[BING! Side Quest triggered: Get featured in *Sichuan Cuisine* magazine and expand your restaurant’s influence! The magazine’s deputy chief editor is currently dining in your restaurant. He is on a trip to Mount Emei for material and has not yet decided on the content for the next issue. Take the initiative, seize the opportunity, get on the magazine’s pages, and become a new star in the culinary world!]

[Quest Reward: Reward rarity will be determined by the amount of influence gained. Accept Quest: Yes/No]

A notification popped up before Zhou Yan’s eyes.

"This quest..." Zhou Yan frowned. ’This might not be easy to complete, will it?’

This magazine had been around for a long time. After he became famous, he had even been invited to visit their offices.

*Sichuan Cuisine* was quite influential in the eighties and nineties.

In the eighties, there was a Sichuan Cuisine craze. Not only did Sichuan restaurants blossom everywhere, but various books and magazines about Sichuan Cuisine also became a nationwide sensation.

Still, Zhou Yan decisively chose to accept.

Fame and fortune had always gone hand in hand. He wanted a better life for his family. Whether it was renovating the house or moving to the city, he needed to earn more money!

He wasn’t going to stay in Suji for the rest of his life.

But once he left Suji, he would no longer have the support of his family and brothers, or the protection of his elders.

His reputation would become his armor, helping him forge a path in Jiazhou or Rongcheng.

He had to make plans in advance, even if it was just to pave the way for a few years down the road.

As someone who had come from the hyper-competitive age of social media, he was more sensitive to trends and opportunities.

He had to get into this magazine!

’You have to get famous early!’

...

"So savory! It’s so good my eyebrows are about to fall off!"

He Zhiyuan stared at the empty bowl in his hand, his face a picture of amazement.

The broth looked clear, but its flavor was rich and incredibly savory. It had definitely been simmered for a full eight hours.

He then picked up a slice of beef and tasted it without any dipping sauce.

The beef slices were large, thin, and tender. The Fire Control for blanching was extremely precise, making the meat exceptionally fresh and tender with a faint, milky aroma. Children and the elderly would probably love it.

Next, he picked up another piece of beef and dipped it into the dry seasoning. The pink, tender meat was immediately coated in a layer of chili powder.

The moment he put it in his mouth, his eyes lit up.

The dry dip was fragrant and spicy with a hint of numbness, and perfectly savory and salty. It immediately enriched the flavor of the otherwise plain beef.

The chili powder was ground from several types of peppers, balancing fragrance, spice, and umami with distinct layers of flavor. A bit of Sichuan peppercorn powder and salt were added, blending together into a truly perfect dip.

In Sichuan Cuisine, for many lighter dishes, the dipping sauce is the star of the show.

For example, with dishes like pig trotter soup, Jianyang mutton soup, or savory tofu pudding, the dipping sauce is the finishing touch. The difference between a good one and a bad one is night and day.

Of course, Sichuan-style dips come in countless varieties, and every great restaurant owner has their own signature recipe.

This dry chili powder dip served with the Kneeling Beef had to be its perfect counterpart.

He then tasted the other ingredients in the bowl.

The tripe was crisp, the tendon soft and glutinous, and the intestine tender and yielding. Each had its own unique character and flavor, and all were delicious!

The flavor of the broth was simply too savory.

He Zhiyuan and Li shared and finished a bowl of the broth, and Huang Chen went to get them a refill.

"Three people are sharing one bowl of Kneeling Beef, and we can still get free refills of the broth? This owner is really generous!" He Zhiyuan was a little surprised. Such a delicious beef broth would definitely cost extra at any other place.

"The owner of this restaurant is a twenty-year-old young man named Zhou Yan. The woman over there by the Kneeling Beef pot is his mother, the one cutting beef outside is his father, and that little girl swinging her feet is his sister. This Kneeling Beef was made by Zhou Yan himself. He’s a truly capable young man," Huang Chen said with a smile.

"Twenty years old? That young?!" He Zhiyuan was astonished, his interest piqued even further.

"Huang, with a restaurant this good, why didn’t you bring me here last time? You took me to some state-run restaurant instead." He Zhiyuan looked at Huang Chen reproachfully. "If you had brought me here, I would’ve put him in the first issue of *Sichuan Cuisine* this year, in the ’Famous Attractions’ column. This Kneeling Beef would be a famous Suji delicacy by now."

"The restaurant wasn’t even open the last time you were here." Huang Chen shot him a look, then added, "Wait until you’ve tried his braised dishes and cold-dressed chicken. It’s a family recipe. I’ll tell you the story behind it after you’ve eaten."

"Oh? Trying to build up the suspense?" He Zhiyuan’s interest grew.

The dishes they ordered began to arrive one by one.

"Look at this Twice-Cooked Pork, it’s curled into perfect ’lamp wicks.’ When I pick up a piece, it glistens with oil. That’s some serious skill." He Zhiyuan picked up a slice of pork, rolled it up with a garlic sprout, and put it in his mouth. Chewing thoughtfully, he nodded repeatedly. "This is made with the proper second cut, from high-quality, locally raised pork. The boiling time was perfect, and the Fire Control for the stir-frying was spot on. The seasoning is just right. Truly high-level stuff!"

"Chief Editor, how does it compare to the one at Rongyuan Garden?" Li asked.

He Zhiyuan savored the aftertaste for a moment, then nodded. "It’s on par with what the old masters at Rongyuan Garden make."

"Such high praise!" Li was stunned and instinctively glanced toward the kitchen.

The Twice-Cooked Pork made by a twenty-year-old had actually earned such a high evaluation from the deputy chief editor!

After all, the deputy chief editor had once said that, in his opinion, the best Twice-Cooked Pork was from Rongyuan Garden.

Next came the Flowery Minced Beef. After tasting it, He Zhiyuan was also full of praise, and in no time, he had polished off half a bowl of rice with it.

The braised pig ears and cold-dressed chicken were served.

Huang Chen opened the liquor and poured a glass for each of them.

"What did his father do before? These Knife Skills are incredible." He Zhiyuan picked up a slice of pig ear. It was thin enough to be translucent. The braising liquid had thoroughly soaked into the slice, giving it a beautiful, amber-like color, with the cartilage in the middle creating a delicate pattern.

"He slaughtered cattle. The best Cow Slaughterer in Suji."

"No wonder his hand is so steady!" It all clicked for He Zhiyuan. He popped the slice of ear into his mouth.

The ear was sliced very thin and had a superb texture. The tender meat and crisp cartilage wove together, creating a wonderful mouthfeel. A satisfying CRUNCH, CRUNCH echoed in his mouth as the savory braised aroma blossomed on his palate.

He Zhiyuan’s chewing instinctively slowed. After swallowing, he quickly picked up two more slices, put them in his mouth, closed his eyes, and savored them slowly.

"What an authentic old brine! It’s been maintained to perfection! I’ve only ever had something similar once in Western Sichuan, and it wasn’t as good as this." He opened his eyes, which were filled with amazement, and looked at Huang Chen. "You said the owner is twenty? The age of this braising liquid is almost catching up to him. Is it a family heirloom?"

"With a palate like yours, I knew I couldn’t hide it from you." Huang Chen smiled and nodded. "The Zhou Family’s matriarch has the surname Zhang. When she was young, she sold braised dishes from a stall at the Suji Stone Bridgehead. Her Zhang’s Braised Shop was famous throughout Jiazhou. After the period of turmoil, she stopped selling, and now she has passed the craft down to her grandson, Zhou Yan."

"Zhang’s Braised Shop! I heard the owner of the Jiazhou Feiyan Restaurant mention it. He said that back in the day, the restaurant sourced its braised meat from Zhang’s Braised Shop in Suji, which earned them a great reputation and many loyal customers. After Zhang’s closed, Feiyan Restaurant’s own braised meat was so inferior that they just removed it from the menu, losing quite a few customers in the process." He Zhiyuan picked up a slice of braised pig ear, looking thoughtful. "If the inheritor of the recipe can achieve this level of quality, one can only imagine how delicious it must have been back then."

"A first-class dish to go with drinks," Huang Chen said, raising his glass and clinking it with He Zhiyuan’s.

He Zhiyuan only took a small sip. He had something on his mind and didn’t want to get too drunk.

He then tried the cold-dressed chicken. The red chili oil was fragrant, and the texture of the chicken was just right, but it didn’t amaze him as much as the braised pig ears had.

He had eaten better before; this cold-dressed chicken still had room for improvement.

The last dish to arrive was a braised pig trotter. It had been chopped twice, but the skin wasn’t cut all the way through, so it was still assembled to look like a whole trotter on the plate when served.

"Braised pig trotter! And it’s hot!" He Zhiyuan’s eyes lit up.

The color of the pig trotter was so vibrant. The caramelization was perfectly even, giving it a glossy, bright red sheen. It was steaming, and when he poked it with his chopsticks, the skin wobbled and a little fat oozed out.

Who could possibly resist this?

"Here, let’s split it." He Zhiyuan gave it a gentle squeeze with his chopsticks, and the tender skin came apart. The trotter had been cut once vertically and once horizontally, dividing it into four pieces.

He didn’t stand on ceremony, grabbing the tip of the trotter and taking a bite.

The skin melted in his mouth, the tendons were soft, glutinous, and slightly sticky, and the meat fell right off the bone with a gentle bite. The braising liquid had penetrated even the deepest tendons. He took bite after bite, unable to stop from the sheer deliciousness.

"This old brine is so fragrant, I feel like you could throw a leather belt in here to braise and it would come out delicious!" He Zhiyuan licked his fingers, still wanting more. He looked at Huang Chen and said, "Huang, I’ll admit it now. Suji really has some hidden gems."

Huang Chen looked smug, tilting his chin up at him. "You said in your letter, if you admit it, you have to drink three penalty glasses."

He Zhiyuan laughed. "Let’s get these pig ears to go. We can drink more tonight. Not now, though. I want to talk to the owner in a bit."

"Alright," Huang Chen nodded.

Nearby, Li, who was just about to grab a piece of pig ear, froze. He looked at the slice on his chopsticks, then at his two superiors, and with an awkward smile, he put it back down.

Li: *Pass the popcorn.*

Zhou Yan came out with a plate of Quick-Fried Pig Liver, serving the table next to them.

"Zhou Yan," Huang Chen called out.

"Mayor Huang, is there something I can help you with?" Zhou Yan walked over with a smile.

He Zhiyuan sized up Zhou Yan, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

’So young!’

’And handsome, too.’

’His white chef’s uniform is spotless, he’s nearly six feet tall... in terms of appearance, he’s definitely top-tier among chefs. Like a movie star.’

Huang Chen had an excellent impression of Zhou Yan. He smiled and made the introduction, "This is my friend, the deputy chief editor of *Sichuan Cuisine* magazine. He can’t stop praising your food and wanted to meet you."

"Hello, I’m He Zhiyuan. You can just call me Old He." He Zhiyuan stood up, wiped his hand on his clothes, and extended his right hand to Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan glanced at the hand, still slightly greasy after being wiped, and shook it without hesitation. "Hello, Chief Editor He. I’m a loyal reader of *Sichuan Cuisine* magazine. It’s a great honor to meet you. Your magazine is just so well-made, so professional. I learn so much every time I read it."

"Really!" He Zhiyuan’s eyes brightened, his face beaming. He tightened his grip on Zhou Yan’s hand and said with excitement, "To be able to help readers and young chefs, that’s wonderful! That’s the very reason we founded the magazine!"

"Yes..." Zhou Yan’s smile stiffened a little, because he could feel the man’s sincerity and heartfelt joy.

In this era, after all, there were still people who held onto their ideals and fought for them.

’I’ll definitely subscribe to *Sichuan Cuisine* magazine next time!’

"Owner, has our Huo Xiang Carp been caught yet?" a customer at the next table asked with a smile.

He Zhiyuan quickly let go of his hand. "You go ahead and get busy. We can chat more after you’re done. Your Kneeling Beef and braised meats are too good. I absolutely must have a proper discussion with you about them."

"Of course. Please, enjoy your meal," Zhou Yan replied with a smile and turned to head back to the kitchen.

’Successfully made contact with He Zhiyuan and left a good impression. This is a great start.’

He Zhiyuan watched Zhou Yan go into the kitchen, then leaned in and whispered to Huang Chen and Li, "This is great! The owner seems really kind and easy to talk to, not fierce as hell like his mother. I must have left a good impression on him just now, right? I wonder if he’d be willing to do an interview with us."

...