The workers were almost unable to move, and many swallowed hard.
This pig's trotter looks delicious!
No, watching this little girl eat makes it taste even better!
The braised pig's trotter was a glossy reddish-brown, glistening with oil. The little girl's hand could easily sink into it when she pinched it, and she was gnawing on it.
A three and a half year old girl could make such a deep indentation with a single bite—the trotter must be incredibly tender and soft from the braising! She was eating with such relish.
Eating a braised pig's trotter herself is something many people dream of.
This little girl, at three and a half, has already achieved it; it's truly enviable.
"Aunt Zhao, how much is one of these braised pig's trotters?" Wang Wei, who had come to eat with her colleagues today, couldn't help but ask.
The others also looked at Zhao Tieying, their eyes filled with curiosity.
"We haven't started selling braised pig's trotters yet, so there's no price. Today's trotters are for my family to eat." Zhao Tieying replied with a smile. She learned it from Zhou Yan, and it worked very well.
"So delicious, big pig's trotter!" Zhou Momo ate with gusto, not forgetting to praise it, her short legs dangling as she swayed back and forth.
"Not for sale!"
"Why aren't you selling them? If the price isn't too high, I'd like to buy one and try it!"
The workers sighed in dismay.
Not only were they not selling, but they didn't even have a price!
If it was expensive, they would have given up.
They were completely left hanging.
Zhao Tieying pondered for a moment and then said, "How many people want to eat? I'll make a count. If there are many, I'll see if Zhou Yan should prepare some for everyone tomorrow. As for the price, each one won't exceed one yuan and fifty cents, but pig's trotters are not easy to buy, so the quantity should not be large."
When buying pig's trotters this morning, Zhou Yan had told her that they would be serving braised pig's trotters later, which was why she had her youngest daughter sit by the door eating it.
Pig trotters cost 35 cents a jin, and this one pig trotter weighs about 1jin 2 liang, so the cost is forty to fifty cents.
Zhou Yan hadn't set a specific price yet, only saying it would be around 1.2 yuan.
She suggested 1.5 yuan, giving Zhou Yan room to set a price; if it was cheaper tomorrow, customers would feel they got a good deal.
The workers fell silent.
1.5 yuan each?
That price seems a bit expensive.
More than a day's wages for an average worker.
Pig trotters don't have much meat; this price could buy a serving of double pepper minced beef and a bowl of cross-legged beef.
Compared to the silence, Zhou Momo was eating the pig trotter very loudly. The tendons were sticky on her lips, and she chewed loudly, shaking her head as she ate, one bite after another, as if her world consisted only of the braised pig trotter in front of her.
"Aunt Zhao, I want to reserve one." Wang Wei raised her hand and made a reservation decisively.
She doesn't have a man or kids to support, and her parents earn more than her, so what's wrong with spending her own money on a big pig's trotter?
A day's wages? She can afford it!
She couldn't even imagine how blissful it would be to devour a whole pig's trotter.
With Wang Wei leading the way, several other workers immediately followed suit and placed orders.
If eating alone was too expensive, they could just share with a friend.
Eating half a trotter would be just as satisfying!
Zhao Tieying took out her notebook and started writing tally marks, quickly ordering six.
Of course, many more workers chose to wait and see, deciding whether to eat it once the official price was announced.
Zhou Yan stood at the kitchen doorway, listening for a while, and was astonished by Zhao Tieying's words!
Aunt Zhao was truly a marketing genius! Limited supply, raising expectations—she had mastered Lei Jun's tactics perfectly.
His plan for the braised pig's trotters was to sell them for 1.2 yuan each, achieving a 50% profit margin, within the customers' acceptable range—that would be a good price.
However, his mother brought forward the plan to launch braised pig's trotters.
This marketing campaign was just as effective as if he had done it himself.
Aunt Zhao learns things so quickly!
Customers kept coming into the restaurant, and Zhou Momo became a living advertisement. Even the workers passing by couldn't help but take a second look, and before they knew it, they were walking into the restaurant.
Once inside, the dishes on the tables looked incredibly tempting; how could anyone resist sitting down and ordering a couple to try?
Zhou Yan's kitchen quickly became busy.
Two middle-aged men in Zhongshan suits rode up to the textile factory, scanning the surroundings.
"Mayor Huang, Zhou Erwa Restaurant is over there!" Old Ma pointed and said with a smile.
Huang Chen also saw it and smiled, saying, "Quite a few people there. Let's go, Old Ma, we'll eat here for lunch."
The two stopped their bicycles and saw Zhou Momo happily eating a half-eaten pig's trotter.
"Isn't this the old lady's little granddaughter? She's really enjoying eating that pig's trotter." Huang Chen said with a smile. The little girl was adorable and had left a deep impression on him that day.
"Mayor Huang, you've arrived." Zhao Tieying was somewhat surprised and a little nervous to see Huang Chen. Could it be that the town leaders had come to investigate again?
"Comrade Zhao, we've come for lunch." Huang Chen said with a smile.
Zhao Tieying breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Please come in, there's just one table left."
Huang Chen and Old Ma entered the restaurant and found it already packed with people. Judging from the customers' uniforms, they were mostly textile factory workers; business was booming.
After they sat down, Zhao Tieying pointed to the menu on the wall and said, "Take a look at the menu first, and then tell me what you'd like to order."
"Okay." Huang Chen nodded and carefully looked at the menu.
"These prices are a bit expensive." Old Ma muttered under his breath after glancing at the menu.
"Individual vendors pay a bit more for meat, but these dish prices aren't actually that high. Those big restaurants in Rongcheng are the ones that are truly expensive." Huang Chen said with a smile. He was in charge of the economy and knew more about this aspect.
The dish prices were normal, but the selection was a bit limited. Excluding cold dishes, there were only six dishes, all common in typical Sichuan restaurants.
Only one dish, "Cross-legged Beef" piqued his curiosity.
He didn't rush to ask, but instead glanced around. He noticed a customer at the next table slurping down soup from a ceramic bowl, thoroughly enjoying it, beads of sweat forming on forehead.
On the table to the right, there was also a ceramic bowl, steaming hot, filled with beef, offal, and tendons. It looked quite bland, but when dipped into the chili powder, it immediately turned bright red and looked quite tempting.
Without a doubt, this was the so-called "Cross-legged Beef".
Zhao Tieying was tending the large pot by the door, making Cross-legged Beef.
A quick glance reveals that quite a few customers have ordered this dish.
Last night's heavy rain had caused a noticeable drop in temperature today.
Looking at this steaming beef soup, he really wanted a bowl to warm himself up.
Old Ma watched as well, swallowing hard.
Huang Chen had a general idea of what was going on and said, "Comrade Zhao, let's order."
"Okay!" Zhao Tieying responded and quickly came over.
Huang Chen ordered twice-cooked pork, minced beef, and a bowl of cross-legged beef—these were the three dishes he'd observed most frequently ordered by regular customers.
In his experience, ordering like this usually wouldn't be a bad choice.
"Alright, just a moment!" Zhao Tieying went to the kitchen.
"Mayor Huang, why did you suddenly decide to eat here?" Old Ma poured him some water and asked with a smile.
The mayor loved to eat, but he was always frugal, eating all three meals in the canteen on weekdays. Today, after returning from an inspection trip to the countryside, he dragged him to a restaurant for lunch, ordering dishes that cost over three yuan—that was quite a high expense.
"I have a friend who will be passing through Suji tomorrow and will be staying overnight. I'm looking for a place to eat in advance so I can entertain him tomorrow." Huang Chen took a sip of water and said with a smile, "I tried Zhou Yan's braised dishes and cold dishes the other day and they were quite good, so I'm here today to try his stir-fry dishes."
"What kind of friend do you value so much? If you want to play it safe, wouldn't state-owned restaurants have a wider variety of dishes?" Old Ma was a little puzzled, but then he thought, could it be some leader? Then he realized he had been too talkative.
"My friend is the deputy editor-in-chief of a magazine. He's eaten too many good things and has a very discerning palate. Ordinary restaurant dishes no longer meet his standards." Huang Chen said with a smile, "Last time he came, I took him to a state-owned restaurant. Not a single dish satisfied him. Later, he wrote a letter and laughed at us in Suji for not having good food. I was furious and had to prove Suji's cuisine right."
"Zhou Yan's braised dishes and cold dishes are quite good." Old Ma said with a smile, probably understanding the underlying grudge.
Men, you know, they're all about pride.
As they talked, the cross-legged beef was served first, along with two small bowls and two dipping saucers from Zhao Tieying.
The steaming hot beef soup wafted over, its aroma filling the air. Several slices of blanched, pink beef, with their distinct marbling, looked incredibly tender.
"Try the soup first." Huang Chen scooped half a bowl of soup into a small bowl with a serving spoon, blew on it to cool it down, and then took a sip. His eyebrows immediately rose.
So fresh!
The beef broth was clear and bright, yet its flavor was exceptionally rich and delicious. A sip of the hot soup warmed him from the inside out—so comforting!
He finished half a bowl of soup in a few gulps, then tasted the meat in the bowl.
The beef slices were large, thin, and tender; the tripe was crisp and crunchy; the tendons were soft and chewy; and the intestines were smooth and tender—each with its own unique flavor. Dipped in the specially prepared chili powder, the taste was elevated to another level.
Delicious!
Huang Chen hadn't expected to be so amazed by a bowl of clear offal broth.
He worked in Suji for ten years, so he must have tried Zhou Village soup pot.
Zhou Yan was from Zhou Village, but he had simply renamed the soup pot, and the taste was completely different.
It was a completely different thing!
"Great, great!" Huang Chen was overjoyed. Putting everything else aside, he felt that this cross-legged beef dish alone would amaze his friend.
Next, the double pepper minced beef and the twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts were served.
Huang Chen picked up a piece of twice-cooked pork, its surface gleaming like a lamp, a perfectly standard twice-cooked pork.
When he went to Rongcheng, this friend had taken him to many delicious restaurants, so he had a good eye for quality.
Pick up a piece of garlic sprout; it's soft and tender in mouth, the lean meat is slightly chewy, and the garlic sprout blooms in the middle—fatty but not oily, fragrant but not greasy.
Absolutely amazing!
This is just as good as the twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts at Rongleyuan!
After swallowing, he immediately shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth.
Mmm!
This steamed rice was expertly prepared; the rice grains were distinct, fluffy, and fragrant, with a hint of the aroma of the wooden bucket. It had a sweet aftertaste and was incredibly flavorful.
He then scooped a spoonful of brightly colored minced beef onto the rice and shoveled it in.
Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, the beef cubes collide with the spicy peppers in mouth, creating a fragrant and delicious flavor that is truly a culinary delight!
"Zhou Yan is incredibly talented! The banquet didn't even showcase his full potential." Huang Chen remarked.
"That's right." Old Ma wholeheartedly agreed.
The meal...
Huang Chen ate three bowls of rice and drank two bowls of beef soup, his belly round and full, completely satisfied.
Old Ma was about the same, patting his slightly protruding belly and letting out a satisfied burp.
It's settled!
Let's eat here tomorrow!