The three of them chatted until after eight in the evening.
At first, Ouyang Yunjian just quietly held Chenchen and listened. Later, encouraged by the other two, he gradually started talking more.
Even he was surprised by the change — after all, even with familiar colleagues in his department, he didn't speak this much.
Seeing that it was already half past eight, and knowing Chenchen needed to sleep early, Ouyang Yunjian and Meng Yu got up to say goodbye to Su Zhu.
"Uncle Ouyang Yunjian, please stay and play with Chenchen a little longer," Chenchen snuggled in Ouyang Yunjian's arms like a little koala, reluctant to get down.
"Be good, Chenchen. You have to sleep early, okay? Early sleep helps you grow taller. Promise me,"
"When Uncle has time, he'll come to see you again."
"When will you have time? I already miss you!" Chenchen tilted her little head, blinking her eyes.
"I…" Ouyang Yunjian was stumped. He couldn't always be running back here — a grown man had to keep his dignity.
"Chenchen, this is easy," Meng Yu came to the rescue. "If Uncle Ouyang Yunjian can't come, you can go see him! Have your mom take you, or call me and I'll pick you up."
"Right, Chenchen, does that sound good?" Ouyang Yunjian smiled.
"Yes, yes!" Chenchen cheered excitedly. "I want to be a doctor too, and heal all the sick kids in the world so they never have to leave their moms and dads."
"Hmm, that's a great idea. Uncle supports you. Let's work hard together, okay?"
"Okay…" Chenchen dragged out the word.
"Ouyang Yunjian, Meng Yu, take these two boxes of beef with you — the ones I made last night."
Just as Ouyang Yunjian and Meng Yu were leaving, Su Zhu handed them two plastic bags containing two boxes of prepared marinated beef slices.
"No, no, you can't…" Ouyang Yunjian tried to refuse, but Meng Yu grabbed them quickly. "Su Zhu, thank you, really appreciate it!"
"Thank you for fulfilling my wish!"
"My wish?" Su Zhu was puzzled.
"I had two goals today," Meng Yu said seriously. "One, to come with Ouyang Yunjian and deliver the Pill Splitter to Chenchen; and two, to get some beef from you!"
"You don't know, I even dreamed of eating beef last night!"
"Oh," Su Zhu smiled wryly. "That's on me. If I'd known you were Ouyang Yunjian's friend, I wouldn't have refused you yesterday. I would have definitely given you a box."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk — people just can't be compared. For Ouyang Yunjian, you break the shop rules…"
"Su Zhu said the beef isn't for takeout, but you gave it for free and didn't take money. How is that breaking the rules?" Ouyang Yunjian defended her.
"Oh, so you're backing her up? Fine, fine, thanks to you both. I'll treat you two to a meal one day."
Meng Yu's teasing made Ouyang Yunjian blush fiercely. He shot Meng Yu a sharp look. "Don't bother me!" and turned to leave the noodle shop.
After they drove off, Su Zhu carried Chenchen back to the shop.
Inside, two waiters were cleaning up. They had sold 1,200 bowls of noodles today, and the shop was already sold out by eight — many people hadn't even gotten to eat.
After bathing and putting Chenchen to bed, Su Zhu returned to the noodle shop. The kitchen and dining area were already cleaned up.
Wu Xianming was rolling out noodles for the staff's dinner.
Zhao Bing was chopping tomatoes, preparing tomato and egg noodles for dinner.
They realized there was no need to eat hand-pulled noodles every meal.
Using the dough from the boss and rolled noodles, then cooking them in beef bone broth, the taste was nearly as good as hand-pulled noodles, except the seasoning was a bit off.
"Come, let me make you a special sauce to try." Su Zhu suddenly got inspired and put oil in the wok.
Zhao Bing and Wu Xianming, excited to see Su Zhu show off, gathered around to learn.
Hot wok, oil, minced garlic, ginger, and scallions stir-fried fragrant, then the prepared egg mixture poured in.
Once the eggs formed, she gently stirred on low heat.
When nearly done, diced tomatoes went in, cooking until about 60% done.
Chopped scallions were added last, followed by broth.
Ten minutes later, the kitchen filled with the enticing aroma of tomato egg sauce.
Meanwhile, Wu Xianming's noodles were boiled and rinsed under cold water.
After tasting, the exclamations started:
"Wow, this noodle is indescribable!"
"The sauce Master made is insanely good — ten thousand times better than the one Zhao Bing made this afternoon!"
"Master, you're a god of cooking! Though I've never eaten at a state banquet, I bet even those chefs can't compare to you!"
"Boss, your skills are incredible!"
"Did you use some magical recipe for these noodles?"
...
A big basin held seven pounds of noodles. Zhao Bing and Wu Xianming each ate at least one and a half pounds. Chen Shuyun and three others ate plenty too.
The group sat holding their bellies, repeatedly burping from fullness.
In the end, only one pound of noodles was left in the basin.
"There's still some sauce left," Su Zhu said, looking at Chen Shuyun. "Chen Shufen, your sister's toy store probably isn't closed yet. Pack these noodles and sauce into takeaway containers and bring some to her after work for her to try."
"Thank you, boss! She'll be thrilled! Her favorite is tomato and egg noodles!" Chen Shuyun said, then ran to the kitchen for containers.
After the staff finished their shifts,
Su Zhu locked the doors and started calculating income.
Today's total revenue was 14,500, with a net profit of about 9,000 — 3,000 more than yesterday.
Because of limited dining space and the time needed for noodle making and pulling, today's revenue probably reached the ceiling.
In other words, to increase income, she'd have to hurry up and open new branches.
Looks like she needed to start scouting locations soon. Once she saved enough startup capital in the next few days, she would immediately get to work.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]