Chapter 382 - 197: Good Work, Deserves a Reward

Chapter 382: Chapter 197: Good Work, Deserves a Reward

After a tour of the main hall, the calico cat padded into the kitchen. Its gaze quickly locked onto the firewood pile. It stared intently at the pile for a moment before leaping right on top of it. Finding a comfortable, flat spot, it settled down and began to doze off.

"Why isn’t Huahua catching the mousies?" Zhou Momo asked, confused.

"She’s waiting for the mousies to come out on their own. She’s actually pretty smart," Zhou Yan said with a smile. He went into the kitchen, carried the large pot of pork cracklings he’d rendered at noon upstairs, and tossed a few pieces on the floor as bait.

"Huahua, you’ve gotta be fierce!~" Zhou Momo encouraged her.

"Meow~" The cat lifted its eyelids slightly and responded to her.

To create a good rat-catching environment for the cat, he and Comrade Zhou postponed their chess game until tomorrow night. The family went upstairs to bed early.

Zhou Yan recorded the day’s accounts, then picked up *How the Steel Was Tempered* from his bedside. He took a deep breath. ’Tonight’s goal is ten pages!’

He had borrowed this book a long time ago. He’d been too busy during the day to read it recently. Every time he picked it up in bed, he’d fall asleep after just a few lines.

To this day, he had somehow only managed to reach page eight.

The main reason was that the content was incredibly soporific. He didn’t have a will of steel, but he did have the enviable ability to fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

The sleep-inducing effect was so good that he was a little reluctant to switch to another book.

"Paul Korchagin from..."

He had just reached the tenth line when the book gently fell onto his face. Zhou Yan was already sound asleep.

Zhou Yan got up early the next morning. After changing his clothes and heading out of his room, he happened to see Comrade Zhou and Mrs. Zhao coming out of theirs.

"Mom, what are you doing up so early?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at Mrs. Zhao in confusion.

It was only five o’clock. Recently, she had been sleeping in until around six.

"I got up early to clean the kitchen and the main hall, just in case some cat hair drifted onto the tables without us noticing. That wouldn’t be good for the customers," Mrs. Zhao said with a smile. "And I also wanted to see how many rats our little kitty caught."

"Alright, you’re always so thoughtful," Zhou Yan nodded, and the three of them headed downstairs.

As the three of them walked down the stairs, they all froze, staring at the two neat rows of rats arranged at the kitchen entrance.

A family of nine, lined up neatly from smallest to largest. The cause of death for all was two bloody holes in the neck.

The smallest rat was barely a few ounces, while the largest looked to be a couple of pounds.

The calico cat was perched on a nearby stool, head bowed as it licked its paws, like a victorious general polishing his blood-stained sword.

"Nine of them! There were that many rats hiding in the firewood pile!" Mrs. Zhao exclaimed in shock.

"This cat’s something else!" Comrade Zhou clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Good work deserves a reward!" Zhou Yan went into the kitchen and pulled the fattest crucian carp from the bathtub.

Huahua’s attention was immediately captured by the wriggling crucian carp in Zhou Yan’s hand. It followed him to the doorway and crouched there to enjoy its reward.

Comrade Zhou had already swept the family of rats into a dustpan and gone outside to dump them far away.

This calico was an expert at catching rats, but it didn’t like to eat them.

It clearly preferred fish.

"She didn’t even make a mess. The kitchen is spotless, and there’s nothing in the hall. I’ll just give everything a quick wipe-down, and I think that’ll be good enough," Mrs. Zhao said with a smile, tying on her apron and walking around with a rag in her hand.

"Sounds good. A full wipe-down it is," Zhou Yan nodded.

The rat-catching results were just too impressive. Nine in one night! It was far more reliable than any trap or glue board.

No wonder she was the most sought-after cat in Zhou Village.

She really had a knack for catching rats.

With the rats gone, his worries were over. Otherwise, he’d always be concerned about the safety of his marinade.

Zhou Yan watched her devour the entire crucian carp, then wheeled his bicycle out the door. He gently patted the basket and said, "Come on, Huahua! Time to take you home."

Huahua glanced at him, then hopped into the basket in one smooth motion. She found a comfortable position, lay down, half-closed her eyes, and started to purr loudly.

After eating two of his crucian carps, Huahua’s affection for him had clearly increased.

Zhou Yan got on his bike and first took the cat back to his grandmother’s house.

"Did she catch any?" his grandmother asked as she lifted Huahua out of the basket and started stroking her.

"She did! Nine of them in one go! When I got up this morning, they were all lined up neatly at the kitchen door. She’s amazing," Zhou Yan nodded, his voice full of admiration.

His grandmother laughed at this. Petting the cat’s head, she said, "Oh my, nine in one go! You’re quite the little terror, aren’t you?"

"Meeow~" Huahua replied in a high-pitched voice, her purr exceptionally loud.

"Grandma, I’m off to buy meat now. If we get more rats, I’ll come back and ask for her help again," Zhou Yan said.

"Go on," his grandmother said, waving him off.

After buying the groceries and returning to the restaurant, he found Zhou Momo squatting at the entrance brushing her teeth, her cheeks puffed out. Hearing him approach, she looked up, quickly spat out the water, and announced proudly, "Brother! Huahua caught nine mousies!"

From the proud look on her face, you would’ve thought she and the cat had caught them together.

"That’s right. I gave her another fish as a reward this morning and then took her back to Grandma’s," Zhou Yan said with a smiling nod.

"Hmph! Then why didn’t you wake me up, Brother? I wanted to see her catch the mousies too..." The little girl put down her toothbrush cup, placed her hands on her hips, and her chubby little face immediately puffed up like an angry little pufferfish.

"I saw you were still sleeping. I’ll definitely wake you next time, okay?" Zhou Yan said with a laugh.

"Okay!" Zhou Momo nodded, a happy smile spreading across her face. "Then I’ll forgive you this time."

Zhou Yan wheeled his bicycle into the restaurant. Not only had the tables and kitchen been wiped down again, but after Zhao Hong arrived, she had also mopped the floor twice. The restaurant had undergone a very thorough cleaning.

Their restaurant may be small, with nothing to speak of in terms of decor.

But when it came to cleanliness and hygiene, it could rank among the best not just in Jiazhou, but in all of Sichuan.

That night, the downstairs was indeed quiet. There was no more squeaking of fighting rats or the rustling sound of wood being gnawed.

It was truly a massacre of the rat family; not a single one was left.

The physical barrier had worked well. That afternoon, Comrade Zhou had even inspected the main hall for gaps and plugged them, minimizing any potential entry points for rats.

The main hall was sparse, with only nineteen traditional square tables and a counter. Even if a rat got in, there would be nowhere for it to hide.

The next few days were quite busy at the restaurant.

Xiao Lei and Zheng Qiang handled a wedding banquet and a birthday banquet back-to-back, and they were swamped.

「Saturday morning.」

Zhou Yan was taking the braised vegetables out of the pot.

From outside, he could hear the voices of his master, Zheng, and Mrs. Zhao talking.

"Master Zhou, busy with the braised vegetables?" Xiao Lei appeared at the kitchen door with a grin.

"Smells amazing! Master Zhou’s skills are as consistent as ever," Zheng poked his head in, swallowing hard as he looked at the freshly braised bean curd sticks to the side.

"Master, Zheng, don’t pull my leg," Zhou Yan said, smiling at the two of them. "No job today? Did you come to be my prep cooks?"

"That’s right. We came to help Master Zhou," Xiao Lei nodded.

"I’m only good enough to be a prep cook, just helping out," Zheng also nodded.

"Come on then, Master Xiao. The pork liver over there is all yours," Zhou Yan said, pointing to a basin of pork liver.

Xiao Lei laughed. "To be honest, we don’t have time. We just finished buying all the ingredients and called for a tractor. We’re about to haul all the pots and pans to Lijiang Town."

"Master, you’re going to help Mr. Qian with an outdoor banquet?" Zhou Yan asked in surprise.

"That’s right. Qian Siyuan came to see me in person yesterday, and since I happened to be free these two days, I couldn’t really turn him down," Xiao Lei nodded. He continued, "It’s for fifty tables. Everyone in Lijiang Town related to the Kong Family has been invited. You’ll still be in charge of the braised meats. A platter of braised pig ears and snout, and then separate portions of braised pork head meat and braised beef for each table. So that’s three items."

"A big order!" Zhou Yan’s eyes lit up. ’I’ll earn back that Great Unity bill I didn’t get to keep last time.’

"There’s one more thing. The Jiazhou Daily heard about Qian Siyuan’s story of searching for his relatives across the country. A reporter will be there on the day of the welcome banquet for a follow-up interview. They want to combine his family search with the Kong Sect for an in-depth feature to commemorate your Master." Xiao Lei continued, "Your grand-uncle-master thinks this is a great opportunity to promote the Kong Sect, so he’s sent out a notice to all the disciples. Anyone who can make it back to Linjiang that day must prepare one of their signature dishes to showcase the style of the Kong Sect."

"One dish? Or one dish per table?" Zhou Yan asked after a moment of thought.

"Just one for the main table, of course. Even if they had a big enough wok, they couldn’t possibly replicate the flavor for every single table," Xiao Lei laughed. "Zheng and I have to handle the outdoor banquet. With fifty tables, we’ll be too busy to keep up. So, we can only send you as our representative to make a dish for everyone. The more unique, the better. It’s to show off the flair of our Kong Sect and also commemorate your Master."

Zhou Yan looked at him and said, "Master, don’t keep me in suspense. Just tell me what I’m making."

"Snowflake Chicken Porridge. Have you learned how to make it yet?" Xiao Lei asked, looking at him.