The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

Ji Xiaotao hadn't expected her to shout here. She looked around nervously, then turned and scolded:

"What are you yelling about? Who do you think you are?"

They usually serve less food, and although people are unhappy about it, they don't argue with them.

I didn't expect Lin Baoya to be so bold. Isn't she afraid that the people in the cafeteria will make things difficult for her in the future?

She didn't know that for Bao Ya, eating in the cafeteria was a favor to them. If it weren't for the hot weather, she wouldn't have come to eat this poorly made food.

"Of course I am me. I would never think of myself as you; that would be too pathetic."

Bao Ya isn't afraid of her. Not to mention her, she's not afraid of the entire cafeteria. At worst, she'll just flip their tables over.

"you……"

"What do you mean, 'what the hell'? What's going on with this food? Explain yourself! Do you serve food like this every day? How much have you embezzled?"

Ji Xiaotao was still shy, and her cheeks instantly burned when she was called out like that.

Bao Ya is right. That's what the aunties in the cafeteria do. They divide up the leftover food each day and take it home.

This is also a hidden perk of the cafeteria, something everyone knows but doesn't tacitly acknowledge.

Other people's hands shake when they serve food, but today hers shook a little too badly.

Someone came over and looked at the food in Bao Ya's lunchbox.

Bao Ya stepped aside to let everyone see clearly, and explained from the side:

"I ordered one meat dish and one vegetable dish, and that's all she gave me. Everyone should be careful. We pay for our own meals, but in the end, the cafeteria takes all the money."

Those nearby shook their heads when they saw the tiny amount of food. They usually had shaky hands when serving food, but giving such a small amount was excessive.

"Yeah, what's wrong with your cafeteria? They're giving people less and less food. Are they taking it home with them?"

"People didn't hold it against you before, but now you're getting more and more outrageous."

Seeing that everyone was overwhelmingly criticizing the cafeteria, Ji Xiaotao panicked. She only wanted to make things difficult for Lin Baoya, serving food to others in the way her aunts had taught her before.

"What happened?"

Chef Yu, swaying his obese body, jogged over from the kitchen. He had just gone out for a smoke when he heard a commotion erupt in the cafeteria.

Bao Ya stood at the food serving window, looking at Chef Yu indifferently, and raised her chin to indicate that he should look at the food in the lunchbox.

"Look at how much they've squeezed us now. Maybe we should just give you our wages as tribute from now on."

Chef Yu was displeased by her words, but when he caught a glimpse of the small amount of food in the lunchbox, he was startled, but quickly put on a smiling face.

"Comrade, this is about the amount for one serving. What will happen to the others if there's any more?"

"Hehe, one serving? Everyone, please listen carefully, Chef Yu said the food in my lunchbox is one serving."

As he spoke, he showed the lunchbox to everyone around him, then slammed it down at the food serving window.

"Chef Yu, look at the meal ticket she's holding. I clearly gave her 25 cents for one meat dish and one vegetable dish."

According to you, the food in my lunchbox barely counts as one serving. And you still say you didn't embezzle any.

Chef Yu was also shocked by what Bao Ya said. They usually gave her less, but never so little.

He's not stupid; if he gives too little food, the workers will definitely cause trouble.

"Is there some misunderstanding? Why is it so little? It's a mistake on our part. I'll make it up to you right away."

As Chef Yu spoke, he immediately grabbed the spoon, scooped two heaping spoonfuls from each of the two dishes, and put them into Bao Ya's lunchbox.

After serving the dishes, Chef Yu looked at Bao Ya with a forced smile.

Their jobs provide them with food and drink every day, and they even have leftovers to take home. Nobody wants to cause trouble.

After all, some things can't withstand close scrutiny. If everyone takes it too seriously, they might not only lose these benefits in the future, but they might even be fired.

Bao Ya looked at Chef Yu, who was all smiles, and then glanced at Ji Xiaotao, who was standing behind him with her head down, biting her lip until it bled.

"Okay, that's enough for today. If you dare to cut back on my food again, I'll stand guard at the gate every day, and none of your cafeteria staff will be allowed to take a single blade of grass out."

After saying that, he picked up his lunchbox, turned around, and went to find a table to eat.

Seeing that she had made a scene and received a large lunchbox full of food, the others followed suit and clamored for Chef Yu to serve them food.

There's nothing we can do. Everyone saw it clearly today: these people in the cafeteria are bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong. They don't give them any friendly treatment.

Having been caught red-handed today, Chef Yu dared not say anything and could only smile and serve food to everyone one by one.

Each serving was served to the brim, and in the end, there wasn't even a drop of soup left in the bowl.

When Jiang Yuan arrived, Bao Ya had already started eating. Seeing the overflowing amount of food in Bao Ya's lunchbox, he only bought a few steamed buns and filled his own lunchbox with mung bean soup before coming over to eat with her.

Today, the people getting food behind Bao Ya benefited from the same treatment as her; each serving was a third larger than usual, so they all came over to greet Bao Ya with smiles.

At the same time, the atmosphere in the cafeteria's kitchen was unusually oppressive.

Everyone hung their heads in silence, and Chef Yu smoked one cigarette after another in frustration. He had been smiling and apologizing to everyone, and his face was still twitching from the effort.

The culprit, Ji Xiaotao, huddled in a corner, not daring to make a sound.

The cafeteria has angered everyone today, and things won't be easy for them for a while.

If no one makes a fuss about it, everyone will keep quiet. But once someone does, they won't have a moment's peace for a while.

Chef Yu gets a headache just thinking about how they'll argue with them if they give them even a little less.

After finishing his cigarette, Chef Yu angrily threw the cigarette butt on the ground, turned around and yelled at the people in the cafeteria:

"Who's supposed to get the food today? Why is a temporary worker being asked to do it?"

Standing to the side, trying to minimize her presence, Sister Yuan cautiously raised her hand:

"Master Yu, my stomach is a little upset today, so I asked Xiao Tao to take over for me for a while."

"You ate lunch even though you had an upset stomach? You ate it in the outhouse. From now on, you're not allowed to touch the food, and you two are in charge of all the grocery shopping in the cafeteria!"

Chef Yu pointed at Sister Yuan and Ji Xiaotao. Ji Xiaotao flinched at his shout, clutching the hem of her clothes tightly and lowering her head even further.

The people who usually serve meals are full-time employees. Even if something goes wrong, no one will make a big deal out of it, since they won't fire them. Even if they make a fuss this time, they can still run into them next time.

A couple of days ago, Sister Yuan wanted to slack off, so she asked Ji Xiaotao to help her get the meals. Seeing that she did a good job, she let her do it for several days in a row while she slacked off on the side.

Even if a temporary worker performs well, they still have to wait until a quota is available before they can become a permanent employee. Sister Yuan wasn't worried at all that Ji Xiaotao would threaten her, but who knew she would cause such a big mess today.

"No, Master Yu, please forgive me this time. I won't do it again, Master Yu..."

Master Yu turned and left, and Sister Yuan ran after him, pleading for mercy.