Chapter 42: Chapter 36: The Old Lady’s Great Wisdom
"Uncle, I’ll definitely learn well!" Zhou Lihui said solemnly, his eyes sparkling with an unprecedented passion for learning.
Zhou Fei and Zhao Hong smiled in relief.
They had all tasted Zhou Yan’s cooking and found it incredibly delicious. If Huihui learned from him, his future would surely be promising.
Whether he helped at the restaurant or opened his own in the future, at least he would have a viable career path.
Zhou Yan opened the bag Ma Xingye had given him. Inside were two bottles of Tianfu Cola and a bag of White Rabbit candy.
He handed one bottle to Zhou Lihui and his brother, and one to Zhou Momo.
Then he gave each of them a handful of White Rabbit candy.
"Fei, this is the eighty yuan I borrowed from you when I opened the restaurant. Since you and sister-in-law are both here today, I’d like to pay you back." Zhou Yan took out eight Great Unity bills he had prepared and handed them to Zhou Fei.
Zhou Fei didn’t take the money, waving his hand. "Zhou Yan, we’re not in a hurry for this. You should hold onto it. Opening a restaurant comes with a lot of expenses."
"That’s right, you use it for now," Zhao Hong chimed in.
"Fei, Sister-in-law, I’m just not someone who likes to owe people money. The moment I have a bit in my pocket, I want to pay my debts, otherwise I can’t sleep well at night," Zhou Yan said with a smile. "Please, take it. If I really need money in the future, it won’t be too late to ask you again."
"Alright, then we’ll accept it." Zhao Hong nodded, then added, "If you need money, just tell us. We don’t have a lot, but we can still scrape together a few dozen or a hundred yuan."
Only then did Zhou Fei take the money.
"Okay. We’re family, so I definitely won’t stand on ceremony," Zhou Yan said, nodding with a smile.
By the time they finished cleaning up the dishes, it was already dark outside.
Two bikes, seven people.
Zhou Yan grabbed a flashlight, put Zhou Lihui and Zhou Momo on his bike, and rode them back to Zhou Village.
"It’s so dark out. Why don’t you just stay the night?" Zhao Tieying said to Zhou Yan as she lifted Zhou Momo off the bike.
"The cash box is still at the shop. If a thief got it, all my hard work lately would be for nothing," Zhou Yan said with a laugh, reaching out to pat Zhou Momo’s head. "Tomorrow, I’ll take you to Grandma’s place to play. Is there anything you want to eat?"
Zhou Momo shook her head and pulled a White Rabbit candy from her pocket. "I have a wabbit."
"No more buying candy," Zhao Tieying shot him a glare. "You need to be more careful with your money. Don’t just spend it wildly the moment you have some. You still have to find a wife someday."
"That’s right, your mother is right," Comrade Zhou chimed in, echoing his wife.
"I know, I know," Zhou Yan agreed with a smiling nod. He then asked, "So, besides fish, what else would be good to bring Grandma tomorrow?"
"Your grandma loves her liquor. Go to Old Zhang’s by the bridge and get some for her. She’ll definitely be happy," said Zhao Tieying. "Get the kind that’s eighty cents a catty. That’s the one she likes."
"Will do." Zhou Yan nodded, got on his bike, and rode off.
"That kid’s really something, huh? Already starting to pay back his debts. He’s got a good head on his shoulders," Zhou Miao remarked with a smile, watching the beam of the flashlight disappear at the end of the alley.
"If business stays this good, he could probably pay everything off in a month. Then we won’t have to worry about him," Zhao Tieying added with a laugh.
"Was business that good today?"
"You have no idea! A group of college students came today, all classmates of Xia Yao. There were thirty of them, and they each spent two yuan..."
...
"We should just let Huihui learn cooking from Zhou Yan. It’s a proper skill, after all, and he’s not interested in learning how to butcher cattle with you."
"Okay. Zhou Yan can keep him in line."
Zhao Hong and Zhou Fei were also discussing their son’s culinary apprenticeship.
"So, does this count as a formal apprenticeship? What do we need to prepare for the ceremony? Zhou Yan might not stand on ceremony, but we can’t be impolite," Zhao Hong said to Zhou Fei. "When you’re butchering the cow tomorrow morning, ask your father what we should do, and we’ll do it."
"Alright."
...
When Zhou Yan got back, he first went for a swim, then returned to the shop for a shower before settling his accounts.
Today he had sold 160 bowls of noodles and 100 bowls of Kneeling Beef, for a total revenue of 156 yuan.
The students and faculty from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute had contributed nearly 60 yuan of that, showing formidable spending power.
After deducting the cost of today’s ingredients, the puffed rice candy, and the eighty yuan he had repaid to Zhou Fei, he had 161.24 yuan left on hand.
He was visiting his grandmother tomorrow, so he planned to repay the 100 yuan he’d borrowed from his fifth uncle. A few dozen yuan would be enough for his own expenses.
He took the IOU for Zhou Fei’s loan out of the cash box and placed it in a paper box on the floor by his bed. When the last IOU was tossed into that box, it would mean all his debts were cleared.
He loved that feeling.
He shoved the cash box back under the bed.
He turned off the light and lay down, taking a quick glance at his panel before going to sleep.
[Player: Zhou Yan]
[Profession: Chef]
[Wealth Value: -298.52]
[Professional Skills]:
Knife Skills (Advanced): 600/100,000 (A tattoo artist with his eyes closed—what a show-off.)
Fire Control (Intermediate): 3468/10,000 (I don’t take the subway in the morning—too crowded.)
Seasoning (Intermediate): 3695/10,000 (Your QQ Farm alarm is ringing—your crops are dead.)
Oratory Skill (Advanced): 88,889/100,000 (Zhuge Liang debating the scholars—a master of eloquence.)
[Mastered Dishes]:
Double Pepper Beef Noodles (Advanced): 99,999/100,000
Braised Beef Noodles (Advanced): 99,999/100,000
Braised Pork Rib Noodles (Advanced): 99,999/100,000
Pickled Cabbage (Advanced): 99,999/100,000
Kneeling Beef (Advanced): 99,999/100,000
Steamed Rice (Advanced): 99,999/100,000
Huo Xiang Carp (Advanced): 99,999/100,000
Shredded Cucumber (Intermediate): 1871/10,000
...
Special Skills: Food Identification (Grandmaster): 999,999/1,000,000 (Not upgradeable)
[Main Quest: Dominator Textile Factory: Progress: 462/1,000]
[Side Quests: Kneeling Beef Inheritance. Progress: Incomplete]
[Wealth Mall]: Unlocks at 1,000 Wealth Value.
...
His Wealth Value was close to becoming positive, his Knife Skills had successfully been upgraded to Advanced, and his Fire Control and Seasoning stats had also shown significant improvement.
However...
’Did the system update its commentary?’
’This thing’s got a real mouth on it, and a venomous one at that.’
His Wealth Value was directly linked to revenue, and spending the money he earned didn’t affect it. ’This confirms it’s a completely separate metric.’
This made Zhou Yan start to look forward to the Wealth Mall.
’It’s like earning money once and getting to spend it twice. Kind of like collecting loyalty points.’
Closing the system panel, Zhou Yan was out like a light.
At the crack of dawn the next day, Master Zhou was already heading out...
"Huh?"
’I don’t have work today!’
Zhou Yan stood at the entrance of his restaurant, completely disoriented.
So used to a workhorse’s schedule, he had instinctively woken up bright and early even on his day off.
He pushed his bike back inside, went out for a run around the textile factory, and came back drenched in sweat for a quick shower. By the time he was done, the sun was fully up. Only then did he get on his bike and head for the market.
Today was October 27th, market day at Duihe.
He rode along the Qingyi River, the autumn wind cool against his skin. Along the way, he saw vendors carrying goods on shoulder poles or riding old-fashioned roadsters laden with merchandise, all heading for the market.
As he passed the head of the bridge, Zhou Yan bought two catties of liquor.
After riding a bit further, the street grew more crowded, both sides lined with stalls.
At a barber’s stall, a customer was reclined in a bamboo chair, an enamel basin of steaming soapy water beside him. A straight razor glided across his face with a soft RUSTLE, his eyes narrowed in blissful enjoyment.
A bamboo weaver tapped a newly made dustpan while haggling with a customer. A blacksmith’s stall was crowded with hoes and choppers. All at once, a cacophony of cries from the various vendors filled his ears.
"Yams for sale, get your yams! Stew ’em with chicken, duck, or pig’s feet! Good for the liver, the kidneys, the brain! Your kids’ll pass their college exams! Your parents’ll be riding motorcycles!"
"This knife here! It’ll chop a duck, it’ll chop bamboo, it’ll chop a thief! Take this knife up a mountain, and you can hack the whole thing bare!"
"Rat poison, get your rat poison! We’re not worried you have too many rats, we’re worried you don’t have any! They die fast, they die in droves! A rat walks past, it drops dead on the spot! One minute and six seconds, and not even King Yama himself can save ’em...!"
"Mandarins, mandarins! Big, sweet mandarins! The taste goes down your throat, the sweetness hits your belly button, and the thrill goes right to the soles of your feet!"
...
Zhou Yan pushed his bike through the market. By the time he was done, two large crucian carp and a rack of pork ribs were hanging from his handlebars. He had also bought three catties of mandarins for thirty cents a catty, along with a few other side ingredients. Hopping on his bike, he pedaled off toward Zhou Village.
In the Zhou Family, as soon as one of the five brothers married, they would immediately move out to establish their own household. The family matriarch wouldn’t let them build their houses too close to one another, saying, "Distance keeps you close, proximity breeds contempt. Constant reliance leads to bad blood."
Thus, each family’s home was in a different part of the village, and they only gathered for holidays and festivals.
This arrangement had initially drawn whispers and gossip from the other villagers, but over the years, the five Zhou brothers remained exceptionally close. Their wives almost never fought, the family was incredibly united, and no one in Zhou Village dared to provoke them.
Zhou Yan felt that his grandmother possessed great wisdom.
Her four daughters-in-law were completely devoted to her, always speaking of her kindness.
Zhou Yan went home first to pick up Zhou Momo, then headed toward the end of the village.
His grandmother lived in the old family house at the end of the village. His fifth uncle, still unmarried, lived with her.
"Brother, this orange is suuuper sweet." Zhou Momo, holding half an orange, looked back at Zhou Yan and said, "It’s so yummy!"
"I’ll give you another one in a little bit," Zhou Yan said with a smile.
"Okay!" Zhou Momo nodded happily.
