When it comes to work ethic, He Zhiyuan and Xiao Li are truly impeccable.
Two photos took nearly an hour to take.
From the amount of broth in the bowl to the subtle angle at which the beef slices were arranged, to the adjustment of Zhou Yan's posture, the capture of light...
After all that work, Zhou Yan was exhausted.
Aunt Zhao and the others watched with great interest.
"Perfect! These two photos are absolutely outstanding!" He Zhiyuan exclaimed excitedly after taking the photos. He hadn't gotten any truly satisfying shots on his trip to Ermei, but unexpectedly, meeting a friend on the way back led him to a gem.
Especially the Cross-legged Beef, once served in a blue and white porcelain bowl, its quality is elevated eight hundred times!
The broth was clear, the beef tender and pink, and the tripe glistened with oil—it looked incredibly tempting.
The dipping sauce on the side is the finishing touch; the contrast of red and white perfectly showcases the characteristics of Sichuan cuisine: "fresh and delicate flavors, and spicy and numbing flavors."
Once the photos are printed, if the results are good, he will definitely try to persuade the editor-in-chief to put the "Cross-legged Beef" on the cover of the next issue.
"Editor-in-Chief He, could you take a picture of our family?" Aunt Zhao, carrying Zhou Momo, walked over and asked with a smile.
She had changed into a blue patterned polyester shirt at some point, and was still wearing new leather shoes. Zhou Momo had also changed into a clean blue and white long dress and had her hair braided into two small braids.
He Zhiyuan subconsciously took a half step back, but quickly put on a smile and said, "Of course! Come on, stand in front of the restaurant, and I'll take a family photo."
"Thank you!" Aunt Zhao was delighted and quickly called Zhou Yan and Zhou Miao over.
Aunt Zhao stood in the middle with Zhou Momo in her arms, with Zhou Yan and Zhou Miao on either side.
Zhou Yan smiled. A family photo, what a rare phrase! He'd never seen one like it before.
"Guo Guo, what are we going to do?" Zhou Momo tilted her head, looking at Zhou Yan. She was too young to understand what taking a picture meant.
"Taking a picture is like using that camera (Xiang Ji) to draw our likeness." Zhou Yan explained with a smile.
"What kind of chicken is a Xiang Ji? Can chickens draw??" Zhou Momo blinked, feeling even more confused.
He Zhiyuan, holding the camera, began directing everyone:
"Come on, stand a little forward so I can capture the sign in the picture."
"Yes, yes, I'll count to three, and you all smile."
"Little one, look at Uncle here, smile!"
"Come closer, why do you all seem a bit distant? That's right, like this, one, two, three…"
Zhou Momo, held by Aunt Zhao, leaned her head against Zhou Yan's chest, revealing a sweet smile.
Click!
With the sound of the shutter, the family's smiles were captured in that moment.
He Zhiyuan carefully packed up his camera, smiling at Zhou Yan and the others, "I'll prints the photos for you when I get back, and I'll send them back to you when the next issue of 'Sichuan Cuisine' magazine comes out."
"Okay, thank you." Zhao Tieying looked at the two who were packing their things to leave and said with a smile, "We're about to have lunch too, why don't you have something to eat with us before you go?"
"No need, no need, we'll go back and pack our things. We need to catch the bus to Jiazhou and return to Rongcheng today." He Zhiyuan waved his hand.
"Editor-in-Chief He, even if you go to Jiazhou, you still need to find a place to have lunch. Why don't you have a simple meal with us at the restaurant before you go back?" Zhou Yan also said, "I'll go cook now, we have three bricklayers helping out upstairs to eat with us today."
He Zhiyuan smiled and nodded, "Okay, then we won't stand on ceremony. You're right, we won't find a better restaurant than yours near Jiazhou Station anytime soon."
Zhou Yan turned and went into the kitchen to cook.
Aunt Zhao carefully picked up the blue and white porcelain bowl, found a large bowl, poured the soup into it, washed it, and then dried it with gauze.
"This blue and white porcelain bowl is wonderful. You must keep it safe and don't let anyone steal it. Some people are really wicked these days. They take advantage of farmers' ignorance and try to trade some towels or water cups for antiques in the countryside." He Zhiyuan warned Aunt Zhao.
"Okay." Aunt Zhao nodded.
"Uncle, won't this camera (Xiang Ji) in your bag crow? How does it paint? It finishes painting in a snap?" Zhou Momo leaned closer, looking curiously at He Zhiyuan's bag containing his camera.
"Huh?" He Zhiyuan paused for a moment before understanding Zhou Momo's question, and he and Xiao Li couldn't help but laugh.
The little girl was exquisitely beautiful, with two little braids that made her especially adorable, and her way of speaking was quite amusing.
"This camera of mine doesn't usually make a sound. Let me show you the pictures it's made." He Zhiyuan rummaged through his bag and took out a small photo album containing pictures of scenery and people he had taken during his travels in various parts of Sichuan.
"Wow! It's drawn so well! This duck looks so delicious! This great river meanders and bends! This lady is so pretty…"
Zhou Momo leaned closer to look, exclaiming in amazement, praising the camera, but He Zhiyuan's smile never faded.
The little girl is so good at praising.
She's different from those old guys at the editorial office.
The photos he printed out and treasured in his album are the ones he's most proud of in recent years.
After flipping through the album, Zhou Momo blinked her big eyes at He Zhiyuan: "Uncle, has your camera traveled to so many places with you?"
"Yes, it's my best companion on my travels." He Zhiyuan nodded with a smile.
Xiao Li: ? ?
Then what am I?
"Here, I'll have the camera draw a picture of you separately, and I'll send it to you next time, okay?" He Zhiyuan took out his camera again. He rarely offered to take pictures for others, but this little girl was being incredibly well-behaved today.
"Okay! Okay!" Zhou Momo nodded, sitting on a small stool at the restaurant entrance for a photo.
"Lunch's ready!"
Zhou Yan and Zhao Hong brought the food out and called down the three men, including Master Zhang, from upstairs to eat together.
Ten people filled the table.
Zhou Yan stir-fried twice-cooked pork and pork liver, killed two crucian carp to make crucian carp with perilla leaves, prepared a braised beef with dried bamboo shoots, sliced a plate of braised pig's head meat, and stir-fried some green vegetables.
The props from the morning shoot were reheated. The beef and tripe didn't taste as good as when they were freshly cooked, but it's still a soup, after all.
"You've arranged such a lavish meal! We're just hoping to benefit from the boss's treat." Master Zhang looked at the table laden with fish and meat and smiled somewhat sheepishly.
He Zhiyuan, wearing glasses and a Zhongshan suit, exuded the air of an urban intellectual. The fact that Zhou Yan arranged such a feast was enough to show how much importance he placed on it.
The apprentice and laborer sat somewhat awkwardly, having worked all morning; their clothes were covered in mud, only their hands were clean.
"We're the ones benefiting from your work. You're decorating the boss's house, we're just here to have some fun." He Zhiyuan said with a smile, picking up his chopsticks. "Then I won't stand on ceremony. This whole table of food makes me hungry just looking at it."
"Let's eat, no need to be so polite." Zhou Yan said with a smile, first taking a piece of twice-cooked pork for Zhou Momo next to him.
Everyone started eating.
The dishes Zhou Yan arranged for lunch were actually quite particular. Besides the twice-cooked pork that Zhou Momo loved, the other dishes were things He Zhiyuan and the others hadn't had yesterday.
No other intention, just pure showing off.
He wanted them to have a good meal before they left, so they'd crave it everyday when they got back to Rongcheng.
Whether the "Cross-legged Beef" could make the cover depended on his help.
Secondly, Zhou Yan thought they were really nice.
Aren't they the food bloggers of this era? They gave him a natural sense of closeness.
When he was a food blogger, he also liked to go to the kitchen to film the cooking details. Although he could communicate amicably most of the time, but he also had his share of being chased and scolded.
As for why he wasn't beaten up, the rule of law saved his life.
He Zhiyuan tasted every dish, his head practically turning into a lucky cat.
There were too many strangers at the table, making it difficult for him to perform, but he was already quite shocked.
The crucian carp with perilla leaves is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a perilla flavor amidst its spicy and savory taste, making it quite delicious.
The braised beef with dried bamboo shoots was also exceptional! The bamboo shoots soaked up the beef broth, with a slightly crunchy texture. It's so fragrant!!!
Spicy stir-fried pork liver is the last dish to be served, so it must be eaten while it's hot. The first thing he feel upon tasting it is the wok aroma, which comes from stir-frying in hot oil over high heat, just like a fire.
The slightly curled pork liver was incredibly tender! The outer skin, however, developed a slightly charred aroma from the hot oil.
The key to delicious spicy stir-fried pork liver is its texture; even a seasoned chef can easily mess it up if they're not careful.
This dish was exceptionally well-made; the thin cornstarch slurry locked in the moisture while also enhancing the flavor, making it absolutely delicious with rice.
He Zhiyuan ate piece after piece, finally unable to resist looking at Zhou Yan and saying, "The spicy stir-fried pork liver is cooked to perfection! Honestly, even in a restaurant in Rongcheng, I might not be able to order anything this good. With your culinary skills, you could make a huge restaurant in Rongcheng sooner or later!"
"Agreed!" Xiao Li echoed, expressing his strong approval.
Rongcheng Restaurant was undoubtedly one of the best restaurants in Rongcheng, boasting numerous renowned chefs.
However, ordering food doesn't guarantee you'll get the master chef's cooking. The skills of those chefs' apprentices and grand-apprentices aren't that consistent, and often they can't compare to Zhou Yan's dishes.
If Zhou Yan could maintain this level of quality, even if he went to Rongcheng, his restaurant would quickly become a famous establishment.
Zhou Yan laughed and said, "You said it yourself! If I open a restaurant in Rongcheng and have no customers, you'll have to write an article to promote it."
"As long as you maintain this level of quality, even if you open a restaurant in Rongcheng and have no customers, I'll write one for you every month, let alone just one. One dish at a time, until you're packed with customers!" He Zhiyuan patted his chest and said, "I said it."
"I'll toast Director He with this soup instead of liquor. I'll drink it first." Zhou Yan picked up the soup bowl and drank it all in one gulp.
See? No meal is ever eaten for nothing.
This is all the connections he has in Rongcheng.
After tasting the braised pig's head, Master Zhang paused for a moment, savoring the flavor. Then, looking at Zhou Yan with some excitement, he exclaimed, "Boss Zhou, your braised pig's head is exactly the same as your grandma's! It tastes exactly the same as what I ate when I was young!"
Delicious memories from over twenty years ago flooded back, and Master Zhang couldn't hide his excitement.
Hearing this, He Zhiyuan also became interested. He had heard of Zhang Ji Braised Food before; it turned out that not only the owner of Feiyan Restaurant still missed this braised meat.
"Master Zhang, you flatter me. Compared to my grandma's, there's still a difference." Zhou Yan said modestly.
"I can't taste any difference, it tastes just too good." Master Zhang looked at him expectantly and said, "Have you made braised beef offal yet? My dad often talks about your grandma's braised beef intestines."
Zhou Yan shook his head: "Right now, I only braise pig's head. I'm not confident about beef and beef offal yet; I need to practice more."
Master Zhang nodded: "Then please save me three liang of pig's head meat and a pig's ear tonight. I'll take it home for my dad to try after I finish work."
"Okay." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.
This costs about 1.6 or 1.7 yuan, roughly Master Zhang's daily wage.
Indeed, all the money earned in the restaurant is spent there, and not a single penny can be taken home.
"I think Zhang Ji Braised Food has a lot of history and stories to tell. Next time I come to Suji, I'll come back to interview you and learn more about it. I'll leave some material for future research. I think you have a lot of literary talent. If you have any articles you'd like to submit to our magazine, just send them to this address." He Zhiyuan gave Zhou Yan an address.
"Okay, see you next time." Zhou Yan took the paper and nodded.
"Goodbye Uncle He, Guo Guo Li!" Zhou Momo stood at the door, waving her little hand at them.
"Goodbye, Little Momo." The two of them smiled and waved back, then turned and left.
On the swaying bus ride to Jiazhou, He Zhiyuan took out paper and pen and began writing.
Xiao Li silently turned his head away, pretending not to see, and closed his eyes to sleep.
Question: How to slack off when the boss is around?
...
When the restaurant was open, Master Zhang and his group would take a midday rest on the wooden planks on the dam, and only resume work after the restaurant closed.
After closing at noon, Zhou Miao took Zhao Tieying back to Zhou Village to return the bowl, having specially dug a door and carried it back to the restaurant.
The old master craftsman was incredibly efficient; he finished building two walls in a day and even roughly plastered the second floor walls with white lime.
The previously somewhat dark second floor suddenly became bright and spacious.
"We'll come back tomorrow for another coat of whitewash, and the entire second floor wall will be finished. The door will be installed after two days, and the carpenter will have to order a new door frame for you. We'll come back later to finish the wall work in that room." Master Zhang took the packaged pig's head and pig's ears from Zhou Yan and reported the progress of the project to him.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work." Zhou Yan nodded.
He'll have to sleep on the first floor for a few more days.
Renovating is never that simple.
The three masters finished work, the factory closed, and the restaurant became busy again, especially the braised meat stall at the entrance. Now, as soon as work ended in the evening, it was immediately surrounded by customers.
Compared to the busy Chef Old Zhou, Yang Laosan and Zhu Feng across the street were incredibly idle, their faces full of worry.
Sales of pig's head meat have been halved again and again, and the price has dropped to 1.8 yuan per jin. Only five or six jin can be sold everyday, earning two or three yuan, which is far worse than before.
Zhao Minghui's sweet-skinned duck, sandwiched in the middle, was also surrounded by customers.
"Try it before you buy, buy more if you like it!"
"Okay, I've weighed out a jin for you. Here's your change!"
"Sister, 63 cents, just give me 60 cents, change is fine."
"Sister, we're sold out of sweet-skinned duck today. If you want half a duck tomorrow, I'll remember. Come pick it up after get off work tomorrow evening."
Zhao Minghui and Zhang Xiuqin greeted their customers with beaming smiles, full of energy.
Their braised peanuts are now selling thirty jin a day, and their sweet-skinned duck sales have also increased by one or two compared to before, resulting in a significant increase in income.
Life is full of hope!
Yesterday, Yang Laosan and Zhu Feng were up to their old tricks again, making their own braised peanuts to compete with them, and at only thirty cents a jin, fifteen cents cheaper than theirs.
But after tasting their peanuts, customers either said they were too salty or half empty shells, and ended up buying from him instead.
These two stalls made dozens of jin of braised peanuts, but only sold a few jin. They dared not make any more today.
Zhao Minghui is starting to understand Zhou Yan's philosophy.
When your product is good enough, price wars from competitors can't defeat you.
...
Zhao Tieying greeted the guests with a smile as they entered and sat down. The doorway dimmed slightly, and two people entered, smiling and asking, "Sister in law, are there any seats left?"
"Master Xiao!" Zhao Tieying was somewhat surprised to see them, but quickly nodded with a smile, "Yes, there are seats. Please come in. Master Zheng is here too. Are you here for a meal, or to see Zhou Yan?"
"Let's eat first. We need to talk to him about something after we eat." Xiao Lei said.
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