The next day, Li Xia had to go to work in the cafeteria and got up earlier than usual.

Although she has to say goodbye to the days of sleeping in, Li Xia feels it's fine. She believes that no matter what time, a woman still needs to have a job.

No matter how much the job pays, at least it allows me to have some income so that I don't have to ask men for money when I need it.

Although Gu Weicheng gave her all his salary, what if?

The salary in the cafeteria is 35 yuan a month. Although rice, flour and oil are distributed during festivals, it is still not enough compared to Gu Weicheng's salary of more than 130 yuan.

It was also because of this comparison that Li Xia realized that Gu Weicheng’s salary was so high, four times hers!

I guess in modern times, he would be comparable to senior managers in large companies who earn a million dollars a year.

After breakfast, Li Xia sent An An to Mrs. Tao's house as usual.

She had discussed it with Sister Tao yesterday that Sister Tao would help her look after An An while she was at work.

She also planned to give Mrs. Tao some money every month as the cost of taking care of the children. Mrs. Tao refused, but she insisted on giving it.

Everything will be fine when school starts in September in a month, and she will be able to send An An to school.

On the first day of work, Gu Weicheng took a long detour and sent Li Xia to the military canteen before going to the regiment.

"Okay, go quickly and don't be late." Li Xia waved to Gu Weicheng at the cafeteria door.

Gu Weicheng said, "I'll pick you up after get off work in the evening" before leaving.

Master Zhao came over and said, "Captain Gu personally sent you here? I never thought that Captain Gu, who usually looks so cold, would be so kind to his wife."

Well, it was seen as expected.

Li Xia blushed and smiled.

Master Zhao said, "Xiao Li, you don't have to be embarrassed. It's a good thing for a couple to have a good relationship. Others can't envy you. Come here and I'll tell you what to pay attention to."

"Okay." Li Xia responded and followed Master Zhao.

"This is Xiao Li. I invited her to take over for Lao Tan during his absence. Please take care of her during this period." Chef Zhao introduced Li Xia to the chefs in the kitchen.

Most of the people working in the cafeteria are in their thirties or forties, and most of them are men. Everyone is quite surprised to see a young girl like Li Xia.

"Old Zhao, is this the Xiao Li you mentioned? She's too young."

"This little girl looks really young, maybe not even 20 years old? She's already so capable, it's incredible."

"Xiao Li, my last name is Niu, you can just call me Uncle Niu. If you need any help, just tell us. If there's any dirty or tiring work, just ask us."

Li Xia didn't expect everyone to be so enthusiastic. She thought that since she was so young, these old chefs would doubt her cooking skills and then give her a slap in the face before she would be accepted.

Oh, no, there might be someone behind her who is not convinced and is secretly against her.

The result was completely different from what she expected, everyone seemed to be having a great time.

When the older sisters who served meals saw her after taking a break, they all praised her for her good looks and fair skin, and asked her what kind of lotion she used.

Li Xia felt that the atmosphere working in the cafeteria was really good.

The small kitchen window only opens at noon. Before that, Li Xia is busy preparing side dishes.

At noon, an old lady wearing a shaggy cloth came over. When she saw Lixia, she was stunned and looked towards the window uncertainly.

"Little girl, I want to find your chef Tan. I want to cook some food."

Li Xia realized that this man was treating her as a handyman.

She smiled and said, "Auntie, Master Tan was injured and hospitalized a few days ago. I am now taking over the job here. Tell me what you want to eat and I will cook it."

"You?" The old lady stared at Li Xia and asked incredulously, "Can you do it? How old are you? Can your skills compare to those of Master Tan, a master chef who has been working for more than ten years?"

The old lady looked at Li Xia with suspicion. She wondered if Li Xia had gotten in through the back door through nepotism.

Li Xia said, "Auntie, if I'm not capable, I can't work here. Since you can work here, it means you have some skills, right? Tell me what dishes you want to eat. If they are really not delicious, I won't charge you. Is that okay?"

When the old lady saw Li Xia, she had already backed out.

When he heard Li Xia say that he would not charge for the dish if it was not tasty, and thought of his grandson who was clamoring to eat this dish at home, he gritted his teeth and said:

"Okay, then you cook me a picture of an ant climbing a tree. My grandson is sick and he is clamoring to eat this dish made by Master Tan, otherwise he won't take medicine."

Li Xia smiled and said, "Auntie, you mean fried vermicelli with minced meat, right? Okay, it will be ready soon."

The small kitchen window in the cafeteria is the same as that in a state-owned restaurant. The dishes served every day are written on a small blackboard. You can only order the dishes served that day. No other dishes are cooked.

The dishes are prepared in advance. Heat the oil in a wok and you can hear a sizzling sound. Soon, an enticing aroma emanates from the window.

Li Xia put it in the aluminum lunch box that the old lady brought and handed it to her: "It's ready."

Because the child was sick, Li Xia deliberately used less oil and ate lighter food which was good for the body.

The aroma of the food lingered in the aunt's nose and she couldn't help swallowing. It smelled really good, but she didn't know how it would taste.

She saw that the girl didn't use as much oil as Master Tan, so the taste probably wouldn't be as good as Master Tan's. If you want the dish to be fragrant, don't you have to use more oil?

But she said anyway that if she was not satisfied with the food and did not want to accept the receipt, she could just return it later. She would not suffer any loss anyway.

After paying the money and ticket, the old lady carried the lunch box and went home.

Grandson Damao had been waiting at the door for a long time. The old lady opened the lunch box nervously, and the fragrant aroma wafted over.

The big hairy puppy sniffed, "What a nice smell!"

The aroma made his mouth secrete saliva, and he could no longer bear it and started to eat with relish.

Seeing her grandson's cheeks puffed up from eating, the old lady asked, "My dear grandson, how does it taste?"

Da Mao said incoherently: "It's great! Milk, it's really great! It tastes better than before! Next time I'm sick, I want to have this again!"

The old lady immediately said, "Pooh, pooh, pooh, how can you curse yourself to get sick!"

"Is it really that delicious?" With a skeptical attitude, the old lady took a bite and her taste buds were immediately conquered, "It tastes really good!"

The food cooked in a small stove is more expensive than that cooked in a big pot. At that time, most people were frugal. Even families with two working children usually ate in a big pot.

Those who come to the small kitchen to eat fried dishes alone either have a sick family member or, like the soldier in front of him, have a pregnant wife.

"My wife just got pregnant. She felt like vomiting when she smelled meat. In just half a month, she lost ten pounds. I wanted to make her a meat dish that doesn't have such a strong meat smell so she can eat it." The man said with a frown.

"Then let's have steamed pork with rice flour." Li Xia recommended.

Pregnant women cannot smell meat, which is often related to oil smoke. After pregnancy, the sense of smell will indeed become much more sensitive than before.

Some people would think that the pregnant woman was being pretentious. It clearly didn't taste like anything, so why did she vomit like that? The man in front of them actually loves his wife.

The pork with rice flour is half fat and half lean. The pork is cut into pieces. The rice flour needs to be fried until yellow, then mixed with the sauce and wrapped around each piece of pork. A layer of cabbage is placed under the meat and it is steamed in a cage.

Considering that the other party was a pregnant woman, Li Xia walked over to Master Niu and said to him: "Master Niu, I saw you have some sour plums this morning. Can you lend me a few?"

Master Niu immediately gave her a dozen plums: "Why are you being so polite, little girl? What are you borrowing? It's just a few sour plums. If you like them, I'll bring some more tomorrow. They are all made by your aunt, and they are cleaner than those sold outside."

"Thank you, Uncle Niu. Auntie's cooking skills are really good." Li Xia thanked him.

However, she didn't ask for the sour plums to eat herself, but to put them into the steamed pork with rice flour.

After steaming, as soon as you open the lid of the steamer, a fragrant aroma will emanate.

The sweetness of the cabbage and the light fruity aroma of the sour plum make it taste like steamed pork with rice flour, but it doesn’t have too much meaty flavor.

"Pregnant women who vomit a lot can eat something sour. I put a few sour plums under the cabbage in the steamed pork with rice flour, which will give the dish a light fruity aroma.

But the cabbage and sour plums won’t ruin the flavor of the meat. You can give it back to your wife to try and see if she likes it.” Li Xia said.

The other party didn't expect that sour plums could be put into the meat, but it really smelled much more fragrant.

He went home with the attitude of giving it a try. He was still nervous when he entered the house, fearing that his wife would vomit again after smelling the meat.

Unexpectedly, his wife asked, "What did you bring back today? Why do they smell so good?"

He was delighted and immediately opened his lunch box: "I brought you some steamed pork with rice flour from the canteen today."

"Is this steamed pork with rice flour? Didn't you buy me one from a state-owned restaurant before? It doesn't smell like this. Why do I feel like it doesn't smell bad at all? It doesn't smell like meat either."

When I took a bite, I found it was solid meat.

But the smell was refreshing. It made her appetite grow. She didn't feel nauseous at all and ate with relish while holding the lunch box.

After returning home from get off work, Li Xia began to enjoy Gu Weicheng's service.

"I'll massage the other side for you." Gu Weicheng said.

Ever since Li Xia started working in the cafeteria, Gu Weicheng would rub her shoulders every day after get off work.

In fact, Li Xia’s workload was not that heavy and her arms were not sore, but Gu Weicheng was so considerate that she really couldn’t say no.

Let him press it if he wants. After all... it's quite comfortable...

Gu Weicheng's hands were strong enough, and although he was afraid of hurting Li Xia, he only used 10% to 20% of his strength.

But when this force was used on Li Xia, it made her feel very sore.

Occasionally, when she pressed on a sore spot, some suggestive sounds would come out from between her lips and teeth.

Every time this happened, Gu Weicheng would pause.

Take a deep breath before continuing.

Just like now, Li Xia uttered a soft "hmm", and Gu Weicheng's breathing became much heavier.