Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 875 874 Military training during summer vacation?
"This is Section Chief Gongsun Tai from the Security Department. You can talk to Xiao Tang." Seeing Tang Zhitong's bewildered expression, Wei Zhizhen stepped aside, making room for the comrade who had come over with him.

"Comrade Tang, hello." The comrade next to him extended his hand. Since he was not a suspect, it was still necessary to show the necessary courtesy.

"Hello, Section Chief Gongsun." Tang Zhitong reached out and shook hands with him.

"Comrade Tang is clearly a cultured man. It's rare to hear someone pronounce my surname correctly on the first try." Gongsun Tai said with a cheerful smile, then withdrew his hand and began to explain the case: "Last night, during our patrol, we noticed some commotion in the canteen and caught a young waiter stealing food. After questioning him for a while, he said that a student introduced by Section Chief Wei had borrowed three jin of grain coupons from him to eat at the small canteen yesterday. He didn't have any grain coupons to eat with and was so hungry that he stole them."

"That's obviously nonsense. Even if Xiao Tang borrowed food coupons from him at noon, does that mean he has to return them in the evening? If he doesn't return them, he won't have any food? Such a flimsy excuse, I really don't understand why you're still investigating." Wei Zhizhen said with a dissatisfied look, almost bluntly saying that Gongsun Tai had no ability to discern.

"This... I haven't borrowed any grain coupons, but this weight sounds familiar. Was that young waiter short with thick eyebrows and big eyes?" Tang Zhitong, upon hearing that it wasn't that the man surnamed Huang had lost his mind, but rather that the waiter had charged her the bill, began to speculate on the matter. Did the man surnamed Huang instruct the waiter to do this? Or was the waiter just being clever?

"Yes, his name is Song Tie, and he's Chef Huang's apprentice at the small canteen. So you really borrowed it?" Gongsun Tai didn't really believe Song Tie's testimony, but they asked him several times in different orders, and he still gave the same answer. As a member of the security department, he definitely had to investigate.

Gongsun Tai was guided by the public security system, and at the same time, he was able to learn some information from the system that ordinary people did not know.

Song Tie was very careful when he was stealing food and did not waste any grain. Although he said he was very hungry, he was fundamentally different from someone who was starving.

A while ago, a food store was burgled at night. When the store opened the door the next day, the two thieves were lying on the ground, both of them hard.

The cause of death given by the forensic doctor was simple—he ate too much and was stuffed.

When people are really starving, who cares about wasting food?
"I didn't borrow any." Tang Zhitong shook his head firmly, resolutely denying that he had borrowed grain coupons from the shop assistant. However, he still said to Gongsun Tai, "Section Chief Gongsun, may I have a private chat with Section Chief Wei?"

"Okay, let's chat." Gongsun Tai seemed very easy to talk to, and took a few steps back to the corner.

Wei Zhizhen didn't understand what Tang Zhitong had to talk to him about, but he still followed Tang Zhitong's footsteps and walked a few more steps inside.

Suddenly, the distance between them widened.

"Teacher Wei, I have a question for you. What is the background of Chef Huang in the cafeteria?" Knowing your enemy is the key to victory. Tang Zhitong did not rashly reveal that Chef Huang had been cheating people out of their money. Instead, he inquired about his background.

How could a canteen worker know that he had followed Wei Zhizhen's lead to the small canteen?
Tang Zhitong found it hard to believe that no one surnamed Huang was behind this.

But then I thought about it again and realized it didn't make sense.

Judging from Huang's sneaky behavior, it doesn't seem like this is the first time he's done it. Logically speaking, since I caught him cheating, he should at least try to shut me and his apprentice up.

The man surnamed Huang steals so much food, yet his apprentice has gone so far as to steal food from the cafeteria.

This is almost on par with the motives of white-hat hackers who actively invade, Tang Zhitong couldn't understand it.

Since this matter involved the case, Tang Zhitong couldn't directly inquire with Gongsun Tai, so he could only first find out from Wei Zhizhen before deciding whether to sell the man surnamed Huang out completely.

"Master Huang? I heard he's an apprentice of the head chef at Qingfengtang. A few years ago, when the school was newly established, it lacked chefs, so they coordinated with a sister unit to bring him here." Wei Zhizhen was a little surprised, not expecting Tang Zhitong to ask him about this.

"That's it? He didn't get particularly close to any leader?" Tang Zhitong knew about Qingfeng Hall. In the late Qing Dynasty, there was a saying in Beijing that described the decadent life of playboys: "After seeing Sanqing, then Sixi; after eating Qingfeng, then Huifeng."

Sanqing and Sixi were both opera troupes, while Qingfeng and Huifeng were restaurants.

In the old city of Beijing, the restaurant industry was clearly divided. Restaurants named with "Hall" had to have their own stage, capable of hosting banquets and performances. In layman's terms, the venue had to be large and impressive.

Of the eight famous restaurants, only Huifengtang still stands today, while Qingfengtang has long since disappeared. The current Qingfeng Steamed Bun Shop has absolutely no connection with Qingfengtang.

The word "garden" is slightly inferior to "hall". The "garden" in Fengze Garden actually indicates the size of the building, but it has been used for a long time and has not been changed.

Below “garden” is “building”, also called “manor”. Hongbinlou is still standing today, and the “restaurant” that followed should also have originated from this.

Next is the "ju" (restaurant/restaurant). Of the original "Eight Ju" restaurants, only Tongheju and Shaguoju remain. At this level, the prices are more affordable. Ordinary people can save up their spare change for two months and still be able to go in and order a couple of dishes.

Among the "Eight Great Residences" was Wanxing Residence. After Wanxing Residence went bankrupt, a pastry chef came out and opened a shop to sell steamed buns. This was the predecessor of Qingfeng Steamed Bun Shop.

"No, don't overthink it, he's just an ordinary chef." Wei Zhizhen was somewhat amused and exasperated, and vehemently denied it.

"Then I'm relieved." Tang Zhitong said happily. Thinking about it, it made sense. If Qingfengtang was still around, Huang's lineage would continue. He might be able to get a job as a head chef or sous chef in a company. Why bother coming to the Post and Telecommunications Institute to work in a small canteen?
"What? Is this related to Master Huang?" Wei Zhizhen asked curiously.

"Hey, who knows?" Since Lao Huang had no background and he had been framed by his apprentice, Tang Zhitong didn't hide anything and briefly recounted what had happened yesterday.

"I never expected him to be this kind of person!" Wei Zhizhen frowned after hearing this. Chef Huang was a chef in the small canteen. This time, Tang Zhitong caught him red-handed in the kitchen. Previously, when college leaders and teachers went to eat, they had not been to the kitchen, so there was a possibility that he was cheated. This was no small matter.

"Hey, I didn't expect this either. I thought this was the end of it, but I didn't expect him to pull this stunt today. Maybe he saw that no leader was there yesterday, so he thought I was just using your connections and that he could be easily manipulated. He seems quite skilled at this; it doesn't seem like his first time." Stirring things up is something anyone can do, and failing to kill the snake only leads to more harm. Since he's already made his move, Tang Zhitong plans to just finish it off.

"I'll go back and report to my superiors later." Wei Zhizhen didn't say how to handle it, but the meaning was clear: he wouldn't let it go like this.

“The small canteen also needs a head chef. If the academy has trouble coordinating manpower, I know a teacher at a vocational school. I'm sure they have no shortage of chefs there.” Tang Zhitong directly offered Teacher Wang from the vocational school as a backup plan, indicating that he had the ability to seamlessly connect the small canteen and not affect its normal operation.

"I understand. Just let me know if you need anything." Wei Zhizhen nodded, glanced back at Gongsun Tai, and said, "Explain the situation to Section Chief Gongsun." "Okay!" Tang Zhitong agreed readily.

Tang Zhitong did indeed act somewhat hypocritically in this matter. He had already reached an understanding with the man surnamed Huang, but since his apprentice was involved in the case, he still wouldn't let go of him.

Now that he's involved in the case, Tang Zhitong definitely has to explain things clearly, otherwise wouldn't he be going against the security department?
As for the three jin of grain coupons, Tang Zhitong insisted that they must be compensation from Master Huang after he was found to have skimped on meat and vegetables.

If the logistics department and security department want to investigate, they should investigate how much Huang had previously embezzled.

Given Tang Zhitong's status, Gongsun Tai did not ask him to go to the security office to give a statement. He only questioned and recorded the information outside the classroom and then had Tang Zhitong sign it.

After that, Tang Zhitong was no longer involved; everyone was just waiting for the investigation results to be released.

Back in the classroom, Tang Zhitong not only couldn't understand what kind of crazy move Song Tie had made, but also felt that she was having a run of bad luck this year, as she kept getting involved in cases.

Some students recognized Wei Zhizhen as a teacher from the logistics department and thought that the issue of the holiday quota had been resolved, so they went up to ask: "Teacher Tang, is it possible to stay at school this summer vacation like the winter vacation?"

"I don't know, I'll ask the teacher later and then give you an answer." Tang Zhitong came back to his senses. The holiday was just around the corner, and the food supply in various places this year was even worse than last winter vacation. It was a wise choice for the students to stay at school, but he didn't know how the school would arrange it.

This matter cannot be delayed; we need to find out how to arrange it as soon as possible, because the monthly distribution of food coupons, water coupons, and bath coupons is just around the corner.

During break, Tang Zhitong went to Teacher Zhou's office to inquire about the situation.

"Just like during winter break, the number of students staying at school remains the same, and they don't need to go back to their hometowns. However, military training will be arranged in August this year. The specific location will be announced by the school, but it will probably be in another city. Tell your classmates that they should all stay at school in August and that everyone must participate in the military training." Even if Tang Zhitong doesn't come, Zhou Zheng will still talk to the class committee members about this in a couple of days, which will save them trouble.

"Military training is good, military training is good, August is also a good time." Tang Zhitong nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

You're not allowed to skip class! You're the one who skips class the most in the whole class, looks like you can't skip it this time.

But this is good too. Dr. Lü said a while ago that college students shouldn't be too idle and need a place to expend their energy, and now we have that.

Military training is very energy-consuming. Tang Zhitong remembers that during his high school and college military training, he not only got extremely tanned, but also had to attend various classes, including drills, watching movies and writing reviews, learning and singing songs, and tidying up his personal belongings.

Anyway, throughout the entire military training period, all I did in my spare time was eat and sleep. I couldn't do anything else at all, and it was extremely tiring.

"Is there anything else?" Tang Zhitong asked, lost in thought as he reminisced about the past, while Zhou Zheng didn't stay with him.

"Oh, my food ration isn't at the school. Will it be transferred with everyone else during military training?" Tang Zhitong originally came to inquire about the food ration for her classmates, but unexpectedly ended up worrying about her own food ration transfer.

“It’s just you alone, so this is easy to handle. You can give the food coupons to the school, we’ll talk about it later, there’s no rush,” Zhou Zheng said with a smile.

"Okay, thank you, Teacher Zhou. I'll go back and tell my classmates first." After asking the question, Tang Zhitong didn't stay in the office any longer. He said goodbye to Teacher Zhou and turned back to the classroom.

After tapping the blackboard eraser to attract the students' attention, Tang Zhitong announced the holiday arrangements and the matter of food supplies.

Upon hearing that the grain ration system would refer to last year's standards, the students felt relieved. Then, a student raised a question that everyone was concerned about: "Teacher Tang, can we still exchange for national grain coupons this year?"

Tang Zhitong slowly shook his head: "It's no use. Beijing has tightened the distribution of national grain coupons, and I can't coordinate it."

Upon hearing this, the students who were just looking forward to military training felt their spirits plummet. They knew they would have no worries about food and drink during the month-long holiday, but what about their families?
Tang Zhitong could see the expressions on his classmates' faces, but there was nothing he could do.

Last year, the escorts in the escort department could easily obtain national grain coupons from grain stores before going to other places to carry out escort missions. However, after the Spring Festival, this channel was tightened. Even when Tang Zhitong went to Wuhan, he had to rely on a certificate from the municipal bureau to get the national grain coupons.

Six months later, the national grain coupon system will only become more and more restrictive, and perhaps the situation will not improve until 62.

The wheat harvest season has just passed, and there will be an autumn harvest in the second half of the year. Before winter arrives, there will be plenty of food in the fields, ponds, and rivers, so the situation won't be too bad. It's just that the food will be a little less plentiful.

Tang Zhitong had no idea how things would develop during the winter break. He really wanted to help his classmates, but he was powerless to do so and could only take it one step at a time.

During lunch, Tang Zhitong called Gu Mancang out of the dormitory alone.

Although he couldn't take care of all the students, Tang Zhitong could still give special attention to a very few. After all, the natural and man-made disasters were more severe in Gu Mancang's hometown.

"How's it going back to your hometown? Is there any food left at home?" The two arrived outside the dormitory building and hid in the shade on one side of the building. There were no windows there, so they didn't have to worry about being eavesdropped on.

Upon hearing this, Gu Mancang's eyes reddened. She raised her arm to wipe away her tears and murmured, "Oh no, we didn't eat much. My brother secretly wrote to tell me that our parents have edema."

"Sigh, after the exam, you should go back home. You can't get national grain coupons, but I can procure some grain. You can take it back yourself." Tang Zhitong knew that Gu Mancang's hometown was in serious trouble. Looking at Gu Mancang, it was as if he had a 404 error on his head. He didn't ask any more questions or bring it up, but directly offered a solution.

"Teacher Tang, I will never forget your great kindness." Gu Mancang's tears flowed uncontrollably. He didn't even bother to wipe them away. He slumped down and knelt on the ground with a thud.

"What are you doing? Get up! If the other classmates see this, they'll think I'm bullying you!" Tang Zhitong took a step to the side, stood next to Gu Mancang, and used her arm strength to lift him up.

(End of this chapter)