Chapter 13: Chapter 8: Sour and Spicy Pickled Radish

Zhou Yan subconsciously squeezed the brakes.

’Food Identification? What kind of skill is this?’

[Food Identification]: An outstanding chef must master the ability to select ingredients, accurately grasping their freshness, origin, and seasonality to obtain the best possible components. The rapid analysis of food will also aid in the improvement of your culinary skills. You have acquired this ability.

The system then provided a note.

Zhou Yan grew thoughtful. He hadn’t expected to be rewarded with skills in addition to recipes.

"Brother, do you want some ding-ding candy too?" Zhou Momo asked, turning her head back, her little face filled with anticipation.

Zhou Yan tilted his head and looked. On the side of the road, an old man with half-white hair was carrying a bamboo shoulder pole. The small copper hammer and iron chisel in his hands tapped against each other, making a "ding-ding" sound, which was how the candy got its name.

"I think you’re the one who wants to eat it, aren’t you?" Zhou Yan said with a laugh.

Zhou Momo gulped, looked away, and shook her head firmly. "Mom said I can’t waste Brother’s money."

"Your brother can still afford to buy you some candy." Zhou Yan smiled and steered the bicycle over.

The old man set down his bamboo shoulder pole, chiseled the white block of sugar into pieces like shattered jade, and wrapped them up in kraft paper. A hefty bag cost only fifty cents.

Zhou Yan glanced at the block of sugar, and a line of text appeared:

[An unremarkable block of sugar. The sesame seeds are slightly over-toasted, but it does not affect consumption.]

Zhou Yan then looked at a basket of bright red oranges in front of an auntie’s stall on the roadside.

[A basket of sour and astringent oranges. They are not yet ripe.]

Zhou Yan’s eyes lit up. ’This is a god-tier skill for grocery shopping! I’ll never have to worry about getting ripped off again!’

After paying, he opened the paper bag, picked out a piece of candy, and fed it to Zhou Momo. Then he tossed a piece into his own mouth. The sweetness immediately melted, and his mood brightened along with it.

"Ding-ding candy is so yummy! Super-duper sweet! Brother is the bestest Brother in the world!" Zhou Momo said, her words a little muffled as she happily swung her short legs.

"Good girl. I’ll buy you more next time," Zhou Yan said with a smile, patting her head.

He had the cutest sister in the world. For fifty cents’ worth of candy, sitting on the front bar of a bicycle, she provided an immeasurable amount of emotional value!

He had to admit, the new bike from Lin Zhiqiang was a great ride. The more he pedaled, the more energetic he felt. The trip this morning, which usually took over an hour round-trip, took less than half an hour by bike.

Back at the restaurant, Zhou Yan first lifted Zhou Momo and set her on the ground, then pushed the bicycle inside and leaned it against the wall.

This was currently Zhou Yan’s most valuable possession, so it had to be stored carefully.

"Zhou Momo, did you get your brother to buy you candy again?" Zhao Tieying asked her youngest daughter, holding back a laugh as she watched her cheeks puff in and out.

"Uh-huh." Zhou Momo nodded, saying with a hint of pride, "Brother bought me ding-ding candy. I love Brother the most!"

"Fifty cents for a huge bag. It’ll last her a long time." Zhou Yan took the oil-paper package of ding-ding candy out of his back basket, opened it, and handed it to Zhao Tieying. "Mom, you try some too."

"Business is just starting to pick up. You should still be spending money only where it’s most needed," Zhao Tieying advised, before popping a small piece of candy into her mouth.

Sweet. So sweet it warmed her heart!

"Got it. I’m going to prepare the toppings," Zhou Yan agreed with a smile. He went into the kitchen with the basket on his back. Zhao Tieying had already washed and dried all the bowls and cleaned the kitchen.

"Mama, I’m going to go play on the slide! Call me for dinner, okay?" Zhou Momo shouted, then skipped out the door.

"Don’t run all over the place! We’re having meat for lunch, so come back early once you’ve had your fun," Zhao Tieying called out, raising her voice. "Otherwise, I’ll eat all the meat myself!"

"Okaaay—" Zhou Momo called back in agreement, her short legs carrying her toward the factory-run school nearby.

On this trip, Zhou Yan had bought one jin of ground beef, one jin of beef brisket, and one jin of pork ribs. This was enough for thirty bowls of noodle toppings.

However, his father had given him an extra three liang of brisket, specifically requesting to come for Braised Beef Noodles after he finished selling his own beef for the day.

"So it’s true, Zhou Yan really did save Vice Director Lin’s niece by jumping into the Qingyi River yesterday. They sent a new bicycle today to thank him. He’s really become a hero!"

"That kid’s a regular Lei Feng, I tell you. Daring to jump in at White Waxtuo... it’s true that good people have great fortune."

"I heard Zhou Yan switched to selling noodles today, and business is exploding. Wang the Fifth is furious."

"With business so good, I guess he won’t need to sell his ’hooks’ anymore. What a pity, what a pity..."

"Lin, are you still thinking about it?"

"We should go try Zhou Yan’s noodles one of these days, you know, to support his business."

"I think you want to try *him*..."

Zhou Yan was in the kitchen preparing ingredients, and the giggles of the old aunties washing clothes at the pier drifted in from the window, making him feel both amused and helpless.

Zhao Tieying came in with a bowl of peeled garlic, having overheard a few snippets. She spat on the ground and rolled up her sleeves. "That damn mouth of Widow Lin’s! I’m going to go tear it off!"

It took a great deal of effort for Zhou Yan to talk her down.

His reputation and fame were on an upward trend. The outlook was good.

Just as he had predicted, when the factory workers got off for their lunch break, the restaurant was hit with a small peak in customer traffic, all workers who had come after hearing about the place.

Thankfully, Zhao Tieying was there. She single-handedly managed stoking the fire, serving dishes, clearing tables, and handling the cash, all without a hint of chaos.

After two busy hours, it was time for the silk factory workers to return to their shifts. With no customers left, Zhou Yan finally closed the main doors.

Zhou Yan let out a long sigh and shook his aching hands. Pulling noodles wasn’t just a technical skill; it was physically demanding work.

"We sold twenty-eight bowls at noon, for a total of 16.8 Yuan," Zhao Tieying said, handing the counted money to Zhou Yan, unable to hide the smile on her face.

Zhou Miao quietly collected bowls nearby, a smile on her face as well.

This wasn’t Zhou Yan Restaurant’s highest-grossing day, but it would be its most profitable, because none of the prepared ingredients would be wasted.

None of them had expected that noodles priced at sixty cents a bowl could sell so well!

"There are only enough toppings left for about ten more bowls. Should we make more for the afternoon?" Zhao Tieying asked, full of energy.

"No need. We’ll be lucky to sell another dozen or so bowls tonight. Most workers go home to eat in the evening." Zhou Yan shook his head with a smile. For noodles, business was actually best in the morning.

He had prepared enough toppings and sauces for sixty bowls of noodles today. Selling them all would already be far beyond his expectations.

"Mom, go call Momo back for dinner. I’ll go cook noodles for you all," Zhou Yan said with a smile. He put the money in the cabinet and turned to enter the kitchen.

"You got it," Zhao Tieying replied. She turned and went out, stood at the restaurant’s entrance with her hands on her hips, and shouted toward the school: "Zhou Momo! Time to come home and eat! I’m Shu Dao Mountain! One... two..."

Before she could shout "three," Zhou Momo was already tottering out of the main gate, yelling, "Coming! Coming!"

"Brother, tummy, hungry," Zhou Momo said, running into the restaurant and straight to the kitchen. She scurried up to Zhou Yan and looked up at him with wide, expectant eyes.

"Go wash your hands. We’re about to eat," Zhou Yan said with a smile, looking at her grubby little hands.

"Okay!" Zhou Momo obediently replied. She went to the water vat, stood on her tiptoes to ladle a scoop of water into a small basin, and began to wash her hands.

A short while later, Zhou Yan came out with four bowls of Braised Beef Noodles. The family sat down together to eat. They had all been busy and were starving by this point.

"Try the pickles I made yesterday. The flavor will be even better tomorrow." Zhou Yan brought out a plate of pickled radishes. The red-skinned radishes had been cut into strips and pickled for a day, and they looked translucent and sparkling.

"CRUNCH." Zhao Tieying picked up a strip of radish with her chopsticks, took a bite, and nodded repeatedly. "It’s so crispy! Sour and spicy, with a hint of sweetness on the finish. Delicious!"

Zhou Miao also tried one and nodded with a smile. "Mm, it’s very refreshing. It cuts through the grease perfectly. It’s a great side for the noodles."

Zhou Momo struggled to pick one up with her chopsticks, so Zhou Yan just picked one up for her and let her hold it.

The little one held it and nibbled on it. Her big eyes lit up, but she soon started hissing, "Sss-hah, sss-hah," muttering as she ate, "This radish is so yummy, but it’s a little spicy..."

Fewer customers came for dinner, as expected, but he still sold out the remaining eleven bowls of noodles. A few customers who arrived late weren’t able to get any and would just have to come back the next morning.

After helping Zhou Yan clean up the restaurant, Zhao Tieying hopped onto the back of Comrade Zhou Miao’s bicycle and left, humming a little tune.

It was clear she was in a great mood. What impressed Zhou Yan even more was her energy. She had woken up early to process the beef tripe, cook, and feed the pigs, then came to the shop to help all day, and could still go home humming a tune.

Zhou Yan had only been busy with the shop’s affairs, and he was already so tired he felt like collapsing on the floor.

He took the money from the cabinet and counted it. Today, he had sold a total of 60 bowls of noodles, for an income of exactly 36 Yuan. His starting capital from yesterday was 16.4 Yuan.

He had spent 16.9 Yuan on ingredients and 0.5 Yuan on the ding-ding candy.

He now had 35.5 Yuan in hand!

For now, the firewood, oil, and seasonings he was using were all from the restaurant’s previous stock. These expenses could be tallied up at the end of the month.

The previous Comrade Zhou had been quite ambitious with his purchasing, clearly preparing to do big things. There were still dozens of jin of rapeseed oil in the oil tank, a wall of neatly stacked Chestnut Wood behind the stove, and plenty of salt, dried chilies, and other seasonings—enough to last for a while.

Although he had spent money extravagantly, it was all invested in the restaurant, and the quality of the supplies was not bad at all.

After setting some dried bamboo shoots to soak and quickly washing up, Zhou Yan lay down in bed. Before falling asleep, he glanced at his status panel:

[Player: Zhou Yan]

[Profession: Chef]

[Wealth Value: -822.52]

[Professional Skills]:

Knife Skills (Intermediate): 9604/10000 (Your knife skills are sufficient for the requirements of most dishes)

Fire Control (Intermediate): 1668/10000 (Lacking. Still needs practice.)

Seasoning (Intermediate): 1695/10000 (Easy does it, Salt King.)

Oratory Skill (Advanced): 88889/100000 (Like a pig at a screen door—it all comes down to the mouth.)

[Mastered Dishes]:

Double Pepper Beef Noodles (Advanced): 99999/100000

Braised Beef Noodles (Advanced): 99999/100000

Braised Pork Rib Noodles (Advanced): 99999/100000

Pickled Cabbage (Advanced): 99999/100000

Shredded Cucumber (Intermediate): 1871/10000

...

Special Skills:

Food Identification (Grandmaster): 999999/1000000 (Not upgradeable)

[Main Quest: Become a Kitchen God! Achieve world fame!]

[Main Quest: Achieve a restaurant influence of 100 (61/100)]

[Wealth Mall]: Unlocks at 1000 Wealth Value.

After one day of business, the changes on the panel were obvious.

The Wealth Value had increased from -858.52 to -822.52. The increase of 36 corresponded to today’s revenue, a one-to-one conversion.

Zhou Yan was quite looking forward to the Wealth Mall. He wondered what was sold inside. It would be great if there were recipes.

Additionally, the proficiency for Knife Skills, Fire Control, and Seasoning had all increased by 1000. This was likely related to him obtaining and mastering the three noodle dishes.

Braised beef with dried bamboo shoots, double-pepper ground beef, and braised pork ribs—mastering these three dishes gave him a certain level of understanding of braising, stir-frying, and red-braising techniques.

The knowledge that entered his mind wasn’t stored in isolation.

If he could finely dice beef into uniform pieces, he could just as easily mince pork.

Braised beef with dried bamboo shoots was delicious, but if he were to substitute the bamboo shoots with radishes or potatoes to make braised beef with potatoes or braised beef with radishes, he imagined the results wouldn’t be too bad either—just a little short of perfect.

Zhou Yan was like a blank canvas, and a vibrant, bold stroke had just been painted on it. Who could predict what kind of magnificent culinary masterpiece he would create next?

He himself didn’t know, but he did know that he would definitely have more customers to serve tomorrow, and more noodles to pull.

And more money to earn!