Zhou Yan subconsciously took a step back.

The two burly men grinned, their dark figures revealing two rows of pearly white teeth. Their faces grew clear under the light.

"Haizi. Jie." Zhou Yan relaxed and greeted them with a smile.

These two burly men were his paternal cousins: Zhou Hai, the second son of his first uncle, and Zhou Jie, the eldest son of his second uncle.

His dad had four brothers. The three older uncles each had two sons.

Because they butchered cattle, the Zhou Family never lacked for food, especially meat. As a result, all his cousins grew to be over 1.75 meters tall and were very well-built.

In Zhou Village, no one dared to bully the Zhou Family. Even the hooligans from the commune knew to steer clear of them.

After all, the men of the Zhou Family saw blood every day. They had the brute strength to wrestle down a bull and wore deboning knives at their waists. They were not to be trifled with.

"Long time no see! I heard you jumped in the river and saved the factory’s vice director’s niece. Rumor is she’s repaying you by marrying you, and you two have already gotten your marriage certificate?" Zhou Hai asked with a wide grin.

He was about the same height as Zhou Yan but nearly twice his build. With his dark skin, he resembled a black bear and looked quite intimidating, but his smile made him seem down-to-earth and reliable.

"So when’s the wedding banquet? When the time comes, I’ll help you with the toasts. I can drink a whole table under for you!" Zhou Jie added with a good-natured laugh.

He was half a head shorter than Zhou Hai but just as powerfully built. He had a round face, and his most striking feature was his long earlobes that nearly touched his shoulders, giving him an approachable look.

"Huh?"

Σ(⊙▽⊙"a?

Zhou Yan was utterly bewildered.

’Where did this rumor even come from!’

At this, all the other butchers nearby slowed their work, turning to look at Zhou Yan with gossipy expressions.

This was the hottest topic in Zhou Village for the past two days. The "intelligence center" at the village entrance was abuzz with daily discussions, all saying that Zhou Yan had latched onto a powerful connection and his whole family was about to ascend to heaven with him.

Yesterday evening, Zhao Tieying had come home with her arms full of Friendship Vanishing Cream, Pehchaolin Cold Cream, and cigarettes, saying they were gifts from the city girl. This was taken as major proof of the whole affair.

This made the group of women at the village entrance terribly jealous. For the past two days, even their sweet potato porridge didn’t taste good anymore.

But the brothers of the Zhou Family were overjoyed. If they hadn’t been so busy with work the past two days, they would have gone to town long ago to ask Zhou Yan about it.

Today, Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie had come to help with the butchering. They’d heard from Fourth Auntie that Zhou Yan was coming to pick up some meat, and they had been waiting eagerly.

When they saw Zhou Yan arrive on his bicycle, they rushed over without even putting down their knives.

"That’s not what happened. I saved her, and her family, being very proper, sent a 28-inch bicycle and a pile of gifts to thank me. How could I ask the young lady to marry me in return?" Zhou Yan waved his hands dismissively, refuting the rumor with great seriousness. "I’m still a 100% genuine Gold bachelor."

"So you really didn’t get the certificate?" Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie were greatly disappointed.

They had been looking forward to the wedding banquet; the brothers had even discussed how much money to put in the red envelope.

Zhou Yan was the youngest of the brothers. Before Zhou Momo was born, he had been the family favorite. Although Zhou Momo had now taken that title, his older cousins still cared for him deeply.

"No, really. The young lady has her reputation to consider. We can’t go around ruining it," Zhou Yan said, shaking his head.

"Right, right," Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie nodded repeatedly. This was not a matter to be taken lightly.

Hearing this, the others looked thoughtful.

’So the rumors weren’t true after all.’ The thought that Zhou Yan hadn’t managed to marry up restored a bit of equilibrium to their hearts.

"So this is the new bike they gave you? It looks great. Much better than my eighth-hand clunker where everything rattles except the bell," Zhou Jie said, changing the subject and eyeing Zhou Yan’s bicycle.

"Yep, a Phoenix PA-18 model. It rides really well," Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. "Jie, want to take it for a spin?"

"Don’t mind if I do!" Zhou Jie shoved his knife into Zhou Hai’s hand, went to a nearby bucket to wash his own hands, and only then took the handlebars from Zhou Yan. He rode the bicycle in two circles around the open yard before returning, kicked down the stand, and praised it repeatedly, "This bike rides so smoothly! When I save up enough money, I’m going to get a new one too!"

A man’s obsession with his "ride" was already apparent back in the age of bicycles.

"Jie, how’s the soup pot business been lately?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at Zhou Jie.

Zhou Hai and Zhou Jie usually helped the family with butchering, and they also had a partnership selling soup pots.

Zhou Jie was mostly in charge of this business. He had a more approachable personality and the Oratory Skill for sales, while Zhou Hai acted as his assistant.

The four branches of the Zhou Family butchered cattle, and for the past two years, most of the offal had been given to Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai to sell at their stall.

Since Zhou Yan wanted to sell Kneeling Beef, he didn’t plan to do it secretly. He had to explain it to Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai first to avoid any resentment between the brothers down the line.

"The weather’s getting cooler, so business is okay. We sell eighty to ninety percent of the offal every day, so there’s not much left over," Zhou Jie said, looking at Zhou Yan with a sincere expression.

"Zhou Yan, is business at your restaurant not doing so well? Why don’t you close the shop and come sell soup pots with me and Haizi? You can earn two or three hundred yuan in a winter, there’s no rent, and if you save for two or three years, you’ll have enough to get married."

"Yeah! Let’s have us brothers work together. With you standing in front of the stall, all the young ladies and wives will be happy to come eat," Zhou Hai added with a laugh.

The patriarch of the Zhou Family had died during the Korean War. Mrs. Zhou raised their five sons by herself, and as a Grandmaster of keeping the peace, she had managed her four daughters-in-law so well that there was never any domestic turmoil.

The brothers were united as one and always helped each other, and the next generation of cousins also got along very well.

When Zhou Yan opened his restaurant, the Zhou Family had given him their full support, with each household chipping in money.

Seeing that the restaurant’s business was poor, they were anxious, but they didn’t dare say much, afraid that Zhou Yan would think they were asking for their money back.

A warmth spread through Zhou Yan’s chest. Jie and Haizi wanted to give their little brother a hand. Asking him to sell soup pots with them meant taking a cut from the profits that would normally go to just the two of them and giving it to him.

It wasn’t easy for anyone to earn money these days. Selling soup pots in the summer was a losing business; they relied on the winter months to make a profit. This open-hearted generosity and camaraderie felt both unfamiliar and moving to Zhou Yan.

"I’ve switched to selling noodles now, and business has been pretty good the last couple of days. I can sell several dozen bowls a day," Zhou Yan said quickly. "The restaurant can survive on just the noodles. I’m really not good enough at cooking other dishes yet, so I was thinking of trying to sell soup pots on the side."

"Really?" Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai’s faces lit up with joy upon hearing this.

"It’s not a bad idea to sell soup pots on the side, but your restaurant is right outside the textile factory. The factory workers have money, but they don’t seem to like soup pots very much," Zhou Jie said, scratching his head. "We’ve been selling them for two years, and we rarely see any of the female workers from the factory come to eat."

"My mom told me the same thing, but I think that’s just because they’ve never tried a good one. Once I set up a pot outside my restaurant and the aroma of beef starts wafting out, they’ll follow their noses right to me," Zhou Yan said with a confident smile.

"Alright. When you’re done with your morning rush, bike over to our stall and find us. I’ll teach you how to make the soup pot." Zhou Jie took two steps forward and lowered his voice. "I improved the recipe this year. Added two kinds of Chinese medicinal herbs. It tastes better than any other soup pot in our village. I’ll teach you everything."

"Jie..." Zhou Yan’s feelings were complicated. ’Who just bares their soul like that right from the start? It’s kind of hard to get used to.’

Zhou Jie reached out and patted his shoulder, a smile on his lips. "We’re blood brothers. Nothing needs to be said. Your big brothers just want to see you make money and get married."

"Okay, I’ll come find you after eight," Zhou Yan nodded, choosing to accept this brotherly affection.

The three of them exchanged a few more pleasantries before Zhou Jie and Zhou Hai got back to work.

Zhou Yan greeted his other uncles and cousins, then walked over to where Comrade Zhou was.

The bull had already been killed and the meat was now being portioned. The knife glided through the gaps between sinew and bone, deftly avoiding ligaments and nodes. Where muscle and bone intersected, a light slice was all it took to separate them effortlessly.

Zhou Yan watched from the side for a while, thinking deeply that the ancient tale of Chef Ding butchering an ox was no exaggeration.

Of the five Zhou brothers, all but his fifth uncle were butchers. But when it came to sheer skill, the best was actually the one who looked the frailest, Comrade Zhou Miao.

Watching him butcher a bull was an incredibly pleasing performance. He used nothing but finesse, and one rarely saw him struggle or swing a large cleaver with great effort.

"Your mother went to wash the offal," Zhou Miao said. With a few casual cuts, he set aside four jin of sirloin tip and three jin of brisket, then sliced off another half-jin of sirloin tip.

He also tossed a few large beef bones into a nearby bamboo basket. There was no need for a scale; his knife was the scale.

"I just told Jie and Haizi that I was planning to sell soup pots. Jie told me to go learn from him later," Zhou Yan said.

"Didn’t you say you wanted to make it a medicated soup?" Zhou Miao paused his work.

"We can learn from each other," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"That’s good. Zhou Jie is quite skilled at making soup pots; his sell better than anyone else’s," Zhou Miao nodded and went back to portioning the beef.

Zhou Yan walked over to a back-basket that was set to the side. He lifted a corner of the small blanket, revealing Zhou Momo sleeping soundly inside.

She was too young to be left at home alone, so whenever her parents went out to butcher, they brought her along in the back-basket.

After a short wait, Zhao Tieying came up from the riverbank carrying a small basket of offal. Zhou Yan then gave her and Zhou Momo a ride back to the restaurant.

"Riding is so much easier! Carrying this back-basket all the way to your shop feels like it’s going to break my back," Zhao Tieying lamented as she set the basket down.

"Has Momo gotten that heavy? From now on, I’ll ride over to pick you guys up," Zhou Yan said as he carefully lifted Zhou Momo out of the back-basket. A carton of cigarettes came out with the small blanket. He asked in confusion, "Didn’t I tell Dad to take this back to smoke?"

"Smoke what? He’s quit! He was smoking in the house all day, choking the two of us out, and coughing his lungs out. I’m not letting him smoke anymore!" Zhao Tieying said with a pout. She then added, "This is good stuff. You keep it. Either sell it for cash or use it as a gift for someone."

"Quitting is a good thing," Zhou Yan nodded.

’Smoking less is a good thing.’ It seemed Comrade Zhao Tieying had taken the cigarettes home yesterday just to show off. It had certainly made the old women in the village green with envy.

"Remember, these aren’t for you to smoke!" Zhao Tieying stared at Zhou Yan. "Be a good boy. Don’t pick up smoking, or I’ll break your legs!"