Zhou Yan rode away on his bicycle, leaving Zhao Minghui standing there, bewildered.
Zhao Minghui wasn't a bad person; he was rather honest.
He was the first vendor selling braised food near the textile factory gate. Before the private economy was liberalized, he secretly set up a stall with his bicycle, selling pig's head and sweet-skinned duck. Later, when street vending was allowed, he did quite well thanks to his established reputation.
Two other braised food vendors came later, deliberately selling right next to him. They teamed up to lower the price of their braised pig's head, quickly stealing all of Zhao Minghui's customers.
Fortunately, he was also skilled at cooking duck, and he managed to maintain his foothold near the textile factory gate with his sweet-skinned duck.
But his braised pig's head wasn't selling as well as before, so his earnings naturally decreased.
However, this guy is content with his lot and quite cheerful. He used to love going to the entrance of Zhou Yan's restaurant to chat with him whenever he had free time. Later, it seems that he was grounded by his wife and didn't come for a while, but he would still greet him warmly whenever he ran into him.
Zhou Yan selling braised pig's head and cold chicken dish probably didn't affect him that much, but the other two stalls might be a different story.
He even went to Zhang Laosan and Xu Laoer on the way to order two pig heads.
"Zhou Yan is going to sell braised food too?" Zhao Minghui's wife, Zhang Xiuqin, had just woken up. She sat up, a worried look on her face.
"Don't worry, he said he won't make ducks." Zhao Minghui said with a smile. "He even taught me how to sell braised peanuts. Zhou Yan is a really good guy."
"You just think everyone in this world is good. Look at Yang Laosan and Zhu Feng when they first came; they were all smiles at you everyday. Then they teamed up to mess with us. Haven't you learned your lesson yet?" Zhang Xiuqin rolled her eyes at him, her tone tinged with helplessness.
"Oh, Zhou Yan is different from those two. He's not so cunning." Zhao Minghui said softly. "Besides, the government supports individual street vendors. We're benefiting from this policy. Being early doesn't mean we can monopolize it. They had no problem setting up stalls anyway.
The fact that customers like their braised pig's head and duck products means our skills aren't inferior. We can make money just as well as our sweet-skinned duck. We can also sell braised peanuts now."
Zhang Xiuqin stared at him for a while, then laughed in exasperation.
What could she do? That's just his personality—mild-mannered, never competitive, and always enjoying his time at home refining recipes. He's good to her and their two daughters, giving her all his earnings, doesn't gamble, and does housework well. In ten years of marriage, they've never even had a serious argument.
Her tone softened, and she nodded, saying, "Okay, we'll do our best. If you want to sell braised peanuts, go ahead."
"Xiuqin, you're so kind!" Zhao Minghui exclaimed happily. "Then buy ten jin of peanuts on the way back later."
...
The dinner was simple.
Braised Pork Belly With Potatoes, Sausage And Cured Meat Platter, Minced Meat Stir-fried With Pickled Cowpeas, Crackling Stir-fried White Cabbage, a bowl of Crispy Pork Soup, two stir-fried vegetable dishes, and two plates of pickled vegetables.
A large pot of sweet potato porridge was cooking nearby, with rice served as well.
Large-pot cooking was Xiao Lei's forte; he could manage nearly three thousand employees at the textile factory perfectly, so three hundred people were naturally no problem.
The guests hadn't had high expectations for the dinner, but they couldn't resist eating two extra bowls of sweet potato porridge, only heading home leisurely after their bellies were full.
"Master Xiao, Master Zheng, Zhou Yan, thank you for your hard work today." Second Uncle Zhou Ze, along with Zhou Jie and Zhou Hao, came to thank the three men who were tidying up the kitchen utensils.
"Not at all. We're relieved that everyone enjoyed the meal." Xiao Lei said with a smile.
"We're so satisfied! Everyone says they've never had such a delicious outdoor feast before." Zhou Ze said, pulling out a stack of ten-yuan bills and handing it to Xiao Lei: "This is ninety yuan for the service, Master Xiao, please count it."
Xiao Lei didn't take it, looking at him and saying, "Old brother, could you deduct the cost of the village chef's utensils? I don't even know him. It's more appropriate for you to settle this with him."
Zhou Ze pushed the money forward again: "Don't worry about that. I'll settle it separately with him. This is your service fee, you keep it."
Today's outdoor feast was so wonderful that Zhou Ze felt ninety yuan was too little.
Xiao Lei was still a little hesitant.
Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Master, please accept it. This is the host's approval."
Xiao Lei smiled and took the money. "Okay, thank you then."
"No need to thank me, we should be the ones thanking you..."
Zhou Ze offered another round of polite pleasantries and flattery, even giving each person a pack of cigarettes, before turning back to see the other guests off.
"This village chef's work is quite interesting." Zheng Qiang chuckled, holding a cigarette. The type of cigarette didn't matter; the host's respect was evident.
"Here, let's split the money." Xiao Lei counted, pulling out three bills each and handing them to the two men: "Thirty each, split evenly."
"I'm just a helper, helping my brother. I don't want a single penny. Master, you and Senior Brother split it." Zhou Yan said, taking a half-step back and shaking his head.
Zheng Qiang also took a half-step back, chuckling, "Master Uncle, I'm helping my niece, so I don't want this money either. You're in charge of organizing this banquet, so you keep the rest."
"Tsk..." Xiao Lei frowned, wanting to say something more.
Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Master, aren't you going to partner up as village chefs to host a large banquet? There's so much to buy! You need a dozen or twenty steamers that big, a large shovel, a cutting board… everything costs money. Keep this ninety yuan for the tools, it's start-up capital."
"That's right!" Zheng Qiang immediately chimed in, "We've taken on all the banquets, so we need to get these things ready as soon as possible. Use this money first, we'll add more if needed."
Xiao Lei thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay, let's use it to buy kitchen utensils."
The two slung their bags over their shoulders, agreed to go to town together the next morning to buy kitchen utensils, said goodbye to Zhou Yan, and rode their bicycle back home.
Both of them were clearly quite excited.
Neither of them had been drinking today, and it wasn't dark yet, so Zhou Yan didn't need to worry.
Turning around, Zhou Momo was standing behind him, looking up at him with a bright smile. Seeing him turn around, she immediately raised her hands and said in a childish voice, "Guo Guo! I want to ride a horse!"
"Come on." Zhou Yan said with a smile, lifting her up and placing her on his shoulders.
"Wow! So high!" Zhou Momo exclaimed, holding his head, overjoyed.
"Hold on tight, the horse's about to run." Zhou Yan pressed down on her short legs and started trotting along.
"Giggle, giggle..."
Zhou Momo's laughter echoed like silver bells along the village road of Zhou Village.
The children on the road cast envious glances.
Zhao Tieying, holding Zhou Miao's hand, followed behind them at a leisurely pace, both with a bright smile on their faces.
"Zhou Yan, this child, has really changed so much. He's so sensible and capable now, and so good to Momo. We're so lucky." Zhao Tieying said with a touch of emotion, her smile brimming with happiness.
Zhou Miao smiled and said, "It's mainly because you, as a mother, have set a good example. You are hardworking, cheerful, optimistic, diligent, and virtuous. Zhou Yan is following your example. The credit goes to you."
"Really?"
"Of course! I never lie, especially not to my wife."
Zhao Tieying hugged Zhou Miao's arm even tighter; she felt so happy.
Zhou Yan carried Zhou Momo home, only putting her down in the main room.
"So much fun! So much fun!" Zhou Momo clapped her hands. "Guo Guo, can we ride horses again next time?"
"What will you give me in return?" Zhou Yan looked at her with a smile.
"I..." Zhou Momo thought seriously for a moment, then took a piece of hard candy from her pocket and put it in Zhou Yan's hand. "Here's my favorite orange candy!"
"Okay, then we'll play again next time." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.
After Comrade Old Zhou returned, he boiled a pot of water, filled two wooden buckets with it, and called Zhou Yan to soak his feet: "You and your mother have been standing all day, busy without a break. Soak your feet so you can sleep better."
"Okay." Zhou Yan had already rinsed his feet with well water, but after spinning like a top all day, his feet were indeed a bit sore. Seeing the steaming foot bath bucket, he was almost too tired to move.
"So comfortable..." Aunt Zhao put her legs into the wooden bucket, let out a long sigh, and looked at Comrade Old Zhou standing beside her, saying, "Why don't you sit down and soak with me? The bucket's big anyway."
Zhou Miao smiled and shook his head: "It's alright, I'll add some hot water after you're done. There's still some boiling water in the pot, so you'll have hot water for your bath later."
"Hurry up! It'll get cold if you wait." Aunt Zhao's tone rose.
"Okay." Old Zhou immediately sat down and put his feet into the foot bath bucket.
Zhou Yan watched from the sidelines with amusement. In terms of family status, Comrade Old Zhou had always maintained a stable position.
"I want to soak my feet too!" Zhou Momo moved a small stool over and placed it next to Zhou Yan. She took off her tiger-head shoes, revealing a pair of small, white feet. With some effort, she bent down, pulled up her trouser legs, and then put her feet into the foot bath bucket.
"Ouch! It's so hot!"
The little one touched the water, then immediately pulled back, looking at Zhou Yan with a shocked expression: "Guo Guo, aren't you afraid of getting burned?"
"A foot bath is only comfortable when it's a little hot. Wait a bit before putting your feet down; your skin is so delicate." Zhou Yan smiled and helped her place her feet on the edge of the wooden bucket. Her heels turned red after a brief dip in the hot water—not exactly scalded, but the temperature was still a bit too high for her.
"Okay." Zhou Momo nodded obediently, elbows resting on her knees, hands supporting her chin, staring at the bucket. She quickly exclaimed in surprise, "Guo Guo! Your feet are so big! Like…like an elephant!"
"Guo Guo, you have so much hair on your legs! Like a little monkey."
"Guo Guo…"
Zhou Yan didn't know what he looked like either, but Zhou Momo was such a chatterbox. Just washing her feet had made the whole family laugh uncontrollably.
She was like a ray of sunshine, making everyone's face unconsciously light up with a smile, and then they chatted and laughed with her.
If it were just him, Aunt Zhao, and Comrade Old Zhou sitting here soaking their feet, it would probably be rather quiet.
"Time to sleep! Your Guo Guo must be tired after a long day. Go play with him tomorrow!" Aunt Zhao grabbed Zhou Momo, who was about to jump into Zhou Yan's room.
Zhou Momo glared helplessly at her short legs and could only look at Zhou Yan as she offered her blessings: "Goodnight, Guo Guo, sweet dreams."
"Okay, goodnight." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile and closed the door.
Taking off his coat and lying on the uncomfortable wooden bed, Zhou Yan looked at the cobweb-covered ceiling and the crack winding downwards on the mottled earthen wall. The room was empty, and he smelled the musty odor coming from the quilt beneath him. Suddenly, a strong desire to make money rose in his heart.
He wanted to move his family into a beautiful, clean house, sleeping on a soft, comfortable bed, covered with fluffy, fragrant new quilts!
Aunt Zhao, Comrade Old Zhou, and Zhou Momo—they deserved better.
He wanted to make money!
Much more money!