Chapter 422 - 209: Wait, Bro, Are You for Real?

Chapter 422: Chapter 209: Wait, Bro, Are You for Real?

"I’ll quit first, find a storefront to open a small restaurant, and have our son work with me. If the business does well and we start making money, then you can quit and come help. What do you think of my idea?" Luo asked his wife, who was lying next to him on the bed reading the newspaper.

"Luo, I know you’re excited now that you’ve learned to make Snowflake Chicken Porridge, but I think we need to be more cautious about this quitting business." Zeng Fang put down her newspaper and looked at him, analyzing the situation seriously.

"Right now, your monthly salary is 108. Feiyu is just an apprentice, but he still makes 18 a month. I just got a raise, so my salary is 46 a month. That adds up to 172.

This income is already higher than most working-class families, and we’re getting by just fine. We’re a dual-income household; that sounds stable and respectable to other people.

Feiyu is almost at the age to get married. If you pull some strings for him in the next couple of years and help him get a permanent position, he’ll be able to find a wife right away.

If you go and open a restaurant and blow through all the money we’ve worked so hard to save these past few years, how is Feiyu supposed to get married? It’s not that I don’t believe in your cooking, but I don’t have much faith in your ability to run a business."

Luo fell silent. Everything Zeng Fang said was exactly what he had been wrestling with.

"Zhou Yan also quit his job to start his own business. Now he’s making at least two or three thousand a month," Luo said in a low voice. "I just feel like our life is stuck in the middle. It’s hard for me to help Feiyu get a permanent position, and even if he does, his salary will only be thirty a month. The restaurants don’t even assign dorm rooms anymore. When will he ever be able to save up enough money to buy a house?"

"Luo, if you’ve really thought this through, then go for it. I won’t stop you. But I am absolutely not quitting my job until your business is stable. This family needs at least one person with a steady job, to make sure we don’t go hungry." Zeng Fang looked at him, her tone firm. "Qiaoyun has her college entrance exams in a year and a half. I have to ensure there are no major upheavals at home before then. At the very least, her life and her studies can’t be affected."

"You’re right. Qiaoyun’s studies have to be the priority," Luo nodded. "I’ll think about it some more. When I have time, I’ll walk around town and see if there are any cheap storefronts for rent."

"If you don’t know something, ask. Our families have been farmers and cooks for generations; what do we know about running a business? Don’t just do things based on your own assumptions," Zeng Fang advised.

"Got it," Luo nodded.

...

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Zhou Yan went downstairs early. After waiting a while, Comrade Zhou, who was usually punctual, came down slowly, holding onto the staircase.

"Dad, what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?" Zhou Yan asked with concern.

"N-nothing’s wrong!" Comrade Zhou immediately straightened his back and cleared his throat twice. "Let’s go. Time to buy groceries. There were a lot of mosquitoes last night, so I didn’t sleep very well."

Zhou Yan glanced at Comrade Zhou’s weak-kneed legs and said with a meaningful smile, "Oh. Well, maybe you should exercise a little more restraint next time."

’It’s a good thing the rooms are far apart,’ he thought. ’I slept like a log last night and didn’t hear a thing.’

’When I build my new house, I’ll use this as the standard. The soundproofing has to be good, and every room must have its own bathroom! That’s very important.’

’Living with open-minded parents is fine, but you still need your private space.’

Huang Ying and Huang Bing arrived bright and early as usual, parking their bicycles at the restaurant’s entrance.

"Boss Zhou, you’re in the Jiazhou Daily! You’re a Jiazhou celebrity now!" Huang Ying said with a beaming smile, looking at Zhou Yan leaning against the doorway.

"What celebrity? I’m just a cook," Zhou Yan said with a laugh.

"Yan, you’re being too modest. I bet people will soon be making special trips from Jiazhou to Suji just to try your food," Huang Bing said seriously.

"Boss Zhou, you’re not going to raise the price of your noodles, are you?" a regular customer who had just walked in asked casually.

Other regulars chimed in with their own jokes, expressing deep concern over the price of the noodles.

"Don’t worry, the price of the noodles isn’t going up," Zhou Yan replied with a smile, addressing everyone’s biggest concern.

"Boss Zhou, you’ve added so many new dishes. When are you going to add new noodle toppings?" Huang Ying asked.

At this, all the customers turned to look at Zhou Yan with eager eyes.

Zhou Yan’s noodles were indeed delicious, no doubt about it.

But the selection was just too limited. If you didn’t eat them, you’d crave them, but if you came often, it was always the same old three options over and over.

"Mm, I’ll give some serious thought to adding one or two new toppings soon." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. It really was time to put that on the agenda.

"Great! I’m already looking forward to it!" Huang Ying said with a grin, stepping into the restaurant.

Zhou Yan turned and went into the kitchen to get busy.

He ran through the dishes on his menu in his head but couldn’t find a single one suitable for a noodle topping. This was a bit of a problem.

’Braised pork intestines?’ An option suddenly popped into his mind.

The one braised pork item he had overlooked, something he had always kept on the back burner.

Cleaning the intestines was a rather troublesome task, and the workload at the restaurant was already at its maximum, which was why he’d never dared to consider adding braised intestines to the menu.

Intestine noodles were a very common option in Sichuan noodle shops. There were even some hugely popular restaurants that specialized in rice noodles with knotted intestines.

Intestine noodles were typically prepared red-braised style, and when used as a topping, the intestines were usually spicy-braised. The two pots of brine in Zhou Yan’s shop were both five-spice old brines, so he wasn’t sure how well they would be received.

Besides, pork intestines have a strong flavor. He would also have to consider whether to prepare a separate pot of brine just for them.