Starting from a Bankrupt Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant

"I heard from my fellow Cow Slaughterers and Knife Makers that it’s been implemented in Rongcheng for a while now. It’s probably true, and it should happen in the next day or two." Zhou Miao smiled and nodded. "It’s good that they’re lifting the restrictions. Before, everyone used ration tickets to buy meat at the supply and marketing co-op and complained that our prices were too high. If we weren’t careful, we’d lose money on unsold meat. Once the prices are decontrolled, how could those snotty co-op clerks possibly outsell us?"

"You’re right. This is a market economy," Zhou Yan said with a smile and a nod.

"So, should we adjust the restaurant’s menu prices?"

"No." Zhou Yan was very decisive, shaking his head. "Our customers have already accepted our prices. Besides, even if we drop them by ten or twenty cents, it’s unlikely we’ll attract more people who don’t normally eat out just based on price.

The economy is growing. I predict the lowered meat prices will gradually creep back up before long.

It’s easy to lower menu prices, but if we want to raise them again after costs go up, we’ll likely face backlash from customers and end up losing even more of them."

Zhou Miao nodded thoughtfully. ’What Yan said makes a lot of sense.’

The economy was indeed developing rapidly, especially in the last two years.

Who would have dared to dream of becoming a "ten-thousand-yuan household" before?

But in the last year or two, reports about ten-thousand-yuan households had become common in the newspapers.

As expected, the people who were best informed about meat prices were definitely the ones who sold meat.

When Zhou Yan went to buy beef and sell pork today, the Cow Slaughterers and Knife Makers all mentioned this matter. Their views were identical to Comrade Zhou’s; they all believed this was good news for private business owners like themselves.

"Why’d you buy three pounds of beef shank? Are you planning to make braised beef?" Zhou Miao asked on the way back.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Yeah, I want to practice making it first. I originally thought braised beef would be priced too high to sell well, but if beef prices come down, I can lower my price too. Adding braised beef to the menu could also increase our revenue."

"That’s a great idea. Back in the day, the wealthy families of Suji couldn’t get enough of your grandmother’s braised beef." Zhou Miao nodded, a nostalgic look on his face.

"I know. You used to deliver meat to their doors with my uncle and the others."

"Huh? How do you know that?" Zhou Miao looked at him, a little surprised.

"Er... Grandma mentioned it when she was teaching me how to braise meat. She said back then, she had a stall by the bridge, and she’d have you all go door-to-door delivering the meat for her. It saved her a lot of trouble," Zhou Yan replied with a smile.

Zhou Miao nodded. "That’s right. But that was all before the Liberation. I was only five or six, so I don’t remember a lot of it clearly. Later, the wealthy families all fled south, and they stopped allowing cattle to be slaughtered. We could only sell pig’s head meat, and business wasn’t as good anymore."

"Don’t worry. From now on, business will only get better and better. With us father and son working together, we’ll make it big!" Zhou Yan said, full of confidence.

Hearing this, Zhou Miao laughed too. "You bet!"

The Huang siblings also came early today.

After four days of high-intensity cycling training, the physical changes in the two weren’t very obvious yet, but their spirits had improved dramatically.

Huang Bing’s dark circles had faded a lot, and his pale, weak face had gained some color. There was a bit of life in his eyes, and he looked much better than the first time they’d met.

Huang Ying had her hair tied up in a high ponytail. Her round face was flushed, but her breathing was steady. She looked quite energetic, completely different from the listless look she’d had on the first couple of days.

"Yan!"

"Boss Zhou."

The two of them entered, first greeting Zhou Yan, and then Mrs. Zhao.

They arrived at seven o’clock, when there were only three or four customers in the shop. Zhou Yan was quite idle, standing at the door and setting up a Dragon Gate Formation with Mrs. Zhao.

"You two are coming earlier and earlier," Zhou Yan said with a laugh, looking at them.

"We actually leave around the same time, about six-twenty, but we’re getting faster and faster on our bikes. Now we can make it in just over half an hour," Huang Ying replied with a smile. Seeing Mrs. Zhao already bringing them water, she hurried forward, took the large bowl, and said sweetly, "Thank you, Mrs. Zhao!"

"Thank you, ma’am," Huang Bing added. He took the warm water, had a couple of small sips, and then looked at Zhou Yan. "I’ll have a large order of Shattered-Blossom Mixed Noodles."

"I want a medium Shattered-Blossom Mixed Noodles, with an extra side of braised spare ribs, and make it spicy," Huang Ying said.

"You got it," Zhou Yan replied, heading to the kitchen.

Adding extra toppings was a new option introduced a couple of days ago. At thirty cents a serving, it was basically tailor-made for wealthy and willful customers.

After all, many customers couldn’t finish two portions of noodles but still wanted more generous toppings—like Huang Ying, for example.

For the past two days, she had been ordering the "extra toppings" version: either mixed noodles with braised spare ribs, or with beef and dried bamboo shoots.

"You two look so much more energetic now, riding back and forth three times every day. That’s really something," Zhao Tieying said, looking at the pair with a sense of admiration.

"Mrs. Zhao, you have no idea how well I sleep every night now. After a shower, I just get into bed and I’m out like a light," Huang Ying said with a laugh. "I used to love watching TV at night, and if I got hungry around midnight, I’d make some noodles or grab some chocolate. Then I’d sleep in until noon."

"That’s wonderful, sweetie. You’re a person with real perseverance. With that kind of drive, you can succeed at anything you do," Zhao Tieying praised.

"Hehe." Huang Ying’s smile showed a hint of smug satisfaction at being praised.

Huang Bing glanced at her and lifted his chin slightly. "I ride an extra trip every day compared to her, and now I practice my Knife Skills in the back kitchen for three hours daily. I also pass out the moment I hit the bed, and I haven’t gone out drinking in days."

"Mm, well you’re doing great too. It’s always good to learn a skill," Mrs. Zhao said with a smile.