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

"Hahaha—" As soon as he finished speaking, Ma Dayong and the young man surnamed Sun looked at each other and burst into laughter.

They seemed certain that Lin Jun wouldn't dare to talk back.

Lin Jun's face turned bright red, and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

But as his thoughts raced, he managed to hold back.

Unlike Chen Wei, who had Chen Jianguo, the head of the administrative department, as his guarantor, or Ma Dayong, who had Ma Qianjin as his uncle, Lin Jun had nothing.

Just because he got into Tianjin No. 1 Steel Plant, his mother and sister told everyone he met that he was capable.

But a monthly salary of about 20 yuan is still not enough to support three people.

He was struggling to make ends meet and had no ability to withstand risks.

If he causes trouble here today, Lin Jun will be kicked out tomorrow, and his whole family will starve.

He hasn't even learned his cooking skills from Chen Wei yet!

Thinking of this, Lin Jun suppressed his inner impulse and turned to leave.

Unexpectedly, Ma Dayong behind him seemed to take advantage of the situation and burst into laughter again.

"Oh my, look at him, such a coward! He's probably always licking Chen Wei's shoes in the kitchen! Let me tell you, it's no use licking him, those two uncles won't share any of the resources they have with you! You're just dreaming of getting ahead and making a fortune through Chen Wei, hahaha..."

A series of shrill laughs rang out, and Lin Jun's teeth were grinding together.

The enamel basin filled with minced garlic and pork belly in his hand emitted waves of aroma, constantly stimulating Lin Jun's senses.

Lin Jun could tell that the small bowl of meat was originally prepared by Chen Wei for himself.

But because I said a few more words, the pot of meat ended up in my hands again.

Chen Wei disregarded past grievances, but Lin Jun felt that his current humiliation was truly unfair to him.

Lin Jun silently took two steps forward and placed the enamel basin he was holding steadily under the sycamore tree.

Then he turned around again.

Ma Dayong and Sun Ergou still looked down on people, and were about to say a few more unpleasant things.

Lin Jun's fist had already smashed directly into Ma Dayong's face.

A muffled "bang" was heard.

Then came Ma Dayong's muffled groan.

"Damn it! You dare hit me! Do you know who my uncle is... ah..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Lin Jun clenched his fist and rushed forward to deliver another punch.

It hit Ma Dayong directly on the bridge of his nose.

Instantly, blood gushed from Ma Dayong's nostrils.

Ma Dayong covered his face, a fierce glint in his eyes, and raised his fist to retaliate.

Lin Jun's fist landed a step ahead of Ma Dayong's, striking him squarely between the nose and mouth.

But this punch caused Lin Jun to be grabbed by Sun Ergou, who looked like a skinny monkey, and Sun Ergou bit his arm.

"ah--"

Lin Jun cried out in surprise and immediately took half a step back in pain.

On the other side, Ma Dayong's fist was already coming up, and it looked like the fist the size of a sandbag was about to land on Lin Jun's face.

Just then, a sharp shout came from behind the three of them.

"Stop! All of you, stop! What are you doing?!"

The security personnel shouted angrily and rushed over, separating the three people.

Upon closer inspection, all three men had injuries of varying degrees, with Ma Dayong's face covered in blood, appearing to be the most seriously injured.

"Pah—" Lin Jun spat the bloody foam in his mouth onto the ground before being reluctantly dragged away by several security guards.

All that remained was a small enamel basin under the sycamore tree, its oil paper covering it trembling slightly in the wind.

-

The next morning, around 5 a.m., Chen Wei arrived at the kitchen.

He planned to make two dishes today: shredded radish in a shredded sauce and Mapo tofu, so he arrived early and needed to prepare the ingredients in advance.

As soon as Chen Wei pushed open the door to the canteen's kitchen, he was immediately startled by the scene before him.

Lin Jun was huddled in front of the stove, his whole body curled up in a ball, his face covered in bruises, and a crooked piece of duct tape wrapped around his arm.

Two damp rags were hanging next to the stove, and the stove and floor had been cleaned.

It's clear that this kid took what I said yesterday to heart; he probably got up early to clean up.

Chen Wei thought highly of Lin Jun in this respect. Compared to Wu Xiaochun, who was a foodie, Lin Jun was much more hardworking in his daily work.

"What's going on?" Chen Wei walked over and asked with a frown.

Lin Jun lowered his head and only said one sentence in a muffled voice.

"I tripped and fell while walking, but I'm perfectly fine!"

Chen Wei naturally didn't believe it; he had sustained all the injuries from falling while walking. But seeing that the other person was unwilling to talk about it, Chen Wei didn't press the matter further.

He simply instructed Lin Jun to first clean a large quantity of radishes, preparing to shred them later.

As for the tofu, it won't be delivered until the purchasing department starts work.

As the two were tidying up, Wu Xiaochun came in, yawning and rubbing his sleepy eyes.

As soon as I entered, I saw Lin Jun, who had been beaten up like a black-eyed chicken.

"Wow! I thought Wu Danian and the others were just joking, but it turns out it's true! Lin Jun, you're amazing, daring to challenge Ma Dayong! Awesome, awesome!"

"Get lost!" Lin Jun said angrily, his face turning red.

Now Chen Wei finally understood. He realized that Lin Jun's facial injury was definitely not from a fall; it turned out he had been fighting with Ma Dayong.

It's just a mystery why Lin Jun, who is usually quite cautious, would suddenly cause trouble.

However, the other party didn't intend to discuss it in detail, so Chen Wei simply didn't ask.

He simply beckoned Wu Xiaochun and Lin Jun over, and while there wasn't much work to do yet, he taught them how to hold a knife and cut vegetables.

Anyone can do this chopping technique, since we all started out as kitchen helpers. If you can't even chop vegetables, that would be too embarrassing.

However, there is still a difference in skill level when it comes to chopping vegetables.

Just like the radish shreds that Wu Xiaochun is cutting right now, they're practically radish strips.

They were all different sizes, widths, and even lengths; he had cut a radish into pieces, which was a complete waste.

Chen Wei rubbed his temples and immediately stopped Wu Xiaochun from wasting food.

"Stop, stop, stop! You're cutting it wrong! I already told you, when you cut, your posture should be relaxed, use your wrist, but don't hold your elbow. The blade should follow your fingers, don't be afraid of cutting your hand, once you get the hang of it, you won't be able to cut yourself. Try it again as I said!"

Wu Xiaochun, on the other side, let out a wail.

"Oh dear, why is this so difficult! It's just shredded radish, Brother Chen, how about you make do with this?"

Chen Wei remained silent for a moment.

"No way! Don't underestimate this seemingly simple task of chopping vegetables. The thickness of the cuts directly affects the final quality of the dish. If you cut the radish shreds into strips, how are the comrades supposed to eat it!"

As he was speaking, he heard a series of "tap tap tap tap" sounds coming from the chopping board beside him.

Turning my head, I saw that Lin Jun was silently slicing radish shreds next to me.

The snow-white radish shreds flew off piece by piece under his blade. Although his knife skills were not as good as Chen Wei's, they were much better than Wu Xiaochun's.

Chen Wei nodded inwardly, about to offer a word of praise, when the system's voice suddenly boomed in his mind.

[Ding—, Host is detected to be engaged in teaching activities]

[Apprentices: Wu Xiaochun (proficiency conversion rate 20%), Lin Jun (proficiency conversion rate 70%)]

[Current knife skill proficiency acquisition: 100% proficiency is gained through the host's own operation. Apprentice operation yields 70% proficiency.]