Chapter 455 - 220: What the Hell, I Ran Into a Ghost Going Out, Too

Chapter 455: Chapter 220: What the Hell, I Ran Into a Ghost Going Out, Too

Zhou Yan smiled and nodded. "Sounds good. We’ll do as Mom says. I’ll go check out the market later and find a professional to help draw up a design. We’re going to build a new culinary landmark in Jiazhou!"

Zhou Yan loved the feeling of his family pulling together, all united in their mission to build the business.

Zhou Yan’s ambitions weren’t that grand. He just wanted to establish a century-old restaurant in Jiazhou, one that wouldn’t feel dated even decades from now. It was worth spending a little extra money upfront to build a solid foundation.

"By the way, I hired a new waitress today," Zhou Yan said. "She’ll start tomorrow morning."

"Weren’t you going there to cook? How did you end up hiring a waitress?" Mrs. Zhao was quite surprised.

Zhou Yan explained Li Lihua’s situation.

After listening, Mrs. Zhao smiled and nodded. "Sounds good. Deft and of good character—those two things are more than enough. With another person helping out, things will be much easier for me and Zhao Hong."

Zhou Yan glanced at his watch. "It’s five o’clock. I’m going to make dinner. We only used the breast meat from that chicken this morning, and I also bought some taro. Let’s have chicken with taro tonight."

"Yay! I love taro~" Zhou Momo chirped, bouncing on her feet.

"Sounds good. The chicken with taro that Zheng made last time was delicious." Mrs. Zhao also nodded with a smile. "I’ll go peel the taro for you."

"I’m going to feed Zaozao~" Zhou Momo followed them toward the kitchen.

"This is my first time making it, so it definitely won’t be as good as Master Zheng’s. I just need to practice more. That way, it’ll be good enough to serve at our New Year’s gathering," Zhou Yan said with a smile as he headed into the kitchen.

An hour later, Zhou Yan emerged with a large basin of braised chicken with taro.

It was a vibrant, glossy red, and the aroma was incredible.

[A Decent Braised Chicken with Taro]

Zhou Yan’s lips curved into a slight smile. ’It’s definitely a notch below what Zheng makes.’

But for a first attempt at replicating the dish, he was more than satisfied to have reached the [Decent] threshold.

’The last lesson wasn’t a waste.’

The benefits of his all-around improvement in Knife Skills, Fire Control, and seasoning were becoming obvious.

For dishes with relatively simple techniques like this one, as long as someone was willing to teach him properly just once, he could replicate it almost perfectly.

But to advance from [Decent] to [Quite Good], and then to [Extremely Good], would require constant practice.

Mrs. Zhao came out from the kitchen, holding another bowl of chicken with taro.

[An Incomplete Braised Chicken with Taro]

It was Zhou Momo’s special, less-spicy version.

Considering the little one couldn’t handle very spicy food, Zhou Yan had ladled out a separate bowl for her before adding the chilies.

This way, she wouldn’t have to rinse her food in soup. A mild spiciness remained from the broad bean paste, so it was just as fragrant, only without the intense numbing heat.

There was still some pig’s head meat left from the morning. Zhou Yan sliced up a plate for them, then cut up the remaining pound of it and sent it over to the security office next door, much to the delight of the officers on duty.

"Wow! The taro is so yummy today! It’s even better than last time~~" Zhou Momo picked up a piece of taro and took a bite. Her big eyes sparkled as she immediately began to sing its praises.

"This whole bowl is for you. Eat slowly," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"This much? I’m so lucky!" Zhou Momo’s mouth fell open slightly. After a moment’s thought, she looked up at Zhou Yan and asked, "Brother, if I can’t finish it, can I save it for breakfast tomorrow? I want to mix noodles in it!"

"Of course you can." Zhou Yan smiled and nodded. ’The little one’s soul for mixing noodles has awakened. She already knows to save the good leftovers for her noodles tomorrow.’

Zhou Yan ladled a bowl of rice for himself, picked a piece of taro out of the red broth, blew on it gently, and popped it into his mouth.

The taro was coated in the thick sauce. The savory essence of the chicken had infused the broth, which the taro had then absorbed. With a gentle bite, it melted in his mouth—numbing, spicy, savory, and fragrant, with a delicate, smooth texture.

The flavor was good, but as Zhou Yan analyzed it, he felt the taro’s texture was a little too soft. He must have added it a bit too early. When the taro gets that mushy, it starts to dissolve, making the sauce a little too thick.

He tried a piece of chicken. It was still tender, but when he chewed it carefully, he noticed it was also slightly off.

’Maybe it’s because the chicken was killed this morning and has been sitting out for most of the day. Or perhaps my Fire Control still needs some tweaking.’

While Zhou Yan was busy analyzing his work, it didn’t stop Mrs. Zhao and Comrade Zhou from feasting heartily.

"Mmm! Delicious! I can’t tell the difference at all! The flavor is fantastic!" Mrs. Zhao declared with satisfaction as she nibbled on a chicken foot.

"It is delicious," Comrade Zhou agreed, shoveling rice into his mouth. "Save the broth. I want to use it for my noodles tomorrow morning, too."

By the time they finished, all that was left of the pot of braised chicken with taro was half a basin of broth and a few pieces of chicken.

As expected, not a single piece of taro remained.

Comrade Zhou took the bowls to the kitchen to be washed, while Mrs. Zhao wiped the table clean with a cloth.

Full from her meal, Zhou Momo moved to a neighboring table to read her picture book. Today’s story was *Wu Song Fights the Tiger*. She stared at the tiger with its upturned eyes and white-striped forehead for a long time before turning to Zhou Yan. "Brother, do tigers really look like this? It kind of looks like Huahua."

"That’s because they’re both part of the cat family," Zhou Yan explained with a smile. "But tigers are much, much bigger. They run fast, they can climb trees, and they can even swim."

"Then why is he fighting the tiger?" Zhou Momo asked, pointing at the drawing of Wu Song.

Zhou Yan suddenly realized that the little girl couldn’t read yet and didn’t know the story. He sat down beside her and began to explain with a smile, "His name is Wu Song, and one day he was passing by a place called Jingyang Ridge..."

Following the illustrations in the picture book, Zhou Yan told her the story of *Wu Song Fights the Tiger*. The little girl was completely captivated. When she heard the part where ’Wu Song leaped onto the tiger’s back, grabbed the fur on its head with his left hand, and pummeled its head with his right fist until it bled from its eyes, ears, nose, and mouth and died,’ she even clapped her hands and cheered.