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

Meanwhile, under the sycamore tree at the entrance of the canteen, Liu Dayou and Li Changfu from the purchasing department were staring at each other.

"Old Liu, we were here first, why are you from the equipment department ahead of us!" Li Changfu said loudly, hands on his hips, striking a bully's pose.

These people in the purchasing department have always been arrogant and domineering in the factory, so they naturally don't hold back when they speak.

Upon hearing Li Changfu's words, the female colleagues from the purchasing department behind him immediately puffed out their chests and looked at the people from the equipment department opposite them with arrogance.

But they forgot that these old men in the equipment department were treated like royalty in the factory.

There's nothing we can do about it; the equipment department staff are all technically skilled!

In particular, Liu Dayou didn't have time to eat breakfast again this morning.

They were starving, and under normal circumstances, they might have been able to negotiate, but today, when Liu Dayi heard this, his eyes immediately lit up.

"What do you mean you arrived first! Our equipment department sent Chen Erzhu here first to reserve the line!"

As he said this, Liu Dayou immediately pointed to Chen Erzhu, who was at the very front of the line.

Of all times, that kid turned around and grinned at Li Changfu in a provocative manner.

"I represent the entire equipment department by myself!"

"Hey..." Li Changfu was so angry at this sentence that he laughed.

What does it mean for one person to represent the entire equipment department?

So Li Changfu wants to represent the entire purchasing department all by himself? Is that even possible?

Just as Li Changfu was about to walk away with a glare, Tian Airong, who was standing next to him, spoke up and said something fair.

"Line Chief Liu, since everyone's here to be the first to taste Chef Chen's cooking, and our purchasing team arrived at the same time as Chen Erzhu, to be fair, I propose that our purchasing team queue up with the equipment team, is that alright?"

Liu Dayou raised his eyebrows, feeling somewhat wavering.

It's not impossible to queue together.

He glanced at Tian Airong and said, "It's not impossible, but we need to agree on how the queue will be arranged. It won't do if our entire equipment department is placed after your purchasing department!"

As he said this, he pointed to Chen Erzhu, who was at the front of the line.

"See that? These are the technical backbone of our equipment department, understand? Our people are first in line, you came later, it's first come, first served!"

Liu Dayou was a rough man, and everyone in the factory knew that.

So Tian Airong didn't intend to argue with him, she just smiled.

"Then we'll have our equipment department staff and our purchasing department staff take turns queuing. Anyway, Chef Chen's cooking is enough for the whole factory, so we don't have to worry about those at the back of the line not getting any food!"

Liu Dayou curled his lip.

He thought to himself, "What a statement."

If that's really what the purchasing department thinks, why are they rushing over here so fast before lunchtime?

It's simply because everyone wants to be the first to eat the food prepared in the cafeteria!

He heard it as soon as he got to work this morning: everyone who stayed to work overtime last night got a treat made by Chen Wei.

Damn it! Liu Dayou was clearly the first to eat Chen Wei's cooking, but he always misses out on the later meals! What a damn bad luck!

However, the purchasing department did arrive before them, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Liu Dayou reluctantly nodded and randomly pointed to a few people.

"Did you all hear that? We're all taking turns queuing with the purchasing team. Nobody's allowed to grab anything!"

After finally reaching an agreement, everyone lined up.

Liu Dayou stood in the queue, silently counting the heads of the people in front of him.

One, two, three, four, five... There are thirty people in total!

He gritted his teeth, thinking to himself that he had wasted 5 minutes arriving at the cafeteria today! He hadn't expected that these guys were all so shrewd, knowing that if they wanted to eat Chen Wei's food, they had to arrive early, and they all arrived earlier than the last!

I'll report them all tomorrow!

The line moved slowly forward. Liu Dayou's face looked grim, but Chen Erzhu, who was at the front of the line, looked extremely pleased!

Upon entering the cafeteria, you are greeted by a wave of heat, mingled with the aroma of the dishes.

Chen Erzhu took a deep breath of the aroma of the dish and clicked his tongue in satisfaction.

The heat in the cafeteria did not slow his pace at all; instead, he strode forward and quickly reached the cafeteria window.

The window wasn't open yet, and Wang Xiuli, Wu Xiaochun, and the others inside were busy bringing out steamed buns and porridge.

Chen Erzhu was getting impatient and reached out to knock on the small window.

"Aunt Wang! Aunt Wang! Come quick, come quick! People will starve to death if we're any later!"

"You brat! What's with the rush! Can't you see we're already scrambling around like crazy? All you do is peek in and eat, you're not going to starve!"

Wang Xiuli hurriedly opened the window, poked half her head out, and said jokingly.

Chen Erzhu chuckled, quickly showing his big teeth in a flattering manner.

"Aunt Wang, Aunt Wang! I was wrong, don't be angry. I'll come to the cafeteria myself to help you tomorrow, okay? I'm really hungry today. What delicious food did Chef Chen make today?"

This kid rambled on and on, but that last sentence was probably what he really wanted to say!

Wang Xiuli rolled her eyes at him, opened all the windows, and then turned around to bring over three enamel basins of different sizes.

She pointed to the three large bowls in front of her: "See for yourself, what do you want to eat?"

Chen Erzhu peered curiously through the window and saw three large basins containing different kinds of vegetables.

Hot and sour shredded vegetables, Mapo tofu, and the last one is...

His gaze fell on the last small bowl, which contained green peppers and shredded meat.

This is... shredded pork with green peppers?!

Chen Erzhu was stunned for a moment, then burst into wild joy.

He got into the right line today!

I even managed to catch Chef Chen making a new dish!

"Aunt Wang! This, this! Give me one!" Chen Erzhu's hand was trembling as he pointed at the bowl of shredded pork with green peppers.

He was so excited that he couldn't contain his excitement. The dishes from the past few days had made him so hungry, and he could still taste them now!

If Chef Chen's vegetarian dishes are this good, his meat dishes must be incredibly delicious!

Even if he has to sell everything he owns today, he still has to buy one!

As a large spoonful of shredded green peppers and pork fell into Chen Erzhu's lunchbox, he still wasn't satisfied, so he bought half a portion of Mapo Tofu and half a portion of hot and sour shredded vegetables before happily carrying his lunchbox to the seat behind him.

Don't ask why it's only half a portion—given Chen Erzhu's family's financial situation, the fact that he can grit his teeth and eat a meal of stir-fried green peppers and pork today is like celebrating the New Year!

As he passed by the line, the kid cockily started showing off to a few purchasing staff.

"Look, look! Have you seen Chef Chen's new dish? Shredded pork with green peppers! I'm not going to hold back, let's dig in! Hahaha!"