Starting from a Bankrupt Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant

Duan Yu Yan ordered three bowls of Kneeling Beef, not expecting to find herself eating a clear-broth beef hot pot in a small Jiazhou town.

’So fresh!’

After another small bowl of the soup, she was already starting to feel full.

No wonder this little restaurant was always packed. This broth was much tastier than the Bone-Strengthening Broth from Feiyan Restaurant.

She’d had the Bone-Strengthening Broth at Feiyan Restaurant once. She had insisted on ordering it, and even her grandmother couldn’t stop her.

It was a bit greasy, and the taste of the medicinal herbs was so strong it completely overpowered the flavor of the meat. It felt more like drinking medicine, and she hadn’t liked it at all.

This Kneeling Beef broth, on the other hand, she quite enjoyed.

Nearby, Yan Fei downed the last of his broth in several large gulps and let out a small, satisfied burp.

’So savory!’

This broth was absolutely delicious!

Initially, he’d been a bit hesitant seeing the three bowls of Kneeling Beef. The portions were quite generous, and none of the other dishes they’d ordered had even arrived yet.

Then he had a small bowl of broth, followed by a piece of beef tendon and a piece of beef intestine.

’Mm! This tastes amazing!’

The beef intestine, which Duan Yu Yan disliked, was incredibly soft and tender after being dipped in the chili powder. The inside was filled with rich, savory fat. One bite, and the fragrant, spicy flavor was simply divine!

The beef tendon was wonderfully tender and chewy, its flavor growing more intense the more he chewed. It was also a perfect match for the chili powder.

Even the cabbage at the bottom of the bowl, having soaked up all the broth, was exceptionally fresh and sweet.

’He, too, was secretly amazed. How could a small restaurant in Suji have such a delicious beef broth? Why had he never heard of it before?’

Duan Yu Yan put down her chopsticks. Bored while waiting for their other dishes, she couldn’t resist striking up a conversation with the old man. "Sir, how many years have you been the librarian? You must have read quite a lot of books."

Wang thought for a moment, then smiled. "Eight years now. I’ve pretty much gone through every book on the shelves. I wonder if the county will send a new batch over at the end of the year."

"You’ve read them all?" Duan Yu Yan was stunned. She asked curiously, "How many books does the town library have?"

Wang answered without hesitation. "Two thousand, eight hundred and twenty-three books in its collection. We’ve added quite a few in the last two years, and the variety of categories has expanded as well."

"That’s incredible!" Duan Yu Yan couldn’t help but exclaim.

’The total number of books wasn’t huge, but for a library in such a small town, it was quite a lot.’

’But for a single person to read over twenty-eight hundred books in eight years...’

’That was truly incredible!’

’She had been in Jiazhou for half a year, and despite reading for three hours every single day, she had only finished about eighty books. She estimated she might hit one hundred before returning to Xiangjiang.’

"I’m just an old man with nothing better to do than read," Wang said with a self-deprecating smile, shaking his head.

Duan Yu Yan continued to chat with Wang about books. From philosophy to history, from the works of Mao Zedong to Marx, he could engage with every topic she raised. Their conversation was surprisingly deep and insightful, and some of his perspectives were completely new and eye-opening to her.

’His breadth of reading was immense. It had to be more than just the twenty-eight hundred books in the town library. He’d even touched upon foreign literary classics and history, including some books that she was certain hadn’t yet been translated or published in the country.’

Duan Yu Yan hesitated. "Did you... study abroad?"

"Never studied abroad," Wang said, shaking his head with a smile. "But I used to do business with the foreign devils back in the day, so I learned their language. I can handle basic conversation and reading just fine. Back then, I’d read whenever I had free time. It helps you forget a lot of things."

’Duan Yu Yan nodded slightly. The fine lines on the old man’s face seemed to hold countless experiences and stories.’

Wang’s dish, Twice-Cooked Pork with garlic scapes, was the first to arrive. He examined it, then nodded with a smile. "This Twice-Cooked Pork is authentic. The meat is curled up perfectly, and the color is beautiful. This kid," he said, referring to the chef, "really has some talent."

Duan Yu Yan caught the scent of the pork belly and couldn’t help but swallow.

’The meat was half fat and half lean, which was completely unacceptable to her.’

’But it smelled so incredibly fragrant. The aroma of garlic and pork wafted over, and sitting at the same table, there was nowhere to run.’

"Care to try some?" The old man smiled, pushing the plate a little closer to Duan Yu Yan. "This is authentic Twice-Cooked Pork with garlic scapes, made with the traditional cut of meat. They even use free-range local pork. You’d be hard-pressed to find this anywhere else."

"Please, you have it. I’ve never liked fatty meat, ever since I was a kid. This is a bit too rich for me," Duan Yu Yan said, waving her hands dismissively.

’If it were just her and her grandmother, she might pick out the lean pieces just to try it.’

’Her grandmother was a small eater too and never forced her to finish everything on her plate.’

’But when eating with others, especially as a guest, she wouldn’t dare be so picky. She didn’t want to give people a reason to gossip about her.’

Wang didn’t press the issue. He picked up a piece of the Twice-Cooked Pork with his chopsticks. It glistened with oil, trembling slightly, which made him nod in approval. He added a piece of garlic scape, put them both in his mouth, and as he chewed, the corners of his lips curled up involuntarily.

He chewed, swallowed, then shoveled in two mouthfuls of rice. He picked up another slice of pork and ate it. One bite of meat for every two bites of rice.

He didn’t say a word, but his faint smile and the relentless movement of his chopsticks said it all.

"Is it good?" Duan Yu Yan couldn’t help but ask.

The old man slowly finished chewing the rice and meat in his mouth before swallowing. Only then did he reply at a leisurely pace, "Mhm. It’s numbing, spicy, savory, and fragrant. Rich, but not greasy. The texture is perfectly tender and chewy, so it just melts in your mouth. If you eat it with a piece of garlic scape, you get this unique aromatic quality from the scape that makes the flavor even better."

Duan Yu Yan had already been tempted when she saw the next table eating Twice-Cooked Pork. Now, with a plate right in front of her, watching the old man eat with such relish and hearing his detailed description of the taste and texture, she couldn’t help but swallow hard again.

"If you want some, just help yourself. Don’t be polite," Wang said with a laugh, before turning back to his own meal.

The slices of pork belly were curled into perfect little cups and cut to a uniform thickness. The glistening red oil, likely from stir-frying with fermented broad bean paste, had stained the fatty parts a brilliant crimson. It didn’t look greasy at all. In fact, contrasted against the white stalks and green leaves of the garlic scapes, the whole dish looked surprisingly refreshing.