In the evening, following the propaganda campaign of Aunt Wang and her group, every household began to send their daily necessities to the street canteen.
Zhou Jiao wondered if everyone was giving their all, generously contributing everything they had at home. But she and the few people she knew wouldn't do that.
At night, everyone's joyful voices were loud and long. Yes, we should be happy. In this day and age, we can eat as much as we want. How can we not be happy?
The next morning, Zhang Guoqing's door was knocked countless times. The couple looked at the excited group of relatives, friends, and neighbors with smiles on their faces, but they could only open the door and listen to their fantasies.
It wasn't lunchtime yet, but the streets and alleys were filled with knocks on doors, shouts, and children's cheers. People began to form groups and head to the cafeteria.
The women were happy to be freed from housework, and the men were glad to finally not have to queue in the cold winter or the hot summer. Everyone laughed and talked along the way, and from time to time a piece of gossip about the three meals spread, eliciting exclamations from everyone.
Zhou Jiao wanted to capture this moment in a photo, to keep it forever. She looked at the smiling face of her son in Zhang Guoqing's arms, and suddenly she realized that she should enjoy life while she could.
After coming to terms with it, her mood brightened. She gazed at Zhang Guoqing with amusement. This man was a strange man! Why was he not at work, but coming over to squeeze into the cafeteria with her?
When the group arrived at the cafeteria, there was already a long line in the hall, and many people were sitting at the tables. Everyone went up to take their tableware and lined up.
Being there, listening to everyone's laughter and smelling the aroma of food, reminded Zhou Jiao of the cafeteria during her university days. As the people who had received their breakfast passed by, she looked at their bowls and wondered about the kitchen helpers' skills. She began to miss the fat chef who had gone south.
Alas... the fat master is gone. He left Zhang Guoqing a piece of paper and just walked away without saying goodbye. It's better for him to leave. It's better for him to leave when it's time to leave.
Looking at the row of breakfasts with a wide variety in front of her, Zhou Jiao withdrew her thoughts.
Baozi, steamed buns, fried dough sticks... I really want to spend money on them.
Lin Juhua gestured towards her, and she smiled - it was really easy to get things done when you had someone in the court.
After taking her seat, Zhou Jiao couldn't help laughing when she saw the various breakfasts from the two families of Zhang's father and mother, Zhang Laoer, and Zhang Meili's two sisters on the table.
Zhang's mother laughed as she watched everything in the cafeteria. "Isn't it lively? Your second sister-in-law said there's some fat meat for lunch. Life is getting better and better."
Her words sparked conversation at the tables on both sides.
Zhang Guoqing quickly finished eating, took the food from his son, and whispered, "Eat quickly, if it's not enough, go get more."
Zhang's mother, sitting nearby, overheard the conversation and was too busy chatting with her in-laws to bother with the conversation. She quickly followed suit and whispered, "Don't drink the porridge. Eat the buns first. Put the fried dough sticks in the porridge."
Zhou Jiao nodded repeatedly, "Mom, you should eat quickly too." She had a small appetite, so she couldn't force it. Her mother-in-law wanted to eat more. It would be a shame to ration it out in a few days.
Zhang Guoqing had long noticed that their family was being unjustly polite. The steward said they could eat as much as they could, and that waste was shameful. Even before the detailed rules were released on the first day, he noticed that many people were already wasting. If God doesn't punish you, who will?
He stood up, holding his son and the plate, and walked to the front of the line. After a while, he returned with Zhang's mother to pick up ten meat buns and ten fried dough sticks. These were not enough for his father alone. Why are you being so polite?
"Dad, you and Mom continue eating. Aunt Chen and Uncle, is that enough? I'll get it for you."
Zhang Meihao's mother-in-law quickly waved her hand, "No need. I've had enough. Let your uncle eat first."
Zhang Guoqing didn't insist. The food was there anyway, so if he wanted to eat it, he could just take it.
Zhang's father and mother quickly devoured ten steamed buns and ten fried dough sticks. After finishing their meal, he glanced at his eldest son and his family who had been waiting, and then at his daughter, son-in-law, and in-laws who were still eating heartily.
There were too many people here and it was inconvenient to talk. He thought he should go back and talk to his eldest son's family. They were at a disadvantage with the way they ate, and they needed to find a solution.
Zhang's mother noticed her eldest son-in-law was absent-minded and said, "Your parents will have eaten their fill. You and Meili should go to the village after dinner this afternoon to visit them, and come back to tell us about it."
Zhang Chunming swallowed hard and said, "Mom, I went back last night. I heard that the food in the village is pancakes and steamed buns, just like usual..."
Before he could finish, Zhang Guoqing coughed a few times, interrupting what he was about to say and winking at him. Seeing that he was confused and puzzled, he himself had an extremely bad headache.
How could the old captain, such a shrewd man, not have kept a backup plan? The village had so much grain requisitioned this time that the old man wished everyone could just eat porridge every day. If his brother-in-law's words got out, at worst, it would be seen as the old captain not supporting the higher-ups' decision. At worst, it would be known that Zhangjia Village had surplus grain, and there would be a reckoning later.
"Brother-in-law, when you have time, go back and spend more time with your uncle. It doesn't matter what we eat, he and his wife still want you to chat with them, and you can ask your uncle if you have anything."
"Well, don't worry, Xiaowu."
Old Chen, standing by, looked at his son after hearing this and realized he, too, had understood. He felt relieved. He hadn't even considered that point before. He decided to keep his son and Xiaowu in regular contact.
After breakfast, everyone dispersed and those who had to go to work went to work. Zhang's father and mother were worried about their eldest son, so they slowly took the two children, Shitou and Maisui, to Zhang Guofu's house.
At noon, Zhang Guoqing came home from get off work. Before the family even reached the cafeteria, they could smell the rich aroma of meat while standing outside the yard.
Zhang Guoqing sniffed it and said, "It smells good, doesn't it? Dad and Mom came so early, they must be starving after smelling it, right?"
"Meat"
Zhang Guoqing hushed and patted his son's head with a smile. "Ping'an is really smart. Tell Dad what you want to eat, okay?"
Zhou Jiao saw her son nod and give him a thumbs-up. Seeing him giggle happily, she was happy too. The child really could understand what was said.
As soon as they entered, Zhang's mother, who was standing in the queue, immediately waved to them.
As large plates and buckets of food were brought out, the crowd cheered. There was a real difference between hearing about it in advance and seeing it with one's own eyes. The taste and smell of the braised pork stimulated everyone's hunger.
The eldest sister-in-law, who was in charge of distributing the meat, shouted, "Stop shouting. Everyone gets a big piece of fat meat."
As soon as she finished speaking, slogans followed.
The white rice, braised pork, stir-fried three fresh vegetables, etc. at noon made everyone laugh excitedly and cheer so loudly that the roof of the cafeteria was almost blown off.
Stimulated by the appetite of others who ate three to five bowls of rice, Zhou Jiao ate two full bowls of rice for the first time in her life. She was so full that she sat on the stool and dared not get up.
Zhang Guoqing saw this and tried hard to suppress his laughter, which made his intestines knot up. He found his wife really stupid, actually listening to his parents' instigation.
After three consecutive days of sumptuous meals, laughter was heard from every household, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law became harmonious, the couple quarreled less, and the children were scolded less.
The street office staff were worried. They looked at the inventory, calculated it repeatedly according to a spreadsheet, and quickly drafted detailed regulations. This led to time limits and quantity limits for different types of work and for people of all ages.
After the announcement, everyone was understanding and supportive. Just enough to eat, just enough to have meat in the dishes, even shredded pork, is meat. Life like this is priceless, so what's there to be dissatisfied about?
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