Song Tan's Notes

The first to arrive in the afternoon were male university students from the city.

Five men and three girlfriends, a total of eight people.

As impoverished college students, their relationships were also simple. The boys shared a dormitory room, while the three girls slept in twin beds, and no one complained in the slightest.

joke!

What kind of philanthropist not only invites them to come and play on weekends, but also provides them with food and lodging? If they make any more demands, wouldn't they be asking for too much?
As for the boyfriends who got them this advantage, they certainly deserve a lot of praise—

"You didn't exaggerate, and you didn't lie!"

She truly is a fairy-like figure, so beautiful!!!

Moreover, this kind of beauty isn't the kind that looks particularly good on camera; rather, it's a kind of charm that comes from abundant energy and health!

The simple female college students, who are already in poor health even though they haven't started working yet, are deeply envious.

The boys puffed out their chests again, proudly saying, "Of course! I told you the boss is really good-looking, and her boyfriend is good-looking too, but you didn't believe me before..."

After grumbling and dawdling for a while, everyone put away their spare clothes and went out for a stroll, not caring at all about the heat.

There was an unexpected surprise when we arrived here: our destination was actually the now-popular local attraction – Yunqiao Village!
Don't be fooled by Yunqiao Village's current fame for its tofu and vegetables; its summer scenery is just as beautiful!

Of course, you can only admire the riverbank from afar, but if you have the energy, there are fields of sunflowers on the rocky slopes further away!

By August or September, the pomegranates covering the mountains should be a bright red.

In late autumn, wild chrysanthemums bloom all over the mountains.

In short, there are beautiful views in all four seasons, and the college students are not picky at all.

The young people, who hadn't visited many tourist attractions, were extremely satisfied. If it weren't for the blazing sun, they would have dragged Qiaoqiao over as soon as they saw the spacious, empty sports field in the village where they didn't need to reserve a spot in advance.

Everyone was sweating profusely from shopping, but they still remembered to ask the shop owner on WeChat:

Where are we having dinner tonight?

This is really...

Song Tan was both amused and exasperated: They took the bus at two o'clock under the scorching sun, and now it's past three o'clock after their long journey, and they still haven't forgotten about dinner!

With this weather and this temperature, even Pearl, who loves exercise the most, and her dozen or so piglets don't like to go out for a stroll anymore.

Even though she repeatedly emphasized that it was just a regular dinner, it couldn't stop the young people with good appetites!

Therefore, Song Tan sent the location directly: "This is the cafeteria. Dinner starts around 8 p.m. If you are hungry, you can buy something to eat at the convenience store first."

Everyone patted their bellies: "Dinner's so late!"

But this time was to ensure that those working in the fields could have time to rest, so they had no choice but to sneak off to the convenience store first.

It's really hot! Let's buy an ice pop to cool down!

When I got to the convenience store, I found that while the freezer was conveniently located on the outside, there were rows and rows of huge water bottles on the counter inside.
"I know I know!"

One of the girls immediately expressed her regret: "I saw online that you should definitely bring a huge water bottle because the free tea on the mountain is so delicious. It's also incredibly refreshing, so you should drink it in the morning, and definitely not at night..."

"Not afraid!"

Boys who have never tasted good food are full of confidence:

"I'm naturally immune to these things. I drank some and it had no effect on me. I slept just fine at night!"

But this kettle costs several tens of dollars. They are so poor that they can't bear to spend money on this. They'll just go to the cafeteria and use disposable cups to drink at night!
When exercising, just drink chilled mineral water. It's only one yuan a bottle, which is much more affordable than this big water bottle.

It's so big, they don't usually need it!
The shop owner glanced at them.

Everyone who comes here says that, but in the end they still come back and buy a kettle, don't they?
When she goes to pick up the goods now, people don't understand why this stuff sells so well in rural towns.

Even if there are construction teams doing the work, and each worker buys one, they should all have them by now, right?
As a result, it's been treated like a consumable item; we have to order a new batch every now and then...

The wholesaler was completely bewildered, while the proprietress let the group of poor students point and gesture at the freezer. In the end, the most expensive item they bought was a 2.5-liter bottle of Chocliz.

And then they'd add a comment: "Why are there so many ice cream assassins at this village store?"

The proprietress finally smiled—despite her sales skills, she herself trembled with fear when she received the ice cream:

The cost of buying a single ice cream is eight or nine yuan! There are even more expensive ones, but she just didn't want to buy them.

Simply outrageous.

“There are a lot of people coming from the city every weekend, and young people are more willing to spend money on this, so I stocked some. In the village, the most popular food is still the old-fashioned popsicles and red bean popsicles.”

Ugh.

Luxury belongs to others.

The college students, munching on popsicles, asked, "Auntie, is the food at Boss Song's canteen on the mountain good?"

"That must taste delicious!"

The proprietress didn't hesitate.

"Chef Jiang from the mountain used to be a top chef at a hotel with a million-dollar annual salary! Now that he's working in this cafeteria, how could his skills not be good?"

"And the vegetables and meat are freshly cut and picked from the town every day and delivered without any wilting."

There is no such thing as a stranger in a rural town.

No matter who it is, they can always claim to be related by blood or marriage. The vegetable and meat deliverymen rode around on their tricycles, and within a couple of days, everyone had figured out their connections.

If you chat with relatives or acquaintances for a bit, everyone will know that the Song family eats really well.

However, even without asking, they can tell whether something is fresh or not just by tasting it.

In short, the proprietress was absolutely certain: "It's delicious, it's just that it's not open! If it were open, I'd rather pay to eat there."

Otherwise, in the sweltering summer heat, you'd have to cook for yourself, sweating profusely, and even if you did cook something, you wouldn't have an appetite, and most of the time you'd just do a perfunctory job.

Unlike the canteen on the mountain, where the air conditioning is on all day long, completely ignoring the fact that the hot stoves and range hoods are sucking away the cool air—how luxurious!
The college students, unaware of the inside story, felt completely reassured by her certainty.
He was crunching on an ice pop when he checked his phone to see his location again: "How about we go to the cafeteria?"

Look, we're all sweaty anyway, it won't make a difference.

The girls even held up an umbrella, while the boys, feeling embarrassed, were already tanned dark by the sun.

……

From Zhang Yanping's guesthouse to the mountain restaurant, there is indeed a long uphill climb.

It was a hot day, and walking took quite a while. But the young people were energetic and didn't seem to mind; instead, they chatted animatedly.

"Have you seen the guesthouse owner? He looks so refined! And quite handsome too. I wonder if he has a girlfriend."

The girls started discussing it, but the boys weren't happy about it.

"Hey, hey, your boyfriend's right here, why are you worrying about other people?"

"What's wrong with chatting? Besides, my roommate doesn't even have a boyfriend yet! If she sees a good-looking guy, shouldn't she keep an eye out for him?"

"My brother is still single, why don't you offer to introduce us?"

The other person rolled their eyes:
"What kind of dream is that? I'm willing to eat coarse food and wild vegetables because I can endure hardship, but why should my roommate have to suffer like that? Can't we find her someone who's fair-skinned and handsome?"

Silence fell over the room. After a moment, the boyfriend looked at him suspiciously: "Why do I feel like you're insulting me?"

My girlfriend looked righteous:
"Who's cursing you? I'm very polite, I never swear."

"is it?"

"Yes."

Boys: ...They got yelled at, didn't they!
The girls then began a lively discussion:

"Yeah, the boss is really handsome, and that scholarly air about him is rare. I just don't know why he's in the village..."

"Who cares where it is, our city is still a small town..."

"They don't seem that much older than us. I think they're even younger than my boyfriend. Sigh, I'll ask them when we come down later. If they really don't have a girlfriend, I'll take a picture and show it to XX!"

Everyone was enthusiastic and had a very positive attitude.

The boys wanted to say something, but remembering the appearance of the guesthouse owner, they fell silent.

They're just a bit tanned because they exercise too much in the summer. They won't get their fair skin back in winter—well, they'll still get tanned in winter too.

That despicable pretty boy!

Teacher Xin had no idea that he had been scolded. He had just finished tidying up the guesthouse that was once again fully booked. When he saw Zhang Yanping sneaking over like a thief, he couldn't help but laugh and say, "The guesthouse is fully booked now, so your appearance won't really have any impact. You don't need to be so careful."

"We still need to be careful."

Zhang Yanping is quite shrewd: "If everyone knows that I am the owner of the guesthouse, then when they quarrel again, my presence won't have the same deterrent effect."

Unlike now, if anyone tries to cause trouble, he just stands there with a stern face, and the other person becomes much more polite.

He's not here to joke around, but to ask Xin Jun:
"Have all the college students that Song Tan invited checked in yet? I'll come and relieve you after dinner tonight, and you can join them for some activities."

“Okay.” Xin Jun wasn’t entirely helpless, so he nodded and said, “I’ll invite Qiao Qiao and Chen Chi along. It’ll be more fun with more people.”

What about you? Aren't you going to exercise?

Zhang Yanping: ...He doesn't want to exercise, and he doesn't want to be a referee.

"I'll stay here and watch the shop, so you can play without any worries! Go ahead and have fun!"

Xin Jun: ...

Actually, we've been partners for so long for nothing, so there's no need to hide some of the truth like this.

……

After walking a long way, the college students finally saw the large factory buildings on the hillside.

Further up the hillside, there is a row of brand-new buildings.

The girls opened the app and checked the guide, saying enviously, "I heard that's also staff dormitory there, but it's all single rooms and family rooms, and the conditions are really good."

For ordinary students from an ordinary university in this small, third-tier city, getting such good job offers after graduation is something they could only dream of.

Now, as everyone stood with the boys at the factory gate, they saw a man in an olive-green training uniform emerge from the guardhouse, accompanied by a majestic large dog.

What a tough guy!
Are even the security guards at rural businesses now this high-standard? The college students were stunned, feeling that graduation season would be a terrible time for them.

Everyone was momentarily speechless.

"Um, um..." the college student stammered, "We were invited by Boss Song to have some fun and wanted to see the cafeteria..."

Chen Yuan had already mentioned this matter. The other party glanced at them and then slightly turned his body to the side.
"Go ahead. You can wander around the courtyard as you like, but you can't go into the dorms, the cafeteria kitchen, or anywhere else."

As for the menu, it should all be written on the blackboard by now; they can figure it out at a glance.

The weather is so hot these days that shade nets have been put up over the courtyard inside the factory, making it cooler than outside.

Everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief, first rubbing their faces in front of the water tap outside, before going into the cafeteria next door.

The cafeteria was spacious and flat, and kept very clean. There was no greasy smell of food in the air, and even the glass was shiny and bright, making it exceptionally refreshing.

There are very few windows, only one or two, but the disinfection cabinet next to it is huge!
The various tableware inside, layered upon layer, indicated that there were quite a few people eating there.

There were also two large tea barrels in the corner.

The girl exclaimed, "This! This is the tea that the guide mentioned is a must-drink!"

"What about the other one?"

Boys, look at the one next to you.

"Sometimes they seem to have white fungus soup, but it's limited. If they don't have white fungus soup, it's just regular soup, like sweet fermented rice balls, pork ribs with kelp, or clear mutton soup..."

The more he read, the more silent he became.

They exchanged glances, looking at each other in bewilderment.

How is this ordinary? Is this what you call ordinary?

Or is their clear mutton soup made by simmering a large bone in a whole bucket of water?

On the contrary, the tea brewed with old tea leaves and tea dust, as indicated above, looks quite ordinary!

"Maybe the ingredients are good?"

The boys still remember the unforgettable meal from that night, and now they can't help but speculate.

But they couldn't even imagine just how good it would be.

The girls had never tasted it before, only heard about it from others, so it was even harder for them to imagine it now.

But after searching around, I couldn't find a disposable cup, which made me quite frustrated.

"My water bottle is in my backpack; I forgot to bring it."

It's so hot, why would you need to bring a water bottle when you're just out for a stroll and to see the surroundings?

Of the eight people in their group, only two brought water bottles; the rest drank bottled water.

As they were talking, a young man came over with a towel and a pen. He deftly wiped away the blurry writing on the small blackboard next to him and then rewrote the menu.

Braised Beef Brisket with Potatoes

Stir-fried green peppers with cured pork

[Pickled Pepper Cold Pig Ear Salad]

Hand-torn cabbage

Loofah and Egg Soup

University students: ...

So, is it true that only university cafeterias in the world have the worst food? Why is the food in rural cafeterias so good? Is it made with high-quality ingredients?

Everyone swallowed hard.

After writing down the menu, the other person noticed them: "Hey, it's only Friday and there are already tourists? The tea is freshly boiled, help yourselves—you can't use the kettle, you know?" (End of Chapter)