Chapter 407 - 204: A Pretty Good Fish-Flavored Tofu
Zhou Yan shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth. ’It’s still a long way from "exceptionally good." A long road ahead.’
He did, however, realize he had a few advantages.
His time as a food blogger hadn’t been for nothing; his ability to find fault hadn’t diminished in the slightest.
He could distinguish good from bad with a single taste, then make improvements based on the issues he found. His progress immediately became substantial.
"Is this dish going on the menu?" Mrs. Zhao asked.
"It’s a long way from being ready for the menu. There’s still a lot of room for improvement. I’ll only consider adding it once I’ve made a version that even I’m satisfied with," Zhou Yan replied with a smile.
"It’s this delicious and you’re still not satisfied?" Zhao Hong was a bit surprised, but her tone soon shifted to one of wistful admiration. "You chefs have such high standards. I could probably make tofu my whole life and never make it taste this good."
The others chatted as they ate, but Zhou Momo paid no attention to the world around her, focused solely on the food on her plate.
One bowl down, then another. She really did finish three whole bowls of rice mixed with the fish-flavored sauce.
"I’m full!" Zhou Momo put down her bowl and chopsticks, looked at Zhou Yan, and declared, "Brother, your food is just too delicious! I love your cooking the most! I want to eat your food for the rest of my life!"
"Then you should live next door to your brother when you grow up and come over for dinner every day," Mrs. Zhao said with a laugh.
"Huh?" Zhou Momo tilted her head, confused. "Mama, why next door? Can’t I live in the same house as Brother? We’re family, aren’t we? What’s mine is Brother’s, and what’s Brother’s is mine."
"Well, what happens when your brother gets married and you marry someone else? Won’t you have to split the family then?" Mrs. Zhao said with a wide grin. "If you could live next door, I’d thank my lucky stars. Your Old Man and I would be so happy to see you two siblings every day."
"Split the family? I don’t wanna!" The little girl shook her head back and forth like a rattle. She scooted over, hugged Zhou Yan’s arm, and rested her head on it. Looking up at him with wide, pleading eyes, tears already welling up, she whimpered, "Brother, are you going to split the family with me? Brother... p-please~"
Her whining was so sweet and childlike.
Who could possibly resist that?
"No, we won’t split, we won’t. In the future, there will always be a room for you in my house, and it’ll be the biggest and prettiest one," Zhou Yan quickly assured her, shaking his head with a sincere expression.
"’Your house’? Not ’our house’? Hmph!" The little girl’s pout was so pronounced you could hang a teacup on it.
"Right, right, right, ’our house.’" Zhou Yan was thoroughly amused but had to suppress his smile so he wouldn’t seem insincere.
"I knew Brother was the best!" A smile broke out on the little girl’s face. She rubbed her head against his arm, as sweet as a little kitten.
Zhou Yan smiled and patted her head. ’Whether she comes back to live here in the future or not, I’ll definitely save a big, beautiful room for her.’
After dinner, just as the table was cleared, customers started to arrive one after another.
Zhou Yan returned to the kitchen, so busy he was run off his feet.
Zhou Momo grabbed a small stool, sat down next to Comrade Zhou, and began her "daily settlement" work, greeting the customers like an old friend.
"Qingqing, your hair is braided so beautifully today!"
"Mrs. Liu, are your silver earrings new? They’re so pretty!"
"Hello, Sun! The braised meat is delicious, but don’t drink too much, okay? My grandma says it’s okay to have a little alcohol, but not too much~"
The little girl had an excellent memory. She could remember the name or surname of everyone who introduced themselves to her, call them by it accurately the next time they met, and strike up a friendly conversation.
Her naturally outgoing personality was incredibly endearing to the customers.
After all, she was just a three-and-a-half-year-old girl, with no aggression or ulterior motives—only cuteness.
"Alright, alright. I’ll only have two small glasses tonight," Accountant Sun replied with a smiling nod, his voice unconsciously softening.
Some people even came in specifically to buy some braised dishes or have a meal just for the chance to chat with her for a bit.
Boss Zhou’s food was already delicious, and the little boss provided a heaping side of emotional value. If you were going to eat out anyway, why wouldn’t you choose to eat at Zhou Yan Restaurant?
This little child laborer hired by Zhou Yan, earning a daily wage, had already become the restaurant’s lucky cat.
After closing up for the night, Zhou Yan went out for a run. He ran into Lin Zhiqiang halfway and they jogged together for a while.
"Lin, Mr. Qian successfully found his family and held a thank-you banquet yesterday. Did your business partnership go through?" Zhou Yan asked curiously. The whole affair had started because of Lin’s job performance.
𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
"It’s hard to say. They’ve taken the samples, but whether the partnership will happen depends on their internal discussions. It’ll be a while before we get a decision."
"Qian Siyuan’s company is quite formidable. It’s one of the top-ranking silk companies in North America, and they only deal in high-end goods. The company owns several well-known brands, and their silk scarves and clothes are very expensive, sold in countries all over the world. That’s why on this trip back to China, domestic manufacturers have been racking their brains to establish a relationship with him. Our factory doesn’t have a huge advantage; we mostly just played the sentiment card a bit."
Lin Zhiqiang shook his head with a smile. "But I’m really happy that Mr. Qian was able to find his family, regardless of the business deal. He actually invited my whole family to the banquet, but I was in Rongcheng yesterday for a provincial technical conference and couldn’t make it. It’s a shame I missed it."
Zhou Yan laughed. "That really is a shame. The standard of food yesterday was incredibly high. It was a top-tier Nine Great Bowls banquet, and they even hired the Jiazhou Sichuan Opera Troupe to perform. The kids would have loved it. Zhou Momo had an absolute blast."
"Forget the kids, I love that stuff too!" Lin Zhiqiang sighed. "I especially love the local open-air banquets here. We don’t have many relatives, and my younger colleagues are usually too shy to invite us. In over two years, I’ve only been to two of them. Eating hotpot in Rongcheng yesterday just wasn’t the same after hearing about it."