Chapter 493 - 234: When People Are Doing Bad Things...

Chapter 493: Chapter 234: When People Are Doing Bad Things...

"It’s already in the papers?" Zhou Yan was a bit surprised to hear this. Shen Shaohua hadn’t given a specific publication date, only saying it would be a couple of days later.

"It’s for you. You can read it slowly later when you’re not busy," Wang Hongliang said with a smile, handing the newspaper to him.

"Thanks, Director." Zhou Yan came out and took the newspaper. A glance confirmed it was the front-page headline.

"Two Brothers from Suji Bravely Capture Vicious Thug, Citizens Stand Up to Protect Public Order!"

Zhou Yan suppressed a smile, trying not to look too pleased with himself.

There were two accompanying photos. One was of Zhou Ming receiving an award at school, and the other was of their family receiving an award in front of the restaurant, which happened to capture the restaurant’s sign.

’That reporter, Shen Shaohua, is a decent guy. He knows exactly what’s important.’

’Next time he comes, I’ll have to treat him to a meal.’

"Zhou Yan, you’re amazing!" Wang Wei gave Zhou Yan a thumbs-up, her smile brilliant.

"Thanks." Zhou Yan gave a slight nod.

"Impressive, Zhou Yan." Xia Yao also gave him a slight smile, her tone carrying a hint of teasing.

"Thanks. Well, I’m going to get back to work." Zhou Yan put down the newspaper and turned to enter the kitchen.

"He’s just... too upright, with a very strong sense of justice," Wang Wei explained to Xia Yao in a low voice. "He got fired from the textile mill because he felt Wang Defa was disrespecting his master, Master Xiao, and targeting him at every turn. During a morning meeting, he beat up Wang Defa in front of everyone and was dragged away by security. That’s why he was fired. And that was them going easy on him because of his good track record."

"Being an upright person... I think that’s a good thing," Xia Yao said with a small smile.

Wang Wei nodded in agreement. "Right? It’s a rare quality."

"You seem to know him well, Wang Wei?" Xia Yao glanced at her.

"I’m in charge of collecting rent for the shops around the textile mill, so I’ve known him for a few months now. I used to run into him occasionally at the factory cafeteria. For a while, he was assigned to serve food, and the line at his window was always super long; a lot of the female workers had a crush on him," Wang Wei said with a laugh. "But his hand never trembled when scooping the food. After a while, he was transferred back to the kitchen. Apparently, his station was losing too much money, which made Wang Defa furious."

"Really?" Xia Yao couldn’t help but laugh after hearing that.

After chatting for a bit, Wang Wei looked up at Wang Hongliang. "Uncle, I’ll pay for the braised pig’s trotters myself. It’s my treat for Xia Yao."

"The pig’s trotters are so good, aren’t you going to treat me to one?" Wang Hongliang asked with a laugh.

Wang Wei shook her head decisively. "Nope. My salary only covers treating Xia Yao."

Wang Hongliang nodded with a smile. "Fair enough."

Xia Yao then ordered a stir-fried cabbage with pork cracklings and two bowls of Kneeling Beef.

With the factory director and deputy director sitting there, every manager and worker who came into the shop would greet them.

The two of them would smile and respond to each one.

In this era, workers held a high status in the factories. As long as they didn’t break any major rules, even if they offended the director, there wasn’t much the director could do.

If they ran into a real troublemaker, it was the director who’d end up with the headache.

Because of the incident with Wang Defa, everyone in the factory now knew that Wang Wei was the director’s niece.

However, she had graduated from a technical secondary school with a degree in accounting, was assigned to the textile mill, was highly competent, and had a strong sense of justice, so no one had anything bad to say.

As for Xia Yao, the incident where she fell into the water had caused quite a stir. Plus, she was beautiful, so quite a few people knew she was Lin Zhiqiang’s niece.

A university student from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute interning at a textile mill was quite surprising.

After all, Mountain City was quite far away.

These four sitting at one table was like a small family gathering.

The braised pork intestines and Salted Burnt White were the first dishes to arrive at the table.

All eyes followed the dishes.

Salted Burnt White was a new dish just introduced today. It was a beloved centerpiece of traditional open-air banquets.

However, the price of two yuan and twenty cents per serving was enough to deter many workers.

The Salted Burnt White in the factory cafeteria was one yuan and fifty cents a serving, seventy cents cheaper than Zhou Yan’s.

Steamed dishes require much less precision in Fire Control compared to stir-fried or braised dishes, so the difference between chefs might not seem as great.

So, whether Zhou Yan’s Salted Burnt White, which was seventy cents more expensive, was worth the price remained to be seen.

And now, the two directors had ordered a portion to test the waters for everyone else.

’You could count on the directors to be more daring.’

Slices of glistening, translucent Salted Burnt White were neatly arranged over a bed of pickled mustard. The brownish-red "tiger skin" and vibrant sheen made it look like a tempting mountain of meat.

The fragrance drifted out with the steam, the aroma of pickled mustard wrapped in the scent of meat—exceptionally alluring.

GULP—

The sound of people swallowing their saliva rose and fell throughout the room.

Lin Zhiqiang’s was particularly loud.

He hadn’t eaten delicious Salted Burnt White in several months, and the plate served today looked incredibly appetizing.

"The color of this Salted Burnt White looks perfect. Too much soy sauce and it’s pitch black; too little and it’s pale and unappetizing. You want this vibrant, glistening red. This looks just right," Wang Hongliang said with a nod, picking up a piece with his chopsticks.

The meat was exceptionally tender. His chopsticks sank right in, and the piece trembled as he lifted it, looking like it might fall apart at any moment.

"The texture is also perfect. It looks like it’s about to break when you pick it up, yet it doesn’t fall apart. This is the ideal state of tender but not mushy." Wang Hongliang put the meat in his mouth and chewed it slowly, a look of surprise appearing on his face. Only after swallowing did he speak: "Perfect!"

"This Salted Burnt White is, without a doubt, the best I’ve ever had! The savory fragrance of the pickled mustard and the aroma of the meat are blended together, combined with the flavor of the salty-sweet soy sauce... the seasoning is just perfect!"

"After being fried, the ’tiger skin’ has absorbed all the juices from the pickled mustard and the meat. The texture is incredibly soft and glutinous, even a little sticky on the lips. The fatty part is rendered to a paste that melts in your mouth, while the lean meat is tender, not tough, and savory all the way through."