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

"This...this..." Liu Rufang stammered for a long time, unable to utter a complete sentence.

After struggling for a while, Liu Rufang reluctantly swallowed the bite of green pepper and shredded pork in her mouth, her astonishment still lingering in her eyes.

"Xiao Wei, this...this really happened to you? Your cooking is amazing!"

Chen Wei was a little embarrassed by the praise and scratched his head.

"It's not very well made today, please bear with it."

"That was wonderful! This kid is so modest!" Liu Rufang praised without reservation. "Don't you think so, Old Chen!"

She said something, but found that no one at the table answered.

Turning my head again, I saw Chen Jianguo and his daughter Chen Liling each shoveling rice into a bowl, their chopsticks moving like whirlwinds, reaching into the plate in the middle of the table.

The three plates of food that were just full have now been mostly taken away.

The two of them kept eating, one chopstick after another, unable to stop. Their eating manners were nothing like those of someone eating at home.

It was just like when Chen Jianguo was starving in the army canteen and was grabbing food.

"What are you two fighting over!" Liu Rufang's eyes widened. "Leave some for me!"

"puff--"

This sentence almost made Chen Wei spit out all the rice he had just eaten.

You should know that Liu Rufang is a very respectable person and is very strict with her children. Chen Wei never expected that his strict aunt would say such a thing.

"They all...they all..."

He quickly offered a word of comfort.

But then they saw Chen Jianguo and his daughter Chen Liling staring wide-eyed as they fought over the plate in the middle of the table.

"Dad! Eat slowly! You get to eat my brother's cooking every day at the factory, you can't take it from us!" Chen Liling's cheeks were bulging, and she even reached out to protect the plate in the middle of the table.

Chen Jianguo had the same expression on his face, and he stubbornly disregarded his dignity and started fighting with his own daughter.

"You can't get any food at the cafeteria at all, and shouldn't you young people respect the elderly and care for the young?"

Looking at the childish expressions of the father and daughter in front of him, Chen Wei was speechless.

The meal was finished in such a lively and cheerful manner.

-

After dinner, Liu Rufang wanted Chen Wei to stay at her house for the night, but Chen Wei declined.

"I have to go back to the factory, Auntie."

"What time is it? You only come back once a week. Why don't you stay overnight before leaving?" Liu Rufang said after a moment of surprise.

"Yeah, bro, I want to eat your cooking again tomorrow!" Chen Liling immediately protested.

Chen Wei smiled and patted her head: "I'll cook you something delicious when I come back next week. There are workers working overtime at the factory tonight, and I want to go back and make them some late-night snacks."

Liu Rufang missed Chen Wei and naturally disagreed with his return.

Chen Jianguo, who had been sitting to the side, spoke up: "You two shouldn't stop him. Young people should work hard and strive for success. How can you get promoted if you don't achieve results sooner?"

As he said this, he gave Chen Wei a meaningful look. Chen Wei knew that his thoughts probably coincided with Chen Jianguo's.

Liu Rufang couldn't say anything more after that, so she packed Chen Wei a whole bag full of delicious food and salted duck eggs from home before reluctantly letting him go.

Chen Wei left the Chen family home and caught the last bus.

His eagerness to return to the factory wasn't for any kind of dedication, but rather because of the news his uncle, Chen Jianguo, had brought him that day.

Wang Defa is coming back!

In Chen Wei's memory, Chef Wang was not an easy person to get along with.

Now that he has taken his place, if he doesn't want to be ostracized, he has to do what Chen Jianguo said and show enough real skills before Wang Defa comes back so that most people in the factory will stand on his side.

Of course, the dishes he made sold well in the first two days, but two dishes in just two days were not enough to gain everyone's approval - after all, Wang Defa had been a chef in the factory for more than ten years, and his Huaiyang cuisine was once praised by everyone.

To gradually win people's hearts, Chen Wei needs to come up with more and better dishes!

Currently, the proficiency level in the equipment slots is less than 100 points, which is still a long way from leveling up. If I want to unlock new dishes, I can only hope to increase my reputation points.

The chance to win prizes in the shop with each upgrade of reputation points is exactly the opportunity Chen Wei has been hoping for to unlock dishes.

Having a few more signature dishes in hand means I won't feel intimidated when Wang Defa returns.

As I pondered this, the bus slowly arrived at the station.

"We've arrived at Jinyi Steel Plant. Those getting off, please pay attention!" the conductor's clear voice rang out.

Chen Wei picked up the two large bags beside him—filled with all sorts of delicious food that Liu Rufang had stuffed in—and squeezed his way off the bus through the crowd.

-

Jin Yi General Steel, back kitchen.

Wu Xiaochun had just finished cleaning the canteen kitchen and was cooking all the millet porridge for dinner on the stove when he saw the kitchen door being pushed open. Chen Wei stood at the door, carrying a bulging bag.

Wu Xiaochun was taken aback: "Didn't you go home? Why are you back again!"

"My aunt brought me some tea eggs and salted duck eggs. Come and eat them yourself!" Chen Wei didn't answer directly, but just pointed to the big bag he had thrown on the table.

Upon hearing that there was something delicious to eat, Wu Xiaochun immediately beamed and rushed over to rummage through Chen Wei's bag.

Sure enough, they pulled out three or four salted duck eggs and four or five tea eggs.

The kid didn't even care about the saltiness; he peeled three tea eggs in one go and stuffed them into his mouth.

In the sweltering summer heat, Liu Rufang was afraid that the tea eggs would spoil on the way due to the musty smell, so she added a lot of salt while boiling them. This made Wu Xiaochun feel quite salty, and he puffed out his cheeks and rolled his eyes.

Chen Wei ignored him and walked towards the shelves, casually flipping through the remaining stock.

I don't know if Chenwei was just lucky or what, but there were two boards of fresh tofu on the shelf today.

"The purchasing department delivered this afternoon; they probably didn't know you were on holiday," Wu Xiaochun said, sticking out her tongue as she finally swallowed the extremely salty tea egg.

Chen Wei nodded; this had indeed been a great help to him.

Two slabs of tofu can make about 80 servings of Mapo Tofu. There are about 200 people working the night shift at the factory. If I also make 120 servings of hot and sour shredded vegetables, that should be enough.

Thinking of this, he didn't delay any longer, picked up his work clothes and put them on, and gave instructions to Wu Xiaochun.

"Get ready! Tell all the chefs working overtime tonight that everyone will get an extra meal!"

"An extra meal?" Wu Xiaochun looked bewildered.

Which leader announced that there would be an extra meal tonight? How come he didn't know!

When did working overtime start rewarding you with a meal?