Chapter 168 - 130: That Kid, Making Big Moves Behind Our Backs
His grandmother had actually talked to him about the ins and outs of it all that morning.
What large restaurants valued most was their reputation.
Zhang’s braised meat tasted good and looked appetizing. A large restaurant could buy it, slice it up, arrange it on a beautiful platter, and serve it for double the price.
But there was one condition: they had to publicly claim they made the braised meat in-house.
A century-old restaurant, a century-old brine—when the braised meat also tasted delicious, customers were more than happy to pay up.
But if customers found out the meat came from some small-town stall, they’d feel cheated. They’d think it wasn’t worth the price.
Even for the exact same piece of meat, with no difference in taste, its perceived value would instantly change.
His grandmother wasn’t ambitious, but she knew exactly how things worked.
She would never tell anyone which restaurants bought from her, content to quietly make her money.
The restaurants she partnered with hadn’t changed in ten or twenty years, and they were all happy to buy their braised meat from her for this very reason.
This was a lesson Zhou Yan had to learn.
Wheeling his bicycle out, Zhou Yan went to find the Knife Maker to order two more pig heads.
...
"Zhou Yan is so young, but he’s remarkably seasoned in how he speaks and handles matters. That young man will definitely have a great future," Zhao Shulan remarked with a touch of emotion, sitting on the back of the bicycle.
"It’s a shame he isn’t my son. If I had a son like him, I’d retire immediately and take you to eat, drink, and have fun all over the world." Huang He looked just as wistful, shaking his head again and again. "Tell me, how did we end up with a good-for-nothing like Huang Bing?"
"There’s no changing Huang Bing’s nature anytime soon," Zhao Shulan sighed, then added, "Yingying, on the other hand, really surprised me. The girl may love to eat, but she has a discerning palate and is quite sharp. The moment she tasted that delicious braised meat, her first thought was about what the restaurant was missing. That’s more than I can say for Huang Bing."
"I’ve been saying Yingying takes after me. She has a discerning palate—she can tell good from bad in a single bite," Huang He added with a laugh. "I think Feiyan Restaurant will have to go to Yingying in the future. If we give it to Huang Bing, I’m afraid he’d drink the business away within six months."
Hearing this, Zhao Shulan fell silent for a moment before saying, "Do you think... something could happen between Zhou Yan and our Yingying?"
Huang He suddenly slammed on the brakes and turned to look back at Zhao Shulan, his eyes shining. "Now that’s a great idea! Our son is a lost cause, but a son-in-law is half a son!"
"What the hell are you so excited about?" Zhao Shulan said, exasperated, and gave him a slap on the back.
Huang He grinned. "Why don’t we go talk to Zhou Yan’s parents first? Mrs. Zhang is just the nicest person. I even know Zhou Qing and Zhou Ze, two of the five Zhou brothers. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize Zhou Yan’s old man yesterday.
The Zhou family has a good, solid background. If we become in-laws, our Feiyan Restaurant will have a genuine century-old braised meat recipe!"
With that, Huang He started to turn around.
"Don’t you dare do something rash!" Zhao Shulan’s voice rose. "Times have changed! You have to respect the younger generation’s wishes now. If you go meddling, you’ll just mess everything up!"
With his side being pinched, Huang He froze and chuckled sheepishly. "Well... we could at least give them a little push, right?"
"What do you know? It’s obvious Zhou Yan is the one calling the shots in his family. If he’s not on board, his parents can’t influence him. It’ll just annoy him, and he might even stop doing business with us," Zhao Shulan said, rolling her eyes at him before she continued,
"Just let the young people get to know each other on their own. If it works out, great. If not, don’t force a match. Yingying is going to Zhou Yan’s shop to eat every day now. If she manages to lose some weight in the process, that would be for the best."
Huang He thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Fine, we’ll do it your way."
As he started pedaling away again, Huang He couldn’t help but mutter, "It really would be great to have a son-in-law like him..."
...
「Textile Factory, Family Courtyard.」
Meng Anhe clutched a handful of chopsticks and watched as Lin Zhiqiang dished out food from a lunchbox. "My sister sent me a letter asking about Zhou Yan," she said. "What do you think I should write back?"
"Who?" Lin Zhiqiang’s hands froze, and he turned to her with a look of disbelief.
"Who else? Yaoyao’s mom!" Meng Anhe said with a laugh. "I got it yesterday. She wrote three whole pages, rambling on and on. Only one page was about me, her own sister, and her two nephews. The other two were filled with questions about Zhou Yan."
"Why’s your sister suddenly asking about Zhou Yan? The whole thing with Yaoyao falling in the water is over and done with, and we told them not to take it to heart..." Lin Zhiqiang paused, his eyes widening slightly. "Wait! Don’t tell me Yaoyao wrote to her mom and mentioned Zhou Yan?"
"You guessed it," Meng Anhe said, taking a bowl from Lin Zhiqiang and setting it on the nearby table.
"What did Yaoyao say? For your sister to get so worked up, she must have written something unusual, right?" Lin Zhiqiang brought the other three bowls over, his face a mask of pure gossip.
"My sister said in her letter that Yaoyao has never mentioned any other boys in her letters to them, not even male classmates. But in the letter she sent a couple of days ago, she went on praising Zhou Yan for a full page. My sister said you could practically feel her smiling as she wrote it." Meng Anhe tutted. "So how could my sister not be in a panic? Her words were practically burning through the page, radiating murderous intent!"
"That kid Zhou Yan, making big moves behind our backs!" Lin Zhiqiang couldn’t help but laugh.
His sister-in-law was a cool and composed Grandmaster of traditional Chinese painting. For her to write with such "murderous intent," she must have sensed something highly unusual in Xia Yao’s letter.
"Last week, I looked into some things for Xia Yao and wrote her some career advice. You know what she told her mom about it? Just a single sentence. Then Zhou Yan gives her some advice, and she writes a whole page praising him! He must have bewitched her or something," Meng Anhe said, gritting her teeth.