Epiphanies of Rebirth Chapter 45 (Part 2)
Translated by Pure
Edited by Qing
Chapter 45.2 ‘Ah- My Children Are Finally Growing Up’ (Part 2)
Lin Jingzhe glanced at the walls of the store as he walked through it. There was a printed menu with every item and its price pasted on the wall. From the cheapest option of braised chicken feet to the most expensive item, the beef brisket casserole noodles, the snack bar had many more choices than when they were running the food stall.
The prices were slightly higher than before, and some dishes were even more expensive than the usual market price. For example, the beef brisket casserole noodles were five yuan a pot here. At an ordinary noodle restaurant, it would cost about one to two yuan for a big bowl. Despite this, on his way upstairs, Lin Jingzhe still heard at least five tables ordering the dish.
Upstairs was a small attic that was probably used by Mother Zhou for breaks and naps. The room was a bit narrow and the ceiling hung low. There was a table in the room. On it were several bottles and jars filled with oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar.
The room was small, but this special consideration was still much better than being made to sit in a crowded store. No one minded the shabby environment. Lu Xiaojiang was completely drawn to the containers of spices on the table. As soon as he sat down, he opened one of the jars and scooped a spoonful of pickles into his bowl.
With nothing to pair with it, he directly put the spoonful of pickles into his mouth. He made an intoxicated expression as he crunched on it.
"This is the taste! It hasn't changed at all!" Lu Xiaojiang was overwhelmed to the point of tears. "I missed it like crazy! I couldn’t sleep well, everything tasted so bland..."
It was Mother Zhou's personal pickle recipe. She combined shredded bamboo shoots, szechuan peppers, radish, citron daylily, and mushrooms, and then stir-fried it with slices of fragrant smelling bacon. Once pickled, it would produce a strong and mouthwatering smell. You could mix it with anything and be able to enhance the blandest of foods into something magical. Even in his past life, Lin Jingzhe would often crave it. In his opinion, it was countless times more appetizing than the dishes of major brands from later generations. When he first went to attend Yan University, Mother Zhou had given him a jar. More than half of it was consumed at Mr. Fang's house, and the remaining half was eaten up by Lu Xiaojiang and the others when they had first introduced themselves at the dormitory.
There was the sound of footsteps from the attic stairs. Father Gao appeared with a white casserole dish. The pot was still hissing, causing the lid to occasionally lift up, and the rich aroma quickly filled the whole room. Father Gao put the pot on the table and opened the lid, causing the steam to roll out like a mushroom cloud. A bowl of noodles had been placed on the lid, which he quickly poured into the pot. Father Gao wiped his forehead and said, "Eat it while it's hot. The beef brisket was stewed well today and there are not many servings left. Your Aunt specially saved a few portions for you."
After he finished speaking, Father Gao left quickly to continue working. Lu Xiaojiang commended his own luck as he hurriedly scooped out a ladle of soup. Their casserole was bigger than the ones served downstairs, plenty for the four of them. Several pieces of beef brisket, cut into large cubes, floated in the dark reddish broth. Lin Jingzhe took a bite. The rich flavor of tender beef combined with the richness of the soup made his stomach, which had not been originally hungry, cry out for more.
The fat to meat ratio in a beef brisket was unparalleled. In addition, the long stewing process caused the fat to have a ‘melt-in-the-mouth’ texture. There was a hint of sweetness in the savory soup which penetrated into every fiber of the beef. It was an explosion of flavor that would fill every corner of one's mouth with its tantalizing essence.
The noodles were pulled by hand, which was the method Mother Zhou swore by. They were just the right thickness and were boiled al dente in the broth. It was neither soft nor mushy like most dried noodles. Instead it was smooth to the bite and had the perfect elasticity. It paired phenomenally well with the beef brisket soup.
The noodles and the beef brisket casserole was consumed in a matter of minutes. Lu Xiaojiang drank every drop of the soup until the bottom of the pot could be seen. He was clearly burping, but still stubbornly claimed that he was not yet full.
There was still a crowd of people in the store when they went downstairs later. They even heard someone bemoan the fact that the beef brisket noodles had sold out.
Lu Xiaojiang wasn’t satisfied with just a bowl of noodles, so he ordered another dish. He decided on pig trotters that had been marinated till the meat practically fell off the bone. Plate in hand, Lu Xiaojiang took bite after bite while standing right outside the store.
With him driving the trend, many guests who had been quietly queuing gradually followed suit. The big marinade pots next to the stove soon became high in demand. After a while, all the contents in the marinade were emptied out.
The marinade was brought from Liyun Town to Yan City by Mother Zhou; it was her uniquely special, secret recipe. Father Gao moved the empty marinade pots inside. His mind was a mess as he continued to work. He stood by the door and wiped himself with the soaked towel on his neck before he went to clean up a finished table nearby.
Two pots of beef brisket noodles and several marinated side dishes. He stood blankly holding a twenty yuan bill for a while, before he stuffed it into his already full fanny pack.
He had been in a daze since the first wave of customers poured into the store. The Zhou couple told him that the store's business would probably be very good, but he never thought it would be so good. He had made several rough estimates from just this morning's turnover, and each time it had come out to no less than a thousand yuan. There were still a lot of customers lined up outside. After all those people ate and left, wouldn’t they have reached several thousand, or even tens of thousands?!
This number had exceeded the imagination of a middle-aged man who had always regarded construction work as a high salary. In addition to being at a loss, he even felt a little panicked.
This was because the 20% profit that the Zhou couple had promised him was much more than he had expected. He really couldn't accept the money with peace of mind.
Maybe after work, he should rediscuss this matter with them.
Chen Jiankang, who had always been frugal, couldn't resist the temptation to buy a few chicken feet. Lu Xiaojiang and Wang Jun ate twice their usual intake. Everyone ate until they were too bloated to walk. They found it difficult to leave for another reason, however. Because of Lin Jingzhe, no one at the store would take their money, so Lu Xiaojiang and the others could only run away after putting some money by the stovetop. Mother Zhou didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She wanted to give Lin Jingzhe the money, but when Lin Jingzhe realized her intentions, he quickly left too. Not long after he walked out, Gao Sheng caught up to him and stuffed a jar of freshly made pickles into his arms.
Because of their heavy studies, these childhood friends rarely had time to catch up with one another. Moreover, Lin Jingzhe had a job, so they couldn’t find the time to make a phone call either.
Gao Sheng advised him to finish the pickled vegetables soon and said, "By the way, Liang Pi has already organized the first batch of employees from our club. We completed the program last week, but there are still a few loopholes to be fixed. The first batch of search engines launched may be relatively simple.”
"I see." Lin Jingzhe had long expected this. Liang Pi's plan was indeed very good, but domestic technology was still limited, so it was impossible to reach the sky in one step.
Gao Sheng hesitated for a moment. "Jingzhe, why do I feel that things are not that simple? Although the search sequence was made public last week, except for our internal members, there were no external visitors. Liang Pi said that there was no competition in the market now, so the situation will get better once we improve its design, but I think... Shouldn't it be better to do some publicity?"
Lin Jingzhe was taken aback; he didn't expect Gao Sheng to have such an idea. After getting in touch with Liang Pi, Lin Jingzhe had discovered early on that the backbone of their interest group was filled with talents who only cared about technology. One could even call them somewhat unrealistically naive about the market. For example, in Liang Pi’s planning book, apart from technology, there was not a single mention about marketing projections.
Lin Jingzhe had contact with many technical talents in his last life, so he knew that this kind of thinking could not be forced. He was originally prepared to let Liang Pi and his team manage the technological aspects, and he would find another team to handle the marketing. Unexpectedly, this topic was brought up by Gao Sheng, someone who he had never even included in his plans.
Lin Jingzhe took two steps back. With his arms crossed, he looked at Gao Sheng up and down and suddenly found that the latter’s eyes were similar to the future generations of shrewd businessmen.
Gao Sheng was a little uncomfortable from being scrutinized. He frowned and raised his hand to cover Lin Jingzhe’s eyes before quickly putting it down. "Stop goofing around, this is serious talk."
"I'm listening, I'm listening." Lin Jingzhe said, "Your suggestion is very reasonable. Tell me, do you have any specific ideas?"
"Just a few." Gao Sheng took out a piece of paper from his pocket. He unfolded it and motioned for Lin Jingzhe to take a look.
It was full of densely handwritten web addresses, followed by its Chinese name, most of which were forums and chat rooms. He pointed to the number marked on the back and said, "Look, these are the most famous websites in our country. Most netizens gather here. My idea is that when our software is officially published, we can make some posts about it on these websites. Instead of advertising directly, we can just say that we found a useful website or something, then list the benefits and recommend they use it..."
He had obviously been thinking a lot about this concept, so once he started, Gao Sheng couldn’t stop talking. Almost every step of his idea had been perfected, down to the smallest detail.
Lin Jingzhe had a smile in his eyes. He had always been aware that Gao Sheng was not really just a simple and honest person. After all, he had executed many insidious ideas in his previous life. But Lin Jingzhe didn't expect the signs of the other party's ability to show up at such a young age. Was this ability innate rather than the result of experience?
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Food videos hehe:
braised chicken feet
beef brisket casserole noodles
Translated by pure, hosted on puretl.com / do not repost!