In the 1970s, it started with contracting out communal dining.

Liu Dayou squatted on the threshold of the canteen, waving his chopsticks like a windmill.

He had already eaten three of the four cornbread buns, and the spicy and sour shredded vegetables in the lunchbox had long been stuffed into his stomach.

He was using his fourth steamed bun to sparingly dab the last bit of broth, not even letting go of the two drops left on the corner of the aluminum lunchbox.

He was sweating profusely from the meal, and a large patch of his dark blue work clothes was soaked through on the chest.

Liu Dayou hurriedly threw off his work clothes, revealing his muscular physique.

He walked towards Chen Wei like a bandit, covered in sweat, and flung the large lunchbox in his hand.

"Hey, Chef Chen, could you give us some more? This isn't enough! Five... no, ten more servings, please!"

Ten portions?

Chen Wei looked down at the large pot in his hand; it contained exactly ten portions.

It's like all that cooking this big pot of food was for nothing, it was all prepared for Liu Dayou alone...

It's already 10:30. It takes five or six minutes to cook ten portions, plus another two or three minutes to wash the pot. People will be eating by 11:30. How can he possibly cook a hundred portions of food?

Chen Wei gave an awkward laugh: "Director Liu, can you finish all this by yourself?"

"What's there to be afraid of! This little bit of food is nothing for a grown man like me. If I really can't finish it, I'll take it home!"

Liu Dayou chuckled, his dark face making his teeth appear even whiter—if only there weren't any seaweed bits stuck between them.

Liu Dayou, that brute, clearly didn't understand the hidden meaning in Chen Wei's words.

He simply gave a thumbs-up without hesitation and said loudly in a gruff voice:

"Hey Chef Chen, this flavor is absolutely amazing!"

"I've lived for over forty years, and while I wouldn't say I've been eating this hot and sour shredded vegetables since I was a child—my wife made it for me every day—I've never tasted anything as refreshing as yours! How can you make such a simple home-style dish so delicious!"

Ultimately, this Line Chief Liu is a genuine person, and this praise came from the bottom of his heart.

Chen Wei smiled and didn't take those words to heart.

Liu Dayou was, after all, the first customer to come to my door, unlike the others in the morning, who were all brought in by Wu Xiaochun.

Fine, I'll give him the dish!

Chen Wei pointed to the enamel basin next to him.

"If Line Chief Liu really likes it, he can simply hand over his food ticket and take the remaining nine portions of this dish back with him. I definitely can't afford to give him any more; our factory workers need to eat lunch, after all."

Chen Wei pointed to the wall clock.

It's already 10:40.

Liu Dayou turned his head and realized what Chen Wei meant by his hesitant words. He quickly scratched his head awkwardly.

That makes sense. It's only Chef Chen's first day on the stove, what kind of nonsense is it for him to serve the whole dish himself?

But what if we could get him to stop eating right now...?

Liu Dayou licked his lips, staring longingly at the freshly cooked enamel basin, but couldn't bring himself to say those words.

"Jiufen is fine too!"

Liu Dayou hesitated for a moment, then immediately agreed happily.

He threw down the food ticket, picked up the enamel basin in front of Chen Wei, and ran off, as if afraid that Chen Wei would disagree if he was too late.

Two heads popped out of the window, watching as Liu Dayou carried a bowl of hot and sour shredded vegetables and ran faster than a rabbit. The two men were so anxious that they stomped their feet.

Liu Youqing pouted, regretting his actions:

"If only we hadn't been so shameless, we should have gone in with them. Look, Liu Dayou took all of Chef Chen's dishes. We've been squatting here for nothing, and we haven't even gotten a single bite."

The two of them arrived late in the morning. There were a total of twenty portions in the morning, and Wu Xiaochun and Wu Danian took away quite a lot of them. Ma Wen and Liu Youqing didn't get enough to eat at all.

Moreover, the flavor of this aged dish seems to have a magical quality; the taste lingers in my mind, impossible to forget. Every time I think of it, my mouth waters.

This made Liu Youqing and Ma Wen lose all interest in their work!

The two of them ran out of the steel rolling workshop before it was time to get off work, carrying lunch boxes and wanting to buy some food in advance.

But we have to do this in secret—if the leaders of the production department catch us doing it, we'll be punished!

Seeing Liu Dayou run off with the enamel basin, Liu Youqing quickly reached out and knocked on the back window of the canteen.

Chen Wei looked up and was startled by Liu Youqing's big donkey face.

"Master Liu, what's wrong?"

Liu Youqing's head was just high enough to reach the cafeteria window, and there was a thin layer of hair moving beneath his head.

Hearing Chen Wei ask this question, Liu Youqing felt a little embarrassed.

But the layer of hair underneath couldn't help but mutter.

"Speak quickly, someone's coming soon!"

The voice was familiar; it was the short man from this morning, Ma Wen from the steel rolling workshop.

Liu Youqing could only give an awkward laugh.

"Chef Chen, um... could you sell us two portions of the lunch dishes ahead of time...?"

It's really not a glorious thing for two grown men to come and peek through the cafeteria window because they can't control their cravings.

It turns out these two came all for the food in their own pot!

Chen Wei was at a loss for words, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

It seems that the dishes produced by the system are indeed tempting, but if this continues, and everyone comes for a bite, he may not be able to make enough for a hundred people at noon.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Wei suddenly spoke.

"Master Chef, this is my first day working in the kitchen, and I want to make a good impression on the management. Could you two help me spread the word in the workshop and encourage everyone to come to my place for lunch? If enough workers come at noon, I'll give you a special meal!"

Special treatment? That's something we'd love to have!

Liu Youqing immediately nodded.

This is great!

If they don't fight now, they won't have to worry about being caught skipping work by their boss.

Ma Qianjin, the head of the production department, is a very serious person. If any of his subordinates makes a mistake, he will not give them any face and will drag them in front of everyone to give them a severe scolding, as well as record a demerit and deduct wages. Just thinking about it makes people worry.

"Okay!" Liu Youqing glanced at the stove nearby, took a deep breath of the aroma of the shredded sour and spicy vegetables that were not yet ready, and nodded with lingering satisfaction.

"We'll go online and promote Chef Chen right away, so everyone in the factory will know about the new dish in the canteen by noon! And this dish..."

As Liu Youqing spoke, he couldn't hold back his drooling and swallowed hard, which was quite unseemly.

"Don't worry! I'll definitely reserve lunch time for the two chefs in advance!"

Chen Wei smiled mysteriously and lowered his voice.

"And I guarantee it's freshly cooked..."

Freshly cooked...wouldn't it smell even better!

"Alright! Just you wait!"

The two boys ran faster than rabbits, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Just as the two disappeared around the corner, the sound of the security patrol came from not far away, and they just brushed past Liu Youqing and Ma Wen.

If it weren't for Chen Wei's words, these two kids would have already been caught by the security department and would probably have been dragged to Ma Qianjin for a scolding.

Chen Wei smiled, ignoring these minor incidents, and focused all his attention on the control panel in front of him.