Zhou Yan and Comrade Old Zhou both breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, it wasn't about personal savings.
However, Zhou Yan realized what was going on and was a little surprised, looking at Comrade Old Zhou as well.
The restaurant was indeed short of helpers, but Comrade Old Zhou was the best butcher in Zhou Village, and he simply couldn't bring himself to ask him to take on that role.
Since Aunt Zhao had spoken up, he wanted to hear Comrade Old Zhou's thoughts.
Slaughtering cattle is a lucrative profession; he can earn seventy or eighty yuan a month by working from dawn till dusk, which is more than what textile factory workers earn.
But it was undeniably tiring.
Before, with Aunt Zhao assisting Comrade Old Zhou, the meat would be sold out by noon.
Now that he's poached Aunt Zhao to be the lobby manager, Comrade Old Zhou's meat-selling efficiency has dropped significantly, and he often can't eat lunch by 2 pm.
Aunt Zhao's salary plus commission already exceeded Comrade Old Zhou's income from slaughtering cattle and selling meat, so he couldn't persuade her to come back.
"This..." Comrade Old Zhou was clearly conflicted. Having slaughtered cattle for half his life, he was hesitant to become a helper.
"Dad, I'll give you a basic salary of thirty eight yuan, the same as the helpers at the textile factory. In addition, as the person in charge of the braised meat section, I'll give you 20% of the profits from the braised meat as commission. How much you earn depends on your ability; the more you sell, the more you earn." Zhou Yan, as the boss, naturally had to step forward and make his stance clear. "Furthermore, if someone asks you to slaughter a cow, just go, as long as it doesn't interfere with the restaurant's braised meat sales."
"Did you hear that? 20% commission!" Aunt Zhao held up two fingers, lowering her voice slightly. "Yesterday we sold over forty, and today we're preparing double the amount of braised meat, so the profit is half. Calculate how much commission you'll earn!"
Comrade Old Zhou had been selling meat for years; he was very good at math. How could he not understand this?
The commission alone would be over a hundred yuan a month, more than he used to earn selling beef.
If he sold even more in the future, he would earn even more. May be he and his wife could save enough money in a year to renovate their house.
"Okay, I'll do whatever your mother says. From now on, I'll be in charge of cutting the braised meat in the restaurant." Comrade Old Zhou nodded. He'd done this work many times during holidays and festivals, so he was quite skilled.
Moreover, Zhou Yan said that if someone asked him to slaughter a cow, he could do it. He could slaughter five or six cows a month, so his skills wouldn't get rusty. He could get back to the restaurant around eight or nine o'clock after slaughtering the cow, which wouldn't affect his work at all.
Selling beef alone wasn't very interesting, but being able to help Zhou Yan and spend time with his family was great.
"Great!" Zhou Yan was overjoyed; a key employee had been successfully recruited!
Now someone would be cutting the braised meat fresh, ensuring the best taste!
He trusted Comrade Old Zhou's work.
It was hard to find a craftsman more organized and meticulous than him.
Such a skilled helper was invaluable!
As for the commission...
Zhou Yan was more than happy to give Aunt Zhao and Comrade Old Zhou this high commission; it would greatly boost their enthusiasm. Look how energetic Aunt Zhao was at work; she could say "good girl" hundreds of times a day.
Now the young female workers at the textile factory adored her; even if they weren't eating, they'd still greet Aunt Zhao when they passed by.
They would be more likely to accept the money if it were given to them as salary.
Zhou Yan dislikes the practice of exchanging large red envelopes during holidays and festivals.
Besides, as long as they did a good job, this was the compensation they deserved.
Skilled helpers deserve respect.
"Come on, Dad, go take a shower. I'll take you to buy a chef's uniform, and get your hair and beard tidied up. From now on, you'll be the face of our restaurant." Zhou Yan said.
After Comrade Old Zhou finished showering and put on his cloth, Zhou Yan pocketed the money and took Comrade Old Zhou out for his makeover.
Two hours later, they returned.
Comrade Old Zhou's somewhat disheveled hair had been cut into a buzz cut, his stubble neatly trimmed, and he was now wearing a white cotton-linen chef's shirt and black trousers—a completely new look.
"Not bad, Old Zhou! You look great!" Zhao Tieying circled around Zhou Miao, marveling at how the clothes made him look several years younger.
"Fourth Uncle, you look like a chef now." Zhao Hong said with a smile.
"That's good..." Comrade Old Zhou straightened his clothes, a little embarrassed.
"Don't worry, Dad, you have the air of a master chef." Zhou Yan said with a smile. "Dad, you're used to cutting braised meat for Grandma, so I'll just give you instructions, no extra demonstration."
Zhou Miao nodded: "Okay, I'll cut it according to the standard of the braised pig ears and braised pig head meat you packed for me yesterday."
Look, a truly excellent helper can be replicated after just one taste.
The boss doesn't need to worry about it at all!
Zhou Yan wanted to laugh. Aunt Zhao was truly decisive; this restaurant would close down without her!
Aunt Zhao has already washed and hung out two boxes of clothes to dry. They are all autumn and winter clothes. They were wet from the rain but not dirty. They can be worn as soon as they are dry.
Zhou Yan also bought two quilt inserts from Zhu Laosi, the cotton fluffer. Then he went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought two bed sheets and two pillows, which he took off from the back of the bicycle.
"Are these new quilts? Why didn't you buy cotton and make them our own? They're so expensive!" Aunt Zhao noticed the two quilts and stepped forward to help take them, looking pained.
"The quilt we're sleeping in tonight, there's no time to make our own." Zhou Yan said with a smile. "I just bought the quilt insert from Zhu Laosi. It's eight jin for the bedding, first-grade cotton, which costs 2.6 yuan per jin. The mattress insert is six jin, fifth-grade cotton, which costs 1.9 yuan per jin. He made it ready-made, and the labor cost is extra. Including the quilt cover and sheet I bought from the supply and marketing cooperative, plus two pillows, it comes to a total of 52.8 yuan."
"52 yuan!" Aunt Zhao gasped.
Zhao Hong was also somewhat astonished.
These quilts are so expensive! Zhou Yan was willing to spend money.
"We spend a third of our lives on bed, so it's only right to spend more on blankets and pillows." Zhou Yan said with a smile. "You can save money on other things, but you should treat yourself well when it comes to sleep."
Zhao Tieying thought about it and felt that Zhou Yan's words made a lot of sense.
Since it was already bought and the owner wouldn't let them return it, she could only carry it upstairs first.
The new quilt was soft to the touch, with a pleasant fragrance. The cotton fabric was also very soft, much more comfortable than the old quilts they had slept on over ten years ago. Those were stiff and drafty, letting in drafts in winter and offering no warmth whatsoever.
"You need to be frugal with your money. At this rate, you could squander a mountain of gold." Aunt Zhao said, putting down the quilt and still advising Zhou Yan.
"I know I need to be frugal, but I don't mind spending money on you all." Zhou Yan said with a smile. "When I earn money in the future, I'll buy you all silk quilts; those are even softer."
"Who wants to sleep in your silk quilts? Only foreigners can afford those!" Aunt Zhao rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't hide the smile on her lips.
An afternoon passed in the blink of an eye, and the shadow of the collapsed house seemed to have dissipated from the heads of their family.
Zhao Tieying felt that life was still full of hope and something to look forward to.
With nothing else to do, Aunt Zhao began to provide on-the-job training for Comrade Old Zhou.
"You can't have that stern face. Customers come to eat. If you stand at the door looking too fierce, you'll scare the young ladies away, and they won't dare come in."
"That's right. You learn from me. You have to laugh like this."
"You have to believe in yourself, you can definitely laugh, I believe in you."
"No! Your laugh looks uglier than crying, even scarier than just now!"
"I'm counting from one to three! If you laugh like that again..."
...
Zhou Yan and Zhou Momo sat behind the counter, cracking sunflower seeds, keeping a good distance, afraid of being affected by the increasingly irritable Aunt Zhao.
"Guo Guo, why does Mom make Dad laugh?" Zhou Momo asked, taking a peeled sunflower seed from Zhou Yan's hand, somewhat puzzled.
"Because if Dad doesn't laugh, customers might not dare to come in." Zhou Yan said with a smile.
Comrade Old Zhou's stern face was indeed very intimidating.
Having slaughtered cattle for over twenty years, he carried a certain menacing aura, and his gaze was chilling to behold.
Therefore, Zhou Yan felt that Aunt Zhao's on-the-job training was very necessary.
Comrade Old Zhou was quite aggrieved after being scolded. His lips trembled, and he said in a low voice, "Tieying, don't be angry. I'll try laughing again."
He was clearly the one who felt wronged, but he had to appease his wife first.
She certainly has a firm grip on her position within the family.
Zhou Yan couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward, saying, "Mom, you can't judge Dad by your standards. Your laugh is like a flower; all the girls at the textile factory like you. Dad doesn't usually laugh. It's good enough if you can get him to smile; it's more pleasing to the eye that way. His fake laugh is even more frightening."
Comrade Old Zhou looked at him pleadingly. If the scolding continued, he might have to sleep on the floor tonight.
Aunt Zhao smiled upon hearing this and nodded at Zhou Miao, saying, "Alright, if you smile, that's fine."
Comrade Old Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
"That's it! That's the smile! Remember that feeling!" Zhou Yan immediately said, "Dad, you have to think of it this way: every customer who comes into the restaurant is our big spender. Only when they're happy to spend their money and come back next time only we can earn money to repair the house. Don't you think seeing them should make you as happy as seeing a large sum of money?"
Comrade Old Zhou's smile grew even more genuine; large sum of money certainly deserved a sincere smile.
The textile factory workers, finishing their shifts, noticed a small square table set up outside Zhou Erwa Restaurant. On the table, a winnowing basket was crammed full of bright red braised pig's head, ears, and snouts—it looked incredibly appetizing.
Behind the small table stood a middle-aged man in a white chef's uniform, smiling. He seemed… reasonably amiable, perhaps?
At least he looked clean and neat, and bore a resemblance to Zhou Yan; he was pleasing to the eye no matter how you looked at him.
Regular customers knew this was Zhou Yan's father, who usually helped serve dishes.
But judging from this setup, was he in charge of cutting the braised meat?
Could he handle it?
Those who bought braised pig's head meat and pig's ear yesterday know that Zhou Yan's pig's ear slices are extremely thin, and the pig's head meat is cut very evenly, guaranteeing a high quality taste.
"Uncle, give me one pig's ear, and three liang of pig's head meat, to go." A customer eagerly placed the order; there were only twelve pig's ears left, so this was a limited offer!
"Okay." Zhou Miao picked up a piece of pig's head meat, cut it, and weighed it on the scale, saying, "Exactly three liang."
"Wow!"
"So accurate!"
"Was he just guessing, or does he really have the skill?"
The surrounding customers gasped in surprise, their eyes widening.
Zhou Miao picked up the pig's ear the customer had chosen, weighed it in his hand, and before even putting it on the scale, said, "This pig's ear is exactly three liang."
Having said that, he lifted the scale.
The weight was exactly three liang, not a penny more.
"Wow! Amazing!"
"Uncle's hands are like a scale!"
"I don't believe it. Why don't you weigh me and see?"