But before they could change their minds, Jiaren added, "Furthermore, one has no choice in one's birth. Some are born into wealthy and powerful families, some into humble households, and some are even born as servants."
"What we can do is study hard and change our background. But this doesn't mean we should forget our roots, look down on our origins, or look down on our relatives!"
"Even lambs kneel to suckle, and crows know to feed their parents! Are we, who study and understand principles, not even as good as animals? What's the point of studying then?!"
He pointed at his two classmates, a cold glint in his eyes, and solemnly warned, "Today, out of consideration for our friendship, I will let you off this time. But if I hear you pointing fingers at and insulting my family again, I will not let you off easily!"
The classroom was quiet for a while.
The next moment, all the students clapped and cheered wildly!
Someone said, "Well said, those two idiots should be taught a lesson!"
The companion next to him sneered, "That's right. If our academy didn't uphold the principle of education for all, these two ungrateful wretches probably wouldn't have gotten in!"
Some people mocked, "Hmph, look at how much they dislike it. Do you really think they can go hungry every day at noon and not eat in the cafeteria? The academy gates are closed at noon. Do you think they can really survive on air?"
Just then, the lecturer arrived, coughed twice, and everyone quickly returned to their seats.
The gentleman didn't say anything, so everyone assumed he hadn't heard what he said.
When get out of class ended, the teacher called out the names of the two struggling students and said, "Go back and copy the school rules ten times, and hand them in to me tomorrow."
After saying that, the gentleman left.
There was a moment of silence in the dormitory, then a burst of cheers erupted.
Jiaren also liked that his teacher was reasonable, but he would never stoop to kicking someone when they're down.
So he called out to his classmates, "Come on, let's go to the cafeteria for lunch. They have braised pork today. My fourth aunt is a descendant of the imperial chefs, and this braised pork is her recipe. It's especially delicious with white rice. Speaking of which, I haven't had it in a long time. If you don't go now, you might miss out."
"Let's go, hurry up and let's go eat meat!"
"I'm starving! I've been waiting for this all day."
"Together, together, wait for me!"
Upon hearing this, the students dared not delay and swarmed out of the dormitories, heading straight for the canteen.
Inside the cafeteria, everyone was on high alert when they heard the school bell ring.
Everyone, regardless of their job, from the chef to the dishwasher, wore sky-blue aprons with long sleeves, hats, headscarves, and so on, wrapped up tightly, as if afraid that a hair would fall into the food or that someone would cough or sneeze and be annoying.
Sky blue is the cleanest and freshest color, and you can see even the slightest dirt.
This is to convey a message to the students in the cafeteria through these uniforms: they guarantee that the cafeteria is hygienic and clean!
The two large windows between the canteen and the kitchen were open; one was filled with plates of food, and the other had several empty bowls.
Above the window where the plates were placed, three large characters were pasted: "Meal Collection Point".
The place where the empty bowls were placed was marked "Recycling".
The students flocked into the cafeteria courtyard and immediately fell in love with the small garden.
That big parasol was especially interesting.
Once inside, and queuing at the window to buy a set meal, one is even more attracted by the novel tableware.
A small number of students bought the first and third grade options, while the majority chose the second grade option, consisting of one meat dish and one vegetable dish.
Someone ordered free egg drop soup and pickled vegetables, then went to the small garden where several close friends gathered to eat, drink, and chat.
Tao Hongying has been staying in Luo'an these past few days not just to help with cleaning, but also to give special training to Aunt Wu and the others.
Third Aunt was in charge of the staple foods, which included steamed buns, pancakes, and steamed rice.
Sun Ersao was in charge of stewing the dishes, Dazhuang's wife was in charge of the vegetarian dishes and cold dishes, while Zhao Yuru was learning how to make fillings.
All four are housewives who have been working around the stove for years and have no shortage of basic skills.
Furthermore, Zhao Yuru and Aunt Wu have been running the food stall for so long, and Da Zhuang's daughter-in-law and Sister-in-law Sun have been working in the kitchen of the hot spring valley. This special training is entirely to improve their skills.
The students studied diligently, and the results were remarkable.
Today's braised pork belly and twice-cooked pork were almost universally praised by the students. When returning their plates, many asked if these two dishes would be served again tonight...
Everyone was both amused and delighted to hear this, and quickly told the students that they might have to wait until next week, because the menu for the week had already been set and could not be changed easily.
Of course, the dinner was also quite good, with freshly cooked dumplings and noodles and fried dough sticks on the small stove across the street for a change of pace.
Leaving aside the students chatting and laughing as they went back to class, the Li family members were busy washing dishes and tidying up before sitting down to summarize their experience.
The lunch I just hosted revealed quite a few problems.
Students have different appetites; some eat a lot, so the dishes in the set meal are enough, but the rice and steamed buns are not enough.
Some people have small appetites, and they still eat all the vegetables but leave the staple food uneaten.
For example, a few bites of rice were left, and a third of a steamed bun was bitten off.
It's a waste to throw it away, but we can't keep it to eat either.
There was also the issue of collecting money. When students took copper coins to buy food, they had to count out the exact amount.
Some even had silver coins, which required weighing and making change, further delaying their time.
Of course, there are some minor issues, but they are not serious. Only these two issues urgently need to be addressed.
Grandma Li and Jiayin had gone back to their courtyard to have lunch with Wenjuan earlier, afraid of delaying everyone's work. They were just walking here hand in hand.
Upon hearing these two questions, Jiayin had no answer to the first one, but found the second one very easy.
It was also her oversight that she hadn't thought of it before, nor had she reminded her family.
Actually, the solution to the difficulty in collecting money is very simple: just exchange it for meal tickets.
Design a set of receipts. It doesn't need to be complicated. Just stamp it with the cafeteria's seal. It would be best to add some anti-counterfeiting measures.
Then, the students could exchange their silver for meal tickets in advance, and use the tickets instead of silver when they ate, which would be much more convenient.
For example, the face value could be set at 20, 15, and 10 coins, with some smaller denominations like 5 coins added, so that students could buy extra steamed buns or similar items.
In short, tickets are more convenient to carry than money, directly correspond to the three packages, and save you the trouble of getting change.
But Jiayin couldn't say it out loud, because there were not only family members here, but also six or seven outsiders, including Aunt Wu!
So, she made up an excuse and had her third uncle carry her out of the cafeteria, then quietly whispered everything in his ear...
Li Laosan never expected that such a big problem would be solved so easily by his little niece. He was so happy that he carried his little niece around the cafeteria several times, making passersby think he was going crazy.
When the uncle and nephew returned to the house, everyone had already solved the first problem.
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