Chapter 471 - 225: A Salute to Zhou Yan, the Model Hero of Righteous Courage

Chapter 471: Chapter 225: A Salute to Zhou Yan, the Model Hero of Righteous Courage

"You’re doing two whole sets of pork intestines on the first day? How are you planning to sell them?" Mrs. Zhao asked curiously.

Zhou Yan thought for a moment and said, "The raw cost for ten jin of pork intestines is one yuan. The yield is about three to three-and-a-half jin. Considering that processing them is more troublesome than pig head meat, and we need flour and salt to clean them, which adds to the cost, I plan to sell the braised intestines for three yuan a jin—the same price as the braised pig ears."

Mrs. Zhao nodded. "Aside from the trouble, the profit margin is pretty impressive."

"The word ’trouble’ itself is the biggest cost. Luckily, we hired a pro to handle it," Zhou Yan said with a smile. He’d been wanting to add pork intestines to the menu for a long time, but to be honest, if they hadn’t hired Li Lihua, he had no idea when he’d have been able to.

Li Lihua’s labor cost was twenty yuan a month, which came out to less than a yuan a day. You couldn’t ask for better value.

Not to mention, just selling three extra jin of pork intestines a day would be enough to cover the salaries of all four people in the shop.

Of course, that didn’t include commission.

He could also test the public’s reaction to using the braised intestines as a noodle topping. If it went well, he could add a new noodle dish to the menu.

For now, the cost of pork intestines was still very manageable.

Zhou Yan went into the kitchen to stir-fry the noodle toppings. Before long, Li Lihua came in carrying a bucket that held a batch of washed pork intestines. She smiled and presented it to Zhou Yan. "Boss, what do you think? Is this good enough?"

[A Batch of Clean Pork Intestines]

Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow. ’The basic criteria have been met.’

He washed his hands and pulled out a section of the intestine to take a closer look.

They were indeed washed very well. A thin layer of fat had been left on the inner wall, but it was processed very evenly. All the protruding lumps of fat had been removed, leaving it looking refreshingly clean and appealing.

Pork intestines were called "fatty intestines" for a reason—the fat was the essence.

If you scraped away all the fat until only a layer of skin remained, you’d lose all the fun and flavor of eating them.

Zhou Yan picked one up and sniffed it. The surface odor was almost completely gone.

Li Lihua was truly a master at washing pork intestines.

"This is perfect. Wash them all to this standard from now on," Zhou Yan said, satisfied.

"Got it. I’ll go wash the other batch right now," Li Lihua replied before turning and heading out.

"Full of energy. That Li Hua is a really good worker, a real pro," Mrs. Zhao said with a laugh.

In the morning, Xia Yao, Meng Anhe, and their family all came for noodles. They ordered a bowl of Braised Pork Rib Noodles for the two little ones, and Zhou Yan intentionally gave them an extra helping of noodles and a few more ribs.

Xia Yao ordered Braised Pork Rib Noodles as well, and when the bowls arrived at the table, the difference was quite obvious.

"Mom, look, we..." Before Lin Bingwen could finish, Meng Anhe picked up a piece of braised pork rib and stuffed it into his mouth, cutting him off. "Just eat. Finish up and get to class!"

"Zhou Yan’s a good man, the real deal," Lin Zhiqiang said with a smile, getting small bowls to divide the noodles for the two brothers.

The two brothers were quite fond of noodles. After all, their father, Lin Zhiqiang, was from Shanxi, where a love for noodles was practically in his blood.

Meng Anhe didn’t have a large appetite and couldn’t finish a whole serving on her own. She had figured that sharing some with the two brothers would have been about the right amount for everyone.

"After eating Zhou Yan’s noodles, even the famous local noodles back in Mountain City seem to lack a little something," Xia Yao said with a laugh. She moved a couple of chopsticks’ worth of noodles into Lin Jingxing’s small bowl before starting on her own meal.

The portion size was too generous for her to finish an entire bowl, so she shared some with her two younger cousins beforehand to avoid waste and prevent herself from getting too full.

"Mrs. Zhao, where’s Momo? How come we haven’t seen her?" Lin Bingwen asked Zhao Tieying after a couple of bites of noodles, unable to hold back his curiosity.

Xia Yao looked over as well.

"Momo’s not up yet. She’s probably going to sleep in a little longer," Zhao Tieying said with a smile, bringing them a small dish of pickled radishes.

"Huh?" Lin Jingxing and Lin Bingwen were both stunned.

"Doesn’t she have to go to school? If she sleeps any longer, she’ll be late! She’ll be forced to stand in the corner as punishment," Lin Jingxing said with a concerned look.

"And get her palms smacked!" Lin Bingwen added, looking even more worried.

"It’s fine. She hasn’t started school yet, so she can sleep as long as she wants," Zhao Tieying said, laughing.

Lin Bingwen and Lin Jingxing fell silent. Their worry turned to envy. "Ah... Momo is so lucky! She doesn’t have to go to school!"

"Alright, you two. If you don’t hurry up and eat your noodles, you’ll be the ones getting forced to stand in the corner and have your palms smacked," Meng Anhe said with a smile.

The two little ones didn’t dare dawdle any longer and buried their faces in their bowls, slurping down their noodles.

"Mmm! Brother Zhou Yan’s noodles are so delicious!"

"Dad, if you sneak out to eat here by yourself again, we will never, ever forgive you!"

Lin Zhiqiang kept his head down, focused on his noodles, and pretended not to hear the two little ones’ accusations.

"Xia Yao, after you get off work at noon, come straight here to eat. I’ll come early to grab a spot," Meng Anhe said, looking at Xia Yao.

"Auntie, we’re not eating at home?" Xia Yao asked with a smile.

"Are you cooking, or am I? Besides, if we get takeout from Zhou Yan’s, we’ll just have to wash two extra bowls," Meng Anhe replied with a small smile.

"You really know how to live, Auntie," Xia Yao laughed.

"Mom, what about us? Can we come eat here too?" Lin Jingxing asked, his face full of anticipation.

Meng Anhe heartlessly refused. "You’ll eat at school. No special treatment. When you get home tonight, I’ll take you out for something good."

"Cousin Yaoyao~" the two little ones pleaded, turning to Xia Yao with pitiful expressions.

"Calling me won’t help. Your mom is in charge of me, too," Xia Yao said with a laugh.

The morning was the busiest time, so Zhou Yan only came out to say a quick hello while serving their food.

Once service was over, he immediately got back to braising the meats.

With Mrs. Zhao’s seal of approval, Zhou Yan felt confident. After blanching the pork intestines, he boldly added them to the braising pot to simmer along with the pig head meat and beef.