.
Zhou Yan asked the boss's wife of the tofu pudding stall a few questions. She said that the monthly rent for a 30-40 square meter shop on Dong Da Street was about 15 yuan.
"Renting a shop isn't worthwhile. You can do business just as well with a tricycle, and keep all the profits in your pocket." The boss's wife said with a smile, "Some people who rent a shop work for the landlord for ten days first, and only the money they earn after that is theirs."
"Auntie, you set up your stall here everyday, do you know if there are any houses for sale on Dong Da Street?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile.
"Sell? These houses are like golden hen laying golden eggs. I'm afraid they wouldn't be willing to sell them. With two storefronts, they can earn thirty yuan a month just by lying at home. Working in a factory isn't as comfortable as this." The boss's wife shook her head and looked at Zhou Yan with some surprise: "Young man, you still want to buy a house? I heard from them that a building was sold in the Ban Chang Street area a couple of days ago. There were also shops facing the street, which sold for over six thousand yuan.
"Over six thousand?! That's a bit expensive!" Aunt Zhao gasped. The boss's wife smiled and said, "It's expensive, but the house is quite comfortable. It's a brick and tile house, the ground floor can be rented out as a shop, and the second floor can be used for living."
Zhou Yan pondered. In this day and age, spending six thousand yuan on a building certainly wasn't cheap.
In an era when having 10,000 yuan was considered wealthy nationwide, someone who could afford to buy a house with 6,000 yuan must have been a self-employed individual who had made money.
However, the restaurant's daily net profit was nearly two hundred yuan. If he was frugal, he could save over five thousand yuan a month.
A month's earnings could buy a building in Jiazhou!
Thinking about it that way, it doesn't seem so expensive!
The fact that there are buyers and sellers mean the policy is working.
Besides, Ban Chang Street isn't far from Dong Da Street; even if there's a price difference, it shouldn't be too drastic.
This only strengthened Zhou Yan's resolve to buy a building in Jiazhou.
In this day and age, a courtyard house in a slightly outlying part of the capital would probably cost about the same.
But, not to be ashamed to admit, he'd never been to the capital in his previous life.
Now, being a complete stranger in the city, asking him to take a few thousand yuan and travel north for days and nights by train to buy a house would likely leave him with nothing but bones along the way.
Jiazhou is different. His uncle is now the Minister of the Armed Forces Department, a proper deputy section level cadre, at least he can get backing up if anything happens, preventing him from being bullied.
Of course, the upper limit for property purchases in Jiazhou is very low, one building is enough. Once he has more money, he will definitely go to Rongcheng to buy property.
He knows Rongcheng well, he can just buy in Tai Gu Li, Chun Xi Lu, or the Jin Rong Cheng without even looking.
It doesn't have to be Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen.
He has a good mindset, he's content with modest wealth and doesn't have grand ambitions.
Zhou Momo is three and a half years old this year. Zhou Yan's goal is to get her into elementary school in Jiazhou and middle school in Rongcheng. If she can get into No. 7 Middle School, then getting into university will be a piece of cake, right?
Aunt Zhao and Comrade Old Zhou don't understand these things, so as her older brother, he definitely needs to consider things for her first.
Zhou Yan doesn't expect her to be exceptionally successful in the future, but he hopes that when she understands what she wants, she'll have more choices.
After eating two baskets of shumai, the whole family was full.
Zhou Yan paid the bill and returned the steamer and dipping saucer.
"I told you to just leave it there and I'd go get it, why did you have to bring it over?" The auntie said with a smile as she took the steamer.
"It's nothing." Zhou Yan smiled and casually asked, "Auntie, did your boss buy this place himself or rent it? I'm thinking of starting a small business on Dong Da Street and would like to inquire about the market."
The auntie whispered, "Our boss bought this place, it's his own shop. If you were to rent, a shop this size would cost at least fifteen yuan."
"Do you know how much money he spent?" Zhou Yan's voice lowered slightly.
"I don't know." The aunt shook her head, glancing again towards the dock. "Our boss mentioned it a couple of days ago, that building at the intersection ahead seems to be for sale, but the price is ridiculously high, and it's a real hassle."
"Auntie, a basket of shumai."
"Okay! I'll get it for you!"
The aunt went off to do her work, and Zhou Yan didn't ask any more questions, but his mind was still on that building at the intersection.
What kind of shop is the most valuable?
It must be a prominent corner shop.
The intersection of Dong Da Street faces Jiazhou Port directly, right by the river.
Zhou Yan pushed the bicycle, said goodbye to his parents, and headed straight towards Jiazhou Port.
Soon, a brick and tile house came into view.
This house is huge!
It stands at the end of Dong Da Street, spanning both Dong Da Street and Bin Jiang Road.
It faces the main gate of Jiazhou Port, and diagonally opposite is the Shancheng Shipping Company. Merchants arriving by boat will see this shop as soon as they disembark.
Visitors strolling along Bin Jiang Road will also stop here to watch the cruise ships in the harbor.
This house has an excellent location!
Zhou Yan glanced around, it occupies at least three or four hundred square meters, and that's a conservative estimate.
Like the other houses on Dong Da Street, they also made holes in the walls to rent out two shops, one selling noodles and the other selling braised dishes.
If Zhou Yan remembers correctly, this area was later demolished and turned into a commercial street.
The house looks quite old, with blue brick walls, flying eaves and blue tiles, and even a gate tower at the entrance. The gate is tightly closed, and it's unclear how many courtyards are inside. It looks like the house of a wealthy family in the past.
But there was no "For Sale" notice posted anywhere.
"What are you looking at?" Aunt Zhao asked, noticing Zhou Yan looking around.
"Is there anything good to eat?" Zhou Momo followed suit, looking left and right.
"The auntie who sells shumai said this house is for sale. The location is fantastic. I'll go find out more. Have Dad watch the bicycle. You take Momo to the harbor to see the boats." Zhou Yan whispered to her, then headed straight for the braised food shop.
Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhao's eyes widened slightly as she looked at the large house in front her, wondering how much it must cost!
"Mommy, I want to see the big ship." Zhou Momo said, swinging her legs back and forth, her eyes full of anticipation.
"Come on, I'll take you to see them." Aunt Zhao scooped her up, told Zhou Miao, and walked towards the river.
Zhou Yan walked into the braised food shop. The owner, a middle-aged man, had just finished weighing a pig's head meat for a customer and said with a smile, "Handsome guy, what would you like to weigh?"
"I'd like a pig's ear." Zhou Yan said with a smile, glancing at the price list on the wall.
"Sure!" The shopkeeper took a pig's ear and weighed it. "Three liang, ninety cents."
"Okay, cut it up." Zhou Yan nodded, and only after the shopkeeper started cutting the pig's ear did he ask, "Boss, I heard this house is for sale?"
Upon hearing this, the shop owner looked up at Zhou Yan, his gaze lingering on the new watch on his hand. He smiled and nodded, "That's right. They talked to me and another shop owner about this two days ago. If we can afford it, they'll let us buy it first, so we won't be kicked out after someone else buys it."
"So, are you going to buy it?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile.
"Who can afford it!" The shopkeeper scoffed, holding up one finger. "At least this much, but the exact amount is still undecided."
"Ten thousand?!" Zhou Yan's voice rose a few decibels.
"Even ten thousand might not be enough. I think Old Mrs. Qiu's granddaughter wants at least another one or two thousand more." The shopkeeper shook his head, a hint of disdain in his voice. "Those Hong Kong people, they just don't value money."
"Hong Kong people? How did this bring up Hong Kong people again?" Zhou Yan asked, puzzled.
"Old Mrs. Qiu's children fled to Hong Kong in their early years, leaving only Old Mrs. Qiu and Mr. Duan. They were sent to the countryside and did manual labor, but Mr. Duan did not survive."
"Two years ago, the case was overturned, and the Qiu family's old house was returned to Old Lady Qiu. She came back here to retire. She rented out two shops, earning twenty or thirty yuan a month. She plays mahjong and listens to Sichuan opera everyday. She lives a comfortable life."
"Recently, her son, whom she hadn't heard from in decades, came to her door with her granddaughter, saying he wanted to take her to Hong Kong to enjoy her retirement. Then he started arranging to sell the house."
"However, this matter is not settled yet. Old Mrs. Qiu is unwilling to go to Hong Kong, saying that she is waiting for someone and that she would rather die in Jiazhou than go there."
"Old Mrs. Qiu's son stayed for a month before going back, leaving her granddaughter here to keep her company and take care of the house matters." The shopkeeper paused, looked up at Zhou Yan, and said, "You know, the old lady is over seventy years old, who do you think she's waiting for? Going to Hong Kong is truly a life of luxury. When her son came, he was always picked up and dropped off in a car. I heard the watch he was wearing was a Rolex, which is worth ten thousand yuan!"
Zhou Yan was also somewhat taken aback upon hearing this. In this day and age, wearing a Rolex worth 10,000 yuan undoubtedly indicates a certain level of economic strength, one must at least be a Hong Kong businessman.
Zhou Yan asked in confusion, "If the house is worth less than one of his watches, why bother selling it? Why not just take the old lady away?"
"They're not really after the money, they just want to put an end to the old lady's hope so she'll be willing to go to Hong Kong." the shop owner said while packing pig ear. "Whoever can resolve the old lady's concerns and get her to agree, her granddaughter would be happy even if the house sold for a few thousand less. Otherwise, if the old lady doesn't agree, no amount of money can buy it."
Zhou Yan took the oil paper bag, seemingly lost in thought. So, this was what the owner of the shumai shop meant when he said it was so expensive and troublesome to buy.
The house seems to be for sale, but there's no specific price, and not even a definite answer on whether it will be sold at all.
"Perhaps you want to buy this house?" the shop owner asked, staring at Zhou Yan as he gave him change.
"A friend of mine is interested, I'm just asking for him. I don't have that much money." Zhou Yan said with a smile, shaking his head, already having a general idea of what was going on.
"If you're interested, just knock on the door and ask. These two shops are completely separate from the house, the old lady only comes when it's time to collect rent." the shopkeeper said with a smile to Zhou Yan. "If your friend buys this house, could you talk to him for me and ask if he can still rent the shop to me? I'll still pay the rent as usual."
"Sure, I'll definitely pass on the message." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. Seeing a customer enter, he thanked the shopkeeper and left with the pig's ear.
Leaving the braised food shop, Zhou Yan looked back at the quaint and grand old house, his brow furrowed.
If you're talking about ten thousand yuan, then at least he has a clear goal, if he works hard for two months, he might be able to save enough.
But how could an outsider like him get a seventy years old woman to agree to sell her house, something even her son and granddaughter couldn't do?
Such a nice house—countless bosses in Jiazhou are eyeing it.
Nowadays, people with 10,000 yuan in assets are rare, but don't underestimate local business owners like Huang He who have substantial wealth.
He doesn't believe someone who can afford to buy his son a motorcycle for over two thousand yuan doesn't have tens of thousands in cash on hand.
Zhou Yan's restaurant can make tens of thousands in profit a year. Feiyan Restaurant, as one of the four major restaurants in Jiazhou, can't possibly earn less than him, right?
He's already got the information; he'll keep an eye on this matter later.
The most urgent thing right now is to make money!
Without ten thousand yuan in hand, he won't even have a chance to sit at the table.
With money in hand, even if this house doesn't work out, he can buy something else.
Just then, a cruise ship must have docked, and tourists poured out of the port gate.
"Look, there's a braised food shop over there! Let's buy two duck heads to try!"
"Give me one, I'm going to eat MSG noodles next door!"
Many tourists headed straight for the two shops.
Zhou Yan was a little envious. See, that's the power of location!
If he bought this house, he'd demolish it and rebuild.
The entire first floor would be commercial space, with ceilings three and a half meters high. Fifty years from now, it wouldn't look any shabby compared to the surrounding shops.
The second floor would be two large apartments, one for his parents and one for him. The third floor would be a huge master bedroom for Zhou Momo. Then set up a river-viewing terrace to gaze at the Jiazhou Giant Buddha across the river.
Just thinking about it made him feel wonderful.
This braised food shop is definitely not going to stay open. He sells braised food, and he can't let someone else sleep soundly next to him.
Boss, I'm so sorry!
Zhou Yan and Comrade Old Zhou pushed the bicycle to the riverbank and looked at the river view for a while.
"Guo Guo, I want to ride a big boat! Will you take me?" Zhou Momo ran over, hugging his leg and acting cute, her big eyes full of expectation.
Zhou Yan glanced at his watch, then at the boat schedule next to him, and shook his head with a smile. "No, the boats have all closed. We definitely can't ride today. We'll ride next time."
"Okay…" Zhou Momo let go, her mood a little down.
"Here, I bought you some braised pig ears." Zhou Yan opened the braised pig ears he had just bought and handed them to Zhou Momo.
"I love you, Guo Guo!" Zhou Momo exclaimed happily, picking up a piece and putting it in her mouth. After chewing, she frowned slightly, "It's not as good as Guo Guo's."
"You make braised pig ears yourself, why buy this?" Aunt Zhao also picked up a piece and put it in her mouth, shaking her head in the same way, "It's too salty! And not very fragrant either, it's definitely not as good as yours."
"I asked the boss for some information and bought some things so I could ask him questions. He told me everything while he was slicing the pig's ear." Zhou Yan said with a smile, glancing at the evaluation below his eyes.
[A plain and ordinary braised pig's ear]
Looking back at the crowded braised food shop, he remarked with some emotion, "You see, a good storefront can sell such ordinary pig's ears for three yuan a jin."
The family of four rode their bicycles back to Suji, completely satisfied.
On the way, Aunt Zhao asked about the price of the house and was shocked to hear it cost over ten thousand yuan.
"Are you planning to buy it?" Aunt Zhao asked Zhou Yan. "Even if you can rent out the two shops for thirty yuan a month, that's only three hundred and sixty yuan a year. It would take thirty years to break even."
"It's not like that." Zhou Yan said with a smile. "If it rents for three hundred and sixty this year, five hundred next year, and eight hundred the year after, you might break even in less than ten years. But let's save ten thousand yuan now before thinking about anything else."
Aunt Zhao didn't understand why Zhou Yan was so confident, but seeing the determination in his eyes, she didn't ask any further questions.
Save it!
Let's save it together!
A family needs to work together to achieve great things!
When they only had five hundred yuan, they dared to give it all to Zhou Yan to open a restaurant, and even helped him borrow over eight hundred.
Zhou Yan knows more and sees further than they do. If he says it's worth buying, then they'll buy it.
Back in Suji, it was almost dark.
After taking a shower, Zhou Yan took out the accounts and checked them.
Today's expenses in town amounted to 273.9 yuan, and he still had 510.72 yuan in savings.
Too far from ten thousand yuan in savings…
The goal is still a long way off.
Zhou Yan took out a notebook, wrote down a few restaurant names, and then their addresses.
These are some of the larger restaurants he saw while shopping in Jiazhou today, he noted their addresses.
When he has time, he plans to make another trip to Jiazhou, visiting each restaurant individually to see if any don't make their own braised meat but are willing to buy from him.
Stir-fried and braised dishes won't sell to restaurants, but braised meat will.
The old lady had proven this decades ago.
Tomorrow morning, he'll invite the old lady over to guide him on preparing the second batch of braising liquid and give instructions on making a new round of braised beef.
An elder in the family is a treasure.
With the old lady there, he feels more at ease.
Tomorrow he needs to supply braised meat to his Master, for an occasion like a banquet, it's important to pay attention.
He'll also compile a list of restaurants that bought braised meat from the old lady back then, making the search more targeted.
Ten or twenty years have passed, the old lady is now seventy five. Whether those restaurants from back then have any descendants, or whether they still order their braised meat, is unknown.
After putting the money and account books back in the box, Zhou Yan took out some letter paper, pulled out his Parker pen, thought for a moment, and began to reply to Xia Yao.
Today's trip to Jiazhou was like a pebble thrown into his dull and busy life, and he suddenly had many topics he wanted to share with her.
For example, the distinctive tofu pudding of Jiazhou, the house with a river view, and Zhou Momo's excitement after receiving the crayons...
His thoughts flowed like a spring, and he wrote three pages in one go.
In the letter, Zhou Yan also asked her about the complicated situation of the house's owner, and how to approach a young lady from such a wealthy family in a more appropriate way to gain her trust.
Having lived two lives, the person Zhou Yan had seen who most resembled a rich young lady was probably Xia Yao.
Friends should help each other and progress together.
Zhou Yan put the letter into the envelope and wrote "To Xia Yao" on it.
Having a pen pal is great.
...
The next day, just as dawn broke, Comrade Little Zhou and Comrade Old Zhou went out to buy groceries.
When they returned, an old lady carrying a small jar was sitting on the back seat of Comrade Old Zhou's bicycle.
The bicycle slowly came to a stop, and the old lady jumped off, still clutching the jar.
"Aiyo! Grandma, be careful!" Zhou Yan, who was about to help her up, was startled.
"What are you afraid of? I can pick up a carrying pole and chase the dog. I'll still make it scream! You might not even be as strong as me." The old lady waved her hand and walked straight into the restaurant, asking as she did so, "Where's my youngest granddaughter? I haven't seen my darling in so long."