Chapter 48

"What a terrible sound," the red and white woman touched her goosebumps and moved a little closer to the blue and white man who came over with her, muttering, "I thought it would be very lively here, but it's so quiet. It's as if we chose the wrong time. When I was studying, the cafeteria was very noisy unless it was very early or very late, but it's not like that now."

Jongin asked, "What's not now?"

The woman replied, "It's not very early, because it's not five or six in the morning, and it's not very late, because it's not ten or eleven-thirty at night. I found it very strange. If it wasn't too early or too late, there shouldn't be so few people here. We came here at the exact time for supper, so how could there be no one here?"

She frowned, touched the cold skin of her arm, and murmured, "If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have come. At most, I could have come at another time. The place is the same anyway, and I won't grow legs and run away. This atmosphere is too scary, as if we are exploring a haunted house or a house where someone has died. I'm not here to explore ghosts."

Jongin asked, "So what are you doing here?"

The woman replied, "We came here to eat. We heard that the food here is good and unique. People who have seen it can't forget it. We thought that the canteen must not cost a lot of money to eat, so we came here to try what the food here that makes people so unforgettable looks like and tastes like."

She paused, and looked at Jongin’s expression. She felt that she could continue without annoying him, so she continued:

"We chose this time because we thought there wouldn't be a lot of people here during this time, but there wouldn't be no one there either. This way, after we come here, we can get food by queuing for a while. It feels like we're participating, and it feels like eating in a cafeteria. It saves us time and doesn't cause any trouble for others. We don't have to wait for a long time or stand there in an empty hall and watch in fear."

The woman cried, "Who knew it would be like this!"

She had more goosebumps.

Jongin's eyes fell on her skin, and he nodded, smiling, "So that's how it is."

The woman asked curiously, "What about you? Why are you here at this time?"

Jongin said succinctly: "I heard this place is interesting, so I came here to see what's going on. If there's food there and it's not too expensive, I'll buy some and take it home to eat slowly."

The woman nodded doubtfully, and said with a sad smile: "So that's how it is. Then I feel relieved. You are not here to cause trouble, and you are not an employee here."

Jongin asked, "What does it have to do with the staff?"

The woman's pale face suddenly turned red and she whispered, "How can you say that their workplace is bad in front of the staff? That's so embarrassing!"

Jongin nodded, “Yes.”

The screams from the kitchen staff continued. After a while, the huge, bright light above her head suddenly flashed and made a bang, as if it was about to explode. The woman followed the sound of the light and gave a very piercing scream. She grabbed the hand of the blue-and-white man beside her, frowned, tears welled up in her eyes, and she was shocked and angry, saying, "What the hell!"

The man patted the woman's hand and said, "It's okay. The door over there is already open."

The woman looked in the direction the man's finger pointed and her eyes fell on the door leading from the kitchen to the living room. The door was indeed open.

A middle-aged woman in her forties wearing a white apron came out. She had long hair, dark clothes, greasy hands, and some water stains on her shoes with some green vegetable leaves. She looked dirty and had an expressionless face. However, when she came out from the back kitchen and saw four people standing by the table not far away, she paused and suddenly a warm smile appeared on her face.

"Oh, I was at the back and didn't see you guys coming. Sorry, please take a seat! Our cafeteria has a lot of seats. Students usually eat here, and guests also eat here. Even leaders from outside, school, government, hotels, and vegetable markets who come to inspect us also sit here to eat. Hehe~"

The middle-aged woman strode towards the four men. The woman shrank back, and the man in yellow and white clothes slidably hid behind the man in blue and white clothes, and used the woman standing in front of him to shield himself. He hid behind the two men in front of him, and looked as if he was shorter than the others.

The two people in front were not standing closely together. Although the yellow and white man hid behind his two companions, he did not hide very well. His face was stuck in the gap between the arms of the two people in front. Most of his face and the collar of his upper body could be seen from the opposite side.

The middle-aged woman did not feel embarrassed. She walked up to the four people, rubbed her hands and said with a smile: "You are the guests who called last time and said they wanted to visit our school cafeteria! Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you."

The woman asked curiously, "Are you the only one here?"

The middle-aged woman laughed: "Of course not, aren't you guys here too? How come I'm the only one here?"

The woman nodded and asked, "Apart from us, is there anyone else here?"

The middle-aged woman laughed again and said, "You little kid, you have a bad memory at such a young age? Besides you, am I not here with you?"

The woman shook her head and said, "No, I mean, is there anyone else working in this huge cafeteria besides you?"

The middle-aged woman nodded: "Of course! It's such a big cafeteria, I can't be the only one here."

She pointed to the windows behind her and said, "Look, there are five windows in total, one, two, and there is at least one cook in each window. So there are at least five canteen aunties or chefs cooking here. There are also people preparing food, washing vegetables, beating eggs, chopping meat... There are so many things to do. How can I do it alone?"

The woman nodded doubtfully.

Seeing that she seemed to believe it, the middle-aged woman smiled more enthusiastically and said, "Besides me, there is at least one person in the kitchen washing dishes, a cook, an assistant, and a cleaner. So, there are five outside and five inside. There are at least ten staff members in this cafeteria!"

The woman looked curiously and seriously inside the dark door and nodded: "So there are so many people."

She asked, “So what do you do?”

The middle-aged woman said, "I supervise the students outside to make sure they don't waste food. Sometimes I am also responsible for clearing the dishes and bowls on the tables in the cafeteria that no one has taken away. Sometimes I also tidy up the tableware that others have used..."

The man in yellow and white clothes listened for a long time and couldn't help frowning. He looked around and felt that the place was very cold and gloomy. He interrupted the middle-aged woman and said, "We are here to eat! It's already late now. Let's go home quickly after dinner! Is there anything wrong with going home early?"

The woman came back to her senses and nodded: "Yes, let's get ready to eat now."

The man in blue and white looked at the middle-aged woman and asked, "Can we eat here?"

The middle-aged woman nodded and smiled, "Sure. What do you want to eat? The ingredient we are best at processing here is duck, and the most delicious food is duck. The kitchen also has some sprouts and duck..."

At this time, Jongin heard some squeaking sounds coming from the kitchen behind the cafeteria.

He became a little alert.

The yellow and white man also heard it and was more alert than Jongin. His eyes widened and his hair stood on end. He took a deep breath, his heart pounding, and he gritted his teeth and took a step back.

The woman looked at him puzzledly and asked, "What's wrong?"

The yellow and white man shook his head and thought, I can't say it. Before I came in, there was a rule sign hanging at the door saying there are no rats in the cafeteria. I can't say there are rats here. That's against the rules. Besides, there's such a strong middle-aged woman standing in front of me, with broad shoulders and a big waist. If I say it, won't she kick me out as soon as possible or slap me?

If I get kicked out now, I don't know when I can wait for them to come out. If I wait for them alone outside, it will be very uncomfortable to be blown by the cold wind. I don't know when I can get a taxi. It's terrible! It's so dark now. It's worse outside than here. At least the doors and windows here are tightly closed, so the cold wind won't blow in. There are no other strangers, and it's still bright.

The woman nodded doubtfully: "Okay, if you feel uncomfortable, tell us and we will leave here as soon as possible and take you to the hospital."

When the middle-aged woman heard this, her face darkened for a moment, but soon returned to her initial warm-hearted look and smiled.

The man in blue and white couldn't help but glance at Jongin who had been standing next to them. He felt that Jongin's presence was not only very low, but also very strange. The middle-aged woman didn't even target this strange man who she knew was alone at first sight.

Moreover, he didn't know if it was because of the dim light here that made the blue-white man feel a little uncomfortable, but when he looked at his strange companion Jongin, he felt that the way this man laughed was exactly the same as the laugh of the middle-aged woman opposite him, that kind of cold and gloomy laugh that made people feel creepy.

But it's hard to say. If you tell the middle-aged woman, she might be kicked out or beaten. If you tell Jongin, the consequences would seem to be more serious.

So the blue and white man didn't dare to bring it up. He just kept it in his heart and didn't tell the woman.