Starting from a Bankrupt Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant

To be honest, Mrs. Zhao was a bit discouraged.

When her family had nothing to compare it to, they would praise her soup. But today, Zhou Yan had presented this bowl of crucian carp soup.

"Huh? Brother, why is your fish soup different from Mom’s?" Zhou Momo asked, looking at Zhou Yan as she held her spoon.

"How is it different?" Zhou Yan asked with a smile.

Mrs. Zhao lowered her head and ate her tofu, her face flushing with embarrassment. Zhou Momo had eaten more of her fish soup than anyone, so she was the best judge of its quality.

Zhou Momo thought for a moment before saying seriously, "Your fish soup is super yummy, and Mom’s fish soup is a little yummy."

"If you like it, then have some more," Zhou Yan said with a laugh. ’This little one already knows how to be diplomatic at such a young age.’

Upon hearing this, the corners of Mrs. Zhao’s lips curved up slightly. ’Alright, alright, my youngest daughter knows what’s what. I didn’t raise her for nothing.’

Zhou Yan ladled half a bowl of fish soup for himself.

[A Quite Impressive Crucian Carp and Tofu Soup]

’Whoa!’

That rating took Zhou Yan by surprise.

He was genuinely surprised to receive such a high rating on his first try.

He took a sip of the soup. It was truly savory and delicious, with a lingering sweet aftertaste.

Then he tried a piece of tofu. It was so incredibly tender that it melted in his mouth.

And yet, it had shown an astonishing resilience during cooking. After simmering in the fish soup for eight minutes, it hadn’t fallen apart or turned to mush at all.

The tofu had soaked up the fish soup, making it smooth, savory, and tender, with the subtle fragrance of soybeans.

’It really is delicious!’

Zhou Yan felt it was just as good as the fish head tofu soups he’d had in his past life at the major restaurants in Hang City.

In fact, when it came to the tofu, this version was even a cut above.

Viewed in that light, receiving the [Quite Impressive] rating wasn’t so surprising after all.

The techniques for preparing and frying the carp, which came from his experience with Huo Xiang Carp, guaranteed a baseline quality for the soup, ensuring it was savory and without a fishy smell.

And the [Perfect] tofu was the masterstroke. Not only did it add a hint of soybean fragrance to the soup, but its texture and flavor were a stunning surprise.

In this dish, the tofu wasn’t just a supporting character to the fish—it was the undisputed star!

Since the carp had been fried, the meat didn’t fall apart easily. And while it wasn’t quite as tender as the fish in Huo Xiang Carp, it had absorbed the savory broth and was still quite delicious.

This crucian carp weighed nearly a pound, so it had relatively few bones.

Zhou Momo finished her soup, so Mrs. Zhao gave her a large piece of meat from the fish’s belly, telling her to eat it slowly and carefully. The little girl loved it.

Zhou Yan then tried a piece of the homestyle tofu. Fried to a golden brown on both sides, the tofu was coated in a thick sauce. He took a bite, revealing a crispy exterior and a tender inside. A symphony of numbing, spicy, and savory notes danced across his tongue. Combined with the sublime texture, it was absolutely delicious.

’If you paired this with a slice of Twice-Cooked Pork and a piece of the garlic greens... that three-in-one bite would be absolutely intoxicating.’

"Mm, this homestyle tofu is also cooked well, and the garlic greens in the Twice-Cooked Pork really bring out the richness of the meat," the old lady said with a nod. She looked at Zhou Yan and asked, "But did you buy the tofu for these two dishes from different places?"

"You can tell just by tasting it?" Zhou Yan asked, surprised. ’After being fried and cooked with such strong flavors, the original taste of the tofu shouldn’t be that prominent.’

Because the two dishes were prepared so differently, Zhou Yan himself hadn’t even noticed the difference in the tofu.

’And yet the old lady could tell?’

He was genuinely astonished.

The old lady smiled and said, "Next time, buy the tofu you used for the carp soup. It’s much better—tender yet resilient, with a rich soybean fragrance. It tastes a bit like West Bank Tofu. The craftsmanship is on par with your grand-aunt’s."

"Will do," Zhou Yan nodded, then asked in renewed surprise, "Is my grand-aunt’s tofu-making really that good?"

’This was tofu that the system had Identified as [Perfect]!’

The old lady smiled and explained, "My mother’s side of the family is from Xiba. My maternal grandfather’s tofu-making technique was passed down through generations. Your grand-aunt started helping out when she was just a girl, and her skills are even better than her older brothers’."

"Later, she married into a family in Shangshui Village. They happened to have a cold-water well at home, so she started making and selling tofu, and her business was excellent."

"The soybeans she uses are all bought from Xiba Town. They’re a small-grain variety grown in the hilly soil there, which gives them a rich fragrance and a hint of sweetness. It’s very different from what other people make, and very similar to the tofu you bought today."

"Then I’ll definitely have to pay her a proper visit. In the future, if I want to sell tofu dishes, I can just order directly from her," Zhou Yan said with a smile. ’Another link in my ingredient supply chain.’

Zhou Yan figured that if he used the [Perfect] tofu to make his homestyle tofu, the dish’s rating could probably go up a level.

’If the rating reached [Quite Impressive]...’

’...then Zhou Yan would consider adding it to the menu.’

’Tofu isn’t expensive, only twenty cents per pound. I could use just a little meat to add some savory flavor and price the finished dish at sixty or seventy cents. The profit margin would be quite good.’

’Of course, if I could learn to make Mapo Tofu, that would be even better.’

’After all, homestyle tofu is just that—homestyle. It gives customers the mistaken impression that they could just make it themselves at home, so sales might not be great.’

’But Mapo Tofu is different. As a famous dish from Rongcheng, it has a stellar reputation.’

’Even his master couldn’t make a good Mapo Tofu. If Zhou Yan wanted to learn, he’d have to figure it out on his own.’

After lunch, once the table was cleared, customers began to arrive one after another.

The old lady was a bit surprised to see braised beef newly added to the menu, but she didn’t ask about it. Instead, she walked quietly to the doorway to watch Zhou Miao prepare cold dishes.

The debut of the braised beef successfully captured the customers’ attention.

Zhou Yan Restaurant was no longer the fledgling business it had been at the start, where every new dish was met with skepticism. Having built up a solid reputation one dish at a time, its customers now greeted new menu items with eager anticipation, impatient to give them a try.