On the other side, Banggeng saw his grandmother scolding his mother and helplessly called out, "Grandma, please stop scolding my mom. I'm full, I'm going to school."
After saying that, Banggeng picked up his schoolbag and ran out of the yard. Banggeng said he was going to school, but he didn't actually go. He was going to the backyard to steal everything from Ma Hua's house. He had heard from the people in the yard that if it weren't for Ma Hua, his grandmother wouldn't have been arrested by the police. He wanted revenge.
When Banggeng sneaked over to Ma Hua's house, he found it was locked. Enraged, Banggeng kicked the door twice and threw a brick at Ma Hua's house before reluctantly returning to school. "How could Ma Hua be like this? He has no sportsmanship and even locked the door! I have to find Sha Zhu and have him teach me how to pick the lock."
As soon as Ma Hua arrived at the cafeteria entrance, he saw Director Wang. Ma Hua went up to him warmly and greeted him: "Good morning, Director. Have you eaten yet?"
"You're here early, kid. Come on, come to my office, I have something to tell you," Director Wang smiled with satisfaction when he saw that Ma Hua, the head chef, had arrived so early. He was sure he hadn't misjudged him.
After Ma Hua and Director Wang sat down in the office, Director Wang asked with a worried expression, "Ma Hua, is the cafeteria still managing to keep up with the demand lately?"
Ma Hua was somewhat surprised. What did Director Wang mean? Hadn't the cafeteria always been like that? After thinking for a moment, he said, "It's alright, but we're a bit short-staffed. If it weren't for your good leadership, the cafeteria would have been in chaos long ago."
"You little rascal," Director Wang said, pointing at Ma Hua with a laugh and a scolding tone, "Alright, I won't lie to you. Tomorrow, I'd like you to cook a meal. Is that convenient for you? It's a personal request, nothing to do with the factory."
"Okay, I'll follow the leader's instructions," Ma Hua nodded. He guessed this person was probably a relative or friend of Director Wang. Whatever, Director Wang had always treated him well; cooking didn't matter where it was done.
"I knew I wasn't wrong about you. You don't need to come; just go directly. I'll take care of everything else," Director Wang said with satisfaction. He was right about Ma Hua; it was definitely Sha Zhu who had done it. He felt disgusted thinking about how Sha Zhu had asked for money first when he asked him to cook.
"By the way, Ma Hua, you've been working in the cafeteria for a while now, so you know how busy our sixth cafeteria gets at the end of the year. And Director Yang seems to have a high opinion of Sha Zhu, so..." Director Wang said with a sigh of relief.
Although Director Wang didn't say it explicitly, Ma Hua understood that it was tantamount to saying that there were many year-end banquets and Sha Zhu would soon be returning to the cafeteria: "Director, don't worry, I will absolutely obey the leader's arrangements. Besides..."
I, MCA, am not petty. I guarantee that as long as Sha Zhu doesn't provoke me, I will absolutely pretend I didn't see it. I, MCA, am here to work in this factory to better build it up and contribute to the country's development.
"Alright, kid, there are no outsiders here. Go, go, go, get back to work," Director Wang said with a laugh, picking up a cigarette from the table and throwing it at Ma Hua.
Ma Hua smiled broadly as she took the gift and loaded it into the car with a look of delighted surprise: "Wow. Peony!"
"You brat, don't give it back to me," Director Wang said with some heartache.
"That won't do. You're the cafeteria manager. You can't just take back spilled water." Ma Hua chuckled as he stuffed the cigarettes into his pocket. These were good cigarettes, after all.
There was a popular saying back then: High-ranking cadres smoke "Peony" cigarettes, mid-level cadres smoke "Fragrant Hills" cigarettes, workers, peasants, and soldiers smoke 33 cents cigarettes, and poor and lower-middle peasants happily roll "Cannon" cigarettes.
Although the MCA now has Chung Hwa cigarettes, we can only smoke them secretly. It wouldn't be good if someone saw us. I've already said it before, someone online said that smoking Chung Hwa cigarettes makes you cough, so it's a good time to try "Peony" cigarettes.
When Ma Hua returned to the cafeteria, he saw Sha Zhu sitting arrogantly in a chair. Liu Lan immediately went to Ma Hua's side and asked, "Ma Hua, what's going on? Why is Sha Zhu back?"
Liu Lan was stunned when she entered the cafeteria. Shouldn't Sha Zhu be with the cleaning team? Why is he back in the cafeteria? Is he here to cause trouble again?
"Sister Lan, I'm not trying to be mean, but can you please stop being so gossipy?" Ma Hua chuckled twice. This Liu Lan... why is she so curious?
"Go to hell, hurry up and tell me!" Liu Lan looked distressed. In the kitchen, Liu Lan was the most gossipy person. If there was any news in the factory, you could ask Liu Lan and she would know.
"Sister Lan, you know I just got here and my mouth is so dry. I wonder if anyone could get me some tea to soothe my throat?" Ma Hua said, shaking her head.
Liu Lan glared at Ma Hua with annoyance. This brat—if she hadn't really wanted to hear it, she would have turned and left long ago. So, she could only reluctantly make him some tea.
"Hey, I've prepared tea for you, why don't you hurry up and say something?" Liu Lan held up the teacup, looking like she was about to splash tea in his face if he didn't speak.
"Ahem, Sister Lan, have you forgotten our cafeteria's nickname?" Ma Hua, seeing this, didn't keep them in suspense any longer.
After Ma Hua finished speaking, Liu Lan realized, "Hey, it seems these leaders are going to have a big feast again. No wonder they called Sha Zhu back. Director Yang must be treating us to a meal again. Why didn't I think of that?"
"Alright, Master Ma, please have some tea," Liu Lan smiled, bringing the freshly cut tea to Ma Hua's side. Ma Hua felt a chill run down his spine.
He immediately feigned a flattered expression: "Oh, how could I let Sister Lan do such a small thing herself? Hmm, the tea Sister Lan brews is so fragrant."
Liu Lanbai glared at Ma Hua: "Get lost, isn't this the tea you gave us?"
That brat Ma Hua is really praising his own wares, but to be honest, this tea tastes even better than the one he got from Li Huaide.
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