Chapter 27: Chapter 21: How’s the Taste?
"Wang the Fifth sold his noodles for thirty cents a bowl, and didn’t my sixty-cent noodles still put him out of business?" Zhou Yan said with a smile as he placed the oxtail bones at the bottom of the pot. "Besides, our soup pot is packed with ingredients. It’s not just offal; there’s beef too. And the Chinese medicinal herbs we add are expensive."
"Of course, the most important thing is that it tastes good. It’s worth sixty cents."
"Exactly! The soup pot Zhou Yan makes is amazing! There will definitely be lots of customers!" Zhao Hong said, carrying out two buckets of well water and pouring them into the large pot.
Zhao Tieying had been learning to make Kneeling Beef for the past two days, and Zhao Hong had been eating it along with her, so she certainly had a right to her opinion.
Zhao Tieying smiled when she heard this and nodded. "Alright, we’ll listen to you. You’re the boss, you call the shots."
By the time they opened for business in the morning, the beef bone broth in the large pot had already been stewing for two hours. The aroma of the broth, mixed with the fragrance of spices and medicinal herbs, wafted through the cracks of the wooden lid and drifted into the stream of bicycles heading to work at the textile factory entrance.
"It smells so good! Are they stewing beef broth this early in the morning?"
"It smells like beef broth, but the aroma is so unique. It’s making me hungry this early in the morning."
Following the scent, the workers all turned to look at Zhou Yan Restaurant.
A conspicuous large pot had been standing at the entrance of Zhou Yan Restaurant for the past two days, which everyone had seen. But today, a few large words were painted in red on the side facing outward.
"Kneeling Beef? What’s that?"
"It’s probably just the soup pot from Zhou Village. A lot of the butchers in Zhou Village sell beef offal soup, but this smells a bit different. It doesn’t have that gamey, stinky smell I remember from last time."
"Doesn’t it say below? It’s a beef offal soup pot stewed with Chinese medicinal herbs. And it’s an ancestral secret recipe."
Some workers gathered closer to get a better look, while others were there to eat noodles.
"Mrs. Zhao, what exactly is this Kneeling Beef? Can we have it this morning?" a female worker asked, looking at Zhao Tieying who was standing at the entrance.
The other workers also turned to look at Zhao Tieying.
"Kneeling Beef is a medicinal dish passed down through generations in our Slaughter Ox Zhou Village. Not only is it delicious, but it also has the effect of dispelling cold and dampness," Zhao Tieying said with a broad smile. "You can’t have it this morning, though. This pot of soup needs to simmer for a full eight hours. If you come by at lunchtime when you get off work, you’ll be just in time for the first batch of broth. That’s when it’s at its most delicious. It’s fantastic. You’ll know once you try it."
"Simmer for eight hours?"
The workers were all a bit taken aback upon hearing this.
However, Mrs. Zhao had indeed piqued their curiosity.
A medicinal dish—it sounded quite high-end.
Customers who came in for noodles would also casually ask a question or two.
Mrs. Zhao answered every question, sticking to the script Zhou Yan had trained her on for the past two days. She only mentioned Kneeling Beef, never "soup pot."
She successfully stoked the customers’ curiosity.
The news that Zhou Yan Restaurant was selling Kneeling Beef began to spread.
After the morning service ended, they began to prepare for lunch.
"Mrs. Zhao, well said." Zhou Yan came out of the kitchen and gave Comrade Zhao Tieying a thumbs-up.
"Get outta here!" Zhao Tieying shot him a look, though the corners of her mouth curved up in a pleased smile.
...
"Vice Director Lin, are you not feeling well? I see you keep sneezing." Outside the textile factory’s conference room, Zhao Dong quickened his pace to catch up with Lin Zhiqiang and ask with concern.
Lin Zhiqiang sniffled. The tip of his nose was red from rubbing it with rough paper, and his face couldn’t hide his exhaustion. He forced a small smile and said, "I’ve been running around the province these past few days and had two days of meetings in Rongcheng. It’s been exhausting. I caught a bit of a chill last night, but it’s nothing serious."
As he spoke, he turned away, covering his mouth and nose to sneeze.
"This doesn’t look like ’nothing serious.’ You should go to the clinic for some medicine and then go home and get some proper rest. Your health is important," Zhao Dong said hurriedly.
"I can’t. There’s a technical sharing session this afternoon that can’t be delayed." Lin Zhiqiang shook his head and said with a smile, "Come on, let’s go get some noodles at Zhou Yan’s place. I haven’t had his noodles in days, and I’m really craving them. We can get medicine after we eat."
As he spoke, he patted his black briefcase. "I brought something good."
Zhao Dong’s eyes lit up when he heard that, but then he lowered his voice, looking hesitant. "During work hours? That’s not a good idea, is it?"
"What did you think it was?" Lin Zhiqiang laughed, pulling a glass bottle from his briefcase. The label on it read "Donghu Vinegar."
"Vinegar?" Zhao Dong scratched his head in embarrassment. "I thought it was alcohol."
"This is authentic aged Shanxi vinegar. A friend from my hometown brought it for me. I heard this is the same kind they use at state banquets." Lin Zhiqiang said, putting the vinegar back in his briefcase as if it were a treasure.
"I can’t stand that sour taste. I need chili peppers to make it taste right. If I go a day without eating something spicy, I get antsy," Zhao Dong said, shaking his head.
"I’m the exact opposite. If I go a day without vinegar, I get antsy too," Lin Zhiqiang laughed.
The two of them chatted and laughed as they walked towards the main gate. It was now the lunch break, and many workers were also heading to the factory entrance, planning to grab a bite at the stalls outside.
"Why is there a stove set up at the entrance?" Lin Zhiqiang immediately noticed the stove standing in front of the restaurant. His gaze shifted downward, and he asked in surprise, "Kneeling Beef? Is that a new dish?"
"Looks like it. The soup pots from Zhou Village have always been quite famous. There’s a Zhou’s Soup Pot near the docks that tastes pretty good. Zhou Yan is from Zhou Village, and this smells really fragrant," Zhao Dong said. He had come for a bowl of noodles the day before yesterday, but the sign hadn’t been written on the stove back then.
The broth had been simmered for a full eight hours, and its meaty aroma drifted over with the steam, whetting one’s appetite.
"’An ancestral secret medicinal dish from an old traditional doctor, also dispels cold and dampness.’ Interesting." Lin Zhiqiang finished reading the small print below and teased, "I’ll order one in a bit to see if it really works. If it does, I won’t even need to go to the hospital."
Zhao Tieying, standing behind the stove, had already seen the two men. She greeted them with a smile, "Gentlemen, please come in and have a seat."
"Alright," Lin Zhiqiang replied, walking inside with Zhao Dong and finding an empty table to sit at.
The workers already seated in the restaurant saw the two of them and greeted them one after another.
Lin Zhiqiang was the factory’s technical lead. Even though he was the vice director, he didn’t put on any airs and was well-respected by the workers.
"Gentlemen, what can I get for you today?" Zhao Tieying came over and looked at Lin Zhiqiang’s red nose and pale face with concern. "Have you caught a cold?"
Zhao Tieying had an excellent impression of Xia Yao. Lin Zhiqiang’s family didn’t put on airs, they were grateful for kindness, and they were easy to get along with.
"It’s nothing, just a bit of a chill," Lin Zhiqiang said with a faint smile. "I saw that new Kneeling Beef you have is supposed to dispel the cold. I’ll have a bowl of that, and a bowl of Braised Pork Rib Noodles."
"I’ll have a bowl of Double Pepper Beef Noodles," said Zhao Dong.
He didn’t rush to order the Kneeling Beef. It wasn’t like he’d never had a soup pot before. The Zhou’s place by the docks was more expensive than others, and they only charged forty cents a bowl. Sixty cents a bowl was a ripoff.
He’d let Lin Zhiqiang try it first. If it was good, it wouldn’t be too late for him to order it then.
"Alright, I’ll get that started for you," Zhao Tieying said, walking towards the large pot. "Speaking of dispelling the cold, my husband caught a chill a couple of days ago. He had a bowl of Kneeling Beef, broke a sweat, and was fine by the end of the day. It works wonders."
The new dish had been added to the menu on the wall: Kneeling Beef, sixty cents a bowl.
The price was the same as a bowl of noodles.
If you wanted rice with it, that was an extra ten cents.
The price wasn’t cheap.
That was why none of the customers in the shop had ordered it yet; they had all ordered noodles.
When they heard Lin Zhiqiang order the Kneeling Beef, they all looked over at him, their faces filled with anticipation.
Someone brave had to try it for everyone first.
Lin Zhiqiang noticed everyone’s gazes and said with a smile, "Looks like you all don’t have much confidence in this new dish. Well, I’ll be the guinea pig. If it’s good, you can order it too."
"Alright!" the workers replied with a laugh.
Zhao Tieying, who had been happy to get the first order, tensed up when she heard that. ’This is our chance to break into the market!’
She grabbed a handful of cabbage with a pair of tongs and blanched it in a strainer. From the bubbling stock, she fished out a length of beef intestine and a piece of beef tendon and chopped them into small pieces. Once the cabbage was cooked, she placed it in the bottom of a ceramic bowl and layered the intestine and tendon on top.
She then picked up a handful of beef tripe, dunked it in the broth a few times, and placed it directly into the bowl. She took three paper-thin slices of sirloin, blanched them in the stock for just a few seconds, and immediately took them out.
She ladled a scoop of the hot stock into the bowl, sprinkled some chopped scallions on top, placed a spoon in the bowl, and served it directly to the table.
"This is the dipping sauce. Kneeling Beef tastes even better when you dip it," Zhao Tieying said as she set down a small dish for dipping and stepped aside with a smile.
The other customers craned their necks to look, their eyes lighting up.
"That bowl of Kneeling Beef has a lot of meat! Looks like at least five ounces or more."
"Other places mainly use cheap offal like beef liver and lung, but they’re using intestine, tripe, and tendon. They even put sirloin in it!"
"I just wonder how it tastes. It smells amazing."
Lin Zhiqiang also studied the bowl of Kneeling Beef in front of him. The stock was clear, with no visible impurities. The thinly sliced beef was pink and visibly tender. The aroma hit him full-on—an aggressive, complex blend of spices and medicinal herbs.
He picked up the spoon and took a sip of the broth. The moment it touched his lips, his eyes lit up.
’This broth is incredibly savory!’
The beef bones and offal had been stewed together, their flavors perfectly balanced by the spices and medicinal herbs. There wasn’t a hint of gaminess, only a supreme savoriness that had been brought to its peak.
This was different from the savory flavor created by MSG. The broth, extracted from long-simmered beef bones, had a clean, refreshing aftertaste.
He drank several more spoonfuls in a row. His body warmed up instantly, a light sweat broke out on his forehead, and his weary spirits were considerably lifted.
"This broth is truly savory!"
Lin Zhiqiang exclaimed in admiration. He picked up his chopsticks and lifted a piece of the tender pink beef. It was sliced so thin it could rival the beef he’d had in Lanzhou-style ramen during his business trips.
He dipped it into the accompanying dish, and it was immediately coated in chili powder. He was stunned the moment he put it in his mouth.
The slice of beef was large, thin, and soft. ’It’s unbelievably tender!’
The chili powder was the perfect finishing touch. The spiciness was complex and layered, but fragrance was the main note, making it a perfect match for the beef.
The beef intestine, tripe, and tendon—he tasted them all, piece by piece, followed by several large spoonfuls of broth.
Zhao Dong, sitting to the side, couldn’t help but swallow a few times. The way Lin Zhiqiang was eating made it look absolutely delicious. He couldn’t resist asking, "So, how is it?"
