1984: Starting From a Bankrupt Sichuan Restaurant

Zhou Yan, a modern food blogger with a talent for sharp-tongued reviews and a million followers, transmigrates into the body of a twenty-year-old failed cook in 1984 after jumping into the Qingyi River to save a drowning young woman. The original Zhou Yan had been an apprentice in the Jia Zhou Textile Factory Cafeteria, fired after a conflict with director Wang, then used his father’s 500 yuan savings and another 522 yuan borrowed to open a stir-fry restaurant, but his poor cooking skills and chaotic management left it on the verge of bankruptcy. Burdened by debt and mockery, the original killed himself, leaving Zhou Yan to inherit a restaurant with a menu of thirty to forty dishes he could barely make—only smashed cucumber was up to standard—and a mountain of IOUs. The only assets are 87 yuan in cash, two meat tickets, three grain tickets, and a well-equipped kitchen with two large iron pots.

Zhou Yan soon discovers a system from a cooking game he played, now attached to him. The system shows his skill panel: intermediate knife skills but beginner heat control and seasoning, reflecting his real abilities. The main quest is to become a culinary god and gain worldwide fame; the immediate task is to bind the restaurant, which yields a novice gift pack containing four recipes: dry-mixed minced beef noodles, braised beef noodles, pork rib noodles, and pickled vegetables. Zhou Yan instantly absorbs the complete preparation methods, from dough-handling to broth-simmering, realizing these noodle dishes also serve as components for classic Sichuan meals. He decides to transform the failing restaurant into a noodle shop, tearing down the old menu and focusing on these few items to reduce ingredient waste and target the local market.

The restaurant, Zhou Er Wa Restaurant, sits near a small Sichuan town’s Stone Slab Bridgehead, in a 200-square-meter space with a large dining lobby and dozens of outdoor tables. The rent is 15 yuan per month, due in three days, but the shop has no customers. Zhou Yan immediately begins preparing dough using the system’s knowledge, kneading it with practiced movements he never had before. His family—father Zhou Miao, a skilled cattle slaughterer from Zhou Village; mother Zhao Tie Ying, a fierce, protective woman; and three-year-old sister Zhou Mo Mo—arrive after hearing about his suicide attempt. Zhao Tie Ying verbally tears into a gossiping noodle seller named Wang Lao Wu, while Zhou Miao quietly hands Zhou Yan a piece of beef tenderloin. Zhou Yan makes double pepper beef noodles for them, first stir-frying minced beef with pickled chili peppers, pickled ginger, garlic, and fresh chilies, then pulling fresh noodles from the rested dough. The aroma draws praise, and the family finds the noodles excellent, with rich flavor and perfect texture.

The system releases a new quest: increase the restaurant’s influence to one thousand points (each customer’s recognition earns one point) for a random recipe reward. Zhou Yan accepts, setting his immediate goal to earn the rent by selling noodles starting the next day. He has the support of his parents, who had lent him money and now see his new culinary potential. The story establishes Zhou Yan’s need to overcome the original’s debt, the competition from the factory canteen and Wang Lao Wu’s noodle stall, and his own initial skill weaknesses through the system and his existing knowledge of restaurant management and Sichuan cuisine. The family’s visit and the successful noodle test mark the beginning of his journey in 1984.