Chapter 416 - 206: Zhou, You Made the News

He glanced at the menu on the wall again. The prices were comparable to those of a mid-sized restaurant in Jiazhou.

Le Ming Restaurant specialized in high-end banquets. Its pricing, like Feiyan Restaurant's, was a bit higher.

But the prices at Zhou Yan's restaurant were far beyond what a typical small-town eatery could match.

Of course, the dishes Zhou Yan made were truly worth the price.

The Stir-fried Pork Liver, which cost eighty cents here, would sell for one-sixty at Le Ming Restaurant.

But in terms of taste, Zhou Yan's version left theirs far behind.

Customers weren't stupid; they could taste the difference.

They knew the food was worth the price.

State-owned factories all had cafeterias, and the prices were very cheap.

Xiao Lei had worked in the textile factory's cafeteria for over twenty years, and Luo himself had even eaten there a few times.

People would skip the cheap meals at the cafeteria and pay extra to eat at Zhou Yan Restaurant, all for the taste.

Everyone said private business owners made money, and the radio was always talking about the trend of "going into business," but while Luo heard the words, he never had a concrete grasp of the concept.

Most salaried employees looked down on private business owners, thinking the work was unstable and lacked dignity.

But today, coming to Zhou Yan's to learn how to make Snowflake Chicken Porridge, he had his eyes truly opened.

Servings of Kneeling Beef, sixty cents a pop, were carried to customers' tables one after another. There was a constant line of people at the door waiting to buy braised dishes, and as for the signature stir-fries, the orders just never stopped.

'How much money is this place making?'

Luo didn't dare to calculate it in detail.

'It has to be at least two or three thousand a month, right?'

'He could become a "ten-thousand-yuan household" in just half a year!'

'My god!'

'This young man is simply incredible.'

'Quit my job and go into business?'

'Open a restaurant of my own?'

Once the idea took root in Luo's mind, his thoughts surged like a tidal wave.

He was forty-four this year. His eldest son was already eighteen. After graduating from middle school, his son had started learning to cook from him and had just mastered the basic Knife Skills.

Positions at Le Ming were hard to come by now. His son was still just an apprentice, with no guarantee of becoming a full-time employee later. He was already a young man, a bit taller than Luo himself, and in another couple of years, he'd need to start thinking about getting married.

His daughter was seventeen, a sophomore in high school. Her grades were excellent—she was in the top ten of her year—and she was exceptionally sensible.

Her homeroom teacher had said she was a very hardworking child. She had gotten into an advanced class and had a real shot at getting into a university, so he'd need to prepare for it financially.

The Luo Family had been chefs for generations; they'd never produced a scholar. Even if he had to sell everything he owned, he was determined to send her to university.

His mother was still in decent health and could take care of herself. But seeing her at her age, with her graying hair, still having to work in the fields every day... it didn't sit right with him.

His wife worked at a small factory near their home, earning a little over forty yuan a month.

A dual-income household. On the surface, it looked quite glamorous, and they were the envy of the village. In reality, their lives were a constant struggle to make ends meet, a truth they couldn't share with outsiders.

When it came down to it, they just didn't earn enough. There was never enough money.

If you picked out a few individual dishes, he was definitely not as good as Zhou Yan.

But he had worked at Le Ming Restaurant for twenty-six years. He had earned his place in the kitchen, a spot where he was trusted to cook for the banquet halls. His skills as a Second-level Chef were the real deal.

Opening a small restaurant... he thought he could probably handle it.

His son could work with him as his prep cook. His wife could handle the register and take orders, and help serve dishes when needed.

As a family, they should be able to make the business a success.

He'd go home today and have a serious talk with his wife. Then he could come back and get some advice from Zhou Yan.

The young man wasn't old, but he was incredibly sharp.

He could make a restaurant flourish even in a small town. If he saved up enough and moved to Jiazhou, Le Ming Restaurant and Feiyan Restaurant would probably be shaking in their boots.

When the lunch rush ended, Xiao Lei and Luo headed back.

Zhou Yan saw them off, then glanced at his task panel: [Side Quest: Master's Obsession! Progress: 99%]

'Great. It hasn't budged an inch!'

'It's stuck.'

Luo had handwritten the recipe for salt-fried pork for him, explained all the techniques and key points on the spot, and was practically dying to demonstrate it for him right then and there.

But everyone was too stuffed from lunch for another meal, so they had to drop the idea. They agreed that Luo would teach him next time.

Zhou Yan turned and went back into the restaurant.

Mrs. Zhao, Comrade Zhou, and Zhao Hong were gathered around a newspaper, peering at it intently.

"What's it say? I can't read some of these characters," Mrs. Zhao said, taking a half-step back and yielding the prime spot to Comrade Zhou.

Comrade Zhou said, "It's about our family! It says he was only able to find his relatives because of our wholehearted support. It praises Zhou Yan and Master Xiao, saying they turned his journey to find his roots into a journey to find flavor. It's written so elegantly!

It also talks about how Zhou Yan recreated Snowflake Chicken Porridge from a recipe, carrying on and glorifying the traditions of the Kong Sect. It says this echoes the open-mindedness of Grandmaster Kong Huafeng from over twenty years ago, when he gave up his family's inheritance to open a class and teach Luo Han's Cooking Skill."

"Alright! Let's go! We should buy a few more copies of the Jiazhou Daily! Newspapers are much cheaper than magazines," Mrs. Zhao said, clapping her hands. "I guess this means we've done a good deed, eh?"

"Let's go," Comrade Zhou said with a smiling nod. He handed the newspaper to Zhou Yan, then pushed his cart out the door with Mrs. Zhao.

"You just spoil her," Zhou Yan said, shaking his head. He took the newspaper and began to read it intently, a wide smile spreading across his face.

'The Jiazhou Daily! Excellent!'

'This is the most influential local newspaper!'

'Combined with the special human-interest story of a foreigner searching for his family, this is the ultimate form of local promotion!'