The entrance to the Zijing Garden construction site.
Xu Heping arrived at the construction site gate at 11 o'clock sharp. He brought ten boxed meals with him today, four of which were pre-ordered.
Unlike usual, when a large group of workers would rush out at the end of the workday, only a few workers came out today.
Moreover, after they came out, they didn't eat at any fast food restaurants or street stalls nearby, but instead found a shady spot under a tree to chat and joke around.
At this moment, a worker walked up to Xu Heping's lunchbox stall and asked somewhat awkwardly, "I ordered a lunchbox from you yesterday, number 1004."
Xu Heping checked the registered list and, after confirming that the names and numbers were correct, did not immediately hand the boxed meals to the workers.
“I heard about what happened at the construction site yesterday afternoon, and I understand your concerns. So if you have any worries about our meal, you don’t need to force yourself to eat it; you can apply for a refund.”
Upon hearing this, the worker's eyes lit up.
What happened yesterday made him a little worried about the food outside the construction site. Getting a stomachache is a minor issue; being hospitalized is a major one.
If someone is hospitalized, they won't be able to work for several days. What a huge loss that is!
"Then give me a refund. I really don't dare to eat anything indiscriminately these days." Without the slightest hesitation, the worker opted for a refund.
This was within Xu Heping's expectations. He took out eight yuan from his waist bag, handed them to the worker, and then crossed out the worker's name with a pen.
Of the four workers who had ordered boxed meals, only Uncle Dongliang did not request a refund. Instead, he picked up his meal and squatted down to eat it with relish.
Xu Heping often overheard workers talking about Xu Dongliang, mostly praising him for his courage in eating out at a time like this.
The entrance to the construction site of the Shanghai Library.
Although something happened at the Bauhinia Garden, it hasn't spread far yet and hasn't affected the people at the Shanghai Library.
At 11:40, a worker, having rested enough, came out as usual and went straight to Xu An's lunchbox stall to buy a boxed meal.
I had just walked up to the boxed lunch stall when I heard Xu An apologizing.
"Sorry everyone, all the boxed meals at our stall are sold out for today. Please come back tomorrow."
"You still have quite a few left in this styrofoam box, how come you bought them all?" the worker asked, looking at the boxed meals in the styrofoam box with some confusion.
"These were ordered by others yesterday, and we'll deliver them in a bit," Xu An explained simply.
After several unsuccessful attempts to plead their case, the workers became enraged and left, cursing and swearing.
"You're really out of your mind. There are several of us living, breathing people here who want to buy boxed meals and you won't sell them to us? What's with this pre-ordering system? We're never buying meals here again."
Why.
Xu An sighed inwardly. He had to increase production! He needed to plan how to do it when he got back that afternoon. He had to think it over carefully, since he didn't have much money on hand.
However, Xu An was busy with food delivery matters and didn't have time to think about this issue.
The boxed meals ordered by office workers have been packaged and labeled with their names and addresses. Xu An is responsible for delivering these boxed meal orders.
Liang Dani was responsible for delivering orders from Shanghai Maritime College.
Yesterday afternoon, Xu An arranged the delivery routes for the commuters' orders based on their location and distance. Now, all that's needed is to deliver the goods according to the planned routes.
The first delivery was to Elsa Clothing across the street, for Ding Nan and Luo Min's order.
This three-story building looks unremarkable from the outside, but its interior decoration is surprisingly avant-garde.
In Xu An's view, it would not be outdated even ten years later.
I parked the car at the entrance and locked it. I took two boxed lunches out of the box and walked into the company gate, then went to the front desk.
The receptionist was typing away at her computer, seemingly handling her work.
"Hello, I'm looking for Ding Nan and Luo Min. Could you please inform them?" Xu An asked politely.
The receptionist looked up at him and nodded.
Instead of getting up or taking out his phone, he opened the QQ chat page and sent a message in the company's group chat.
"Ding Nan, Luo Min, someone at the front desk is looking for you. Come quickly."
Ding Nan and Luo Min had booked delivery for 11:50 AM. Starting at 11:45 AM, they began to keep an eye on the outside, hoping to see someone carrying a lunchbox appear outside the office.
Although Xu An didn't show up, a notification came through the company's group chat.
Upon seeing the receptionist's notification, the two immediately got up and headed outside.
The other people in the office couldn't help but glance at the time. It was only 11:50, not even time to leave work yet, and these two were already leaving?
Two minutes later, Ding Nan and Luo Min came in again with their lunchboxes, but it wasn't time to leave work yet, so they just put the lunchboxes aside and continued working.
The aroma of food from the boxed lunches seeped out from various gaps, slowly spreading and wafting into the office.
Sitting behind the two, Sister Liu twitched her nose, then twitched it again.
Why does it smell like food?
It's twelve o'clock, time to get off work.
My colleagues turned off their screens, stood up, stretched, and started discussing where to have lunch.
Just as it turned twelve o'clock, Luo Min didn't even have time to turn off the computer screen. She pushed the keyboard and mouse inward, placed the boxed lunches in the center of the table, and opened the lids one by one.
Six lion's head meatballs are quietly soaking in a deep red broth, their outer skin fried until it resembles a golden membrane tightly wrapping the delicate and tender minced meat inside.
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