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

"A bunch of country bumpkins who've never seen the world."

Ma Dayong was left on the periphery of the crowd. As he watched the workers rush towards the cart that Wu Xiaochun was pushing, he sneered inwardly and muttered to himself.

"How good can the food made by an apprentice be? It's barely edible!"

"Hey young man, you have no idea how good Chef Chen's cooking is at our factory. The online late-night snacks are free, but if you're late in line, they'll be gone! Come on, let's go!"

The same old man with gray hair was speaking. He tried to grab Ma Dayong, but Ma Dayong shook him off without any appreciation.

"Go by yourself! I'm not interested in that kind of stuff!"

Ma Dayong sneered, turned around, and slowly leaned against the wall next to him, looking like he had no intention of going up to queue for food.

The old man looked at him suspiciously, thinking that this new young man in the workshop was probably a fool. Usually, he couldn't even buy vegetables with ration coupons even in the middle of the day, but now they were being delivered to the workshop for free, and he actually refused them.

The old man was busy getting his food and didn't pay any more attention to Ma Dayong. He shook his head and quickly left.

Once the line of people in front of him had formed, Wu Xiaochun tapped the large iron ladle in his hand and lifted the pot lid.

The fragrance that was originally hidden deep in the pot immediately spread out.

Several people in the front of the line immediately exclaimed with delight, "Wow, it smells so good! I've been craving hot and sour shredded vegetables for the past couple of days, and Chef Chen has made it right away!"

Everyone chuckled and complimented the person on their good luck, and the line surged toward Chen Xiaochun's side to get their food.

The fragrance filled the air, giving the workshop, which was originally filled with the smell of rust and sweat, a slightly alluring aroma.

Ma Dayong's nostrils twitched involuntarily twice.

He felt a refreshing, sour, and spicy aroma wafting from the other end of the cart, like a cool breeze in summer, piercing through the heat and stuffiness of the workshop and hitting his nostrils directly.

"Um?"

He sniffed carefully, then looked towards the food serving area with some confusion in his mind.

"What's that smell? It smells so good!" Ma Dayong thought to himself. Could it be that dish made by Chen Wei?

However, he quickly dismissed his idea.

How could that be? How could that aged dish have such a high weight?

Before he came, he had already asked around and found out that the kid had never been exposed to cooking before, and had only been learning in the kitchen and canteen for less than half a month.

If someone could acquire such skills within half a month, only a genius could do it.

Thinking this, Ma Dayong couldn't help but peek over the cart that Wu Xiaochun was pushing.

I want to see which chef can make such a delicious dish.

He had a falling out with Wu Xiaochun and the others, and he wasn't planning on eating today.

But right now, Ma Dayong couldn't hold back any longer.

Just then, the old man who had just joined the queue saw Ma Dayong peeking around and immediately waved to him.

"Hey kid, come on over and have some! I told you, you can't pass up a late-night snack!"

"cough--"

That's right, it's a late-night snack provided by the factory anyway, might as well take it!

Everyone on the night shift can eat it, so why can't Ma Dayong?

Having finally managed to find a way to save face, Ma Dayong let go of his inner turmoil, strode over, and joined the queue.

He completely ignored the surprised looks he was getting from the people behind him.

Everyone was happily getting their food. There were more than 100 people on the night shift, but Wu Xiaochun was quick and efficient, and soon the line reached Ma Dayong's side.

There were still four or five people ahead of Ma Dayong in line when Wu Xiaochun spotted Ma Dayong's rough, smelly face at a glance.

"Ha! This bastard still has the nerve to come and eat Brother Chen's cooking!"

Wu Xiaochun snorted coldly, inwardly cursing Ma Dayong for being shameless.

However, this late-night snack was a factory regulation, provided free of charge to all comrades on the night shift. Right now, Ma Dayong shamelessly joined the queue, and Wu Xiaochun couldn't do anything about it.

Wu Xiaochun felt a bit frustrated; he really didn't want to feed that beast the delicious meal he had worked so hard to prepare all afternoon.

He rolled his eyes and suddenly had an idea.

He didn't show anything on his face, he just lowered his head and continued getting his food.

When it was Ma Dayong's turn, he had a sour face and acted like a big shot, shoving the lunchbox in his hand directly in front of Wu Xiaochun.

Wu Xiaochun looked up at him but didn't say anything.

She simply reached out and took the lunchbox from Ma Dayong, even carefully scooping out two spoonfuls of food and putting them into the lunchbox.

However, when Wu Xiaochun returned the lunchbox to Ma Dayong, his nose seemed to itch, and he reached out and scratched his nose with the hand that was holding the lunchbox.

No one paid any attention to this tiny movement.

Moreover, Ma Dayong's eyes had already been drawn to the two bowls of fragrant dishes in front of him.

The moment he took the lunchbox and saw the abundance of food inside, Ma Dayong felt a little smug.

So what if you can't stand me? You still have to serve me my meals!

He raised an eyebrow, turned around and left with a satisfied look on his face.

However, they failed to notice the sly look that appeared on Wu Xiaochun's face.

Immediately, two more workers lined up behind them, holding lunchboxes and asking for food.

Wu Xiaochun reached out and took the lunchbox, but only gave the two workers a portion of the leftover shredded radish, and then returned the lunchbox to them.

The two men looked at it strangely and pointed to the hot and sour shredded vegetables next to them.

"There's still half a portion left, fill it all up for me! I love Chef Chen's dish, I'll take it all!"

Unexpectedly, Wu Xiaochun, who is usually very easy to talk to, waved his hand and said with an impatient look.

"Get out of here! This last half is for me! I'm a kitchen helper now, don't I deserve this kind of privilege? No way, no way!"

"what?"

Since everyone was an old acquaintance, the two workers, though puzzled, simply scratched their heads and didn't think much of it.

After finishing distributing all the dishes, Wu Xiaochun didn't leave immediately.

He pushed his cart, found a corner to squat in, and kept looking towards Ma Dayong.

Watching the other person wolf down their food, he could barely contain his smile.

He couldn't help but think to himself, "Ma Dayong, Ma Dayong! Your Grandpa Chun's phlegm smells so good!"

It turns out that while scratching his nose, the kid had secretly spat a mouthful of phlegm into Ma Dayong's food in full view of everyone.

No wonder he wouldn't give the remaining half of the hot and sour shredded vegetables to anyone else!

It was a lucky break for Ma Dayong, who got the last serving of hot and sour shredded vegetables.

Looking at the other end of the workshop, Ma Dayong was squatting on the ground, wolfing down his food, completely unaware that something had been added to his food.