Starting from a Bankrupt Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant

"Then... I’ll try a piece?" Duan Yu Yan picked up her chopsticks. Following Wang’s example, she picked up a piece of Twice-Cooked Pork that had a stalk of garlic sprout rolled inside. She braced herself and put it in her mouth.

She took a gentle bite. The skin was fragrant and tenderly chewy, the fatty part melted in her mouth, and the lean meat wasn’t the least bit dry—it even had a slight spring to it as she chewed. One bite revealed it all: rich without being greasy, fragrant without being overwhelming.

As she bit into the garlic sprout, its unique, fresh aroma burst forth, adding another layer of flavor.

’It really is so fragrant!’

The fact that fatty pork could be so delicious completely shattered her expectations.

She was the type of person who wouldn’t even eat the fatty part of braised pork.

The ever-observant Yan Fei had already served her a bowl of rice.

Duan Yu Yan lifted the bowl and took a mouthful of rice.

Mmm!

’This rice is fluffy and sweet, with a faint woody aroma. It’s the perfect match for the Twice-Cooked Pork.’

’Delicious.’

After eating two pieces in a row, Duan Yu Yan felt a little too embarrassed to grab a third.

Fortunately, their other dishes—Sautéed Minced Beef with Double Peppers, Braised Pork Ribs, Cold-Dressed Chicken, and Braised Pork Head—all arrived at the table at once.

"Wang, please, join us. We’ve ordered a little too much," Duan Yu Yan said with a smile. "That way, I can help myself to your Twice-Cooked Pork without feeling guilty."

"Alright, then," Wang agreed with a laugh.

Duan Yu Yan tried a bit of everything. The Braised Pork Ribs were so tender the meat fell off the bone at the slightest touch. The Sautéed Minced Beef with Double Peppers was numbing, spicy, and fragrant. The Cold-Dressed Chicken had crispy skin and tender meat. Each dish had its own unique taste, and to her surprise, all of them were exceptionally delicious.

Duan Yu Yan fell in love with every dish she tasted; she was truly blown away.

The Cold-Dressed Chicken was a particular standout. It looked fiery red, but the flavor was a blend of numbing, spicy, savory, and sour. The five tastes were perfectly balanced, with a subtly sweet aftertaste. The harmony was impeccable, creating an incredibly well-rounded flavor profile.

She ate several pieces in a row. The skin was incredibly crispy, and the meat was exceptionally tender. The chicken was coated in specks of sesame seeds and chili oil. Biting into one of the sesame seeds was like setting off a flavor bomb—it was unbelievably fragrant!

She loved chicken, with White-Cut Chicken being her absolute favorite. She ate it at a Yue cuisine restaurant almost every week.

But the White-Cut Chicken and this Cold-Dressed Chicken were two entirely different experiences. One was light and clean-tasting, while the other was spicy and invigorating.

’But they were both delicious!’

After sampling a bit of everything, her gaze fell upon the plate of Braised Pork Head.

The Braised Pork Head, sliced to the thickness of a copper coin, glistened with a reddish, amber hue. The slices were cut with remarkable uniformity. The only thing was, the plating was rather casual—not as refined as the exquisite presentation at Feiyan Restaurant.

The portion size was about the same. A serving at Feiyan Restaurant cost 1.6 yuan, while here at this small eatery, it was 1 yuan.

The pricing made sense, actually. Feiyan Restaurant’s costs for labor, facility maintenance, and other overhead were much higher than this small, family-run restaurant.

What Duan Yu Yan was curious about was the connection between this Braised Pork Head and Feiyan Restaurant.

And why had her grandmother sent her to Suji to look for Zhang’s Braised Shop?

As the heir to Zhang’s Braised Shop, what exactly was Zhou Yan’s relationship with her grandmother?

With these questions swirling in her mind, she picked up a slice of the Braised Pork Head.

Its color was virtually indistinguishable from the braised pork head she’d eaten last night—a lustrous, amber-red, thoroughly saturated with braising liquid.

She put it in her mouth and chewed slowly, savoring every nuance.

Soon, her composed expression began to crumble.

’It’s the same! It’s the exact same braised pork head!’

’If I had visited these two restaurants randomly at different times, I might have just thought that both of their braised pork heads were delicious.’

’But I ordered this dish full of questions and with a critical eye.’

’These two dishes must have come from the same pot of braising liquid—which means they were made by the same person.’

Duan Yu Yan watched Zhou Yan stir-frying in the kitchen, her eyes narrowing slightly. ’Well, I’ll be,’ she thought. ’He’s actually supplying braised meat to Feiyan Restaurant!’

’The deduction isn’t hard to make. Feiyan Restaurant only recently added braised meat to its menu.’

’Meanwhile, word of mouth about the braised meat from Zhou Yan Restaurant has already spread; even the locals in town have heard of it.’

’In that case, the braised pork head and braised beef that my grandfather and grandmother loved decades ago didn’t come from Feiyan Restaurant, but from Zhou Yan’s grandmother—of the Zhang Family!’

’There’s no braised beef on the menu here, which is why Feiyan Restaurant doesn’t have it either.’

Duan Yu Yan felt like she had uncovered some explosive inside information. ’What would Feiyan Restaurant’s patrons think if they found out?’

’Wait a minute... then didn’t Grandmother know this decades ago? And yet, she and Grandfather always ate at Feiyan Restaurant and ordered the braised dishes every time.’ After a moment of thought, Duan Yu Yan understood why.

’Perhaps they didn’t care.’

’The braised meat was delicious, and they were happy to pay a little extra to enjoy it in an elegant private room, served on an exquisitely plated dish.’

’They wouldn’t make a special trip all the way to a food stall in Suji just for a plate of braised meat.’

’It formed a sort of unspoken agreement.’

’Zhang’s Braised Shop and Feiyan Restaurant made money, the diners got to eat delicious food, and everyone felt like they came out ahead.’

’The Zhang Family!’

Duan Yu Yan felt she had seized upon a crucial piece of information. Perhaps she could find the answers she sought through another person from her grandmother’s generation.

She stared intently at Zhou Yan. As the inheritor of the Zhang Family’s braising techniques, he must have a good relationship with his grandmother. She could get an introduction from him and meet the elder of the Zhang Family.

Then, a little girl popped into her line of sight, blinking as she suddenly appeared behind Zhou Yan.

Their eyes met, and for a moment, they both froze.

The little girl wore her hair in two small pigtails and was as cute as a button. ’How adorable!’

’Wait, wasn’t she just dozing by the stove a moment ago?’

The instant their eyes met, Duan Yu Yan felt the awkwardness of being caught staring. She quickly looked away and took a bite of Cold-Dressed Chicken.

Zhou Momo, however, toddled over and stood by the kitchen entrance. She tilted her head, her eyes sparkling as she looked Duan Yu Yan over. "Big sister, you’re so pretty! Your hat is really nice."