The cashier glanced at it, made a mark on the meal ticket, and asked, "Are you coming back to eat here tonight?"
"Eat up, of course you're eating! How can you not eat such good food?" Mrs. Zuo said quickly.
"Yes, that's it."
"Okay, here you go. You can use this one again tonight."
Okay.
As soon as they sat down, Zuo's mother asked impatiently, "Do you eat like this every day here?"
"No, not really." Zuo Yan scratched his head. "When we first arrived, there wasn't much meat to eat. About a month later, it became more plentiful. We had eggs every day, though. Pork was scarce. Chicken was also available almost every day."
"How much does it cost you to eat like this? Don't you need meat coupons?"
"No." Zuo Yan shook his head: "Normally, about 50 cents is enough."
"Five cents can buy you a white flour bun and meat?!"
These days, twenty yuan is enough for a family to get by. It's just that meat is basically out of the question.
Let alone eating meat at every meal, just having an egg every day would make me incredibly happy.
Such standard meals made Zuo's mother wonder how much Zuo Yan actually spent on food each month.
"Yes, the factory manager said there's a meal allowance and such. It's a bit more expensive when there's meat, but not by much. It's usually less than a dollar a month, so I only spend about ten dollars a month on food."
"It's only a dozen yuan, and you're eating it all by yourself? And you call that 'only'?" Mother Zuo rolled her eyes.
"But Mom, there's meat..." Zuo Yan scratched his head. It was indeed a bit of a luxury to spend more than ten yuan per person, but there was meat with every meal.
“These things would cost at least five or six yuan to eat out. Isn’t this a good deal? Besides, I often bring them back with me.”
Xiuli nodded in agreement.
For the past month, Zuo Yan has indeed been frequently bringing groceries home, sometimes meat, sometimes dishes with meat fillings. She looks forward to it every day.
"That's really not expensive." Even Zuo's mother had to admit that Zuo Yan's five cents was well spent.
These days, going out for a quick meal, with some drinks, will easily cost over ten yuan. The food in this cafeteria, at five mao (0.5 yuan), is a bargain.
"What's the deal with that little card of yours?" Although Mrs. Zuo was old, she was still young at heart and was more curious about some things than young people.
"That's what the factory issues. You register here, and use this card when you eat. It records how much you spend, and at the end of the month, you just hand it all in to settle the accounts."
"Could it be that someone is deliberately not paying?" Xiuli asked.
"How could that be? Every single one is marked, and the canteen keeps a copy. Deliberately not handing it in would only mean they don't want to work here anymore." Zuo Yan shook his head. Apart from those who stayed in Workshop One from the beginning, none of the people here were permanent employees. They were all contract workers; if they were asked to leave, they would have to. Nobody would risk their future.
I had a delicious meal in the cafeteria.
Xiuli realized for the first time how delicious a whole chicken leg could be. Since childhood, she had a wish to eat a chicken leg by herself. She wondered if that wish was a bit too selfish. Today, her wish came true—two enormous chicken drumsticks. Even after leaving the cafeteria, she was still savoring the taste, wondering when she would have another one.
Zuo's mother was still looking at the people in the cafeteria.
Zuo Yan crept closer: "Honey, do you really like chicken legs?"
"Huh?" Xiuli was taken aback for a moment, then nodded somewhat embarrassedly.
"So you like chicken drumsticks? Let me tell you, we often have chicken drumsticks here. I heard from the higher-ups that our factory manager has a chicken farm in the countryside. He raises chickens himself. I'll bring you a few every few days. I didn't know that before, so please don't mind. Besides, my mom doesn't like chicken drumsticks; she always thinks they're not juicy enough."
Xiuli opened her mouth, just about to speak.
Then Zuo's mother chimed in, saying irritably, "Oh, so you're secretly talking badly about your old mother here!"
Xiuli was a little flustered. This was just her mother-in-law catching her talking badly.
"You don't even know your own wife's preferences, don't blame it on me. Besides, do I like pork? Do I like oily food? I'm afraid you'll starve if you don't eat oily food! Look at your face before. You heartless wretch! Come on, Xiuli, let's go for a walk around the factory. Don't pay any attention to this brat." Mother Zuo rolled her eyes, pulled Xiuli along, and started walking around the factory.
To be honest, there's not much to see in this factory.
The buildings were mostly empty; apart from the factory buildings, there was only one three-story office building, which looked rather shabby.
But for Xiuli, those were sights she had never seen before.
Just as she was gazing intently at the few simple buildings, she saw a little girl excitedly driving a motorcycle around the factory.
Behind her followed a beautiful young woman.
Her skin was like jade, her hair reached her waist, and the anger on her face couldn't hide the beauty that radiated from within.
"Who is that?" Xiuli asked curiously.
"Oh, the factory manager's wife, and the factory manager's daughter, they just like to ride their motorcycles around the factory every day." Zuo Yan was used to this.
"They just wander around the factory like that?" Xiuli asked, even more curious.
"What else? But don't worry, honey, that girl knows what she's doing. Look, she's looking very slowly, only a little faster than her mother." Zuo Yan explained, assuming his wife was worried about safety.
"No, I mean..." Xiuli didn't know what to say. She always thought that the factory director was high and mighty, not so down-to-earth.
Isn't this exactly the same as those old women in the village whipping naughty children with bamboo sticks?
The only difference is that the city kids have switched to motorcycles.
After lunch, people feel a bit tired, especially those who ate a lot.
Fortunately, behind the factory building, there was an abandoned warehouse. Originally, this place was used as Professor Zhuge's laboratory. Later, when the new laboratory was completed, they moved there. The warehouse was temporarily vacant. Wang Shouren had it tidied up so that people could rest there temporarily. There were quite a few people in this temporary resting place.
Everyone here is quite excited; no one can sleep. They're all whispering among themselves.
Zuo Yan went out and brought back some things, leaving the two women behind. They leaned against the chairs in the factory to rest for a while. As soon as they sat down, someone came over to talk to them.
"Hey, young lady, are you here for that... that kind of event too?"
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