Chapter 49: Grow and Strengthen, Achieve New Glories

Because the pork Zhang Jinsheng sold was truly freshly slaughtered every day in the early morning hours, he woke up very early and generally wrapped up his business by noon to go home and rest.

The chances of him going to buy steamed buns from Chen Zhou in the evening were quite slim.

"I knew my brother had no flaws! Day in and day out, you use the best meat and quality ingredients. How could people possibly fail to taste the difference in those steamed buns!"

Old Zhang always knew just what to say.

Considering that he was his most important pork supplier, Chen Zhou extended an invitation:

"Once the shop is open, we should sit down together one of these days."

"No problem," Old Zhang said with a wave of his hand. "When your shop opens, business is definitely going to be even better than it is now. Are you doing breakfast this time too?"

"Yes, selling it right in the morning," Chen Zhou nodded. "I rented a storefront right at the entrance of the residential compound."

Old Zhang immediately offered, "I'll deliver the goods straight to your door from now on. I can just drop them off along the way in the morning, saving you the trouble of making a trip every day."

"That would be fantastic!"

Chen Zhou trusted Old Zhang's meat and had complete confidence in him.

After all, this was a man who had even taught him directly how to properly select cuts of pork.

The two chatted idly for a moment, then steered the conversation toward the topic of live hog futures.

Old Zhang remarked that Chen Zhou had caught a golden opportunity; the upstream breeding enterprises had announced a reduction in market supply for July, causing the futures to experience a small bullish wave.

He asked whether Chen Zhou had closed his positions and cashed out.

The money Chen Zhou made from that venture had essentially turned into the shop's rent.

With a keen sense of personal boundaries, Old Zhang did not pry into the exact profits, but simply reminded Chen Zhou not to get too deeply invested, citing his own experience as a cautionary tale.

After Old Zhang left, the fish-mongering woman opposite his stall teased him:

"Oh, Brother Zhang, looks like you've cultivated another major client."

Old Zhang humbly replied, "Not a major client, what makes you say that? Just a little breakfast shop."

Yet, a moment later, his gaze grew increasingly resolute.

"It's bound to grow big and strong in the future. I'm just waiting to create a new wave of glory right alongside him."

Having a slight awareness of Old Zhang's past experiences, the fish vendor sighed, "You've certainly been through your share of major ups and downs, Brother Zhang."

Hearing this, Old Zhang wore a calm and unperturbed expression.

"Starting over from scratch and running an honest, down-to-earth business—there's no reason it shouldn't succeed."

Today happened to be the day for paying the rent, so after buying meat and vegetables, Chen Zhou made a detour to drop by his aunt's breakfast shop.

His aunt and uncle had already cleared out and tidied up most of the interior.

They had even hired an additional middle-aged woman to help out with the thorough cleaning.

Chen Zhou greeted them cheerfully:

"Auntie, rent is here!"

Setting aside the work in her hands, his aunt walked over with a warm smile and said with customary politeness, "You didn't have to make a special trip."

Chen Zhou smiled. "It was right on the way."

The two parties settled the rent in person, and his aunt informed Chen Zhou:

"Today is Friday, so we'll go and cancel the business license later today. When that's done, you can use this storefront to register a brand new one of your own."

Having been through a few tenant transitions, his aunt undoubtedly had more experience in these matters than he did.

However, considering the time of day and the bureaucracy at the service hall... if they headed over now, the window clerks' efficiency might not be particularly high by the time they arrived.

Chen Zhou could only suggest:

"There's no need to rush too much. Even after I move in, it will still be a little while before the official opening."

His uncle possessed a rather leisurely and unhurried temperament.

He warmly welcomed Chen Zhou's suggestion.

"Alright then, we'll take care of it sometime these next few days anyway, by next week at the latest."

After that, he asked Chen Zhou what name he planned to give the place.

"Community Canteen. If there's already a registered name that matches, I'll just add or remove a few characters."

This was the conclusion Chen Zhou and his wife had arrived at the previous evening.

His uncle praised the choice: "That's a fine name! Back in the last century, what was it called again? The Commune Great Canteen!"

Chen Zhou was reminded of his clay casserole pots and the story told by old man Feng.

It used to be the commune's great canteen, and now it would be a community canteen—this could also be considered a form of inheritance.

Chen Zhou stayed to lend them a hand around the shop.

Finally, his aunt handed the keys over to Chen Zhou, reminding him along the way, "Make sure you change the lock yourself."

Chen Zhou nodded.

He had already ordered a replacement online along with some tableware and other essentials.

Returning home,

Chen Zhou planned to use a dozen eggs from the kitchen to boil a batch of tea eggs first and test the waters.

While he frequently bought these items outside, at home... Ms. Lin always stuck to boiling them plain.

Presumably, most households operated the same way.

One or two tea eggs weren't worth the trouble of brewing a batch, while making too many risked leaving leftovers that wouldn't get eaten.

Commercial production was undoubtedly a much better fit.

Naturally, compared to plain boiled eggs, tea eggs were infinitely more flavorful.

Moreover, once peeled, the surface of the eggs bore amber-colored crackled patterns, making them visually appealing as well.

The preparation process was not difficult.

Wash the eggs thoroughly in clean water and place them into a pot with cold water.

There was no need to cook them all the way through; they only needed to reach a soft-boiled state so the shells would be easier to peel.

Next came the crucial element of tea eggs: the master braising broth.

The spices used included Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, and fennel seeds.

The aromatics were scallions and ginger. Salt, sugar, and light soy sauce provided the seasoning, while dark soy sauce lent color.

As for the tea leaves essential to tea eggs, Chen Zhou simply used a very ordinary and common scented flower tea. After all, he wasn't Elder Yu—there was no need to break out aged Pu-erh just to boil a batch of tea eggs.

He tapped minor cracks into the shells of the eggs, and once the braising broth came to a rolling boil, he scooped the eggs into a sieve and lowered them back into the pot.

Simmering over low heat in the braising broth until the eggs reached a fully cooked state, he turned off the heat after two or three minutes.

The eggs needed to steep in the braising broth for a while to properly absorb the color and flavor.

The optimal state of a tea egg required time to steep and develop.

Stored at low temperatures in the refrigerator, they could keep for one to two days.

Even so, Chen Zhou chose to sample a couple right away. For no particular reason—after working busily all morning, he had worked up an appetite.

The tea eggs fished out of the braising broth indeed possessed a noticeably darkened hue and a prominent aroma.

The scent of spices was intertwined with the delicate, fresh fragrance of tea.

It smelled genuinely appetizing.

Peeling away the shell, the egg whites were immaculate and unblemished, with faint sepia traces marking the lines of the cracked shell.

As for the taste upon eating, it didn't differ vastly from a regular boiled egg.

Only in the areas where the marinade lingered could one detect a faint trace of savory saltiness.

Chen Zhou thought to himself:

"When the shop opens, if I want to sell tea eggs in the morning, I'll have to boil them the evening before at the very least. Otherwise, they'll just turn out to be fake tea eggs with no flavor whatsoever!"

With the selection of the new shop location finalized, the days of the steamed bun stall were truly coming to an end. Yet Chen Zhou kept pushing forward.

Several of the renovation workers who had previously helped out came by together to buy steamed buns this time.

It was evident from their expressions that they felt a lingering sense of reluctance.

They chimed in one after another:

"We'll be heading out in a couple of days, and these steamed buns of yours are truly out of this world."

"It's a pity we won't be around to see the day you open your shop."

Those two workers undoubtedly accounted for a solid 5% of his loyal clientele.

Chen Zhou smiled as he answered them: "Don't worry, before you leave, I'll definitely invite you over to sit down at the shop."

"Opening up so soon? Didn't you just put up the sign?" the two workers asked with some curiosity.

Chen Zhou explained:

"There are still a few minor odd jobs to finish up in the newly rented shop, and I was actually hoping to get you two over there to lend a hand."

"That's no problem at all," the pair agreed readily. "We're actually fellow townsmen with the boss's wife anyway, so just say the word if you need anything."

Chen Zhou replied:

"I'll pay you the proper going rate. And as for the steamed buns, all you can eat."

Hearing this, the two workers became even more eager.