Mrs. Zhao’s loud call made many workers, just leaving the factory gate, turn their heads. Their eyes lit up when they saw the braised pig head and cold-dressed chicken.

"Zhou Yan Restaurant is selling braised dishes now!"

"That cold-dressed chicken looks amazing! The color of that chili oil is perfect!"

"They have free samples of the meat? The owner’s really generous. Come on, let’s go try a piece!"

Customers gathered around, their curiosity piqued. Everyone knew the food at Zhou Yan Restaurant was expensive, so they weren’t about to pass up an opportunity for a freebie.

The advantage of being the first storefront right at the factory gate was on full display.

The shouting also caught the attention of the other vendors at the factory gate, especially the three adjacent braised dish stalls. Their owners all turned to look at Zhou Yan Restaurant at nearly the same time.

"What the hell? He’s selling braised dishes now, too?" The owner of Yang’s Braised Shop, Yang the Third, frowned so hard his bald head creased into deep lines.

The owner of Zhu’s Braised Shop on the right, Zhu Feng, was also visibly displeased. "He sells everything. He’s trying to make a buck off of anything and everything. Isn’t this Zhou Yan a bit too greedy?"

The braised dish business was already slow at lunchtime, which was frustrating enough. Now, this made it even worse.

They had watched Zhou Yan drive Wang the Fifth’s noodle stall out of business. Then Zhou Liangliang had shown up selling soup pots, only to be crushed after a single day and forced to pack up and leave.

Now that Zhou Yan was starting to sell braised dishes, how could they possibly not panic?

These vendors had the clearest view of just how booming Zhou Yan’s restaurant had been over the past two days. Everyone was saying he was pulling in two or three hundred yuan a day, with a profit of over a hundred!

On a good day, they could make seven or eight yuan. On a bad day, maybe one or two. A couple manning a single stall could earn around a hundred yuan a month. It was more than they’d make farming, and not much less than a worker at the textile factory.

But compared to Zhou Yan, it wasn’t even in the same league.

Besides, whatever he sold, took off. His noodles sold well, his soup pots sold well, and now he was selling braised dishes...

Yang the Third and Zhu Feng didn’t dare to imagine what would happen next.

In contrast to the worried-looking owners on his left and right, Zhao Minghui, who was in the middle, calmly poured braised peanuts from a basket into an enamel basin. Seeing their frantic expressions, he almost wanted to laugh.

’Back when those two ganged up on me, they made my life miserable. I lost sleep for days. I never imagined people could be so vicious.’

’And now that Zhou Yan is selling braised dishes, *they’re* the ones calling *him* greedy.’

’Anyway, Zhou Yan said he wasn’t going to sell duck, so it shouldn’t affect my business too much.’

There was a group of textile factory workers who would come by every ten to fifteen days to buy half a sweet-skin duck to take home for their elders and kids. The meat was fragrant, the bones were crisp, and it was all coated in a maltose glaze. The old and young absolutely loved it.

Thanks to these customers, he and his wife could make over a hundred yuan a month. They earned even more during the holidays. For the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, they sold thirty sweet-skin ducks and made more than forty yuan.

’A family recipe, after all, isn’t so easily copied.’

He sold very little of things like braised pig head meat these days anyway. Even if he stopped selling it completely, it wouldn’t really affect him.

He was an honest man, but he wasn’t a fool.

He could at least tell what was what.

Zhang Xiuqin looked a bit worried, but seeing how anxious Yang the Third and Zhu Feng were, she also felt a little pleased.

"Do you think Zhou Yan’s braised dishes will sell well?" Zhang Xiuqin whispered. "I’ve never heard him say he knew how to make them before, have you?"

"He’s a professional chef, so it shouldn’t be bad..." Zhao Minghui wasn’t too confident either. He hadn’t known Zhou Yan for long, but they’d set up a Dragon Gate Formation together plenty of times, and he’d certainly never heard him mention knowing how to make braised dishes.

Knowing Zhou Yan’s personality, if he knew how to make braised dishes, he definitely would have been eager to play the expert and give him some pointers.

At that thought, his confidence plummeted.

’Could Zhou Yan be acting on a whim again?’

After all, he used to feel like his talent was going unrecognized—he’d make delicious food, but customers wouldn’t even give it a taste.

To support his friend, Zhao Minghui had made a point of going into the restaurant to order twice. After eating, both he and Xiuqin had fallen silent.

There’s a reason some restaurants are empty. You should never be so stubborn as to insist on sitting down to see for yourself how it tastes.

"Relax. Zhou Yan doesn’t know the first thing about making braised dishes. If he did, he would’ve started ages ago. Why wait until now?" Yang the Third said loudly, reassuring Zhu Feng as much as himself.

Zhu Feng nodded in agreement. "You’re right. Braised dishes aren’t that easy. Just the braising liquid alone isn’t something he could master in a short amount of time."

The two exchanged a look and shared a cryptic smile.

Even if Zhou Yan’s dishes turned out to be decent, they had their ways.

Zhao Minghui’s braised dish stall had opened long before theirs, yet hadn’t they ganged up on him and squeezed him out until he could only sell sweet-skin duck?

It was a shame they hadn’t found a place to learn the craft of making sweet-skin duck. Otherwise, once they learned that too, they could drive Zhao Minghui out completely and monopolize the braised dish business at the factory gate.

The business of selling dozens of sweet-skin ducks in a single day during holidays was something they coveted greatly.

Back at the restaurant, workers had gathered around, using bamboo skewers to spear pieces of the pig head and cold-dressed chicken for a taste.

Seeing that it was difficult for people to grab a sample in the crowd, Mrs. Zhao took the initiative. She grabbed a handful of skewers, speared slices of pig head and pieces of chicken, and handed them directly to the workers at the back who couldn’t squeeze their way to the front.

"Thank you, ma’am!" the female workers said sweetly.

"You’re welcome! Go on, have a taste. This is the Zhou Family’s secret recipe, passed down for generations," Zhao Tieying said with a wide smile.

"Mmm! This braised pig head is so fragrant! It’s tender and melts in your mouth, rich but not greasy. The more you chew, the more flavorful it gets!"

"Exactly! The braising spices are so rich and the texture is perfect. This braised pig head is fantastic! It would be perfect with a drink!"

The braised pig head was the first to win rave reviews, especially from those who enjoyed a drink; for them, it was like discovering a hidden treasure.

A small sign next to the display listed the prices: braised pig head and cold-dressed chicken were 2.5 yuan per jin, while pig ears and pig snout were 3 yuan per jin. This was thirty cents more per jin than at the three braised dish stalls by the gate.

For dining in, it was sold by the portion. The price was equivalent to the per-jin rate, and the exact weight was always clearly stated—a practice much better than many other restaurants.

After trying a piece, Zhao Dong turned to Song Yang and Zhu Zhe beside him. "Old Song, Old Zhu, let’s hurry and get half a jin. Come to my place tonight for drinks. You guys bring the meat, I’ll provide the liquor. I’ll even open a bottle of that 120-proof Yanghe for you to try."

The two men’s eyes lit up at the invitation.

Song Yang said, "For real? If we’re drinking tonight, why not just get it after work? It’s not convenient to carry it into the factory now."

"You don’t know shit," Zhao Dong said, rolling his eyes at him. "Their business has been way too good recently. If you don’t get some now, I guarantee there won’t be any left for you after work!"

"Done!" Zhu Zhe said to Mrs. Zhao without hesitation. "Ma’am, slice up half a jin of the pig head and one pig ear for me to go!"

Zhao Dong nodded again and again. "Old Zhu, you get it. Those pig ears look amazing, too."

"Well, you’re breaking out the Yanghe liquor, so I can’t be stingy," Zhu Zhe said with a grin. He turned back to Song Yang. "Old Song, we’ll split it, yeah?"

"Of course, how could I say no?" Song Yang agreed with a nod. The three of them walked right into the restaurant and found an empty table.

"You got it! I’ll have it sliced for you right away!" Mrs. Zhao replied with a smile. She hadn’t expected to make a sale so quickly. She hurriedly asked Zhao Hong to tell Zhou Yan to start slicing the pig ear and pig head.

"This cold-dressed chicken is amazing too! The skin is crisp, the meat is tender yet chewy, and it gets more flavorful the more you chew. The marinade has soaked all the way through. It’s so delicious!"

"This chili oil is so aromatic! The chicken is numbing, spicy, savory, and fragrant, with a hint of sweet and sour. It doesn’t scorch your lips—it’s just pure aroma! Delicious!"

The cold-dressed chicken also earned unanimous praise. After finishing a piece, the lingering sesame seeds would pop between your teeth as you chewed, leaving a wonderful fragrance in your mouth.

"See, I told you it was delicious! I wasn’t lying~" Zhou Momo said with a proud little look on her face. She bit the last piece of chicken off her skewer, shook her little head, and added in her sweet, child-like voice, "My Brother made it. It’s super-duper yummy!"

"That’s right, the little boss is absolutely correct," the customers replied with a laugh.

The little girl was just too adorable. With a dab of chili oil at the corner of her mouth, she chewed on her piece of chicken, clearly relishing every bite.

"Ma’am, we’ll have an order of the cold-dressed chicken to eat here, and a Twice-Cooked Pork," a customer called out as soon as they sat down.

"We’ll have one of those, too! And add an order of the Stir-Fried Beef with Double Peppers," another customer immediately chimed in.

"You got it! Have a seat, I’ll take your order," Mrs. Zhao said, immediately pulling out her order pad.

Mrs. Zhao wasn’t very literate, but she had her own shorthand for taking orders. For "Twice-Cooked Pork," for instance, she’d just write "Twice." For "Stir-Fried Beef with Double Peppers," she’d write "Double." She picked a simple, representative word for each dish, which Zhou Yan could understand at a glance.

Braised dishes weren’t typically eaten with rice as part of a meal, so not many people ordered them for lunch. The exceptions were regulars like Zhao Dong, who bought theirs early for fear of it selling out by evening. Most other interested customers also planned to wait until after work to buy some to take home.

But the cold-dressed chicken was different. It wasn’t just delicious, it also went perfectly with rice.

Numbing, spicy, salty, and fragrant, with a subtle sweet-and-sour note, it was incredibly flavorful and a favorite of many, who were eager to order it for lunch.

And they weren’t the only ones.

"One order of cold-dressed chicken!"

"Another cold-dressed chicken! And they asked for it to be extra spicy."

...

Order after order was sent to the kitchen. Even Zhou Yan hadn’t expected his free sample strategy to be this successful, already generating a solid conversion of tasters into paying customers right at lunchtime.

’It’s true,’ he thought. ’When you have total confidence in your food’s flavor, free samples are the ultimate killer move.’

Braised items and cold dishes were the perfect categories for sampling. A single bamboo skewer was all it took to let customers try a piece without hesitation, and the costs were relatively manageable.

A cost of just over three yuan for samples had yielded more than ten direct orders and was already generating a huge wave of word-of-mouth buzz. It was incredibly cost-effective.

However, it was now the lunch rush. Zhou Yan had to chop chicken for the cold-dressed dish, slice pig ears, and cut up the pig head, all while a stack of orders for stir-fried dishes was piling up.

His cleaver was practically smoking from how fast he was moving, but he still couldn’t quite keep up.

At that moment, his desire for a reliable prep cook reached an all-time high.

If only someone could take over slicing the braised meats, he could free up his own hands to mix the cold-dressed chicken.

’If I had a cold dish specialist out at the front of the restaurant, weighing and slicing to order in front of everyone, that itself would be a living advertisement. I bet I could sell a lot more every day.’

Good prep cooks were a rare find, though. It wasn’t something he could rush, so for now, he had to push the thought aside.

Fortunately, Comrade Zhou had returned early today from his butchering work. He helped serve dishes and pack takeout orders, keeping the overall efficiency just within the customers’ limits of patience.

...

While Zhou Yan was working feverishly in the kitchen, Yang the Third and Zhu Feng were standing outside, completely dumbfounded.

A crowd of workers was gathered at the entrance of Zhou Yan Restaurant, all clamoring for samples, their words of praise growing more and more extravagant.

"This braising is out of this world!"

"The skin’s so crispy I think my soul just left my body!"

"If I wasn’t afraid of getting fired, I’d go buy a couple shots of liquor to have with this right now!"

The two men looked at each other, their shock mixed with utter bewilderment.

"These people have to be shills hired by Zhou Yan, right? How is this even possible!"

...