Starting from a Bankrupt Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant

"I’ll head to the restaurant later to report this to the leadership," Kong Guodong said.

In those days, being self-employed wasn’t looked upon favorably; that was the general consensus.

And a countryside chef was considered self-employed.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lei smiled and said, "Master, Senior Brother, you don’t need to worry about this. Zheng Qiang and I are thriving as countryside chefs. We’ve already catered three banquets this month and have two more booked for the latter half. When you add it all up, we make more in a month than we would working at the textile factory.

I can handle the mass-produced food in the factory’s cafeteria, so the ’three steams and nine buckles’ of an outdoor banquet are no sweat for me. I don’t see anything shameful about it at all.

The economy is developing, and society is changing quickly. I think doing outdoor banquets is great. After saving up for a couple of years, who knows? We might even get our own venue for contracted banquets.

Zhou Yan’s restaurant is doing great, too. He makes more than he would as an assistant chef. He invested a lot to open that place, so there’s no way he’s just going to shut it down."

Although Xiao Lei had a smile on his face, his tone was firm.

His other brothers saw this and said no more.

Why was Xiao Lei’s nickname Shitou?

It wasn’t just because the character for ’Lei’ in his name is made of stones; his personality was just as stubborn. He was impenetrable, and once he set his mind to something, not even Kong himself could talk him out of it when he was alive.

Kong Qingfeng sighed and looked at him. "Since you’ve made up your mind, I won’t say any more. If you ever run into any trouble, just come find me."

"Will do, Master," Xiao Lei replied with a respectful nod.

While the masters’ table was deep in lively conversation, all eyes at the apprentices’ table fell on Zhou Yan and Zheng Qiang.

"Junior Brother Zhou, you opened your own restaurant? Where is it? You opened your own place after only two and a half years of training? That’s insane!" Kong Liwei stared at Zhou Yan in shock.

He was three years older than Zhou Yan, but he had started learning to cook from his master at thirteen. He had been at it for a full ten years now and was currently an assistant chef at Le Ming Restaurant.

In his first three years, his Knife Skills were barely considered acceptable by the two grandmasters.

His own grandfather had been especially strict with him.

But after ten years of training, his Knife Skills still couldn’t compare to the few cuts Zhou Yan had just demonstrated on the pork liver.

He was truly shocked to hear that Zhou Yan had gone off to open his own restaurant, and that business was good.

The other senior brothers had similar thoughts and expressions.

Zhou Yan smiled. "I just opened a small restaurant in Suji Town. It’s a family affair, and the business is just enough for us to get by. It’s nothing compared to the grand restaurants you senior brothers work at. It’s not worth mentioning."

Hearing this, the others grew thoughtful. ’A small restaurant... It must be a little streetside Sichuan Cuisine joint. And in a town, no less. Business can’t be that good.’

In those days, even city dwellers were reluctant to spend money eating out, let alone farmers from the countryside.

’He’s probably lucky if he can even make ends meet.’

Zheng Qiang, sitting beside him, shot Zhou Yan a strange look.

’It’s true that Zhou Yan’s restaurant is in town,’ he thought, ’but it’s right at the gates of the Jiazhou Textile Factory, the biggest foreign-exchange earner in all of Jiazhou.’

’And yeah, his family helps out. But he has a smooth-talking mom, an old man with incredible Knife Skills, and an adorable little sister who can lure customers in just by sitting at the door gnawing on a pig’s trotter.’

’His business isn’t just "good." From what I’ve seen helping out in the kitchen these past few days, all three mealtimes are a madhouse. They sell over a hundred pounds of braised meat and vegetables every day.’

’I haven’t calculated exactly how much he makes a day, but I’d bet he earns more than all the other chefs here combined.’

’Junior Brother Zhou... he’s a master of playing dumb, too.’

"Zheng, what’s it like working with Master Xiao on outdoor banquets? Is it profitable?" Kong Liwei asked, turning his curious gaze to Zheng Qiang.

Zheng Qiang smiled. "I’m just Master Xiao’s prep cook. When there’s a job, I haul the pots and steamers over. When there’s not, I just hang around at home. The money’s just enough for my family to get by. It’s nothing compared to the grand restaurants you junior brothers work at, really not worth mentioning."

Zhou Yan shot him a sideways glance. ’Zheng is a master, too.’

After lunch, the junior apprentices were responsible for clearing the table, washing the dishes, and cleaning the kitchen.

The three grandmasters and the senior masters brewed some tea and sat in the courtyard to hold a Dragon Gate Formation.

"Master, when are the people from the *Sichuan Cuisine* magazine supposed to arrive?" Zhong Yong asked as he refilled Kong Qingfeng’s tea.

Before Kong Qingfeng could answer, Kong Guodong’s voice called from outside the courtyard gate, "Master, Chief Editor He is here!"